Just wondering..

[steven c newman]

What sort of details are you looking for...ask for those, and I can see what I can do....

That "grainy" look is from you enlarging my photos, after I had to shrink them down to fit on this site.....max "pixel" count this site allows me to post..is 499 pixels for the longest dimension of a photo..

usually, I am just trying to get a Project completed...rather than a detailed "How-to" program......

The Tool Crib, filled up.JPG
The Tool Crib I work out of....

[steven c newman]

May not be the "Perfect" tool cabinet...works for me, though...others might have their OWN versions....mine was also to keep the Dust Bunnies away from these tools.

Normally, the doors stay closed up..until I either need a tool, or want to put away a few tools to clear off my bench. I can be standing at the bench, do an "About Face!" and have access to this cabinet....then just turn back around, and back to work...

And, when the doors are closed, I have 4 hand saws hanging on the outside of the doors..
Tool chest rehab, doors still close.JPG
Plus a few other saws inside one of the doors...
The Tool Crib, 9 saws.JPG

Seems to work for me. Welcome to stop by sometime, and take a tour....

[steven c newman]

Just wondering, again...

While cleaning out a groove...
Bank of Drawers, finetuned 1.JPG
And the router won't reach all the way to the back...do I take the time to reset the router for Bull nose work...or..
Bank of drawers, finetuned 2.JPG
Reach over and grab a chisel to get that last little bit .....

Then repeat 5 more times. just so a runner will slide in the groove,,
Bank of drawers, needs trimmed.JPG
So I can determine how much to trim off the end of the runner,,
Bank of drawers, runner installed.JPG

[Stew Denton]

Hi All,

Steven, if I understood your initial post correctly, the original question was whether you NEED all the specialized tools to cut dovetails. I haven't tried to cut dovetails in a long time, and the results back then were pretty bad, but then again at that time I had no idea about how to go about the attempt. I think that today I would do much better, but the results would still be pretty mediocre without a lot of practice.

That said, I think the thought you brought forward is part of the more general question, "do we need tons of dedicated and specialized tools to do any of the more "high skill" types of things done in hand tool woodworking?"

The answer to that question is "NO" in my humble opinion. That said, the power tools and specialized tools do often speed things up and make things easier as well.

In Chris Schwarz book "the anarchist workbench," Chris states that a craftsman of adequate skill could build about any wood working piece using only the tools in a tool chest that was typically only 36 to 40 inches long. I think that specialized tools often can make different tasks easier, but often, as is pointed out above, it takes time to learn to use different types of specialized tools, and often a simple hand tool approach, the tools in the hands of a skilled craftsman, can do the task more simply and quickly. That is if set up time is counted as part of the time.

The question really is similar to the tools NEEDED for tying flies for fly fishing. I tied a lot of them several years ago, and actually became fairly skilled at fly tying. (Now that I am retired I hope to do some fly tying again after things fianlly settle down.) The thing is that there are quite a few specialized tools for specific tasks in fly tying, some of the high quality ones quite expensive. However, a skilled fly tier can tie almost any type of fly with a tiny number of simple basic tools, the key is "skill." For most of my tying I used a tool set containing only 7 VERY simple tools for almost all of my fly tying, this to tie all kinds of flies. For many flies I might only use 4 or 5 tools, sometimes even less. Truly skilled fly tiers could do the same thing with even less. I had a tiny number of more specialized tools, but when I became fairly proficient as a tier, these were virtually never used because I could do the same tasks without them, using only the small number of basic tools.

Regards,

Stew

[Stew Denton]

Steven,

Thanks for posting the pictures of the Dungeon Woodworking Shop. You have posted a lot of pictures of work progressing in it before, but this is the first time that I can recall seeing a photo showing so much of the shop in one photo. It is fairly amazing to me how you can make some of the bigger projects you have made with the minimal amount of room that you have available. Your wall tool cabinet has a LOT of tools in it, however, and from your description, it is very close at hand.

The photos of the different shops from different folks here help me think about how to organize my own shop, Lord Willing I finally get one. (Hopefully this year.) You mentioned that your main tool cabinet is extremely close at hand so that you only have to turn around to get a tool form it when you are working at the bench. That struck me very strongly as being such a useful way to work that I will not soon forget it.

Again thanks for that photo.

Thanks and regards,

Stew

[steven c newman]

Just Wondering.....

Lumber was supposed to be Ash....however..one plank MIGHT not have been....the 4' long plank I have been making the drawer fronts out of....
Bank of drawers, Curly Ash.JPG
Hmmm...
And another Drawer front..
Bank of drawers, beveled edges.JPG
Hmmmm....

maybe THIS is that "Difficult Grain" everybody talks about....hmmm..

[lowell holmes]

Check this site for an answer.

https://www.google.com/search?q=dove...Ag&sclient=gws

[Frederick Skelly]

Steve Newman consistently sends the message that "you dont need all that high end stuff" (or at least he doesnt). He seems to really enjoy rust hunting and does good work with the stuff he reconditions. And he plays the perfect gadfly, poking all of us in the chest to remind us that you dont need expensive tools to woodwork. Steve doesnt have a salesman's easygoing personality, so the pokes are often ... well, what they are. But IMO his basic point is still valid. YMMV.

(Full disclosure: I chose to spend some discretionary income on LV planes and a higher end fretsaw. I dont think they make me a better woodworker. I simply like them.)

