1978 Craftsman Jointer

I mentioned in my last post that I was getting a jointer that my Dad had been storing for me, but then I got distracted by my Great Grandpa's tool box and tools. We did get the jointer home, it appears to be a 1978 Craftsman 6 1/8" jointer. It has some light rusting, but it is cleaning up nicely. 

After I get the surfaces cleaned up I will make sure the in-feed and out-feed beds are co-planar. And then I will sharpen the cutters.

New to me, but very old

I went to my parent's house to get a jointer that they had been storing for me, it was my grandpa's.  I will write another post on the jointer soon, but what else I received while there is what I am sharing now.

While Dad and I were working to get the jointer out of the garage Mom came out from the house with a old wooden hand plane and showed it to me. 

After moving boxes of canning jars we got to the jointer and pulled it out of the garage, then it was pointed out that a wooden box sitting next to the jointer was my Great-Grandpa's tool box. I moved a few more things and peaked inside.

The tools inside belonged to my Great-Grandpa, but there is one saw in there that was his Dad's, and one that was my Grandpa's. I was thrilled when Mom and Dad said I could have the toolbox and the tools. When I got home I took all the tools out to study them more and make note of any markings I could find on them so I could try and see how old these tools are. 

 The lower saw was my Great-Great-Grandpa's and the one above that one was my Grandpa's

 The larger of the two planes and the one picture above were both made by Scioto Works, which was a company owned by Ohio Tool Company, and were produced between 1893 and 1907.

 The smaller of these two was made by the New York Tool Company. On the side of it is stamped "Boston Navy Yard Oct. 1870".  So I believe that this tool is around 142 year old.

 Here are two saws that were Great Grandpa's.

 I plan on getting some brass tags made for each tool to mark who it belonged to.  I also am going to be doing some more research about these tools.

I finished Rehab

Well I finished rehabbing the old plane. I worked my way up through 400 grit on the bottom of the plane. And I spent a little time sharpening the blade.  The plane works a lot better now.  I think the blade could be sharper but it cut nicely on all the boards I tried it on.

I took some of the shavings, some sawdust, and some paraffin and made fire starters. I cut the large one into 8 wedges and 1 wedge worked very well for lighting a fire in the wood stove.  This will be a good way to use the shavings and saw dust.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's....

Just a plane.  I have been working on tuning up a old bench plane my wife bought me a few years ago. Back in my post Flat Sole I started flattening the sole of the plane.  I have made it through 80 grit and moved to 150 grit.  I will contiue working with 150 grit until all the 80 grit scratches are gone. Then I will work my way through to 220 and 400 grit.

From what I can find this plane appears to be a Stanley Defiance #3, which was made post WWII.

After I get the sole flattened I am going to be sharpening the blade.  And possible refinishing the tote (rear handle) and the knob.

Work Bench Mods

I don't have a typically wood working work bench. I have a couple of work benches I made from some salvaged counter tops on a frame made of 2x4's and 2x2's.  While they work great for being a nice flat surface for stacking things on, they lack the work holding capabilities of a real work bench.  It also isn't sturdy enough to not want to move around while using a hand plane. 

Recently I added a hold down clamp to my bench, it was something I had gotten at a yard sale my grandma was having. Grandpa had never installed the clamp, it was new in the box.

 A bolt is counter bored into the top so the bolt head is recessed when not in use.

Even though I don't have a vise, I can still edge plane a board.  This is a mdf fence I've used in the past with the bandsaw, but with the help of some clamps it works for edge planing. I also drilled a 3/4" hole in the bench and inserted a 3/4" dowel to use as a planing stop.

So don't let not having a "real" work bench keep you from getting things done.

The Shop

I spent some time this weekend cleaning in the shop, I know the pictures don't look that way, but I actually picked up a lot of tools from my recent projects and put them in their rightful spots. I need to make some more shelving and maybe some cabinets so I can get more organized.  

Experience and Mistakes

Back when I put together the first rocking horse which I called a prototype because it was not going to be once of the horse I was going to give as a gift.  That was because some tear out in the counter bores, I knew just plugging the screw holes wouldn't take care of the problem.  At that time the plan was to fill the holes and paint the rocking horse.Then I got the idea to distress the painted finished, but I didnt want light colored pine showing through the paint.  That meant the first step was to stain the parts. 

 After staining the parts I applied a coat of shellac to seal in the stain and to help keep from sanding through the stain while distressing the paint. But I couldn't bring myself to paint it.  I am sucker for wood and even this pine looks to good to paint in my eyes. That meant I had to do something with the torn out counter bores.  I went ahead and applied 2 more coats of shellac. I then used stain-able wood filler to fill the screw holes and once dry I carefully sanded the filler flush.

 I had experimented on a scrap of wood and found that since the wood had several coats of shellac on it that it was easy to apply stain to the wood filler with out changing the color of the wood around it.

 Here you can see how the filler took the stain.

 I painted all the saddle pieces with some paint we had on hand. The shellac, which had been sanded with 320 was a very good base for a nice smooth coat of paint.

 After the stain had a chance to dry I applies 2 more coats of shellac to the entire project.

 Here is the finished rocking horse.

While using the wood filler may not have been the preferred way I think it came out pretty good. Something I was thinking while I was working on this was how experience doesn't mean not making mistakes, but knowing how to hide them.

Get Wood Working Week

I am amazed with the response to "Get Woodworking Week." I have been reading all the links Tom has been posting on Tom's Workbench.  I am honored for Tom to have included my post about Shellac in today's listing.

In reading some of the other "Get Woodworking" post I am seeing a lot of the same excuses I have thought and said when it comes to projects. Such as: I can't do that until I get the right tools. And not trying to build something due to the fear of messing up with an expensive pile of wood. But from now on I will do my best to get woodworking.

Get woodworking: Shellac, this beginners favorite finish.

It is "Get Woodworking Week" which was created by Tom from Tom's Workbench to promote wood working, and to encourage people interested in wood working to give it a try and  "Get Woodworking."

While I am not an experienced wood worker, I have done some, and have already learned a lot. In the past my projects were either left unfinished or were painted, but then I found shellac. Shellac can be brushed on, sprayed, or wiped on. It is also available in aerosol cans. Shellac dries quickly and cleans up easily with denatured alcohol.  Typically only 1 hour is needed between coats.

I have used shellac on all the rocking horses I have built. On the rocking horses my finish schedule has been to sand to 180 grit, apply stain, then apply at least 4 coats of shellac. Sanding with 320 between coats. I have been very happy with how the finish has turned out. 

So don't let finishing hold you back, give shellac a try and Get Woodworking!