From The Bench

Throughout the last decade while making dowels, conical tenon's, tappered legs etc. for chairs and benches, there was always an issue of consistency making these with hand tools. Making things round usual takes a bit of time, and making hexagonal shapes a little quicker, but still takes time. While I have streamlined the process (for myself) of making chair legs, or at least shaping them, and also making larger dowels with a simple jig, I still have problems in other areas.

The main way I make smaller dowels (5/8 and under) and also conical tenon's is with a conical tenon cutter which will also cut dowels. I have 2 types of cutters, the all metal veritas pencil sharpener type, and a wooden bodied type with small handles. Out of the 2, I think there's more consistency both with making dowels and conical tenon's with the veritas. The tenon's are straighter as are the dowels, compared to the wooden body type, which I often find conical tenon's and dowels are not straight, and even worse, if I need a dowel/back spindle with a conical transition, it's often (for me) to see an exaggerated twist/bend in the beginning of stick which can cause problems, so usually I just stick with the veritas. The issue with the veritas is that it is slow cutting tenon's, but I tend to get a lot better results.

In general, the bigger issue for me is the time it takes me to make a chair, and I want to make myself more efficient in making chairs, in the hope of making chairs more often. So some of the things I am considering do unfortunately consist of spending money! The first being purchasing a small lathe, which will also take some time to learn, but will speed some tasks up. Next I could buy a round tenon cutter that can be used with a drill, which would replace the conical tenon cutter, and I was tempted to buy one of these for my recent Irish arm chair build. I could/did consider keeping my eyes open for a antique dowel maker machine (hand cranked) also. In an ideal world I would own all of the above, however money is always an issue for most of us. That being said, I am thinking of (in the short term) investing in the round tenon cutter, and some good quality drill bits so I can drill straight through a piece without blowout. Another thing I think I'm going to invest in is some more jigs, again this is going to speed up the process of building chairs for myself, and prompt me for more chair builds, or at least this is my logic!

Maker Spotlight

This beautiful bench seat is the work of Genki Nishiyama, a very accomplished woodworker. The bench is….. well….. just look at it! Click the image and head over to Instagram to see his other stunning piece's.

Question Of The Week

Q. I'm making a small bench with a laminated bench top. I've glued it up but the final glue up has left me with some twist and about a 3mm cup at its worst. So my main question is - which side do I flatten first? Do I progress by taking the twist out first (seems to be on the top side) then the the cup? Then the base? Or do I flatten the base first, then take the twist out the topside, then address the cup? I've seen so many videos and each one is different, any advice would be appreciated.

Rhonda - UK

A. Hi Rhonda, I'm not going to get into the method of how to flatten a top since you seemed to have researched that well enough. I can't really say 100% without seeing it, but I'm assuming the cupping is pointing up? If so try and even out the cupping by removing the high spot (twist), Then remove the cupping. Basically pick the side with the least work, which means there should be less error, then you can work to a pencil line off that face, which will make things easier. I'd also recommend to trim the bench to its final length so everything is straight/square. This is going to help you see the twist and cupping better, allowing you to judge the work piece as you work, with the aid of straight edges and winding sticks. Good luck with the build.

Do you have a woodworking related question? Reply to this email, or login and leave your question below. I read them all and will feature one in the next issue.

What Caught My Eye

If you click the image and pop over to Instagram you’ll see an animated plywood chair slotted together, followed by a real chair being slotted together. The design is simply, but I like it, and with a couple of cushions and some finesse, you could have a very stylish and comfortable seat. I'm unaware of the designer.

Final Shavings

I'm currently still away from home (working), but have been cooking up another folding workbench/table not in my mind, not that I need another workbench or have the room even when folded up. However the idea did appeal to me because I'm looking to make it substantial lighter using 1/2” plywood, and without store bought hinges or latches. I'm also thinking this could be built in an afternoon even on the fly. So look out for that on social media if you're interested.

In case you missed it, my last video (A chair drill guide) can be watched here, and a podcast is available to those who are interested. You can listen on Spotify here, and Apple Podcasts  here, and watch on YouTube here.

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Until next time

-David 

DW Woodworks