Tools

How sharp?

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When it comes to sharpening tools, you can always take things to extremes. I mean, there are people who say they won’t go to the bench unless they have tools that gleam like mirrors and have come off a 10,000 grit water stone. That’s an awful lot of work to do to get your edge sharp, when you really don’t have to go that far. In fact, you can stop the sharpening process a whole lot earlier when you get your edge to the proper degree of sharpness.

But, how can you tell if you have gotten there? I know of five common tests to gauge the sharpness of your chisels, plane irons and other edges. And, when I’m done sharpening my edged tools on my Tormek, I like to give them the once-over to ensure they are as sharp as they need to be.

The glint test. Kari Hultman of the Village Carpenter told me about this one. Under a very bring light, hold the edge of the tool pointing at you. If you see any glint of light reflecting back from you from that edge, it’s not sharp enough. Remember, sharp is the point at which the two planes of the chisel’s back and the bevel meet, and any flat on that edge indicates that your sharpening job has more to go. It’s a very subtle thing to notice, so you’ll have to build some expertise. Oh, and using a magnifying glass, jeweler’s loupe or some other sight aid helps tremendously.

The fingernail test. Your fingernails are made out of keratin –  a tough and smooth protein, so it takes quite the sharp edge to scratch them and not just slide off. When you pull your blade off your sharpening medium, GENTLY drag the edge over your nail. Again, a dull edge will glide over the nail, where a sharp edge will bring up shavings. Again, BE GENTLE!  You can hurt yourself badly if you push too forcefully.

The shave test. It’s called woodworker pattern baldness. You’ll see sharpening enthusiasts sporting bald spots on their arms (or even legs) after time at their sharpening stations. It’s not a surprise, a very sharp edge has the ability to slice hair as it is dragged across skin (don’t try to shave your face with a chisel or plane iron… it will be a rough shave, no matter how sharp you have your irons. Razors have a much more acute angle). A keenly-sharpened edge can clear a patch of hair with minimal pulling.

Steve Branam of closegrain.com shows his sharpening prowess

The paper slicing test. If you hold a piece of copy paper in your hand and a sharp edge against, you should be able to cleanly slice the paper with minimal fuss. Again, we’re talking about very sharp tools here, and the finer that edge, the easier it will be to slice. In addition to demonstrating how sharp your edge is, it’s also a great party trick that will make your guests ooh and ahh with pleasure.

The end grain slice test. This is the test I use, and I think it works best for woodworkers. Before I set up for a sharpening session, I will clamp a block of wood in my bench vise. Normally it’s just something out of my scrap bin, but I have found that softer woods give a better indication of just how sharp the edge is. When I pull the edge off the Tormek, I will go over to this block and use the edge to slice a ribbon of end grain off the board. If the chisel or plane iron just pushes right through with minimal effort and leaves a sweet looking ribbon of end grain, I know I am there. Softer wood gives a great indication – if it slices cleanly, but doesn’t push the end grain down, you are there.

Ultimately, the proof will be when you work with the tool at your bench. If it cuts nicely after you sharpen it, you are good to go. Just monitor how the cut feels, and when you don’t get clean cuts anymore and it takes more effort to use the tool, it’s time to think about breaking out the sharpening medium and getting back to work.

 

Experiences

A mile together

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The measurement we use to mark distances – a mile – has a very interesting history.

In some areas of Europe, the mile could have been as long as 10 Kilometers – more than six miles. There are several other lengths, some of which we still use today. A statute mile measures out at 5280 feet, yet a nautical mile equals 6076 feet. Thus, you get different measurements when looking at speeds. A boat traveling at 50 miles per hour is hitting 43 knots.   Confusing, eh?

The origin of the term came from the days when the Roman armies marched through Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa as they built their Empire.  As those soldiers marched to far away battlefields, commanders needed a way to gauge how far they were from home base, and how much more they had to travel to get to their new posts.  So, as the solders marched, each thousandth pace was noted as one mile (think millimeter.. 1,000 of those suckers make up a meter). Since the average Roman soldier’s pace was about five feet, a mile measured out to about 5,000 feet. The Romans were also excellent record keepers, and this distance became a standard in the ancient world, helping guide travelers for the past 2,000 plus years.

Today,I am posting my thousandth post on Tom’s Workbench. What seemed like a goal waaaaaay off in the distance back in August of 2007 is now here, and I often wonder how I have made it this far.

