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  1. #76
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    Jun 2018
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    Brisbane
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    Ian,

    I'm always impressed by the finish on your gauges and infill planes: how do you get that lustre/ 'silkiness' on the hardwoods?

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  3. #77
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
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    Brisbane (western suburbs)
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    77
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    12,095

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    Quote Originally Posted by jpdv View Post
    ....how do you get that lustre/ 'silkiness' on the hardwoods?
    Sand to 400 grit, scrub the surface with 0000 steel wool, then pad on Shellawax as if French-polishing. Give the wood 2 coats like this, avoiding any visible build-up, then buff on a cloth wheel. I have to say that the manufacturer (Neill) looked very askance when I told him how I'd finished the object he happened to be admiring & said, "I don't recommend using it like this!". All I can say is that it works for me, it's super-quick & I get a durable finish that looks like it took hours of work. I have noticed that some people's sweat reacts with the Shellawax & dulls it quickly.

    Don't try it on a hot, humid day (same applies to French polishing), the Shellawax sticks & smears as you are rubbing it on, and when you try to buff it you'll get streaks & unevenness that are very hard to buff out. If that happens, I've found the best procedure is to rub the uneven surface off with the 0000 steel wool & start over. Otherwise it's as close to idiot-proof as it gets.

    The two dark (bull oak) gauges at top right in the gauge drawer pic in post #72 were finished this way, about 30 years ago, and still look much the same as they did when I made them. They've had an "annual" waxing (about once every 3-5 years!). The woods that respond best to this treatment are the harder species like our she-oaks & acacias, but anything that sands to a good surface usually takes Shellawax finish well - soft, open-grained woods don't respond nearly as well.

    Cheers,
    IW

  4. #78
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    Perth
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    10,810

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    I could have sworn that I posted the following, but cannot find it!!!!!

    So, presenting the Skeleton Drawer ....




    Here is the second drawer to be filled ...




    Why "Skeleton Drawer"? Well, it does not contain dark secrets, buried bodies, or other clandestine material


    It is just the name I have given to the drawer design since, unlike Drawer #1, which hid a jewellery layer, this discloses all from the outset.
    The drawer holds my Kiyohisa chisels: paring slicks and bench oire nomi. It is important to be able to find, and extract them easily when working at the bench.


    The paring chisels lie in the upper level ...




    These slide into the cabinet and, below, are the oire nomi (3mm through 30mm) ...




    There are two others at the rear, a second 30mm and a 36mm ...




    This is a clearer presentation ...




    The chisels lie on shaped rests. The blades lie on rare earth magnets, which prevent them moving from the rests when the drawer is opened and shut, or the top layer extended into the cabinet ...




    The wood used for the rests and the slide is West Australian Sheoak ...




    The rear of the drawer, the drawer back, has been cut away above the second dovetail. This is how the the top layer slides into the cabinet ...




    I trust you are finding this fun as well


    Regards from Perth


    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  5. #79
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    Apr 2001
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    Perth
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    Hot on the heels of this, I had a slight change of plan. Vision revisited ....

    A slight change of plan. This was driven home by the current drawer I am working on, where it became apparent that attempting to fit too many tools into the cabinet is really missing the goal I originally set out to achieve.


    So it is time to backtrack: rather than cram in items, I want the tools I enjoy using most.


    The extra two chisels in the drawer have been moved out. I have just to remove the holders ...





    This does not really change the functionality of the drawer, as it was easy to access the oire nomi and the slicks before, but now it just feels less crowded.


    The drawer with the squares has had a small alternation. The Veritas square has been moved out (I replaced the cut-out section with solid), and a finger hole added to make it easier to slide the tray ...




    This now is less complicated. The tray below is as easy to access.




    Simplicity rules


    Regards from Perth


    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  6. #80
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Bundaberg
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    54
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    3,402

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    Hmm, I thought the square drawer was pretty perfect before! Is it your intention to remove the Veritas square from your inventory or simply relocate it somewhere else? I often see it on the bench in your builds and assumed it was one of your essential marking out tools; I have the same one and find it invaluable.

    I DO like the way you're making all the drawer internals removable so you can chop and change as the mood takes you. I know you're downsizing your collection but I doubt Veritas or Chris Vesper have decided to shut down their "New & Shiny Tool" R&D departments; there's still going to be new acquisitions in your future!
    Nothing succeeds like a budgie without a beak.

  7. #81
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
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    Brisbane (western suburbs)
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chief Tiff View Post
    ...... there's still going to be new acquisitions in your future!.....
    Yep, I'll make a similar prediction, Chief.

    Wish I had a $ for every time I've said "I'm not buying/making a single new tool for the rest of my life..."

    I don't lack willpower, it's WON'T-power I need.

    Cheers
    IW

  8. #82
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    Perth
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    10,810

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    Quote Originally Posted by IanW View Post
    I don't lack willpower, it's WON'T-power I need.

    Cheers
    I like that, Ian!

    CT, the Veritas square is one of the tools I use much of the time. It was removed simply because I created a place for it, and this position was not ergonomic. Too much fiddle to get it out. I was trying too hard to fit it in, to the detriment of the work flow. I shall find another place for it.

