The Simple Cross Project

I’m from a pretty large Italian-American (read Roman Catholic) family.  My wife’s family is also Roman Catholic.  This means that during the spring of every year, we get notified about upcoming First Communions and Confirmations for nieces and nephews.  These events are pretty special, and buying a gift card to Target really won’t cut it as an appropriate gift for the child being honored.

What I came up with was the simple cross project.  This is not only a memorable hand-made gift, it’s also a great way to practice your skills on a small project and use up some of that really choice scrap wood lying around your shop.

In order to make the cross a little more visually interesting, you will want to do a glue up of some contrasting woods into a blank anywhere between 1 1/2″ – 2 ” wide.  Maple and walnut make a classic combination, but any combination will work.  For this cross, I used some tiger maple and padauk that had been lying around for a while.  I glued the pieces together into a strip that measured approximately 22″ long.  You won’t need all of the length, but it’s better to have more than less…

Once the glue is cured, that’s a great time to pull the piece out of the clamps and either sand or plane them flush.  You want the pieces to be a uniform thickness, but the exact thickness isn’t that critical.  I shoot for 3/4″ thick using my thickness planer.  I’m left with a pretty sweet looking strip that’s ready to work.

The next step is to square up the ends.  I did this on my table saw with my Osborne EB-3 miter guide.  If you left your blank long and you had snipe, you will be able to clip off those affected areas.  This is also the time to start cutting the pieces to size.

Now is a good time to tell you that when I built these crosses in the past, I would use a half-lap joint.  It’s a very good joint for this application, but they took a long time to cut and it seemed no matter how careful I was, I could count on something going wrong… maybe the joint would be a wee bit too sloppy, maybe the thicknesses weren’t perfect.  Now, I’m using dowels to do the joinery, and I have found it to be an easier way to go.

The upright piece – with my project’s width at 1 3/4″ – should be 12″ long.  That’s what looks right to my eye.  I also like to keep the upright intact from top to bottom – I feel this makes the cross look more ‘uplifting’. The crosspiece should measure out about 2/3 of that length – 8″ side to side.  Using the half-lap method, you would cut this 8″.  Using dowels, subtracting the width of the piece and dividing the remainder in half, I came up with two pieces 3 1/4″ long.

Before you get into the joinery, there’s one more step that is critical to perform.  If the cross is going to hang on a wall, you will need to provide some method for that.  Sure, there are keyhole router bits that will give you the properly shaped slot, but I have found that a small diameter dovetail bit will be adequate.  Just plunge the work down onto the bit installed in a table mounted router somewhere above where the crosspiece will be, and push the work so the bit travels toward the top of the upright.  This will give you the right shape so someone could hang this on a nail in the wall. Do it now, or it will be tough going around the crosspieces.

For the dowel joinery, I turned to the Joint Genie. I have found this to be a very precise dowel jig that gives a lot of flexibility.  It consists of a nickel plated body with through holes spaced evenly.  It also has fins on the edges – by using the fins, it’s easy to roughly center the dowel spacing on the board and allows you to index all pieces to this same spacing.  A tail fin sets the position from the end of the board consistently.

Using the block with the 1/4″ dowel openings and the supplied 1/4″ bit and stop collar, I clamped the jig in place and using the dowel holes at the bottom of the jig, drilled two holes.  I repeated this operation on the other side, flipping the fins to the opposite side of the jig to get the same reference.

From there, I used the jig to drill into the ends of the cross pieces.  Again, the Joint Genie allowed me to get the proper spacing the first time out – a very useful feature.

Here’s a shot of the cross dry-fitted with the dowels in place.  I know that dowels aren’t going to provide the strength of the cross-lap, but this is a decorative piece – and I have found myself having to make lots of these (My record for one session was five).  The dowel process really speeds my joinery and still provides all the strength I need.

