Miter Sled & Finger Joints

     Any of you that are also teachers know that the profession usually doesn't give you that immediate gratification.  On occasion I do run into former students and they tell me how they enjoyed the industrial arts or construction classes I've taught them in the past.  Keep in mind though that these were students from grade 6 to grade 12.  Since retiring and now teaching the occasional class plus giving private lessons the things I've taught to adults give me quicker feed back.
     As an example, I had a fellow woodworker take some one on one instructions on how to set up, sharpen, and use a hand plane.  That's one of the basic hand tool processes for those of us who aren't infatuated with machinery!  He shared with me how he had made a bracelet holder which needed to be oval in shape.  He started with a round form and by using the hand plane he had so carefully sharpened and tuned up was able to achieve the required shape.  Some of it still needed sanding because he wasn't able to get the plane in all of the places.  When I saw him last night he told me about that and how the planed area took the finish much better than the sanded area.  We had talked about that; a surface cut with a sharp plane versus one that's been abraded with sandpaper will have a sheen to it.  He shared that with me and I could sense his excitement and pleasure about conquering the plane.
     That brings me to the Urban Ranch Box I'm currently working on.  It's made of common, knotty pine from the local big box store.  Even that though will respond to the plane.

Surfacing the Inside

Sizing the Top on the Shooting Board

     This is an instance where as the builder and designer of the piece I can choose the lumber and decide where it will look the best.  This is the largest box of the series and will feature a full size, lift out tray.  A good sharp plane will have no problems with the knots and sap found on this fairly common lumber.
     Leroy also makes boxes and at our Sin City Woodworkers monthly meeting last night, the focus was on different jigs and fixtures we use in our craft to make work go smoother and safer.  He brought in his miter sled that he uses on his tablesaw.  We got to talking about the box making procedure and he mentioned having to set up the stops so that each piece would be sized accurately.
     The first rule of box making is that opposite sides of a box must be exactly the same size for your corners to be nice and tight.  Another important consideration is that you want the grain to flow around the box in a continuous manner.  In other words, if you cut a long side first your next piece will be a short side, then another long, then the last short.  You can't set a stop for the long side and cut both at the same time.  There are several solutions, one is a hinged stop that you can flip up or down depending on the piece being cut.
     Here's the solution I use to overcome this problem.  My miter sled is fairly short but sized for what I want to do.  After setting the sled on the tablesaw I slide the rip fence towards it.

Ready for a 6" Piece

     After mitering the first end I put in an MDF spacer.  It's identified and says that if my fence is locked at 9" and the spacer is butted up to it I will have a piece 6" long.  To make the next cut all that needs to be done is to switch to another spacer:

Spacer for a 3 3/4" Piece

     Each piece will need to have the smallest amount cut from it to have the miter go the correct way, that's what those small scrapes on the upper right are.  I've laid the cut pieces on the sled so you can see how the grain will flow around the box once it's assembled.
     If you have a larger sled and the pieces you plan to cut won't extend off the end like they do on my short sled you can easily clamp a stop block to your sled for the longest piece you need.  For an example, suppose you want a box that measures 8" x 12".  Clamp a stop block to your sled for the 12" piece and make your first cut.  Next, make a 4" long spacer to put between the piece being cut and the stop block and you'll have a perfectly sized, 8" piece.

     Very Important Safety Note

Do not leave the spacer in place when you make the cut, remove it before cutting.  You should never use a miter sled or the miter gauge that comes with your saw in conjunction with the rip fence.  It'll bind and you'll end up with a piece of wood flying back at you at about 100 mph!

Now a Copper Kitty!

    

     I have a number of followers to this gilding series on the Picture Framer's Grumble message board so I decided I should elaborate just a little bit more for them as well as anyone else that's interested in the oil gilding process.  Since I had some copper leaf, thought to myself I should use it too so did two of the lids with it.  The size of these is approximately 4" x 6" and when the weather allows I'll post some pictures of the box and lid shellacked, waxed, and ready to go!

