closer to hone

Re: Garry's (from Lee Valley) advice on recovering my ceramic stone.

Late yesterday I tried using the DMT medium grit plate in a figure-8 pattern on the hone.

Success!
All but one scratch and one pit have been eradicated.
The surface is once again visibly reflective and slightly "sticks" to a granite plate.

I'll be working on a chisel later this evening to see if it's truly up to snuff again.

up in the Valley

I was able to make time to visit the beautiful new Lee Valley location in Vaughan, ON. Opening week for any new store means special guests and special events. As befit the occasion, they got one of my tied-for-first-place-favourite authors to attend, so I dropped everything to be there. Heck, I'd have tied the Pope's shoes together for a chance to see this guy in person.

The other foamers and I were there to see "Workbenches 101": A Participatory History, by Chris Schwarz. Forty or more of us packed into the high-ceilinged clinic area and Chris led us through an hour of images covering a thorough retrospective of workbenches and their features, asking the group to call out the answers to his many leading questions designed to reveal the growth and regression of this vital piece of workshop furniture. I was struck by first image of an Egyptian "bench" which, like its owner, sat on the floor and seemed to offer little more than a groove to jam a workpiece against while being hacked at by a rock on a stick. Must've come from the first "Lee Valley of the Kings" catalogue. The entire series of pictures (covering over a thousand years) showed us that there are no new ideas in the workbench realm, but there are some really bad ones.

There was a brief break for refreshments and book signings of The Anarchist's Toolchest & Campaign Furniture tomes. Since I had (foolishly) not brought my copies of these books, nor either of his own workbench volumes along, on the spur of the moment I asked him to sign Scott Landis' venerable workbench book instead. Cool guy that he is, Chris did so, and with a chuckle.

The break was followed by a lively & lengthy Q&A session on all workbench topics from material choices, feature set, the "carcass" test which gauges the ability to work faces, edges & ends of stock & cabinet assemblies, workholding options, laminated vs slab tops, and (of course) height. Despite reading his (and Landis', and other's works) prior to attending, I feel like I'll be able to construct a more suitable bench for myself thanks to this session.

Chris is a personable and erudite presenter; exceeding my already high expectations based on his many DVD appearances and writing style. Pace and content were both excellent, with a judicious application of humour throughout. Past experience has been that, in person, celebrities are not as witty, charming, and open as they seem on the page or screen. Mr. Schwarz certainly was all of these thing, and then some.

Before the clinic started, Lee Valley employee Garry walked me through some possible routes to recover my 5000 grit ceramic honing stone. One side has become measurably pitted and scratched - not 100% sure what happened, but I think it's a result of my (former) cleaning method. Garry offered several suggestions to correct the issue and bring the other side (currently sporting a thick adhesive label) into productive use as well. The DMT coarse/medium diamond plate does a fine job of creating a sharp edge, but the ceramic stone really polishes the working faces to a mirror shine.

Naturally, there were some minor purchases made as I puttered through the aisles waiting for the event to start - I've never been able to walk out of a Lee Valley store without something.

Later, I watched as Megan Fitzpatrick almost set fire to a thick piece of hard maple in the elevated demo area of the new store as she was removing waste from the dovetails. A few fine wisps of smoke rose from the cut as she toiled on the rock-hard workpiece. The teeth of the blade were too finely pitched, demanding significant effort; I doubt I would have made it as far as she did. We spoke briefly about her preferred dovetailing method, ways to tune up an Olsen-style coping saw, how cool the Knew Concepts saws are, and how certain classes at Lee Valley always sold out immediately (especially "Women and Power Tools"). Due to work schedule, I was unable to attend her DIY seminar. I like her writing style and feel I've missed out by not seeing one of her clinics in person.

Robin Lee was present and I took the chance to open a conversation with him. Since I'm a big fan of Lee Valley's Veritas line and now have a greater appreciation of the efforts and factors involved in manufacturing, I wanted to thank him for making these delectable tools available despite the many challenges presented by today's economy. We discussed Lee Valley's extensive hand tool reference museum, manual skill building, the perceived value of manual labour, possible ressurection of shop classes in public schools, Festool's product range, the myriad joys of building things for oneself, the rising "Maker" movement, further plans for the new store, and various tangents to these topics (including the culinary arts).

I bumped into fellow attendee Robert, who has coincidentally been in several previous Lee Valley classes I've taken with instructor Steven Der-Garabedian of Black Walnut Studio. Robert is also a big vintage hand-tool fan and I've also run into him at a couple of the well stocked Antique Tool shows in the east end of the city. We were both looking for the same moulding planes at the last event (snipe bill & side round). I hope there are enough of these to go around as interest in old-school hand-tool use continues to rise.

The next group of rabid fans and I crowded back into the clinic room for Chris to present "An Introduction to Campaign Furniture". He spoke at length about the origins of the style, spotting features, functionality, development, and why it's worthy of study and reproduction. Now, I've been to a lot of clinics/seminars for work, wood, and other hobbies. I've never been in one with fewer coughs, rattles, wrapper-crinkling, cell phone bleeps, and side-conversations; a massive sign of respect for the presenter.

