Home Page

Stefan's Florilegium

woodworking-msg



This document is also available in: text or RTF formats.

woodworking-msg - 2/13/08

 

Woodworking tools and techniques.

 

NOTE: See also the files: wood-msg, wood-bending-msg, wood-finishes-msg, tools-msg, tools-bib, tools-lnks, merch-woods-msg, Tool-Making-art, Sharpng-Tools-art, mkng-a-p-lathe-art, p-lathes-bib.

 

************************************************************************

NOTICE -

 

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

 

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

 

I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.

 

The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors.

 

Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s).

 

Thank you,

    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous

                                          Stefan at florilegium.org

************************************************************************

 

Subj: Spears and shafts_

Date: 24 Feb 92

From: tip at lead.aichem.arizona.edu (Tom Perigrin)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Organization: University of Arizona UNIX Users Group

 

Unto Lothar the Wanderer,  doth Thomas Ignatius Perigrinus send his

humble greetings,

 

My Lord,  thou speaks most truely when thou doest say that ash is a goodly

wood for to use in hafting a spear.  An it would'st please thee, may I

add a few points to thy message?

 

First,  thou dids't mention a lathe as to the rounding of the shaft.  May

I suggest that this may not be the method of choice for several reasons:

 

Imprimus;   turning a shaft of 2 fingers thickness but more than 6 cubits

length woulds't be most difficult.  The wood would tend to flex most

severly, and would retreat from the tool, leading to an action that turners

do call "whip".   I'faith,  were the shaft long enough,  I would fear me that

the shaft would whip itself free of the centers, and strike thee a sharp blow

as it did fly from the layth.

 

Secundus;   Even my largest lathe be but 5 cubits in length, and longer are

most difficult to find.

 

Thus, an it doth please My Lord, may I suggest the following in it's stead?

 

 

First,  hie thee to a goodly wood cutters, and beg to examine all their

stock.  Find thee a board of goodly thickness,  such as 8 quarters or 10

quarters.  Cant it up upon the ground, and site thee the length, and proove

that there be no cup, nor wind, nor other deviations from good straightness.

Then, lay down the board, and look thee at the grain....   Assure thyself

that the grain be good and straight,  with little or no wave or cant.

 

Then buy thee this board,  and take it to one who has a goodly rip saw (a

bandsaw shall function most excellently)      Now cut thee a strip but 1/4

inch in thickness from the edge, running the full length of thy board.  

Take up this strip, and grabbing it firmly between thy hands about 1

cubit apart, see an thou mayst bend it unto the half part of a right angle.

An it doth hold, then move thy hands a lngth, and test again,  and so forth,

until thou hast proven the whole length.

 

An it doth break,  thou hast purchased a brash board,  and it is useless

unto thy purpose.   Nor can'st thou apprehend a board which is brash by any

simpler examination.  I have taken two oak planks that to all outwards

appearances were brothers,  yet one was brash and did in all cases break as I

did assay to make the rim of a great wheel of it,  yet it's brother was sweet,

and did bend well without the slightest crack or plaint.

 

Now that thou hast found a sweet board,  saw thee a square billet the

length of thy board.   Then, find thee a goodly drawknife, or a spokeshave.

I myself do prefer the former since one can cut both thick and thin, and

pare most cunning fine,  whereas the the spokeshave is limited in it's bite.

Then affix thy billet in a vice, and begin to shave thy shaft.

 

The vice that thou woulds't use should not be a common joyners vice,  for

that woulds't bite too deeply and mar the wood, an it is not quick to release

the wood.  In it's stead thous shoulds't use a shaving horse,  or a shaving

bight.  The latter is most easy to make, an so I shall describe it thus;

 

Find thee a beam that doth sit horisontal.   The rail of a fence, or a

beam affixzed in a joyners vice shall serve.   Then take thee a loop of

rope, neither so short that thou cans't neer pass both beam and shaft

throu't, nor so long that it doth hang so loose,  but just such a length

that when thou dost place the shaft and the beam through the loop that they

do lie snugly, but thou can'st turn thy shaft.   Then, cant thy shaft around

so that it comes to make an angle with the beam - this shall tighten thy bight,

and thou shalt find that thy shaft is held firm from turning,  until

thou does't walk it back unto alignment with the beam.

