I have a tool box with your basic set of screw drivers, pliers and wrenches. A hand saw, a hammer, 1 quick clamp, a power drill, some duck tape and two Swiss Army knives. So no, I don't really own a bunch of power tools. But I know a guy...
2. Use the joiner pictured at left to square (wood shop lingo for creating a 90 degree angle) an edge to the flat side of the plank.
3. Rip the lumber on the Altendorf (a fancy table saw pictured right) to approximately the correct width, leaving a little (½”) extra for final shaping.
4. Let the lumber sit over knight so the new tensions in the wood could let it find its new shape. Lumber is a fibrous, malleable, living thing that will bend in slightly different ways as you trim away pieces. You have to iterate to make it square.
5. Use the planer again to rough cut (rough meaning to within 1/16”) the desired thickness.
6. Re-rip the piece to within 1/16” of the desired width, again on the Altendorf.
7. Use the power sander to take the final 1/16” off the top and the sides. Note to other NWA members, the power sander is one cool tool. You pass the pieces thru the machine on a belt and it sands off as little as 1/64th of an inch of wood with each pass. You end up with a perfectly smooth, and flat, 120 grit finish. Beats the hell out of sanding blocks;)
8. Cross cut the piece to proper length once again on the Altendorf table saw.
Which brings me to another couple bits of Workshop Wisdom: The right tools make all the difference and Practice using New Tools! The need for the right tools should be evident from the description above. The need for practice less so. The Good news is today’s power tools can rip through hard woods like a hot knife through whipped cream. The Bad news is today’s power tools can rip through hard woods like a hot knife through whipped cream. Better to learn how to handle the tool by destroying a piece of scrap than your very expensive, already half finished, maple crown molding! Trust me, I know.
This question was especially curious to me because, while it is technically possible to have whittled this Armoire using hand tools, it’s not really feasible. It took me 237 ho
urs in the shop where I had access to the latest tool technology. Hand tools would have taken forever. Having shaped roughly 300 individual pieces in the Armoire, using great tools, I have a new found, and deep, respect for furniture makers of the past and the Amish.
urs in the shop where I had access to the latest tool technology. Hand tools would have taken forever. Having shaped roughly 300 individual pieces in the Armoire, using great tools, I have a new found, and deep, respect for furniture makers of the past and the Amish. Here is the process almost every piece took to shape.
1. Plane one side of a 3” x 8” x 72” maple plank flat. Luckily, the Planer pictured to the right does this job with almost no skill required.
1. Plane one side of a 3” x 8” x 72” maple plank flat. Luckily, the Planer pictured to the right does this job with almost no skill required.
2. Use the joiner pictured at left to square (wood shop lingo for creating a 90 degree angle) an edge to the flat side of the plank.
3. Rip the lumber on the Altendorf (a fancy table saw pictured right) to approximately the correct width, leaving a little (½”) extra for final shaping.4. Let the lumber sit over knight so the new tensions in the wood could let it find its new shape. Lumber is a fibrous, malleable, living thing that will bend in slightly different ways as you trim away pieces. You have to iterate to make it square.
5. Use the planer again to rough cut (rough meaning to within 1/16”) the desired thickness.
6. Re-rip the piece to within 1/16” of the desired width, again on the Altendorf.
7. Use the power sander to take the final 1/16” off the top and the sides. Note to other NWA members, the power sander is one cool tool. You pass the pieces thru the machine on a belt and it sands off as little as 1/64th of an inch of wood with each pass. You end up with a perfectly smooth, and flat, 120 grit finish. Beats the hell out of sanding blocks;)8. Cross cut the piece to proper length once again on the Altendorf table saw.
Which brings me to another couple bits of Workshop Wisdom: The right tools make all the difference and Practice using New Tools! The need for the right tools should be evident from the description above. The need for practice less so. The Good news is today’s power tools can rip through hard woods like a hot knife through whipped cream. The Bad news is today’s power tools can rip through hard woods like a hot knife through whipped cream. Better to learn how to handle the tool by destroying a piece of scrap than your very expensive, already half finished, maple crown molding! Trust me, I know.
No comments:
Post a Comment