So what I have decided to do (for now anyway) is to devote a page of this site to post daily photos from either the shop or other random crap I’m working on or playing with.

If you want to view them, you can find the page by clicking on the “P365” tab in the menu bar above this post. (or see the photo below)

Once there you will see photos with captions below. If you click the photo and you’ll get a larger version with a bit more detail.

Now, I will admit doing it this way is a bit more work than using one of the sites already devoted to such a tack. But it’ll do till I see what it is I like.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and let me know if you see anything you like or have questions about.

• 1 – Spacer 3/4″” x 3.5″ x 5″
• 1 – Middle Stretcher 3/4″ x 3.5″ x 9″
• 2 – Swing Stretchers 3/4″ x 3.5″ x 14″

The length of the swing stretchers didn’t really matter I just knew 14″ was long enough for this stage of the game. Later I’ll need to cut them down and mill a tenon on each to attach to the legs.

With my parts milled it was time to start doing some layout work. The swings stretchers work by the way of hinged fingers so I marked a line 1 1/4″ from the edge of boards & laid out 5 equal spaces at 11/16″. (Click the photo for a better view)

From here I raised my table saw blade to 1 1/4″. Using an extended fence on my miter gauge, I nibbled away the slots in between the fingers making note to cut on the waste side of the line.

(Note: Depending on the type of blade you have in your table saw, you may need to go back with a chisel and do some clean up to the top of the spaces.)

After doing a dry fit I dug a penny out & used it to layout a round over on the ends of the fingers & using the spindle sander I rounded the corners.

I then did another dry fit but this time I clamped the 3 pieces to an auxiliary board (to keep the pieces from moving) & made my way over to the drill press it to bore 2 holes for the 1/4″ dia. steel rod that holds the parts together but also lets them swing open when needed.

Then using 2 drill bits as pins I did another test fit and found that when I tried to swing out my stretcher they were rubbing against the middle stretcher.

So using a carving chisel I cut out some relief for the fingers so they could swing open.

At this point I realized that I didn’t have the steal rod. So now I have to head out to Home Depot to pick one up but here’s a pic of the pre-assembly.

The next step for me is going to be working on the inlay in the legs but that’s for another post…

When veneering surfaces you can pick many different styles.  You can use one big piece of veneer or one of the following:

• Straight book matching
• 4-way book matching
• Radial matching (in the case of round pieces)

Here I want to address a potential problem that can happen with both 4-way & radial methods.

When we start laying out for both of these styles we tend to go in numerical order (1, 2, 3…).  But this can come back and bite you is when the seams from veneer piece 4 matches up to veneer piece 1 (in the case of 4-way matching.  Or the seams from your last piece of veneer butting up to your first piece in the case of radial matching.

When companies cut & sequence veneer they slice and stack it in the order it was cut from the log.  The further down the pile you go the more likely your grain patterns change.  Sometimes this differs slightly but sometimes it’s quite drastic.  It all depends on the tree.

So to try and reduce the chance of dealing with this I use The Rule of 2.

The Rule of 2 says that no piece of veneer shall be butted up to another piece higher than 2x from the number you gave it in the beginning?  (Confusing I know but take a look at the two examples below.)

As you can see, at no time does any piece of veneer butt up against another piece of veneer that has a number higher than 2x it’s given number.

Indexing: When I open up any pack (large or small) of sequenced veneer the first thing I do is grab a pencil and number the pieces in one of the corners.  Since the manufacture has sequenced the veneer this will help you keep the the pieces in the order that they were cut from the log.  If you intend to do any book-matching with your veneer this will help you in the layout out of that so your growth rings match more closely.  (That we’ll expand on in another posting.)

Book-matching: When I start with a simple book-matching project I like to play around and see what pattern will look best for my project.  Since most burl is brittle and I don’t want to damage the sheets flipping them over trying to find a good match I simply grab a mirror.  This way I can position it anywhere on the top piece of my veneer stack (2 pieces) without worrying about  damaging them and I’m able to visually see immediately what the resulting match will be.

Once I find a match I like I use the mirror as a guide and grab a pencil to put a couple of registration marks on the veneer.  From here I  go to registering the pieces, taping them together, and start cutting them to size to use  with the project.

Quad Book-matching: If I’m going for a really cool look on say a table top I’ll grab 2 mirrors (oh and 4 pieces of veneer) and hold them at a 90 degree angle and can see visually see what that will look like.  By doing this I’m able to move all over the piece (remember the note about large pieces of veneer) until I find the pattern that really pops!

Other Uses: Also by using two mirror you can bring the angle in (under 90 degrees) and use the same procedure to get an idea of how a radial book-match would look.

So when Shannon sent the tweet about it being available I immediately went to the “Acanthus Workshop” web site & purchased a copy.  What follows is my notes/review of the DVD.