No doubt, you have read enough of the early days of the blog. I have spent the past two months throwing bouquets to the folks who have helped make the blog what it is today.  I have meant every word of those articles. Sincerely. There were several times during the early days when I asked myself, “Why keep going?”  Each of those people at one time has helped me put one foot in front of the other, keeping the blog’s slow and steady pace.

There is another group of folks that I didn’t have a chance to thank yet – the most important ones. Each of you. Sure, if I had no readers every day, I’d still probably be out there putting up post after post for my own personal enjoyment. But, sharing this journey with each of you has helped to make this a far more enjoyable trip.  I have had folks walk up to me at woodworking shows and energetically shake my hand, happy to have met a ‘celebrity.’

In reality, it’s me who is far more excited to meet you!  I mean, you suffer through what passes for content on this site, and you do it willingly!  There’s a sainthood in it for you somewhere!

While today’s post is a big milestone, it’s not the end of anything.  I’m reminded of a question my friend Scott Morton asked me  at Allan Lindsey’s dining table near the end of Woodworking in America 2011: What are your goals for the blog?

Talk about your  loaded questions!  Of course, I would love for my blog to make a million dollars for me so I could quit my day job and woodwork full time.  Yeah.  That will happen about when Iggy gets his PhD and takes a rocket to the Moon. Instead, I want to keep offering my quirky insights into this somewhat  maddening yet incredibly rewarding craft. I’m sure I will still make mistakes. And, yes, I’ll make decisions that you will look at and wonder if I have possibly lost my mind. I might even build some nice looking furniture and have you gawk in amazement that all of the pieces actually came together.

Regardless of what the next posts have in store, I’m glad to have each of you along for the ride.

Thank you for everything you have done.

Now, what to write about for Wednesday.. 😉

Shop Talk

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

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I know it has been two months since I posted the announcement of the big thousand post giveaway. I thank you for your patience.

I have a feeling that you are going to be relieved that the moment is now upon us, and I have this feeling that the folks who won are going to be very happy!

First, though, I have to thank the people who contributed to the give away. Actually, I am humbled by your generosity and the fact that you believe enough in my blog to stand behind me.

Now, for the moment you have all been waiting for. Part of the reason for rigging the contest this way was to get your input as to how the blog has changed the way you woodwork or fit into your routine. I have taken the time to reply to each of the folks who submitted their entries, and I thank you for taking the time to get to me.

First up, reader Lawrence Richards replied to the call for entries. He is the winner of the set of four Revo clamps and clamping blocks (Set KRK2440) courtesy of Bessey Tools. His entry reminded me of a post I had written about him back in 2008:

Thank you for all you’ve done for me and my family- not just over the last 1000 blog posts, but at the WWA forum.  Your contest got me to thinking about our interactions over the last few years.  I remember with humbled gratitude the “Spotlight” article you did on me while I was deployed back in 2008 as well as the cool mentions of other folks overseas like David Wert..  I can’t tell you enough times how much this meant to me while I was overseas for what turned out to be the final deployment of my Air Force career.  The magazines you sent downrange were almost as valuable to me as the words of support, and I read and re-read them many times over.

The next winning entry came from Nick Sandmann who stumbled upon my blog just in time for a new addition to his family. Hey, Nick, you will probably have plenty of late nights coming up, so why not peruse the DVD with the complete Wood Magazine collection with issues from number one through 209. That’s 25 years of content to keep you busy during those feeding sessions!  Nick wrote:

About a year ago when my wife and I started trying to have kids I decided that I would build the crib myself and started googling for information on cribs.  I stumbled across this article which didn’t have all of the information I was looking for, but I browsed through some of your other articles(unrelated to cribs) which caught my attention and I have been following your blog ever since!

This one came in from my good friend Eric Rusch. Eric has been a loyal reader since the blog’s beginning (not sure how he found me in the first place) and has been an active participant in the process. Hey, Eric, what do you think about a 10 board foot project pack (no, wait, Eric Poirier of Bell Forest Products has upped the ante – it’s now a 15 board foot pack of bird’s eye maple AND a 15 board foot pack of tiger maple!) for you to work with? Eric Rusch wrote:

Do you have any idea how much woodworking information you have disseminated to a whole group of hobbyists that would have otherwise been left to figure things out for themselves? Or worse, get the wrong information from some lesser reputable sources? You have really done a big service to the whole woodworking community, and have done it in a way which makes it fun AND interesting.

