diy wood

Well okay, not an actual windfall (as it was cut to avoid that) but a windfall of wood nonetheless. Our Alaskan birches don't tend to get very large, at least around here, because they either blow down or get crowded out by the spruce. This big guy was too close to the house of some friends and was making them nervous - which is why I found it on their lawn.

A call to my brother Josh, (who took the smaller stuff for his wood stove) and here was my haul:


My idea was to air dry it (I love the way air dried wood works with hand tools) and use it for all sorts of projects. The challenge is to avoid checking (splits) as the wood dries. If the wood is dried in the round, it will almost certainly check, as the wood shrinks tangentially to the grain much more than radially. In other words, as the outer rings of grain try to shrink into smaller rings, they can't move inwards enough to allow them to stay whole, so they split apart. The easiest way to do this is to split the wood into halves or wedges, which allows the wood to move freely as it dries and shrinks (the angle of the wedges become more acute as they dry).

Here's a photo essay of the splitting process.

Step 1: Start a split with the axe.


Step 2: Use a sledgehammer and a sharp wedge to open the split farther. I scored this old logging wedge down in Oregon and it is perfect for this step.


Step 3: Open the split wider with a larger wedge.


Step 4: Leapfrog the sharper wedge and advance the split again.


Step 5: Add another large wedge. A lot of the time I can leapfrog the large wedge to the new position, but this log was not in the mood to cooperate. The grain from the large branch (cut flush) complicated things and the first large wedge didn't release.


Step 6: Split complete.


Alternate Step A: Make a glut. I think traditionally these are made from some tough wood like dogwood. But seeing as I was at least a couple thousand miles away from the nearest dogwood, but only about ten feet from a scrap lumber pile, I made mine from an old 2x4.


Alternate Step B: Use the glut like a huge wedge (which of course is exactly what it is :) to split logs that are particularly large and/or ornery.



And here is the final result after a few hours of work.


And the tool kit:


I don't have any particular projects in mind for this wood, but I'm sure something will come to me.

More from our school trip back east. Here are a few pictures of the reproduction furniture at the Jamestown living-history museum in Virginia.



















It was fun to see the furniture in its actual setting (or close anyway). I'd like to know more about these. Who made them? How were they made? What were they based on? If I ever get back there I need to dig around a little and see if I can't find someone to answer these questions. Next time...

Every fall I think the start of the school year has got to be the craziest time of the year. And every spring I change my mind. Hands down, the end of the school year is the craziest time. It seems like every minute has at least an hour's worth of work to get done.

So after spending four hours of a beautiful Sunday in my stuffy classroom (the air circulation is shut off on weekends), I came home and hid in the shop for about an hour. It wasn't much, but I did make some progress on the candle rack.

First, I had to remember what I was working on - finishing the dovetails. Then I had to double check that I was working with the right parts in the right orientation. All stuff that just takes care of itself when you aren't breaking your project up into tiny amounts of time spread over weeks.

I did the layout on the tops of the sides by eye. If you look closely, you can see that I changed my mind a couple of times:


After cutting the tails, I transferred the layout to the pin board, cut it out and what do you know? It went together the first time:


It was fun to see the case for the rack coming together:


Not much progress, but better than nothing. And a nice hour in the shop with something to show for it is never bad. Actually, an hour in the shop is never bad, whether there is something to show for it or not.

Last week, two other teachers, four parents and I, took forty 7th and 8th graders on a 6 day trip from Alaska to Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg and Washington DC. It was awesome! And no, I'm not totally crazy - our kids are great.

I didn't have much free time at Williamsburg, as chaperone duties kept me pretty busy, but I did get a few minutes in the joiner's shop. Actually, I thought I was going to the gun smith's shop, but I guess they moved it since the last time I was there.

I'm not sure what the interpreter was working on. I didn't have time to talk to him, but one of the things on the bench in front of him sure looks like part of a bellows to me. Anyway, here are some random photographs from my whirlwind tour.















I'll have to go back someday on my own and really spend some time there. I also took some pictures at Jamestown and a few other places that I will try to get posted soon.

So Teague's blocks are finished - I was aiming for 50 and ended up having time for 46. Not too bad.

They're unit blocks, with the basic block having 1x2x2 dimensions. Making these blocks, and their larger siblings, was pretty straight forward - just dimensioning the stock really (well except for a few of the "special" shaped blocks), but it was fun practice.

The width of the stock is very close to the final width of 2 inches, so after planing off the finish (they are old library chairs) it doesn't take much more work to get there with just a jack plane. The thickness is another matter - too much to remove with the jack, and too little to resaw - well, I suppose if I really wanted some thin oak veneer...

I tried my scrub plane, but wasn't happy with the results. Just too much tear out to get close to the layout line. I switched to a #6 fore plane with a fairly cambered iron. It was the right tool for the job, fast, but clean, stock removal. Here's a shot showing two pieces of oak - the right is the "before" and the left is the "after" example.


