Popular Woodworking 2005-11 № 151, страница 22
Q & A continued from page 18 with a hand plane to get it reasonably true. And then I'll run it over the jointer. As to extending the bed of your jointer, some manufacturers actually make bed extensions that can add 4" or so, but most do not. I've seen several woodworkers add a torsion box apparatus to the infeed table of their jointer. The problem is, it has to be physically attached to the bed because you move the bed up and down occasionally. The best long-term solution is, of course, to buy a long-bed 6" or 8" jointer, which is what I generally recommend for people who work with solid wood a lot anyway. — Christopher Schwarz, executive editor Which Mortising Chisel to Buy? I want to ask your opinion about mortising chisels. My question is this: I'm tossed between the Lie-Nielsen mortise chisels and everything else. I'm not a professional, but with some calculated saving, I like to use the same tools. And I'm only going to buy the basic three: V4", 3/8" and V2". My mortises are usually cut with a Wood-Rat or hollow-chisel mortiser, but the stuff that I'm starting to build requires angled mortises or mortises that I'd rather either chop by hand or have to clean up by hand. Brian Hayner Glens Falls, New York A proper mortise chisel blazes through wood and can do things that no hollow-chisel mortiser can. Until recently, many were poor copies of historical designs. But there are two brands I'm enthused by. The Lie-Nielsen (800-327-2520 or lie-nielsen. com) mortisers are excellent. They're technically sash mortising chisels and are suitable for cabinet-scale work. The other is by Ray Iles and is carried by Tools for Working Wood (800-4264613 or toolsforworkingwood.com). These are nice copies of English mortise chisels. They're both higher-priced tools, but worth it. Start with the 516 ", which is the right size for handmade mortises in 3i" stock. Then expand the set a tool at a time as needed. — Christopher Schwarz, executive editor What are the Rules on Tenons For Building Large-scale Doors? I am going to make an exterior door for my house and plan to use mortise-and-tenon j oin-ery for the stiles and rails. The stiles will be about 8" wide, the rails about the same and the door will be 2" thick. My question is: How big should I make the tenons? How long, how wide and how deep? Any thoughts you might have would help me out a lot. Also, I heard that you weren't supposed to glue the whole tenon, just the top half of it to leave room for any wood movement. Is there any truth in that? Mike Lopez Saukville, Wisconsin The rule of thumb in both cabinetry and large-scale stuff is that the tenon thickness should be half the thickness of your stock. So 2" stock calls for 1 "-thick tenons. As to the tenon's width, design the joint with edge shoulders of12" to 34 " — this will ensure you have lots of gluing surface and should protect you from blowing out the ends of your mortise walls during assembly. As to tenon length, I would make the tenons as long as your tooling will allow for this application: 3" long should do the trick. Old doors commonly used through-tenons, and there are still a lot of these doors around today — a testament to their design. Also, as to the gluing procedure you referenced, I would follow that procedure only with the really wide rails. The narrow rails should be firmly glued all around. Also, I would peg all the joints — double pegs in the 8 "-wide rail. And ream out the lower set of holes for the pegs a bit to allow wood movement, much like in a breadboard construction. — Christopher Schwarz, executive editor Is There a List of Must-have Tools For Someone Who Can't Use Power Tools? Many, many years ago when I was between 8 and 15 years old, I did a lot ofminor woodworking with my grandfather. He had a full-blown shop in his basement with all the planes, files and rasps you could ever want. He also had a table saw, drill press, band saw, etc. I will be 47 in September and for a little more than a year I have been living with ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease," it's a progressive neuro-degenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord resulting in muscle weakness and atrophy. ALS affects my hands and legs. Legs aren't called on much in woodworking but obviously, hands are important. The motor functions aren't very good in either hand so picking up small objects like screws or nails is very hard for me. However, my overall strength is still OK, and because I have been asked by doctors and family not to use any power tools, (I will be getting a band saw though), I have come to rely on hand tools. Moreover, I'm glad that I have had the chance to experience using hand tools because I find it much more interesting to try to build something this way. I believe that it is a more natural way of doing things. So I would like your advice on what hand tools I need for making boxes or small pieces of furniture. Michael Rogen South Salem, New York Your question is one that is far beyond the scope of a short answer, I'm afraid. But there is good news —there are a couple out-of-print books that should help. Many good libraries have them; most libraries can get them through interlibrary loan. They are both by Charles H. Hayward, one of my personal heroes. One is called "Tools for Woodwork." This book looks at all the hand tools you need in a shop that does hand work. It focuses on setting them up and using them. The second book is called "The Complete Book of Woodwork." It's ideal because it gives you a long list of all the tools you need, plus a short list of the tools you really need to get started. And then this book shows you how to put all the tools into practice — how to cut mortises with chisels, how to cut tenons with saws, etc. Even though I've been working wood since I was 8, I still consult Hayward's books just about every week. PW — Christopher Schwarz, executive editor WRITE TO US Every day we get questions from readers on all subjects about their woodworking. Some are letters; many are e-mail messages. We are more than happy to share our woodworking experience with you by answering your questions or adding some clarity to whatever aspect of the craft you are unsure about. In addition to the hundreds we answer privately every month, we want to share the best questions here with readers. Send your questions via e-mail to popwood@fwpubs.com, or by mail to: Q&A • Popular Woodworking 4700 E. Galbraith Road Cincinnati, OH 45236 20 Popular Woodworking November 2005 |
