aka ~ Bad Axe Tool works

Here’s another quick update from Mark at Technoprimitives. He recently sent me some new pics and an update on his back saws. I’ve been lucky to be able to correspond with him over this past year; to watch as he gears up to launch a new business is an exciting thing for sure. From the initial ideas of his logo and etchings to the spectacular medallions and environmentally friendly packaging I wonder what it takes to make this kind of leap of faith into a market that is really a niche to most. I’ve often thought about how Tom Lie Nielsen must have felt 25 years ago, when he first left the security of a day job to begin his own dream…a boat load of courage and a whole lotta love besides the sheer talent it takes to manufacture a top quality hand tool. Then to turn this ideas into a reality, a flourishing business-especially through this past year of economic uncertainties. If Marks saws are anything like the magic he puts back into the vintage hand saws he’s been refurbishing these past few years then I really don’t think he’ll have any problems. Maybe I’ll be blogging about him and all of his success with Bad Axe Tool Works in 25 years from now!
Stay tuned…

Building an Exterior Door by Hand

Well I’ve been at it this week, working through the door construction. So far so good as they say; the Oak is straight grained, heavy as sin and its aroma through my basement shop is intoxicating. A good start I’ll give you a look at the process thus far. Enjoy…

The first step and biggest challenge in the basement wood shop is space, or lack there of. I started with making a full size pattern or template showing all of the door components to scale-the joinery, mortise depth, haunches etc…this will go far at eliminating any unforeseen challenges on my way through the lay out stage. Take your time with this and make things accurate! Skipping a step or cutting a corner would be completely counter productive, square, straight and true this is my map to Heritage Doorville…I have to follow the road. The 1/4″ piece of Luan is great for this template, I screwed some hardwood offcuts on the underside of the pattern and affixed it to my shop bents in front of my workbench. Space is limited so I have to work clean. This project will really be a test of patience in this small work space.

With an accurate template it’s time to start muscling the heavy planks of Oak around the shop, again the only hard part and sometimes frustrating thing about a small workspace. I’ll begin by selecting my timber, carefully studying the grain patterns for a nice aesthetic and gentle flow throughout the finished piece. Again I’m drawn into the grain of this quarter sawn timber…it’s amazing and humbling to think of this tree as a living thing-so beautiful I really feel lucky to be working with such fine stock. I clearly and carefully mark each component and begin cross cutting my lengths to just over finished sizes. My joinery for the rails consist of 3″ mortise and tenons with haunches on the upper and lower rails. The middle or ‘locking’ rail doesn’t have haunched shoulders but both the mid and lower one will be split into two tenons due to the width of the pieces. Cross cutting 7/4 stock is a challenge in itself so I have to consider my options here. Saw bench with panel saw? Hook on my work bench with a back saw? I tried both and decided I had much more control and a far more accurate saw cut with the back saw. My 12″ Lie Nielsen Tenon saw is up for the challenge; these cuts are at the absolute top of the size of stock I could work with this saw plate. I actually had to make two cuts from both sides-a procedure I try to avoid but is my only option on this day. If I had my Bad Axe 16″ or 18″ back saws this would be a much better operation but unfortunately they’re still a few weeks away…I’ll go through the entire lot and get everything to size, from here it’s over to the saw bench and my rip saw will be introduced.

Again, ripping 7/4 white Oak by hand is not for everyone…I purchased this lumber pre-dimensioned but as you can see I still have to ‘work’ each piece by hand. The pre-dimensioning really saves me some time early on; buying rough stock is great for my own work but a commission like this justifies the extra expense. You can usually be safe with a 10% increase on the total cut list when pricing a piece. For me the additional hundred dollars spent on my thousand for wood is well worth it. At least a week of time saved. By pre-dimensioned lumber I mean it’s been surface planned on both faces and jointed on its edges. I’ll still hand plane each square inch of this stuff but only to remove the mill marks. A good investment when you’re trying to make a buck while working wood with only hand tools this is something I get asked about quite often. So consider that a trade secret revealed.

I’ll start off with my new Lie Nielsen panel gauge to establish the width of the pieces. I find my regular marking gauge is great for thinner jobs but anything over the 5 or 6″ mark and it tends to wander a bit. The marking gauge doesn’t but my control over the cut can. This panel gauge is great for this procedure. My full size Corporate Kangaroo is just getting by with the job…I have a new Rip saw in my future for the next door project but you’ll have to stay tuned for that one! In the shot above you can see my limited space here between the work bench and the tool cabinet; I usually do all of my sawing on the other side of the bench which is currently where the full-size door template is set up. Work clean and ‘Patience of Job’…gotta keep reminding myself that!