I have a face for radio, and a blog that has inspired a number of others to try their hand in online woodworking. Steven Taylor either liked what I was writing or thought he could do better, and launched his own blog. Either way, he’s been a long time reader and wrote in about the influence on his own blog. Hey, Steve, how about something for you to use in that shop of yours?  I think your choice of a K8 or K12 jig courtesy of Kehoe Jigs might just fill the bill.  Steven wrote:

My favorite Tom’s Workbench moment was when I found it. Your site was one of the first woodworking blogs I came across and it became a gateway to discovering how big the online woodworking community really was. It was so influential you were the first reference I made when I started my own woodworking blog.

One of the funniest entries I got was from reader Ethan Sincox. He was relating how he likes to read People magazine (only when it’s in the bathroom and there’s nothing else to read!), and he occasionally stumbles across their “They’re Just Like Us!” article. It shows celebrities doing mundane things – like George Clooney picking up after his dog. The idea is that these folks are just like us! Well, when Ethan reads woodworking magazines, he thinks that every woodworking ‘celebrity’s’ shop must be a hyper clean, uber organized model of efficiency. Hey, Ethan, how about a scratch stock kit courtesy of Hock Tools, ’cause you were surprised to see how messy my shop was:

But then one day you had a picture of a workshop in one of your posts and I was like, “Man, what a mess.  I wonder who’s shop Tom posted a picture of…” And it was yours! Oh!  He’s just like us!  I feel better now. All joking aside, I enjoy the shop organization posts.  They aren’t always ideas I have done or even plan on doing, but they at least spark ideas in my head about what I can do to suit my own needs.
Next up, Greg Westbrook. Sometimes, I write posts that are about one thing, but people walk away with some other quick tip or trick to help make their woodworking easier. Greg liked an trick I used when I was setting distances for my finger joint jig – I used a drill bit as a spacer.  Something clicked with him on that post. Hey, Greg, how’s about a  a complete set of  Pocket chisels courtesy of FastCap Tools?  Greg wrote:
My favorite moment was the one about the box joint jig. Not because of the jig because I’ve seen those before but because of one little detail of one photo: using a drill bit as a spacer. For some reason this was a face palm moment where I said out loud: “Why didn’t I think of that?!” Before then I’d always tried to actually use a ruler to measure such things or in a few cases, made a ‘gauge block’ but at that moment I realized I already had an indexed set of gauge blocks already – my drill bits. That changed my way of thinking.
Some folks are just doing such good work, it was impossible not to recognize them. John Little represents a group called the Toymakers of East Lake, a group I had spotlighted many years ago that builds simple wooden toys for children in hospitals, low-income child care facilities and the like. . John wrote in to enter the contest, and I was amazed that his group was going strong. John, how about a PM2650 portable tool stand courtesy of Bora Tools for your volunteer’s shop? That should make things work better there. Good work, guys!
Here’s what John wrote:
Today we are going strong and will have completed 5 years in existence making simple wooden toys for kids in hospitals, homeless shelters, abused women’s shelters, low income child care facilities, and all kinds of places where children are in  difficult situations.  At about the same time you reach your 1000th  post we will reach one of our own. At our current pace we will deliver our 20,000th toy during our quarterly delivery this September.
Besides being a total goof on my blog, I also like to use it to help promote education – if we can expose some more folks to woodworking, there will be more incentive for companies to build high-quality tools and people to develop a love for the craft. Ian MacKay wrote in and commented about that. Well, Ian, since you like woodworking education, why not enjoy a semester one Hand Tool School registration courtesy of Shannon Rogers?  Ian wrote:
Ok, so you wanted my favourite post.  I’d have to say it’s the one where you first went into your kids’ school to talk about woodworking.  Watching you ‘perform’ to a bunch of smarmy teens was good for my soul.  It wasn’t the humour that made it #1 in my books, it was what it represented.  I see it as the seed that grew into the whole ‘get woodworking’ movement.  A lot of us are willing to ‘talk’ about saving woodworking and doing our part, but no one I know lives and breathes it like you do.  First, a huge thanks for being an inspiration on that front, and second, thanks for keeping me motivated when life gets in the way.
Some of the winners are newcomers to the blog. For instance, Val McPherson wrote in after finding out about the blog from a link on the Infinity Cutting Tools website. She and her husband are avid readers, and it is good to see them on board. I hope they like their one-year membership for the Wood Whisperer Guild courtesy of Marc Spagnuolo.  Val wrote:
I must admit, although I am new to your blog, I began perusing a few posts and, realizing the wealth of woodworking information and humor that you provide, I quickly bookmarked it as one of my Favorites — and this was BEFORE I saw your giveaway!
Steve Stutts found the blog very early on when he was just starting out, and one article he enjoyed concerned my finishing method called Becoming your own Mixologist. I’m surprised that he’s still sticking with the method, and I’m very happy he wrote in. Hey, Steve, how about learning a new woodworking skill – veneering?  I hope you enjoy a Veneering Essentials Combo pack courtesy of Veneer Supplies.com
As a novice woodworker in 2008, I found a formula for wood finishing that has not been replaced. I have used the formula many times. My largest use of the formula was to refinish the pews at my church. I had a crew sand down the pews and I applied the finish. It was fast and beautiful. Over the last three years I have shared your article with many woodworkers of all levels. I have used is on many furniture projects and many crafts projects. Large and small pieces. The formula lays down a sound basic method of enhancing my hard work in a good looking durable finish. Thanks for the formula. Thanks for the science discussion on finishing. Thanks for the blog. And thanks for making me laugh. I have really enjoyed and learned from your work.
Some of the other winners we have include:
Thanks again for everyone who participated… Tomorrow’s the big day!
Link of the week