All I need to do now is glue it up, sand and finish, and it will be ready to package and ship.  This one is going to my Godson for his Fist Communion, but I’m sure I’ll  be building more…

Remember that Frank Klausz guy?  You know, the fella who can cut dovetails with his giant bowsaw in 3 minutes flat?

Well, he’s back at it again!  Frank was a presenter at the recent Woodworking in America conference held in Berea, Kentucky. This time, he offers viewers a unique perspective on how he can quickly and efficiently cut a mortise in a block of wood with a proper mortising chisel.

Some things you might notice about Frank’s technique:

• He works well within the scribe lines of his mortise, only paring to them at the very end of the process
• Even though the walls of the mortise are kind of rough looking, a mortise cut this way is just as strong as one cut with a hollow mortising machine or plunge router.  Remember, craftsmen cut millions of copies of this very joint with little mechanical help for thousands of years.
• Notice also that he never scratched the glass…
• Sure, this does require some skill, but Frank is using some pretty smart mallet blows to cut.  It’s not a skill that requires a long time to master or an overly gentle touch.
• Again, a mortising chisel is the only way to achieve such results.  Bench chisels aren’t designed for this kind of application and shouldn’t be used for such work.
• For projects that require only a few mortises, this method might be faster than dragging out and setting up a hollow chisel mortising machine.

In case you were wondering, the photographer is none other than Roy Underhill, from TV’s The Woodwright Shop.  I’m kinda surprised – I didn’t know Roy knew how to use a modern tool…

After my recent article I wrote about the Kehoe Jig, I decided I would have to get my hands on one and give it a test.

When the package arrived at my shop, I unpacked it and found it had quite a few pieces in it.  Namely, the jig itself,  the sled and magnetic stops used to make the splines, a corner inlay kit (I didn’t use it for this project), 14 degree dovetail router bit with a guide bushing, spring clamps, instructions and a paper bag containing some sample splines.

While reading the instruction manual, I discovered that – as with any other dovetail operation – there are two setups required.  While traditional dovetail joints require you to change router setups for the pins and tails, the Kehoe requires one router setup for the grooves and one table saw setup for the splines.  That’s convenient, because, unless you are lucky enough to be using two separate routers to cut your dovetails, you will have to change the router setup between the different cuts.  By setting up two different tools, it helps eliminate errors and confusion.

To try the jig out, I used it to assemble the base of a photo frame bookend.  I cut my oak base and riser with a 45 degree miter joint and glued it up without any additional reinforcement.  The dovetail splines will take care of that.

The next thing I had to do was to put the work piece into the vise and set the jig in place.   This is made pretty easy, because the bottom of the jig is shaped at a 45 degree angle.  This rides on the corner of the work, and the flat top gives your router plenty of support as you make the cuts.

Before you cut, lower the bit until the bearing rides on the edges of the groove template without breaking through the inside of the joint.  As you might imagine, the most critical part of this operation is to keep the router absolutely flat on top of the jig.  If you lift the router while cutting, you will spoil the cut.

What you are left with is a dovetail-shaped groove in the work.  Since the  groove is relatively deep, you can now see why it is critical to not use metal fasteners.  Biscuits and dowels might be OK, but, again, once the splines are driven home, they will do an excellent job in reinforcing the joint.

Next, you will have to move over to the table saw.  First, a few notes about the splines.  You want to make them by making rip cuts.  You need the long grain to run the length of the splines or the joints you make will be very weak.  Secondly, the spline sled gives the splines a one degree taper over their length, which means when properly cut, they will only fit one way.

The setup consists of  the spline sled, which clamps to your miter gauge, a magnetic stop (The device to the left of the sled with two magnets) that sets your spline’s width and a magnet that serves as a stop for the miter sled.  This stop keeps you from cutting all the way through the spline sled.

To get started, first, I would strongly recommend that you glue up some panels of the wood you want to use for splines in order to get about a 12 inch width.  Remember, you want these splines to be long grain.  Wide boards are great, but I wouldn’t want to use a wide walnut or cherry board for this kind of operation – it’s too valuable.  Set your saw’s blade to the angle of the dovetail bit you use – in this case, 14 degrees.

