Ready for Carving

     You know how it goes, once you tell someone of your plans you are then held accountable.  In years past I would contemplate taking on the challenge of a certain ultra mountain race and those plans were safe until I shared them with others, now I became accountable!  Well, guess it's time to go public with these:

Acanthus Leaf Panel

     You may recall the posts I made during the week long workshop with Ian Agrell earlier this year.  I learned so much about traditional carving from his talks, demonstration, and one on one instruction.  Of course, learning and putting it into practice are two, very far apart, activities.  This panel will eventually be placed in the cut out above the stove and microwave in our newly remodeled kitchen.  I have a couple of things going for me, first it's about 7' up on the wall so won't be under super close scrutiny and secondly, I'm using Basswood which will be considerably easier to carve than the African Mahogany given in class.
     The Acanthus leaf is probably the most carved feature you'll come across.  Honest, do a Google or any other internet search on it and you'll come up with tons of examples.  I've also been looking into classical carving books and virtually every one of them have a section on how to carve this leaf.  Once I decided on the leaf pattern it was copied onto tracing paper.  To orient them and make the design symmetrical a base line was drawn from the center point at 40 degrees to lay the pattern on.  The center carving is actually a scan from a catalog.  There will be lots of learning from this panel -- no doubt!
     For carving, my workbench set up changes somewhat:

Carving Set-Up

     To start, the bench on bench is clamped to the right side of the main bench.  Just an FYI, this bench has proven real popular with the Sin City Woodworkers group and Jamie and I are planning to offer a class on building one in the near future at her school.  Years ago I purchased an LED light that is to the right of the bench.  I was trying my hand at the small scale carvings for Diane's picture frame and these old eyes needed all the help they could get.  Regular, incandescent task lighting worked except when the shop temperature is pushing 100+ degrees and you add a light bulb close to you and the work my sweat started to rust the tools!, not a good thing.  At the far left is a Koch system for honing the tools.  One of the things I struggle with is that as a shop teacher I always emphasized to the students to place their tools with the sharp, dangerous end facing inboard.  For carving it's recommended that you have them facing you so you can see the edge and choose the proper tool.  I guess it's a new trick for an old dog!
     Here's a closer look:

Time to Start

     I felt it wise to do a little practicing before jumping into the actual panel.  Leaning against the wall is the cut off from the panel with my practice work.  One of the things I learned in the class is that for a design to really be symmetrical the curves should be made with gouges that have a specific size (sweep).  For a more free form of carving you can outline the shape with a V-chisel because slight variations won't really matter.  The goal of this panel is to present an appealing shape, carved fairly deep into the panel, that will create an interesting texture as the light bounces off of it.  The background will be left with visible gouge marks to confirm that it's hand made rather than created by a machine.  In talking with other carvers there's a balance with the background.  You want to leave enough gouge marks and texture to confirm that it's a hand made piece but not so much that it comes across as crudely done carving -- ah yes, the challenges continue but what would life be without them?

My First Movie!

     Well, I guess movie is too broad of a term but this was pretty cool.  I've started to work on the semicircular piece that I plan on carving and putting above the range in the kitchen.  Since my carving skills are just developing the best wood to use for it is Basswood.  It is pretty even grained so carves quite easily.  Since I had some in the shop that I use for picture frames decided it was best to laminate some pieces together to form the blank.  As I started to plane the edges, the shavings were so cool looking as they exited the plane I called Diane out to see them.  If you've never checked out her website click on this link and see how she's been using various media to showcase her talents.

     To get to the point, I wondered if she could do a video clip and here's what she did:

     Kind of look like the creature from the Blue Lagoon at the end of the plane strokes as I peer at the camera in my safety glasses!  She showed me how to edit it and slow it down towards the end of the stroke so you can really see that shaving curling out of the plane -- see why hand work excites me?

     There's a few ways to check your planing for squareness.  In a previous entry you saw how you can stack the boards together and use a straight edge on the sides to make sure they're parallel and will glue up squarely.  Another quick way is to use your plane as a guide:

     You can also use a straight edge for this but since you have the plane in your hand anyway this makes for a quick, interim way to check your progress.

     The other way the edge needs to be checked is that it's 90 degrees to the face:

     I carry this small machinists square in my pocket for just this use.  I still feel the best way is to stack your boards together to double check how they will glue up together.  If you have a table saw you can also set the board on edge, then hold the try-square on the saw to check it.  What ever works for you is the way to go!

     This morning, after the blank stayed glued and clamped over night, the arch was cut out with the bandsaw.  To smooth out the cut, once again a hand tool came into play.  Check out what a spokeshave can accomplish on end grain of wood, I just had to try to capture that for the blog.     See the transition from the spokeshaved edge to the band sawn edge at the bottom?  Beautiful, so much nicer to my eye than an abraded and sanded edge.  Laying on the spokeshave is a shaving from the cut and you can see the smoother part at the top as the cut was made to the bottom part that was only band sawn.  Now comes the design process, thankfully Diane has a better eye for that and, after all, she has been giving me drawing lessons!

It Is Finished, Looking Forward to Mopping the Floor !

Whose Kitchen ...

....... Is This Anyway?

     After just a bit more than a month, the work is done and we're both very excited and pleased.  It has been a total transformation and like Diane says, it's almost as if we've moved into a new house!  It's not as if there was really something "wrong" with the way the kitchen was before but now it's much brighter and a pleasure to work in.  The stovetop is phenomenal, don't know if it's the influence of the Food Channel but with this stovetop and it's Power Burners, things heat up fast but yet, you can also achieve an actual simmer.  I've always kind of enjoyed cooking although not on a full time basis, and this elevates that part of my creativeness.  In any case though, I really am looking forward to the final kitchen chapter, mopping the floor, and then getting back to the shop.  I have a carving project, a gilding project, and a small telephone table in the design stages.
     A valuable thing I learned from this project is how to tape off an area with what's referred to as painters plastic to not only protect the surroundings but also to contain messes.  The first time this was needed was when I had to enlarge the opening for the stovetop in the granite -- whew, what a mess!  No pictures of that but the cabinet for the double ovens needed this as well.  Ever make a tent when you were a kid out of chairs and blankets?  Well, in keeping with Toy's R Us theme, I too don't want to grow up!  Here's my grown up tent:

     By putting the ladder on the island, clamping some boards from the top of the cabinet to it, and then sheathing it in the painters plastic I created my own little tent.  It was taped down to the floor to contain the sawdust after I enclosed myself in the whole thing.



















         After the dust settled, here's the end result of this process.  By using a plunge router with a 1/4" up spiral bit it was possible to trim the width to the required size.  The top then needed to be cut to size as well, almost an inch and a half off of it.  That's the piece I removed (white color) from the top of the face frame to accommodate the ovens.  This meant that the doors above it also needed to be raised by the same amount.  Screw holes were drilled out and what I would call a "hole saver" dowel was glued in.  Little bit of sanding and repaint and it's better than new.

     Look at that mess on the floor, sure am glad it was contained by the plastic tent.  Sure didn't want to vacuum and dust the entire kitchen.


     An interesting side note on this whole process is that m nephew Thomas, is also in the middle of re-modeling his kitchen.  He's been following these posts and has added the LED lights and recessed lights to his project as well.  Been fun doing them together via the  Internet!

Just Had to Show It

Done!

     Now here's a proper bread board!, sculpted front piece is all that shows but then when you pull it out; nothing but an expanse of Hard Maple.  I like the little extra pizzazz the knob gives to it, when you see it in it's entirety this is what you see:

     Now really, doesn't that just look so much better than this sorry example of a bread board?

Yuck!!

Breadboard Assembly -- Almost Ready for the Knife!

     After all of the painting and carpentry work I've been doing on the kitchen remodel it's been a real pleasure to work wood in the shop.  Here's the final results of that ready for assembly:

