I think you will find that a lot of the material in Wearing's books was first published in magazines. It was aimed at the beginner or improver who wanted methods of work which could be relied on to produce a good result. That's not the same as someone wanting to work economically or profitably. Nor is it the same as what you learn for yourself from lots of experience. But for many of us, lacking in-person instruction, it's part of how we learn to enjoy woodworking.
Tips on accuracy with hand tools
- Thread starter Silly_Billy
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Sgian Dubh
Established Member
Bob Wearing was one of my teachers at Shrewsbury, and he was always full of jigs, tips and ideas for making the job either easier, more accurate, or both. I don't think speed ever really figured as a key factor in his way of thinking. It's interesting to me to see how much he is admired through his writings by people that presumably never met him. He was what would now be thought of as the nerdy guy that came into the college once or twice a week to teach us learners - small, bottle bottom glasses (with the tape around the leg sometimes) intense, single-minded, but more than generous with what he knew, and we could get a laugh out of him indicating I suppose that he wasn't entirely single-minded. I've no idea why I've never owned one of his books, but there it is.
As to speed, I've always taught the beginners or learners I've worked with over the years to concentrate on accuracy, learn from the mistakes, don't repeat the same practice errors, and that speed will come. It's a hopeless proposition to aim for fast first but neglecting accuracy until later - fast, accurate and good never seems to come through that route. All you tend to get that way are dog rough makers that are forever rebuilding their cock-ups, and usually doesn't last long in a busy workshop. Employers hate slow (they always prefer the job finished yesterday before they'd even given it to you), but they seem to hate fast cock-up merchants even more - they tend to be slower in the end, and more expensive, than the slow accurate workers, ha, ha. Slainte.
As to speed, I've always taught the beginners or learners I've worked with over the years to concentrate on accuracy, learn from the mistakes, don't repeat the same practice errors, and that speed will come. It's a hopeless proposition to aim for fast first but neglecting accuracy until later - fast, accurate and good never seems to come through that route. All you tend to get that way are dog rough makers that are forever rebuilding their cock-ups, and usually doesn't last long in a busy workshop. Employers hate slow (they always prefer the job finished yesterday before they'd even given it to you), but they seem to hate fast cock-up merchants even more - they tend to be slower in the end, and more expensive, than the slow accurate workers, ha, ha. Slainte.
thetyreman
Established Member
having enough awareness to know you've made a slight error is pretty important as well, some people just carry on and can't see their errors or mistakes, I find it hard to believe that those kinds of people will ever achieve mastery. I'm not saying you should be perfect either, we are all human, but the knowing when you've made a mistake or error has got to be a high priority.
Building speed does take discretion - everything does (even following someone else's advice takes some discretion). You can either go for accuracy and hope to build speed, or speed and hope to build accuracy. If you stay at one end or the other without improving the aspect you are deficient in, then you're going nowhere.
It seems that world of hobbyists is full of people who want perfect safety and who ultimately end up with accuracy that's not that great, and no speed to boot.
The bottom line is that you have to have an ultimate standard that you're working to, and you can't lower it just because you want to go fast, but you also can't walk into your shop with the idea that you'll never make a mistake - or the notion that you will not have to go through the same learning pains that you would have in the job that you do for a living. That's (in my view) the biggest problem with mid-life hobbyists or shifters is that they have an inflated view of themselves, and they can't reconcile with the fact that they have to learn and observe and adjust. "I'm an investment banker, I'm going to be better and know more than the next woodworker and...." good luck with putting that into practice without being willing to learn, make mistakes and adjust. Not mistakes of slop, but "oops, I cut on the wrong side of a line" or something of that sort.
It seems that world of hobbyists is full of people who want perfect safety and who ultimately end up with accuracy that's not that great, and no speed to boot.
The bottom line is that you have to have an ultimate standard that you're working to, and you can't lower it just because you want to go fast, but you also can't walk into your shop with the idea that you'll never make a mistake - or the notion that you will not have to go through the same learning pains that you would have in the job that you do for a living. That's (in my view) the biggest problem with mid-life hobbyists or shifters is that they have an inflated view of themselves, and they can't reconcile with the fact that they have to learn and observe and adjust. "I'm an investment banker, I'm going to be better and know more than the next woodworker and...." good luck with putting that into practice without being willing to learn, make mistakes and adjust. Not mistakes of slop, but "oops, I cut on the wrong side of a line" or something of that sort.
Silly-Billy - I'm just starting to learn and continue to struggle to get more accurate. I've nothing to add to the good advice above, but one thing I've found good is to be sure to mark up and try to cut accurately in a clear space. I think it's the nature of cutting and planing that quite a bit of mess can develop around you and I find that if I don't change the environment and attitude from rough cuts/ initial sizing to trying to be more precise, the work continues to be messy/ imprecise. I had to do some accurate marking up today and brought the wood into my living room so I could think and draw clearly. Just a thought.
