New Legacy Woodworking Schools - Paul Sellers' Blog

This Week's Work

05-Sep-10 20:36 | Paul Sellers (administrator)

This weeks has past quickly and many things have happened here at the school. Our summer season is over and we are preparing for the Autumn and Winter schedule to begin.

The article I wrote for The Woodworker (August 2010) seems to have been popular and I am working on my next article for them. Meanwhile the gardener, Mike, has asked for some oak benches and picnic tables to be designed and also some garden gates for the walled garden so I'll keep you posted on progress.

I have vacated the large gallery workshop for five weeks and set up in the anteroom next door until October. Please feel free to still drop in and see us if your passing through.

Because of the busy traffic this week I abandoned the new computer desk until after the school children go back. Instead I built a small rolling tool trolley that will hold my everyday tools and other paraphernalia I use around the woodshop. I put the last coat of finish on this afternoon and I think that it looks great. The photos above are ones I made three years ago and are similar to the one I am building. I still have to build the top chest with with drawers and lift up lid that will sit on top. Then I will be able to move the trolley wherever it best suits the work. I really like the practicalities of this type of chest and you can make the pair quite inexpensively, especially if its paint grade where you can use pine and spruce with plywood panels.

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2.500 Visitors Yesterday and Another 1,700 Today

27-Aug-10 20:39 | Paul Sellers (administrator)

With over 2,500 visitors to the castle yesterday there is no doubt Brits are tightening their belts and going local again as they did last year.

Unfortunately I had to shelve working on the desk I'm making because there was too much going on. I think this was one of the most enjoyable days I've had this year. Lots of people with great questions, children, demonstrations all day long. I so enjoyed it because the people seem, well, so real somehow. I don't think I ever enjoyed demonstrating so much simply because the people were so interested in the aspirations of the school and whereas I have demonstrated for probably hundreds of thousands through the years, there was something different this year that I haven't experienced before. One thing is that people see the value in our social enterprise for training young people and instead of me simply entertaining tourists as I have for years, these people came and really participated with genuine questions for which they wanted real answers. It's as if they feel an uncertainty they haven't felt before. People feel we should be doing more home growing, home cooking and home making, which is exactly where we hope we can continue to help people. I think that crafts isn't for a select few but for every one of us and we can do a lot that will help to regenerate a sense of enjoyment and fulfilment as we work around our homes with our families.

Here's a thought. I receive enquiries from mums and dads just about every day and sometimes several times a day. They ask if we teach children and I say we don't, but we do teach parents to teach their own kids and grandparents too. It's a refreshing thought for them and suddenly something clicks. "Yes." they say. "That's the answer."

I hope that they will give us the opportunity to help them.

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Holding the Bench Plane

26-Aug-10 02:06 | Paul Sellers (administrator)

Because there are handles on planes, and it seems obvious that hands go on handles, don't think you automatically have to use them. Many woodworkers of all calibres grip their planes in a white-knuckled death throttle and rigidly force the sole of the plane down in a full-nelson as if pressganging the plane to quell some sort of an uprising. The same is true of saws too, but that's another blog entry later.

Whereas handles, known as totes too, are obviously placed to grip the plane comfortably in general planing practices, it's often the case that we hold the plane in a uniquely different grip from time to time. I often find, unthinkingly in all cases, my forehand is not gripping the front, round tote at all, but my fingers and thumb support the fore part of the plane perfectly adequately at the plane sole as shown in the picture on the right. This is in no way a conscious decision or action but intuitive, deliberate, accurate and unerring. In actuality it's this connectivity that then heightens my awareness to give

me the levels of consciousness and sensitivity I need to plane with absolute accuracy. It's this then that gives me the ability to micro-adjust the plane mid-stroke to counter imbalances caused by twist in the wood, stubborn grain, reverse grain and so on. I flex, skew, withdraw, reposition, press harder, ease off according to what I feel in my fingertips early on in the opening strokes I take. I am unconsciously making decisions that adjust my line of approach with the plane. A pistol grip of aggressive force will not give me the type of sensitivity I need to work the wood with feeling and awareness.

