Building a Saw Bench - Part 2

I am well on my way to completing my saw bench.
After dry fitting, I took it apart and rounded over the feet.  They look much better now.

Then I made some dowel stock 1/2 inch round with my dowel plate.  These will be used for pegging the feet to the sides.  Although with today's glues and the amount of glue surface on the tenons I doubt that the joints will come apart even though the joint is cross grain.


I glued up the parts and clamped them to the bench. Using a try square I made sure that the bench joints were square.  As I mentioned before the wood had moved quite a bit since it was milled and there was some twist in the top pieces.

I added the pegs to the feet after the joint is dry.  This does not have the same tension as draw boring but still adds some strength.  I will pare them flush after the glue dries.

Now to add the stretchers, I need to cut a 5/8 inch half lap dovetail into each end and match it to the leg.

This single dovetail has a lot of waste to be removed.  Sawing is similar to a regular dovetail.

First the dovetail slope.

Then across the back for the 5/8 inch thickness.

Then remove the waste from the end

Then across the back to remove the half lap.

Now I use my marking knife to match the dovetail to the correct spot on the leg.

Then saw and chop out the socket for the dovetail.

Repeat the same process for the lower stretcher.

Chopping out the last dovetail socket in the leg.  Then I glued them all.

 I hand sanded some of the rough corners and hand planed the top and side dovetails flush.
All done ready to test out!

Cross cut 4/4 poplar board.  Feels pretty good.

Now for a rip cut on the same board.  Works just fine.  Now I'll be doing more hand saw work.

Here is today's video:

Building a Saw Bench - Part 1

I don't do a lot of hand sawing of large pieces of stock.  But on occasion I do need to use classic hand saws that I have.  I learned to saw from my grandfather who was a carpenter before power tools were invented.  He of course made his living at using his tools and was quite good at it.  When I was about 10 years old, during the summer I would go over to his shop.  He was retired and would be out there most days puttering around.

He would take a piece of scrap and draw a line across the board and have me try to cross cut and follow the line.  I would be using a chair to saw on, since his saw bench was too tall for me.  I had a great time and learned a lot.   Growing up I did not have any power tools.  I had rip and cross cut saws and brace and bit for drills.  When I was 18, I started working and got to use my first power tools.  Circular saw and radial arm saw.  So I started using the hand saw less and less.

Today, I have some good saws.  My dovetail and carcass saw are in constant use.  I have decided if I had a good saw bench I would use my hand saws more and they are quieter.

I looked around for patterns and found this one which I like.  It can be found here. http://www.billyslittlebench.com/blog/category/sawbench

What is important is to change the dimensions to fit you and the work that you will be doing.
This one is 32 inches long which I think is a good length.  The height is most important and has to fit your knee since that is what you use to hold your work.  Although, you could put holes in the top for a holdfast or clamp the work.  I measured  the height by using a couple of 2x4's on a chair and got 18 3/4 inches.  So now I was ready to go.

I purchased 2 - 2x12 - 8 foot which was more than enough stock to make the bench.  The wider common lumber is usually better because it comes from more mature trees.  I milled everything to 1 1/4 inch thick but 1 1/2 inch would work too.

I glued two 17 1/2 inch pieces together to make the feet.  These need to be mortised later.

I tenoned the side pieces with 3 inch tenons on the 5 inch stock.  These were 18 3/4 long which is the height of the bench.  These are 1/2 thick tenons.

I laid out the dovetails on the top of the two bench halves.  These were arbitrary, I used 3/4 inch for each pin and the remainder for the 2 tails which turned out to be 1 1/4 inch each.

Sawed them with my dovetail saw.

Sawed off the end pins.

Chopped out the center pin.

Then I matched the tails to the end of the bench sides and marked the lines with my marking knife. Then sawed the pins.

Chop out the pins.

Then see how they fit.  If you do it right  they should just fit in, otherwise you will have to trim a little.

Once I completed all the dovetailing, I set about drilling the mortises though the feet.  These are 1/2 by 4 inches to fit the tenons for the sides.  These are other methods for cutting the mortises but I have the tool so I am going to use it.

I also cut out the bottom to make pads for the feet which I think will work better on the uneven shop floor.

