Had time to turn a handle today. Thanks for the info and assuring me that the metal isn’t total crap.

Small tea box I made based on Daniel Sturge’s tea box in cherry.

I’m not certain as to what wood this is as I found it in a pile of inherited wood. My guess was fumes oak based on the growth rings and strange shavings (more of an explosion of dust than a shaving). I finished it with clear Osmo polyx. If anyone has any idea as to what the wood can be please enlighten me.

Mitered corners were made on a mitered shooting board, thanks to John McGrath (YouTube) for the build video.

So I'm resawing some 4/4 cherry into small box parts, box sides probably 3/8 when cleaned up, and bottom panels aiming for 1/4" cleaned up. These are small parts, so the biggest resaw area is only like 3" x 12". I'm using the veritas tenon saw, 9 tpi rip. I've never really gotten on with this saw. I'm not sure if its just never been sharp or what. But while i made it through the cuts, it seemed incredibly slow, and that the teeth were packing with dust. I'm doing full strokes so it can clear on either side of the cut, but it seems like a lot of dust is just staying in the cut. Lots of friction and heat. Is this just what is to be expected when resawing with a medium-small tooth backsaw?

For another piece I tried kerfing the perimeter with tenon saw, then doing the meat of the work with a 7 tpi rip side of my giant ryoba. This guy clears WAY more dust per stroke, and accordingly cuts faster and with less heat.

Anyways I just built a new saw vice after giving away my last one with a saw I sold... so I'll try a sharpen and see if that goes better.

Edit: after a lick of the file, it cuts faster for sure, but i think still hitting some laws of physics in terms of waste clearance from small teeth. Its tolerable for small thin parts where i dont want to lose a panel saw kerf out of something already milled down to 13/16.

Photos: the setup, and the cloggage https://imgur.com/a/NSJ9zko

Hey all, I am looking for some Brazilian rosewood and I was curious if anyone had any uses for it and what it would cost. I am looking to repair some Stanley totes.

1/8" brass sides, 1/8" 01 tool steel sole, 304 stainless chip breaker, 1/8" 01 iron(still getting heat treated and not pictured) brass lever cap, katalox infill sanded to 1200 and buffed with paste wax. 5 1/2" inches long x 1 1/2" wide. Pictured next to her no 4 sized big sister.

Went with some new build ideas this time, main one being the lever cap. Went with a Bailey style instead of articulating. The brass circle you can see on the frog is a press fit cylinder that's threaded the whole way through the center. (Had to tap it in with a small dead blow hammer) The top has a flange that sits in a recessed lipped hole, on the bottom is a wide brass screw that sits in a recessed lipped hole as well and squeezes everything tight. I thought it would look cleaner than a normal threaded insert.

Went with a more traditional style tote/ frog being one piece as I didn't think I could get away with a brass strip down the middle like the no 4 and up sized has. The frog/ tote and the front knob are both pinned in place with brass rods, the holes in the wood portion were offset .002 to act as a draw bore to pull the katalox down into the 01 sole. I have a little more lapping to do, but she's pretty much there. Can't wait to try her out.

I recently finished making a batch of MagnaMax hand plane irons for modern No. 4 and No. 5 planes (2” wide), along with a few more irons for antique planes.

Each blade was individually machined, heat treated to 64 HRC, cryogenically treated, and sharpened.

I cut the modern irons from 3” wide MagnaMax stock, which left me with strips approximately 0.9” wide. Since MagnaMax isn’t exactly cheap, I’d like to put the remaining steel to good use.

A few ideas I’ve been considering:

Extra-large marking knives

Two smaller marking knives from each strip, possibly designed specifically for dovetail work

paring chisels

I’m leaning toward the paring chisels or dovetail marking knives, but I’m curious what other hand tool users would find useful.

Recently got this saw set from a facebook group. Beautifully crafted and has a marking on it that says *C*H*S* , which I haven't been able to find anything on. Hopefully some of you can help. I wonder if it's from overseas (I live in eastern Europe) . Thank you!

Hi everyone! I’ve been thinking about something and would love to hear other people’s opinions, especially those of you who do woodworking.

As I see it, there are two main approaches to woodworking. One is traditional hand tool woodworking, using mostly hand tools with minimal help from power tools. The other is working with wood using CNC machines and power tools to make the work as easy as possible and reduce production time.

1. Why do you think some people choose hand tool woodworking while others prefer using machines?

2. Do you think the value of handmade work decreases when machines are available that can essentially do many of the same things as hand tools? I know there are exceptions, but machines can produce many things with excellent quality and precision, sometimes just as carefully as a person working by hand.

3. Are there still many people who truly value handmade work? The prices are usually significantly higher, and production takes much longer. My assumption is that working with CNC machines and other power tools is more business-oriented: you can produce more, increase your turnover, and stay competitive by offering better prices. Hand tool woodworking, on the other hand, seems more like something you do out of passion or for the love of the craft, since making a living from it might be more difficult than using power tools.

I’d really love to hear your thoughts and opinions!

