Friday, October 16, 2009
Chisels - Essential Woodworking Tools
No matter how many power tools you have at your disposal, one hand tool you'll always want to keep around (in varying shapes and sizes) is the chisel. It can likely trace its origins back to the sharp rocks used to carve wood in prehistoric times, yet the chisel still remains one of the most versatile tools in the wood shop today. While there are literally hundreds of different types, shapes and uses for chisels, they all operate on the same basic premise: a sharp cutting edge that can be guided through the stock with a handle that is built specifically to aid the chisel's intended cutting task,
Types of Chisels:
Different types of chisels include gouges designed to be used with a lathe, as hooks, and with square, round-nosed or curved cutting edges. However, for this article, we're going to stick to the most commonly used type of chisel, the bevel-edged chisel. These chisels have a blade that is typically 4 to 7 inches in length, with about a 20-25 degree bevel on three edges, but only on the top side of the chisel (the bottom side of the chisel is flat).
Chisel Construction:
The blade of a bevel-edged chisel narrows at the top to connect to the handle, which is typically made of either hardwood or plastic. Chisel handles come in various shapes and sizes, but in the case of the bevel-edged chisel, the choice of handle is a matter of preference rather than function. The butt, or back end of the chisel is sometimes reinforced for strength, as certain circumstances call for the chisel to be tapped with a mallet to guide the blade through the stock.
Using a Chisel:
The term for cutting with a chisel is "paring". To pare with a chisel horizontally, you should place the flat side of the chisel against the stock. Hold the handle of the chisel firmly with one hand with your index finger steadying the blade. Use your off hand to steady the chisel by holding the blade between your thumb and index finger. Stand in front of the work piece with your weight evenly distributed and the chisel parallel to the floor. Use your body weight to ease the chisel through the stock. If extra force is needed, use the heel of your main hand to strike the butt of the chisel.When paring vertically, hold the handle of the chisel with your thumb on the butt, steadying the blade with your off hand. As before, use your body weight to ease the chisel through the stock, this time in a downward manner. Should extra force be needed, you can always use a wooden mallet to tap the butt of the chisel. However, avoid using a steel-head hammer, as it can damage the chisel.
Taking Care of Your Chisels:
Avoid storing your chisels loosely in a drawer, where they can bang into one another, thus dulling the cutting edge(s). A better option is to hang your chisels on a rack or in a drawer with individual dividers (for each chisel) where you lessen the chance of the tip getting banged up. Proper use of a chisel requires that the cutting edge remain sharp. To properly sharpen a chisel, use sharpening stones of progressive grades. You may need to touch up your chisels regularly by honing the flat side to keep them at their best.
Using Your Chisels Safely:
The number one rule of chisel safety is to keep them sharp. A dull chisel is a dangerous chisel, as it will require more effort to push the chisel through the stock. However, if keeping the chisel sharp is safety rule #1, then rule #1a is to always pare away from your body and keep your hands behind the cutting edge. And of course, as with all woodworking tasks, never use a chisel without your safety glasses.
Woodworking Chisels
No tool in the shop is more important, or more heavily used, than the chisel. Just look in any good old tool chest and what do you find, a few saws, some miscellaneous tools, and lots and lots of planes and chisels. I am glad my birthday and Christmas are just around the corner.
Other Tools
A rasp is a piece of steel with little teeth cut in all over the surface of the tool. Rasps superficially resemble files, which have long teeth running the width of the file. Files are very useful and popular tools, but their woodworking use is mostly restricted to sharpening woodworking tools. They're basically used for metalwork, whereas rasps are used on wood and stone.
In woodworking the word Rasp is used to denote the entire family of the tool when are talking generally aobut the use of the tool. When the particular details matter we rasps to mean a rasp with a handle at one end. The term riffler rasp or riffler is used to describe a type of rasp with teeth cit in both ends with an area to hold onto the middle. Rifflers can be either file cut with long lines of teeth or rasp cut with pointy teeth. Riffler rasp might be the better term to use.
Tools for a Basic Layout Kit
As we have already mentioned a try square, a ruler and a marking knife are essential layout tools. To complete our layout kit we will add a marking gauge, a mortising gauge, a bevel gauge, a protractor, a set of dividers and trammels used for circles. As our instructor told us "Flawed measurements will plague a project at every stage.
Fractions: What woodworkers need to know.
Adding and subtracting fractions: Remember these steps.
- Express all fractions in terms of a common denominator
- Add or subtract the numerators to find the new numerator
- Place the new numerator over the common denominator.
- Determine the largest whole number in the improper fraction.