Copper Gilded Cat

   
     The copper leaf works pretty much the same as the gold but to my fingers it felt as if it wasn't quite as flexible.  I had more faulting around the outline of the carve with it then with the gold but as you see here.......

Fault Repair

........... it's just a matter of taking a small piece of the leaf and pressing it into those areas.  I suggest that you avoid rubbing over the sized areas too much as you leaf the piece because then you'll remove all of the size.  Large areas can be re-sized and re-gilded but it's hard to blend it in.  Something I should have mentioned before is that the burnisher/sealer material from Rolco is available in a yellow as well as the traditional red.  Just like the traditional clays used in water gilding you can apply the yellow in deep grooves and other areas you think the leaf will fault.  Now, when it does fault the undercoat is yellow which blends into the leaf color better.
     I mentioned burnishing the sealer before you gild the piece.  I found my can of Rolco's red burnisher/sealer and it's far superior to the spray can application of primer.  You really need to stir it well because there is a lot of clay in the mix.  Here's two pieces that have one coat of the red on them:

See the Difference?

     The one on the right side has been burnished with a wad of 4/0 Liberon oil free steel wool.  It's important to use the oil free variety.  Any oil left from the standard variety steel wool could mess up your finish.  The difference is pretty obvious, keep in mind that the leaf gets it's shine and luster from the surface below it.  Although oil gilded objects can't be burnished like a water gilded frame can it will still telegraph the surface that it sits on.
     Another thing I should mention is that once you've covered all of the surface with your gild, take a soft brush to gently remove all of the skewings from the surface.  I inherited this big, soft brush from my wife's make up drawer that works fine.

Skewings are the Remnants of the Leaf

     Once they're removed you'll be able to find the places that need to be repaired.  The size will remain tacky for up to 3 hours, depending on the humidity and temperature.
     Keep in mind that all of the metal leaf, Dutch gold, composition leaf, or what ever name it comes by needs to be sealed.  They are alloys of tin, brass, copper, etc.  Straight shellac works well and is compatible with any other finish.  I use an air brush to avoid runs and puddles.  There is a frame maker that has given demo's at the WCAF show who works with different chemicals to really make the metal leaf shine.  He gets some fantastic finishes on his frames -- I'm pretty sure his name is Eric Tolfinger  or something like that.  If you're interested you may be able to locate him through PFM magazine.
     Well, let me end this post by showing you the sample board with the copper and gold, side by side for comparisons sake.

     If you want to cut the shine you can rub it gently with the 4/0 steel wool before sealing but I've found that after 4-5 thin coats of sprayed on shellac some of the shine is taken off anyway.  Experiment with it, it's much cheaper and easier than precious gold. 

Gilding & Carving Tutorial

      At this years West Coast Framing show held at the Mirage here in Las Vegas I met several people in a class I took that were interested in a tutorial for Dutch metal or composition gold gilding.  Since the art market, along with almost every other one!, has changed and Diane's focus is no longer on painting I haven't gilded for a while -- until now that is so that I can have Ali's inspiration on some boxes I'm preparing for my upcoming box show.  Here's the final result:

Final Result

     The first step to this process was to create a pattern using Ali's picture.  Since I'm making a series of these and want to keep them somewhat consistent I decided to make a pattern.

     The pattern was made on 1/4" MDF and then attached to the Basswood that will become the lid.  Use two sided tape to do this.  Next was using a plunge router with a 3/16" bit to outline the profile.  You could just as easily use a V-chisel to carve this free hand but since I'm making multiples, like I said, decided the pattern was the best bet.  This is that result, I couldn't find a V-bit small enough so used a straight one instead.  A V-bit would have left a nice, tapered edge but by using a V-Chisel before removing the sides it worked just as well
 

Next came the chisel work.  I began cutting away from the pattern to the outside of the board using a #5/20mm gouge.  To prevent an accidental slip I prefer to work out from the pattern first if the grain of the wood will allow.

     After getting the bulk of the material out with the large, I switched over to a #3/10mm fishtail gouge. It's important to note that the blank is larger than needed so any tear out the occurs at the edges will be removed when the lid is cut to size.

     Now it's just a matter of refining the shape to suit your taste.  I want it to be recognizable as a cat but not be so detailed that it becomes too time consuming. One of the final steps to the carving process is to get rid of the "whiskers" along the edge of the carving.  Basswood tends to do that and I've found that a small, brass bristled brush works great to remove them.  You can pick them up at any hardware store, usually in the plumbing department.

     Here's the completed carving with the tools I used.  From the left there is a #6 V-chisel, then a #3/10mm fishtail gouge, a #8/8mm gouge, the brass bristled brush, and the #5/20 gouge.  Once I was satisfied with the carving the lid was lightly sanded with some 180 grit paper and cut to fit its' box.  The only thing left to do is cut a rabbet around the lower edge to fit into the box.  Then we're ready to do the gilding.
     The first step is to prepare the wood for the oil size.  It may be my age but I prefer oil based adhesives and finishes over water based ones so that's what I'm experienced in.  The first step is to seal the wood so that when the size is applied it won't soak into the wood -- you want the size to leave a film that completely covers the surface.  No film = no gold leaf!  Your best bet is to use Rolco Burnisher/Sealer but in a pinch you can use a spray can finish.  Krylon and Rustoleum have a primer that is sometimes referred to as Damp Proof Red Primer.  The advantage to spraying is that it's easy and doesn't require cleaning a brush.  The advantage of the Burnisher/Sealer is that it's a thicker material that contains clay. It won't penetrate into the surface of the wood as much as a spray will.  I was in a pinch and used the spray can this time and built up at least 5 coats.
     Irregardless of what you use, let it dry thoroughly before going on to the next phase.  You need to burnish the surface before you gild.  This can be done with 4/0 steel wool (I prefer Liberon oil free) and you'll see the surface get shiny.  Keep in mind that even with oil gilding it's your surface preparation that gives you the shine. The best way to clean any residue off is with compressed air.
     Now you're ready to brush on a very thin, uniform coat of oil size.  Follow the directions on the can but most have an open time of 1 to 3 hours.  For small scale work quick size is fine but when I do a frame I prefer slow set size which requires about 12 hours  before it's ready to work.

Applying the Size, Can you see the Burnished Effect?

     How do you know when the size is ready for laying the leaf?  I've heard this referred to as The Knuckle Test.

Knuckle Test

     After an hour or so, use your as shown knuckle above.  If the size isn't sufficiently dry you'll stick to it and leave a mark.  If, on the other hand, you do this and hear a squeak like sound the size is ready.  Pretty hard to describe but in grade school wasn't there at least one obnoxious kid who ran his thumb over the desk top and it sounded like something else!!  Well, my teacher said I was obnoxious when I did it.  Okay, ready to lay some gold.

     I've made what I call my leaf layer.  Here's what it looks like:

Leaf Layer

     It's a piece of 1/4" MDF which is very smooth.  Slightly larger than a piece of Dutch gold with the edges rounded over and then waxed.  The half round cut out at the top allows you to hold it easier,  Generally my thumb is on top and my tigers support the rest.  Similar to an artist's palette. Dutch gold, composition metal, schlag metal, is all the same.  The biggest difference with it over the water gilding method using precious gold leaf is that you can handle this with your fingers and it won't fall apart.  I start by laying a sheet of the gold on the leaf layer:

Beginning the Lay

   
     Go towards the outside edge and allow the leaf to extend off the layer. Use your fingers to gently tamp the leaf to the board or frame and now it becomes a dance.  You need to slowly pull back with your leaf layer allowing the leaf to settle upon the surface.  At the same time, smooth the leaf over the surface from side to side. If you pull back too quickly you'll tear the leaf; too slow and it'll bunch up and wrinkle.  I can lay full sheets but it's probably wiser to start with partial sheets until you get the hang of it.  Here I'm beginning the second piece, it's only a partial sheet:

Second Piece

     No matter how slowly you go you're bound to have faults or tears in the leaf.  This is especially true where you have edges like around the profile here:

Faulting or Tears in the Leaf

     Keep in mind that there is still size in those faulted areas, you can just take a small piece of leaf and tamp it down to cover them:

Repairs

     When you've patched all you can, it's time to press the leaf firmly into the size.  I start out with my fingers and then end the process with a micro fiber cloth which also helps to remove any doubled up leaf or skewings.  Since this isn't real gold it needs to be sealed but before you do that let it dry overnight.  To take off some of that garishness that composition gold has the first step would be to lightly burnish the surface with 4/0 steel wool.  Be sure to get rid of any residue from that, especially if you use water based sealers or toners -- the steel wool will rust.
     I generally use shellac as a sealer because it's compatible with most anything.  You can pad or brush it on or; if you have it, use an air brush.  That's what I like to do because it eliminates any brush marks or puddling.
     Well, this ended up being quite lengthy and if you were able to see your way through it I hope it was beneficial.  You can get copper, aluminum, and even variegated leaf from suppliers like Sepp Leaf, Dick Blick, etc.  Let me know how this worked out for you.

Wood Lover's Finish Part 2

     After about 45 hours of shop time the bases are ready to go to their new home.  I'll need to keep them here though until the re-modeling work is completed at my clients home.  We're looking at the 22nd. of this month or so.  I'll put them in the kitchen, protected by some mover's blankets and let them settle into the atmosphere of an air conditioned house.  This will be the last post about the table bases until I deliver and install the Travertine tops on them.
     I wanted to show the final steps to the finish I blogged about in my last post. Here's a picture of the coffee table after two applications of the finish with 600 wet/dry paper.  Notice the Marie Calendar's pie tin on the bench?  That's what I use to keep the finish in.  It's much easier than trying to get it out of a quart can.

Looking Good But Will Get Better

     I received a number of requests for the process and since wet sanding the first coats is pretty self explanatory I wanted to show the final process.  To start, I cut denim up into small pieces; say 2" x 3" or so.  The people on my street that have growing children save their denim jeans for me as the kids out grow them!  Really a good deal.  For the denim applications, just use a very small amount of the finish and work it with the grain of the wood a small section at a time and turn the denim as a section of it gets saturated with the finish.  I'd estimate that the roughness of the denim is probably equivalent to 1000 grit paper.

First Application with Denim

     It was 85 degrees at around 7am so I only worked a very small section of the bases at one time.  It's almost like rubbing in a coat of wax except you want to take it off fairly soon after it's applied.  For this, old towels are a good thing to use:

Wiping Down with a Towel

     This whole process reminds me of being in Marine Corps boot camp and our rifle cleaning routine.  On Sundays we'd drag out our sea chests to sit on and the D.I. would give us some boiled linseed oil to rub into our rifle stocks.  We used our bare hands and were told that the heat caused by friction is what produced the sheen and protection. Some of you may want to use disposable gloves but I find them to be messy, plus they leave marks on the wood.  Use a product like Liquid Gloves (available from Lee Valley) instead.  Here's one side of the table completely done:

Love the Sheen!