Chris brought along a vintage, upholstered, folding Douro chair and the original packing box (lettered T.H. Thompson, Esq. 78th Highlanders) which itself morphs into a low dining/writing/card table. Also on-hand were two recently made 3-legged folding stools with rivetted leather seats. Sadly, the rated capacity on these are markedly less than my current bulk so I didn't dare try them. I'm sure the components can be scaled up. Also shown was a clever, metal legged folding stool with a slung canvas seat which has been in continuous production for well over 150 years. The folding, flat-pack bookcase featured in the new book was present for insepection. Top-notch brass hardware and a simple design hints strongly that something very like this will show up as a bedside replacement to my existing (inadequate) arrangement. Attendees were free to examine & photograph the pieces, asking questions as they came to mind.

One of the clinic attendees brought along two of his own Roorkee chairs (he's made 7 so far!) - one done in cherry with cream leather and the other in vivid purpleheart with rich burgundy leather complete with a matching foot-stool. Outstanding!

Chris carried on with another Q&A session about vintage & modern material choices, hardware types & sources, design considerations, where this style slots in between Victorian and Modern, finishing options, how certain tranformable "patent" furniture might well fit into the Steampunk aesthetic, Lost Art Press's upcoming "Furniture of Necessity" book, the rewards of being able to publish your own material to you own schedule, and so forth.

More books were signed, including my copies of 1st edition of The Anarchist's Tool Chest, The Joiner & Cabinet Maker (possibly my favoutite textbook ever), and Campaign Furniture. I did briefly think about bringing the Robert Wearing and Chris's workbench books, but it seemed like too much to ask.

Sad to see the day come to an end.

debunk the junk

In the course of my travels and interactions, I am exposed to many other hobby and craft pursuits. While there are examples of good products and tools available in these areas (some of which are suitable for model railway applications) there is a huge amount of poor quality crap on the shelves. Items that are noisy, badly formed, and lack robustness are everywhere. And, while they are cheaply made, they are not inexpensive. Nothing can ruin your fun faster than using bad tools and bad materials; unless you've also paid a premium price for the item(s).

There is something in the hobbyist jewellery milieu called a "bead spinner". It's meant to simply help you get a whole bunch of glass (or other) beads onto a thread quickly and easily. Every example of this tool I've seen has been either completely half-arsed or so noisy that you can't even think while you're using it.

I made several disparaging comments to the tool user (my better half) about the device(s) she has tried. Understandably, I've been tasked to come up with something better, quieter, and likely to last more than a couple of weeks. You'd think I'd learn to keep my mouth shut but, frankly, I couldn't hear my cartoons over the noise of the last unit.

I've already sourced the major components for a prototype. Just working out some details based on a wish-list of features. The most important items for any spinning device are the bearings, so they were dealt with first...

negative posting

Spent 1/2 the day removing six posts from the back yard; two were set in concrete. This is on top of the two something-stronger-than-concrete-embedded 4"x4"s already removed. None of these gave any real clue as to their intended purpose. Well, the 4"x4"s might have been used to support a hammock, but it would have been in full sun and usable by no one taller than about 4'6".

Getting the metal posts out seemed like it was going to be a problem; they were sledgehammered in and there was really nothing to grab hold of. I ended up cross-drilling the posts 7/16" and fitting a 4"x3/8" SHCS through the holes. The SHCS was passed through a length of chain, then through the post, the through the chain again. This made a loop of chain for grip. I was intending to borrow my neighbour's 2T engine hoist to extract the posts but, alas, he was away. Two of the posts came straight up with leverage from bent knees under the forearms. Two more came up using the block of cement as a fulcrum for a class 2 lever. The concrete posts required digging out on one side, hauling back-and-forth with the chain, then pulling straight up.

Oddly enough, that's when my neighbour came home. Ah, well - I needed the exercise.

Subsequent to this, four spikes were made from two 8' pieces of re-bar. An angle grinder (thanks, Bill!) halved them nicely. A small sledge formed a hook at one end of each with only one mashed finger to show for it. These spikes were then shoved and pounded obliquely into the ground at each corner of the gazebo frame. Often the winds whip through this area with some speed. The piddling 6" toothpicks provided with the gazebo would offer no resistance to anything stronger than a cool breeze.

(A strong, late Autumn beeze did buckle the horizontal members. These will have to be replaced)

getting a handle

In the process of setting up and testing the newly acquired lathe:



I went ahead and turned some aluminium pieces to repair a useful but poorly made rolling cart. The plastic handle had cracked where it met the telescoping tubes coming out of the body of the cart itself. The plugs are 1/2" diameter, 1-3/4" long blanks sawn off a rod, faced, drilled & tapped 1/4-20. They are cross-drilled and tapped 10-24 to re-attach to the tubes. The handle is a wooden dowel shaped on a disc sander and counterbored to accept the plugs. 1/4-20 countersunk bolts were used to connect the plugs to the handle. Since everything fits, I can take it apart to polish the aluminium and varnish the wood.

peg leg

I've now managed to adjust the mill in a satisfactory manner. Not perfect, but adequate to task for the time being.

