Tom Fidgen's Made by Hand

This post is for anyone who wants to jump into the world of hand tools.

A key book in my journey as a hand tool woodworker.

I placed the glass of wine in the photo above for a reason. If you look closely at the cover of Tom Fidgen’s Made by Hand, Furniture Projects from the Unplugged Workshop, you’ll see an artistically designed table executed by hand tools. I tend to look at furniture in several ways these days, but mainly pieces fall into two categories: those that could easily be found in an art gallery and those that could be found in a furniture store.

The piece on the cover of Fidgen’s book is of the art gallery type which the glass of wine signifies, but after reading the book, a bottle of beer could have been used as a prop due to Fidgen's background as a power tool woodworker.

I first ran across Fidgen when he was mid-way through the construction of a sharpening station featured at Fine Woodworking.com (see the multi-part series by clicking here). What I found surprising was he used absolutely no power tools in its construction – even holes were created with hand cranked drills. I remember thinking, “He is sooooo way ahead of me.” But, interestingly, Tom Fidgen used to be a full-fledged power tool woodworker. He even admits to watching a certain PBS TV show where the woodworker was known for wearing flannel shirts.

The book
In addition to being an accomplished furniture maker, Fidgen is a boat maker, a recording artist and a writer. I initially thought I was buying a "how-to" hand tool manual, but I quickly discovered that Made by Hand is a book that contains writing…

Take a plank of timber and look at it, rough and ready right out of a saw mill. Twisted and turning, grains roll along as if still being pushed by some outside force. It was in its natural environment not so long ago, still breathing, ever changing. From forest to you, in hand, in shop – your shop or place of work, not too far to fall…the tree that is."

A look at the contents page shows just how complete this book is. It contains recommendations for everything needed to get the hand tool woodworker on his/her way: hand planes, spokeshaves, chisels, etc. Tips on techniques are discussed and then there is a selection of Fidgen's project plans with step-by-step photos and notes.

His pointers on which tools to buy first and his discussion about flea market finds vs. modern tools are all helpful for me, the hand tool novice and anyone like me embarking on the journey with such tools.

Fidgen spends some time on sharpening hand tools and comments on the peace of mind gained by spending an hour in the morning sharpening tools – yikes, an hour! One more quote from the book:

The best hand tool in the world is worthless in the hands of the woodworker who doesn’t know how to sharpen.

Ouch – this is me and it is why I don’t do more work with hand tools. Fidgen’s book has given me the confidence to begin the practice of sharpening the few hand tools I currently have.

He works through bench jigs, like a shooting board, which are critical to successful hand tool work. Finally, before getting to the project section of his book Fidgen devotes a chapter to process techniques: calculating board feet, preparing rough sawn lumber, as well as cutting dovetails and mortises among other things.

The projects Fidgen selected for Made by Hand are all interesting and are certainly more complex than what I currently build. I feel compelled to attempt one or two of them if for no other reason than to know I can make something as challenging as these pieces are. I especially like his frame and panel cabinet.

The book also contains a DVD which goes into more detail about the basics for the up and coming hand tool woodworker. This makes the book/DVD combination very comprehensive.

I purchased Fidgen’s book prior to heading down to Panama City Beach, Florida for our annual family reunion. A goal of mine for this trip was to simply read. To that end, I picked up Made by Hand, sort of by accident. Of all the books at my local Woodcraft store, this one stood out. And I am glad it did. It is just what I need to get oriented in hand tools.

One of the projects featured in the book is a small wall mounted book case. The chapter on this project is titled, "Where the Good Books Go?" I already have a bookcase dedicated for my special woodworking books and Made by Hand certainly will reside there.

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The book is available at Woodcraft for $29.99 but if you are interested, it is currently on sale at Popular Woodworking.com for $15.99 through August 31, 2011. You can also find it at Amazon.com or at Tom Fidgen's website.

The evolution of a bookcase design

The final design of the Scott Bookcase, a project I completed over a year ago. Getting to this point meant working through four different design options.