[James Pallas]

Steve Newman consistently sends the message that "you dont need all that high end stuff" (or at least he doesnt). He seems to really enjoy rust hunting and does good work with the stuff he reconditions. And he plays the perfect gadfly, poking all of us in the chest to remind us that you dont need expensive tools to woodwork. Steve doesnt have a salesman's easygoing personality, so the pokes are often ... well, what they are. But IMO his basic point is still valid. YMMV.

(Full disclosure: I chose to spend some discretionary income on LV planes and a higher end fretsaw. I dont think they make me a better woodworker. I simply like them.)

I agree with your post. It is nice to be able to afford tools that you want. There was a time when I could not do that. I still enjoyed woodworking and many times needed to make repairs around the house. Sometimes I think we dishearten people by suggesting they need this that or the other tool to complete a task properly. That is simply not true. If that were the case we would all be burning electrons and have no need for this forum. We all work differently and because we do there is a vast amount of information available here that is not found elsewhere.
Jim

[Derek Cohen]

My rule is never to knock the tools someone owns. Tools do not make one a cabinetmaker.

Steven appears to enjoy the search-and-rescue of vintage tools. He has collected a great many over the years, and far, far more than I own. My preference is for fewer, but high quality. I am fortunate to have been able to purchase many of the tools I aspired to, although it has taken quite a few decades to do so. I am now 72 and do not need to apologise for what I have.

Tools are in themselves not responsible for making the work possible, but in my case they have made the work pleasurable.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[James Pallas]

Derek, I agree with you as well. It is not always and not in your case that I can remember but at times it appears that suggestions tend to be you need to have this to do that. My first experience woodworking was at home and very young. Our whole family’s tool kit was in a 1’ x1’x 40” home built wooden box. Every job from building garage doors to chairs was done out of that box. I still have the box but have passed the tools to my daughter, antiques belonging to Grandpa. I have lots of tools and I don’t have to apologize to anyone for that. I could still work out of that wooden box and do anything I do today just as well. It may take a little longer but it will be just fine.
Jim

[Jim Koepke]

Over the last few decades a number of saws have been used on my projects with dovetail joinery:

Various Dovetail Saws.jpg

On the left is a ‘Gents Saw’ purchased from either a hardware store or home center close to 40 years ago. The handle is from Ron Bontz and makes quite a difference compared to the hunk of broomstick that came with it. It has 12ppi and a saw plate of 0.035”.

Next is a Corsair given to me by my father. Its tooth count is 13ppi with a plate measuring 0.030”.

Third from the left is a Bishop #10 with 15ppi and a plate at 0.032”. The blade can be adjusted so the back works like a depth stop. This was handy on one project with 104 dovetails. Note on this one and the previous saw the handles have been worked on with a rasp to better fit my hand.

The middle saw has my first shop made saw handle. The plate was in a box of junk purchased as a lot. It was rusty and pitted. The back is marked Disston & Sons. It was in the shop unused and every once in a while it would be picked up and given a session under the belt sander or sanding block. The teeth were filed down and new teeth were cut at 13ppi. The saw plate is 0.025” thick. It is my go to saw for dovetails in wood thicker than 3/4”.

The fifth from the left is one picked up in an antique store in Astoria, Oregon. The back is marked Jackson, the medallion Warranted Superior. Jackson was a Disston brand. The original plate was pitted and brittle. It was replaced with a 14ppi @ 0.020” plate from Ron Bontz.

Next is a saw from a kit purchased from Ron Bontz with a 15ppi plate @ 0.020”. This is possibly my favorite saw for dovetail joinery. It may be due to the shop made handle fitting my hand very well.

Finally is a Veritas Dovetail Saw with 20ppi plate @ 0.020”. The motivation for buying this saw has to do with my grandson. One or two of my other dovetail saws were given to him in the past. When he and his sister were visiting last summer he wanted to make a dovetail box. He used one of my saws and did a pretty good job for his first try. It seemed it would be a good idea to give him a quality dovetail saw. A 14ppi Veritas Dovetail Saw was purchased for him. When it was taken for a test drive it impressed me to the point of purchasing the 20ppi version for myself. Fortunately there were some in the last “Seconds Sale”. It is great for thinner stock up to ~1/2 - 3/4”.

jtk

[Stephen Rosenthal]

My rule is never to knock the tools someone owns. Tools do not make one a cabinetmaker.

Steven appears to enjoy the search-and-rescue of vintage tools. He has collected a great many over the years, and far, far more than I own. My preference is for fewer, but high quality. I am fortunate to have been able to purchase many of the tools I aspired to, although it has taken quite a few decades to do so. I am now 72 and do not need to apologise for what I have.

Tools are in themselves not responsible for making the work possible, but in my case they have made the work pleasurable.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I couldn’t have said it better.

Just to be perfectly clear, I don’t have a problem with Steven’s touting the rescue and rehabbing of his rust hunting finds. I’ve done it myself, just not to the extent that he does. What I strongly object to is his passive aggressive mocking and denigration directed at those of us who appreciate and invest in high quality tools from modern toolmakers. If not for the likes of Lie Nielsen, Lee Valley and countless other artisan toolmakers, woodworking would stagnate and likely turn into the pursuit of IKEA type furniture.

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Wondering, again......about what Mr. Roy Underhill would say to Mr. Rosenthal.....

I think he’d say “I want to thank Thomas Lie Nielsen for inviting me and allowing me to participate in many of his handtool events. I have a number of his planes and saws and enjoy using them.”

Suggest you search YouTube before you disagree, Steven.

[Mark Rainey]

I agree with Derek, Steve. Be nice.