 

Then, take thee thy knife or shave,  cant thy shaft until it lies snug,

hold the free end of thy shaft under thy arm,  and begin to shave thy

shaft.

 

With a drawknife,  thou shouldst use the flat side,  so that thou does not

bite too deeply.  Thou shoulds't consider the shape that thous wouldst thy

shaft to have -  and it be round,  it may notbe so easy to grasp when it

is wet or thy hand is gloved gainst the cold...   I would humbly suggest that

thous does't shave it of 8 or 12 sides.

 

When thou shavest thy shaft,  draw it not straight an plane,  but consider

the grain in thy wood.  Where it doth rise slightly,  then leave that

slight proud,  so that thou hast not cut cross the grain... this shall

give thee much more strength than thou mightst come to expect,  for that

a crack in would doth almost always progress from some point where the

grain has been cut...   Avoid thee cutting the grain, and thou shalst have

the greastes strenth of thy wood.

 

 

Once thous hast drawn it to thy shape,  then consider thee the finishing of

thy wood.   My good Lord Lothar did suggest that one should first to oil

their wood, and then to apply some resin or varnish.   I might suggest

that therein can lie disaster,  for not all resins nor varnishes will adhere

to an oiled bit of wood.   It can be repelled so that none may stick, else

it may rise up and crack, or it may form large flakes which dot remind one

of a lepers skin under the noon day sun.  An thou woulds't to follow this

advice,  first take thee a small amount of thy wood, thy oil, and thy

varnish, and prove it aside afore tthou dost commit thy greater work.

 

 

I faith,  I myself do favor the following finish,  which, although it is

not so hard, nor so glossy as many brews that do abound this day,  is

true and tested, and has been in use since antiquity...

 

Take thee a pound of good beeswax, and warm it gentle until it has melted.

Then take thee a quart of good tung oil, and mix it with a quart of good

turpentine,  and then cast these into the wax with rapid stirring.  As it

doth cool, it shall give thee a pleasant smelling paste which shall enter the

wood freely, and after a day may be buffed unto a dull warm glow.  Tis not

a hard finish,  but it doth smell well,  an when tis damaged, may it can

be repaired by so simple a means as buffing more on.   Thou shoulds't store

that which thou has not used in so tight a can as thou may find,  for the

air do cause it to harden.

 

And thus, in short and in plano,  is how I might process to make such a

shaft as to which enquiries were made.   I fear me that I have left out

much of the process,  for the use of a drawknife is such that may be best

learned at the hand of a master, and not by reading a missive upon the

Rialto.  But mayhaps my humble efforts at expostualting my course will

help thee upon thine.  And thus, I remain,

 

thy humble and thankful servant

Thomas Ignatius Perigrinus

 

 

From: brettm at execu.execu.com (Brett Miller)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: period woodworking

Date: 12 Oct 93 19:44:36 GMT

Organization: Comshare, Inc. Ann Arbor Development Center

 

      I might warn anyone seeking to work in "period" styles that if you're going to use the original tools/techniques (let's

say about pre-1600), you're going to need a fair amount of skill.

Much embellisment was done through carving while most joinery

was done using simple mortice and tenon joints.  Planes were

simple at best.  In fact, most tools hadn't changed a whole lot

from Roman times.  To put things in perspective, many early wood

workers refused to use a saw because they believed that it showed

that the workman had insufficient skill to use an axe.

 

      As for me, I'm kind of a modern guy.  I use 18th-19th

century woodworking tools.

 

Brett

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Brett Miller

Comshare Inc, Ann Arbor MI

brettm at comshare.com

 

 

From: timsmith at oasys.dt.navy.mil (Tim Smith)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: period woodworking

Date: 12 Oct 93 22:07:39 GMT

Organization: David Taylor Model Basin

 

Poklon k Fiammetta Attavanti (y Rialtogradu) ot Timofeya Ivanovichya!

 

A very useful text is:

 

Author:        Goodman, William Louis.

Title:         The history of woodworking tools [by] W. L. Goodman. New

York,

                 D. McKay Co. [1966, c1964]

Description:   208 p. illus. 26 cm.

 

Subjects:      Woodworking tools -- History.

 

Other entries: Woodworking tools.