     It seems that no matter how carefully you try to wipe every crook and cranny there always seems to be a rough spot.  Usually where two surfaces meet at right angles or underneath the apron.  To overcome that, wipe everything with a new towel after completing the entire piece.  Position yourself so that the light hits the wood at an angle and really eye-ball the surface looking for any thick or missed areas.  The beauty of this finish is that even if you find a missed spot a day or two later all you need to do is re-apply a small amount of the finish with denim.  Same thing for maintenance, a thin application of the 3 part mix rubbed in and wiped off will restore it.  How often should that be done?, I did my kitchen cabinets with this and the only place that needed much attention was around the sink and dishwasher.  Usually I'd do that area before Thanksgiving because that's when the family came over.
     Well, it looks as if tomorrow morning will be time to get back to work on the boxes for the show scheduled for the 20th. of September.  Definitely want to get the bases into the house, the weather man is calling for highs in the 110+ range for Wednesday and through the end of the week.  It creates problems with the wood reacting to the dryness and wanting to shrink across the grain.  When I was at San Francisco State there was the opposite problem.  If you cut a joint at night and waited until the next day to assemble it it was usually a pretty tight fit if the fog rolled in over-night.  The challenges of working with this beautiful material, that's what keeps us going.

A Wood Lover's Finish

    No apologies to Pizza Hut and their slogan  "A Meat Lover's Pizza" because as I was applying the first hand rubbed coat on the Walnut table bases I appreciated why I love this finish so much.  Here's kind of a strange angled photograph to illustrate what I'm talking about:

Tables Upside Down

     No matter how I tried to rotate this shot it still looks strange!  The bases are upside down and you're looking at a side view.  What I hope you'll see is the sheen on the end table closest to you compared to the other one.  The finish procedure I use, though time consuming, is one that is incomparable to any other.  Granted, it's my opinion but the feel and luster is one you can't get any other way.  I've shared this finish with many other woodworkers and even clients.  I learned about this finish in the early 70's when I was at San Francisco State University.  It's a three part mix that is hand sanded into the wood and then wiped dry.  The first application is with 400 wet/dry paper, this is followed by two more applications with 600 wet/dry paper and finally a minimum of two more applications with denim which I'm guessing is about 1000 grit.  For this project the first coat took about 2 hours but is well worth it.  After allowing 24 hours or so for the finish to dry, the next coat will be applied.
    This finish was shown to students in the woodworking program when Art Espenet Carpenter (here's a link about him) came to the University and shared it with them.  This was the time when there were a couple of other well known woodworkers in California. He's in the same company as Sam Maloof and James Krenov and the three of them had a huge influence on the woodworking scene.  If my memory serves me well, Art was the man who coined the phrase that "time is care" as opposed to the more popular one stating "time is money".  I go for the time is care in my work, always having the goal of whatever I produce being the best that I can do.
     Perfection and woodworking are very seldom used in the same sentence!  In our local woodworker's monthly meeting that subject often comes up.  We've been trying to understand why virtually everyone that brings a project in for show and tell will point out the small error or blemish in their own work, it's as if we want to downgrade the talent we have or something.  In any case, didn't mean to get off on a tangent but the finish of a piece of furniture is the final phase of the process.  I happen to be quite prejudiced towards the finish I use because it does give great results -- Ikea, Ethan Allen, et al have nothing on this.  The other huge advantage is that as a craftsman working in a small shop you don't need to have spray booth and all of the related equipment.  Lastly, the finish is very easy to repair if ever needed.  I've even repaired a cigarette burn in an Oak bar top many years ago.  Here are two more pictures to illustrate how this looks on the table bases.

     Here the base on the left has its' first coat, the right one only has a coat of Danish Oil on it.  I love how it enhances and brings out the natural beauty of the wood.  For me, it really is all about the wood!

     This one is a little harder to tell but both legs are done while the apron between them again, only has the Danish Oil.
 

Finish Process Has Begun

     Once you begin the finishing phase of a project on you know you're almost done.  I couldn't of picked a more humid day to start on them.  I decided that since I had a number of cuts on my hands I would wear some disposable gloves, usually I just rely on Liquid Gloves so I can feel the wood while I wet sand the finish.  Honestly, when I held my hands up the water would run out of the gloves --- that's humid!  I heard a little voice in my head saying "oil and water don't mix"! In any case though, now the beautiful, warm tones of the Walnut begin to show themselves.

