Humble Home

I'm back from a great trip to the Port Townsend School of Woodworking and I'm finally settling in to my new shop space here in Boston. This is going to be my first shop in 12 years that hasn't had to do double duty as a teaching shop and tool factory. Speaking of teaching, there are only two slots still open for my August 17th chair class at North Bennet Street School, so if you're interested please check it out soon.
Here are some shot of the space, lots of air and light.

 It's the same size as my other shop, but with a storeroom in the back and higher ceilings.

Working by the front door gives a great natural raking light.

Being a lefty, the lathe is strategically placed to gather the shavings into the corner to contain the mess.

 The sharpening station  has lots of real estate and light.

 Here is the view from the storeroom and workbench area.

 I've been really enjoying making spindles in this space, as you can see.

 Here is a shot of the majestic Rhodesian Ridgeback Kobe, who I am teaching to be a shop dog, but he seems to think it's a bit beneath him.

He needs to take lessons from Lil, she's a pro.

New Year, Old Project

It's been so quiet here at Chairnotes that you can hear the snowfalling. But it's not that I'm not writing, it's what I'm writing. I am in a push to get the drawings for my book done and am happy to say that I'm making good progress. As to the actual release date, it can't be pinned down just yet, but I will hopefully be handing everything to the book designer, and Chris Schwarz for the next phase. I thought that I'd share a couple of images to give a little preview of what I'm compiling.

 There are literally hundreds of illustrations and it's taken me a while to establish a style that is clear and fast to create.

I like communicating by drawing (as any former student will tell) because you can go straight to the concept without any confusion and you can show views and relationships that would be tough to show any other way.

The Why?

Perhaps you've seen my video showing how the Drawsharp works, and, as with most advertisements, your natural reaction was to think that this was just another gizmo that attempts to replace a valuable skill with money. I'd usually be right there with you, so I hope you'll bear with me, because I want to go beyond how the tool works, and to "the Why?", which regardless of whether you are interested in the Drawsharp, will hopefully offer you some useful information about the drawknives and how to deal with them.

The top knife was polished on the back while the bottom was a rusty pitted mess

Here are a couple of drawknives that my current students brought to the shop. The polished blade on top was a breeze because there was no chipping or pitting to deal with, but the bottom blade, which showed signs that someone had started and given up, was definitely in need of serious attention.

The bevel wasn't much better

I have tuned hundreds of drawknives and I always started with flattening back and grinding the bevel. I am happy, and a little embarrassed to say that this is wrong, plain old wrong. The reason that I used to flatten the back and grind the bevel was to create a proper bevel angle and stable surfaces to register on the waterstones. Hollowing the bevel and back made it easier to consistently reach the edge, which let's face it, is the only part that cuts the wood. And that would be the end of the story if we were talking about chisels, which always keep the flat geometry off of the stones. But a drawknife requires a slight rounding just behind the edge on the side that rides on the surface of the wood. This is so that the tool can enter and exit a cut, otherwise, when sharpened flat like a chisel, it will dig, like a chisel.

So after honing, I would strop the edge, which gives a subtle rounding and allows the drawknife to follow the fibers and come out of the cut on command.  Just the right amount of rounding has always been tough to accurately reproduce. The problem is that once the edge is rounded, resharpening means either reflattening the bevel and back on the stones to reach the edge and then stropping it again to re-establish the correct shape or simply stropping the edge until the rounding becomes too much for a good cutting angle, at which point it's back to the grinder. Does this sound at all familiar?

The back is still largely a rusty mess, but after 10 minutes of work, the edge is sharp

As much as this process would give me pause before taking on a drawknife in sad shape or sharpening one that was good but not great, it would also keep me from really addressing and understanding what what going on on the real business edge of the tool.

I suppose my understanding started to change when a student, Steve Kinnane, came up with the idea of grinding the drawknife using the back (spine) of the tool as a reference. I adopted this wholeheartedly for it's ingenious simplicity. You can grind a curved or straight knife with control and ease after smoothing the spine of the tool, which is almost always soft enough to be done quickly (and only once) with a file and some abrasive.

Then one day, I thought, why not use that same unchanging reference to hone the edge? And the wheels started turning, leading to the Drawsharp. I suppose my reluctance to spend time tuning my collection of drawknives should have highlighted the problem sooner. Flattening the back of a drawknife is really just labor, not skill. Yes, honing a ground edge freehand is a valuable skill for some tools, but doesn't offer an advantage to drawknife geometry or sharpness.