Amazingly, all photographs of people planing show the classic position described at the beginning of this page. I'm not at all saying we never plane this way, most of the time we do. I'm saying take the plane and try some alternatives. The picture above left shows me planing with my hand on the front knob and this is well classic for me. Looking back though hundreds of images I can hardly find one where I have a full-fisted grip on the front knob.

Did you know that you can easily flex most metal-cast bench planes fractionally out of true? Try it with an old wooden one. You can't bend them. All food for thought and thought provoking.

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Tool Review-Veritas Apron Plane

25-Aug-10 18:38 | Paul Sellers (administrator)

Talk to one woodworker and they will tell you they use block planes all the time, talk to others and they will say that they rarely use them. I use every plane I own simply because they all have some intrinsic value that usually cannot be found in another and that was why they were made in the first place. Savvy craftsmen working in the days when there was no such thing as disposable income for the working classes didn’t swap planes because of some marketing strategy, and fashion didn’t influence their tool choice. At the end of the day, producing craftsmen worked under time constraints that didn’t tolerate wastage of time nor of money. The result was that tools that worked well for a variety of applications were rarely usurped by new-fangled counterparts of a more dedicated function. An all-round plane like the number 4 and 4 ½ would often take care of the work a block plane could accomplish and so only specialist users would rely on the block plane.

I like block planes because they are convenient and they work in places a smoothing plane just cannot get into. But more than that, I find the focussed and concentrated force I can apply to a block plane delivers the exactness of power and direction I need to execute specific cuts: especially end-grain work. The plane on the left is a fairly new design from Veritas, the DX60. I'm going to discuss this one with you later.

Tool Reviews-One Year In Use

I will be focussing a later blog on the planes I use. I want to do this because I think its of real value to you. I’m starting with the block plane family because they are the smallest in the family that I use. This is in essence a tool review. I have decided never to post any tool review without owning and using the tool for a minimum of one year. Generally, tool reviews come out when a new tool is released, but that doesn't test the tools appropriateness to task, its durability, long-term function and, most important, how you feel about the tool after using it for a while. The best test I know of is to put the new too alongside my others of like kind and see which one I reach for the most.

The Veritas Apron Plane

I’ve owned this plane since it first hit the market, I think about five years ago now. My old Stanley 60 1/2 was sadly the worse for wear and I was glad to try this one as a replacement. It’s name correctly defines its value as a lightweight, compact plane that readily fits into an apron pocket for convenience.

Norris Adjustment Origins

All the Veritas range of block and bench planes follow a unique system developed by a UK company of plane makers called in the last century where the two key adjustments are governed by a single stem that pivots on a central point to align the cutting iron to the sole and adjusts the depth of cut by a knurled adjustment knob on the end of this central stem. Unlike the Stanley, that relies on a cam lever that swivels, the Veritas relies on a direct central pressure applied by turning a simple brass wheel directly above the cutting iron. Slightly slackening the pressure and turning the knob or swivelling the stem precisely adjusts the iron within thousandths of an inch.

Low-wear Components

Because of the design, the moving parts are unlikely to wear out in a lifetime of use. I’ve used mine extensively and there is no sign of any wear anywhere. The cutting iron is high carbon steel, which has excellent edge retention and takes a good edge too. The screw-feed adjustment for depth of cut is very fine and allows micro-adjustments to thousandths of an inch.

Angles

In the hand the apron plane works well singlehandedly and also cuts end grain as any block plane should. The bedding angle for the blade is shallow 12-degrees which makes a blade presentation angle to the wood of about 37-degrees if I sharpen the cutting iron to around 25-degrees. In practical comparison this means that the Apron Plane cuts about 8-degrees lower than a conventional smoothing plane.

Conclusion

You will not fault this plane as a general block plane. It does lack the adjustable throat, which is useful for some applications, but shimming the bed will close the throat and for this you can layer playing card stock according to the throat opening size you want.