First, cut off one edge of your spline stock.  This gives you the necessary 14 degree shoulder on one side. Next, you want to get a rough measurement of the groove at it’s widest point.  In this case, about 3/4″.  Mark that measurement on the stock, and set the blade to leave the mark.  Push the work through the saw blade carefully, all the time holding the piece tightly to the sled’s back fence.

Take the spline to your work and see how it fits.  My first attempts were too narrow. To adjust the jig, you can gently tap the stop away from the sled to widen the spline or toward the sled to make them narrower.  For your first attempt, plan on making several tests to get things dialed in.

Once you hit the butter zone (where the splines slide in about halfway and then stop), cut as many splines as you need for the project.  It’s always a good idea  to check the spline’s width just to make sure you have’t knocked anything out of whack.

Once you get the splines ready, it’s a simple matter of  gluing them up, orienting them narrow side in (remember, they have that one degree taper) and tapping them into the groove.  Now, don’t club on them – you could run the risk of splitting your workpiece.  Just make sure they go in tightly.  Most of the glue will squeeze out of the joint as you do this, but, that’s to be expected.  The very thin film of glue will hold the pieces in place very well.

After the glue dries, you can cut the splines as flush as possible with a fine toothed hand saw (or maybe even a flush cut saw if you use a shim between the saw’s teeth and the work – you don’t want to scar the pieces) to get rid of the majority of the spline waste.  From there, you can use a block plane or a belt sander to flush the splines with the work.

The result is a strong decorative joint that goes together faster than by using many other dovetail jigs.

Pros -

• Easy to use
• You don’t have to change router settings between tails and pins
• Ability to variably space
• Decorative

Cons -

• Takes time to zero in spline width
• Can drive joint apart if  you are too aggressive with your hammer

All in all, I can recommend the Kehoe…   You can find out more about the jig at their website:

http://www.dovetailspline.com/

What hasn’t been revolutionized since the creation of the Internet?  Need a recipe?  Go out and search for it.  Wanna buy a new car?  Search for the best deal.  Is your love life in the toilet?  There are sites that can connect you with your future spouse.

One area that has really benefited from the Internet is purchasing lumber. Now, no matter where you call home, finding exotic lumber or common hardwoods from anywhere across the country is just a mouse click away.

I recently had an opportunity to interview Eric Poirier of Bell Forest Products, who shared some interesting observations about how the Internet has affected the company’s business.   “We are located in the city of Ishpeming, Michigan with a population of only 6000-7000 people, so, as you can imagine, we are very grateful for the Internet.  The business was formed by Dennis Bell and his son Boone, who are both woodworkers.  Dennis was tired of not having a local hardwood supplier, so he decided to do something about it.  In 2002 he purchased a portable Woodmizer sawmill and built a dry kiln on his property.  He and Boone began purchasing Birdseye/Curly maple logs from local loggers and producing lumber.”

From those humble beginnings, Bell Forest Products has grown to a 37,000 square foot warehouse and full production sawmill.  While the majority of the wood they sell is locally grown bird’s eye and tiger maple boards, they have branched out to carry a tremendous variety of exotics.  At any one time, they have about 50-60,000 board feet in inventory.   They buy logs and saw them at the mill then closely supervise the kiln drying of the stock to ensure the highest quality possible.

And, it’s not just project boards that Bell deals in.  The site has offered turning stock for years, and recently started offering blanks for pool cue builders.

While all of this sounds impressive, convincing woodworkers that they can trust the online wood buying experience was one of the most difficult issues that Bell Forest Products had to overcome.  “Oh, buying wood online can be a huge leap for some woodworkers.  A drawback to buying wood online is that they can’t fulfill that desire to pick up a piece of wood, to smell it, drool on it, taste it… you know.  Some folks just need that close connection with the wood before they decide to buy it.”

