The basic tool list

During Woodworking in America this pass September, Dyami Plotke from the Modern Woodworkers Association asked me if I could do one thing differently to the business what would it be? My response was I would buy a lot fewer hand tools and smaller power equipment. Since returning home from my travels I have been on a mission to reduce the load. Over the years I fell into the trap of collecting, all too common in the woodworking community these days.

Which brings me to the commonly asked question, what do I recommend for hand tools? Well before I get into my preferred hand tool list,  I must inform you that I am not a hand tool only woodworker. I enjoy my machines but they are very basic. For power tools I have a 12inch Powermatic planer, 8 inch Powermatic jointer with quick movable guard, Powermatic 66 table saw, 14 inch Delta Milwaukee bandsaw, 20 inch Delta Milwaukee variable speed scroll saw, and 3  Delta Milwaukee drill presses. From the 3 drill presses 2 of them are bench top versions and the other is a 17 1/2 floor model. Between the 2 bench top drill presses the Homecraft model is set as a mortiser.  I do own other equipment but they are rarely used and I will be selling them at some point.

With this basic set of machinery mentioned above my essential hand tool list can be seen below.

Tool list:

12 inch Starrett combination square
Stanley 12 foot tape measure
Chris Vesper bevel square
Surgical handle with blade. I am using this set up as my marking knife.
Awl
Hammer
Dovetail saw
Tenon saw
Coarse rip saw
Crosscut saw
#4 Smoother Lie Nielsen
#5 Fore/jack plane
#7  Edge/jointer plane
#102 Lie-Nielsen block plane.
 #60 1/2 Lie-Nielsen block plane
At one time block planes were for carpenters, but this isn't true anymore since Lie-Nielsen perfected the tool.
Shoulder plane. Either Clifton 3110 or Lie-Nielsen medium size version.
Set of chisels 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 3/4, 1, 1 1/4.
Mallet
Mortise Chisel 1/4, 5/16, 3/8. Buy these when you need them.
Router plane #71. I own the Stanley version, but boy do I love the Lie-Nielsen version.
Small router plane #271. Purchase all the blades that are available.
Cutting gauge with knife.
Knew Concept fret saw.  Hands down the best around. All others can't compare.
Bit brace.
Drill bits 1/16-1/2 by 1/32nds or 1/64ths.
Card scraper.
Bastard file
Phil Lowe burnisher
Stanley #80 cabinet scraper
Sharpening stones. These days Shapton ceramic stones are the best and very reasonable.  The grits I recommend is 1000, 5000, and 8000.

Optionals:

Nicholson #49 and #50 rasps. I recommend the ones made in USA.
Half round Grobet #0000 file
Lie-Nielson #62 low angle jack.

Now I am not saying to go out and buy all these tools, but the selection will allow you to make just about anything. I hope this helps.

Cheers,

FR

Question #2 of 20. Why am I the right person.

Here are the questions;     

1. Why am I doing this?

2. Why am I the person to do it?

3. Why is now the time to start?

4. What problem am I solving?

5. Who is it for?

6. Why will they care?

7. What do the people I hope to serve want?

8. What do they believe?

9. What do they do — where, when, why and with whom?

10. What will customers say to their friends to recommend this product or service?

11. What am I really selling, beyond the utility of the product or service?

12. How can I add more value?

13. What happens because my business or project exists?

14. How will people find me?

15. What’s my greatest strength?

16. What weakness might get in the way if I don’t address it?

17. What does success look like, today, this year, next and five years from now?

18. What do I value?

19. What promises do I want to make and keep?

20. What’s my difference?

Question #2. Why am I the right person?

When answering the list of questions I quickly realized that my business is 3 actually different businesses. Actually maybe its 4 businesses.   I got to into woodworking first as a maker of furniture.  Secondly I  am a restorer/preserver of furniture.  The third part of the business upholstery of furniture using period methods. Lastly I am an educator of information gained from period craftsmen.  

