Hand tools and techniques.

[Driver]

At the risk of kicking off the old hand tools vs power tools debate, I'm going to relate my experiences over the past several days.

By way of preamble: for almost the whole of August and September, I couldn't do any woodworking because an old back problem I've had for years flared up. Once the back was sorted out I was keen to start making sawdust. First in a list of projects was to convert a sliding door between the kitchen and what is now my home office. This is partly described in another thread

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...783#post210783

What I did was to construct, using jarrah sections, a new door frame to fit over the existing rolled steel section frame then to trim, fit and hang a new hinged timber door.

I decided to do as much of the work as possible by using hand tools. If this meant that it would take longer, that wasn't a problem because I had the luxury of not having to meet any deadlines but could fit the job in around my work schedule.

So, why hand tools? Because I am beginning to discover that I prefer them. The process is quieter, slower, safer and, probably more important - to me anyway - you get a direct feel for the wood. At one point, I found that a hinge mortise at the top of the door frame was going to be positioned precisely where the jarrah's grain was really gnarly - and very hard. This meant a very sharp set of chisels, some muscle and a lot of patience, persuading the wood into shape. Sure, I could have set up a jig and used a router (I own three) but, having decided to use chisels instead, I learnt a lot about chiselling technique and a lot more about patience and just how hard jarrah can be!

I cut the mitres in the various components of the frame by hand and eye, using a sliding bevel gauge for the angles (none of which are precisely 45 degrees) and a cross-cut back saw and trimming the mitres with a plane. I was holding my breath on every mitre cut but got through the process relatively trouble-free!

I trimmed the door to size using two superb planes: a Lee Valley Veritas LA block plane and my Lie-Nielsen LA Jack. Again - the process is slower than it would have been if I had taken off the bulk of the waste with a power saw - but the plane blades are very sharp and the planes' bases dead flat so you can use them accurately to remove a lot of material quite quickly and achieve a square result.

The end result of all this has some flaws. You can see plane marks on the frame - but because I didn't use sandpaper to finish it, the grain shows up beautifully. The hinge and lock set mortices have slightly less than perfect edges - but I'm happy that this shows evidence of the fact that the work was done by hand and not by machine.

I did use a power drill with forstner bits to bore out the door stile for the lock set. Although I cut the latch mortise in the frame with a hand brace and forstner bit.

Overall, I have a huge sense of satisfaction and achievement from this simple conversion job. I'm quite sure that I would be less satisfied if I had not used hand tools.

Here's a photo of the finished job.

Col

[craigb]

Good for you Col.

[Wood Butcher]

One of the best feelings for me is making something by hand, especially hand cut joints.
Col, fantastic work!!!!!!!

[Wood Borer]

Great work Col.

Here we are sitting at our desks reading about you exercising your mind and arms on timber. I couldn't find a crying smilie.

Great little experience you related Col, it is very satisfying when you've finished and enjoyable in the planning and implementation stages.

I don't think you will spark the old debate, anyone reading your thread can see you have done it for pleasure. Thanks for the story.

[harcx]

Col
Thanks for the post.
Sometimes I think we may be turning ourselves into machinists with all the focus on power tool jigs that seems to occur (with me as well).
Last weekend I finally achieved a modicum of success with sharpening my plane blades and my chisels and spent a very pleasurable hour or two feelinfg and listening to the planes as I experimented with finer and finer shavings. Great stuff.
As for the "flaws" you mention I reckon that these are the makers mark. They are proof that there was a pair of hands and not a machine bed on the job
Good for you
HarcX

[IanW]

Nice doors Driver. Now, about the couple of new doors I need for my place - Jarrah will do nicely, thanks. Since you're a few Ks away from Brisbane, I'll let you off hanging them.........

[lesmeyer]

Col,

beautiful door. And you did that all with hand tools. I am green with envy.

Regards
Les

[Driver]

Thanks for the comments, fellas.

Just to correct what might be a mistaken impression: I didn't build the door. It's a bought one. I built the frame and trimmed and hung the door and fitted the door hardware. I also finished the whole thing using UBeaut White Shellac - which is a great finish, by the way.

Col

[silentC]

So can we expect to see a user name change to 'Walker', Col?