I dry fitted the pieces to see how well it went together.  Some of the stock had warped since I had milled it so I have some planing to do.

I will glue it up now and then make the stretchers and attach them.

I'll finish it up in part 2.

Here is today's video:

Reconditioning a Sandusky 177 Dado Plane

While I am waiting for the Waterlox to cure on the drop leaf table, I decided to recondition a wooden dado plane that I got some time ago.  It is definitely a flea market plane. I think I paid $10 for it.  The body is pretty beat up.

The two wedges where not the correct ones for the plane and it of course need sharpening.  The body was dirty and had a number of dents. The bottom was flat and the mouth reasonable tight which is a good sign.

To start with I clean the body with Turpentine.  Turpentine is a natural solvent which will not harm the wood.  In fact, the original finish on many planes of that era where finished with a mixture of  50% Linseed Oil and 50% Turpentine.

This removed a lot of the dirt and grim on the plane body.

I just put it on a rag and rubbed off the dirt.

Next were the wedges. The wedges which were in the plane were not the proper wedges for this plane.  The main blade is set at a skew so the wedge needs to be planed to fit the skew opening.  I used a hand plane and put the wedge in the vise and planed it to fit.  It could still be a little longer but I thought I would give it a try before making it smaller.

The front wedge was too large and did not fit much at all.  So I had to plane it on the sides and front to back to get it into the opening and provide some support for the nicker blade.

Both blades needed sharpening.  I used a simple guide on the skew blade to sharpen and hone to a good sharp edge.  The nicker I used a file and a stone to sharpen the two points to cut across the grain.

 I tacked a fence board across a piece of soft maple for testing.  I set the nicker first and cut the two groves on either side of the dado.  These just cut the fibers at the edge of the dado width.

Then I set the blade like any traditional wooden plane.  You generally want it to take a fine shaving. I tapped it too much in the beginning and it was taking to thick of a shaving.  The plane was working but it was hard to control.   I needed to back out the blade a little.

You can see the chips are pretty thick and going across grain it can be a bit of work to control.

I did a little practice and adjusting the plane blade depth by tapping the back of the plane to get a smoother cut.  I also applied a little bees wax to the bottom which made it easier to push.

So it is running pretty good right now.  So next time I need a 13/16 inch dado I have a quiet way of making that groove.  The next chest I make the drawer runners will be 13/16 inch.

Here is today's video:

Drop Leaf Cherry Table - Finishing the Project - Step 8

At this point, it is time to mount the table top so that I know exactly where it's going to sit after finishing.  I don't want to be fussing with it after it is finished.

I need to drill 1/8 inch recessed holes for the figure 8 fasteners.  I used a 3/4 inch Forestner bit and offset the hole slightly.  It was important to have the recess just enough for the fastener, since I didn't want it to be either too deep or proud of the apron.

Once the fasteners were in place I positioned the top on the base and attached it with screws.  I was concerned that the leaf supports would be too tight but they work just fine.

Everything was sanded to 180 and then wiped down with mineral spirits.  I have always been afraid to wipe down with mineral spirits before applying water based dye but it does not seem to have an effect on the finish.

Next I had to select a finish.  Below are three that I considered.  The bottom one is dark garnet shellac.  The left one is water base dye with Waterlox finish.  The right one is just plain Waterlox.  My wife liked the dyed one the best, so that is what I am going to apply.

Here is how it looked after applying the dye.  It is still drying.  After it dried I rubbed off the fuzzy raised grain with 0000 steel wool.   This is also the first time I did not pre-raise the grain.  Again this seems to be ok.

After rubbing off the fuzzy raised grain, it is ready for the Waterlox.   This is a tung oil and varnish mix.  This first coat just disappears into the wood almost as fast as you can apply.  I keep applying until the wood stop taking it.  This application will really make the figure stand out.  I apply finish to the underside of the top so that there is some equilibrium in moisture.

I looks good even after one coat, but after it dries the finish is absorbed into the wood.  It takes many thin coats to build up the finish.

Here it is after 5 coats.  You can see how the finish is building and adding depth.  It will probably take another 3 coats to get to the point that I like.  

After the last coat, I have to wait at least a week for the finish to harden and cure.  Then I will rub it out with 0000 steel wool and apply a paste wax.  And then it will be done.

Here is today's video: