Musings from Big Pink

Hubris 101b: Turning Quarter Columns

2012-02-17T08:30:00.002-05:00

I turned the quarter columns for the dressing table on which I am working. It's the first time I've turned and now I'm here to teach you how I did it.

Getting the profile I wanted was remarkably similar to using hollows and rounds: Establish the flats/fillets and knock off the corners.

The result:

I imagine the reason I love this hobby is the problem solving that goes along with it. I turned the columns Wednesday night and thought about how I was going to add the fluting that night. This was my solution.

The fence rides the poplar.

I glued the front two on yesterday morning and just took the clamps off.

I am on schedule for bringing this to the NWA show in Saratoga, NY at the end of March. Construction is to be complete by 3/1 and I will spend March on the finish.

Outside of the Lie-Nielsen Handtool Events that I often attend, NWA will likely be the only (and biggest) show at which I will exhibit in 2012.

Question: does this fall in the 'Table' category? It's not a 'Case, Cabinet or Desk', right?

Moulded Edge of Chippendale Dressing Table Top

2012-02-11T08:01:00.003-05:00

Another busy morning...

Rabbet plane

#4 Round

#6 hollow to a full width shaving followed by tipping it at a more severe angle to transition it smoothly into the vertical face. This turns a circle segment into an oval segment

Flip it, #4 hollow mimicking the shape of a #3.

Take the corners off at a 45 degree angle and repeat

The picture above was supposed to be a video. I put the camera on the wrong setting.

Try this quick one. I'm making the shallow yellow rabbet illustrated above.

Complete-ish

All of the planes I used have square irons. Work across the grain on both sides first. I saved taking the corners off until the end so that I didn't have to worry about blow out.

The next thing is the quarter columns. I've never turned before and have been putting it off for a long time. Wednesday night is guild night. You might see them on Thursday.

Support Moulding for Chippendale Dressing Table

2012-02-10T12:44:00.004-05:00

Quickly now...

Rabbet Plane

Rabbet Plane followed by #4 hollow

Rabbet Plane followed by #6 hollow then #6 round

Get Woodworking Week

2012-02-08T00:00:00.006-05:00

Apparently it's 'Get Woodworking Week' so I need to write a blogpost.

Here are a few different views from my shop's window today.

Sheldon is my oldest at 6 years old.

Take note of the full strokes for the second half of the video. Feeling the flow, Working it.

At 4 years old, Thaddeus is my middle.

He ultimately got an 'A' for effort (and not Amputation)

It has been a long 'Get Woodworking Week' for Thad.

You're probably hoping that next week is 'Get Safe Week' or 'Become Responsible Week'. You may not be so lucky. Chris Schwarz stopped by during 'Play Excessively Close to a Bonfire and Make it Bigger Week'.

For the record, my wife WAS watching. She had the youngest with her hauling branches she cut off with the chainsaw....seriously.

Central Shell and Acanthus Leaves

2012-02-06T20:16:00.002-05:00

Jim,
Here are a couple pictures of the shell as your requested. There is still work to be done on the acanthus leaves on the drawer.

Everything looks good with them until I see these pictures.

I am done carving the shell.

It should be said that Chuck Bender of The Acanthus Workshop and NoBSWoodworking helped me learn how to carve acanthus leaves a few years ago. I traded carving lessons for moulding planes and yada, yada, yada, here I am. He's a phenomenal teacher with a portfolio that is second to none.

If the carving is poor then please disregard the fact that I just referenced Chuck a half dozen time.

I am really happy with it.

More Focus on the Shell

2012-02-05T11:47:00.001-05:00

I spent more time with the shell on the drawer this morning. It will be the focus of attention, after all. A few changes made a world of difference.

I will likely pick at this thing until I make a fatal error.

Drawer Lip

2012-02-04T12:39:00.003-05:00

I have a large order coming up that includes a few planes for drawer lips. I intended to 'test' one of the planes on the drawers for my dressing table.

The beauty of having hollows, rounds, etc. is that I do not have to wait.

The goal

Rabbet plane

#4 hollow to full width shaving followed by tipping the plane on its side to knock off the corner, making the circle an ellipse.

The result...

1 down.

an hour later last night. Now I can get on to carving.

Early to bed, early to rise.

It was a busy morning.

Obligatory photo

NWA, here I come.

It's Never a Given

2011-12-19T08:45:00.002-05:00

It's not yet entirely glued together but it fits and is square.

A Weekend After a Weekend with Peter Follansbee

2011-12-11T10:27:00.000-05:00

I was at the Furniture Institute of Mass. last weekend with the Lie-Nielsen Handtool Event tour. Peter Follansbee was there. I'll let the picture speak for itself.

How To Make a Crossbow (Guest Blogger)

2011-12-01T08:18:00.000-05:00

(My oldest son wanted to write an instruction booklet. He dictated the reasons and instruction. Enjoy!)

My name is Sheldon Bickford. I am 6 years old. I decided to write this blog for other woodworkers with kids or grandsons. I think you will be interested in putting this together. It only takes 45 minutes.

These are the tools that we use to make the crossbow.

These are the pieces for the crossbow.

Official Knife Sharpening Day

2011-11-24T09:53:00.003-05:00

You know you're doing it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Result

2011-11-23T09:22:00.002-05:00

I have finished sharpening the dedicated plane I made yesterday. Here's a quick image of the result.

The profile my plane cuts is on top. The profile from Owen's router is on the bottom.

Three quick points:

1. A custom router bit is cheaper.

2. Setting this profile onto an edge, however, will always be a 5 minute operation from start to finish. Compare that to the time it will take you to set up a router table and then sand.

3. The making of this plane speaks well to the versatility of hollows and rounds. The sole of the plane was made with them. The profile itself can be made with them. There are scores of additional profiles you can create with just them and an incalculable amount that they could be incorporated into.

Dedicated Plane for a Harpsichord Bridge

2011-11-22T12:01:00.001-05:00

It has been a while since I posted a step by step. I thought you might be interested in this one because it's a little different.

I'm in the process of making a dedicated plane for Owen Daly, a professional harpsichord maker. The profile is for the bridge.

The dimensions here are approximate and for the actual moulding, not the plane.

Rabbet plane

1 pass with a snipes bill

Rabbet plane for the chamfer followed by #1 round. (Take note that I am using the plane on a chamfer, not as I traditionally do on the arrises of a rabbet. It's just too small.)

#1 hollow. (Again, because the plane is so small I am simply starting on a single corner.)

Complete

Waiting for approval before I go ahead with the grinding, etc...

The actual profile is off his router table. The plane is my work.

You Cannot Crosscut With A Rip Saw But You Can Rip With A Crosscut...

2011-10-27T08:50:00.003-04:00

Just not economically and not if you intend to remain friends with the person on the other end.

I spared you the picture of me being up on a ladder while doing this. I wouldn't want you to laugh, after all.

We were definitely craving the frame saw that the Minnesota SAPFM guys has at WIA.

I didn't have high hopes. The saw was hanging in my buddy's house. But we stayed on target and didn't go off by even 1/16". We went about 12" deeper than what you see on the far side. It would have worked, but I found access to a bandsaw with nearly 19" resaw capacity.

Here are a few pictures of other pieces that are being worked on for NWA 2012.

Don's chest of drawers.

Chris' chest of drawers.

And of course, more progress. I will be done with the carving of this next week and will pick at it/clean it up for a night after that.

Don't forget the SAPFM deadline of Oct. 31 for submitting pictures of your work to enter into:

A Tradition of Craft: Current Works
by the Society of American Period Furniture Makers

I went down to Don's last week to take a couple pictures of the three pieces he has entered. Here's a sneak preview of one...

Progress Continues On Dressing Table

2011-10-19T07:31:00.002-04:00

Our group met for the third time last night. You can see the night's progress on the right.

Everything looks smooth until you see a picture.

An Idiot Guides Through Moulding Planes

2011-10-16T22:44:00.003-04:00

I started writing this blog for a few reasons:

-I like talking about these planes and I work alone.

-I travel to a lot of shows. I spend a lot of time with a few people. I often throw a lot of information at a small group in the span of 20 minutes and I'm genuinely concerned that what I explain, despite being understood at the moment, is not always remembered.

-I wanted to show people my work and myself.

By now you have heard that I am writing a book that is going to be published by Chris Schwarz' Lost Art Press. We do not yet know the exact release date, price, binding, color scheme, etc. You now know my original title, which is above. It was rejected.

The book is the following:

-An explanation of the process of using and maintaining the planes that fascinate me in a manner much more comprehensive than this blog. (Again, if you're reading the blog for the first time start at the beginning.)

-The book will show you what things look like when things go right.

-More importantly, the book will illustrate what things look like when they go wrong.

-An introspective justification for the same planes.

The book will be separated into two sections. The first section details the process: Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. Everything I've concluded and excluded is in it.

The second section is a test. "What will you do with these profiles?" vs. 'What I've done.' I've measured approximately 75 different mouldings from real pieces. They're all in there with a step-by-step process that starts with a blank profile for you to test yourself and ends with how I would execute.

The book will likely lay flat on your workbench so that you can bring it to the shop and try. The goal of the book is for you to read it twice and unload it because there no longer any need for it.

You will turn this.

into this.

and then into anything in any of these and more.

The process is simple. The reason is simple. My next month is overwhelming.

P.S. My other title was "No Tails but Perfect Rabbets"

Good Night!

The Ultimate Portfolio

2011-10-14T21:12:00.000-04:00

I've spent quite a bit of time around Chuck Bender and The Acanthus Workshop, but it's not enough. I've flipped through the pictures in his portfolio a lot too. Again, it's not enough.

Well, Chuck has updated his website and made it more streamlined. The pictures he has online are easier to get to now. It's well worth a look.

Rumor has it that he has 200+ more photos that he will be putting up when he decides we're worth it.

If you ever make it to his shop (like, say, for a class on moulding planes in March or September of 2012) you will be overwhelmed by the number of patterns hanging around.