I used to do all my door furniture installation with hand tools because that was all I had. My Brother in Law introduced me to the idea of using a router to mortice hinges but if you're not doing a lot of them, it's less bother to use a chisel. Yet there are some tasks that are a bit arduous with hand tools and I'd prefer to run through the mud and walk on the grass

Hand tools for finishing touches cannot be beaten. Having plane marks in the work is a clear signal that it was done by hand and these days that is something to aspire to. Good on you, Captain, and thanks for the thread...

[Wood Borer]

You clearly gave the impression the entire house and all the furniture was built by you using only hand tools in several days.

Now you turn around and tell us you only made one little door frame after getting all the praise!!!!

[Driver]

You clearly gave the impression the entire house and all the furniture was built by you using only hand tools in several days.

Now you turn around and tell us you only made one little door frame after getting all the praise!!!!

Fooled ya! Nah nah na nah nah!

[Driver]

So can we expect to see a user name change to 'Walker', Col?

Ah but Driver, y'see, is short for screwdriver. Rumours at my former place of employment that it was short for slave-driver are to be discounted entirely.

On the other hand, you may have a point. Walker, Hiker, Stroller, Rambler and Perambulist suggest themselves as alternatives.

[derekcohen]

Col (Driver) wrote:

Overall, I have a huge sense of satisfaction and achievement from this simple conversion job. I'm quite sure that I would be less satisfied if I had not used hand tools.

later HarcX wrote:

Sometimes I think we may be turning ourselves into machinists with all the focus on power tool jigs that seems to occur (with me as well).

Everyone knows how I feel about handtools, but I am quick to emphasize that I do use a tablesaw and bandsaw quite a bit as well. I have not used my 'lectric routers for quite some time and a few nights ago I was reminded why.

On Monday I attended a Fine Woodworking Association meeting (we meet once a month, at which time a member will demonstrate a special skill, etc). On show was the Woodrat machine, and this was used to create mortise and tenon joints, dovetail, and finger joints.

Now you have to picture this: the crouching operator (for this was as close to being a Machinist as I could imagine) wore eye and ear protection. There was a huge vacuum sucking away as much of the dust as possible. In spite of the earmuffs, the sound of the machines dominated, and all I could think of was that there was no sense of intimacy here, it was not possible for quiet contemplation, there was no sense of rest (it was, instead, a sense of unrest), and the world was shut away by a wall of noise and a blanket around my head. Frankly, I lack the patience necessary to set these machines up before they can be used. It is quicker to cut a joint by hand. And I like to listen to music while I work.

Next month will be my turn, and no doubt there will be power-users who will find my demonstration of handplane use boring, antiquated, and slow. So be it. It just goes to show that we get our kicks in different ways. At least we share an appreciation of working wood. In any event, anyone in the Perth area who wants to attend is very welcome. We meet the second Monday of each month at 7:00 pm. Just PM me.

Col, have you used a router plane to chisel out hinge mortises?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[silentC]

Walker, Hiker, Stroller, Rambler and Perambulist suggest themselves as alternatives.

This from Wikipedia might be of assistance:

Walking - How To

The basic mechanism of walking is quite simple, and involves only a couple of steps (pun intended)

1. From standing position, lift either the left or right leg upwards and forwards.

2. Once the leg is a good distance in front of you, place it on the floor.

3. Lift the other leg off the ground, pull it forwards and past the now stationary leg and plant it firmly on the floor a small distance in front of the stationary foot.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you reach your desired destination

For more complex moves such as turning, see walking manouvers

Common mistakes

There are a number of mistakes that are common amongst newcomers to walking. These include:

1. Lifting both legs off of the ground at any one point during the basic walking mechanism. Whilst this does induce motion, the motion producing is unfavourable vertical motion due to gravity rather than the horizontal motion normally associated with walking.

2. Forgetting to alternate legs. Although this is not strictly incorrect, it is often frowned upon by society, and can result in embarrasing social situations for the user.

3. Attempting the above steps lying down. Although this may seem a good idea at the time, especially for more relaxed people, it rarely breeds successful results.

[craigb]

In the advanced session you get to learn how to chew gun at the same time