Showing posts with label part. Show all posts
Showing posts with label part. Show all posts
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Dovetail Layout Part 1 Working The Angles
I feel a little like Im wading into shark infested waters wearing a suit made of meat. I hope I come out the other side with only a few bite marks and no missing limbs. If you have been reading along I have just started a series of posts based on dovetail layouts, no cutting dovetails, just a focus on the layouts. If you want to catch up on my introduction post you can read it HERE.
I am not a fan of putting dovetail joints up on a pedestal, but I will say that the different personalities they can display in different situations can make them a telling feature on a piece of furniture, and a mark of the woodworker who cut them. I admit that when my wife and I are out antiquing and I start looking at a piece of furniture, if there are drawers, the first thing I do is pull them out and have a look at the dovetails and i they tell me a lot.
Are they perfectly even and production machine made or have they been hand cut? Are they through tails hidden by veneer or are they true half blinds? Are they crystal clear in their lines and meant to stand out or are they subdued and workmanlike? In the end I worry less about small gaps or less than absolutely perfect execution and more about the over all feeling I get from looking at it. I feel like these things will tell me a lot about what else went into the design and production of the piece. There are other things I look for to but inevitable past my first impression of the overall design and proportions, I learn a lot from the dovetails.
To my mind that makes my dovetail layout important to me, but you have to be smart enough to know where to use the correct layouts. If I looked at a drawer that was put together with half blind, hounds-tooth dovetails, that would probably put me off of the piece, because I would think, "what a waste." I think thats what I dislike most about router made dovetails, off the template they are the same in any situation.There is a time and place for a "Hey Look At Me" set of pins and tails and a average, evenly spaced set both. Choosing when to use what is part of your own personal design conscience.
This is where you get into the chunky tails vs. skinny tails debate. Again this is not, as I see it, an issue of structure or strength, it is instead an issue of design. Cut whichever is most pleasing to your eye. Personally when I am designing the joint for looks, I tend to use a mix of both chunkier and narrower pins and tails spread out in a symmetrical pattern.
So what about the angles of those tails? How do you determine those? In the traditional joinery books I own there are two options and two options only. They are expressed as ratios of rise and run 1:6 and 1:8. If youve ever done any roofing work youll recognize rise and run as the angle the pitch of a roof will follow. Expressed like this the angle is one inch of rise for every six or eight inches of length. You can measure and draw out this ratio every time, but if you plan to cut a lot of dovetails, I would suggest drawing the out on something a little more permanent than a scrap chunk of board.
I have chosen to draw them out on one end of my workbench, I have seen others have them drawn out on a bench hook. You can draw them on the ceiling of the ceiling of the shop if you want, but I have found it convenient to have them around so I can easily set my bevel marking gauge to them. Now the "rules" say that the 1:6 ratio is for use in soft woods, and the 1:8 ratio is for hardwoods. The thought is that dovetails in softwoods can be a little spongier and more forgiving and the more dramatic 1:6 angle gives them greater strength. I guess that thinking is sound but really there is a little bit of B.S. about it.
You should know how I feel about rules. I hate them. I have seen Roy Underhill on video talk about dovetail angles and finding them on antiques with angles of 1:3. Now thats a steep and dramatic slope. I think the "rules" are one of the things that make it difficult for dovetails to be an accessible joint for newer woodworkers. I understand the thinking behind them but seriously if we are creating different rules for angles in different woods then we are losing sight of what should be the real driving factor in the use of this joint. Strength and / or appearance.
I use the more dramatic 1:6 for dovetails that are going to be on the stage and super visible, like on the corners of a blanket chest. I use the slightly more relaxed 1:8 for dovetails that are blue collar and there to do a job, like on a drawer. I have found that 1:8 slope seems to make fitting easier when I cut half blind dovetails.
In the end there "rules" are more like guidelines. I never spend more than a few seconds setting up my bevel marking gauge, I never worry anymore about getting the angle "perfect" in fact thats why I continue to use a bevel marking gauge set by hand instead of a static dovetail marker. There is a little bit of irregularity, a little bit of humanity that gets introduced when I set the angle myself using the edge of my workbench and my hand drawn lines. When I cut my pins or tails (whichever I decide to start with) I cut one board first, then I use those cuts to mark the other board, this way I transfer any entropy Ive picked up in the process and any off angle, miss cut, millimeter of intolerance, is transferred as well and doesnt stick out in the finished product.
I dont want to overload a post with too much information and lose anyone so I am going to call it there for the evening, Next time youll hear a little more about paying attention to the big picture when it comes to laying out dovetails and Ill go over the tools I put to use. After that well get started going over the actual layouts themselves.