While at his site I noticed that Chuck is also starting an online school, NoBSWoodworking:

"NoBSWoodworking is a weekly show available only by membership. When you join, you’ll have taken the first step in opening new doors to better woodworking. Each week, from November through April, you’ll see some of the best tips and tricks of the trade available. You’ll also see woodworking techniques explained in detail as well as complete projects and unbiased tool reviews (we even test tools right on camera so you can see what works and what doesn’t). You’ll get to meet craftsmen in other mediums who’s work can enhance your own projects and we’ll visit some of the Nation’s finest museums, collections and furniture craftsmen in order to learn more about the craft we love and enjoy. Throughout the year members will receive exclusive content, project builds, live demos and question and answer sessions with Charles Bender and some of the Nation’s best woodworkers. All of this comes to you commercial free, in the privacy of your own home or shop. If you’re as passionate about woodworking as we are, you will most certainly enjoy our show."

Why force yourself to work without a bandsaw? Seems weird.

Barn Raising in Haddam Neck

2011-10-10T09:11:00.006-04:00

I went to my first barn raising Saturday. A house is being erected upon the old footprint of a house and marina that burned several years ago. Our small volunteer fire department proudly boasts that we have yet to lose a foundation! You can see the result of our work below (twisted metal beams and all).

I had planned to go to the barn raising for 3 one hour segments throughout the day. I knew that I would be staying for the entire thing about 5 minutes into it. I really had a great time.

The company that built the frame is The Barn Raisers. Brendan Matthews has been making post and beam houses on his own for 15 years. This was his 62nd structure. His first was across the street from this venue. Many of the people here on this day were there 15 years ago, including my wife and her brothers.

There were 40-50 people from the Haddam Neck community actively helping at any given time with many more watching from the sidelines.

Before (the metal structure in the foreground will be a shop for the marina, the post and beam house will be on the foundation behind.)

Haddam Neck Woodworkers' Guild

2011-10-06T08:45:00.000-04:00

The Haddam Neck Woodworkers Guild met for the first time last night. This will be a group of local craftsmen that meets once a week after work in an effort to force ourselves to produce things for ourselves. The group will meet, work, and exchange upwards of 6 sentences. I'm happy that 75% of the local woodworkers have joined.

In classic Haddam Neck form, a tree fell on a wire in the middle of a perfectly clear and windless day, knocking out power to half of the town. The location had to be changed and one third of our group (of three) couldn't attend because there was a tree across the only road.

I made this practice piece a while ago. It was very difficult to pick this up again.

Fall/Winter 2011 and 2012 schedule

2011-09-20T22:22:00.000-04:00

I often make the mistake that everybody reading this has been here since the beginning. If you have not and want to learn how I use hollows, rounds, etc., start at the beginning of the blog last December. I will start from the beginning again sometime, but at this stage I just can't rewrite it again.

I was sent the following note from a man that attended the LN show this past weekend in Newport, RI. He came for LN and found me.

"I have to admit I was blown away by your system for using the planes, particularly the hollows and rounds. Went home last night, signed up for your blog and read every every entry. Obviously, I will have to go back and and digest more, try to put some into practice, re read etc but I am enthusiastic. I am also going t see what I have collected over the years, resharpen whatever looks to be a workable pair and see what I can do with what I have. I am very glad to have met you and am looking forward to your book."

Come to one of these shows if you have the opportunity and interest. I can help you put those $5 antiques to work.

--------------------------

This blog has seemingly turned into a M. S. Bickford Moulding Planes scheduling advertisement and self-depricating ramble. I apologize for that. It is not my intention for things like this to overwhelm the subject matter to the extent that it has. Things have been pretty weird here. I'll leave it at that and tell you that we'll get back on subject...but not tonight.

I will be at WIA next weekend. This show is one of the highlights of my year. If you're reading this blog I can assure you that you will never be around as many people that share similar interests.

I am extraordinarily poor at updating my actual website, www.msbickford.com (hint). I will get it done before WIA. In the meantime, this is what I have so far.

Lie Nielsen Handtool Events

October 28-29
Manchester, CT
Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking
(This is Halloween weekend so make certain that you where your costume)

December 2-3
Beverly, MA
Furniture Institute of Mass.
(Always a full house)

January 6-7
Brooklyn, NY
3rd Ward
(This was the best LN show I went to last year. I really enjoyed that weekend.)

Other

March 31 and Sept. 1
NWA Woodworking Showcase
Saratoga, NY
(The focus of this show is on the product, not the tooling. I highly recommend it. Bring a piece to enter.)

TEACHING SCHEDULE
January 21-22
Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking
Learn how to use these planes at the bench
(Thomas Lie-Nielsen will be teaching a class on 1/20. You can get fully overloaded with all things 'hand planes' in just three days)

March 23, 24 and 25
The Acanthus Workshop
Pottstown, PA
This is a three day class with the 3rd day being optional. Chuck Bender will teach carving mouldings for a portion of this third day if that's where your interests fall.

September 15, 16 and 17
The Acanthus Workshop
Pottstown, PA
(second verse, same as the first...three days with the 3rd day optional)

Life of a Planemaker

2011-09-19T08:38:00.000-04:00

Fixed door frames and sills from rift sawn beech, moulding details skipped...

This Past Weekend and Next.

2011-09-12T09:11:00.001-04:00

I'm certain that a great time was had by all at the CVSW open house this past weekend. There was a full house with plenty of different exhibitors.

Jeff Noden (of Noden Adjust-a-Bench and The Noden Inlay Razor) and woodworker/author Craig Bentzley stopped by for dinner and end-of-summer fun before their trip home to NJ and PA, respectively.

Here are a couple pictures of Jeff demonstrating what sounds like his original passion.

(Jeff and my oldest son, Sheldon, at work)

(The final product. I don't have enough room to explain what happened to the real rockets)

CVSW Open House

2011-09-09T08:53:00.000-04:00

Irene...

2011-08-31T09:18:00.000-04:00

To whom it may concern,

We lost electricity during the storm and will not have it back for another 4-7 days. I will check my email again in another few days. I apologize for the slow responses.

Matt

Alone in the Wilderness (with my family)

2011-07-31T23:23:00.003-04:00

My three children, wife and I went to Vermont this weekend to my family's cabin.

The cabin was built by a logger in 1900. My grandfather purchased it in 1940.

A sawmill stood on the opposite end of the pond.

This is an effort to take a picture of the bottom of the lake. You're looking at the pond's floor about 10 ft deep.

Note the difference of the floor where the sawmill stood. It is only about 12" deep.

There is not much left of the sawmill. There are a couple of logs with a couple of joints.

Nothing more.

If you've ever had the pleasure of seeing the documentary "Alone in the Wilderness" you may recognize the effort of the logger that built this camp.

The man in Alaska sawed much of the joint. The man that built this cabin did not.

A long winter's hobby is evident in the main room's ceiling...

Read more »

I Quit

2011-07-26T03:42:00.001-04:00

I have known this day would come for a long time. I have prepared myself.

I hereby adopt the English spelling of 'Moulding' and will no longer write 'Molding'. The transition may be difficult. I may fall off the wagon from time to time. I will likely never change the spelling in my head.

Read more »

Weekend Class

2011-07-25T00:13:00.000-04:00

I taught a weekend class at Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking that ended today and I had a fantastic weekend.

The students were great. The school is great. I didn't have to help clean out the childhood bedrooms, closets and attic of my wife's family and that was great.

One of the students, Ben, made this frame profile completely by hand, excluding the rabbet on the bottom for the picture. (I imagine that Bob Van Dyke, the proprietor and one of the several teachers at CVSW, nearly threw me out when he saw me cutting it on one of their several Sawstops. I don't know why. It's a Sawstop, right?)

I told Ben what order to cut the rabbets. He did the rest. To the best of my knowledge, he had not used hollows and rounds before. Total time: about 60 minutes. Total length: five feet. Total planes: 5. Total coats of finish: 0.

When introducing ourselves, Dan, another student, said that the prospect of making a tall case clock led him to the class. This, I can relate to. He came in with his own profile to stick. Consider it stuck...

Again, I don't think Dan had used hollows and rounds before. I cut the rabbets on my tablesaw this morning (where I don't need to have a gallery of people with mouths agape). I also took the first three passes with a side round to show the class how it is used. Dan did the rest by himself. I intended to help him. He didn't wait.

For the record, 8 people used 28 planes off and on for 14+ hours. I stropped 3 of the 8 rabbets, one round and no hollows. One rabbet iron got damaged and has to go the the stones.

Lie-Nielsen 30th Anniversary

2011-07-17T23:10:00.002-04:00

Congratulations Thomas Lie-Nielsen! 30 years...My knuckles ache just thinking about it.

I got back from a weekend in Warren, ME, home of Lie-Nielsen Toolworks. I had a great weekend with my family and The Toolworks'. I used new products by Daed Toolworks, Sauer & Steiner, Brese Planes, Benchcrafted, and Czeck Edge. I saw several familiar faces, but did not take any pictures. My apologies. I will get some in the coming days to post.

I did get to stick a new molding profile in front of a crowd.

The waist molding to a Federal tall case clock:

CVSW Class

2011-07-11T21:25:00.004-04:00

I will be teaching a class at CVSW next week. The class is July 24th and 25th, Saturday and Sunday.

Here is the write up I did for the class:

"Stop making compromises with your router. Stop getting “close enough”. Learn how to use some of the most abundant molding planes of the past to get the exact edge you are after. Hollows and rounds do not make specific profiles. They make specific arcs. Learn to transform these few arcs into scores of various profiles. From layout to execution, this weekend class will focus on creating various moldings with these extraordinarily versatile planes.

SAPFM Mid-Year Conference

2011-06-28T01:24:00.001-04:00

The SAPFM Mid-Year Conference was this past weekend at The Connecticut Valley School of Woodoworking (I will be teaching a class there regarding molding plane use at the end of July).

The three high points for me were as follows:
3. The slideshow of members' work. I thought it was truly fantastic and wished it was longer.

2. Yale furniture study/lecture. On Friday much of the group went on a field trip to Yale. It was the first time I had been on campus in 8 years and the first time I went to the furniture study. If you haven't been, and you're interested in period furniture, go. There are 1100 pieces in the basement of a building that are waiting for you to measure, photograph, and copy. It's incredible.