    The same argument is levied at the marking gauges, which brought about this change. Find a place for the favourites, not all. I am not getting rid of my other tool cabinets.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  9. #83
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Location
    Dandenong Ranges
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    1,866

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    Hi Derek. I am enjoying this very much

  10. #84
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    Perth
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    Drawers 3 and 4




    Moving across to top right. This is a drawer for wheel cutting gauges ...





    I went through many ideas before coming up with this design. Simple, but effective for access and keeping the gauges from moving around.





    Two Tite Marks with fine adjusters and two Veritas gauges (these were a steal several years ago - Anniversary gauges in stainless steel. Brilliant!). The gauge at the front is one I built. My idea of Veritas-going-Japanese





    Everything is removable. The slots for the arms were made with a fluting blade in a Veritas Combination Plane ...





    Drawer #4 was much more work. Much more.


    This is the middle drawer, second row. The drawer above holds large squares. This drawer holds more squares, small ones for joinery ....





    The only way to keep these from moving around in a drawer is to french fit them ...





    The little "dot" at the top end is a rare earth magnet. This is to keep extra blades (for the squares) from getting lost.





    This is where I moved the Veritas sliding square. There is a Vesper small double square along with a similar Starrett. These are so useful for checking dovetail sockets. Below is my favourite double square, a 4" Moore & Wright, along with a 4" vintage Browne & Sharpe machinist square.


    Now slide the top tray away, and below are large and small Starrett dividers, and a vintage Starrett compass ...





    Again french fit to prevent any sliding around ...





    I managed to get all these rules inside the drawer - Starrett and Mitutoyo in metric and imperial ...





    Easier to stack them this way ...





    Two more drawers, and I am going to call it quits for a while. Lynndy has orders for night stands.


    I hope you are still having fun!


    Regards from Perth


    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  11. #85
    Join Date
    May 2019
    Location
    Brisbane
    Posts
    808

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    Quote "I hope you are still having fun! [emoji4]"

    Yes, I am really enjoying your descriptions and solution. Only drawback is that I now want to rearrange my drawers as well.....

    Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

  12. #86
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Canberra
    Posts
    5,124

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    Are the bottoms of the drawer sides waxed to reduce friction on their runners?

    I've noticed a mini tallboy I use as a tool cabinet is wearing a bit.

    Is the use of wax a traditional approach?

  13. #87
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    10,810

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    Evan, I always smooth plane and wax the drawer runners and drawer sides.

    As I recall, Bunnings sell a lubricant spray for sticky drawers.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  14. #88
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Newcastle
    Posts
    549

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    Check that the lubricant spray is not silicone. Silicone spray goes everywhere and messes with future application of paint / finishes I believe.

  15. #89
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    Mar 2004
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    Brisbane (western suburbs)
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    Quote Originally Posted by woodPixel View Post
    .... Is the use of wax a traditional approach?...
    I think the practice is as old as wooden drawers! My grandma (b. 1882) waxed drawer runners with candle stubs. Candles were mainly paraffin wax, which is a better lubricant than beeswax, which can get a bit sticky under some conditions.

    Quote Originally Posted by woodPixel View Post
    ... I've noticed a mini tallboy I use as a tool cabinet is wearing a bit....
    One of the bad habits of wooden drawer parts! I've lost count of the number of Hoop pine & cedar drawer sides & runners I've repaired. It's weird that they used such soft woods here in Qld. where there is a wide choice of far more appropriate & durable woods. I guess it was the sheer ubiquity & availability plus the ease of working them. I've seen some runners so worn there was only a few mm of wood left & the drawers could only be coaxed in & out by careful lifting & juggling.

    Levelling the bottoms of the drawer sides & glueing on a strip of matching wood is usually pretty straightforward, but repairing/replacing the worn runners is another matter, some makers seem to have not imagined their poor choice of material might need repairs down the track & nailed & glued those runners in place real good! Getting them out was a major exercise. In the 60s it was common to see strips of 'laminex' stuck on the worn runners, which looked pretty crude but worked reasonably well. Another common 'cure' I've seen is to fill the grooves with body-filler or "builders' bog" as it's now commonly called.

    An exception was a cedar desk/bookshelf I tidied up for a friend many years ago. It was made some time before 1920, probably in Brisbane, and is the only piece of this type I have come across with a dovetailed carcase. The joinery was exceptionally well-executed throughout & everything was as sound as the day it was made, except for the deeply-worn drawer runners. The maker acknowledged the pine runners were going to need replacement someday, so they were installed with the usual tenon at the front of the runner (not glued), while the rear tenon slid in via an extended rebate in the back divider and was locked in place with small chocks, which were either lightly glued or just a friction fit, I can't remember exactly, but I certainly remember it was a very simple job to replace those runners!

    Cheers,
    IW

  16. #90
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    back in Alberta for a while
    Age
    68
    Posts
    12,006

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    Quote Originally Posted by derekcohen View Post
    This is a drawer for wheel cutting gauges ...




    I went through many ideas before coming up with this design. Simple, but effective for access and keeping the gauges from moving around.


    Two Tite Marks with fine adjusters and two Veritas gauges (these were a steal several years ago - Anniversary gauges in stainless steel. Brilliant!). The gauge at the front is one I built. My idea of Veritas-going-Japanese



    Derek
    Given that you will often want to put your gauges away WITHOUT changing the settings, how does your french fitted drawer inserts accommodate that desire?
    regards from Alberta, Canada

    ian

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