Search:

Jim, I'm afraid I don't see what you see. The images on pages 10 and 11 look like any other rough-turned taper shank lathe-turned screws I have seen – which is how the supporting text describes them...

That's a very interesting tool, but I have not seen any eighteenth-century screws formed like that in my 35 years of working with eighteenth-century English furniture – maybe it was used by...

Ah OK; boil up some roadkill skin and bones then let it cool. Scoop off the fat and detritus and boil again. Clean the muck away for a second time and you will be left with gelatin – which is what...

Depending on the gram strength of your animal glue, adding 5-20% of urea by weight will create liquid glue. You can also use ordinary table salt to make liquid glue.



I would suggest you...

I thought the OP was referring to me! :rolleyes:

I make my carcasses and drawers as perfectly as I can, then I plane just the drawers so only the drawer fronts (including any cockbeading) are a snug fit in their openings. I also use a fairly simple...

... and the tops of the sockets don't require flaring; the action of the wedge and expanding tennon end are sufficient to bight into the sides of the socket.


Somebody buy that man a beer!

I would use tapered tennons, or straight tennons with wedges, but never tapered tennons with wedges – the chances of splitting the seat are virtually guaranteed. I am very agressive with my wedging...

It's so simple to make; I don't understand why anyone would actually buy commercial liquid versions and run the risk of it being out of date or otherwise damaged.

Correct, the commercial liquid hide glues that I'm aware of just contain urea. You can easily make your own. I occasionally make some from leftover hot glue rather than put it in the freezer.

- Hide glue is worry free; you can slop it all over the shop with no fear of it resisting dye/stain. A quick wipe down with a hot cloth when all is done and any spills, drips or squeeze-out is...

I have had a couple of the Hold Heet glue pots, but the best 'glue' pot I've ever had is one of these wax pots. I used a cheap ($8 off eBay too) digital meat thermometer to initially check the...

George, you added two paragraphs to your last post between me hitting reply and my reply actually being posted.

Yes, I have seen those same angular-filed screws too. I'm sure you have come...

Screws certainly were hand filed during the first half of the eighteenth-century. Even for after the introduction of screw-cutting machinery, screws continued to be handmade by smallworkers for a...

Early screws were hand filed and had no taper. When the screwmaker was done, he snapped the screw off the stock (hence the rough end), moved it forward and began on another screw. I wrote a short...

Vise = US only and vice = some US and rest of world.

vice1n1. an immoral, wicked, or evil habit, action, or trait
2. habitual or frequent indulgence in pernicious, immoral, or degrading practices...

I posted about this recently. You can read my take on power cords here.

I look at so much of today's furniture and I just see Formica. Is Formica really what we consider the perfect 'wooden' surface to be? In the past, cabinetmakers didn't bother to fill pin holes in...

I have to dissagree with both statements. Shell bits are open-ended and work very well. Spoon bits definitely do not require a pilot hole. Windsor chairmakers have been boring accurate holes in...

Ash is one of my favourite furniture timbers. It's extremely resilient, works well and takes an excellent polish. I have used Ash for several pieces of furniture; a cricket table, a corner cabinet...

Gramercy are the best holdfasts I have used and they work perfectly in 3/4" holes in bench tops no thicker than 2-1/2".

If your bench top is thicker than 2-1/2", you can either drill 3/4" holes...

I have used this trick for at least a couple of decades. In stead of a scraper though, I use a pallette knife which has a convenient rosewood handle and even a hole for hanging it up!

I prefer using a mortice chisel for the mortices, but I'd like a morticer again purely to save my joints. I've never had a table saw, but I use the bandsaw or handsaws for cutting the tennons.

If you are into metal working too, these plans might suit your needs.

Does it dry? Yes. Does it go hard? No.

Oilcloth used to be made with linseed oil. It dried in the cloth and remained flexible enough to be made into sou'westers, oilskin coats, tents etc....