1. I have been to two Lie Nielsen Handtool events (30th Anniversary in a few weeks in ME, see you there) at Phil Lowe's Furniture Institute of Massachusetts. Both times I demonstrated next to the following chair...

I saw it again this weekend. I think it's my favorite piece of furniture. I can not keep my eyes off of it. You just need to see it.

To the point of this blog...

Boxing

2011-06-23T01:50:00.004-04:00

I am often asked about adding the boxing to a plane. I took a couple of pictures along the way tonight.

(Please excuse the picture quality. I think I left my camera's charger in St. Louis...or Cincinnati...or Philadelphia.)

Answers

2011-06-15T07:46:00.000-04:00

Here are the answers from last week's quiz.

Rabbets: the good and the bad

2011-06-07T08:22:00.000-04:00

One of my local customers, Philip, came over Friday afternoon for a little one on one help with his planes. (Philip is, strangely, the only person from Connecticut that has purchased planes from me.)

We talked about the general layout of profiles and purpose. Philip seemed to have everything down about which I have written. He wanted a cove and ovolo on the edge of some walnut for the base molding of a piece on which he is working.

After drawing the profile on a piece of paper Philip drew 3 of the 4 rabbets correctly. He only missed the small fillet on the outer edge, which could be added at the end once realized.

Not the First Time, Not the Last

2011-06-02T20:55:00.002-04:00

Measure twice. Cut once. Drill once. Cut mortises once. Fit wedges once. Flatten beds once. Start escapements once.

Or

Read more »

The Last Few Weeks and the Next Few

2011-05-02T00:19:00.006-04:00

It's been two very busy weeks since the last blog update before Cincinnati. Let me explain...

The LN event in Cincinnati was one of the best shows I've been to. Between Lie-Nielsen, Glen-Drake, SAPFM, Czeck Edge, Jeff Miller, Daed Toolworks and, of course, Popular Woodworking, there was a lot to see.

I got to use Megan's bench,

(which is an 1 1/2" taller than Big Pink was before the Adjust-A-Bench)

LN Event at Popular Woodworking

2011-04-11T09:05:00.000-04:00

This Thursday I will be driving to Cincinnati, OH for the LN event at Popular Woodworking.

Daed Toolworks, Czech Edge, Glen-Drake Tools, George Walker, SAPFM, and Jeff Miller will all be presenting along with Lie Nielsen and the staff of Popular Woodworking.

Here is a better write up than I will attempt.

All I will say is that I definitely do not have the time to make this trip. I forced it in my schedule. This show, with all the other presenters, is one I really want to attend.

I am going as a fan of the magazine but telling my wife that it's just one of those sacrifices one needs to make for a new business.

I won't be eating at White Castle this time. I will not make that sacrifice twice.

Profiles greater than 60 degrees, etc.

2011-04-09T06:50:00.009-04:00

When I was just getting interested in hollows and rounds I read an old Fine Woodworking article that shows the exact opposite of what I teach. The author shows that a round plane is started on a chamfer and a hollow starts on an arris of a rabbet.

Chris Schwarz demonstrated this second method for cutting cavettos (coves) on his blog yesterday. Take a look because it's fun watching people work and because there is more than one way to get from A to B. Chris learned to stick moldings this way and has stated that he has much more success starting on a chamfer than with a rabbet, as I illustrate. You can't argue with success in 5 minutes and that's all that matters.

To the point: in the comment section I had a brief exchange with a woodworker that pointed out a few mistakes that I have made with my illustrations on my blog in the past. I know I've done it, but always thought that my writing would supercede my poor illustrations. (note: I look at woodworking magazines more than I read them so I apologize for assuming the opposite of you.) In the picture frame in this link the chamfers I used were smaller than what I illustrated, but at the same angle.

Let's look at cutting a profile greater than 60 degrees...

But let's first start with a simple 60. When cutting a 60 degree profile the inset corner of the rabbet created can fall nearly upon the finished profile. The reason for this is because the plane will never get rotated. It starts and finishes on the same angle. As the profile progresses the plane will sit in its own profile at all times.

PA Secretary Crown

2011-04-08T09:41:00.000-04:00

Last week we laid out and executed a large bracket ogee foot for a PA secretary. Let's take a quick look at the crown.

A Successful Weekend in Saratoga

2011-03-30T20:03:00.001-04:00

I shared a booth with Raney Nelson of Daed Toolworks this weekend in upstate NY. Raney brought several tools that seemed to catch most people's attention and interest. They always catch mine.

When Raney leaves the booth I get the opportunity to put these planes in many hands. These passersby are always shocked by the seemingly nonexistent mouth. They tell me I do great work. One of these days I'm just going to smile and say 'thank you.'

Bracket Ogee Foot with Hollows, Rounds, and Jack

2011-03-29T21:39:00.001-04:00

From a Pennsylvania Secretary

Plow (or table saw)

#18 round followed by #4 hollow

Jack plane, smooth plane, scrape (this was nearly a 5" radius)

The results...

This Weekend Officially Marks My One Year Anniversary.

2011-03-23T22:39:00.003-04:00

This weekend's appearance at the NWA Showcase officially marks my one year anniversary of pursuing customers.

I offer my sincerest gratitude to my customers who showed faith, to the readers of this blog, to my new friends and acquaintances, to the people that send pictures of their work, and to my future customers.

Thank you Lie-Nielsen Toolworks for making the products and hosting the shows that I rely upon so greatly.

Thank you Chris Schwarz, the largest proponent of the craft.

Especially, thank you Larry Williams and Don McConnell for your very early encouragement, direction and coattails.

Thank you Chuck Bender for asking in the first place.

Thank you to my wife, children and parents who have been insanely supportive.

Thank you,
Matt Bickford

NWA Woodworking Showcase

2011-03-23T09:02:00.000-04:00

This weekend I will be at the NWA Woodworking Showcase in Saratoga Springs, NY. I will be sharing a booth with Raney Nelson of Daed Toolworks.

If you are considering going I will urge you one last time to make the trip. It's a great show. There is a large vending area but the focus is on the product, not the tooling. There is a professional/amateur competition that gets hundreds of entries that run the range from 14' adirondack boats to 3" william and mary miniatures.

If that's not enough Lie-Nielsen, Jeff Noden, Chuck Bender of the Acanthus Workshop (where I will be teaching a class in May), Bob Van Dyke of CT Valley School of Woodworking (where I will be teaching a class in July) and many, many more will be there.

Still not enough? Chris Shwarz will be demonstrating.

Ok, ok. I have one last draw...

Read more »

Rule Joint with Hollows and Rounds

2011-03-22T02:14:00.003-04:00

I've been asked a few times about making a pair of rule joint planes. Here's my first attempt at the joint with a pair of 8s.

Here's a quick step by step in making a rule joint with hollows and rounds

The result...

Site Location Has Changed

2011-03-09T08:44:00.000-05:00

Big Pink has been replaced.

Wherever Your Interests May Fall...

2011-03-05T22:21:00.009-05:00

I've had a functioning set of hollows and rounds for five or six years now. Over those years I initially spent countless hours trying to figure out how to put them to work. Now I spend countless hours each week making them. Sometimes, however, when I'm supposed to be making planes my old planes are still able to distract me and I start playing around with them. This blog encourages that behavior.

Hollows and Rounds excel in the versatility they allow. They give the user the luxury of options, countless options.

Queen Anne Cornice: hollows, rounds and a snipes bill

2011-03-05T02:20:00.000-05:00

I've recently showed the work of a few incredible craftsmen. I imagine that the Boules' pieces are things towards which we all work. They are impeccable, A-game stuff. It's the quality which I hope to put my name on some day and the single reason I purchased my table saw. Ted's work is of what dreams are made: A completely different game that most of us (at least me) can not play.

Let's take a look at something we all can do.

I had a chance to take a few measurements of a queen anne highboy recently. The cornice was right in this blogs' wheelhouse. (The actual piece had the swan neck molding, but I haven't the time, experience or scrap.)

City Bench

2011-03-03T18:41:00.001-05:00

Ever since I moved to Connecticut I have enjoyed bringing my kids to KidCity in Middletown. The place is exceptional. Let the kids run around while you get lost in the amount of detail in every corner of every room. I have spent hours in the basement sitting on a bench and staring at the walls.

The following pictures were taken in one room and show upwards of 10% of the detail. It's amazing.

Thaddeus hidden on the left. Sheldon on the right.

Right on Schedule

2011-03-03T00:11:00.003-05:00

The problem with writing this blog is that I know exactly when I finished carving the third leg for the dressing table on which I'm working. So, after a long hiatus I finished carving the 4th leg over the past two nights. I am right on schedule to have this complete for the NWA Woodworking Showcase in 2012.

New England SAPFM Meeting

2011-02-22T22:44:00.002-05:00

Come share a day with people that share your interests in woodworking...because I doubt your wife does.

I will be set up at SAPFM's New England Chapter meeting this Saturday, 2/26. I will have a table full of planes to see, hold and try. The website states that preregistration is needed to "ensure admittance." You might still be able to sign up, I don't know but I think you should try...

Read more »

Dunlap Tall Case Clock, Hollows, Rounds and a Trick for Crown Molding

2011-02-16T02:08:00.004-05:00

This is going to be a good one, I promise...

Most of the time when using molding planes on square stock you want the grain leaning in this direction. (Starting at the top right and finishing on the bottom left.)

This allows the planes to travel with the grain on both planes when planing at an angle.

When I work a larger crown I change my ideal grain to the following. (Again, traveling from the top right to bottom left.)

Nathan Liverant & Son Antiques

2011-02-14T01:02:00.002-05:00

I find myself in antique stores quite often. My wife and I usually go to poke around. Every now and then we'll find a place that has a piece or two in which I'm interested. These pieces are always vintage reproductions, but still neat. Nineteen out of twenty times I'm disappointed. I usually end up poking around the toys with my kids or the tools while I fend them off.

