Milling

The Raamtang is a Dutch sash joiner’s tool. Directly translated it means “window pliers” and it was just for holding sash parts while chopping mortises, plowing grooves, and moulding the edges. The astute observer will…

This challenge is all about milling a board. In essence I want you to make a block that is approximately 1x4x6" in size. Rarely do we need to have a perfect piece that is flat…

Part 2: Making the Wedges Wedges and a Birdsmouth: Simple and Effective This edge planing stop is not a new idea but it is a great thing to have around if you have a viseless…

Consistency in Layout is the Key to Success Here The dust frames not only make for a surface for the drawers to ride on and set the spacing of the drawers, but they add incredible…

Precise Milling of Boards with Sketchy Dovetails Dovetailing the case of this chest is a good place to start since the internal dimensions of it dictate the sizes of everything we make from here on…

Fewer Planes, More Saws & Chisels In this session I walk through each lesson of the semester and comment on how I do things differently. The simplest way to sum up how my personal approach…

Break Your Wide Board into Narrow Boards Flattening wide boards for case sides or table tops can be intimidating. In reality they usually don't need to be very flat at all, but when they do…

  Live Edges, Parallel Clamps, and Flattening Wide Surfaces We had some good questions this month from how to keep the bark on a live edge, how to clamp up a panel flat, a long…

  Many Sizes, but One Will Work For Now Hand planes attract a lot of people to this style of woodworking. But usually I find that many acquire too many planes too fast and this…

  Angled Mortises Are Square Mortises With a Lean This marking gauge is one of those brilliant tools from yesteryear. There are several instances of them to be found in historical Joiner inventories and little…

  A Chisel Exercise Like No Other Bench hooks are one of those bench appliances that you can never have enough of. So it seems a little funny to make a couple of such skinny…

  No Vises, No Problem This workbench is hardly a unique design. It takes the wide aprons of an English joiners bench, adds in a modern split top design, and stout legs and joinery to…

  Video Quick Links Sharpening a Wheel Gauge My Workbench Shooting Boards Fixing a Loose Rabbet Plane Wedge Box Joints? Fixing Twist Extending the Reach of a Shooting Board Lots of good questions at Office…

  Know Your Knots to Know What Not To Do Rarely will you find a board that is completely free of defects like knots. We can cut around them and get the parts we need…

  Save Your Back and Get Flatter Boards I won't be the last person to compare planing to Tai Chi nor am I the first. Hand planing is really all about working from the legs…

  Video Quick Links Part 1 Part 2 Shoulder Alignment is the Number One Priority This practice square is 9 joints, 6 mortise and tenon variations, and 3 half lap variations. But first and foremost,…

http://handtoolschool.wistia.com/medias/xusfazda9c?embedType=iframe&seo=false&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=800 I sincerely apologize for the poor audio in this presentation. I cleaned it up as much as I could to remove the static but it is far below my usual quality. I debated even…

http://handtoolschool.wistia.com/medias/dszilnvekc?embedType=iframe&seo=false&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=800 You Can't Make Furniture Out of Just One Part With so much talk about milling our boards flat and square, we tend to forget about one incredibly important aspect of the whole process of…

http://handtoolschool.wistia.com/medias/eua3nukont?embedType=async&seo=false&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=800 Milling a Moving Target Technically removing the twist from a board is just the same as planing any old board. Remove the high spot and blend everything into a flat surface. But the problem…

http://handtoolschool.wistia.com/medias/766bv66trl?embedType=async&seo=false&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=800 Sometimes You Can't Saw the Board Any Shorter Jointing longs edges are done with Jointer planes right? Yes...with a but. The Jointer plane is an unruly beast and can actually more easily give you…

  Saving Wood or Saving Time? Who doesn't love resawing right? You take a thicker board and make 2 thinner ones. It sounds like the perfect solution to all our problems right? Right? Maybe not.…

  A Bevel Makes Glue Up Easier Match planing makes the angle of your edge irrelevant when you are making a panel. It simplifies the process but it is not idiot proof. I started introducing…

http://handtoolschool.wistia.com/medias/eapw1hsapk?embedType=async&seo=false&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=800 Video Quick Links Introduction Types of Axes Sharpening Preparing Lathe Blanks Removing Wane on a Board Riving Carving Adzes/Froes Converting a Sportman's Hatchet The topic this month is Axes. More specifically why kinds of…

  Live Session Quick Links Polissoir vs Modern Finishes Lumber and the Summer Heat Chisels and Jumping Scribe Lines S6S Block Challenge Layout Tenons from the Shoulder This session focuses on 4 topics: the polissoir…