While Bell Forest Products – or any other online hardwood merchant – can’t let you taste the wood before you buy, there are certain things you do get instead.  First, Bell Forest Products has a neat feature where you can actually look – board by board – at the stock if you need a particular piece to make your next project shine.  “By finding the choice high-quality boards, we can make selecting the wood a much more pleasant process than digging through piles at some lumberyard.”

Another thing that Bell Forest Products prides itself on is how carefully the boards are packaged before shipping.  “We wrap each piece in cardboard to offer the best protection possible during shipping.  And, since hardwood is pretty hard stuff, and we have protected it very well, there’s a good chance that the board will damage OTHER items in the tractor trailer before it would even see a ding or a scratch.”

One other concern that shoppers might have is the cost of shipping. With the cost of diesel fuel, shipping has become a concern.  “First of all, we don’t charge a handling fee – we just add the shipping cost we are quoted to the order.  We recently added a shipping cost estimator to the site so shoppers can see what shipping will probably cost before even placing the order.  And, finally, we are always offering specials in our electronic newsletter that will certainly help defray the shipping costs.”

Having ordered two tiger maple boards from them recently, the quality of the woods Bell sells is very high.  Both pieces were wrapped securely and were better than advertised.  Those boards will make some interesting boxes when I get around to building with them.

While you might believe that running an online business might feel cold and distant, Eric was very excited when it came to describing his favorite part of working there.  “I really enjoy finding that perfect piece of wood for a customer.  When someone calls or emails and tells me they have this special project – I can ask them a few questions and usually find the perfect board.”  While helping the customer is fun, Eric added, “it is even more gratifying to get a photograph of the final project!”

For all you children of the 1990′s – STOP!  It’s hammer time!

Hammer veneering is actually not all that tough.  This was my first time trying it, and I was pretty impressed with the results.  In fact, for an initial investment in a veneer hammer and some hide glue, I feel I am well on your way to making some pretty sweet veneer layups!

Here’s what I needed to start – A veneer hammer, hide glue and a way to mix it up, some veneer, substrate (which can be MDF, particle board, plywood or the like) and veneer softener.

I picked up my veneer and some Super Soft 2 veneer softener from Joe Gorleski over at Veneer Supplies.  The veneer is some flat sapele pomelle… some cool stuff. Since the veneer is already flat, it’s easy to just spray on the Super Soft, let the surface dry and stack the sheets overnight between some brown building paper under a piece of Corian as a platen.

Meanwhile, I whipped up a batch of hide glue, letting the granules soak in water overnight and later heating them in a hot pot to 145 degrees F.

When I was ready to start the process, I brushed off the piece of 1/4″ plywood to get any dust off of it, and slathered a liberal amount of hide glue on the piece, making sure I got a nice, even coverage on the substrate’s surface. You shouldn’t have to race from here, but hide glue’s legendary quick setting time means now is not the time to make a sandwich, call your bookie or ‘answer the call of nature.’

I retrieved the sheet of veneer and simply laid it down on top of the glued surface.  I tried to keep it roughly centered, but I knew I could still shift it around.

Now comes the fun part – I took the hammer and used the broad ‘blade’ end like a squeegee (Don’t beat on the piece with the ‘hammer’ – that’s not what it’s used for!), pressing the veneer down to the surface.

Sure, there were gushes of glue coming from under the veneer.   Seemed normal. I got some glue on the surface of the veneer.  Not only did it seem normal, but the glue helped the hammer’s blade glide over the surface.  The piece did slide initially.  Again, it seemed totally normal. After a while, I could start to feel the veneer ‘grabbing’ the substrate.

I kept working from the middle to the outside.  Remember, I was pushing air bubbles and extra glue out from under the veneer so the bond would become even stronger.

