New to handtool woodworking.....learning alot

[Mark Fisher]

I've done machine woodworking on and off for a long time, but I finally decided I hate table saws and the dust......and I like fine handtools. My first project is the Morovian Bench by Will Myers using mostly construction lumber plus some hand maple I salvaged from an old industrial benchtop. I have a few mods I want to make also. Here is what I've learned so far in no particular order;

1. 4 1/2 " deep mortises are particularly easy to make.....seemed more like timber framing
2. Only having a 5.5 tpi rip saw to make much of the jointery teaches you a lot about chiseling and fitting.....and sawing!
3. Construction lumber is mostly pretty miserable to work with given the small knots and the swirling grain they bring.
4. A quart of Titebond isn't enough.
5. Take your time getting everything square......saves grief later.
6. It is not possible to spend too much time on layout and dry fit ups.
7. Build a saw bench before a workbench.
8. My old bench is incredibly rickety for hand woodworking and it was a plan from Fine Woodworking.
9. Chris Schwarz knows what he is talking about with benches.
10. Construction lumber can be incredibly beautiful when quartersawn and planed.
11. If you are going to glue up a number of pieces to make legs or a top, try to orient the grain between the boards to make planing easier.
12. I don't have enough clamps.
13. Vintage tools are crazy fun to find, sharpen and tune up.....my vintage refurb collection includes a Stanley 4 with a new Veritas blade and breaker (un-freakin' believeable), a Stanley #6 (nice enough, want a new blade like #4), and a Disston No. 7. There is so much history behind them and the handles are already broken in.
15. Your first joints will be embarrassing by the time you do your 20th.....and pretty joints can still make a small bench. Good thing I see it as a learning experience!

I've lurked here for a while so I figure I ought to share a bit. I'm almost ready to start glueing up my top. I think I'll use a lot of drywall screws for my glue ups and take them one board a night to avoid getting yet more clamps.

Thanks for listening -- Mark

[John Kananis]

Enjoy the addiction and welcome to the creek!

Just careful, broken off drywall screw heads are no fun - clamp small sections of your glue-up at a time instead.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

You can clamp things using construction lumber. You will need to get some pieces reasonably straight and square. Then glue blocks to it, leaving a space in the middle slightly larger then the boards you need to clamp. The clamping pressure comes from wedges driven in between the blocks and the boards you need to clamp.

[Frederick Skelly]

Welcome to The Creek Mark! Glad to have you with us!

I like your list and have discovered some of the same things.

Look forward to hearing more from you!
Fred

[Robert Engel]

Welcome,

but drywall screws??
The oldmasters might have done tongue and groove with cut nails, maybe.....

Use the wedge clamping like Nicholas said.

Hand tools definitely make ww'ing more therapeutic for me.

When you get your first LN you'll see experience another side of "freakin unbelievable".

[Andrey Kharitonkin]

Welcome to the club! I'm going somewhat similar path but without much experience with machines either. Though, I was smart enough to buy more heavy-duty clamps before my glue ups. Otherwise, I couldn't do it, I'm afraid. Look at the picture:

Clamps.jpg

Two parts were glued together with 20 dowels in between. That thing could not be squeezed together even if I would jump on it (because of some dowels misalignment). 8 clamps together are equal of 5.6 ton of static weight (12000 pounds) and they barely did it. Would have to start over if I didn't have the clamps!

[Bruce Haugen]

#12. No you don't have enough clamps. Resign yourself to the sad fact that you never will. No one ever does, and anyone who says otherwise is just plain lying!

[Jim Koepke]

Howdy Mark and welcome to the Creek. Your profile doesn't indicate a location, what part of this big ball of mud do you call home?

There are many ways to hold things together without clamps. Some of my glue ups have used ropes and variations on a Spanish windlass. It is also not difficult to make clamps from wood. One end would have a solid head held in place with a mortise and tenon. The movable end would have a tenon and multiple mortises to be set in. It could be held by a tusk tenon. The clamp would be drawn tight by opposing wedges at the fixed head end. A block of wood between the work and wedges will prevent marking the surface.

As to construction lumber I tend to look at the ends of the 2X3 and 2X4 stock when visiting the Borgs. If there are a lot of pieces with the grain oriented the way I like I will buy them if money isn't too tight. I always try to neaten up the stacks after picking through them to keep the hired help happy.

Be careful with the drywall screws. Over time you may want to bore holes in your bench for holdfasts or bench dogs. A drywall screw can be very bad news to an auger bit. Also a screw can cause an area to separate when it is driven in when it is still turning in the first piece and pushes on the second before penetrating the surface. Maybe a few pieces of all thread with nuts and washers at various points along the glue up. Then fill the holes with dowel stock.

jtk

[Glen Canaday]

I recommend gluing one board at a time (or 2) and not using the screws. It will be easier to keep the glue-up flatter that way, even though it will take 8 days to get a top made of 2x3s together, and if you joint just a little bit between you should be able to keep the boards mostly straight. Remember it doesn't have to be perfect.

[Zach Dillinger]

Best thing to do is dig in and try stuff. Ask three furniture makers how to do something and you'll get four or five answers. Don't be afraid to fail. Good luck, and enjoy!

[Prashun Patel]

Mark-
Welcome along the journey!

I enjoyed your list, esp pts 5,6.

A couple learnings have resonated with / helped me:

- Learning to recognize sharp, flat, and square can take years.
- Learning to recognize sharp enough, flat enough, square enough can take a few more.
- The user is only as good as the tool
- The tool is only as good as the user

[Jebediah Eckert]

Mark-
Welcome along the journey!

- Learning to recognize sharp, flat, and square can take years.
- Learning to recognize sharp enough, flat enough, square enough can take a few more.
- The user is only as good as the tool
- The tool is only as good as the user

so True!

Welcome Mark

[Mark Fisher]

Thanks all. I have a lot of construction lumber left over that could become very nice clamps....excellent idea. I bought 2x12s that went through the center of the tree (or tried to) and ripped off the two sides which were more or less quartersawn. It sounded good in theory, but the lumber yard reality didn't cooperate. I kept the best for the top and stretchers and used the less-than-ideal for the legs. I'm in the Chicago area.

[Jerry Olexa]

Welcome aboard..A wealth of knowledge here.

[Jim Koepke]

I'm in the Chicago area.

Hopefully I will remember that. I did go to some training classes in Schaumberg, not far from Chicago. Enjoyed Goose Island Brewery and a Cubs game at Wrigley Field along with a few other attractions.

jtk