Alright, the components are cross cut and ripped, from here it’s on to hand plane alley. A welcome place to be after the day of sawing; my shoulders are thanking me already. I’ll begin with my Jack plane and go across the width of the pieces taking a traversing/controlled tear shaving.

The same procedure when using a scrub plane this process will quickly get these planks flattened out. You’d be surprised at the slight hollows and tiny hills…even off of the fine machinery they have out at A & M Wood, there is still work to be done to get these things square on four sides.

A light cut is necessary with this cross grain technique and always be careful on the outside edge especially when running at the opposing angle to the grain. A few passes back and forth, end to end then I’ll go with the grain to finish off. I establish the first flat surface and then I’ll do the opposite side making it parallel to this first one. With two flat surfaces I’ll get into the shoulder vise and get out the Jointing plane. Because I’m paranoid about keeping everything dead accurate with this project I’m using my Veritas Jointing fence. This is an accessory they sell that clamps onto the side body of their Bevel up Jointing plane and makes sure you’re planning an edge square to the first registered surface.

A good day spent surfacing the Oak and I’m finally starting to see how the door will look. This is getting exciting, the grain flowing naturally across the heavy timbers I began to appreciate just how heavy and strong this door will be when finished. I can now move on to joinery lay out and the two long stiles are the place to begin.

As I mentioned they’ll have haunched mortise and tenons with two at each of the locking and lower rails. The upper rail being only 5″ in width will only have one plus the two outside shoulders. These shoulders or haunches will really help to avoid any twisting or winding in the finished door.

I’ll clamp the stiles together and mark them off simultaneously ensuring a truly accurate lay-out. This is just penciled in and I’ll come back with a deep marking gauge and knife to make the locations permanent.

With the mortises all laid out it’s time to bet my brace and a bit together. Coincidentally about three weeks ago I stopped by a local antique store and found some nice old 8″ Irwin Auger bits. These things looked like they didn’t see much work in their life so a quick sharpening and they were ready to go. Good bits are still hard to come by but I did notice Tools for Working Wood sell some new ones that I’m interested in. These 8″ antiques were a perfect length for this application, anything longer and I’d have to work with the timber on my floor.

A few hours of drilling and the bulk of material in my mortises is removed. For anyone interested in a good arm toning work out then this is it! I’m feeling the burn in the backs of my arms for sure. A good honest days work and I’m thinking about the tenons tonight. So to back track to the title of this post…a good black stout goes down some fine with the smell of white oak lingering. Stay tuned for more.
Cheers!

PS.
The stout was enjoyed after the tools went away for anyone concerned with my personal safety.

Saws, Bents and Benches

I recently had a question about the specs on the rip saw I was using in the Moulding plane/Miter blog from a few days ago. Instead of answering in the comment section I thought I’d do it here.
I have a few old Rip saws I’ve acquired through yard sales and flea markets as well as a new Pax from England. I barely touch the Pax except for soft, green wood outside of my shop…kind of the weekend work, helping out the brother-in-law build a fence or deck stuff. The particular saw in question is the one pictured above; the medallion says Corporate Mark Kangaroo and the plate has Rob Sorby Sheffield punched into it.
It’s 28″ long and filed at 6 tpi. (teeth per inch) I sent it down to Mark at Technoprimitives and he over hauled it last year. Needless to say he did an amazing job and it became my daily user.

It’s the main saw I reach for except when ripping stock in the 1/2″ range. I have another old Disston that has a 24″ saw plate and is filed at 10 tpi. Between these two that usually takes care of my ripping needs but I’m very interested in the new Lie Nielsen panel saws. I have a few other old Rip saws as well but they’re in need of some work. When ripping wood, to further answer the question asked I generally use my saw bench. This is the design by Chris Schwarz published in Woodworking Magazine a few years back. It’s a nice design and a perfect height but I find with the two angled legs I sometimes hit the end of the saw into the lower stretcher…I’ve since designed my own saw bench and will share it with you here in a future post. For small stock I usually just fore go the saw bench and use my tail vise for most of my rip cuts. My bench is low enough that I never seem to have an issue with this method. I’ll sometimes hold the piece in the tail vise and use a hold fast as well on my bench top to keep the work piece stable. I also have a couple of ’shop bents’ as I call them. Basically they’re saw horses that are the same overall dimension as the end profile of my work bench. I’ll use these from time to time when ripping the edge of real large work but this is pretty rare in my shop.
The plans for these will be in my book so I better not put them here…my editor may whack me across the knuckles with a yard stick!
Ripping wood by hand is probably one of the most intimidating things for people considering a hand tool only work shop; it’s time and labor intensive but once you get your head around it it quickly becomes second nature. I clearly remember thinking back when I was first considering a shop with no power tools and the idea of ripping all of the wood for a piece of furniture scared the hell out of me! That said, it’s been a year of hand saws and wood shavings and I don’t even think about it now…assembling a cut list and grab the saw. It actually doesn’t take that long either-another mis-conception I had.