Cheers
Oldwolf
Read More..
I am not a fan of putting dovetail joints up on a pedestal, but I will say that the different personalities they can display in different situations can make them a telling feature on a piece of furniture, and a mark of the woodworker who cut them. I admit that when my wife and I are out antiquing and I start looking at a piece of furniture, if there are drawers, the first thing I do is pull them out and have a look at the dovetails and i they tell me a lot.
 |
| Dovetails on an antique dresser we own. machine cut half blinds. |
Are they perfectly even and production machine made or have they been hand cut? Are they through tails hidden by veneer or are they true half blinds? Are they crystal clear in their lines and meant to stand out or are they subdued and workmanlike? In the end I worry less about small gaps or less than absolutely perfect execution and more about the over all feeling I get from looking at it. I feel like these things will tell me a lot about what else went into the design and production of the piece. There are other things I look for to but inevitable past my first impression of the overall design and proportions, I learn a lot from the dovetails.
To my mind that makes my dovetail layout important to me, but you have to be smart enough to know where to use the correct layouts. If I looked at a drawer that was put together with half blind, hounds-tooth dovetails, that would probably put me off of the piece, because I would think, "what a waste." I think thats what I dislike most about router made dovetails, off the template they are the same in any situation.There is a time and place for a "Hey Look At Me" set of pins and tails and a average, evenly spaced set both. Choosing when to use what is part of your own personal design conscience.
This is where you get into the chunky tails vs. skinny tails debate. Again this is not, as I see it, an issue of structure or strength, it is instead an issue of design. Cut whichever is most pleasing to your eye. Personally when I am designing the joint for looks, I tend to use a mix of both chunkier and narrower pins and tails spread out in a symmetrical pattern.
So what about the angles of those tails? How do you determine those? In the traditional joinery books I own there are two options and two options only. They are expressed as ratios of rise and run 1:6 and 1:8. If youve ever done any roofing work youll recognize rise and run as the angle the pitch of a roof will follow. Expressed like this the angle is one inch of rise for every six or eight inches of length. You can measure and draw out this ratio every time, but if you plan to cut a lot of dovetails, I would suggest drawing the out on something a little more permanent than a scrap chunk of board.
I have chosen to draw them out on one end of my workbench, I have seen others have them drawn out on a bench hook. You can draw them on the ceiling of the ceiling of the shop if you want, but I have found it convenient to have them around so I can easily set my bevel marking gauge to them. Now the "rules" say that the 1:6 ratio is for use in soft woods, and the 1:8 ratio is for hardwoods. The thought is that dovetails in softwoods can be a little spongier and more forgiving and the more dramatic 1:6 angle gives them greater strength. I guess that thinking is sound but really there is a little bit of B.S. about it.
You should know how I feel about rules. I hate them. I have seen Roy Underhill on video talk about dovetail angles and finding them on antiques with angles of 1:3. Now thats a steep and dramatic slope. I think the "rules" are one of the things that make it difficult for dovetails to be an accessible joint for newer woodworkers. I understand the thinking behind them but seriously if we are creating different rules for angles in different woods then we are losing sight of what should be the real driving factor in the use of this joint. Strength and / or appearance.
I use the more dramatic 1:6 for dovetails that are going to be on the stage and super visible, like on the corners of a blanket chest. I use the slightly more relaxed 1:8 for dovetails that are blue collar and there to do a job, like on a drawer. I have found that 1:8 slope seems to make fitting easier when I cut half blind dovetails.
I dont want to overload a post with too much information and lose anyone so I am going to call it there for the evening, Next time youll hear a little more about paying attention to the big picture when it comes to laying out dovetails and Ill go over the tools I put to use. After that well get started going over the actual layouts themselves.
Cheers
Oldwolf
Monday, February 10, 2014
Dollhouse for Peaches Day 12 Part I
Day 12 - Part I - The Pillars
Nows the time to permanently install the pillars. Im using the clamps to hold things in place while I apply glue, then slowly move things to their final positions...
Ill let the glue set for a few days, and then work on some small trim, fill all nail holes, and then the whole piece will be sanded down to 220 grit. More to come!
Read More..
Nows the time to permanently install the pillars. Im using the clamps to hold things in place while I apply glue, then slowly move things to their final positions...
Ill let the glue set for a few days, and then work on some small trim, fill all nail holes, and then the whole piece will be sanded down to 220 grit. More to come!
