Thread: calling all darkside members

I made a change table and toddler furniture for my youngest using only hand tools. I started the change table when she was 7 1/2 months away, and finished it about the same time that my wife started timing contractions.

Now that my job takes me away more I have to do a blend of things-a combo to dimension and make mortises, and mostly hand tools for the other joints, fitting and textures.

I like making shavings more than dust, but I have to balance my shed time against my family (and internet) time.

I really like the combo-it is all that I expected, and more. In uni I learned all about clotting mechanisms , then tried them out on my Dad's table and radial arm saws. I didn't want to repeat that experience; my machine gives me the speed and accuracy I wanted with many modern safety features.

Hi Adam

"Do (I) just have a massive store of photos of everytool in and angle of (my) garage?" Just about! It is not so much the fact that I have a lot of pictures, but I have good organisation of them, so can find what I want quite quickly. Where do all the pics come from? Well, as you know, I enjoy writing articles, whether they are for websites, magazines or forums. I take pictures while I work - it is so easy with a digital camera on a tripod (just sits in the corner until needed). The forums are about sharing knowledge, and since I can do this with images as well, I just do it.

Having just recently acquired a tablesaw I'm still learning to use it

What did you get?

I'm starting to think of my tiny little 1/4inch router as a hand tool.

I have one like that, a small Makita, and its a nice router - but the noise and dust got to me, and it rarely comes out. I am thinking about making some smaller blades for my router planes ...

.....This could be done on the TS by the plan page describes how to do it by hand.......(But, derek, I might have to acquire a router plane, bring it over to your place.....)

Nice project! If you need a router plane, I can loan you one. Just call.

Regards

Derek

Thanks derek,

A generous benefactor has let me use his 10inch TS indefinitely as he doesnt have the room for it, and has lost interest. It's a 'Bevel" brand, and its about 8yrs old.

It is a pretty standard 10inch contractor saw, it has the exact same standard splitter/guard set up as yours. ( I saw a pic of it).

Thr truth is I simply don't have the setup to run big machines. My electitrical setup wuold not handle dust collection, bright lights and big machines. Hand tools just need a good bench, a dust free cabinet and you're away!.

I'll handsaw the walls of the angled groove and I'm going to get a nice crank-neck chisel. If I cant get the floor of the groove A1 with the chisel, I just might......thanks!

Originally Posted by derekcohen

Yo Steve

I (we, the forum) happen to have kept track of your LN and LV (not to mention Steve Knight!) purchases, so I am not so sure that this is an unequal area!

Derek

LoL@Derek!

Mea culpa, I'm afraid

Actually, I am planning a new tool cupboard (thanks Wendy!) so that I can house the planes, chisels, hand-saws, spokeshaves & whatnot together: right now there's one cupboard for planes and a few chisels on the outside, another for saws and more chisels, and my collection of panel saws are sitting across some overhead beams. Stuff all over the place

Cheers!

PS Still no sign of that Spiers infill smoother kit from Shepherd Tool Co. :mad:

Originally Posted by derekcohen

Regards from Perth

Derek

G'day Derek

I can see your Avatar in the top right hand corner. What brand is it? Nice work too. Just wish I could have got that carpentry and joinery apprenticeship all those years ago.
Cheers

your Avatar in the top right hand corner. What brand is it?

Hi Shedhand

That's a DS .. Darkside Special! It's an infill plane I built using the shell of a Stanley #4.

Regards from Perth

Derek

well a 50/50 mix is a more practical option, use machines where handtools would just take way to long, after all that's what machiines where invented for...at the moment i'v been using the machines for thicknessiing , sizing and and joinery, then they get wheeled aside and it's hand tool for the rest of the job, handplaning and scraping mainly, but most of all i'v forced myself to stop using the beltsander, i just could not get rid of that fine dust from the place even with a dc hookup, and that whisper of the shavings from the old Stanly sounds nicer too...

ps, Derek, you said your a writer?, how do you find the world of freelance writing/photography work, just something i'v always wanted to do...

