Best selling wood projects - 20 000 Visitors Whod A Thunk

Best selling wood projects

When I started The Village Woodworker Blog, I had in mind the goal of presenting in a quiet way, the activities of a very small beer woodworker, who happened to have a yen for old tools and their application.

I have been humbled by the fact that so many of you have found the experience of visiting - to be a positive one.  Thanks for your continued support.

As you can see from The Village Woodworker Blog, I sell nothing and I do not list any advertising.

The Blog is an honest presentation of what happens in my life, in The Village of Telegraph Point and its environs, and this - more often than not - involves woodwork.

If, during your visits here, you have learned a little, or taught me a little, then - all to the good.

I hope that the future holds learning experiences for all of us, and that we are prepared to share them for the good of all.

Mucho Gratias my friends.                                                             Sunrise on a tallowood at Telegraph Point.

Clyde and Dale

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Best selling wood projects - Centenary Of ANZAC Honour Board

Best selling wood projects

On the 25th April 1915 members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed at Gallipoli in Australias first action as a nation in war.  The campaign, conceived by the British, was an ultimate failure - but it is inscribed into the hearts of Australians, New Zealanders and Turks alike as story of courage, sacrifice and mateship.

 Anzac Cove at Gallipoli

25 April is a national day in Australia, New Zealand and Turkey for much the same reasons, and our countries have grown to be close friends.

 A Turkish soldier carries a wounded Australian

This year marks the centenary of Anzac and all three countries will mark the occasion with ceremony and solemnity.

The profound words of reconciliation from Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

 I was commissioned by our Community Association to build an Honour Board for those names of men who served that were omitted from the original Honour Board of 1919, to mark the end of World War 1.

Telegraph Point Original Honour Board from the end of WW1

The new Honour Board is to house an additional twenty names, and to be made in the same manner as the existing memorial.

I chose Australian Rosewood, as the colour will match the original timber colouring in time.

Only having the current board to work with, there had to be many measurements taken to try to replicate the size and appearance.  All together there were over 130 individual parts that had to be made, cut, shaped and moulded.

I wont bore you with the slabbing, sizing or general fabrication.
The carcass was straightforward but the clamping of the individual mouldings created a challenge.  There are 24 moulding pieces at the bottom of the columns alone.

I hand made all of the mouldings using a combination of blades in the Stanley 45.
The construction picks up at the making of the pediment.

Each block and piece of moulding was cut in a home-made mitrebox.  The pieces were too small to be safely cut on the dropsaw.

The combination of mitred panels and moulding made up the top of the pediment.

You can never have too many clamps

You really really cant have too many clamps

Here is the completed construction before final sanding and finishing
The box section between pediment and carcass is hollow, so I decided to include a time capsule from 2015.  Maybe at some future time it will again see the light of day.

By using a mobile low trolley made from scraps, I was able to have the finished piece at a suitable work height for sanding and final lacquering.

The finish here was sprayed on Mirrortone satin.
All done now - and ready for the sign writer.

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Best selling wood projects - A Value Far Beyond Pearls Old World Chisels

Best selling wood projects

Yep - Old Tools time again.
By now you will know that I have a relationship with old hand tools that permeates my woodwork.  And from time to time I wax lyrical about them.

Anyhoo, years and years back - cant remember when, it may be decades by now, I acquired one chisel among a few others, that I liked immediately, and have used ever since. It is a Mathieson bevelled edge with a lovely fine blade.

Ever since, I have kept looking for others - and every few years or more, another has come along.

On Sunday, I found another, and now have a grand total of four.
These are 1/8, 1/2, 5/8 and 1-1/4.
The handles are a joy to hold, and the steel is very good.

Alex Mathieson - Glasgow - made hand tools from 1822-1966.  Just when these particular four chisels were made is unknown to me, but Id like to think that they are either late 19th or early 20th century tools.

The handles are beech, and brass ferrules guard against splitting - as these are tanged bevelled edge chisels.  They are excellent paring chisels, the shape of the handle aiding their dexterity.

Having shared my find with some friends, the subject of American chisels came along, specifically in relation to trying to identify trade marks stamped on the chisel face or socket.

This is the one that sparked the discussion, and next to it, what it would have looked like in its younger days:

Specifically: Union Hardware Co - Torrington Connecticut
It occurred to me to post some more of the American made chisel logos to assist in identifying troublesome and hazy trade marks in the future.
So - here they are.

Chisels Manufactured in the USA
Brand and Trademark

Of necessity, this will be a work in progress as I do not have access to all the possible trade marks and logos - there are hundreds.  It is but a start.

Blue Grass by The Belknap Hardware & Manufacturing Co

D R Barton - Rochester NY - One of the best

Douglass Manufacturing Co - Precursor to The James Swan Co - and as good as ...

Greenlee - Rockford Illinois

C E Jennings & Co

G I Mix & Co

And ........

Peck, Stowe & Wilcox - later to become:

Pexto - along with P S & W - one of the best

Sargent & Co NY

Stanley - of course!  Of which there were numerous trade marks.

The James Swan Co - successor to the Douglass - One of my top two US chisel makers of all time.

L & I J White

Image courtesy of Nicholas Bourke - Gratias my friend

Winsted Edge Tool Works - aka Thomas Witherby

T H Witherby - The other of my top two US chisel makers of all time.

Well this is a start - Ill add to these marks as they come to hand.  In the meantime here is a small reference for those seeking clarification of US Chisel Trade Marks & Logos.

If you have any different logos or trade marks that you dont mind sharing, you can:

....it would be very much appreciated.

Happy chiselling
SG

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Best selling wood projects - 130 000 Visitors How did this happen

Best selling wood projects

Time and Tides

Time has passed - three years now - as my woodworking has developed alongside music (ukulele) and a renewed interest in photography.
Serendipitously, it was the photography of the items and processes that I have written about, that re-awakened the photography genie.
It has long been an interest and at times a passion - from my first serious camera - Canon FTb - to the present.

I have tried to share aspects of my own life journey that I thought interesting enough to post.
Of course so much has been omitted.

An accidental introduction to ukulele three years ago has blossomed into a weekly jam, uke-making and several concerts - the next on November 30.

Photography has taken me back into the companionship of fellow shutter-bugs, competition and judging.

And my woodwork morphs around these interests, my family, grandkids and life in general.
Last weekend my youngest son married the love of his life and it was a celebration of family, friendship and hope for the future.

Life always has its ups and downs, but the secret to happiness is - in my view anyway - quite simple:

Have someone to love,
Have something meaningful to do,
and ...........
Have something to look forward to

May your journey be as rewarding as mine, your joys memorable and your problems small.
Happy trails
Tom
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