simple little tips

[promhandicam]

1. Cycling gloves while hand planing. I've been quite a bit recently and got a blister on the palm of my left hand. Tried wearing a pair of cycling mits this evening and it had the advantage that a) my sweaty paws didn't slip on the handles and b) that there was a bit of cushioning between me and a rather solid bit of bubinga.

2. A couple of brads in the bottom of an oil stone box. I was given an elderly oil stone in an equally ancient box. When I picked it up I noticed something rough underneath. On inspection the previous owner had put a couple of pins / brads in each end of the box. The points only protrude a fraction - or for the metric peoples - not a lot. When the box is put on the bench - miracle of miracles it stays put, and doesn't slide off when you start honing. I guess the down side would be that you'd be rather miffed if you forgot and put the stone down onto a nicely polished table top or kitchen worktop.

Not rocket science but thought I'd share these with you all - they might help someone. Does anyone else have something simple that they have found out that they'd like to share - particularly as there seem to be quite a lot of new members recently?

Steve

 

[mr]

In response to your tip no 1... plane more equally effective though praps not initially. I can vouch for that
Mike

 

[promhandicam]

Mike, I quite agree, but in hot and humid weather however hardened your hands you are still going to sweat and the gloves stop them slipping. Take a look at any photo of a proffesional cyclist on a bike - they all wear mits not because their hands aren't up to holding the bars but to improve grip.

Steve

 

[mr]

Indeed. Was speaking half in jest really. I had thought of using gloves a while back but not having the same weather as you down here on the "English Riviera" :roll: the problem passed off over the course of prepping (& finishing) roughly 20 metres by hand. Its the splinters that Im suffering from now. Purpleheart and Zebrano (different project) splinters for days - lots of needle action. The gloves would have been a boon if I had thought about it
Cheers Mike

 

[Paul Chapman]

1. Cycling gloves while hand planing. I've been quite a bit recently and got a blister on the palm of my left hand. Tried wearing a pair of cycling mits this evening and it had the advantage that a) my sweaty paws didn't slip on the handles and b) that there was a bit of cushioning between me and a rather solid bit of bubinga.

Good tip, Steve. I've always found that plastic handles on tools are very uncomfortable in hot weather - they cause your hands to sweat more, resulting in blisters and your grip slipping. Far better to go for wooden handles (preferably without a varnished finish) where there is an option or to replace the plastic handles with wooden ones.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[A_n_g_e_l_a]

Perhaps the previous owner of the oilstone box was an ex Shoreditch, Teacher's Training College, student. I remember my first woodshop class, with my brand new tool kit, being told to tap in two brads at one end of the oilstone box's base and then nip them off leaving two small sharp protrusions. The technique is then to lay the heel of the box on the bench whilst bringing the far end down sharply onto the bench surface. And there it stays.

We were also given a marking gauge pin. Our kit only had a cutting gauge. We had to drill a small hole through the stock at the 'free' end and fit the pin. We then then had a cutting gauge and marking gauge in one tool.

Angela

 

[Alf]

Aaargh, brads in the bottom of oilstone boxes are a personal bête noir of mine. Shredded my fingers on the darn things too many times and frankly I don't need extra ways of drawing blood... A piece of non-slip matting is infinitely preferable IMO.

Cheers, Alf

 

[dedee]

I think we should club together and send one of those "oilstones with brads" to Tony :wink: His bench could do with a bit of "character" :lol:

Andy

 

[Alf]

Ooo, that's evil - I like! :lol:

 

[woodbloke]

A_n_g_e_l_a wrote:

ex Shoreditch, Teacher's Training College,

...were you there, if so what year? - Rob

 

[Evergreen]

Steve

I can endorse your tip about using gloves for certain tasks. I had an old pair of leather gloves and I cut the thumbs and forefingers off. Hey presto - I had invented "custom woodworking gloves" at a cost of nought pence! Having the thumbs and forefingers exposed lets you do fine adjustments but the rest of the glove protects your palms and the sides of your hands - particularly useful for holding a plane on a shooting board.

Regards.

 

[woodbloke]

Here's a little thing that I do now when gluing up, I've got a ice cream tub full of these cramp supports and mdf blocks wot fit over the bar. Nothing is so irritating as when you're trying to do a complex glue up and the cramps keep falling over. I also place a couple over the bar as in the pic to support the work as this then brings the job in line with the screw thread and so the tendency for the job under pressure to distort is minimised - Rob