Image from Acanthus Workshops LLC

Part 1: The Intro

We start with Chuck explaining dovetails and how with practice you will become faster at making at making them.

From here he continues to explain that for a professional you want to become fast in order to complete your commission since this is how you can make your living.

He also explains how for the amateur that you want to increase your speed so you don’t get bored during your project.

Cause face it, if you get bored with the project the odds of not finishing it goes up!  (Something I have been guilty of a time or two in my life.)

During the discussion Chuck also talks about his theory of the history of the dovetail.  Using cut away pieces he explains how he thinks it derived from the wedged mortise & tennon joint.

Part 2: The Tools

From here he goes into the 9 tools  needed to make dovetails. During this Chuck walks through why he feels they are important/need and expands on what to look for in them.

That are:

1. Stable work surface (anything from a good bench to a door on 2 saw horses)
2. Vise
3. Dovetail saw (he prefers a western style but says to use what you like)
4. A modest set of chisels (he prefers Two Cherries due to the weight and thickness of them)
5. Marking gauge (any style)
6. Bevel gauge
7. Small square
8. Mallet
9. Hold-fast or clamp

Next Chuck explains the importance of using sharp chisels and goes through his 2 step method:

1. Starting by using a 10″ diameter white wheel on a grinder with a homemade jig
2. Finishing by using 1600 & 4000 whetstones

Part 3: The Triangle Marking System

Now that we have our tools ready we’re ready to start with the layout but before we start Chuck walks us though how to correctly use the triangle marking system.  He walks through how to utilize this system so you can keep your parts aligned.  This way you always know the inside/outside & tops of all your parts.

With your parts correctly marked you’re ready to address the question of “Pins of Tails” debate.  Here Chuck tells you that he prefers pins first most of the time but explains that either will work.  It’s just what makes you feel comfortable.

Part 4: The Dovetails

From here you walk through both through dovetails & 1/2 blind dovetails Chucks way.  I don’t want to go through this in detail because I don’t want to take away from the DVD.

All throughout the steps are shot zoomed in so you get a good view of how Chuck works.  The best part is Chuck included an instructional card that you can take into the shop that explains (in text & photos) both dovetail methods and triangle marking system.

My Conclusion:

Over all the DVD has alot of good informational you can utilize.   I look forward to the next one.  (Chuck if you’re reading, please make it a secret compartment DVD!)

You know, one of those days where everything turns out to be a PITA?!?

Well today was MY day!

Due to our schedules at home/work it’s been a while since I’ve been able to work on the federal inlay table and I needed to finish up the inlay on the apron.

I’ve had the semicircles on the ends done since my blog entry on Stringing Tight Curves. But since then I had not finished “connecting the dots” so to speak until today.

But I should have known better. I wasn’t in the mood to do it.

And I had other junk to do:

• computer & virus updates to install
• the Olympics was on
• laundry to be done
• yadda, yadda, yadda

But I needed to get this project moving.  Either that or submit my entry to the “Worlds Longest Time To Complete A Project” contest.

So anyway, against my better judgment, I went out and turned the heaters on so the shop could warm up and then started cutting/trimming pieces of inlay to size and made a quick 45 degree jig to help cut the scarf joints so I could glue the pieces into the my apron.

All in all, I only had 6 pieces to fit and it should have taken about an hour to do (taking my sweet time in all) but NO! Everything that could go wrong did.

It didn’t matter how many times I dry fitted the pieces into my apron, no matter how well the scarf joints went together, every time I put glue into the groove trouble would show its face.

I had 4 pieces just break, one that broke once I had it in but had to dig out with dental tools, (because the glue started setting and fit was that tight) way more glue squeeze out then I intended to clean up, and anything else you could come up with!

But in the end of day I got it all worked out but wow what a pain!  So next time you’re not “feeling it” take a hint, it might not be worth it!

BTW as a side note. Dental tools are great for working with inlay but get them from a dentist. The 4 piece set they sell at Rockler are garbage! (Now that’s not a dig at Rockler, just a “impromptu review” of that particular product.)

What I mean is that there seems to be an “Us and Them” type of feeling involving both hand tool and power tool woodworkers.  It kinds of reminds me of the old company rivalry of architects & engineers.  Both need each other but both despise working with the other.

Now I’m not saying woodworkers despise each other but it does seem we tend to drift to one side or the other.

With that being said I’ve been working on developing an idea/contest in where the woodworking community would bring both sides, if you will, of the craft together in order to learn from each other and allow each woodworker to grow in the craft.  This would coincide with expanding to share that knowledge with today’s youth and introduce them into the craft.

Where this idea/project goes I honestly do not know yet.  At this point it is completely in its  infancy stage.   What I do know is that the first step of that idea is getting a little feedback with this short survey.

So if you have a minute I’d appreciate it if you would click the link below and take the survey.  Also feel free to leave your comments on this idea and your interest in it.

Project Gabriel