A month or two ago we went to an establishment that looked promising from the outside, Nathan Liverant & Son Antiques. They were closed but I was able to peek in the window. I saw a silhouette of a windsor high chair and 'promising from the outside' turned into 'potentially perfect.' I knew that I'd return. I knew I'd be happy. I knew that the kids would need a baby sitter.

This weekend we did return without the kids. It took us about twenty minutes to get out of the entry foyer of this 1835 Baptist meeting house-turned-early-Americana gem and onto the main floor. There was so much that caught my eye. Every step displayed something that was perfectly in line with my interests on the floor, on the surface and on the wall.

Read more »

Queen Anne Side Chair: Shoe

2011-02-11T10:00:00.003-05:00

I finished a pair of queen anne side chairs a few years ago. This project is a perfect example of the versatility allowed by hollows and rounds: Two chairs, two shoes, 16" of finished molding, one molding profile I will probably never make again, an hour to completion, no new tools.

Plow plane (or Table saw) followed by rabbet (or table saw)

Rabbet followed by Rabbet. Why the chamfer?

John Townsend Table Edge, Support Molding, Hollows & Rounds

2011-02-01T23:42:00.003-05:00

I have been speaking to a customer that is in the process of producing John Townsend's famous chest.

He has asked for direction and tooling in regards to the table's edge and support molding. He sent drawings of the two profiles. (Apparently he is building one along side a friend. The drawings were executed by his friend and have bearing locations illustrated for a shaper cutter. I wonder who will be done with the molding first--me or the friend?)

Table's edge

Rabbet Plane

The Radius listed was 17/32". I got it close with a #8 (8/16 or 16/32") and then free handed a couple passes until I was near the profile I drew on both ends. Any slight facets can be scraped out.

Rabbet

The radius listed was 5/32". I got it close with a #4 (4/16 or 8/32). Again, facets will need to be scraped here. (we're talked 3 minutes with a scraper.)

Support Molding

Making Basic Shapes with a #6 Hollow and #6 Round

2011-01-28T21:18:00.000-05:00

Chris Schwarz addressed the oft asked question "how do I get started in hand tool woodworking?" today on his blog. My transition to hand tools started with dovetails. My move to planes happened in a cry for 'mercy'. I had a six inch jointer and wanted an 8. I read how everybody that had an 8 wanted a 12 and everybody that had a 12 wished they had, at times, an 18. If the person answering had a 24" planer you don't want to know for what they yearned. I bought a couple stanleys and a ridiculous pink workbench instead of chasing that high and have never wished for a wider jointer since.

For many hobbyists hand planes are a strangely logical solution. My decision was not a fulfillment of a secret desire to live centuries ago. Using hand planes for flattening a single side before running it through my planer was based only in practicality. I imagine hand planes are practical in most shops, but to varying degrees.

My transition to molding planes occurred in a similar cry for 'mercy.' I was looking through Amana's web page trying to find something specific and ended up dropping $85 on a compromise.

I never get asked Chris' question. I often feel like I am the last step. Like a try and a fore plane, however, hollows and rounds are relevant and a strangely logical solution to many hobbyists journey and craft. The solution they offer--flexibility--is practical; the means by which they offer it--putting your hand to your work--is wonderful.

A few weeks ago I posted a couple entries detailing several things that can be done with only a #6 hollow or a #6 round. Let us take a quick look at what can be done with a single pair in combination.

Ogee (60 degree circle segments at 30 degrees) with Fillet

Ogee (60 degree circle segments at 60 degrees) with Fillet

Ogee (90 degree circle segments) with fillet

(disregard the quirk)

Reverse Ogee

Ovolo and Cove

90 degree Cove and Ovolo

(60 degree ovularish) Cove and (90 degree) Ovolo

Or would you like the oval the other way?

etc., etc., ETC!...

That's 27 different profiles illustrated that can be created with one hollow and/or one round.

We've looked at making rabbets

We've looked at steering planes with rabbets

We've looked at using rabbets as depth gauges.

We've looked at laying these shapes out before.

Stay tuned. We'll take a look at what can be done with two pairs. You'll see why I always recommend starting with more pairs than one: we can probably come up with 100 profiles with just 2 pairs.

We'll also execute the supporting molding and top edge of the John Townsend chest in the Metropolitan Museum of Arts with no new tooling, no real compromises and a few work-arounds.

Clearly, it's pretty difficult to keep up with a router.

Skewed Rabbet vs. Straight Rabbet

2011-01-28T00:42:00.001-05:00

I often get questions regarding skewed irons vs. straight iron. My original set of hollows and rounds have a slight skew to them. The skew is slight and might be 5 degrees. When I started making my own planes I made them with straight irons and have not looked back. I do little across the grain and the few times I do I usually just deal with the deficiencies, which my experience tells me is primarily a mouth that clogs and secondarily a less than perfect surface.

I am about to send out a skewed rabbet and thought you might like to see the difference. It's obvious.

Skewed Rabbet.

Notice that everything is coming out cleanly. The shavings are held together as they are ejected by the structure of the wood. The skewed iron is in contact with a single point of several fibers at any given instant during the cut. (Please forgive the awkward way I'm holding the plane, I wanted to let you see.)

Now on to the straight iron. (Note: I intended to show you a more productive example, but this was just too perfect. Look inside the mouth.)

The shaving has no strength to it since there is no shearing action. At any given time during the cut the iron's edge is in contact with a single fiber across the iron's width and fiber's length. Due to this, the shaving always falls apart and it often happens in the mouth.

So the next question is 'Should I get a skewed rabbet instead of a straight rabbet?' It depends on how you work. Do you do a lot across the grain? I personally won't give up my straight rabbet. Again, I find it much easier to be aggressive with a straight iron and I have much more control...with the grain.

Is your experience different?

Correcting Mistakes with Hollows and Rounds

2011-01-21T01:26:00.003-05:00

When I have illustrated the steps for cutting various profiles I have quoted the dimensions in 64ths. I have been asked on several occasions if it's necessary to be that accurate. The answer is "no." My approach is nowhere near as mathematical. I typically lay the profile out on a piece of paper, transfer the profile to the wood and draw my rabbets there. I get it pretty close. I quote in 64ths simply because those are the measurements with which I initiated attack.

Layout, transferring layout, and execution of the rabbets laid out is most of the skill. Work with the profiled planes is dictated by this layout.

Transferred Layout. You can see that the line of the ogee is not parallel to the tips of the rabbets that guide the round. I made my rabbet slightly wider and not as deep. You can see below that I removed the vertical pencil line and left the horizontal.

Note that the tips of the rabbets for the lower portion to be profiled with the round are now parallel to the profile of the ogee. (Roughed out on a table saw, touched up with a rabbet plane.)

Mistakes happen. Recognizing mistakes and correcting them early is crucial. Check your progress.

We have discussed how hollows and rounds are difficult to steer and that steering should be done with the rabbet plane. But what do you do when a chamfer is wrong?

Note that I am intentionally laying out the chamfer for the hollow to follow out of line with the profile of the ogee.

The chamfer is cut at an angle that is too shallow

The profile left by the hollow is out of line with intentions.

I took my rabbet out and reestablished a chamfer that is much steeper and more accurate.

Goal achieved.

Complete

If your rabbets for the lower portion are out of line, a similar correction can be made. It's important to check you progress and recognize errors early. If you don't adjust for mistakes early you will end up pressing the the plane against the profile while trying to cut with only a portion of the iron--a difficult and inaccurate process.

As your accuracy increases your scraping at the end decreases.

Another Excursion with Hollows and Rounds

2011-01-20T02:30:00.001-05:00

I'm procrastinating with my carving. I spent Saturday with Chuck Bender at The Woodworking Show in Springfield, MA. Chuck had a lowboy there with carved knees. I never knew that the back side of the back two legs weren't necessarily carved. His copy didn't have knee blocks back there either. I've carved six sides of legs so now I feel like I should be done. Maybe I'll just leave the front right leg plain.

I need to jump more ropes at museums.

I finally had a chance to make the molding drawn by George Walker in the latest issue of Popular Woodworking. (edit: I assumed that the hash marks in George's drawing represent 1/8".) If you are interested in making this from a single piece keep reading. If you want to build it up, you can stop. This is how I did it.

I guess this is a good time to tell you that I don't cut all of my rabbets by hand.

I missed taking a picture of a step with another rabbet and the side round. A side round is used just like a rabbet with a gauge line: use your fingers as a fence for the first two passes then GO! You need to knock out the purple corner so it doesn't influence the side round as you start.

Rabbet followed by #2 hollow

Rabbet for the chamfer (not shown) followed by #8 hollow (left) and #6 hollow (right)

Depending on where you like it...

Mark it, Dude.

Snipes Bills and Beads

2011-01-11T22:11:00.001-05:00

First thing first. I will be at The Woodworking Shows event in Springfield, MA this coming Saturday with Chuck Bender of The Acanthus Workshop. He will be there advertising his school and I will be there advertising my class at his school in May. The over/under for instances I hear "I can just do that on my router" is 133.

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I gave a homework assignment regarding a bead in the center of a board. I was then asked about two beads in the center.

When executing this double beaded profile please remember that a hollow is intended to cut only the circumference of a circle. It is not intended to set into a cut. It will not work for this purpose.

Since these beads are set in I will start with a snipes bill.

I do not have the luxury of being able to use only one snipes bill plane. If I simply turned the work around and come back in the opposite direction I will be going against the grain. Snipes bills come in pairs because there are instances that you want the profile facing different directions. This is the perfect example.

I then knock off the fourth corner with a rabbet plane tipped at an angle, as seen in step #3. A snipes bill will not work for knocking off the extra corner once a quirk is established.

A #4 hollow gives the final shape.

The snipes bills create a 5/8" radius and what you see above is 2/8". Take note that the actual profile a snipes bill plane creates is often not represented in the final profile. Many times the pair of planes is used simply for creating a sharp quirk or setting two profiles next to each other. This is why only a single pair is often needed.