Proper "Breadboard" End Construction

     Go back to the discussion of why the breadboard end is what it is and does what it does and this will now make sense.  The Maple board will expand/contract across the width.  The end which is now painted white, caps it off and conceals the relatively unattractive end grain.  You'll notice that the holes have been elongated.  The only glue to assemble this is applied to the middle of the joint, they are then glued together and the pins are glued in place.  Because the holes are elongated the Maple can expand/contract in the groove without cracking, the elongated holes allow that to happen.  My finish of choice for anything that comes into contact with food is plain old Mineral Oil.  Cheap, safe to ingest, and won't go rancid like a vegetable oil would in the wood.  Applied it with some 320 grit wet/dry sandpaper followed with another application with a Scotch Brite, white colored pad.  For maintenance that's all you ever need to do.
     As I was working on this I remembered that when I first began teaching I became good friends with a math teacher on staff.  He was getting married so I decided it would be neat to make them a Maple salad bowl on the lathe at the school shop.  I finished it with Mineral Oil, engraved their names and date along with some wedding bells on the bottom and proudly presented it for their wedding present.  Several weeks later, he mentioned to me that the finish had gotten kind of dull after putting it in the dishwasher!!  Once he understood why wood, glue, hi-temperature water and heat drying wasn't the best for wood we refinished it and things were okay.  I wonder if they still have that bowl, it was only 1978  or so!
     Anyway, got off subject so back to the breadboard.  I really enjoyed the opportunity to do some hand tool work on this piece.  First off, the end piece needed to be shaped and sculpted.  Could have used a router bit to do this but this is a safer, quieter, and more enjoyable method.  First off, draw in the boundary lines for the shape:

Finger Guided Boundry

     Great opportunity to use spokeshaves to form that edge by carefully working to those lines:

 
     The spokeshave I'm using in the pictures has a radiused sole so it can get into inside curves.  The one on the bench is one made from a kit.  With these tools it's very easy to form edges, because you work by hand taking thin shavings it's easy to work with the grain of the wood and avoid any tear out.  Routers, on the other hand, go quickly but it the grain direction changes can be prone to ripping the edge of your board.
     Well, the ovens came yesterday so now it's time to open up the cabinet to make it fit.  Oh yeah, I will be using a router and edge guide to accomplish that!

Why it's called a Bread Board End

     Everybody knows what a breadboard is and many of you have probably heard of the bread board end but let me take this blog as a way to explain it.  The bread board that came with our house was simply a piece of Baltic Birch plywood with an Oak cleat nailed on to match the cabinets -- badda boom badda bing, slap it together and you're done!  Well, let's go to the traditional route.
     This bread board is made up of three pieces of hard Maple.  To conceal the unattractive end grain, another piece is applied to the end of the board.  Since this piece is placed against the end of the others you have to take the wood movement into consideration.  The main boards have the grain running perpendicular to that front piece which can be a problem.  It needs to have room to expand or contract depending on the atmospheric conditions.  That's accomplished by cutting a tongue on the end of the board and a groove in the center of the piece placed on the end, here's the end:

Piece of the End of Breadboard

    I used a small plunge router with a 1/4" straight bit to cut this groove.  Notice the deeper sections towards the ends?  This is where the full length tongues will go.  Don't want the tongues to be too wide either.  I plan on using a knob on this board as well, that's what the hole in the center is for.

Breadboard & Breadboard End

     Here's what you have going on.  A 1/2" rabbeting bit was used with a router to create the tongue on the end of the board.  It's full length for about 1/8 in depth and then the tongues are 1/2" deep.  I've darkened in the areas that will need to be cut away.  Remember my power tool for grunt work and hand tools to refine it philosophy?  I'll use a bandsaw to waste away most of this, then:

Chisel to Square Corners

           And .....

Rabbet Plane to Fine Tune the Tongue

     Now, all of this may seem like a lot of effort and work just to make a board that will be cut up when slicing bread, tomatoes, chicken, etc. but it's these little touches that separates mass produced, make a quick buck product from one made to the highest standard.  Like Diane says, it's going to be hard to take a knife to this thing but it must be done!  Kind of like buying a new pick up and getting that first scratch in the bed when you're hauling rocks -- it's inevitable.
     Here's a little rant, as I thought about how that piece of Birch ply with the Oak cleat was serviceable for all these years I too questioned why go to all of this trouble.  It's all about the process involved and using your mind to solve the issues.  It's sad to me that people who do work in the wood industry have probably never been exposed to the issues involved to make this "simple" breadboard.  Look at this:

What it Took

 
     The end of the breadboard is pretty complex.  The pencil and ruler were needed to locate the joint after the brain had figured out how to do it.  The chisels were needed to refine it and cut that little recess on the tongue for the screw.  The small carving chisel (center) rounded out the recess for the screw head to fit in to and the rabbet plane brought the tongue to thickness so that it fit neatly into the groove.  The small router plane was needed for the thin part of the tongue where the rabbet plane was difficult to balance.
     Know what though?  One person could have programmed a CNC machine to do all of those processes and a minimum wage flunky could have fastened the board in place on that machine!  Each board would be spit out faster than I could accomplish the lay out!
     Progress and technology is a good thing but I've always said: "it can suck your brains out!"  Hopefully there are enough folks like me around that want to share this craft and keep it going.  Next will be shaping of the front piece and finishing.

