Best selling wood projects - Happy Australia Day

Best selling wood projects

January 26 is our national day, and is a day for citizenship ceremonies, and for reflecting on what a wonderful country we have, and are a part of. We have a population from many diverse backgrounds and ethnic origins, and we all do our best to thank and honour the way that these are shaping our national consciousness.
As I look back on the changes that I have seen in my life, I am pleased with some - and yet I have a tinge of regret about other things that we have lost along the way.
If we take woodworking as one simple example - we have almost lost the self sufficiency of manufacturing, that was such a big part of post World War Two re-construction.

This is a small sampling from my own workshop of tools that were made during that period.  It was tools such as these that built Australia during the 1940s, 50s and 60s.

Here are a pair of planes made by Carter Tools Pty Ltd of NSW - a number 5 jack plane and a C1 rebate plane.  These are rugged old workhorses that are well made and have excellent blades. They serve me well.

Wooden plane manufacturing occurred for a time - and in NSW, Bergs Tools Aust used local hardwoods to produce a range of traditional European handplane designs.

We still have one quality wooden handplane maker in Alstonville NSW.  Terry Gordon has been hand making beautiful planes like this smoother for many years, and his planes are highly sought after.

I pay tribute to Terry Gordon on Australia Day in 2013.

One aspect of both planemakers is the quality of the steel used in the blades.

Bergs - at least mine anyway - show no branding (and Terry does not brand his either) but are excellent steel and hold a sharp edge well.

The Silex brand was marketed by Howard F Hudson Pty Ltd of NSW, and included many cast iron and steel handtools such as these.

These were everyday builders and carpenters hand tools, and there would have been very few tool boxes that didnt have at least one Silex product in them.

Here are a sliding bevel, a square and a dowelling jig.

Another indispensable tool that every builder treated with the care shown to cut glass crystal, was his builders level.  This is one of the most common - the Cowley Automatic Level.
It came with its own tripod, measuring staff and sighting crossbar.  Measurement was in feet and inches of course.  I have built two homes and done dozens of renovations with this one.

Of course, it wasnt long before Stanley began manufacturing in Australia as well.   True to their  proven formula of buying out their opposition, they soon acquired many of the smaller Australian hand tool manufacturers.

As well, they manufactured their own products in country.

This was my very first hand drill.  All I had until my first electric drill - a venerable Lightburn - also made in Australia.

One of the great success stories of Australian tool manufacturing was the The Titan Manufacturing Co Pty Ltd of Tasmania.  Titan chisels are highly sought after today by both craftsmen and collectors alike, and they hold their own very well against the current crop of manufactured tools from around the world.

Registered firmer chisels are not very popular these days, as bevelled edge chisels have largely supplanted them as the most versatile bench chisel style.  Nonetheless, they are still manufactured by Trent Powrie under the Harold and Saxon label.  I think that he was inspired in one of his designs by these traditional Titan firmers.

 While not strictly woodworking tools, spanners and socket sets made by Siddons were a byword for the highest quality in automotive tools.  Sidchrome tools found their way into almost every Holden or Falcon owners toolkit.
These days we have access to high quality hand tools from around the world, but I know that lots of Australian woodworkers still use those tools that were made back in the good old days.

Thanks for walking this little tour of amnesia lane with me.
Have a very happy Australia Day

...and happy woodworking to all.

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Best selling wood projects - A Simple Utility Tray Project Part 1

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Here is a little project that can be completed in a weekend, requires a small amount of timber and can be finished with simple tools.  It is an ideal undertaking that can be shared with children, or even accomplished unaided by a child, or anyone with basic woodworking skills.

Either way, it is fun, and produces a stylish tray that can be used in the dining room, the garden, the potting shed or the workshop.  It is based on a traditional tray like this one from New England - USA, but is most likely English in its origins.

Im going to use found and re-cycled materials for my tray, and they will require some cleaning up, squaring and truing, and for all of the parts, some re-sizing.

Using re-cycled materials is cheap, and environmentally responsible.  Furthermore, old timbers look great in this context.