A weekend with Hollows, Rounds, and Hand Tools of All Sorts

2011-01-09T22:46:00.003-05:00

I hosted a bench at Lie-Nielsen's Hand Tool Event at 3rd Ward in Brooklyn this past weekend. It seemed to be extremely well attended by a wide range of woodworkers, artisans, and other people who just wanted to get their hands on the new No. 51.

Lie-Nielsen above and me below.

We made coves and ovolos...

Ogees and reverse ogees...

Circles and ovals with one fillet or two...

I failed publicly on a profile I've done 100 times...

And succeeded with one I've never done.

If 15 people tried cutting a rabbet for the first time with only a rabbet plane, I will conservatively estimate that 100% of them got it right. I did well less than half of what you see above and what didn't get pictured.

Rabbet followed by #4 round

Rabbet then snipes bill (Let the record show I would consider doing this step differently next time. I actually had to flip between the two snipes bills trying to get clearance for the next step.)

Rabbet followed by #6 hollow

#10 hollow followed by #2 hollow

Homework: how do you make this 1/4" bead in the center of a board?

There were more shavings on the floor Friday than I remember at any other event I've been to. Those in attendance certainly tried all of the tools available.

Potpourri II

2011-01-05T01:05:00.000-05:00

I started making planes because I could not acquire what I wanted without a significant time commitment and/or high levels of disappointment. I now steer people in the direction of my own interests as push planes with which I outfitted my own shop. I can't show you an ogee plane without showing you 10 examples of what $50 more will get you with a hollow and round. I'm sorry.

Let the record show that I really like making dedicated planes. I enjoy sharpening them. I enjoy using them. I enjoy forcing one into unsuspecting passersby at shows and letting them see what they can do. A 1/8" side bead is about as much fun as you can have with planes. I'm amazed at what 6 passes will give you. But I digress...

I make planes (plug) that I originally couldn't acquire. This is why I currently have no intention of making bench planes. I have several Clark & Williams and they're really sweet. I haven't the desire. In fact, I probably sold 15 rabbets before I forced myself to unset the iron in my C&W rabbet plane and shelve it.

One plane that I intend to make and currently do not is a plow. I often tell craftsmen at shows that "you can do anything and everything along the grain with what you see in front of you...well, you'd need a plow for some things, but you can do nearly everything with what you see in front of you...rabbets, hollows, rounds, snipes bills, side rounds, that's it...well, and a plow."

I've seen a fair amount of plows and have bought a 'mint' one or two. I afforded myself a lowly 'G++' plow from Lee Richmond at The Best Things. It arrived. It's perfect. I can feel the desire to make a plow vanishing.

In the second picture you may be able to see the what held this plane from the coveted 'Fine' rating. Once it was in my possession I actually went back to the description to see if my memory was correct. Thank you, Lee, for being so picky and exceeding my expectations.

Hopefully the body of this one won't end up in the burn pile after I gut it for the parts like I have with every moving fillister I've purchased. It won't.

------------------

Ask and you shall receive (especially if I am currently working on it).

I was asked about left handed planes.

The most difficult part of making left handed planes is sharpening them. My fingers get in the way and I can't see in the escapement. I feel true sorrow for every south paw each time. I imagine that your experience with the 'minty' planes you've purchased is worse than mine.

Then I remember where left handed mediocrity will get you and I'm okay again

I'll see you in Brooklyn. Go Phillies!

Sharpening: A window into my basement

2011-01-04T01:32:00.002-05:00

I'm asked a lot about edge maintenance. This is my response.

How many passes do you take with a smooth plane before you need to address the edge? 100? 200? I have no idea, but it's a lot. The point is that the profiled planes do not require maintenance nearly as often as, say, your smooth plane. You're just not taking that many passes with them. Let the rabbet plane do the work.

Look at the actual material that profiled planes are removing in this ogee.

Step 1 and 2 are executed with a rabbet plane which has a straight iron.

In the perfect world of google sketch up you will take 3-5 passes with the hollow in step 3. Ideally, you will knock some of those corners in step 4 off with a rabbet and you will also take 3-5 passes with the round. You should be taking as few passes as possible.

*Note: I will link to a few products below. I'm not going to get in an oil stone vs. water stone vs. sandpaper argument. I imagine they all work well. I use oil stones. I've never used any other methods. I'm happy here. You be happy there. Additionally, I'm not endorsing products. I'm pointing you to examples of which I will be talking. I cannot speak to various grits. I just don't know. The links are simply representative of what I have.

Let us not make light of the sharpening subject by stating that you don't take many passes with them. The quality of edge and the profile of the edge vs. the profile of the sole are CRUCIAL to performance and should not be overlooked or understated. In fact, if your plane is clogging and your wood is oriented properly, these two factors should be looked at first.

**Note: First things first. If you ever lack the confidence to sharpen a profiled molding plane iron get a mid-swept, mid-width carving gouge. Learn all of the skills below on a carving gouge before a plane iron. There is significant room for error with a gouge when compared to a plane iron, which is nil. You will learn to rock the gouge across the stone. You will learn to use slip stones inside of the gouge's canal. You will learn how wonderful a strop is. The movements are not exactly the same, but if you can sharpen a gouge you can sharpen one of these. It may take you a long time, but you can do it. (And, as a bonus, once you can sharpen a molding plane iron efficiently you will be incredible at sharpening carving gouges.)

Here we go...

Probably four out of five times that I need to address the edge (really any edge) I bring it to a leather strop (or piece of flattened maple for the iron's back) charged with green honing compound. If you attempt to hold the iron at the proper angle you won't mess anything up at this stage. Just don't hold the iron at 90 degrees and scrape the strop. I pinch the strop for the hollow and lay it flat on my bench for a round. Get both sides and get back to work.

On the fifth time you will need to go to a fine, unaggressive stone. Both sides of a round's iron are done on a flat stone. You will need some sort of slip stone for the bevel of the hollow. I imagine you can also use sandpaper on a dowel. I even saw water slip stones in a recent catalogue for the first time.

People use slip stones differently. Some move the iron while holding the stone still. I move the stone while holding the hollow's iron steady. Start at an angle you think is slightly too shallow and take several passes. Look at the edge. You can see if you dulled the finish from the strop at the bevel's edge or at the heal of the bevel. Slowly steepen the angle at which you're holding the stone until you're touching the bevel's edge. Take five to ten long sweeping motions. Do not take 50 short staggered, abrupt sawing motions because this WILL cause problems as you develop gutters (?) that the slip stone will rest in. Flatten the back on your unaggressive stone, repeat and strop.

If you're holding the stone at the proper angle and intentionally addressing the entire edge, the few passes that you take with this unaggressive slip should not affect the iron's profile while still establishing a new edge.

A round will follow the same idea. Take long sweeping passes while intentionally holding the iron at the proper angle and addressing the entire edge. Flatten the back, repeat and strop. Do not lean heavily upon the iron.

By the time you need to go to a more aggressive flat stone and slip stone where you can quickly and drastically affect the profile, you will have executed the above, unaggressive step several times with that iron and with others. You will have the skill down. If you don't, PLEASE practice on a carving gouge.

What you see above is pretty much all I use other than a diamond stone to start off. When I started carving and using molding planes I also used one of these conical stones. The more I sharpen, the less I use this stone. I really only use it now to dig myself out of deep holes, usually 30 minutes after I should have grabbed it.

I know what you are thinking... What is Matt talking about? We need Google Sketch-ups!

Well, I have a treat for you. I had grand ideas of posting 10 small videos showing all these different steps up close. But I have bills to pay and chose not to afford you the time. I think I have something better.

A lot of times I've seen videos and they show an hours work condensed into minutes. A bombe chest in a series of short web episodes...A router table in one PBS time slot...A pair of hollows and rounds in 2 hours... a 3 minute dovetail? I saw Chuck Bender of Acanthus Workshop (this is a plug) nearly do one in person, but I still think it was condensed.

I let the camera roll in my shop today. I started with the iron directly off the grinder and out of heat treating. I'm starting at square one flattening the back and finishing with the end product. There's no verbal instruction and no camera girl getting the perfect angle. I'd probably prefer that you don't take your time to watch them completely because I may find it a little weird. You can zip through them as you please, but everything, in its entirety, is in here.

I'm working with a #8 round here. You will see me rocking the iron across the various stones. About the time when I move the camera I switch from the course india to the fine arkansas. I make the switch once the profile is very close. You will also see my shop friend and middle son, Thaddeus.

Here I'm working with with a #6 hollow. You'll see how I hold the slips.

The one thing I didn't include is how, once everything is perfect, I like to take a ruler out to perform the ruler trick, and screw everything up....ha ha ha, just kidding Larry.

A few final thoughts: You can see any areas that need to be readdressed by the uniformity of the shaving's thickness. It's pretty obvious, especially when it's not cutting in a certain place. 5-10 minutes spent at the grinder and with files before heat treating can save significant time on the stones. It will change 90 minutes of frustration into the 15 you see above

If you want more detailed footage I'll recommend that you get Larry Williams DVD. I've never seen it but I imagine it's very good and detailed. I hope somebody will chime in and give it a first person endorsement in the comment section.

I may have missed something. Ask questions.

Also, I will be at the Lie Nielsen event in Brooklyn this weekend. I will have a starter set that gets mailed on Monday with me. Come check out what I deliver, if only to compare them to your antique gems. I will also, as usual, have one of everything represented on my website set up for you or me to use. Bring questions, bring requests.

Creating Basic Shapes with a #6 Round Molding Plane

2011-01-03T00:59:00.001-05:00

How do I make rabbets?

What are the reasons for making rabbets and chamfers?

1. steering

2. depth gauges

Why hollows and rounds?

What can I do with a single round? Well...

No fillets, 60 degrees of circle, tips of rabbets at 30 degrees

1 fillet, 60 degrees of circle, tips of rabbets at 30 degrees

Do you want the fillet at the bottom instead of the top?

2 fillets, 60 degrees of circle, tips of rabbets at 30 degrees

No fillets, 90 degrees of circle, tips of rabbets at 45 degrees

1 fillet, 90 degrees of circle, tips of rabbets at 45 degrees

2 fillets, 90 degrees of circle, tips of rabbets at 45 degrees

Flutes? You'll need a plow plane or table saw.