After the fore plane got things close, it was quick work with the jack to finish removing stock down to the line. It was a little wasteful, but a definite time saver.

I tried to take a picture of the fore plane iron to show the amount of camber:


Here's a shot of work on one pair of ramp blocks:


I had to leave extra wood at the ends to adjust for the kerf and flattening of the angled plane. After everything was true, I cut the ends square and to length. I experimented with several different saws for cutting the angle and ended up liking the Japanese style rip saw the best.

I had anticipated having to do a lot of work with a plane to clean up the cut, but in the end it came out pretty clean straight from the saw. Just a few minutes with the plane, and it was fine.


Chamfering the edges of the blocks was much easier by pulling them over an upside down plane - once again the jack was pressed into service:


The final test of the set before the birthday boy got his hands on them (what can I say, they're fun!):


In action - I think he liked them, and the chest too:


I'm sure I will be making more to expand the set as time goes by and his construction skills grow.

Well, it's been slow, but progress is being made on the candle rack - or is it a candle shelf, or candle cabinet? I don't know what to call this thing. Hmm. It's a candle thing! Maybe candle thingy sounds more precise...

Anyway, I started the dovetails on the candle thingy. First, I did the layout for the tails where one side joins the bottom. I used a marking gauge set just slightly more than the thickness of the pin board (bottom) to mark the baseline for the tails. Then, using a small bevel gauge (visible in the background), I just eye-balled the tails. I added the variations in the middle just for fun.

It's always temping to skip the "mark the waste with an X" part, but don't do it! Just trust me on that one.


After marking the tails, I ripped the lines with my dovetail saw. I should probably say I ripped using the lines as rough guides. It doesn't really matter if you saw to the line or not on this part, but it will later. Up to this point, this was my standard approach, but now I wanted to try a couple of new techniques.

Normally, I rip the tails with my saw, then move directly to removing the majority of the waste with a coping saw, clean them up with chisels, and then use the dovetails to layout the pins. The first new technique I tried helps with aligning the tail and pin boards for a more accurate transfer. This is the well known "shallow rabbet" technique. Basically, I just planed a very shallow rabbet on the inside of the tail board. When it was time to align the two pieces, the rabbet catches on the edge of the pin board and keeps everything square. It worked great and I liked it.

The second new technique was a different way to transfer the shapes of the tails to the pin board. Before I cut out the waste between the tails, I transferred the layout with the saw itself, running the front teeth (or tooth) down the kerfs in the tail board. I'd read about this in books, and seen Roy do it, but I'd never tried it myself. It worked okay - I think the juries still out on this one. I wasn't totally happy with the quality of the lines I created. Not enough pressure, and the line was very faint - too much pressure and the line was clear but there was some tearout in the face of the pin board. I need more practice before I decide if I like this one or not.

Here is a shot of the tail board aligned atop the pin board:


And here's a shot after the transfer of the layout using the "saw in kerf" technique:


After those two experiments, it was back to my standard routine. I used a coping saw to remove the waste between the tails:


And then chisels to pare to the baseline:


After that I repeated the same process with the pin board - although this time the lines really are important. You have to stay on the waste side of the line or you will have gaps in the final product. Watch, I'll demonstrate that pitfall. I believe in being thorough :)


It came out okay - if you look closely, you'll see a couple of gaps where I wasn't careful enough with the sawing of the pins. Wait, I mean, you'll see a couple of spots where the new "saw in kerf" technique really let me down. Yeah, that's it!

The dry fit:




Not too bad - it should look pretty good after gluing and cleaning it up with a plane. Just three more to go and then on to the dadoes etc.

Sometimes it's nice to be reminded that our work doesn't have to be perfect. The value or worth of a piece is not only measured by the quality of its construction; character counts. Sometimes, character is the main attribute.

Here's a case in point. Rebecca has a small wooden shelf in her kitchen. It sits on the counter next to the stove and keeps her most used items close at hand.


But it has flaws - a lot really. When seen from the standard woodworker perspective, it has serious problems. The top is warped - badly. The joints have failed and been repaired numerous times; it's nailed like a kids' tree fort and has awkward corner brackets. And it seems so plain - just four sticks and two boards, four dados and four rabbets.





And yet, there is another way of seeing it. It has character - a lot really. Its plainess is part of its charm. Sometimes simple is better than complex. The top, although warped, is stained with cooking oil and sauces from thousands of home cooked meals (and Rebecca is a fabulous cook). The nails speak of someone caring enough for this piece to not throw it in a landfill or burn it in a fire. It's made of wood, not plastic. Its surface ages gracefully, absorbing life and reflecting it back. It's around for the long story, not the short, disposable life.

This piece has character, and it counts. Rebecca says "Those shelves have been in every kitchen I've had." I'd love for someone to say something like that about one of my pieces. Yeah, it's not always about perfection - character counts too.