I have been contemplating video for my blog. Specifically, I am thinking about a slide show type video with me narrating the construction of a past project which I called the Scott Bookcase. Why? I really don't think a visitor to my blog is going to take the time to page through all of the posts of that project or any of my projects for that matter. But a brief video might be the trick.

A key part of building the Scott Bookcase was the design process which involved a few meetings with the client along with some emails being exchanged. I am not sure if the video will ever come to pass, but I can at least preview what I plan to say in this blog post. So, here is an overview of how the design went down.

The initial client meeting
The client, a friend of mine, called wanting a bookcase, probably painted, which would reside along a wall in his family room. The size was to be seven feet tall and six feet wide. The house is traditional in nature; various moldings trim out the rooms, so the bookcase needed to have the same feel.

I met with my friend and his wife in their home and instead of using my portfolio of finished pieces, I simply brought my laptop and the three of us brainstormed a little. Being able to connect to my blog where I have a selection of my finished projects was very beneficial. When an idea would pop up, I was often able to go to one of my completed projects, or a specific blog post, to discuss how the idea would impact the bookcase design.

After my planning meeting, I had enough information to begin the design process which initially included two options...

The first option

Of the four designs, this is my favorite; nice proportions between the upper and lower sections.

For this project, I wanted to stay away from bracket feet due to the complexities of making them. I have always wanted to make a project with bun feet. This would have been my first.

One possible design change would have been a smaller cornice molding. I mulled this over thinking such a molding might have offered more balance.

The only real problem with this design was the width of the lower case - not wide enough for the bun feet. They look too close to each other.

I really like the look of this bookcase, especially the front view. I wanted to include something different for the base; different from the baseboard style element that I had used several times before (here and here) and I didn't want to venture into bracket feet due to the complex nature of fabricating them. My client was very agreeable to making the bookcase as easy to construct as I wanted it to be, so considerations like this were very agreeable to them. The bun feet which I liked was not to their liking, so this design was scrapped.

Design #2
The basic difference between this design and the first one is the width of the top case, which is wider, and the base design.

Nice overall, but a little boxy in feel.

This is the basic baseboard design I use: straight stock topped off with base cap molding. Over the years I have used base cap repeatedly in my projects.

Nice waist molding and here you get a good view of the panel look of the sides.

Stock crown molding finishes off the top.

My client was ready to go with this design option, but I wanted to get away from the boxy look. I offered this design thinking the simplified look would be easiest to build and the base moldings are a nice alternative to the bun feet in the first design. But, I felt that this option missed a visual hook; something the makes the piece a little more interesting to look at.

I told my clients I would meet with them again and offer a tweak to design #2.

The third, over-the-top design
As I thought about the third design, my imagination really got the best of me. I began visualizing this bookcase as a showcase piece; something that would be a great portfolio builder. This design would be a win-win for me and my clients: a portfolio enhancer for me and a great bookcase for them.

This design is definitely masculine in feel.

All of the moldings that wrap this piece would have taken forever for me to cut.

I do like the way several of the design elements wrap around the columns, like the crown molding.

I wrote about this design in more detail in an earlier blog post. The original hand drawn illustration included not only a front and side view, but a view looking down from the top as well as up from the bottom. These additional views helped me organize the various parts needed to make this design. But the additional views also indicated how complicated and time consuming this project would have been. This option was never presented to the client and remains only a design idea.

Design #4
This is what the clients finally approved. It merges some elements from the previous designs as well as a couple of new ideas.

Shown in the white color the piece was finally painted, this design features a more noticable difference between the upper and lower sections.

Here, I went in a slightly different direction for the base molding. The two-part molding design forms sort of a ogee profile.

The waist molding is built up from two moldings.

The crown molding is made from home center material.

The overall shape of this design was borrowed from a project featured in Glen Huey's book, "Fine Furniture for a Lifetime." I had always wanted to make something with this profile and my clients were ultimately very pleased with the results. If I had it to do over, I would probably make the lower case a little taller.

For those of you that do custom work, how does this kind of design consultation compare with yours? In the future, I hope to actually fire up SketchUp and do some brainstorming on the basic shape of a project right in front of the client. I don't know how practical this would be, but it seems to me this would go a long way towards pulling the client into the design process.