What can I do with a single hollow?

Creating Basic Shapes with a #6 Hollow Molding Plane

2011-01-03T00:16:00.004-05:00

How do I make rabbets?

What are the reasons for making rabbets and chamfers?

1. steering

2. depth gauges

Why hollows and rounds?

What can I do with a single hollow? Well...

No fillets, 60 degrees of circle, chamfer at 30 degrees

Feel free to knock of the sharp corner on the far right with the same plane to create an ellipse.

1 Fillet, 60 degrees of circle, chamfer at 30 degrees

2 fillets, 60 degrees of circle, chamfer at 30 degrees

Please feel free to make the green rabbet a little deeper and make yourself an ellipse

No fillets, 90 degree circle, chamfer at 45 degrees

1 Fillet, 90 degrees of circle, chamfer at 45 degrees

2 Fillets, 90 degrees of circle, chamfer at 45 degrees

No fillets, 180 degrees of circle, chamfers at 45 degrees

Feel free to use thinner stock with the same chamfers to create an ellipse.

2 Fillets, 180 degrees of circle, chamfers at 45 degrees

That's some of what I can do with one hollow. What can you do with your bullnose router bit?

What can I do with a single round?

What can I do with Google Sketchup? Waste my time...

I chose a different route for my website last year.

A Long Day in the Shop

2011-01-01T23:22:00.000-05:00

My wife and kids have been skiing at Mad River Glen with her entire family. I opted for bowl games on the radio.

17 irons ground

1 more knee carved (on the right) and the other two completed.

14 Hours...Mercy!

Vacation is OVER

2010-12-31T01:25:00.007-05:00

I've been away from the shop for several days. Even when I'm away I find it hard to escape.

True Story: the very last crossword puzzle I did before this one was on a Southwest flight back from a Lie-Nielsen event in San Diego. (I am certain that I was the only person traveling with a checked bag full of poplar offcuts and another full of 30 sharp blades and a can of WD-40.) One of the clues was 'Planes, for example'. 5 letters. I had '-oo-s', but wasn't certain about the second 'o'. The ride was coming to an end and I had to look at the answer key...'TOOLS'. I didn't get it. My wife laughed in my face when I told her. I had 30+ of them in my luggage but I was on an airPLANE and I couldn't separate the two. I hate crossword puzzles. I'm just glad nobody knew.

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There is often discussion of new planes vs. old. Let me make an argument for the old. They are out there. They are cheap. The hollows and rounds are nearly all serviceable. Here is a picture of my first #4 hollow.

The body was warped SIGnificantly. Let me rephrase that: the body was warped SIGNIFICANTLY, probably 3/32". It works now. It cuts a 1/4" radius, but nowhere near 60 degrees.

In fact, all of the soles (matching pairs) in my original set needed to be addressed. Even the matched ones in G+ - G++ didn't come true. But that should be expected.

When profiled planes do have a true sole expect that the iron needs to be reshaped, not just resharpened. I have never purchased a profiled plane that only needs resharpening. These planes have been used properly for a few working generations and then sat or were mishandled for a century or more.

But they can work again. Don't let it stop you. Put your hand to the tool and then to your work. Whether you're using hollows and rounds to get from A to Z like I show you, from M to Z by altering your various shaper knives to get exactly what you want, or Y to Z to get rid of machine marks, you will be fulfilled. Put your hand to your work.

Do you not know where to begin? Get Larry Williams DVD Making Traditional Side Escapement Planes. There is so much information in there that you could nearly start your own business. Well, you couldn't, but...

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1996 is nearly over. I've been pursuing customers for 9 months now and am wrapping up my first (abridged) year. Somewhere in the picture below is plane #400.

Woodworkers, and mugals alike (I swear I never read Harry Potter and that wand is definitely not mine), often hint at the idea of an impending boredom in making planes everyday. There are a few things that keep me going.

1. Wood is awesome and sometimes it all comes together perfectly

2. I make the most versatile product at any exhibition.

3. I make people realize I make the most versatile product at any exhibition, though they might not realize this for a year or two. (I will be at the Lie-Nielsen show in Brooklyn, NY on Jan 7-8 where I always get a run for my money.)

4. Every plane I send out is better than the ones that I have. (and I have nearly 100 that I have made)

(not the ones on the bottom)

5. I have a stable of about 30 albums that I've been listening to for 15 years of which I canNOT get enough.

So here's to 1997...My resolution is to prove all of this to you. Thank you for reading.

Wait, what year is it?

Sizing up the Competition

2010-12-23T13:19:00.005-05:00

I went down to my friends' shop, Don and Chris Boule of Boule Cabinetmakers, to wish them a merry Christmas. Don's work was my introduction to woodworking. I've spent numerous weeks in his shop. His fully self-furnished living room is my goal.

Don and Chris are also the reason I have a deadline for the dressing table on which I'm working. The three of us will be bringing our work up to Saratoga, NY in March for the NWA Showcase, where I will also be hosting a booth to showcase my planes with Raney of Daed Toolworks.

When I was at their shop I talked my way into their house. I was finally able to see the two completed pieces that they will be bringing up for the contest.

Don will be bringing a newly completed tea table:

(Don built his house. You can tell a woodworker lives there by the floor boards, which I didn't notice until I was going through the pictures at home. Nice touch Don!)

Chris, Don's son, will be bringing a scaled highboy: I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Just wait until you see this thing in person!

Here are a few snapshots of a highboy Don made several years ago. It's classic Dunlap. (Note: Don was actually trained by Donald Dunlap, of Dunlap lineage.)

Please excuse the picture quality, they offered to move the pieces from the glare coming in but I declined.

I'll get back to work now.

Snipes Bill Planes: an introduction

2010-12-22T01:31:00.005-05:00

Snipes bill planes are very specific planes. If you want to do everything, like side rounds they are a necessary weapon.

Hollows and rounds cut 60 degrees of a circle. Snipes bill planes cut nearly 90 degrees, and a different portion.

Much of the time I only use the tip of the plane (red) to inset a quirk, but a full width shaving can certainly be taken (red and green).

Let's look at a few examples of quirks being inset.

Why are these planes needed in these profiles vs. just setting the profile in with a hollow?

A hollow just won't reach in some cases. Additionally, a hollow is designed to cut the circumference of a circle where as a snipes bill is designed to cut both the circumference and the adjoining fillet.

Do you need various sized snipes bills like you need various sized hollows? The answer is probably not, unless your work is very specific. You certainly will not need as many. I have never desired one larger or smaller than the standard size that I offer, which cuts a 5/8" radius circle.

The single size is not at all limiting. The side bead above is 3/4" diameter, below is 1/2" and 1/8".

After insetting the quirk you will shape as much as you can with various hollows. You will be able to reach nearly 150 degrees of the total, making a very acceptable bead. Are the results perfect? no, but the non-concentric circles they create (which are evident in the first side bead) will not be apparent in any view other than the cross section of the profile.

Why do snipes bill planes come in pairs? These planes do not travel well against the grain. (In fact, many times woodworkers have issues with these planes it is because they're going the wrong way or have chosen wavy grained wood that has no right way.) There are times, as can be seen above, that you'll want the profile the snipes bill creates facing a different direction.

If you were to use the snipes bills to create this linen fold, for example, (which is not necessarily recommended) you do not have the luxury of just turning your piece around and going back on the other side. You have to attack your work from the same direction.

Sometimes the snipes bill plane has nothing to do with the profile. Look again at these two

The profile of the plane has nothing to do with the finished profile. They're used simply to create a void for the hollow to enter. The profile you see is from the hollow, not the snipes bill. A hollow can't reach and cannot cut a fillet.

I know what you're thinking now. "If the profile isn't necessary, just the ability to inset a vertical quirk, What else can it do?" Due to the significant research at Clark & Williams we have been reintroduced to a wonderfully easy way of starting rabbets in square and non-square stock. One of the added extra advantages of snipes bill planes is that they introduce an easy method for starting rabbets in square stock. The plane stays in the gauge line with almost no effort while starting to define the fillet for the rabbet to follow.

I believe Don McConnell of Old Street Tool, Inc. demonstrates starting a rabbet in non-square stock in Traditional Molding Techniques: Cornice Molding. Snipes bill planes excel here.

In square stock this method is nearly fool proof, I could almost guarantee you'd be successful on your first try in non square stock, it's simple.

Using only a rabbet plane in this situation is very difficult because the rabbets are often inset far enough that you can't use your fingers as a fence. Moving fillisters, plow planes and fastening a batten down here will not work.

Is a pair of snipes bill planes necessary? After all the new ones are expensive and the old ones can't be found. They're only necessary if you like what you see above: profiles being next to profiles, quirks, shadows and working with non square stock.

----------------------

And here's the handle of my nephew's new Harry Potter wand. The story says that he has the feather of a phoenix in his wand...so I'm told.

It's the first time I carved anything in the round. I was pretty excited that I didn't stab myself with a gouge while I was setting it in; the futures in Vegas were trading pretty high.

My middle son, Thaddeus, thinks it looks like his electric toothbrush.

Potpourri

2010-12-21T01:15:00.002-05:00

1.
I got a call this afternoon from a friend who is a contractor in our town. He's doing some work at a farm house and couldn't find a matching molding at any of the local places. (Each is probably 15 minutes apart and 20 from our small town.) "Can you do it?" "Yes, bring it over" "it's a quarter rou..." "Just bring it over."

20 minutes later...done.

I was asked about boxing. This is how I start a pair of snipes bill planes. Table saw kerf with the plane standing up. Lay the blank on its side and add the shoulder. Fit the boxing with planes.

I've been told that it's pretty impressive that I can do this with planes. I'd be more impressed if you could do this with machinery. Planes are easy.

Finally, carving this amount really tests your attention span and patience. There is still quite a bit to do with these two legs, not to mention the front pair.

I completed a pair of side chairs a couple years ago. I cannot imagine doing an entire set.

The end of March is getting closer.

