Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 160 i Australian Woodsmith

It was a real delight to read and review David Binnington Savage’s wonderful The Intelligent Hand. The book starts with David at the wheel of his beloved Morgan and ends with him standing beside it as he prepares for his last journey. In the book David tells his story about the challenges involved in becoming one of the UK’s most admired designer and maker of top end furniture. David explains that it is not enough to be just clever with your hands and have an eye for excellent design, you also need to be able to market your goods and manage a business. Entrepreneurial skills don’t necessarily coalesce with craft skills. The road to success as a maker is a challenging one, but for those who have the creative itch…

When it comes to workshop safety, most of us think about protecting our eyes, ears and lungs. But safeguarding our hands doesn’t get nearly the same attention. And it should, because woodworking poses a number of risks to your hands beyond the occasional splinter. Blades and knives are razor-sharp, finishing products can be harmful to the skin and working with wood for long periods of time has a tendency to zap the natural oils from your skin, leaving your hands dry and cracked. For these reasons, hand protection is just as important as any safety concern. The simplest and most obvious way to do this is by wearing a pair of gloves. There are a multitude of gloves on the market for different purposes (photo at right). The gloves you…

When the Editor suggested I should take a look at therming, I knew exactly what I would make. From time to time I am asked if I can make replacement stair spindles that are ‘square turned’. I have often thought I could give therming a go, but generally turn the work away as I don’t feel I can invest the time into the necessary research and learning curve that would allow me to do it properly. For many years these spindles have been made commercially using rotary knife lathes but this article gives me the perfect opportunity to see if therming could be an option next time someone approaches me with a potential commission. THE THEORY This project is going to involve making a jig. The jig involves two wooden…

JAPANESE MARKING KNIVES Carbatec stocks a range of TopMan marking knives. As you would expect, Japanese Tools Australia has a wider range of knives, ranging from utility Kiridashi all the way to exceptional hand-forged masterpieces. CLOCK COMPONENTS Clock Movement Importers (CMI) in Brisbane specialise in German-made Hermle mechanical clock mechanisms (like the skeleton clock on page 18). The delightful Japanese-made chime mechanism used in the wall clock is just one of many clock mechanisms CMI lists on their extensive website. Besides mechanisms, CMI can supply clock faces, hands and even clock plans and kits (plus they can mend your broken clock). Call Jeff at CMI and he will give you expert advice on how best to resolve your clock making or maintenance issues. GLOVES IN THE WORKSHOP Japanese Tools Australia…

SKATEBOARD HELPER Moving full sheets of plywood around can be a hassle. One day, while carrying around a sheet, I almost tripped on my kid's skateboard. As unnerving as it was, it sparked an idea. SHEET MOVER. My idea was to harvest the trucks off an old skateboard and use them to move sheets around. By screwing them to a block of plywood, I found it was quite easy to set a sheet onto them and wheel it around my workshop. The best thing of all is that they’re easy to store and roll over the uneven floor in my garage. David Hahn HARDWARE STORAGE In my workshop, I usually keep certain types of hardware on hand. This means buying large bags of hardware at the hardware store. Once you’ve…

Accuracy in woodworking is only as good as your measuring and marking tools. And when it comes to those two items, what you use for marking out measurements is the key to better results. When I first started out, I used a “sharp” pencil. Of course, as you use it, it becomes a little less accurate. And to be honest, even fully sharpened it’s not all that precise. It was always a guessing game as to what part of the pencil line I should cut to. It wasn’t long before I moved on to using a marking knife for as much of my layout work as possible. Marking knives (or striking knives, as they’re sometimes called) come in a wide range of styles and prices. I’m particularly drawn to the…