I use the drawknife from the time that I split a piece from the log to the last cuts on a finished chair, so it must be as sharp as any tool that I own. Using the spine as the correct reference has made sharpening knife easier and I can honestly say that I no longer have a "favorite" drawknife. I used to coddle certain knives, never letting them touch green wood. No, these were my finish knives and unlike the other lugs, they were kept in top shape, mainly because of their seldom and restricted use. Now that I know the exact geometry of my edges and have a way to quickly and repeatedly tune them, I can get all of my blades singing. The only difference between my knives is the quality of the steel and the comfort of the handles. As far as top performance and geometry for cutting wood, the mystery is gone.

I appreciate that you've stuck with me through this and hope that you understand my intention in enlisting the help of Benchcrafted to make the Drawsharp available. I want folks to work with sharp tools instead of fussing about and eventually giving up thinking that a razor sharp drawknife is limited to those experts who possess skills that they cannot muster. After much practice, I can freehand grind a drawknife and hone it beautifully on my waterstones, but honestly, it's no longer a skill that I value. Sharpening a drawknife to work at it's peak is no more complex than using the correct references, the real skill building belongs to using the tool to make great furniture, and having fun doing it.

Soon, I will be posting a video of fully rehabilitating a drawknife in hopes of getting more folks using the most versatile tool in my shop.

The Drawsharp is Here!

I am happy to announce that the Galbert Drawsharp will be available for sale here on Chairnotes next Friday at 9 am and in person at Woodworking in America!
I've been working with Jameel Abraham at Benchcrafted this year with the goal of getting the tool ready for sale in time for Woodworking in America and through no small effort, we did it. I sought out Jameel because of his sterling reputation for making solid tools, and he certainly lived up to it.

The Drawsharp makes the task of sharpening your drawknives simple, fast and repeatable while giving precise control over the geometry of the bevel angles. It works with drawknives of all shapes and sizes regardless of whether the drawknife will be used with the bevel up or down. Unlike other methods of sharpening which follow a similar process to sharpening a chisel, the Drawsharp doesn't require a flat back or a ground bevel to give excellent results.

The Drawsharp uses diamond impregnated plates to shape and refine the edge and self adhesive silica carbide paper to polish the edge to a razor sharp result.

Here is a video explaining the function of the tool.

The price is $84.00 plus $7.00 shipping and handling (Shipping rate calculated for the continental U.S., Massachusetts residents add local sales tax)
International shipping and handling $15.00

You can order yours by returning to Chairnotes on Friday morning or coming to my booth at the Marketplace at Woodworking in America. I will also be posting a page to my website, www.petergalbertchairmaker.com and Chairnotes Tools when I return from WIA.
Thanks for your business!

7 Minutes

You may have heard me mention the "Drawsharp" or perhaps even seen it over at Jameels blog at Benchcrafted. It is so close to being ready for sale that I thought I'd start to let you in on what all the fuss is about. Basically, the Drawsharp is a tool that allows you to sharpen drawknives exactly where it counts, at the edge and avoid all the hassle usually associated with tuning these tools. Plus, it is perfectly repeatable and easy to use.
Below is a drawknife that I recently bought.

The edge is somewhat ragged and dull.

You can see the results using it to cut the endgrain of a piece of pine below.

So I decided to time how long it would take me to get this thing sharp.  This is the same piece of pine after 7 minutes of working the drawknife with the Drawsharp.

I think you can see why I am so excited that this tool will be available soon. Here is the honed edge.

There were some knicks still in the edge so I decided to go back to work with the Drawsharp and 6 minutes later, I cut this surface.

 Click on the photo to see it large and up close.
There are still small knicks, but as you can see, the endgrain is clear as can be and super smooth. This knife is ready for work and with a bit more effort, will be knick free.
Of course, not every drawknife will be so ready for honing. Some out there will need more attention than others, but there is no more need to flatten the back of the blade and the need for grinding is nearly eliminated.
There will be a series of videos explaining how this works and talking about getting the most out of your drawknives coming along soon. We hope to have these available at Woodworking in America in a few weeks and then through my website and Benchcrafted.com soon after.

Nice to Meet You

Since I moved to Sterling, Massachusetts, I've been swamped with projects and traveling and had little time to get to know my community or let them know me. That changed when I talked to Dave Gibbs at the Sterling Historical Society about combining our efforts and interests. The Society has a lovely collection of Windsors that were made here in town as well as a barn full of the old tools from its workshops. The first floor of the barn is relatively empty, and I thought it would be a great location to host some 6 person classes. So, next summer, I hope to schedule three classes there, but I'll post more on that once we work out the details.
To help introduce me to the community, the Sterling Historical Society hosted a demonstration at the local American Legion post and Ross Jones of Harvard Video Productions filmed it for us. Here is the video of the demonstration.
If it doesn't appear on your screen, click here to go to the original site.



As you can see, I am elated to be starting this project. I think 6 is a great number of students for a class. Plenty enough for a group energy and atmosphere but few enough for lots of personal attention.