Working Backwards: cove and ovolo

2010-12-20T00:07:00.006-05:00

Here's our goal:

Two profiles. One is 60 degrees of a concave circle with a radius of 6/16ths and the other is 90 degrees of a convex circle and has a radius of 4/16ths. We will use a 6 round and 4 hollow.

Let's remember what we've learned: a concave portion will begin with the tips of two fillets for the round to follow. Every convex portion will begin with 1 chamfered rabbet for the hollow to follow. Looking at the above profile there is one of each. We know that we'll need three rabbets. I hope the location of the first two are somewhat apparent.

Now we need to find where the third goes. The arc is 60 degrees of a circle so we know that the bottom of the rabbet needs to be on the circumference of the profile. We also know that the tips of the rabbets need to be parallel to the angle of the profile. There's only one solution.

And that's our third rabbet

Finally we have to figure out the chamfer. Remember, it needs to be parallel to the profile and on the profile.

Do you want to make a reverse ogee with a fillet? Reduce the depth of the red rabbet until the convex meets the concave.

Do you want to get rid of the fillet on top? Get rid of the green rabbet.

Do you want to switch the profile to make an ovolo and cove? switch the rabbets. (this is weird looking)

Add a second fillet between the two? Increase the width of the purple rabbet. (Not so weird looking now.)

Regular ogee? Reduce the depth of the purple and red rabbets in this image up two up.

I'll stop now.

Please remember, this is perfect world stuff. Accuracy increases consistency while decreasing steering and scraping.

Cove, Astragal and an Introduction to Side Rounds

2010-12-18T18:44:00.005-05:00

Again, ask and you shall receive.

This cove and astragal will introduce a side round. It is a very specific plane. If you want to do anything and everything you must have a pair. They allow you to plane up to another facet.

Rabbets

Side round.

I use this just I like a rabbet plane. Mark a gauge line and carefully start the cut using your fingers as a fence. After a few passes you can zip through it.

This diagram shows the side round knocking off the tip of the highest rabbet. I usually avoid this by laying out a circle that's slightly bigger in diameter. In this case, where the diameter of the circle is equal to that of the side round, I attacked some of those rabbets with the 10 round in step 1a, which is not pictured.

I try to avoid the scraping cuts that happen near 90 degrees. Like a snipes bill, most of the time I only use the tip of the profile.

This is as close to freehand as you'll get. I used a #10 in the pictured profile below

#2 hollow

Why is a side round necessary here?

#10

vs.

Side round

The astragal prevents the #10 from reaching into the corner.

Like snipes bills, side rounds come in pairs because there are times you will want the profile facing the opposite direction.

There are other uses as well. We'll see some of those later.

Completing Layout: Rabbets and Chamfers as Depth Gauges

2010-12-18T03:26:00.009-05:00

Hollows and rounds have no depth stops. The idea can be intimidating. Let's fix that.

(What follows is probably going to overwhelm at first. This post is in regards to perfect world layouts. Accuracy results in less steering, less scraping, less tinkering. You don't have to be perfect, but as you get closer your results will become more consistent and quicker.)

Take a look at this cove.

The cove is at 30 degrees. As we've discussed, the tips of the two rabbets that act as a chute for the plane to follow are also at 30 degrees. Notice that the bottom of the fillet (where the two purple triangles meet in the 3rd picture) is on the circumference of the circle. This is intentional and desired for any concave arc that is less than 60 degrees, which is the full width of the iron for any and all hollow or round planes.

To use these points of the rabbet as an accurate guide you will have to make certain that the plane is cutting both tips. As you plane the rabbets away you will notice that there are two shavings being ejected from the escapement. As you get farther into the cut the two shavings, which start out as thin wires, will increase in size. Eventually these two shavings will become one. It's at this point that the profile is complete, you've reached the bottom of the fillet.

It won't be obvious in a short piece like this, but as you progress in a longer profile you will see that, due to human error, the rabbets are not disappearing uniformly. Your goal has to be to take that one final pass that creates a single, full width shaving to happen at once along the entire length. This will often involve gauging your progress by looking at the disappearing rabbets and taking several short passes at the beginning, middle or end.

Now let's look at an ovolo.

Again, this ovolo is laid out at 30 degrees. The chamfer is at 30 degrees (there's actually a small green chamfer in the 3rd picture that is at 60...easy to execute in the perfect world of sketchup). Notice also that the chamfer touches the circumference of the final profile. Again, as you plane you will notice two shavings being ejected in increasing width. Eventually those two will become one. Your goal has to be to take a single, full width shaving along the entire length in one final pass. You will see the chamfer vanishing. Make it uniform.

This rule applies for anything less than 60 degrees of a circle, which is a full width shaving for one of these planes.

This brings us to layout and introduces the luxury of geometry. There is only one solution in each of the examples that puts the chutes (tips of two rabbets for a round and edges of one chamfer for a hollow) at an attack angle of 30 degrees and that single point on the circle.

Take it another step further and apply this logic to these three profiles:

There's only one solution for each.

Let's look at a few erroneous examples and see how they fail:

In these examples you can see that the bottom of the fillet is on the circumference of the circle, but the tips of the rabbets are not at 30 degrees. The plane is not being presented at the proper angle

Here you will see that the tips of the rabbets are at 30 degrees but they're too wide. The plane is being presented at the proper angle but you'll be left with facets of the rabbet when you are at the proper depth.

In this last example the plane is being presented at the proper angle but you have no depth gauge. Err in this direction.

This last example also leads us to cutting greater than 60 degrees. You will not be able to use the rabbets as depth gauges in these larger examples because the two points of the rabbets or on the chamfers is greater than the width of the plane's sole. You'll be attacking with no proper depth gauge.

Draw the intended profile on the ends of your stock. It will help you achieve your desired results. Once you reach full width shavings, you will leave plane tracks as you swing the plane in subsequent passes. Stop before you are leaving plane tracks by both sides of the iron on consecutive passes at different angles. (That's horrible advice, I know.)

This doesn't have to be as complex as I've made it. These are perfect world examples and should be your goal. Try it. Try laying a profile out and be willing to fail. FAIL, FAIL, FAIL! You'll get it right within a few tries. It's obvious where the mistakes happen: wrong angle, wrong depths, rabbets left behind, plane tracks. The answers are above

With Big Pink as my witness, I've learned 85% of this by failing in my basement. You will learn quick. You will have fun. You will change the way you work.

Learn the skill that goes along with the absolute most versatile tool in the workshop (other than, I'll guess, a chisel).

As a side note, I was asked about accuracy. There are, maybe, five things in my workshop that I actively push (other than my planes). I don't know if these are the best things out there. I do know that they changed the way I work overnight.

I quote the measurements for rabbets in 64ths. A few months ago I would have quoted those rabbets in +/- 16ths. I recently bought a Titemark marking gauge. It's quicker to be accurate to the 64th with this thing than to the 16th with my others. I quote in 64ths because it takes no more time. I don't know if it's the best marking gauge. I do know that I'm not in the market for another one. (It also has the advantage of having the cutter at the very end, which comes in handy when marking the depth of the third rabbet of an ogee after cutting the previous two.)

P. S. I do work

Frame 3

2010-12-17T00:00:00.005-05:00

I better get this up quick before I lose half my audience due to my previous post.

This is the third of three frames that I'm making for gifts. I ran out of attractive frames in my house to copy so I googled 'picture frame profiles' and came up with this one.

Red Rabbet: 12/64w x 34/64h

Black: 4/64w x 40/64h

Green: 34/64w x 27/64h

Purple: 48/64w x 16/64h

Yellow: 23/64w x 16/64h

Orange: 8/64w x 25/64h

#10 round followed by #2 hollow

Rabbet followed by #4 hollow

#6 hollow followed by #4 round

The results:

Oval segments make it.
(Paint on my new sticking board!)

Look at the process. As I noted earlier, rounds follow the tips of two rabbets and hollows follow the edges of a chamfered rabbet. It holds true in everything we've done so far.

Layout is the key to success.

Google molding profiles and see if you can sketch out a probable lay out.

This is the last time I make one out of oak.

Send in requests or your going to get a Harry Potter wand carving seminar.

Ask and You Shall Receive...20 minute/$10 sticking board

2010-12-16T23:38:00.001-05:00

If you've seen me at a show you've probably seen my 4 foot sticking board. It used to be 7. I spilled a cup of coffee on it a while back. The board swelled and got chopped in half.

The longest moldings I have recently stuck (sticked? planed? profiled?) have been 16" ogees and ovolos at these various shows. I just haven't done much that has demanded a longer board until recently.

What's a sticking board and what are the advantages? Take a look at me last night and tell me if you notice a problem.

You can see the piece moving while I'm working. It's obvious if you look at the end near the camera. It bows throughout. Like everything else you can work around it (just like I do every day on Big Pink) but sometimes the planes will clog because it skips across the surface. Sometimes you do a belly flop on the bench as the molding comes unleashed and crashes against the back wall.

There are several methods for holding work steady. I like a sticking board.

I was asked by a reader for a brief tutorial in what one is and how I make mine.

I make mine out of melamine.

I cut a few 2" strips and screw them together

Joint an edge and then screw it to a 5" wide board

I countersink a few screws into both ends because there are times that I work briefly in the other direction.

You now have a sturdy backboard that can be clamped to a surface in only a few areas without having to worry about piece flexing in between. Tomorrow I will add a much lower backboard to the other side that I will use when working thinner pieces or when I want to tip the plane and the fence gets in the way. The fence not being used will hang over the edge of my bench.

That's it. The beauty of this option is you won't care if something gets spilled on it.

Next week I will give a lesson on a crosscut sled made out of mis-chopped mortises

Finally, I've been working on an interactive invention that allows you to gauge the the sharpness/dullness of any edge in any steel. Tell me what you think.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Another Step by Step (Frame 2)

2010-12-16T01:23:00.001-05:00

I'll need to keep this one quick. The piece started 1 3/16 wide.