The seat on the Waterfall stool I built with Evan Dunstone last year (Issue 149) featured 17 rock maple slats cleverly pinned to the frame with bamboo dowels. It was Evan who introduced me to a dowel sizing plate. As you can see above, the sizing plate is designed to standardise exposed dowels so they are a snug fit. Dowels used in concealed joints usually have ribs on them to allow for the glue to squeeze through the joint. The sizing plate allows you to smack ribbed dowels through the appropriate hole to remove the ribs (if the dowels are to be seen, you don't want to see the ribs). Evan cleverly stood his sizing plate up in a vice and then quickly processed a bundle of bamboo skewers through…

In Issue 159 we were delighted by Murray Taylor's whimsical approach to carving Art Nouveau alphabets, monograms and ciphers. Murray sliced his characters neatly into softer European timbers with carving knives. When presented with the challenge of carving letters and numbers in harder Australian timbers, incise carving with chisels is the way to go. Incise carving produces a bevelshaped incision in the wood. The best chisel for the job is a fine-bladed bevel edged chisel (with a comfortable handle). Incise carving is best done by hand. Tool dexterity is the key to this style of carving. As the cutting edge slices the grain away, it will telegraph to your hands that you have hit the sweet spot in relation to blade angle and tool pressure, shavings will continue to flow…

The citrus scent of organoil is what most people comment on when they visit the workshop. Organoil is an environmentally friendly Australian company that has been supplying woodworkers with premium natural tung nut-based finishes for ages. What marks this family of finishes out from the rest is that they use natural terpenes (distilled from orange and lemon waste) as the solvent. These terpenes cut the tung oil and allow the finish to seep deep into the pores of the timber. Oil finishes soak into the timber and allow it to breathe. HI-SPEED FINISHING OIL I have been using Hi-Speed Finishing Oil on the legs I turn for decades. It is a simple finish to apply, however the process is not intuitive. The steps are as follows. Sand the surface down…

In our next issue we show you what the new Arbortech Precision Carving System (PSC) can do. We also look into another Australian company that is leading the way in luminous powders that you add to your finishes so they glow in the dark! Our tool focus is chisel preparation and the steps you need to take to get the most out of this versatile tool. We also show you how to do clever cuts on the table saw. The weekend project is a candle lantern that can light your outdoor table as well as keep the mozzies at bay. The designer project is a standing mirror with a difference. The heirloom project is a challenging model steam train that is bound to keep you in the shed for weeks.…

Building a handcrafted clock is a popular project for many woodworkers. But if you’ve never made one before, all the choices for movements, dials, hands and other parts can get a little confusing. Over the years, I’ve developed a few tricks for honing in on the parts I need. Here are some of the things I keep in mind when planning a new clock. FOCUS ON THE CLOCK TYPE. As you get started, it’s best to get a sense of what kind of clock you want. Your concept may evolve in several different ways. For some, you may have a general idea of the type of clock you like and find components that work for it. Other times, the components you find serve as the inspiration for the design of…

If you’re familiar with using a hand-held router, then you know that you typically rout along an edge from left to right. This direction of movement means that you’re routing against the rotation of the bit, which will pull the spinning router bit into the workpiece for a more controlled and stable cut. Along these same lines, you’re also often told that “backrouting,” or routing in the opposite direction, is a bad idea. And while this is usually the case, as you try more techniques in woodworking you’ll find there are times when backrouting can be helpful for achieving good results. The key is knowing how to do it properly. WHY BACKROUT? Backrouting is primarily a useful technique in situations where tearout is a concern. For example, when you’re routing…

ETCHED GLASS DOOR Etching is a simple way to add interest to glass or mirrors in your projects. On the wall clock on page 58, for example, I felt like the glass panel in the door needed a little something to enhance the overall look. By etching the pinstriped pattern on the front, I was able to complete the clock in style. GET STARTED. It doesn’t require much in the way of supplies to etch glass. The etching cream is readily available at craft stores and other retailers. You’ll also need some vinyl shelf liner material, an artist’s paintbrush, a sharp X-Acto knife and a few layout tools. ETCHING STEP BY STEP. You’ll find the dimensions for the pattern on the glass in the drawings on page 64. After applying…