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Have a question or comment? Leave yours by clicking on the "Comments - post yours here" link below. My email is jobranch@yahoo.com. Consider subscribing via email or RSS by clicking here.

Some popular projects:

1. Pediment picture frames. 2. The Coffee Table. 3. The TV Console project

My favorite on-line source for quality lumber.

Pre-staining the Tornado Bed

A new idea. Stain and finish before glue-up is a radical approach for me.

I have seen two woodworkers who complete projects where the finish went on before glue-up. Upon discovering this seemingly radical approach to finishing, I thought to myself "why would you do such a thing?"

Now, I had already decided to pre-finish the headboard panels due to wood movement, but I remembered how woodworker Nicholas Nelson pre-finishes most all of his components. Should I do the same?

I sent Nicholas an email and asked him about pre-finishing components. He replied:

"Yes, I pre-finish components before any assembly when required, which is most, heh. It makes life a heck of a lot easier instead of trying to get a good finish in corners and such."

He makes a good point. I can remember how difficult it was to finish the interior surfaces of the TV Console project – all those corners were frustrating. I also asked him about his current method of applying finish to which he said:

"I actually no longer use poly or lacquer finishes. I just use thin cut coats of shellac or oil wiping on with cotton. We are making different products with different needs of course. Back when I was using polys and such at MCTC I had a sprayer. All techniques have their pros and cons though. Adding a sprayer can also add a number of things one would like to have in their shop too heh."

See Nicholas' site here (check out all his cool completed projects) and his blog here.

I decided to expand the areas of pre-finishing: I stained and applied thin coats of wipe-on polyurethane to the panel components; the lower cross member and the inner face of the posts. This way, finish is applied to all of the corners before glue-up. For the posts, I still have a little fabrication left to do, so not all these parts will be pre-finished. Here is how it went…

Typical. One-by-one, the cross members are attached to a make-shift stand. This makes rotating the piece while finishing easy. I am a fan of wipe-on poly. A note: I really like how the board shown above turned out - nice coloring to the grain.

Some of the components stain a little darker than others, not a big deal really. I attribute this to my conditioner learning curve. A few parts got two coats of conditioner, some got one and some got one with a quick wipe-down.

My only reservation about pre-finishing is it sloooowwws down progress. For this project, the finish is comprised of three ingredients: pre-stain conditioner, stain and multiple coats of poly and these all have to dry between applications; a process which is time consuming.

Time for construction
After tweaking the finish, I finally decided it was time to get out the glue. I have learned over the years that if I try to rush a glue-up, frustration can easily develop due a shortage of hands: some to properly position everything; more hands to crank the clamp handles; and even more to wipe away any squeeze out. So, my current thinking is to do glue-ups in steps...

Step one. Glue the panel section together. The blue tape marks the location of the upright components.

Step two. Here I have glued the panel and the lower cross member to the left post. This view shows the headboard being positioned so I can add the right post.

Step three. The right post in place and everything clamped up. I use my six foot clamps underneath to apply most of the clamping pressure and my shorter clamps on top to make sure the posts are square to the cross members.

Currently. Looking good so far. While I still have a thing or two to learn about finishing pine, this is about the best looking stain job I have completed in a long time. And you'll note that I have the foot board to practice post-finishing corners.

Up next: Add pins to the mortise and tenon joints and route slots for the bed hardware. At the same time, I'll need to begin forming the rails that join the head board and foot board.

It may be a little while before I can put up a Tornado Bed post. I have a small project to complete for my daughter's dorm. We also have a vacation trip coming up and then we will immediately move my daughter back to school. It is a very busy time for us.

This project is being built in response to the historic tornado outbreak that occurred in Alabama on April 27th. On that day, 63 tornadoes struck our state which claimed the lives of 247 people and caused between $2.45 billion and $4.2 billion in property damage (click the image at the right). The Tornado Bed will be given free of charge to a needy victim of the April 27th tornado event.

Now then, a couple of things that have come my way this week have me thinking. As I ponder my entry into true hand tool woodworking (a serious goal of mine), I saw opposing views on how to execute the classic dovetail joint.