View of One Side 

     These take up a lot of room in my shop/garage so I need to find a way to work around them.  Since my client won't be ready for them until the latter part of the month I'll probably set them on edge in the kitchen.  So nice to have a supportive wife who suggested this.  Another thing I need to figure out is how to get them up at a higher level.  If the application of the Danish Oil is an indication of the time required my old back isn't going to be happy.  Spent a little over two hours on this phase and it wasn't easy straightening back up.  With a minimum of 4 topcoats to go I may be reaching for the ibuprofen!

And then the Other

     I can re-configure the torsion boxes and put both of the end tables on that and plan to get a new drop cloth to drape over the tablesaw.  Then the coffee table will be on it and give me a higher working level.  Looking forward to working the magic on them.  Walnut is such a beautiful wood and ordering about a third more material than I needed did pay off in the final results.  Maybe I can recoup some of the costs by selling the sap wood pieces to a student in my upcoming class on making the work top bench!
     One of the last details was to put a slight chamfer on the inside legs.  This was started with a 45 degree router bit and less than 3/16" in width; just enough to add a shadow line.  The problem with a router is that it leaves rounded corners that will need to be squared off.  I had considered cutting the chamfer by hand which would have been my preferred method but the size of the glue up changed my mind as lining things up would have been tricky; to say the least.  The glue ups were stressful enough because of the high temperatures and needing to close the joints quickly before the glue sets up.
     So, here's the process, first the detail looked like this after routing.

        A small combination square was used to draw the lines required to square off the inside.  Then ...

   
         .... this was carefully chiseled out to the other leg.  The temptation is to take it out with one pass but that usually results in a rough, chipped out area; don't ask me how I know that!  Once one side is chamfered.....

   
       .... the inner corner is cut to form the miter by angling the chisel from the drawn in line to the inside of the joint.  The other leg can now be shaped in the same manner.  You need to keep in mind that you first have edge grain but when you get to the other leg you'll run into end grain.  Details set custom work apart from mass produced work.

     It's not meant to sound like an excuse or anything but in a picture framing class I took recently the speaker said that the beauty of a frame made by hand is its' inconsistencies.  This really is a true statement when you think about it.  Not too long ago I created a picture frame using a beading tool.  When you looked at it closely you could tell it wasn't machined by a router or CNC machine.  A slight bobble here, a slightly deeper cut there, and so on.  That added to it's over-all appearance.  Saying that though it is important to distinguish between hand crafted beauty and crudely done work!

Table Bases Assembled

Coffee Table Base

     At last, all of the bases are now assembled.  Thanks to Diane and a break in the heat I felt I could tackle the biggest base of all.  This was accomplished the same way as the end tables by gluing two legs and an apron one day then assembling the rest the following day.  I've made a bit more progress on the two, end table bases:

End Table Bases

     The insides of the legs have a very small, 45 degree chamfer cut on them.  I think that this will add just the slightest shadow line while still remaining very contemporary over-all.  When I met with the client we discussed how the Travertine would be placed on the base and concluded that since it's so heavy it's probably not going to go anywhere!  Probably true but the more I thought about it, it began to concern me.  If the table is moved in the future it could slide off if one end was higher than the other.  I'm thinking that once it starts to move a little bit it's not going to be easy to stop!
     Well, I've been told that I "pre-worry" and it's probably true.  What I've decided to do is to attach those blocks you see on the inside of the apron.  These are glued and screwed into place, the long sides of the coffee table will have two of these.  I bought some 4" long mending plates and these will be screwed to the block and then the piece of plywood that is already attached to the Travertine.  A little extra work but to my way of thinking, also some peace of mind.
     All that remains is cutting the chamfer on the coffee table then some final scraping, planing, or even sanding, as needed.  Next will be Danish oil and at least 5 coats of my hand rubbed top coat.  Delivery and installation will follow that so I'm estimating that two thirds of this commission is now done!