When using re-cycled timber, it is important to clear them of nails and grit that can damage your tools - and dent the cutting edges of planes, saws and chisels. A wire brush is useful here.

Ill need a centre handle, two ends, two sides, and some material to fashion the bottom of the tray.

It is always a good idea to set out the timbers that will be used, and label them so that no mix-ups occur.

I find that chalk is the best medium  - forty five years of teaching does that to you.  I think I must have chalk dust in my blood by now.

My grand children introduced me to sidewalk chalk - thick and chunky, and available in most $2 shops!

Whatever timbers are chosen need to be light, so that carrying the finished tray isnt a burden.  Pine is a good choice.  I am using radiata pine and oregon (douglas fir), since I have these already.  The radiata is particularly rough, and these edges need dressing.

Plane in the direction of the grain - I use a jack plane first, to remove the rough, then a jointer plane to ensure that the edge is straight, without round or hollow, and square.

I dont have a board wide enough from which to make the centre handle, so I will have to edge glue two boards to create enough width.  Both edges need to be straight and square - a very slight hollow (called a sprung joint) helps the gluing process.

The jointing is complete when a full length shaving is taken by the jointer plane.  The center handle section is clamped between two cawls, and excess glue cleaned up with a damp cloth while the glue is still wet.  This section can be put aside to dry while the other parts are fashioned.

The two ends will be curved across their tops in this design, but can really be any shape, as long as there is enough support for the center handle section that will run longways down the tray, dividing it into two.

Any suitable saw can be used to cut the curve.  Here I am using a coping saw, but a jigsaw, scrollsaw or bandsaw would be quicker.

Cut outside the lines and shave or sand back to the desired curve.


I thought that I would post this project as one listing here on the Village Woodworker, but life has had other plans for me. There will have to be a part 2.
In Part 2 Ill make the centre handle, and assemble the tray before adding the base.
Cant wait!

Happy woodworking to all ..........

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Best selling wood projects - Happy Anniversary Day

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We call it Australia Day now - but according to Wiki...............

In 1888, all colonial capitals except Adelaide celebrated Anniversary Day. In 1910, South Australia adopted Australia Day,^[10] followed by Victoria in 1931.^[13] By 1935, all states of Australia were celebrating 26 January as Australia Day (although it was still known as Anniversary Day in New South Wales).^[10]

Whatever we call it - it is our 4th of July, our Bastille Day, our national day to celebrate our one-ness as the nation of Australia.  So happy Australia Day to all!

http://api.ning.com/files/0f615wLw7mk-g2V8jipuCmhOglNhnaZVUMDrhgNkVezNdZhEmHEJUE62Iz-Twel0mSC64Ex5UO4SbyROZv0mg2SvymkeyBya/GW_Australia_Day_Flag_Map.jpg

Twelve months ago, I highlighted the debt that we owe to past Australian tool manufacturers and the heritage that they have left us. See Oz Day 2012 

I thought that this year I would focus on one of our current woodworking tool manufacturers, and look a little more closely at his contribution to our craft.

HNT Gordon - Planemaker

Terry Gordon has been making planes in his Alstonville NSW workshop since the early 1990s and commenced trading in 1995.

He has always set for himself the highest of standards, and outlines these in his business principles:

Any plane we  make will be able to plane or scrape any wood without tearout 

We will only use high quality materials with a simple appropriate design to offer customers affordable quality in tools that will make your woodwork better. 

We have done considerable development work to learn how to harvest, dry and stabilise Australian hardwoods (in particular gidgee) to give give us a superior quality wood for plane making that has ever been used before.  In conjunction with this we have learnt how to combine this wood with brass using modern glues to enhance the function and life of some wooden planes.   As a consequence of this work we offer an unconditional guarantee on workmanship and materials without hesitation.

I have been using Terrys planes for many years, and have a fondness for them when using Australian hardwoods especially.

They are well suited to controlling tearout in these timbers, and leave an excellent finish.