Started in on the current project; it's for an MV Agusta F4. I need to fit the footpeg from a 750cc model to a 1000cc model (again, don't ask). The 750 peg is wider, so it has to be milled down on either side. Trouble is, it's shaped like a banana. Coming up with a safe way to hold it during milling was interesting. I thought of a dozen bizarre and overly complicated approaches until finally settling on this:


It seems so simple in retrospect.

Cuts were .005" per pass, and the material came off in little shavings, but floated around like powder. Had to take a little over .030" off each side. Not sure what the alloying elements are, except that I was assured "no magnesium". The thinned 'peg fit nicely into the intended bracket width, except that the inboard radius is too large to admit the pin:


Must now mount the rotary table (finally, an excuse to use it) and come up with another, hopefully elegant, way to hold the 'peg securely while reducing the radius. Only the simple fabrication of a pin remains after that.

now what?

The column is now vertical (within acceptable limits).
- DTI held in headstock via collet, tramming up & down a right-angle (1-2-3 block) sitting on table.
The dovetail mount is parallel to the Z-axis travel.
- DTI held on table, clocking off bearing face of dovetail
The ER16 headstock is clamped to the dovetail and the vertical (fixed) face of the headstock body is parallel with the Z-axis.
- DTI held on table, clocking off fixed face of headstock body.

However, the spindle axis does not appear to be parallel with the Z-axis.

When sweeping the table with the DTI over a 10" radius, a difference of .006" is registered between the tops of the 1-2-3 blocks on each side of the table.

Possible sources of the error:
- ER16 spindle ball-bearing bores not parallel to bearing face of dovetail
- dovetail mount not true
- buildup of measuring errors

A 5/16" piece of drill rod through a collet gave visual indication that the spindle was, indeed, slightly off vertical compared to a square on the table itself.

The whole purpose of the tramming the mill is to ensure that the cutter is running truly and the headstock moves accurately with respect to all axes of traverse.

A simple expedient to deal with this last error is to snug up the dovetail mount cap screws and tweak the headstock while sweeping the table, then re-tighten the cap screws. Luckily the SHCS's are accessible with the headstock mounted.

Should be OK to go ahead and re-mount the motor and start cutting again, but these errors and faults will all need proper correction (possibly through re-machining or grinding) at some later stage in the game...

here we go a-trammelling

I've spent some time re-tramming my Taig 2019CR mill. So far it remains unconverted to CNC. Well, I never said my time management was anything to be proud of.

It is critically important to get the vertical column ways (Z-axis) dead square to the table surface (X-axis) and, at the same time, get the spindle centreline parallel to the Z-axis travel. All sorts of odd errors creep into one's workpieces if the latter is missed; the most prevalent being a dished surface when flycutting during an X-axis traverse.

Similarly, the Z-axis ways must be square to the table surface (Y-axis) otherwise more unwanted errors creep in. This goal is harder to achieve due to the the Taig's column-to-base design. Suffice to say some shimming can be necessary if adjustment is required. Make sure the mating faces of the column and base are scrupulously clean before assembly.

My column is tipped backwards at ~.001" in 3" slope. Due to workspace constraints, I cannot readily correct this fault. This will manifest itself as a small positional error when moving the spindle downwards over long distances. Since the Z-axis is limited to 6" of travel, this effect should not prove too great an inconvenience. However, it can also generate a ridge in the milled surface (along the X-axis) when surfacing with a large radius cutter. Since inserion of the shim to correct the front-to-back error would disturb the current side-to-side setting (error ~.00025" in 3") , I will forego the adjustment for a short time.

I have read online forums that suggest shimming under the spindle mount dovetail to correct the error. This will address the "ridging" problem, but not the positional error created by Z-axis downfeed.

model engineering terms

I've created a cross-reference table of terms that I've come across in older textbooks and tutorials that were written by British authors. The table provides a North American equivalent term or phrase where possible.

So, if you don't know what a "Mole wrench" is, see my Current Projects page for this reference. I will try to update it when new information comes to light.

finish it

Some interesting experiments in surface finishing this weekend. I had picked up some gun bluing from the local "outdoor" store. I treated some small steel blocks and they turned out fairly well, if a little "splotchy" in places. I felt that it was possible to achieve a higher finish quality.

I asked some local experts and, as expected, received varying advice. Procedures for cold bluing differ due to personal preference and chemical composition of the bluing itself. There are some blues which are simply not available in Canada due to import restrictions or other Customs complications.

The basic premise is to provide a finish that resists corrosion. Old-school techniques like heating the steel to a certain colour and plunging the workpiece into a bath of motor oil are fine if you have a proper place to do that kind of work.

I did manage to achieve an "oily water" finish that is interesting if not wholly intentional. Initial research into the various processes opens up a fascinating range of possibilities for future projects. It's certainly a non-trivial subject.