Today I offer you a great trick for working with extremely precise cuts like scroll work and detailing from a template or drawing. Whether you are working from a purchased plan or are creating a fancy design from scratch for a customer, sometimes one of the hardest things to do is to copy out the details onto your work piece. So, I am going to share with you a great way to do this.
If the pattern you want to replicate on your work comes from a book or pattern pack, or even downloaded off the Internet, you can quickly transfer that image to your wooden stock by doing the following extremely simple steps. Take your pattern to your local library and photocopy the pattern on their laser copier. If you have a laser printer you can even do this at home. Make sure you use the scale feature to make it the right size. If you need you can also flip the pattern in the process (most photocopiers can do this). Once you have your copy take it back to your woodworking shop and lay it, face down, on your stock. Grab your iron (yes, the same one you use on your clothes) and on a low heat iron the back of the paper. The iron will melt the ink and transfer a perfect copy onto your wood.
If working from something you have done by hand, you may need to scan it into your computer and fix it up a bit with a graphics program. MSPaint is good enough for most projects. I have used MSPaint to make patterns, enlarge them, or to make perfectly symmetrical patterns from a half image. For those with more computer mastery you can download a great free program called GIMP. It is like MSPaint on steroids. (I use GIMP as my primary art tool on my computer.)
Using this photocopy and iron technique you can make multiple perfect copies of any pattern. The only thing left is a careful hand on whatever tool you plan to use to cut it out, whether it be a scroll saw, a jig saw or any other machine..
Monday, August 31, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
The Woodworking Holiday and Wainscotting with a Biscuit Jointer
I just got back from my summer vacation. If you have been following the blog then you probably noticed the big gap in posts. It was a good break. Yet, as so often happens, I went on holiday from this job only to find myself working at another.
A friend of mine pulled me in to do some wainscoting on his house. It wasn't a big job and it didn't take long. What is of interest though, is that this is the first time I have done wainscoting with a biscuit jointer. Last time I did some wainscoting it was of a style that didn't accommodate the use of a biscuit jointer and the time before that was before the biscuit jointer was a 'common tool'.
I like the biscuit jointer. I always have. From the first time I saw it used, to my first cheap jointer, to the top notch machine I wield now. I like it. It is a good machine that makes very specific woodworking practices super easy.
This was no different. The wainscoting was a classic rail and stile pattern with a cove trim and flat oak panel. Simple, elegant, and beautiful. From the word 'go' I knew I was going to use the biscuit jointer on this project. I made some design decisions around the fact. When it finally came time to do the project I was absolutely delighted. The biscuit jointer came through for me again. It made quick and accurate work of both the end joints on the rail and stile and the corner face joints.
If you are thinking of putting some wainscoting in your home I highly recommend getting your hands on a biscuit jointer. You can always get one from us at Woodtoolstore.com
A friend of mine pulled me in to do some wainscoting on his house. It wasn't a big job and it didn't take long. What is of interest though, is that this is the first time I have done wainscoting with a biscuit jointer. Last time I did some wainscoting it was of a style that didn't accommodate the use of a biscuit jointer and the time before that was before the biscuit jointer was a 'common tool'.
I like the biscuit jointer. I always have. From the first time I saw it used, to my first cheap jointer, to the top notch machine I wield now. I like it. It is a good machine that makes very specific woodworking practices super easy.
This was no different. The wainscoting was a classic rail and stile pattern with a cove trim and flat oak panel. Simple, elegant, and beautiful. From the word 'go' I knew I was going to use the biscuit jointer on this project. I made some design decisions around the fact. When it finally came time to do the project I was absolutely delighted. The biscuit jointer came through for me again. It made quick and accurate work of both the end joints on the rail and stile and the corner face joints.