And if I got you interested in my talk with Dudley Hershbach, here is a great interview with him that I found every bit as engaging as sitting next to him on the plane.



and once again, the link if you don't see the video here.

I was Wrong!

No, this isn't about shavehorses, let's be serious.
As I have been working on the manuscript for the book, I've been coming across all sorts of interesting things. I finally have the perfect excuse to jump down the rabbit hole on lots of topics and follow some long held assumptions to their logical end.
As I have been working through the sharpening details, I've found that I've been doing something wrong, or at least didn't know the right way, for years.

I've used diamond stones, paddles and hones for a long time. They are durable, cut fast and stay nice and flat. But I've never trusted them to finish the job, that is, remove the burr and leave a sharp edge.
What I recently learned is that I've been using them wrong.
Unlike waterstones, which have particles that break down in use and then serve to polish the edge to a higher degree, diamonds are more like sandpaper. Like sandpaper, diamonds can only take so much pressure before you are simply wasting pressure and scratching the surface up with the trapped shavings (called swarf).  I found out long ago that a light touch is the key to sanding, letting the tiny edges take the cut that they were meant to and clearing the swarf often. Since I've applied the same idea to diamonds, my results are far beyond my expectations.

I don't know what it is about diamonds that made me want to bear down on them, perhaps it was the knowledge that they are so hard, or perhaps I just miss seeing the clear black marks that the steel makes on my waterstones that let's me know that they are working. Whatever it is, it took a leap of faith to use them lightly. As Greg Pennington says, use them like you are sharpening a feather.

I've been sharpening my drawknives with a new technique (teaser) that uses diamonds and the results are much improved. I still finish with a few strokes of the strop, but the burr is basically already gone.
See, admitting you are wrong isn't so hard...

Cool Links

Here are a couple of cool links that you might enjoy.
First, a video showing the results of tests concerning the effects of chipbreakers on planing. This is the kind of nerdy stuff that I love, not only is the information fascinating, but the visuals are hypnotic. If you are stuck in front of your computer, it will definitely give you a woodworking fix. Thanks to Pat Tipton for sending me this link!

Next, you might like to check out the blog that Caleb James is writing. He was a student of mine and during our time together, I was inspired by his talent and attitude. He is definitely one to watch.
His blog is http://kapeldesigns.blogspot.com

I have loads happening around here, especially getting prepared to teach next week at Marc Adams School in Indiana, I hope Greg remembers the Scotch this time.

Travishers Part 3, Sharpening

One of the most rewarding parts of making travishers is taking them out for a test run and seeing what they can do. Here is a shaving off of some angled endgrain.

It's especially rewarding, having processed the steel from a soft, malleable blank to a razor sharp edge. Here is a video that shows the process that I use to get that edge. I hope that it helps. If there is any part of it that needs more info, please let me know.

Sharp!

I've been working on a continuous arm settee and as I've been reaching for tools, I've been using my "sanding flap" wheel on the backs to help hollow them out for sharpening.  Today, I was finishing the cutout on the side of the seat, shown above, and figured it was a good time to take one of my favorite knives off the wall and give it a once over.

This cut is tricky on a regular seat, and even more so on a settee because the cove is all endgrain. Nothing but the sharpest knife will do.

So I got out my angle grinder (you have bought one, right!?) and went to work on the back of the drawknife. The knife that I use for this is very special. It doesn't have much steel left on it and I don't grind a bevel on it. Instead, I round the front (which rides in the cut) and flatten the back. Of course, a rounded front is very hard to sharpen because of the difficulty honing it. So the back is where the action is.

By flattening the back and honing it until a burr turns to the front, I get a great edge. I run through all of the stones on the back and only touch the front to the final stone and strop it lightly. I don't strop the back because I want it perfectly flat. With the hollowing help of the grinder, I got the thing sharper than I've ever had it and the cove on the seat was a breeze!

Click on the image for a closer look

Since I've been reforming my tools, I've picked up a new habit that I'm ashamed to say I didn't years ago. I've started oiling all of my edge tools with camelia oil before stowing them. It may seem like a little thing, but rust never sleeps and a sharp edge is a tiny place, easily affected.

Now I take the tool off the rack and give it a quick rub with a paper towel and let it sing.

Here is the settee, all legged up.

Since spring has sprung, I have been enjoying all the work that the previous owners of our house put into their gardens. Here is a rhododendron outside my shop window.

Great stuff, but poison to goats, so watch out.

New Scraper Saves the Day

For years, I've used a convex scraper on the "bowl" of my seats. It simply makes sense that the curved edge makes more contact and forms an even concave surface more quickly.

But on the convex front edge of the seat, I would reach for my flat scraper and work diligently to get a clean shape. The small contact area tends to leave "stripes" and makes a tough job even harder.

So recently I ground a flat blade with a concave edge and have been thrilled with the results.