The one shown is no longer gleaming as it stands alongside its newer big brother but it feels wonderful and works perfectly. Look out for the next review on the Veritas DX60 block plane. I used it extensively on two pieces I made for the Cabinet Room of the White House last year. You'll love this plane too!

Happy planing.

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Working Today

23-Aug-10 19:08 | Paul Sellers (administrator)

Spent the day at the Castle workshop and had lots of people dropping by with their children, ageing parents and so on. Some linger for half an hour and we chat as I work. I meet lots of people from my home town and the surrounding towns of Macclesfield, Knutsford, Wilmslow and so on. It's surprising how many have been coming to North Wales as I have for decades, since they were children themselves.

Today I worked on finishing the tenons and fitting them into their holes. It takes about an hour per corner to complete so about four hours by hand to make the frame for a dining table perhaps. The rest is just making the top and sanding. My desk is much more than that however. It's looking good for the end of the week completion or at least it would be if I had nothing else to do. The summer season is now over and my schedule completed. It's been wonderful. Thanks to you!

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Notes From My Journal-Living and Working in North Wales

23-Aug-10 17:47 | Paul Sellers (administrator)

I lived and worked in the hottest climes of the USA and suffered the heat for over two decades, so when people come into the workshop complaining of the sweltering heat or a pouring rain here in North Wales, I smile quietly and thank the Lord for the wonderful Welsh weather.

I took a walk around where I live at Penrhyn Castle. Here are some pictures to show a Welsh summer:

This view is just below my house where below the bridge I am standing on I can see the foot hills of Snowdonia and the village adjacent to mine, Tal y bont. The river cascades in successive shallow rapids and weirs before spilling silently into the Menai Straits 1/4 of a mile away.

As I walked along the solitary footpaths and through the fields filled with the growing lambs of spring I saw the "wee timerous beastie" below cut between the fallen leaves in the gutter and my lens followed him up the craggy Welsh stone walls until he found a crevice to hide in. He's one of this year's

young and will soon be finding himself a more permanent home in someone's barn before the cold really sets in.

The surrounding countryside is filled with wondrous wildlife where birds of prey soar high above and trout and salmon slip in silent shimmering flashes of silver and gold through the glistening waters below.

I watched a lone buzzard yield possession of a young, freshly killed rabbit to a weasel, which sank its teeth into the prey and tugged it in short jag

s into the undergrowth, out of sight. The massive bird watched helplessly, knowing the tenacity of a weasel is not to be messed with. Eventually he launched of on outspread wings. You can just see the weasel's ear, lower right, above the main body of the rabbit bottom, front, right.

Looking out over the straits is really quite spectacular as the swelling seas engulf the massive columns of Thomas Telford's Menai Suspension Bridge. The views constantly change depending on the season and the time of day (or night). In winter geese of all types graze on the banks and winter along the straits and in the surrounding regions well known for migrant foul of all types.

If you ever get chance to visit North Wales you will better understand the beauty and the lure of living here, but more than that, you will be inspired by the stunning reality of God's incredible creation. Owls at night, swallows and swifts in the day. Bats and badgers hunt in the night while fox cubs and wonderful red squirrels play in quiet pockets of silent sunlight on the edge of the meadow by the woodlands of the estuary by Penrhyn Castle.

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My Bench, My Workplace and My Work

22-Aug-10 21:22 | Paul Sellers (administrator)

Never has it been easy to restart after you've made a mistake.

It takes character for anyone of us to realise that we've done something wrong and then have the character to do what it takes to make it right. For us woodworkers it often means replacing a part that we've worked on for some time. A bit like making a good dovetail joint at one corner of a drawer and a bad one at the other end. In such a case I must throw away the piece and remake it. It can happen to all of us, but it's on the anvil of adversity that character is formed and it's up to us how we handle our mistakes. Steps to recovery may take the reversal of other joints we've made to get to the failed joint. These are often the worst kind of reparations and often cost us dearly, but make them we must if we are feel the reward of the finished work.

