Descending Ashtray

I took a class from the Northwest Woodworking Studio a couple of years ago, “Three Simple Finishes” with founder Gary Rogowski, which was so informative my head nearly exploded. At the time, the studio was in kind of a weird location, on the second or third floor of a mazelike, dilapidated storage center. I went down to their new building in SE Portland this morning to register for two classes in February: “Making Brass Handplanes” and “Handplanes: Tuning and Using.”

As my skills improve, I find I’m using planes more and more to shave off a bit here and there (although if I was really improving, I guess it’d be right the first time!), but it’s hard to learn the best way to use a tool just by trial and error. I thought I’d get some professional help, and polish up a few of my rustier garage sale acquisitions at the same time.

In the “Making Brass Handplanes” class,

“Using simple hand tools, a propane torch, and a drill press, you can make planes like the ones used in the musical instrument trade. Or you can design your own to adapt to your special needs. You’ll learn the basics of hardening and tempering tool steel as you make the blade for your plane.”

I think it will be cool to make some of my own tools instead of buying everything. Instructor Ken Altman uses his to craft violin and cello bows that look pretty amazing. Maybe I will develop some kind of specialty plane that shaves the inside of holes smooth. Plus, this particular all-day class happens to fall on my 28th birthday!

While I was there, employee Gary was kind enough to show me around the new space. It’s pretty great, with huge ceilings, plank floors, about 8 traditional benches, and a separate room full of power tools. One in particular dominated my attention, though:

Can you believe the size of that bandsaw! And you thought mine was big! I guess it came from a ship of some kind, along with its unpictured, but equally large brother, a 12-inch jointer. Gary said most large ships have shops on board to mend parts that need fixing while at sea. Probably keeps the crew entertained on the long voyages, too. I think it’s pretty awesome that when they moved into a new shop, they couldn’t resist adding another major tool at the same time (something I have definitely been guilty of)!

I put the planer to the test this morning and took about a 1/4″ off of this entire stack of wood. It worked beautifully. I first set up a roller stand to catch the feed coming out of the planer but started getting planer marks at the end of the board, especially of there was a slight bow to the wood. I seemed to get better results if I would catch the wood by hand. Have you had any problems with that?
I filled up the entire dust collecter bag with woodchips. It was empty when I started! I wonder if sawdust can be put in compost bags? Either that or I wonder if you can send it to a MDF factory?

I finally broke down and got a planer. It was important for my current window project. Brandy keeps asking me, “How many more power tools do you need”. I respond by saying, “Thats a good question, you have to have the right tool for the job”.

The planer is awesome! It is better that any I have used in the past.

I am finally getting more power to my shop! A friend of mine, Mike Webster, in town happened to come across Descending Ashtray and read one of my posts. I am not sure which post it was but apparently I commented on the fact that I did not have enough power in the garage. (Mike helped Tony get Cafe di Scala up and running). So he called me up and offered to help. He owns his own electric company and today he sent a couple of guys over to dig a trench and run some 220 out to the shop. It is awesome! Now I am going to have a whole panel full of breakers! Thanks Mike! And thanks to Descending Ashtray!

Well, Santa Claus has come and gone, and I can now reveal another project that’s kept this elf pretty busy in December: this Australian Lacewood jewelry box I made for Sarah.

The top and sides are solid lacewood, with alder used as a secondary wood for the bottom (not shown). I bookmatched the top, splitting a thick board in two as you might open a book, which leaves the grain of the wood symmetrical on both sides. Hard maple was used for the edge banding. Finish is 3 coats General Finishes Clear, with 3 more coats of TopFin on top of that. I hand-rubbed each finish with 0000 steel wool between coats, with the exception of the last two. The oil really pops the distinctive, shimmery lacewood grain, and the TopFin gives it a nice tactile feel, something like very hard butter.

Here’s another view of the box when open. I used two solid brass hinges from Woodcraft, $30 for the pair! They do look really nice, though, and are very easy to install. I also created some half-lap dividers that slip into the box, also made with maple, about 1/8-inch thick. This is where a planer really comes in handy. As far as I know, you can’t buy lumber that thin! I lined the bottom with some paper-backed velvet from Portland-based Woodcrafters. I like to spread my woodworking purchases around.

This was my second finely-crafted box, and I think I am improving. Perhaps I’ll make myself a humidor in 2007 with the leftover lacewood.

I got a $100 check in the mail yesterday, a Christmas present from my grandparents. I am a little torn as to what to spend it on. Here are two options I am considering:

1. Veritas Shoulder Plane
The more I use planes, the more useful I find them. As my furniture making skills have advanced, they are great for finessing a joint or smoothing a rough finish, and a lot less noisy than their power tool equivalent. This costs a little more than $100, but I could always add to it. Unlike a traditional plane, a shoulder plane has a cutting blades that goes from one side to the other, allowing it to shave tenons and (wascally) rabbets. More than a few times lately I’ve wished I had one.

2. Woodworker II Blade
I already have one of these blades, but it needs to be sharpened, which would leave me without a blade for awhile. I got the existing one second-hand, thrown in with my table saw, and really love it, though it does have a few chipped teeth. I suspect it might be out of flat, too. I probably would use the saw blade more than I’d use the shoulder plane, though.

If you had to choose between the two, which would you choose and why? Or is there something else I should be considering?