Hi la H

I am not sure how you got the idea I am a freelance writer/photographer! :eek: I do a lot of writing, some "professional" - but this is in the area of paediatrics, neuropsychology and developmental psychiatry, such as papers for conferences, but mostly clinical reports (at least 2 hours worth every evening ). Otherwise I write articles on woodworking for webs, none of which is paid. I would hardly call my photography professional It is all just my own form of therapy.

Regards from Perth

Derek

sorry Derek i must have had a brainfart ...good you are writing though, whatever type iit is it's all good for you.......

...la H

Anything I do for myself is almost all hand tool work. Im not in a hurry and its good theropy. The power tool that gets the most use in my shop is my bandsaw, then the tablesaw and my new moritiser is working its way up the list. I do have a list of paid projects Im working on, those get more power tool attention because of the need for speed. There are some thing I can do quicker with hand tools, like dovetails. I hate dovetail jigs. Good ones are to expensive and cheap ones just plain suck. With my marking gauge and knife and dovetail saw I can cut four coners of a drawer in about ten minutes. The last dovetail jig I used, it to me that long to line up the board and put the bit in the router. Anyway, if I can do it with a hand tool, thats my first preference.

exclusivly using handtools may be the best idea in the combat against dust. some machines are essential in the preperation and sizing of stock, such as the thicknesser and table saw, but after that who here would build a project without picking up any power tools or piece of sandpaper at all, and as a result do you have problems with dust?,do you where a mask?: or are all darkside techineques 'friendly' to our health ? as they all seem to just produce shavings which fall to the floor...

la Huerta - Why did you open this thread? Was it because of the health and safety concerns regarding wood dust? Also, are you running a wood working business? I seem to remember something you posted about this.

I guess I'm asking because if you are doing woodwork for profit, then your question takes on a whole new meaning. I only use hand tools because I enjoy my hobby best that way, its the doing that I enjoy. If I had to make a quid out of it, then it would be a whole different story (and I'd probably not enjoy it, and I'd quickly go bankrupt!). Its just a personal preference, and I don't have to worry about whether or not what I am doing is a cost effective use of my time. AND I've done some spectacularly wasteful things... like turning that $10 antique box into a $15 antique box with the help of about 12 hours work and $150 worth of expense )

In light of that, anything I say to you will be completely useless if you are running a business.

If, as I suspect (but may be completely wrong about ), you are running a business and are trying to combat the dreaded dust, then I'm sure that there are a range of options that you could look at to allow you to create lots of dust and to minimise its effects.
Your options would depend on the workshop setup, $ you are willing to spend, your work practices, the amount of repetition work, if you have scheduled deliveries, if you are willing to wear a decent mask, or if you work on an individual order basis.

I'm a little confused, can you enlighten me?

I'm trying, but addictions die hard.
Is there a patch for electron murder addiction?

Clinton...yes it's a business, but , i started out doing things as quick as possible with power tools , the end result is a power tool created piece to be sold a power tool created price, having the dust problem just got me thinking one day how some simple things could be done the old fashioned way with hand tools, and in doing so i'm now able to charge a more "handmade" price, and even though i do this 24/7 i get pleasure out of it more than when i was burning kilowatts...
The reason i started this thread was to to see if there were any health effects associated with using handtools, i needed some imput from those who have been doing it a long time...and besides i am sure there are other members who would find this of interest...

...savvy

Thanks mate.

RSI springs to mind for repetitive hand tool use. I guess that would be a greater risk if you are doing repetition... i.e. three days a week you are doing the same thing exclusively, at 8 hour days.
Once you have RSI it is flared up easily. That and compartment syndrome, a close relative.

In OH&S terms hazards are defined in their risk by the time and amount of exposure. The greater the time exposed and the higher the levels of hazard, the greater the risk factor.
i.e. I am exposed to high levels of sawdust in a room with little air flow for 8 hours a day - HIGH
I am exposed to a small amount of sawdust in a room with good air flow and excellent dust extraction at the tool, wear a filtered positive pressure mask and am only exposed for 2 hours a day, 3 days a week - LOW

Thats the way I was taught to think about it, and the way I do it for my OH&S audits.