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Thread: Work Methods Used

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Dumfries, Virginia
    Posts
    425

    Work Methods Used

    I work as a cabinet/maker when I can get the jobs but most of the time I'm a handyman. I've been working a job in Old Town Alexandria. One part of the job was duplicating and replacing about 9 feet of 8-1/8" high antique baseboard. The top piece of the three piece assembly had a profile unlike any other I have ever seen, essentially cut at a 45 degree bevel with a double bead detail on the top edge. To make things easier on me, I bought Popular to mill the baseboard out of. To duplicate the double bead detail I needed I bought a Lee Valley Beader. It came with five blade blanks and some others I bought. I cut one custom blade and used a bead blade to do the required profile. I even pulled my Stanley 78 off the shelf to work on the shaping. I started to use my great grandfather's Stanley 45 but as it turned out the beads didn't match the blades I had for it.

    The main piece was 6-5/8" by 7/8". I duplicated the molding and primed it in my shop. I used my power surface planer for initial thickness planing and my table saw for width. The board was then finished in both dimensions with hand planes.

    When it came time to install, I decided to use all hand tools. It was a small amount of cuts required and the staging area was in an adjacent bedroom. I didn't feel like it was worth it to fight with the power equipment. I used my great grandfathers mitre box and saw plus a 10 point hand saw to make the required cuts. I did however, forget my coping saw and had to cope two pieces with a electric jig saw. I had recently resharpened the back saw and used the other saw as I received it from a Ebay purchase. They both cut quickly and beautifully. It gave a great deal of satisfaction to have the job go in right and if the original builders of that house are still around in some way they saw that some of us still know how to use hand tools.

    The bottom line is, I still burn electrons with many processes but really enjoy finishing with hand tools. They are a pleasure to use once you learn how.
    Possumpoint

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Laguna Beach , Ca.
    Posts
    7,201
    Great story! Beyond the individual satisfaction there is a distinct difference in the final work. A piece tells the story of the handwork in its look and feel. Handcut dovetails are immediately different and relate the hand process to the observer. Big factories have machines that can "process" wood, but can never impart the care, texture and detail of a piece constructed by hand. Compare the dash board of an old Jaguar to a new one...somehow the wood looks like plastic and the sense of handwork is not there. I enjoy using both hand and machine tools ...I think it is very important when you use one or the other....My father and grandfather were also crafstmen...if I can be a bit like them, its not a bad thing.
    "All great work starts with love .... then it is no longer work"

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Livermore, CA
    Posts
    831
    I agre...nice story.

    Um...one nit. It is poplar, not popular.
    Tim


    on the neverending quest for wood.....

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Laguna Beach , Ca.
    Posts
    7,201
    Tim is correct...it is not very popular ....it took a whole day to get a second post to your thread. So be it with us neanderthals....the lonely rewarding fun of it all
    "All great work starts with love .... then it is no longer work"

  5. #5
    Nice story Richard. It just shows that there are times when the correct and easiest way of doing a job is with hand tools. As a side benefit, the customer probably saved a bunch of money over having someone order a set of custom shaper knives, mill up a minimum order, and finally install it. There's a restoration carpenter a couple of towns over from me who does mostly 18th century homes. He's not cheap, but the work is impressive and exactly true to period. His collection of molding planes is huge and they all get used on his jobs. While he does use power tools, all molding details are run with the antique tools which adds a beautiful look to his work.
    Dave Anderson

    Chester, NH

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    KC, MO
    Posts
    2,041
    The only woodworker in my Family was my Uncle......and I have a few of his tools, the toolbox, and a bunch of his notes. Its fun to reminise (sp) when using his stuff. I think it's great you were using your great grandfathers miter box - a cool feeling indeed!!!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Dumfries, Virginia
    Posts
    425
    Quote Originally Posted by Tim Sproul
    I agre...nice story.

    Um...one nit. It is poplar, not popular.
    I'm sorry, it was popular with me. Talk about easy to work with.

    I'm famous for being a very poor speller. Thank God for spell check. It just can't check for the incorrect word.

    The elementary school I went to was through the eighth grade. I received a joke award for 32 consecutive quarters of flunking spelling when I left.
    Possumpoint

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