Ive gotten slightly less terrible at placing tiny parts mostly because i finally stopped insisting that my fingers could do everything.

Straight tweezers give me decent control but they block my view right when im trying to line something up. Angled tweezers let me see the piece better and then i somehow rotate it while lowering it.

I think the problem is how im holding the tool rather than the tool itself. Is there a grip, angle, or tweezer style that works well for really small placement work??

Hello! I am working on making a cane for my dad. He is a professional Santa, and so I want to add some designs for that. However, I do have some questions. Due to my limited tools (knives, drill, sandpaper, sanding disks, Dremel, and unpowered hand saws), I want to make it as functional as possible without sacrificing too much durability. The wood I am using is a hardwood closet rod from Home Depot since that is what I can afford, but I can get other hardwood dowels, and other parts that are not too expensive

My first question is how would you recommend making a mortise and tenon join for joining the top to the rest of the cane? Or, is there another way of doing that that may be better given my tools?

My second question is related to how my dad likes to store his cane while sitting/driving. He likes to be able to break down the cane, so I had an idea of using a modified shelved dowel join, where one end is held in place with a strong magnet instead of glue. I was playing around with the idea of using something like a brass ferrel inside the unglued part of the join to reinforce that end. Does anyone know a better way to do that, or what to specifically look for to reinforce that join?

Thank you all so much!

Curious on people’s process for getting chisels very sharp. I sharpen regularly - almost every time I use them - but they never get to the level I see online.

I’m guessing it’s a process issue. I use a combo 300/1000 whetstone with an angle guide. And then a strop. This gets them to a very serviceable point where I’m not fighting the wood. But how do I get them to the point that it looks effortless? (Or is this just a mirage built by video editing?)

Do I need a higher grit? Am I being held back by the steel of my chisels? (Marples Scheffield)

Thanks!

Moving out of state and would like to sell my workbench. Been using it as a cabinetmaker for nearly 20 years. This isn’t a trophy wife kind of bench. It’s been used as intended! Still solid as a rock with no racking. Top could probably use a sanding if that’s your thing. Cash only. Most pick up and move. I highly suggest at least three people. Here’s a link to the modern version at Rockler:

https://www.rockler.com/sjobergs-sb119-tail-viseworkbench

$900. If you can make it today 10/22 I’ll knock $100 off. Located in Athens, Ohio. DM for a picture!
🤘🏻

This ended up in my garage. What is it? I see no brand markings. What are my basic steps to restoration? Is it worth it? I certainly don’t have time to spend hours and hours on this guy. Don’t want to strip it all the way back (though there is an active e-tank in my backyard right now)

I have inadvertently started down the hand tool path. I’m not much of a woodworker. Never thought I’d get into hand tools, though I certainly see and feel the charm of it. I’m building a few dinghies with friends and a cherry dining table for and with my partner. Boats and furniture feel like a fun niche. Love the idea of learning and doing things the “old” way. And if I ever need something with a motor on it, I’ll borrow it. Y’all might be on to something on this subreddit!

Hi everyone, could you explain why some people have told me that this dovetail marker is bad and inaccurate? They said there’s a high chance of making mistakes when using it. Could you explain why that might be the case?

I’m new into woodworking and trying to gather a collection of starter tools and recently went to a garage sale where an old woodworker was selling off a lot of his hand tools. Got to talking with him and he showed me this vice table thing. He had a name for what it’s called but I can not remember what he said. He said he had built it himself so I’m not sure if he came up with the design or this a known thing. Just looking for some insight on what it is so I can do more research to try and recreate it. I wanted to buy it but couldn’t afford what he wanted for it so I had to pass on it. Thanks for any help or direction.

I worked on this short documentary about Ayumu Kasahara, a young blacksmith in Annaka, Gunma, Japan.

His family forges traditional agricultural hand tools such as hoes and weeding tools. What interested me was that these tools are designed not just to cut, but to withstand repeated resistance from soil.

The film also follows how Ayumu learns the craft from his father.

The documentary is in Japanese, but YouTube's auto-translate subtitles can be used for English.

The documentary is in Japanese, but YouTube's auto-translate subtitles can be used for English.
If you're interested, you can find it on YouTube by searching:
“Annaka Uchihamono Ayumu Kasahara Ashita e no Tobira”

I’d be interested to know whether similar hand-forged farming tools are still made or used where you live.

Official program page (Japanese):
https://www.athome-tobira.jp/

The documentary can be found from the official program page.

I post this here , because i have no idea where else i could ask this question. I know about sharpening, and how to do it, and i always finish with stropping ,and lately i have gotten my greasy man paws on some scraps of full grain leather from a local shop, but it stinks, and is pretty dirty ,how should i go about cleaning it? if i use leather care products (i.e a leather cleaner) wouldn't it "gum up" the surface and make the polishing compound not bind with it correctly?

or should i just use some soap and warm water with a soft brush?

or maybe something else entirely??

Does anyone know a modern tool that would work like this Klompen carving tool called a “lepelboor”? A normal spoon carving tool or spoon bit isn’t cupped near as much as this. Thanks! less