SPLINTERS
Vol. 12/ Issue 4 Tennessee Valley Woodworkers Editor, Tom Gillard April 1998
Many thanks to Tom Cowan for the informative program on dovetailing that he presented to us at last month’s meeting. He really does make that look soooo easy. I hope there are a lot of show and tell items with dovetailed joinery at this month’s meeting.
The program for April is going to be done by Louise Green on how she and John prepare items for their craft business. Those who have seen their work on things like the “Shelf Village” which requires John’s intricate scroll saw work and Louise’s exquisite detail painting. Will be looking forward to this.
Classified ad
FOR SALE
Craftsman 18” band saw (uses 91” blade).
Craftsman router, new
For details call Bobby Stovall @
967-2761
Will Mills has bought a portable sawmill and is looking for work for it.
Call Will @598-959 1
Note from Henry:
THE NAME TAGS HAVE ARRIVED
Those of you who ordered name tags may pick them up at these months meeting. The cost is $4.50. Our name tag design is now on file with K&S Trophies in Tullahoma. If you need a name tag in the future just go by K&S
at 510 Country Club Dr. or call them at 455-7359 (1-800-834-6281 for those outside Tullahoma), and Suanna will know what tag to made for you. If the trip to Tullahoma is a problem, call Henry at 393-3191 and he will take care of it for you.
Circle Cutter Hazard
Jet engine rotors are painted so you can tell at a glance when they have stopped revolving-or baven’t. Ne taken this as a caution and marked the outermost point of my circle cutter where not to put my hand or sleeve.
Duck River Electric Building, Decherd, TN
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Third Tuesday of the Month 21-Apr-98
I was given some tips on having successful glue joints, and would like to pass them along:
Never sand a surface before gluing. Sanding flattens wood fibers and inhibits glue penetration.
Use wood with a moisture content of no more than 6 to 8 percent.
Only moisture-curing polyurethane likes wet wood.
Tighten clamps just enough to make joints come together.
Overdoing it can starve the joint by squeezing out too much glue.
Use glue at room temperature, and work within its open time (the minutes before it sets up and can no longer bond at full strength). Humidity affects open time; in Washington, D.C., you might have five minutes, but only two in drier Las Vegas.
Fit twice; clamp once. Releasing clamps to shift glued wood weakens the joint.
Be patient with clamps. Leave them in place for an hour (yellow glue) to overnight (resorcenol and urea-formaldehyde).
Scrape off old glue before regluing a joint.
Don’t use glue past its prime; signs of old age include clumping, separation and excessive viscosity.
The TN Valley Woodworkers:
John Green: John has been a woodworker so long he can’t remember the exact number of years. He likes the feel, sight, and smell of wood. We may be in for a treat when he finishes his hand crafted dulcimer. We need another good musical show and tell. He is interested in construction and innovation. His first project was a card table he made as a freshman in high school. He doesn’t still have the piece but his parents and sister used it for many years. His hopes are to keep plugging along, learning and passing things along.
Bernie Kollstedt: Bernie has been working with wood for about 30 years because he likes wood. His most enjoyable and interesting project was a cherry gun cabinet which had a unique design. He is interested in the construction of wooden items. One of his first projects was a bookshelf that was used as a room divider.
Bill Knight: Bill has been involved in woodworking for about 13 years. He started playing around with tools he bought after retiring from the world of work. He started turning after attending a workshop at Arrowmont. This was the first time he had used a lathe. He started turning lidded bowls and loved to experiment with different woods in different combinations just to see how they would turn out. He still has his first turnings, made at Arrowmont.
TOOLS AND TOOL COLLECTING
The lovable little Stanley No. I
Stanley tools represent a major category of collectible tools, and can form the basis for a rewarding and stimulating hobby. One of the most desirable of Stanley tools for the collector is the diminutive Stanley No. 1 bench plane. This tiny, 5-1/2” long plane poses some interesting mysteries for the collector. First, what was it used for? It’s so small-that even a craftsman with a small hand finds it uncomfortable to use. And second, for a tool that was manufactured in abundance over a 73 year period (1870-1943), why should it be so scarce?
As to the first mystery-its size-the explanation is relatively straightforward. These planes were designed for use by elementary school woodworking classes, and were used in the introduction to the proper care and use of woodworking planes.
The second mystery requires a more hypothetical explanation. With the advent of U.S. involvement in W.W. II came the need for scarce raw materials by factories involved in the rapidly increasing war production industries. Those with memories reaching back that far remember that not only were civilians in general involved in paper and fat saving drives, among others, but schools and other institutions also were called on to collect and donate large amounts of scrap material.
The widespread draft also was a factor. Shop teachers, especially at the elementary school level, came into short supply overnight, thus freeing up the tools and materials formerly used in their courses as vital scrap. Since the majority of No. 1 planes produced were to be found in schools, a large number of these planes were absorbed by the wartime scrap drives.
In case you’re thinking of purchasing a Stanley No. 1, be prepared to pay between $400 and $650 for an example in good or better condition. Also be sure to buy from a reputable dealer who will guarantee the plane is genuine.
Wood Magazine issue No. 1 Sept/Oct 1984.
Today, most clothing is colored by manufactured dyes. But that wasn’t always the case. Until about 1910, natural dyes were the only means of doing this. As a result, certain dyewood trees were crucial in world commerce. And the quest for them played an important part in the development of some nations.
The earliest documentation of dye being extracted from wood was by Marco Polo in 1299 when he discusses the methods used by the Asian people. It is widely thought that the wood he was discussing is sapan, an important article of commerce dating the Middle Ages.
Pernambuco’s history goes back to the Portuguese discovery of it in South America in 1500. On a voyage back to Portugal, a cargo of pernambuco logs became wet and dyed the interior of the ship red. When the ship reached port, the reaction of the Portuguese citizens was so overwhelming that the Crown took notice and by the year 1623 the Portuguese had put a royal monopoly on pernambuco, restricting its extraction and exportation.
Other countries could only .acquire pernambuco by permission of the Portuguese Crown. This monopoly held until 1910,when an abundance of logs and the introduction of artificial means of manufacturing dyes caused the bottom to fall out of the dyewood market.
So how did pernambuco name Brazil? The Portuguese called it dyewood, but in their language dye is pronounced brazil., Since this wood was exploited from a region in South America, that region was named Brazil. Its trade name is pernambuco because it originates in the State - of Pernambuco in Brazil.
Several other species that yield red or orange dye are referred to as brazilwood, too, but with these there’s no geographical significance. And whatever happened to pernambuco? Today, this wood is used almost exclusively to manufacture the finest violin bows.
Wood Anecdotes, Wood Magazine Issue No I.