First, I saw a video which features a unique and comprehensive jig for cutting dovetails on the table saw - pretty impressive. After viewing it, I began thinking how table saw dovetails go against my goal of advancing my hand tool skills. See the video here.

Second, I received my copy of Fine Woodworking magazine which contains a cool article by Clark Kellogg. The article discusses making custom hand tools to execute delicate dovetail joinery. This article goes beyond fabricating a dovetail joint by actually showing how to make narrow chisels to improve the hand cutting process (viewing the article online requires a membership to FWW.com). See Clark's website and some of his impressive work here.

As I say, the two methods are complete opposites. The first relies almost exclusively on power tools to make what is one of the strongest joints in all of woodworking. The second not only emphasizes a learned skill, but digs deeper into woodworking by making your own chisels and marking gauges. While the first method is tempting to employ, IMHO, the second takes a woodworker's skill to a higher level. I think I’ll pass on the table saw jig.

To view all posts on this project click here. This is post nine in this series.

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Have a question or comment? Leave yours by clicking on the "Comments - post yours here" link below. My email is jobranch@yahoo.com. Consider subscribing via email or RSS by clicking here.

Some popular projects:

1. Pediment picture frames. 2. The Coffee Table. 3. The TV Console project

Makita BO5021K Random Orbit Sander - Product Review

My first Makita. The BO5021K; will it be better than my old Porter Cable palm sander?

Many years ago, I bought a Porter Cable random orbit sander (ROS) which served me well for a number of years, but I knew I was in trouble when it suddenly became a variable speed sander and shouldn’t have. The motor was about to kick the bucket and I had come to rely heavily on that little sander, so a new one was a necessity.

But, with all of the sanders on the market, which one should I buy? There are heavy duty six inch sanders with heavy duty prices. I wasn’t sure I needed that – my little Porter Cable did the trick for many years, so I decided pretty quickly to stay with a five inch model.

I am an on-line member at Fine Woodworking.com. This membership gives me access to a ton of information. Many of the past articles from Fine Woodworking magazine are there including product reviews. I found one which gave Makita’s six inch ROS high marks. I had already decided I did not need a six inch model, and logic would dictate that the smaller five inch version should be almost as good as the six inch version, right? I had seen the Makita BO5021K five inch ROS at a local store on sale. Many can be found on the internet for about $100.00. Mine was originally marked at $109.95 and I bought it for $90 – a nice savings.

A dream to use
The first thing I noticed was how light the BO5021K is; much lighter than my old Porter Cable (it officially weighs 3.1 lbs). What impressed me next was how little vibration the sander generated. I am used to some pretty serious vibration as a sander does its job. The BO5021K was a joy to use simply for these two reasons. But, it is also very balanced. I can easily sand with just one hand.

At first, I was disappointed it did not have a standard dust collector hook-up. Dust collection should be a given right? I looked on-line for an adapter without any luck. But, what I discovered is the sander creates a very effective suction action on it's own. During heavy sanding you can actually see dust being pulled into the sander which then ends up in the on-board bag. So far, the lack of vac hook-up hasn't been a problem.

As far as sanding effectiveness, I give the Makita excellent marks. The rear D handle and front grip make control during aggressive stock removal a snap. I have been able to quickly remove planer marks from the face of boards as well as saw marks on board edges. Best of all, I have not detected any swirl marks that can be a gigantic problem during finishing.

The BO5021K also has variable speed adjustment. I am one to basically run a sander wide open hoping to speed up what I view as an unpleasant task, so I have not used this feature yet.

A good purchase
Even after reading some positive on-line reviews, I was a little uneasy buying this sander. This is my first ever Makita power tool - I didn't have a track record with this company. And, with this recession any funds spent on power tools needs to be spent wisely. So far, I am very pleased.

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Have a question or comment? Leave yours by clicking on the "Comments - post yours here" link below. My email is jobranch@yahoo.com. Consider subscribing via email or RSS by clicking here.