You can see that it makes contact more fully and by slicing across the grain, I get a clean, even shape.

I actually look forward to working this area. To make the blade, I simply set my toolrest on the grind 90 degrees to the tangent of the wheel and slowly cut the shape. I'll be showing a great tip for filing and honing the edge next.

More Ugly Jigs that Work Great: Part One

 For my upcoming class at the North Bennet Street School, I called Elia Bizzarri to get some travishers and he informed me that he was out for the moment. But he was kind enough to sell me some blades that I could make my own. Having 6 blades to sharpen is different than just maintaining the one in my hand. I'm generally happy to freehand grind and hone. But the quantity pushed me and my intrepid friend Andy Jack to find something more consistent.






Perhaps folks have been doing this all along, but it's news to me...and good news at that. I took an ugly pine scrap and cut the curve of the blade into it, aligned the edge flush to what would become the bottom of the jig, and screwed it on.

Next, we set the angle of the tool rest so that the wheel of the grinder contacted the middle of the bevel.

Once we had it, Andy simply moved the curve along the wheel until it reached the edge.

Once the grinding was done, he dressed the edge with diamond paddles and then a hard dowel, chucked in a drill with some diamond paste on it.

 

You can do this while still in the jig, or in a vice.

 

After the bevel is honed, he honed the back on the stones, which is easy because the bending process leaves a lovely hollow on the back.

And why did I need Andy's help? Well, I had a few turnings to finish up for the class!

Drawknife Grinding (Video)

Here is the video demonstration of the jig that I showed a couple of days ago. If you are going to attempt this, please take great care and follow all safety procedures. Grinders seem relatively benign, but they are moving fast and can do damage before you know it!!!

Josh, I hope this helps and thanks for writing in,

Micro Adjustable Grinding Jig

Today I finally got to spend a whole, uninterrupted day working in my new shop. It was fantastic! I've been looking forward to resuming shop life and I made sure to mix up activities to get all the juices flowing. In the morning, I assembled a continuous armchair and in the afternoon, I decided to pursue the grinding jig that Greg and I played around with at Kelly Mehlers.

 

Here is the finished jig and you can see the steps to making it below. I used spring pins for the bearing surfaces that the tool rides on. They are spring steel, so they will be hard enough to resist the wear of the tool riding back and forth without forming ruts. You can find them in the hardware store along with the bolt and locknut that form the adjuster.

To start out, I needed a dado cut across the block of cherry. Without a table saw or sliding mitre saw, I decided to pull out my trusty Stanley dovetail saw. Years ago, I filed the teeth off of this saw and refiled new ones that were a bit larger and did NOT set the teeth. Contrary to what you might expect, it doesn't bind and it cuts like a laser.
I've tried lots of the fancy saws out there, and maybe their handles are more comfortable, but none has surpassed my $10 Stanley. Don't get me wrong, I love that toolmakers are out there trying to make better quality saws, but I always feel like the teeth are too small and the set too great, but to each his own.

 I cut a center kerf and chopped out  most of the waste before bringing in my much neglected router plane (can you tell I was in the mood for fun!)

After a tiny bit of cleanup on the dado walls, I cut the sliding block that holds the pins. As you can see, I mounted some aluminum angle on both sides of the block to capture the adjuster bolt.
The notch out of the bottom of the block and the small slot out of the back serve the same purpose, namely to increase the travel past the aluminum. I suppose I could have done two notches or two dados, but I was in the zone and working on the fly.

I put the block in the slot and marked the position of the bolt, through the holes already drilled through the aluminum on both sides of the adjuster block. It's a good idea to offset the bolt hole just a hair above the holes in the aluminum to create tension against the bottom of the slot. This will create stability and help keep it from vibrating out of position.

The bolt easily cut threads through the cherry block.

Then I drilled for the pins. The vertical pin is only partially housed.

Here, you can see the horizontal pin inserted into the hole beneath the vertical. I used the grinder to trim the length of the horizontal pin afterward, and pared back the face of the block to give more clearance around the vertical pin.

Here is the whole unit clamped to the tool rest. I used the gross adjustment of the wolverine jig to start and then turned the bolt to fine tune the setting.

It's very important to note that the back of the drawknife, which rides along the pins should be filed clean and smooth. The grind will only be as straight as the the back. Luckily, most blades are soft along the back and easy to file and polish.

Here is the grind, I am very pleased. I loved being able to control the angle so precisely.

And for the farm enthusiasts out there. It's an amazing coincidence that Sue and I moved just a mile or so from a Heifer International Education Farm. We have been frequent visitor to see the births and visit their lovely herd of goats.

Here are some of their new additions. We just stand there grinning like idiots.
It seems like these kids are born knowing something important, when the sun shines on you, stop what you are doing, close your eyes and enjoy.