Here’s a hint – push gently when going across the grain of the veneer.  The piece may split of you push too aggressively.  I saved the final firm pushes for along the grain.

When I was done, I had a gloppy mess and a veneer that had a few ‘bubbles’ under the surface.  Seemed normal to me.  What I did was get a wet cloth and started mopping up the mess, rinsing frequently.  Then, I started wiping off the veneer surface, getting the majority of the glue off.  Sure, it looked like I was making a mess, but that wiping will help make finishing easier and it made the veneer just a little more supple so it wouldn’t split the drying process.

After I cleaned up, I repeated the process and veneered the other side (the piece is going to be a lid and a bottom for a box I’m making – I wanted both sides covered).

After the last clean up, I wrapped the piece in more brown building paper and put it under the platen until it dried.

In the morning, I had a perfectly veneered piece of plywood, ready to be gently sanded, cut to size and put into the project.

Did I make mistakes?  Heck yeah.  I still have a lot to learn.  For a first attempt, it was faster than I expected and the results were pretty cool.  No doubt I’ll have to improve my technique, but I’m liking this new skill a lot.

And, I didn’t have to wear those throwback baggy pants…

By watching paper-thin curls of wood coming out of a plane… OK, I am.  This video is a 2005 Nishiyama Ookananna planing demo that shows just how perfect the curls of wood can be coming out of a Japanese plane…

It’s just poetry in motion…  Something I hope to aspire to accomplish sometime in my woodworking career.

The coolest job in any restaurant belongs to the bartender.  Sure, the chef gets the credit for the outstanding meal, the maître d’ for the ambiance of the place and the wait staff for the overall dining experience.

But, when people want to have fun and strike up a conversation, they turn to the bartender.  Think Isaac on the Love Boat.  Tom Cruise in that stinkin’ movie about being a bartender.

“Yes, Mr. Bond would like his martini shaken, not stirred,  Mr. Sinatra wants a highball, and Evel Knievel wants two fingers of Wild Turkey before he tries to jump the fountain in the parking lot on his Harley.”

While no one may be hanging out in your wood shop, you can be just as cool by mixing your own wiping finish.  Why mix your own?  Instead of just relying on what a manufacturer thinks is the best mix, you can adjust your formula to fit your own needs – faster drying time, more film build, etc.  Also, if you have cans and bottles of the components, you can use them in your finish instead of throwing them out.

Mixing your own finish is very easy.  There are dozens of formulas out there to suit individual needs, but this is my formula I have used very successfully through the years.

The ingredients can be found in any hardware store and start with boiled linseed oil (BLO).  This natural oil helps the figure in wood ‘pop’ and gives it a rich, deep finish.  The next ingredient is polyurethane or some other type of varnish. It offers a great deal of protection from water, abrasion and other hazards.  Finally, you have to add a thinner to the mix.  I like turpentine, but paint thinner or naptha will work as well.  It makes the finish flow nicely and level without brush marks and runs.

Now, here comes the hard part – mixing it together.  The ‘standard’ mix that a lot of people refer to is 1/3 varnish, 1/3 BLO, 1/3 thinner.  While this does make a nice mix, I have found that I can mix it 1/2 varnish, 1/4 BLO and 1/4 thinner.  It gives me a little faster build on the finish while still making for an easy wipe on.

My scientific method for mixing involves an old pickle jar.  I measured up from the bottom in one inch increments, and poured the ingredients up to the lines.  No, you are not trying to send people to the Moon or split the atom, close enough will work…

After sanding the piece, I again prefer to wipe on a coat of 1# cut dewaxed shellac and sand it down to 400 grit after letting it cure.  Then, I wipe on the finish with a rag.  Don’t be bashful, the wood will soak up a lot of the finish – especially in end grain.   Let it sit for about five minutes, then wipe off any excess with a dry cloth.

I love how easy the mix is to use, and I have yet to be let down.

Now, after all that hard work, I think I’ll take one of those fancy martinis to celebrate.