Some popular projects:

1. My coffered ceiling project. 2. The Coffee Table. 3. The TV Console project

Free on Friday #1

Welcome to my first ever give-away. This idea came to me while wondering what to do with an extra issue of Fine Woodworking magazine I had. I gave it to a friend and thought a give-away would be nice to do on my blog. I hope to do this from time to time, maybe even on a monthly basis. Who knows?

For today's "Free on Friday" as I am calling this series, the good people at Fine Woodworking Magazine have gaciously agreed to offer a free DVD. Titled Mission-Style Bed, this "how-to" video by Matt Berger also includes SketchUp digital plans. See FWW's sale page for this DVD by clicking here. It says of this video:

"Our video workshop DVD series was developed to demonstrate important woodworking techniques while building a specific project - such as this Mission-Style Bed. Geared for beginners and intermediate woodworkers, this 50-minute video features our Fine Woodworking experts, teaching basics and guiding you through the process.

Prior to starting my Tornado Bed project, I previewed this video on FWW's website and found it full of useful ideas. The standard price for the DVD is $29.95. Fill in the information below and it could be yours free of charge.

Here is how this will work. I'll close submissions at noon Central time on Saturday and will update this post with the winner's name at that time. The winner will be chosen with the help of Random.org. An email will then be sent asking for the winner's mailing address. I'll forward that to FWW who will then ship the DVD.

One submission per email, and this promotion is limited to residents of the USA and Canada. Good luck and a BIG THANK YOU to Fine Woodworking magazine!

And the winner is...
S. Goeken
Thanks to everyone who submitted an entry.
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Have a question or comment? Leave yours by clicking on the "Comments - post yours here" link below. My email is jobranch@yahoo.com. Consider subscribing via email or RSS by clicking here.

Some popular projects:

1. The Massive Bookcase. 2. The Coffee Table. 3. The TV Console project

Tornado Bed: big, big progress

My attempt at 3D blogging. With this post, the headboard continues to take shape. Click to enlarge and note how the panels and tenons fit into slots in the cross members.

After a slight set back, I have made big progress on the headboard. With my first panels relegated to the scrap pile and the replacement panels formed and sanded, I am back to work on the panel system for the headboard (see an exploded drawing by clicking here). I had already cut the needed slot in all of the cross members as well as the stiles, but I had not cut any tenons, so that is where I start this post; it is a long one, so pack a lunch...

Stubs. Technically, these short tenons are called stubs tenons. I set the table saw up for these cuts using a scrap. These tenons are 1/4" long and are formed quickly.

A nice fit. The left and right stiles slip into pockets in the posts. Luckily, the fit is just about perfect.

Snug stubs. The tenons originally are too tight. I get a wood file out and after a few quick passes, I achieve a very snug fit.

Really happy with this. Things fit together very well. I am all smiles.

Adding the panels. After pulling off the posts and the top rail, I slide a panel into place. The fit here is excellent too.

Looking good. Fabrication of the headboard panel is complete. Note the grain in the two panels line up - this is more pleasing to the eye than mis-matched panels. I now need to dis-assemble everything and add some stain.

Soon after my wife and I married, I began work on our first entertainment center. It was my first time making panel doors. I learned a lesson with that project. Stain the panels first so that when they expand and contract during the year, your don't have to look at un-stained areas in the panels. I did not do this and as wood moves in panel doors, slight stripes of unfinished wood appear where stain did not penetrate the panel.

To keep this from happening on the Tornado Bed, I need to pre-stain certain parts of the headboard. The headboard is sort of like two panels in one. In addition to the panels I have been talking about, the left and right stiles slip into the posts, like panels do. I don't want any color issues should these parts contract during the year. So I took the time to stain them along with the inner edges of the rails and stiles...

Some pre-finishing. Note the stained areas including the inside edges of the rails and stiles. These get stained prior to glue-up.

Pleased. There is a little learning curve with Charles Neil's Pre-Stain Conditioner. I had a couple of issues, but even so the stain went on very well.

Last week I put up a post about Charles Neil's Pre-Stain Conditioner giving it a glowing review. I still like this conditioner, but it isn't quite so easy to use as I originally thought. I updated my review with some additional thoughts (see it here), but overall it is still an excellent product.