Many have referred to me as a master woodworker. I suppose that to be true in some sense, but the more I work wood the more I realise that with the title comes the responsibility too. Today I made my most perfect tenon to fit an equally perfect mortise. I strive constantly for perfection because it honours my craft, my personal work and the people I complete my work for. Moreover, it determines the outcome of what I make. I've made many mistakes working as craftsman. Whether I've taken the trouble to put right everything I did wrong I cannot say, but of course my work and what I did in my life will always speak for itself long after I am gone. That's true for all of us no matter what we do or don't do.

I find it quite easy to make a perfect joint. Making ten or twenty or a hundred in one piece is sometimes a different matter. I calculate that I have made at the very least 120,000 woodworking joints throughout my lifetime. Most of them have been made by hand using handsaws, chisels, planes and so on. Most of them have been mortise and tenons, dovetails and housing joints.

Mine is really a peaceful craft despite the noise of mallet and sawing noises. I love the sounds the work creates whether my hands drive the tools or someone else's. The word joinery means to unite and of course the essence of this is is to become one. A well made joint seems at peace when I've made it. I lay my tools down on the bench and feel contented in a way I rarely experience doing anything else. I think it's this rest from my work that many never feel in the work they do and so it's restfulness they rarely find. Joinery for me is like the marriage of two. As a boy the men used frequently to say, "Marry them together, lad." This I did.

Love your work!

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Notes from My Journal-Shaping My Desk Legs

21-Aug-10 21:06 | Paul Sellers (administrator)

In the morning I picked up a few tools from the car boot sale in Llandygai. Amazing what you can pick up for a few pounds.

Nice old wooden spokeshaves, there were two for £8 each, which may seem pricey but one was a beauty; small and compact in size, great for violin making and fine work. I found a couple of super-long paring chisels made by Marples and also a nice Stanley router plane as well as two old wooden ones, one large and one small.

Shaping the Legs

Shaping the legs is great fun and quite quick. I timed my last one from beginning to end and it took me 13 minutes and 26 seconds complete. I love the way they worked and the way they looked when stacked on the window cill. Mahogany must have been a wonderful discovery when you think about it. For decades the British took raw trees from Brazil and British Honduras and created millions of pieces from every square inch they brought into Britain to satisfy the whims of the Victorians. Three foot wide boards 30 feet long by the tens of thousands. Hm, Hm. Imagine.

The wood peels like a raw potato with a sharp chisel and well-adjusted spokeshaves and planes. Easier than oak I think and allows much crisper detail.

All four of my legs are now shaped and I also got started on mortising. The method I use is fool proof, superbly accurate and very fast. I chopped a 13mm (1/2") x 65mm (2 1/2") x 40mm (1 1/2") deep mortise in three and a half minutes.

So, what am I saying? Well, to shape all of my legs and chop the mortises accurately takes about 1Hr 22m. IF a machine could do all of what I did, which it can't, it would have taken hours of set up. Even a bandsaw can only complete the curved cuts to a certain unfinished level and therefor cannot complete the whole task as fast as I can with a 25mm chisel and spokeshave.

Next blog will be tenoning the rails (aprons).

Enjoyed it today!

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Working On My New Desk Today

19-Aug-10 20:17 | Paul Sellers (administrator)

Worked on the legs squaring them foursquare and shaping them. The grain is as awkward as ever and I found that my old Stanley 4 1/2 worked the grain very well and gave me a good finish if I used a York Pitch.

What's a York Pitch?

A York Pitch tames most wild-grain occurrences. Generally, plane makers making the Bailey-pattern and Bedrock-pattern bench planes through the last century and up to today bed the blade on the frog at close to 45° with the bevel facing down. This works really well for almost all planing operations regardless of the wood type, but for awkward grains it's better to present the cutting edge at the steeper pitch of around 50° because the steeper angle allows the cutting edge to sever the grain more cleanly. This steeper pitch is commonly referred to as a York Pitch and planemakers made planes with the bedding angle at 50°.

The Poor Man’s York Pitch.