Here is an HNT Gordon Trying plane - which is superb on a shooting board and excellent for board jointing.  I prefer it on shorter boards, but on very long boards I still reach for my Stanley Number 8.

Terry makes a range of Block, Jack and Smoothing Planes.  I have found that his work is so exact, that these planes all present with very fine mouths and take the finest of shavings.  To me, this makes them different varieties of smoothing planes, but of differing lengths.

Here is The HNT Gordon A55 Smoothing plane, and traditional Smoothing Plane.  Both are excellent - with wonderful blades and tight mouths to produce the whispiest of gossamer shavings.

This is Terrys Aussie Jack Plane, and it too is beautifully built.  It, too, takes the whispiest of fine shavings, and leaves a smooth finish.  It is, in my eyes, another smoother.  I use jack planes for thick shavings from an open mouth - so that the timber is removed quickly.  My Australian-made Carter number 5 is a great example of this, and far more useful as a Jack plane to me.

It is Terrys Shoulder Planes that really shine.  Here, the precise construction and fine engineering again give consummate control in relieving the shoulders of tenons and truing their faces.

From left to right - 1/2 inch, 3/4 inch, 1 inch and 1-1/4 inches wide shoulder planes.  These are different examples of the same timber - Macassar Ebony.  Below, a side view.

The range of handplanes made by HNT Gordon is extensive, and these have been but a sampling.  All are works of the toolmakers art and are a pleasure to use.  Here is a broader  illustration of part of the range available from the planemakers own website:

http://www.hntgordon.com.au/africanblackwoodset.htm

And in Snakewood:

snakewoodsetno5.jpg

HNT Gordon also manufacture a variety of specialty planes suited to the cabinetmaker and to the master craftsman.

HNT Gordon Dado planes are a work of art, and contain an adjustable nicker that is as beautiful as it is effective

Add to these, hollows and rounds, snipe bill planes and side rebate planes, and the field is well covered.  Terry is also producing both male and female dovetail planes - coming soon.

The images above courtesy of HNT Gordon

So Happy Australia Day Terry, and on behalf of the woodworking community, thank you for what you have contributed to the world of woodworking, and to Australian woodworking in particular, where you are best known.

For the rest of us there is the singular pleasure of using HNT Gordon planes and other hand tools that enhance our chosen craft.

Happy Australia Day to all................

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Best selling wood projects - A good day for a bargain

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I admit it. I love going to my local markets. Is it the delightful collage of people and languages buying and selling all manner of household bric-a-brac? Is it the thrill of the hunt? Is if the ever present chance of scoring a bargain? Yes, yes, and especially YES!

I am usually chasing tools at the markets. Sure, I have lots of woodworking hand tools. Some might reckon Im a tool junkie. Teaching woodworking handskills to groups of up to 20 people, I need a lot of tools. Good quality old fashioned tools - not the cheap modern imported crap from the big hardware stores. Hence I have in my head a list of priority tools I am always seeking, and a list of tools I will be opportunitistic about given the right chance. Other than that I am always open to being surprised...
?????

My grandaughter Paree with a bargain $5 wheelbarrow

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Run by the local Rotary Club as a fundraiser each Sunday morning, anyone from the public can sell whatever goodies they have (except food) by paying a few dollars for a car bay or two in the local shopping centre car park to set up their wares. It is a cross between a giant garage sale and a car boot sale. I try to go early each Sunday morning, usually early enough that many stallholders are still setting up. This way I aim to beat the crowds and more importantly, beat the tool collectors. Tool collectors are a problem for me, as they help to inflate the prices of good second hand tools. Theirs will live in a box or a display cabinet, but I am seeking tools that will be used for the purpose they were intended. I cant afford to have 20 of everything at tool collector prices. So yes, I try to beat the tool collectors to the bargains.

Bargains. Some days there are none, but other days there are plenty. Ya just never know... thats the thrill of the hunt, eh?