A House In The Trees Part II
Once the first two (2) bolts were in and I’d cleaned up from the first day of the tree house build, I walked the site and thought about how I would lay out the platform. As part of this process, I measured between the trees and discovered that the clearances between trees were 9’11” (too big for my intended 10’ beam) 12’6” (too big for my intended 12’ beam) and 15’7” (too big for my 16’ beam). Ungh.
Initially, I thought I’d just get two 2”x8”x18’ boards and make an 18’ beam. If I did that and discarded the 10’ one I’d already made, I could shift the other two down in location and still end up with the triangle shaped platform I had in my head.
In the morning, before going out to get the 18’ boards and walked the site again, with a slightly clearer head. While an 18’ beam would allow me to make the triangle shaped platform I’d intended, as I stood there between the trees I realized that the triangle was going to be too small. If I added a post to act as a fourth tree, I could turn the triangle into a rectangle and just about double the size of the tree house platform.
With this new plan, I headed to the store and picked up two (2) 2”x8”x16’ board to make a second beam for the long side and two (2) 2”x8”x10’ boards to make a second beam for the short end. I also picked up a 4”x4”x12’ post for the fourth “tree.”
As soon as I got home I again glued up the joists. Then I set to work marking out and digging for the post. To my astonishment and delight, I managed to dig the 3’5” hole for the post without hitting any roots, rocks or other impediments.
I tossed a few inches of gravel in the bottom of the hole to help with drainage and tossed in the post. After temporarily bracing the post level, I slowly filled the hole with dry cement. Every few inches I would tamp it down with a broom handle (on which I’d cut a flat end instead of the original rounded end) and added a bit of water with a watering can. Years ago I read somewhere that when setting posts you didn’t need to actually mix the cement, but could get away just watering it in place. I’ve used this method a few times now, and it seems to work fine.
With the post in place, I again thought about the beam layout and how I would frame and deck the platform. I realized that since the double 16’ beams would extend past the trees and pick up the weight of all of the joists, the double 12” beams at the end wouldn’t add anything but weight. At least I’ll be able to use two (2) of the five (5) beams I’ve made.
Other Tree House posts.
Read More..
Initially, I thought I’d just get two 2”x8”x18’ boards and make an 18’ beam. If I did that and discarded the 10’ one I’d already made, I could shift the other two down in location and still end up with the triangle shaped platform I had in my head.
In the morning, before going out to get the 18’ boards and walked the site again, with a slightly clearer head. While an 18’ beam would allow me to make the triangle shaped platform I’d intended, as I stood there between the trees I realized that the triangle was going to be too small. If I added a post to act as a fourth tree, I could turn the triangle into a rectangle and just about double the size of the tree house platform.
With this new plan, I headed to the store and picked up two (2) 2”x8”x16’ board to make a second beam for the long side and two (2) 2”x8”x10’ boards to make a second beam for the short end. I also picked up a 4”x4”x12’ post for the fourth “tree.”
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| Additional beams during glueup. |
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| The easiest hole Ive ever dug. |
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| The four trees for the Tree House. |
Other Tree House posts.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
New Deck Part 4 5
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| Bottom mounting bracket on the deck rails. |
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| Bottom mounting bracket on the stair rails. |
Part 5
Saturday, January 25, 2014
An unusual desk project Part I Sylvania Ohio
Ive started work on an unusual desk project, and wanted to share it with you. My customer has asked me to make his desk longer! Here are some pictures of the existing desk. It is a custom built desk, about 7 years old.
There are several major challenges on this project: Color matching the stain, the precision cut to split the desk, and making the entire thing come back together! A word about color matching stains - I cannot guarantee a perfect match. This desk has been in front of this window for several years, and has also endured usage and age, which makes matching almost impossible. But, I think I have it as close as its going to get...
Ok, heres the plan...
Im going to split this desk into two pieces. I will be making a cut to the right side of the existing drawer, and adding a 3 section in between, with a new drawer below.
I will need to add a new support piece also. Here is what the existing looks like...
The desk top is separated with a transition piece. I can section in the new top addition using a similar transition piece...
Now for some shop work. After coming up with a color match and approving it with the customer, Ive started to make the new support legs in the shop. I picked up the angle from the existing supports, so that my new supports will match. Ive also made so new bullnose pieces, and cut the top...
All of the materials are birch. Birch is a great material for a desk, and used to be pretty readily available, but not so much any more. Ive managed to locate what I need, but it took some leg work to track it down. More to come...
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Finishing the built in part 2
The priming, resanding, and painting has been finished on the built in. Its nice and smooth! There is some other work to take place in the room, and then Ill be installing the crown molding and base trim to finish this project off.
Read More..
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