- Subtract the whole number from the improper fraction to find the remaining fraction.
- Combine the whole number and the remaining fraction for your answer.
- Multiply the fraction's denominator by the whole number.
- Add the fraction's numerator the answer from step one.
- Put the resulting number over the fractions denominator.
- Multiply the fraction's numerator by the whole number to find the new numerator.
- Place the new numerator over the original denominator which remains unchanged.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Class Project: Mantel or Hanging Clock
Complete the Bill of materials sheet to determine the quantity of wood needed for project.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Layout Tools
Folding rulers have been used for years especially in carpentry. Tape measure is the more common ruler used now mainly for convenience, certainly questions of accuracy are one of the issues with today's tape measure. Bench Ruler, a metal flat ruler one foot in length and accurate to at least 1/32 of an inch. This bench ruler is usually considered the workhorse for the workbench. This ruler has clear markings and is usually a non reflective surface. It is about one inch wide and about 1/32 inch thick and slightly flexible.
Determine Square:
Framing square, why is the length and width different (we will get to that). Try Square or Tri Square is a metal and or wood tool used for marking and measuring a piece of wood. The square refers to the tool's primary use of measuring the accuracy of a right Angle (90 degrees); to try a surface is to check its straightness or correspondence to an adjoining surface. A piece is of wood that is rectangular, flat and has all edges (face, sides, and ends) 90 degrees is called four square. A board is often milled four square in preparation for using it tin building furniture.
Squaring a piece of wood: Seven Steps
- Step One: Crosscut to length plus 1 inch
- Step Two: Joint one face of the wood, this will be the reference side for planning to thickness
- Step Three: Surface or plane to thickness in our project this will be 3/4 inch
- Step Four: Joint one edge, the cleanest edge will be the easiest
- Step Five: Wood is now table saw worthy, jointed edge against the fence, rip to width
- Step Six: Square one end with a cross cut leaving some length to cross cut for final length
- Step Seven: Cross cut to length.
Calipers: The tools you need when close isn't good enough.
Given that wood shrinks and and swells, most woodworkers regard 1/16 of an inch's an acceptable tolerance. So why would you need a device capable of measuring to .001 inch? Prat of the answer lies simply in the desire to fit projects together without gaps or misalignment. For example if you are working with two pieces of wood with 1/16" the total off could be 1/8. In order to get tolerance of 1/16" each piece would have to be within 1/32 of an inch. This fraction is equal to about 31 thousands of an inch. (.031). Vernier Caliper, named after a French Mathematician who devised the vernier scale. More comm om is the Dial Caliper, with this one a dial indicator provides a direct reading of subdivisions, making it easy to read. Finally a Digital Caliper show the exact measurement on a calculator-style digital readout. Though expensive it is the easiest to read.
Combination Square: A perfect name for a near-perfect tool
Use it as a depth gauge. Use it as a marking gauge. Use a Combination Square to calibrate your table saw or set up your Router. One thing we learned today is that you usually get what you pay for. If the combination square is not square it is worthless. Getting a good deal is OK but a well made square may well be worth the money.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Day 2 Continued
Softwood
Comes from Trees that are conifer and have needless, which they do not normally lose each year
Hardwood Measurement
Bill of Materials
thickness x length x width/divided by 144
A word about measurement and fractions
One area that has the potential for confusing new woodworking students (this student included) are fractions and what they mean. During the course we will be discussing how to understand and use fractions as our friend. (This I have to see, I am thinking I should have been born in England where they use the decimal system)
Dovetail Joint
Minor Setback
The good news is I am back to a somewhat normal life and schedule and will begin posting again. Fortunately I only missed one of my classes and had other students take great notes for me.
I will be adding to the blog every until I catch up with the actual classes.
Thanks for your patients and do give up on me yet.
John
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Day 2 continued
Bow, as its name implies, describes the lengthwise curvature for board-end to end along its face. Twist, means that all of a boards corners won't lie equally flat. Crook, all the curvature runs end to end alone its edge. Cup, is when a board no longer flat from edge to edge. Cup always occurs in the opposite direction of a flatsawn board's annual growth rings. Although not a distortion like any form of warp, checking refers to the Small splits along the grain. You'll most often see checks in the ends of boards but they can occur on surfaces too. This is due to the fact that wood dries 10 times faster along it length compared to drying across the width. One of the things we will learn in our class project is to project wood movement and design and build with this in mind.
Measuring Wood
No 1 common, Boards are 3" and wider, 4' and longer and yields 66 2/3 percent clear face cuttings 4" or wider by 2' or longer.