Link of the week

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Berlin Flyer Wooden Wagons

If today’s link of the week doesn’t fix your little red wagon, at least it can be the place to find a new one!

Tucked in the rolling hills of Berlin, Ohio, what started as a company making wooden components for wheelbarrows became a company dedicated to the building of quality,old-fashioned all wood wagons. The company offers five different models of wagons – from the P-Wee Flyer all the way up to the massive Berlin Loadmaster, there’s a model that will make for a very happy young one in your life. And, yes, other than the wheel hardware and some other strategic parts, everything on these babies is wooden – the stake sides, the body and even the handles.

Centered in the middle of Amish country, the company employees 20 Amish craftsmen who are turning out wagons similar to the ones that rolled out of the factory 30 years ago. It’s good to see a company stick to its roots and offer such a great throwback project.

Just two posts remain until the big thousand post milestone! 

 

Experiences

Important People: My Advertisers

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There have been a bunch of folks who have had a major influence on Tom’s Workbench over the past five years. I wanted to take the time to recognize a few of the folks with which the blog would have never happened.

Today, I send a shout-out to my advertisers! These folks have taken a great chance on my site. By helping to underwrite my site, they are betting:

  1. I am going to keep up the pace of four posts a week
  2. My posts are going to be at least semi-lucid enough to make sense
  3. I’m not going to embarrass myself by doing something incredibly stupid. Like this.

(No  chickens were hurt during the writing of this post, but a few shop monkeys could not stop laughing and may have pulled something in the process.) There, now I got that out of my system.

Without any further ado, I want to take the time to thank my sponsors each in turn:

Bell Forest Products: They have been a sponsor for several years now, coming online in November of 2008. The folks up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan have treated me like a prince, supporting my wood junkie habit (hey, man, can you spare some tiger maple?). Eric Poirier has been my chief point of contact, and the entire organization has thrown themselves behind me and other online woodworkers. Remember – no wood, no woodworking, right?  These guys will go out of their way to pick the board you need for a project. I am most grateful for their support.

Infinity Cutting Tools: David Venditto called me out of the clear blue one day to offer to become my advertiser. Since then, David has been a great supporter of the site. Now, as I get ready to hit the 1,000 post milestone, he coincidentally is moving into his new warehouse setup.  Not sure if it’s karma or kizmet, but hey, it can’t all be bad!  🙂

Tormek: Our friends over in Sweden make what has to be the easiest sharpening system out there to master. And, the darned thing is rugged, to boot. I have been working with their United States distributor (more on him later) during our sponsorship, and I have heard from the home office is that they like my writing style (voice, humor and the like) and they want me to keep promoting their product. I send my thanks for their support and encouragement across the Atlantic.

Bora Tools: The newest member to the team is Bora, an brand sold by Affinity tool works (they also make some great work holding tools I will feature in future articles). When a mutual friend recommended that the manager – Craig Ursell – give me a call, we immediately hit it off. Craig is a very personable guy with a great vision for the future of his brands, and an imagination and an enthusiasm that knows no bounds.