An excellent tip, Chris.
I rough size with a hand saw now, almost exclusively, even if I am going to use a thickness planer. In every case, I either intentionally mark a board a fraction long and attempt to rough size the board accurately on the drawn line, or I mark it at length and try to cut evenly shy of the line on the waste side and then check squareness, etc.
I have a tendency to get a bit less than perfect in squareness at the end of a cut. This lack of perfection is a tiny fraction of what it was on my first cut, and it's tolerable with a few plane shavings in the vise, but it's still something to work out.
Same when I rip - if the edge is an important one in dimension, I rip just short of the line and then plane to it. BUT, I don't just horse away and do it sloppily - all of the iterations trying to work to a standard add up, and accurate long ripping develops sensibilities and feel that help elsewhere. ..
...but every once in a while when you run into a board with indeterminate grain direction due to runout (like ash) and no predominant direction to rip, it's still tough!!
I rough size with a hand saw now, almost exclusively, even if I am going to use a thickness planer. In every case, I either intentionally mark a board a fraction long and attempt to rough size the board accurately on the drawn line, or I mark it at length and try to cut evenly shy of the line on the waste side and then check squareness, etc.
I have a tendency to get a bit less than perfect in squareness at the end of a cut. This lack of perfection is a tiny fraction of what it was on my first cut, and it's tolerable with a few plane shavings in the vise, but it's still something to work out.
Same when I rip - if the edge is an important one in dimension, I rip just short of the line and then plane to it. BUT, I don't just horse away and do it sloppily - all of the iterations trying to work to a standard add up, and accurate long ripping develops sensibilities and feel that help elsewhere. ..
...but every once in a while when you run into a board with indeterminate grain direction due to runout (like ash) and no predominant direction to rip, it's still tough!!
I don't know if the following anecdote strictly belongs in a thread about accuracy but I reckon it is related to it. On Saturday I was working on the second sliding till of my tool box (possibly the longest running project in history), starting wtih a rough board and ending with assembling the dovetailed pieces. I did everything according to the book and with pretty good levels of accuracy. The problem arose from concentration becoming tunnel vision. I marked up the first lot of dovetails, including putting "X"s on the waste. Then what do I do? Saw out the first dovetail instead of the marked bit of waste next to it. I may have used some bad language.
As it happened it didn't matter because the tool box is only for me. So I left the half tail at the end on, cut the other tails normally and adapted the relevant pin board accordingly. And of course I was extremely aware during the cutting of the other three tail board ends. I imagine I may not have been the first to have made this particular mistake and probably won't be the last. I think the lesson is to now and then mentally take a step back and review the bigger Picture.
As it happened it didn't matter because the tool box is only for me. So I left the half tail at the end on, cut the other tails normally and adapted the relevant pin board accordingly. And of course I was extremely aware during the cutting of the other three tail board ends. I imagine I may not have been the first to have made this particular mistake and probably won't be the last. I think the lesson is to now and then mentally take a step back and review the bigger Picture.
‘Tips on accuracy’ is the title of this thread; I assume there are many out there who'd love to improve their ‘accuracy’. Now I’m no ‘guru’ however; I did pick up, back in the day, some ‘tips’ which, IMO, provided great assistance. FWIW I shall mention some of the very earliest (those I can remember), which have now become ingrained habit.
The first was ‘use your eye’s boy’. I was not allowed to pick up a square or gauge until I had ‘looked’ – properly – at the piece. This came as part of preparing my own stock, from ‘rough’. To take a largish lump of timber and extract from it ‘joinery’ quality billets was part of my young life. Rip saw to length and thickness, minimise waste and still end up with the ‘best’ bits for the job. No mean feat; but then to plane them to two square faces, of equal thickness and to exact width and length was difficult. “Use your eyes boy, after your hand; then use the gauge ”. To arrive at the desired measurements, without ‘assistance’ was difficult – but after a while and many mistakes – I learned to ‘see’ the wood. A board which seemed flat to me became a thing with a ‘bump’ just off centre, after while I could judge that by backing off the plane blade a quarter turn and using one, two or even threes strokes, I could dispose of the villain spoiling my work. Thus I learned to count. This was a three stroke bump, or a two short and two long ‘bump’; thus I learned to sight for twist before reaching for the ‘winding sticks’ (only used on long stuff). To this day I ‘use my eyes’ for measurements (before setting a gauge) to confirm that which I suspected. I still estimate the number of plane strokes required – at the setting I’m using – mostly I get it within the mark – then use the finite ‘assistance’ to finalise.
