Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 168 i Australian Woodsmith

The installation of auto blast gates at the Robertson Men’s Shed has been more than a year in the making. On page 16 we take you through the journey that has smiles all round for the guys at Robertson. Men’s Sheds are another great Australian invention. In retirement the family house is often sold and the couple downsize into an apartment or a retirement home. The bloke in the relationship can find himself at a loss without his shed or garden to tend. The wife will still be able to create in the kitchen and mend and make in the lounge room. This was an observation made by occupational therapists dealing with the early deaths of men in retirement homes. Creating a shed in the retirement community was a game…

BRISA ULU BLADE Ulu blades have a 4,500-year history as a knife used by the First Nations people of Canada to skin and dress animals. Today this style of blade is most often used to chop herbs. Knife making is a hobby that has grown in popularity in recent years. It is a hobby that takes up little bench space and rewards its maker with a tool that can be used every day. One path into knife making is to purchase a kit from Nordic Edge and see if the skill set required to assemble the knife gives you a sense of challenge and achievement. The Scandi grind stainless steel Ulu kit is one way to start your journey into knife making. You can purchase the blade itself and supply…

When I first started woodworking, I didn’t have a router and created “identical” parts one at a time, measuring, cutting and shaping them one by one. I kept my fingers crossed that they’d match. After getting my first router and bit set, I was able to create identical parts by making a template and trimming my rough-cut workpieces with a flush-trim bit. Over the years I learned a few tips and techniques for getting the best results. These tips don’t require any specialised bits. For the majority of my work, I use the three basic bits you see at left. My workhorse bit is the flush-trim bit at the top. Its bearing is attached at the end of the bit and I use it in my router table, so I…

Japanese carpenters and joiners use a taut ink-soaked string to strike a centreline datum on the stock they are working with. The paradigm shift for a Western woodworker is that the stock could be round, warped or even a raw branch from a tree. In the West we dress an edge and use it as the datum for all future measurements. While setting up the Gifkins dovetail jig to make drawers for a bench tool-case I had a light bulb moment. Why not mark the centres of each side and a centre on the jig itself? As you can see, that is exactly what I did, and the system worked fine. Over the last twenty years I have always used the edge of the stock to set up the Gifkins…

If you have made an Australian Woodsmith project, we'd like to see it. Email a quality image to us at julie@paragonmedia.com.au Make sure the photo's resolution is high, the light is good and the project is free of clutter. Also, tell us what timber you use.…

Using a rule joint between a fixed top and a moveable drop leaf ensures that the two pieces will align perfectly and operate smoothly for the life of the table. As you see in detail ‘a’ above, a rule joint consists of two profiles that you’ll create with a matching set of router bits. ROUNDOVER FIRST. The first profile is a roundover that gets routed on the edge of the top. Note that the roundover is recessed from the top, creating a ridge on the upper portion of the profile. On the drop leaf the profile is inverted, it’s created with a cove bit. It has a flat spot that matches the ridge on the top and adds rigidity to the edge of the drop leaf. As for the cove…

Storage needs in a bathroom are pretty minimal — a few toiletries, towels and a handful of rolls of coveted toilet paper are the normal things to keep at hand. In a bathroom that features a pedestal sink, storage for these types of items is usually lacking. And it was that need for storage that led us to the storage cart you see here. CLEAN, SIMPLE STORAGE. As you can see in the photo at right, the cart features three shelves that pack in storage that’s easily accessible. A pair of stainless steel rods guard each shelf to keep the items in place if you roll the cart around. The top of the cart not only acts like a shelf as well, but it also features two small stainless steel…

The original cabinet that inspired the one you see here came from the Shaker colony that once thrived in Hancock, Massachusetts. The formal description from antique dealers would be “A four-over-two-over-one sisters sewing cabinet.” The drawer count is clearly important to today’s audiences. The Shakers, though, saw things with a more holistic eye. The relation of their buildings to the land, the rooms to the buildings and the furniture to the rooms, were all governed by a precise set of intentions — the singular mission of simplicity. This cabinet’s clean, clear and organised geometry echoes all of this. Gorgeous cherry glows all over this project. With pine serving as a pragmatic supporting cast for the drawer shells and cabinet back. Plywood humbly works as drawer and cabinet bottoms. If you’ve…

FLUSH TRIM BITS Australian timbers have to be some of the hardest on the planet. Most flush trim bits are designed to be used with relatively soft timbers. You will not regret shelling out some extra cash for a solid carbide, twin bearing, spiral downward cut bit. Timbecon has an excellent Torquata 6-axis bit that fits the bill and will keep its edge for years. Carbatec also has a range to select from. The spiral design of the cutting edge shaves away the waste, instead of hammering it out, leaving behind a smooth finish. RULE JOINTS The drop leaf on the Shaker sewing cabinet pivots on six rule joint hinges. The principle behind the rule joint is that the barrel of the hinge sits flush with the rebated lip of…

In our next issue we take a look at helical cutting heads and do the maths on why more cutters are better than less. We visit the new Japanese Tools Australia workshop and see how Christian Timbs uses a potter’s wheel to flatten the backs of blades. In our techniques section we give you the rundown on flattening large surfaces. We also look into micro sanders and see what doors they can open up. The weekend project is focused on kitchen tools while the workshop project is a mitre saw station. The designer project is a challenging curved dovetail box and the heirloom project is an elegant tall clock. The turning challenge is an awesome asymmetrical lidded jar. As usual we feature clever tips and techniques from our generous readers.…

Hook knives do a great job of creating concave shapes and, depending on their design, could be used from start to finish when hollowing small, shallow bowls. You could even start your cuts with a gouge then move on to the hook knife only when your gouge stops performing well. This uses different muscle groups and helps prevent fatigue and injury. THUMB AS A BRACE To create a shallow bowl like the one made with a bent gouge, but with a hook knife, again start by taking a cut across the grain in the centre of the hollow. Use your thumb to brace against the side of the blank to create leverage and maintain control. A left-handed hook knife (with the sharp edge on the right side of the blade)…

Spoon carving occupies a curious corner of our craft. Within the last five years, I’ve seen more and more woodworkers make at least one. Some are hooked, and one of those would be me. Carving a spoon or small bowl forms an interesting diversion from my typical straight, flat and square projects. You can carve a spoon with just about any sharp knife. My very first were shaped with my trusty Swiss Army Tinker. The only tool-related obstacle is forming the bowl. A straight-bladed knife gets you only so far. What you need is a knife made for diving in. Crooked (or hook) knives feature blades with varying degrees of sweep along the length. The versions with a gentle curve excavate material easily. Sharply curved blades extend your reach to…

Many pieces of furniture feature a pull or knob. Anything with a door or drawer has a need for some sort of handle, and while trends and fashions change, turned wooden knobs have been with us for centuries and continue to feature on modern furniture. A search of almost any furniture, kitchen or bedroom manufacturer’s catalogue – online or otherwise – will show a huge array of variations on the classic style. Over the years I must have turned hundreds of them and while the basic design is similar, it’s surprising how small changes in diameter or the addition or removal of a fillet or other detail, can totally change the look and feel of the pull. There are also variations in the fixing method of the pulls and grain…