Some Early Projects

[Matt Hunstiger]

Here are some of the things I have recently done in my woodworking journey. I have some woodworking books, but most of my education has been online at "Youtube University" and some forums like this one.

1. Sapele winding sticks with maple inlay. It's my first attempt at inlay. I didn't have any dark wood, so I just inlaid the long maple piece and colored it with a sharpie. :o All handmade. I made the centering maple dowels with a dowel plate. This project is from a Paul Sellers video on Youtube.

2. Paul Sellers Poor Man's Rebate Plane. Made by hand out of pine 2x4, fits a 1/2" chisel. Also of course from a Paul Sellers Youtube video. Was useful on the cheeks of the saw bench's legs' bird's mouths, since I don't (yet) have a shoulder plane.

3. Christopher Schwarz saw bench. Also of course a Youtube project. Made from some left over pine 2x4s and a couple 2x6 pieces. All hand made. First time cutting half-laps. First time using forged nails, cuz why not. Cutting the angled leg notches and the bird's mouths was the hardest part. First time doing that too. I was pretty pleased when assembly was taking place that the long stretcher sat flat on both the short stretchers when I marked out that part, although it was a bit skewed compared to the bench top, given the legs weren't perfectly attached the same to the bench top.:o
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[Jim Koepke]

Looks like some fun projects.

jtk

[Richard Hutchings]

Nice looking work. What's next?

[Bruce Mack]

Nice work! You have caught the bug. Try not to forget the lesson that you can create great objects with just passion and very few tools.

[Matt Hunstiger]

In the background there I've got the 2x6s that are going to be saw bench #2, which will be the same except this time I'm going to use cut nails, cuz why not.

Also working on my joiner's mallet. The ash handle is almost dimensioned (to the right of the threaded dowels). Another Paul Sellers Youtube project. I got several log sections from an ash tree that came down from my inlaws' house. The head will be hard maple. It was kind of fun starting with a log, splitting it with an ax/mallet and ending up with a flat board. Almost magical.

And I'm making a saw sharpening vise a la James Wright's Wood by Wright on Youtube, as I don't really like my old metal one that much, and I like the idea of a vise that fits the whole plate, or nearly so. I've made the screws out of hard maple dowels using a DCT 1 1/2" die/threading kit. The parts that clamp the plate are oak that I had left over from my straight edge. The rest is hickory. The handles for the vise are to the left of the threaded dowels. One thing I tried which worked really well was the cut PVC pipe which I seal off on the bottom with a rubber banded bag (behind the straight edge on the right). That's what I used to soak the dowels in boiled linseed oil before using the DCT die. Worked really well, and I didn't have to use so much oil in a big vat. I put in the dowel, topped it up with oil, then checked back later and topped it off again after the oil had absorbed into the wood. Soaked it for about a day.

The quartersawn oak straight edge in the photo is after Joshua Farnsworth's Wood and Shop Youtube page. His Wood and Shop website has been so helpful, with his buying guides and explanations.

One thing that is fun, and sometimes frustrating, with hand tool woodworking is the "you need this" followed by "well, to get that you need to make it."

I'm reminded of a guy I knew in grad school who apprenticed as a blacksmith. He was told at the beginning to make nails. Nails, nails, and more nails. Frustrating, but the obvious thing going on is learning the technique, muscle memory, building skill and confidence. So yeah I can buy a joiner's mallet at Menards for 15-20 bucks, but I won't learn anything from the mistakes I make in making my own.

posted weird before, let's try this again.

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[Jim Koepke]

So yeah I can buy a joiner's mallet at Menards for 15-20 bucks, but I won't learn anything from the mistakes I make in making my own.

Very true observation. Many folks buy expensive brand new tools and then wonder why they don't have a wonderful finished project.

There is a lot of learning involved in making a simple bench hook, shooting board, pair of winding sticks or a mallet. There is a lot of learning in rehabbing an old plane, brace or sharpening a drill bit.

Learning from my mistakes has made me a most learned individual.

jtk