Breadboard: Hand Planing Sequence Part 2

     In the last blog I talked about how to go about jointing the edges to prepare for gluing up a wide board.  Now that's done it's time to surface it and bring it to our thickness.  Here's your goal:

Super Thin Shaving

     If you're like me and prefer the look and feel of a hand planed surface this is what you're after.  In the first part of this blog I talked about jointing the edges and showed a rather thick, even thickness, shaving.  When you hand plane a surface it's best to use a slightly cambered blade which will give you a shaving that's thicker in the middle and tapers to nothing at the sides.  Your surface will be ever so slightly and barely scalloped but it's hardly noticed by the human eye.  So saying that, it is a difference some folks look for!  But hey, this is going to be a cutting board so why bother.  Just me I guess!
     There is a well known, hand tool woodworker by the name of Christopher Schwartz.  He advocates many traditional woodworking processes and has his distinct matter of working and exactly what tools you need to accomplish them.  Him and I differ in that I strive to do the most I can with a minimum of tools; i.e. ca$h outlay, I am Dutch after all!
     I'd like to point out a few things.  First off, hardwoods classified as 4/4 are usually 25/32" to 13/16" thick so you'll need to make them a uniform thickness.  The slot for the breadboard is 3/4" so I needed to bring this down to 11/16" or so.  Since the piece was laminated and is now 16" wide, my 15" planer won't handle it.  I could have surfaced each piece down before I laminated them but no matter what, they'll still need to be smoothed and surfaced.
     Here's my sequence, first of all I used a jointer plane (# 7) for the initial smoothing:

Jointer Plane, note Arrows Showing Grain Direction

     This should be checked with a straight edge.  You can also lay the board on a smooth, square machine surface and see if it rocks.  The goal now is to make the show face for lack of a better word.  Thickness will come later.
     Once the show face is relatively smooth the next step is to use a Jack Plane with a cambered blade to smooth the entire surface:

Initial Work with Jack Plane

     The blade is cambered so the edges don't dig in and create grooves.  Do you see  the different appearance of the wood as it is cut and planed smooth?  A good technique is to cover the wood with pencil marks too, theory being that once all of those are gone you've completely planed the surface.  Now it's time to refine it:

Bronze Smoother Plane

     Hopefully you can see the different sheen on the wood as you take the thin shavings like the one shown at the beginning of this post.  Your goal at this time is to make this surface almost perfect.  I say almost because you still have some work to do on the opposite side and may make some dings on this surface.  So, what do we need to do?

     If you had that big planer you'd just slip it in there, however; most of us don't have the luxury of one of those.  Before power planers came about there was a hand plane referred to as a Scrub Plane.  You can search my blogs because I went through the construction of this tool at the beginning of the year.  It's been quite well received and I've had many web contacts asking for details on how to build one.  Quite flattering really and one man has already made his version of this plane in a class I taught and there are several others out there in the internet world I've communicated with to help them build their own versions.  In any case, this blade has a radiused blade and is designed to remove wood in a hurry!  It works best when skewed across the surface of the board.  That gets you these curlicue shavings, for some reason on this Maple, scrubbing with the grain actually clogged the throat and it's huge!

Nice, Curlicue Shavings 

     It doesn't take long ( and cancels your trip to the gym) to work that board down to your required thickness.  I would recommend doing this only on the bottom of your board because you may go a bit deep with the scrub plane, deeper than your desired thickness.  This means there will be a depression, slight but still noticeable if it were to show like a table top.

Nice Pile of Shavings, Note the Texture of the Cut

     Now you do the same process, Jointer plane to smooth things initially, Jack plane (cambered blade) to refine even more, and then a Smooth plane to complete the job. Here's my collection of planes I use to accomplish this task.  You can do without the specialized Smooth plane by getting a spare blade for your Jack plane and putting a camber on it.  I did that for years and it works just fine.  I still use the Jack with a straight blade for general purpose work and then swap it for the cambered one to pre-finish the surface before switching over to the Smooth plane.

     It's like I stated earlier, my goal is to do the most work possible with the fewest number of tools.  I will admit though that when I get paid for a commission and there is a special tool I've had my eye on I may justify buying it but -- I'm Dutch and that wallet can be pretty hard to open at times!