With all the aspects of my business I can only reflect back to my apprenticeship at the Furniture Institute of Massachusetts (FIM). This is where it all really started for me. After graduating from FIM I became a journeyman and worked for furniture studios, cabinet shops, and conservation studios. I applied myself to many aspects of the field to further my knowledge, understanding, and skill in making furniture and the art of restoration/conservation.

There is huge void and misunderstanding of quality in the world today and I feel I help can fill that void.  To be a restorer you first need to understand how to furniture is made before you can restore. There is a delicate approach that a restorer must follow and education is the only way to learn the process. I have studied and continue to study the art of restoration and conservation to further assist my clients.  From my studies customers benefit from all the possible options available in restoring their artifacts. Education is by far the most important aspect in this field. 

The art and craft of upholstery is dyeing and sadly many upholsters are not educated or skilled as they once were.  I decided to get into upholstery because I was already repairing hundreds of chairs every year and than subbing out the upholstery. Every time I subbed out the upholstery I was disappointed in the final product. So I went out and studied under Master Upholster Michael Mascelli.  I never thought I would be an upholster of furniture, but the huge void in this area has forced my hand.  Today I love upholstering furniture and using period methods that was passed down to me. The methods used in period upholstery by far is the highest quality and the items use in making an upholstered seat for example will out live us all. But this isn’t true when modern upholstery materials are used.

Teaching was never something I thought I would be doing. I have taken many classes and wished I could get my money back.  I like to tell students because an individual is a great craftsperson doesn’t mean they are great teachers. I for one stay humble and feel I have a long way to be a great teacher.  That said, many students have told me that I am meant to be a teacher.  I love to share and to educate. What makes me different as a teacher is I understand exactly struggles the students are having.  I have been in their shoes, so I am happy to help bring them to a new level of skill and understanding. Phil Lowe director of FIM is the one who told me that I am meant to teach and because of all he has taught a great foundation has been established.

 I guess this is why I am the right person. I love what I do. I am skilled, talented, and capable of tackling just about anything that comes my way.

The 20 questions

As many of you may already know, I love what I do for a living. I love making and repairing furniture. But what I love most is learning and sharing the craft to whomever is interested.  Deep down I am one of those people who likes to talk to anyone about my ambitions and goals in the world of woodworking. I enjoy seeking out any craftsperson and picking their brain about business and what it takes to make a living owning a business.  They are the ones that truly understands.  If you look around there isn't many who make a living at this full-time. 

When I was first getting in the field I would ask every professional woodworker for advise about getting into the craft and running a successful business. Sadly each and every one of them told me do not to go into the woodworking world full time. Just keep it as hobby! Than one day I tripped over an article/interview in Woodwork Magazine with Christian Becksvoort.  In this article Mr. Becksvoort said don't go to furniture making school but rather go to business school. This article has a ton interesting material, but this statement has stuck with me since the day I read it.  

So here I am 13 years later as full time furniture maker, restorer, and educator.  I've ignored all the conversations and advice about keeping this as hobby. Now the question is what is next? The next goal in the long list is to band my business and becoming more recognize publicly. Essentially it is time to be on the other side counter versus being the consumer.

This is where the 20 questions come in. I was recommend recently to visit Bernadette Jiwa a specialist in her field in helping business become meaningful brands. Up to this point I never thought of asking myself the 20 questions she recommends a business to ask themselves. To receive these 20 questions all you need to do is sign up for Bernadette e-newsletter which is free. The E-newsletters are inspiring and very informative. I like them especially since it is literally what my life is about. Sometimes there is more to the world than just business and I just need to live in the moment and enjoy what life has given me. 

Anyways back to the 20/20 as I like to call it. My goal for the next several days or maybe the next 20 days is to answer these questions and get a better understanding of my brand and prepare myself for the next step in my business.    