Currently. My first photo of the headboard with all the parts except the finials.

In the photo above the headboard is dry fitted and the stained components don't have any polyurethane on them. I am considering pre-staining and adding poly to more of the headboard parts, maybe even all of them. I would like to hear comments from others who have done this, or who considered this kind of thing and chose against it.

My thinking is this piece is so large, and I am still learning how to apply the conditioner, it may be better to tackle parts individually. So, depending how I go with this, I may have the headboard glued up by next weekend or I may not.

This project is being built in response to the historic tornado outbreak that occurred in Alabama on April 27th. On that day, 63 tornadoes struck our state which claimed the lives of 247 people and caused between $2.45 billion and $4.2 billion in property damage (click the image at the right). The Tornado Bed will be given free of charge to a needy victim of the April 27th tornado event.

To view all posts on this project click here. This is post eight in this series.

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Have a question or comment? Leave yours by clicking on the "Comments - post yours here" link below. My email is jobranch@yahoo.com. Consider subscribing via email or RSS by clicking here.

Some popular projects:

1. My coffered ceiling project. 2. The Coffee Table. 3. The TV Console project

My favorite on-line source for quality lumber.

Tornado Bed: a slight change in plans

The next step. I need to cut the slots for the panels and stub tenons on the stiles.

In my last post on the Tornado Bed, I had completed the basic structure of the headboard. The next step in the process was to form the parts needed to complete the panel assembly. While doing this, I decided to make a change that caused about a week delay in my progress. I have re-created the scenario leading up to the change below:

The slots. I use a scrap to form a 1/4" deep slot. I nibble away material at my table saw.

An uneasy feeling sets in. I repeatedly take the scrap and fit it to the panel until the slot is snug. As I handle the panel, I realize I can't stand the sight of it's grain.

If I am going to move forward as a craftsman, I am going to have to learn to be more patient. I originally selected 1 x 8 material for these panels. This meant I could glue up two boards to achieve the necessary width I needed. But, the grain on these wider boards can be all over the place which is the case here. The 1 x 4s have more pleasing straight grain, but they take twice as long to glue up and plane flat. I had selected 1 x 8s because the process is faster. Note to self: be more patient.

I really did not want to scrap the original panels because it would delay things, but in the back of my mind I knew I would always dislike the grain in these boards. So, I made the decision to start over on the panels. I picked up some appealing 1 x 4s and set about forming new panels.

Not flat. After glue-up, both panels have a slight hump which needs to be removed.

Some hand work. I use my card scraper to make both sides of the two panels flat.

This is pretty cool. Using a card scraper is about as close to hand tool work as I currently get. A card scraper can be frustrating to tune up, but I found a video by Gary Rogowski that makes it easier and I have fun taking the hump out of my panels (scrapers sure are tough on your thumbs).

A comparison. Which grain is more pleasing? The wild grain on the right is awkward. The straight grain on the left is much better.

Thankfully I have a long woodworking weekend ahead of me and I should have plenty of time to get all of the headboard components formed and dry fitted. I hope to have another post up on Monday with the progress.

This project is being built in response to the historic tornado outbreak that occurred in Alabama on April 27th. On that day, 63 tornadoes struck our state which claimed the lives of 247 people and caused between $2.45 billion and $4.2 billion in property damage (click the image at the right). The Tornado Bed will be given free of charge to a needy victim of the April 27th tornado event.

One note: After six months with no advertising on my blog, I am trying out some very targeted ads. For example, I have added Rockler.com in my left sidebar and Bell Forest Products at the end of new posts. The next time you need something from either of these suppliers, consider reaching their website via my blog - I'll earn a little pocket change in the process.

To view all posts on this project click here. This is post seven in this series.

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Have a question or comment? Leave yours by clicking on the "Comments - post yours here" link below. My email is jobranch@yahoo.com or you can contact me through Twitter or Facebook. Subscribe via email or RSS by clicking here.

Some popular projects:

1. My coffered ceiling project. 2. The Scott Bookcase. 3. The TV Console project

My favorite on-line source for quality lumber.