A few readers have commented recently that they think the blog is becoming a little too commercial. To them, I can understand their concerns. After all, a huge chunk of my blog is about my experiences in crafting wood. However, I also want to say that these four companies offer high-quality products that I am proud to use in my shop, and I would gladly recommend to my friends without hesitation. I also want to assure you that if something comes across my bench from one of these companies that isn’t top notch, they will hear from me before I write the review to see how we can work to improve the offerings. It’s a great relationship that we have forged, and the trust level is high between us.

This is post number 997. I will have a regular link of the week this week (post 998), and Sunday (post 999), I will be announcing the winners of the Great Thousand Post giveaway instead of the quick poll for the week. I hope you join me this weekend and this coming Monday as I cross the thousand post threshold. We’ve come this far together, and I’m getting used to your company!

 

Shop Talk

Going Big…

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For those of you who may not be aware, Infinity Cutting Tools is one of my advertisers. I had the pleasure of meeting up with David Venditto last November when we cut the deal – so to speak – and brought him on.

It was at that time when I realized that – holy crow – his office/warehouse space was tight. I mean like submarine tight. Working out of a 2,000 square foot unit in an airport business park, David walked me through the cramped space. There were racks of router bits, saw blades, jigs, fixtures and other goodies stacked high on racks. This did make it convenient to walk through the warehouse and pick out the parts to complete someone’s order, but wow, if they offered any more tools the place was going to explode.

That’s why I was excited to hear that Infinity Cutting Tools was getting ready to relocate to more spacious digs. This past Saturday, I met David for lunch up at his new facility. It’s a 10,000 square foot space in an industrial area of Oldsmar, Florida – about 20 minutes away from my house. The building has an interesting history with his family – it turns out that his dad custom built the place  in the mid-1990s. Back then, David’s dad owned Jesada tools, and this was part of a larger manufacturing/warehouse facility. “Oh, I can remember working in this building 15 years ago,” said David, “it’s got a lot of family history.”

The building is still empty, but the walls – inside and out – are sporting a new paint job, and he’s outfitting the new offices with furniture in preparation for the big move. The huge warehouse area (nearly 8,000 square feet of uninterrupted space) has freshly sealed floors and is ready for shelves to be installed. The additional space is going to provide him the ability to double his product offerings right off the bat, with plans to expand his inventory quickly after that. “Even with the increase in product offerings, we still have tons of space available for expansion.”  Packing and shipping areas will be far more spacious, allowing his employees the opportunity to spread out while working. David also envisions a friendly area where people can come in right off the street and have their orders fulfilled right there on the spot. Given the large number of woodworkers in the Tampa Bay area, this will be a convenient service.

One thing in the warehouse that surprised me was a walled-off area – about 20 feet wide by maybe 35 feet long. It was recently constructed, and had a ton of power outlets. This is where David plans on setting up a woodworking shop. “We’re planning on using it for product testing for sure,” said David, “but, our vision is to make it a place where woodworkers can come and take classes and really get the hands-on experience.”  When I asked him why, David was very candid. His is a world of steel, carbide and engineering drawings. “The raw materials come on one door and roll out the other side as a complete bit or blade. Once that happens, the process isn’t over – it’s just beginning.” Woodworkers will use the completed product to build their projects, and making that connection between the bit or blade and the wood helps bring the design process full circle. While the plans are still being developed, there’s a chance that you might be seeing yours truly teaching up there in the not too distant future.

The big move is planned for sometime later this month. As the date gets closer, Infinity is planning on offering a moving sale with some pretty sweet deals. “I mean, it’s easier for us to ship our stock out to customers than schlep it across town.”

David has asked me to keep y’all updated as the new facility take shape, and he’s asked me for some input on the new shop. I’ll have to tell him where to put the banana dispenser, just in case a stray shop monkey should swing by.

The countdown reaches FOUR to go to 1,000!

Quick Polls

Quick Poll

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It’s no secret – woodworkers love woodworking.

However, everyone has a breaking point – some point at which they could be convinced to give up something – even something as beloved as the craft of woodworking.

Imagine if you will, a multi-gazillionaire were to come to your town to make you an offer to give up the craft.  Cold turkey. A truck and a group of workmen would be dispatched to clear your shop of all of your tools and prized timbers, and, once completed, you would get a  briefcase full of cash to use as you wish.

With one caveat. A big one.

The terms of this agreement  would be severe –  absolutely no woodworking at all.  If you were to even read a woodworking magazine, participate in an online woodworking forum, even touch a piece of wood that you intended to cut, shape or drill – you would have to surrender the money and everything you bought with it.

Would you do it, and for how much?

 

And, just like that, it’s post 995!

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