So for anyone starting down this road I’ll recommend a full size panel saw in the 28″ ball park with a low tooth count for thick stock and then a smaller panel saw with a finer tooth for lighter work.
The saw bench mentioned from Woodworking Magazine is a great design and I’d recommend it to anyone but for me and my body type it wasn’t a perfect fit. Try ripping along the workbench too, this is my preferred method but again to each his own…what ever feels comfortable is always the best way to go.
Cheers!

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

As a woodworker-day in and day out, working with a medium that is truly all things living, I have a hard time not thinking about our planet, our forests and our environment. Not to get all ‘Al Gore’ on you- but global warming, green house gases and my own carbon footprint…we’ve all heard the arguments and hopefully we’re all doing our share to help. That said I just received a letter from Mark at Technoprimitives describing how he’s doing his own part. Bad Axe Tool works is his new saw manufacturing company and I thought (or hoped) that some of you out there may be interested to hear about his choices for packaging his new hand saws. This is a blog link from a company called Salazar packaging out of Chicago, they specialize in 100% recycled products. He’s also working with another company that manufacturers a void fill/blocking/cushioning product called green cell foam to safely and soundly pack his saws- which by the way should be shipping next week!
On this note, I try my best to use reclaimed lumber whenever I can but when buying from a mill it’s up to you as a woodworker to ask if the wood products you’re using are sustainably harvested. Every little bit counts right?
Here is the blog: Salazar Packaging
Cheers!

TOOLWORKS

A teaser for all of the Galoots out there patiently waiting for the Bad Axe Tool Works hand saws to become available…we’re getting closer!
Stay tuned…

A Division of TechnoPrimitives, LLC

If you’ve visited this site before then you’re already well aware of Mark Harrell, better known as- Technoprimitives.com
I first heard of Mark last year and soon after sent him a nest of old saws needing to be sharpened and restored…my story like so many others was that of awe. The saws were returned in a professional manner, better than I could have imagined. Mark and I then corresponded through the winter and more importantly became friends. Mark is about as interesting a person you’ll ever get to know, which you likely will when you do business with him-that’s the type of person he is, someone who loves what he’s doing and is doing it very, very well.
A published author, retired Army officer, recently redeployed from Afghanistan, as well as a hand tool enthusiast, with special emphasis on getting your old saws fully restored. Oh yeah, did I mention he’s also available for Renewable Energy Systems and Green Home Consultation! Seriously.

Fast forward a few months and we’ll be talking about Mark Harrell in another new light, Bad Axe Tool Works, the guy who manufactures incredible back saws down in La Crosse, Wisconsin. I’ve been biting my tongue on this information for the past few months and am happy to finally say that Bad Axe Tool Works is finally a reality.
Finely crafted back saws offered in a larger-scale saw plate than what is currently in most markets. Here are some specs for you to think about:

· Premium-grade Swedish spring steel, .025” thick, with 4” under the back for the
16” saw and 4.5” under the back for the 18” saw.

· Standard filing: 10 ppi rip for the 18” saw or 11 ppi x-cut; and 11 ppi rip for the 16” saw or 12 ppi x-cut; custom filing available at no additional charge per customer request (I requested a finer tooth count, so Mark has increased the tooth count by one for each of my custom saws)

· Cherry handles with a natural finish

· Brass fasteners with a 13/16” diameter sawnut of the deep-dish variety

· Blued steel back

Does this sound as good to you as it does to me? I’m looking forward to getting them in my hands in June and will fill you in on all of the details here…if you’d like to get more information or perhaps place an early order, (before the waiting lists start to pile up) contact Mark directly.

Cheers!

Five essentials for the beginners shop

Walk into most woodshops today and you’re likely to see a table saw, a band saw, cross cut and scroll saw, circular saw, jig saw and maybe even a reciprocating saw; but where are all of the hand saws? Amateur wood workers can feel overwhelmed when it comes time to purchase or even use a handsaw. With all of the horsepower out there it can turn into the road less traveled. There are so many to choose from, where do you begin?
Rip saws, back saws, dovetail and fret saws, Japanese and Western style, pistol grip or straight.
This is my pick for the five essentials.