If you are thinking of putting some wainscoting in your home I highly recommend getting your hands on a biscuit jointer. You can always get one from us at Woodtoolstore.com
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Country Style Mortise and Tenon
I've been out and about this summer, traveling and holidaying. Yet, wherever I go the woodworker in me comes out. I can't walk into a room without looking at every piece of furniture. I can't go into a kitchen without sliding open a drawer a bit to see if they are dove-tailed. I look at every building, every wall, for architectural ideas and inspiration.
The other day, while I was looking at furniture instead of what I was supposed to be doing, I saw an interesting set of chairs. They were obviously homemade. I didn't particularly like them - they were a peeled bark/stick style construction. Every piece was twisted and wild. I prefer smooth clean lines. To each his own - I guess. However, what caught my attention was the jointing style on the piece.
It was an extremely well crafted mortise and tenon joint. Its precision in contrast to the visual effect of the overall piece really drew my eye. The mortise was nothing more than a a round hole drilled through the legs. The cross branch was reduced and precisely turned to produce the tenon. The tenon then extended right through the mortise. After all that, an extra hole was drilled perpendicular to both (along the 3rd axis) and a dowel driven through.
What you need to realise is that the joints were in no way square. The twisted branches met at all sorts of oddball angles; anything but square. Sure, the mortise is easy enough - line them up, mark the angle, and tip your drill press. It was the tenon that had me. They were just too perfect. There was no way they were carved by hand, the fit was too tight. I couldn't see someone spinning a stick that twisted on a lathe. And, all the tools that I could think of that were normally used in these situations required a far more 'finished' stock. I had to ask . . .
The answer reminded me of why I love old farmers. He had made his own specialty tool, and it was the ultimate in simplicity. It was little more than a piece of pipe. He had sharpened one end with his angle grinder to create a cutter and welded a couple of wings on it that slid in a jig to keep it all 'square' (and by square he meant anything but square). First he cut the mortise. Second, he would carve down the tenon with a draw knife just to get rid of the majority of the excess. Then he would line up the branches and make a pencil line on the tenon stick. Next, he eyeballs the line in the jig groove the pipe wings slid down as he clamped it nicely into his vice where he would proceed to pound it with a hammer!
He demonstrated, I smiled. The chair was ugly, the joint was pretty, but it was the homemade tool that really floored me.
The other day, while I was looking at furniture instead of what I was supposed to be doing, I saw an interesting set of chairs. They were obviously homemade. I didn't particularly like them - they were a peeled bark/stick style construction. Every piece was twisted and wild. I prefer smooth clean lines. To each his own - I guess. However, what caught my attention was the jointing style on the piece.
It was an extremely well crafted mortise and tenon joint. Its precision in contrast to the visual effect of the overall piece really drew my eye. The mortise was nothing more than a a round hole drilled through the legs. The cross branch was reduced and precisely turned to produce the tenon. The tenon then extended right through the mortise. After all that, an extra hole was drilled perpendicular to both (along the 3rd axis) and a dowel driven through.
What you need to realise is that the joints were in no way square. The twisted branches met at all sorts of oddball angles; anything but square. Sure, the mortise is easy enough - line them up, mark the angle, and tip your drill press. It was the tenon that had me. They were just too perfect. There was no way they were carved by hand, the fit was too tight. I couldn't see someone spinning a stick that twisted on a lathe. And, all the tools that I could think of that were normally used in these situations required a far more 'finished' stock. I had to ask . . .
The answer reminded me of why I love old farmers. He had made his own specialty tool, and it was the ultimate in simplicity. It was little more than a piece of pipe. He had sharpened one end with his angle grinder to create a cutter and welded a couple of wings on it that slid in a jig to keep it all 'square' (and by square he meant anything but square). First he cut the mortise. Second, he would carve down the tenon with a draw knife just to get rid of the majority of the excess. Then he would line up the branches and make a pencil line on the tenon stick. Next, he eyeballs the line in the jig groove the pipe wings slid down as he clamped it nicely into his vice where he would proceed to pound it with a hammer!
He demonstrated, I smiled. The chair was ugly, the joint was pretty, but it was the homemade tool that really floored me.
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