Here are the questions;     

1. Why am I doing this?

2. Why am I the person to do it?

3. Why is now the time to start?

4. What problem am I solving?

5. Who is it for?

6. Why will they care?

7. What do the people I hope to serve want?

8. What do they believe?

9. What do they do — where, when, why and with whom?

10. What will customers say to their friends to recommend this product or service?

11. What am I really selling, beyond the utility of the product or service?

12. How can I add more value?

13. What happens because my business or project exists?

14. How will people find me?

15. What’s my greatest strength?

16. What weakness might get in the way if I don’t address it?

17. What does success look like, today, this year, next and five years from now?

18. What do I value?

19. What promises do I want to make and keep?

20. What’s my difference?

Lets start with question #1 

Why am I doing this?

Working with my hands is an expression of who I am. I love making things and I love to preserve them. Something made by hand is such an enjoyable experience. I love to share with the world items that was once a living tree. There is just an amazing feeling when you see items of quality handed down generation to generation. Everyday information is lost and I believe that everything I have learned is a blessing and it should shared to all who are interested. There is nothing worst than lost information. Its about the craft not the person.

The Toothing Plane

The array of toothing planes in the collection.

     

The toothing plane is one of those planes that reminds me of the fashion industry. First it appeared around the 18th century, fell out of fashion in the mid 20th century, and now its back.  I am shocked that this plane once lost its popularity.  In my world this plane serves as the "when all else fails" plane.  The plane itself  works with and across the grain, and there isn't the need to be concerned of grain direction.  The teeth won't dig into the grain and tear out isn't of concern. In my opinion nothing can challenge a sharp toothing plane

A toothing plane is nothing more than a wooden plane with an iron with saw like teeth on the sharp end. The pitch angle can vary anywhere from 60 to 110 degrees. The coarseness of the teeth configuration also vary, and commonly the higher the pitch the finer the teeth. The purpose of such a plane was once used to prep all wooden surfaces that were going to be veneered. The striations left by the plane told the period craftsman that the surface is flat. If there wasn't any striations that meant there was a low spot on the wood and further flattening was necessary.  Also in the period it was standard practice to use a coarse iron for the substrate and the finer iron for the veneer.

Range of blade angle.

 An example of a fine toothed blade.

An example of coarse toothed blade.

If you are interest in purchasing a toothing plane, than you are in luck. Commonly these planes show themselves at flea markets,  ebay, tool auctions, or at Joshua Clark's tool sale on hyperkitten.com .  If you can't seem to find one made out of wood or if you prefer a metal version than you can visit Lie-Nielsen ToolWorks.   The Lie-Nielsen #212 plane was my first toothing plane and its a joy to use.  Commonly I get asked what do I prefer, Wood or Metal? Honestly I love the wooden version due to the selection of of teeth per inch. Yet if I had to pick one, I would go with the Lie-Nielsen.

Lie-Nielsen #212 with toothing iron. 

As a maker and restorer of furniture I thoroughly enjoy working with all hand tools. The toothing plane is one of my favorite to use and to collect. I collect them simply because I work so often with veneer.  Yet that isn't an excuse to have as many as I do.  Maybe I can still use the excuse that I need them for the "students" in the classes I teach. 

 The result of a using a toothing plane on pine. 

A common question I often get asked is how to sharpen the serrated edge? Some will say file the bevel first and than sharpen in the usual way.  I would say the first step is to grind the bevel on a slow speed grinder.  Since the iron isn't harden to high degree you must pay attention not to over heat the iron.  Also the craftsperson needs to remember the golden rule when grinding, the length of the bevel should not exceed more than two times the thickness of the blade at the point of grinding. Otherwise, the blade will dull quickly and the edge could crumple like tin foil. 

Grinding the bevel, being careful not over heat the iron.

Once I'm done grinding the blade, I then hone the bevel only on 1000, 5000, 8000, & 12000 grit water stone. Please note that any type of sharpening stone will work and you don't need to sharpen to 12000 grit.  

    

Honing the bevel on a water stone.

After going through the series of grits I remove the burr by hitting the iron into the end grain of a piece of Hard Maple. Never hone the back of the iron to remove the burr, for the teeth are only so deep and any honing can remove the the saw like grooves.  

Striking the non-bevel end of the plane iron into the end grain Maple.

 After striking the plane iron, the only remaining step is to set the plane for a light cut and tooth away.