From the top right corner

Red Rabbet: 16/64 w x 16/64 h

Greed: 8/64 w x 24/64 h

From the to left corner

(again, you'll need a sash fillister, straight grain, a table saw, etc)

Purple: 16/64 w x 16/64 h

Rabbet for chamfers followed by #2 hollow

Rabbet for chamfers followed by #6 hollow

#10 hollow to make ovular shape

Rabbet followed by #4 hollow

Like I said yesterday, frame profiles often look pretty strange. They come together once mitered.

The Results

For the record, I spent 20:10 with the profiled planes, much of which is battling Big Pink. I have it on videotape but couldn't bring myself to post it.

I'll fix my longer sticking board soon and get something more substantial up here.

Tie Your Shoes...

2010-12-15T01:11:00.002-05:00

We're taking a few steps forward this time.

The holidays are coming up. I'm conveniently (for you) making a few picture frames as presents. The presents are technically what's inside the frame, but that's not the point.

I'm often asked what pair of hollows and rounds a woodworker should start with. The answer, like everything else, is that it depends. I imagine that the 6s, 8s and 10s will have their place in everybody's shop (radii of 6/16, 8/16 and 10/16, respectively), probably the 4s too. This, of course doesn't help somebody that's looking for one pair.

My recommendation is as follows: if you want one pair pick an ogee you like and I'll help you pick a pair to make that. If, however, you can swing it, get two pairs. Once you have two pairs you'll be able to introduce ovular shapes. It's at this stage that you're truly able to recognize the versatility of these planes. I also encourage people to get two pairs that are not too close. Get the 4s and 8s or the 6s and 10s. You'll be able to make scores of very different profiles with just those two pairs.

I'm introducing ovular shapes here. These planes are still being steered by the rabbets and chamfers. It's not freehand, but at times it may feel like it's approaching that.

Dimensions from top right corner

Red rabbet: 27/64w x 18/64h

Purple: 42/64w x 8/64h

Green: 19/64 x 22/64

Black: 2/64 x 28/64

from to left corner

(you'll need either a sash fillister, extremely straight grain, a very steady hand or a table saw for this one.)

Orange: 28/64 x 8/64

#4 round followed by #10 round

Chamfer with Rabbet

#6 hollow followed by #10 hollow

Rabbet followed by #2 hollow

And the results

These picture frame profiles often look a little off. Once it's together they're pretty nice.

Ovular shapes are more difficult to lay out at first because it's not alway obvious where the rabbets go. It is not straight forward. Try a couple picture frames like this. You'll know your error(s) about 20% of the way through. You don't need perfect results.

Note: a profile like this is worked from both edges. You'll need straight grain or a scraper.

PS It may feel like we're jumping all over the place. By seeing more complex profiles you'll start to piece it together on your own. We'll get back to the basics in the coming days.

How do the rabbets act as depth gauges? How do the planes, themselves, act as depth gauges?

Hint:

Second Verse, Same as the First

2010-12-14T01:38:00.003-05:00

It's one of the back legs so now I'll keep it on my bench for a week and decide what I do and don't like about it.

I have a couple christmas presents to make in the next few days that may be of interest to those looking for more on hollows and rounds...stay tuned

A Quiet Evening Alone

2010-12-12T12:00:00.000-05:00

I apparently didn't learn how to use tracing paper until I was in my 30s. I think I left Chuck Bender bewildered when he showed me this trick.

Draw

Trace

Take your shooting board out, flip the tracing paper over and trace it on the opposite side

Use the tracing paper as a poor man's carbon paper and trace for a third time on the area you want the design.

Be amazed at both the results and the fact that you didn't learn this in kindergarten

Darken

Carve

I afforded myself some time with Chuck Bender working on acanthus leaves at The Acanthus Workshop* last year. I was never able to translate what I saw at museums onto my work. My hat's off to him because he helped me get much better at my favorite part, at least in my own eyes.

*full discolusre--I will be teaching a class there in 2011 regarding molding plane use.

Old Habits Die Hard

2010-12-11T14:59:00.000-05:00

The taper on the old iron wasn't at all uniform. The wedge seemed to be a perfect fit with a new one, however. I was already making a few side beads. I told myself that I could just practice on this small one that I'm borrowing from a friend. I couldn't help myself. It just happened.

Faster than the speed of sound...

You could do the same thing with a snipes bill and a #1 hollow. It would take about twice as long.

It's a sweet little plane.

Where to Begin?

2010-12-10T00:02:00.000-05:00

Hollows and rounds have no fences. They have no depth stops. They are difficult to steer and harder to correct. They have edges that take more skill to maintain than a straight edge.

I know what you're thinking. “I wish there was one wonderful thing that can take care of all three problems. I wish it only took one tool. And I wish that a video showing how to do it is easily accessible.”

THERE IS!

Rabbets, Rabbets, Rabbets

-Hollows and rounds have no fences...Rabbets create a series of chutes on which the planes travel.

-Hollows and rounds have no depth stops...When laid out correctly you will plane until the rabbets are gone (or you're leaving plane tracks on both sides, but this occurs when cutting greater than 60 degrees of an arc so we'll get to that some other day.)

-Hollows and rounds take more time to sharpen than a normal straight edge... Rabbets remove most of the material.

Steering

These planes are difficult to steer. When they start heading in a certain direction it's difficult to change. If a plane has a single point for its sole to ride, the chance that you end up with the beginning of the molding equaling the end is slim. The chance of the beginning equaling the ending and equaling what you want? Good Luck!

These planes are steered by giving them two points to ride.

Let the rabbets and chamfers dictate the direction the planes are presented because it is easy to change these.

*Take note that the rounds are guided by the tips of two rabbets. The hollows are guided by the two edges of a chamfer. The angle at which these are executed will be the angle at which the planes are presented into the wood. Those weird orange things in the second picture represent the planes sole, not a piece of pumpkin pie. *

Let's look at some real life examples now.

Do you want an ovolo at 30 degrees? One hollow--one chamfer at 30 degrees

Do you want a cove at 30 degrees? one round--the tips of two rabbets at 30 degrees

Do you want an ogee at 30 degrees? one hollow and one round--one 30 degree chamfered rabbet for the hollow, the tips of two rabbets for the round, also at 30 degrees

Do you want an ogee at 45 degrees? Look at the differences in the rabbets below vs. above. Everything is laid out at 45 degrees here.

Do you want a reverse ogee at 30 degrees? Again, look at the different layout. Same tools, different results.

Do you see any features above you recognize in the previous two moldings at which we looked?

Additionally, look at how much material is being removed by the profiled planes in the perfect world of google sketchup. It's minimal.

Next week we'll look at how rabbets serve as a depth gauge.

One last thing: I am not the person to speak to regarding design. I am a copycat when it comes to my craft. This is the reason I bought my first antique planes--to copy. Anybody looking for elements regarding design should check out Lie-Nielsen's library. I've heard very good things about a few of their dvds, including those by Don McConnell, Larry Williams and George Walker. They are each extraordinarily knowledgable in the subject.

PS I wish I was in Warren, ME this weekend. Have you seen the line up at the Lie Nielsen Open House?

Musings from Big Pink

Hubris 101b: Turning Quarter Columns

Moulded Edge of Chippendale Dressing Table Top

Support Moulding for Chippendale Dressing Table

Get Woodworking Week

Central Shell and Acanthus Leaves

More Focus on the Shell

Drawer Lip

It's Never a Given

A Weekend After a Weekend with Peter Follansbee

How To Make a Crossbow (Guest Blogger)

Official Knife Sharpening Day

The Result

Dedicated Plane for a Harpsichord Bridge

You Cannot Crosscut With A Rip Saw But You Can Rip With A Crosscut...

A Tradition of Craft: Current Worksby the Society of American Period Furniture Makers

Progress Continues On Dressing Table

An Idiot Guides Through Moulding Planes

The Ultimate Portfolio

Barn Raising in Haddam Neck

Haddam Neck Woodworkers' Guild

Fall/Winter 2011 and 2012 schedule

Life of a Planemaker

This Past Weekend and Next.

CVSW Open House

Irene...

Alone in the Wilderness (with my family)

I Quit

Weekend Class

Lie-Nielsen 30th Anniversary

CVSW Class

SAPFM Mid-Year Conference

Boxing

Answers

Rabbets: the good and the bad

Not the First Time, Not the Last

The Last Few Weeks and the Next Few

LN Event at Popular Woodworking

Profiles greater than 60 degrees, etc.

PA Secretary Crown

A Successful Weekend in Saratoga

Bracket Ogee Foot with Hollows, Rounds, and Jack

This Weekend Officially Marks My One Year Anniversary.

NWA Woodworking Showcase

Rule Joint with Hollows and Rounds

Site Location Has Changed

Wherever Your Interests May Fall...

Queen Anne Cornice: hollows, rounds and a snipes bill

City Bench

Right on Schedule

New England SAPFM Meeting

Dunlap Tall Case Clock, Hollows, Rounds and a Trick for Crown Molding

Nathan Liverant & Son Antiques

Queen Anne Side Chair: Shoe

John Townsend Table Edge, Support Molding, Hollows & Rounds

Making Basic Shapes with a #6 Hollow and #6 Round

Skewed Rabbet vs. Straight Rabbet

Correcting Mistakes with Hollows and Rounds

Another Excursion with Hollows and Rounds

Snipes Bills and Beads

A weekend with Hollows, Rounds, and Hand Tools of All Sorts

Potpourri II

Sharpening: A window into my basement

Creating Basic Shapes with a #6 Round Molding Plane

Creating Basic Shapes with a #6 Hollow Molding Plane

A Long Day in the Shop

Vacation is OVER

Sizing up the Competition

Snipes Bill Planes: an introduction

Potpourri

Working Backwards: cove and ovolo

Cove, Astragal and an Introduction to Side Rounds

Completing Layout: Rabbets and Chamfers as Depth Gauges

Frame 3

Ask and You Shall Receive...20 minute/$10 sticking board

Another Step by Step (Frame 2)

Tie Your Shoes...

Second Verse, Same as the First

A Quiet Evening Alone

Old Habits Die Hard

A Tradition of Craft: Current Works
by the Society of American Period Furniture Makers