First off is a Panel Saw
When we think of handsaws the first image that comes to mind is someone’s Grand Daddy leaning over a saw horse; one knee set firmly on a board cross-cutting it to a specific length. This is because that’s usually the first step when starting any project and a Panel saw is the tool for the job. A good Panel saw can range from about 22” up to about 26” in length. The blade should be good quality steel, and show about 10 tpi. (Teeth per inch) filed in a cross-cut pattern. It should have a comfortable grip and feel balanced in hand. There are a few new companies that have started making high quality hand saws again and once you start using one for cross cutting your work, you’ll never reach for your chop-saw again.

Second, a Dovetail Saw
Dovetails have become almost the signature for fine woodworking and the Dovetail saw is really the only way to achieve great results. I’ve used Japanese style as well as Western and have settled on the Western style for a couple of reasons. Moderately priced Japanese style saws seem to have really fine teeth that break when used in a lot of our Western hardwoods, as well the Japanese style saws have straight handles that never seemed to sit properly in my hand. The Western style pistol grip Dovetail Saw, with a 14 or 15 tpi filed Rip tooth pattern is in my opinion the second saw to purchase when starting out.

Third is a Small Carcass Saw
A Carcass saw is a useful tool when making cuts across the grain. When not actually cutting dovetails I use this saw the most in my collection. For small jobs like sawing Tenon shoulders and trimming pieces to fit with a Bench Hook, this is an irreplaceable tool in the wood shop. The model I use is 16’ long with a 14 tpi filed cross cut blade.

Fourth, a flush cut saw
A flush cutting saw I find quite useful in my shop for cutting plugs or dowels in furniture as well as on through Tenon joints. Anytime you have to make a flush cut, this is the tool of choice. I use a Japanese style with 22 tpi which cuts on the pull stroke.

And Finally, a Fret Saw
The last saw to make my top five is a Fret Saw. The Fret Saw, commonly used in Marquetry is another valuable tool when cutting dovetails. Once the sides or cheeks of the dovetails are cut with the Dovetail Saw, I use my Fret saw to cut out the waste as opposed to chopping it out with a chisel. This is not only a real time saver but tends to be a safer, more consistent way of achieving great results.

I think this could have easily become a ‘top-ten list’ but for the beginner who wants to use Hand saws this seems to be a good starting point. After you go through this list and do a lot of your sawing by hand you may want to expand to a Carcass Saw or a Half Back. Perhaps even a rip saw, but that’s for the true traditionalist. It’s still hard to beat a good table saw for ripping a whole lot of wood. Hey, you’ve got to embrace the technology sometimes.

RECENT COMMENT

23 February 2008

Mr. Fidgen:

I find it almost always interesting to learn the individual tool choices of others. Can you comment on your particular choice of a brand/model of panel saw you use, and why?

Thanks.

Phil Lang

tom fidgen said…

Phil,
Thanks again for the question. First off, I have two very old Disstons, one is filed cross-cut with aprox. 8 tpi ( teeth per inch ) and the other is a Rip with a 5 1/2 tpi. Both were in my family and I’ve been lucky enough to get them and use them. A well made hand saw will indeed last for generations. My most commonly used Panel saw is one I purchased; it’s a Pax Panel Saw made in England. The blade is 22′ long and it’s filed cross cut with 10 tpi. You can mail order these through Lee Valley Tools. When it came in the mail the first thing I noticed was the size of the handle. It was huge…so I replaced it with a cherry handle I carved myself. A nice touch having one custom fit for my own hand. I’ve noticed the Wenzloff & Sons saws are getting some great reviews and as soon as I can, I’ll be ordering one. I’ll let you know what I think.
Cheers.

February 25, 2008 9:41 AM

Custom Made Cherry Handle next to Original Pax

Once I decide on a project the first step after the wood species or individual planks are hand picked from the lumber rack, the first stage of dimensioning the pieces is to rough cut them to length. This of course is done by hand using Hand saws. I examine each plank looking for checks or knots, I eye down the lengths to see any warps or twists, and then once the piece has been carefully studied I cross cut it to size. I use a panel saw made in England by Pax Handsaws. First developed in 1776, Pax handsaws have a reputation for quality and performance. The alloy-steel blades are taper ground and breasted to reduce binding and the teeth are all hand set and sharpened. Some other hand saws in my collection are Western Style Saws made by Lie-Nielson Tool Works USA. Known as back-saws, they have a Solid Brass chamfered back that provides some extra weight in an other wise delicate hand tool, giving superior rigidity for a straight cut with less binding. The three back saws I have in my collection range from a 15 TPI Dovetail Saw, a 14 TPI Carcass Saw, and finally a 13 point Tenon Saw that I tend to use with a miter hook atop of my workbench.