Last Sunday I was there early as usual, at the crack of dawn. It takes me about an hour to cruize the hundreds of stalls, so off I went. I have been doing it for a few years so I have a good visual scanning system operating. I know what Im looking for.
Sure enough, across several stalls I was to snap up a few good bargains:

A nice couple of 10 point panel saws. Not oldies, but good users just needing some cleaning up. A Disston and a Sandvik. At $2 each, they are a bargain just to cut them up to make cabinet scrapers! However they are worth sharpenning and putting in the pool for my group activities. They can be sharpenned until there is no blade left, unlike the saws with low grade steel and sharp but unsharpenable hard point teeth found in the hardware shops. Do the planet a favour and dont buy "disposable" hand saws!

A carpenters mallet. In good condition, and ready for more action. A steal at $3...

A beautiful 12inch x6 inch RICHA speed cramp, also known as an F-cramp. One of the best you can get - like any tools with "Made in West Germany" stamped on them. I have a heap of cramps, but no cheap and nasty ones. I bought 20 Richa cramps new in the early 80s. Little did I know what a good move that was! This one is a nice big one - and an absolute bargain at the $8 it cost me. Thankyou, Mr. Stallholder!

These old 6 inch vises are on my high priority list, as I use them on the kids benches I make. Nobody seems to make them anymore, so I continue to scour garage sales and markets looking for these. The 12 vices I have found over the last year are a mixed bag of brands, quality and condition. What makes this particular vise so desireable is its a DAWN. This used to be the best quality brand available in Australia, from the days long gone when Australia had a booming manufacturing industry. This vice is in brilliant condition, so I could hardly contain my face-splitting smile when I shelled out a mere $10 for this incredible bargain!

A Stanley No.110 block plane - not with original handle! Someone had put a nylon bush on the front, but it is otherwise in excellent condition. Lucky I have a spare handle. But hey, I can always turn up  a new handle. This is going to be used heaps in my group activities, remember. It wont sit on a shelf. Block planes are also on my priority list. While these are a pig to adjust for beginners, I confess I have a soft spot for them. My father gave me my first plane, a Record No.110, when I was nine years old. I still use that plane every day. Can you believe the price for this nylon handled tool pictured? I paid $5!! This, folks, was the bargain of the day.  

This week there were no really interesting finds, like very old and desireable planes. Unless a tool collector got there before me and cleaned them out. However the "users" I scored this week had me leaping with joy.

OK, Ill stop bragging now. True, some days I come home with no bargains. Then there are those other days when I hit the motherlode.

...Is it nearly Sunday morning yet?
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Best selling wood projects - Timbertown An 1800s Experience

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Our Hastings Woodworkers Guild Workshops and Clubrooms are situated in Timbertown - the historic 1800s theme village at Wauchope NSW.
 
While we are not busy with club projects or clubroom duties, it is a joy to wander the village and encounter the characters who enliven the day to day.

Bullocky

an extract

Beside his heavy-shouldered team 

thirsty with drought and chilled with rain, 

he weathered all the striding years 

till they ran widdershins in his brain: 

Till the long solitary tracks 
etched deeper with each lurching load 
were populous before his eyes, 
and fiends and angels used his road.

All the long straining journey grew 

a mad apocalyptic dream, 

and he old Moses, and the slaves 

his suffering and stubborn team. 

Then in his evening camp beneath 

the half-light pillars of the trees

he filled the steepled cone of night 

with shouted prayers and prophecies.

While past the campfires crimson ring 

the star struck darkness cupped him round.

and centuries of cattle-bells 

rang with their sweet uneasy sound. 

From Judith Wright http://www.poemhunter.com/best-poems/judith-wright/bullocky-2/

The Village Blacksmith
an extract

Under a spreading chestnut tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.

His hair is crisp, and black, and long,
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whateer he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.

Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.

And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming forge,
And hear the bellows roar,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing-floor.

Toiling,--rejoicing,--sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close;
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a nights repose.

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of lifeOur fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought!

 From Henry Wadsworth Longfellow http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/1218/

With special thanks to Craig the Bullocky and Doug the Smithy from Timbertown

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