To change the angle of the bed means either using a different frog in the plane, modifying an existing one or buying a dedicated plane with a built-in York Pitch. But it's not really necessary to change the bed at all. It's much easier to focus on the cutting edge so that it presents the fore part of blade to the wood at the steeper angle desired. This is simply a question of creating a tiny micro-bevel on the (flat) face of the cutting iron; the opposite face to the bevel. Note that this is not at all a broad bevel but an ultra-fine one; less than the smallest fraction of a millimeter, so that it doesn’t interfere with the cap iron. This then deals with the issue of owning a York-pitch plane at a fraction of the cost of buying a plane or changing frogs and it takes only a minute to work the iron. You can of course buy a secondhand iron for a couple of pounds (US dollars) or you may even have a second dedicated plane to keep for this work.

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Which Planes I Choose for What

18-Aug-10 19:38 | Paul Sellers (administrator)

My New Desk

You can see the original thought in rough sketch form from my journal drawing posted on 16th July. Already I've changed some details because I was thinking about the importance of the leg shapes.

I started planing my pieces foursquare this afternoon but couldn't get much past my apron pieces done because we had so many visitors. I love being with people as they pass through and they enjoy seeing what I am working on or with.

Planing the Plain and Fancy

Planing the sapele is quite a trick even with the right planes. Don't be fooled by people selling fancy planes who are planing highly figured maple. Maple's a breeze figured or not. They should demonstrate planing more tenacious and rebellious woods. This leads me into what to do when woods just will not plane.

Plane Truth

Unfortunately, many lead others to believe that you can plane any wood provided the plane is well adjusted and sharp and so many believe that the problem lies with them and not with the tool and or the wood. I suppose it can be true, but generally it's not. So, let's look at some things. In the everyday of life some woods will not plane and this is particularly true in woods with particular grain configuration and especially in the wood that once surrounded knots, even though the knots themselves are no longer evident in the wood being worked. Sapele is usually a knot-free hardwood so we need not worry about them so much as its more common characteristic grain problem generally referred to as reverse grain. This occurs when a band of grain is running in one direction along the grain and then the grain on either side of this band runs in the opposite direction causing the appearance of stripes. This is highly characteristic of the Sapele I was working today, which is why it's commonly named stripey or striped sapele. This grain direction is radically different to curly maple and any grain configuration associated with the maple wood.

Crucial Seasoning

I cut and planed my wood to oversized dimensions by about 2mm, enough to reduce it to final dimensions later, and then left it untouched and unfettered for six weeks in the hot roof area of my garage. This step is a step I consider crucial to all of my work. It allows what is no longer generally a part of the modern-day drying process that we once called seasoning-acclimatisation. Acclimatisation differs from acclimation in that it addresses the biological responses to physiologically or behaviourally change in a complex of environmental factors. Think about it if you will. When we once had the two processes of kiln drying and air drying running side by side, most craftsmen, the men that actually worked the wood, inevitably chose seasoned wood because its rebellion was changed; tamed in the drying/seasoning process. Artificial methods make no allowance for acclimatisation.

The Planes I Used

I used two planes today to true up my wood foursquare and a cabinet scraper to further tackle and control the worst grain difficulties and leave my wood superficially perfect.

Truing up the wood requires a longer plane than a conventional smoothing plane and a good jack plane will always do most of my truing work. Here I initially used a longer low-angle plane made by Veritas, which worked well for most of the grain and straightened and trued all of the faces perfectly. In my early days of woodworking these planes were not available and we used the regular bench planes like the number 5, 5 1/2, 6 and 7 and these worked and still work fine. Don't ever dismiss them as fine planes.

My wood was bowed along its length by 2.5mm and also twisted so I straightened and trued the first wide surface of my 28mm by 75mm apron pieces. I used winding strips to check my work for twist. At the conclusion of this initial surfacing I used a cutting gauge to give me the parallel cut line I needed for the second wide face. Removing the mass of hump along this middle section was difficult planing with the grain because of the short grain.

Most would not think to plane the wood across the grain but this rapidly removes wood down close to the cut line and without the tear-out I experience when planing along the grain in conventional manner. My final surfacing was completed with the conventional Stanley 4 1/2 smoothing plane and a number 80 scraper.

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