It is the same with ‘square’ cutting; for example in dovetails. Learning ‘where’ to look instead of where you were is a knack, acquired y practice. Watch that Paul Sellars eyes when he is cutting anything – they are always focussed on where he wants to go, never on where he has been and most certainly not on the bit he’s cutting. “Use your eyes boy, the saw will follow”. Provided you do not have a death grip on the saw and are not ‘driving’ it, mostly you endup in the ball park. Rip sawing is a lovely thing to do, particularly if you have a good rip saw. But you don’t ‘need’ one. “Use your eyes boy” get the first half inch square then, gently, guide the saw along the desired path, keep straight by correcting while dropping your hand – just a little and let the saw do it’s work. Remembering the first stroke is the important one, unless you want a round corner because you let the saw ‘wobble’.
The last little ‘tip’ was delivered as part of a rollicking – I’d badgered a joint. “Why?” bellowed the master. I tried to explain – alas. “No mate” says he – “you were lazy and laid out that joint on the corner of bench, the thing was wobbling about everywhere; the light was bad and you used the wrong face – do it again – properly”. (Fined half crown).
Accuracy depends on ‘square’, application and practice. Remember your first dovetail? Mind you – you can still stuff ‘em up; and, them what claims perfection, (by hand) every time is stretching credibility – just a bit.
But, most importantly – do not measure your work against ‘masters’ – measure against you own progress. Last week you could not square off the end grain exactly – this week you managed it; do that four times and then accept that you can do it. With that knowledge comes confidence, accuracy follows – speed is simply a by product of your ‘knowing’ how to do the job. But; the ‘eyes’ have it methinks.
For what it’s worth, that is my two bob spent.
The first was ‘use your eye’s boy’. I was not allowed to pick up a square or gauge until I had ‘looked’ – properly – at the piece. This came as part of preparing my own stock, from ‘rough’. To take a largish lump of timber and extract from it ‘joinery’ quality billets was part of my young life. Rip saw to length and thickness, minimise waste and still end up with the ‘best’ bits for the job. No mean feat; but then to plane them to two square faces, of equal thickness and to exact width and length was difficult. “Use your eyes boy, after your hand; then use the gauge ”. To arrive at the desired measurements, without ‘assistance’ was difficult – but after a while and many mistakes – I learned to ‘see’ the wood. A board which seemed flat to me became a thing with a ‘bump’ just off centre, after while I could judge that by backing off the plane blade a quarter turn and using one, two or even threes strokes, I could dispose of the villain spoiling my work. Thus I learned to count. This was a three stroke bump, or a two short and two long ‘bump’; thus I learned to sight for twist before reaching for the ‘winding sticks’ (only used on long stuff). To this day I ‘use my eyes’ for measurements (before setting a gauge) to confirm that which I suspected. I still estimate the number of plane strokes required – at the setting I’m using – mostly I get it within the mark – then use the finite ‘assistance’ to finalise.
It is the same with ‘square’ cutting; for example in dovetails. Learning ‘where’ to look instead of where you were is a knack, acquired y practice. Watch that Paul Sellars eyes when he is cutting anything – they are always focussed on where he wants to go, never on where he has been and most certainly not on the bit he’s cutting. “Use your eyes boy, the saw will follow”. Provided you do not have a death grip on the saw and are not ‘driving’ it, mostly you endup in the ball park. Rip sawing is a lovely thing to do, particularly if you have a good rip saw. But you don’t ‘need’ one. “Use your eyes boy” get the first half inch square then, gently, guide the saw along the desired path, keep straight by correcting while dropping your hand – just a little and let the saw do it’s work. Remembering the first stroke is the important one, unless you want a round corner because you let the saw ‘wobble’.
The last little ‘tip’ was delivered as part of a rollicking – I’d badgered a joint. “Why?” bellowed the master. I tried to explain – alas. “No mate” says he – “you were lazy and laid out that joint on the corner of bench, the thing was wobbling about everywhere; the light was bad and you used the wrong face – do it again – properly”. (Fined half crown).
Accuracy depends on ‘square’, application and practice. Remember your first dovetail? Mind you – you can still stuff ‘em up; and, them what claims perfection, (by hand) every time is stretching credibility – just a bit.
But, most importantly – do not measure your work against ‘masters’ – measure against you own progress. Last week you could not square off the end grain exactly – this week you managed it; do that four times and then accept that you can do it. With that knowledge comes confidence, accuracy follows – speed is simply a by product of your ‘knowing’ how to do the job. But; the ‘eyes’ have it methinks.
For what it’s worth, that is my two bob spent.
Silly_Billy
Established Member
David C":3l7qr69t said:
Hello David, I bought your precision planing DVD and ... it's brilliant! I'm slowly working through watching and then trying things out, but the DVD's already been a big help.
David C
In Memorium
Billy,
Delighted you have found it useful.
David Charlesworth
Delighted you have found it useful.
David Charlesworth