 

Call numbers:  UCB   ForestPrd TH5618 .G6 1964

 

I've also found Roy Underhill's Woodwright books to be very useful.  A

lot of his stuff is nineteenth century, at the very apogee of

traditional woodworking technique and technology, but the roots extend

much, much deeper.

I believe it's

 

11. Underhill, Roy.

      The woodwright's eclectic workshop / Roy Underhill. Chapel Hill

:

    University of North Carolina Press, c1991.

        UCB   Forestry  TT185 .U52 1991

 

that starts with an illustrated essay on "The Debate of the Carpenter's

Tools," a 16th century bit of doggerel that, Underhill argues, was

clearly written by a carpenter.  (Who else would think a plane and a

broad axe were nearly identical tools?)

 

Good luck, and may the cuts on your hands heal quickly.

 

Dosvedanya,

 

Timofei Ivanovitch       Ponte Alto       Atlantia

 

 

From: tip at lead.aichem.arizona.edu (Tom Perigrin)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: oak spears?

Date: 24 Mar 1994 18:59:19 GMT

Organization: Department of Chemistry

 

jab2 at stl.stc.co.uk (Jennifer Ann Bray) wrote:

>

> In the "lawsuit" thread I saw a mention of oak spears being banned in

> SCA combat on safety grounds. I'm curious as we fight with metal

> weapons and use wooden spear hafts with metal tips (for hand held

> spears not for throwing). The most popular wood is ash, but I have

> seen all sorts used, and whilst they occasionally break it's never

> been a real problem. It's pretty obvious when a spear's broken & you

> just drop it and either grab a back up weapon or leg it.

 

[snip]

>

> Anyone know what happened with oak spears that caused them to be

> banned? If there's a potential problem that we haven't run across yet

> I'd like to know about it.

 

Oak can be "brash".  You can have two seemingly similar pieces of oak,

and one will bend without breaking and return elastically to the original

shape,  while the other one will bend to the same point and then suddenly

shatter, yeilding a large number of splinters and a couple of splintery

ends.  I can see how long splinters and splintered ends could be dangerous

in a melee.  

 

Furniture shops that steam bend oak would love to be able to spot brash

boards, as the sudden failure not only causes the lass of a workpiece, but

it can also damage the machine or the workers due to the sudden release of

tension.   Unfortunately there is no reliable method of spotting brash oak.

 

Note that brashness doesn't imply that the only change is a significantly

reduced modulus of elasticity - it also implies a significant change in the

mode of failure.   A brash failure is a nearly explosive release of tension

rather than a more normal break occuring at reduced deflection.

 

If I remember correctly, white oak has a worse tendancy towards brashness

than red oak.   Ash does not have this tendancy towards brashness.

 

A good source for more information would be Bruce Hoadley's book:

 

AUTHOR       Hoadley, R. Bruce.

TITLE        Understanding wood : a craftsman's guide to wood

              technology.

PUBLISHER    Newtown, Conn. : Taunton Press, c1980.

SUBJECTS     Woodwork.

              Wood.

NOTE         Includes index.

              Bibliography: p. [248]-250.

DESCRIPTION  xiii, 256 p. : ill. ; 29 cm.

ISBN         0918804051 : $17.95.

 

On a personal note, I have steam bent red oak for walking wheel rims. I

found that about one out of six of the boards I used were brash.

 

Humbly, I remain your servant

Thomas Ignatius Perigrinus

 

 

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

From: rzex60 at email.sps.mot.com (Jason Magnus)

Subject: Re: Rope beds

Organization: The Polyhedron Group

Date: Fri, 24 Jun 1994 21:48:07 GMT

 

In article <1994Jun24.100402.33171 at hulaw1.harvard.edu>,

schuldy at zariski.harvard.edu (Mark Schuldenfrei) wrote:

 

> keegan at netcom.com (Tim Bray/C. Keegan) writes:

>   My own rather limited experience leads me to conclude that Tage Frid is

>   right; if you have mortise chisels and know how to use them, chopping a

>   mortice out by hand is the fastest method.  In softer woods, I believe it

>   is faster than boring and chopping/paring.  In hard wood (like oak) it

>   may be faster, for large mortises, to bore out first and pare to the lines.

 

In my experience making furniture, it's -consistently- been much faster to

make mortices with mortise chisels than it is with drills, etc., in either

softwood or hardwood. In fact, hardwood goes -faster- than softwood, and

does a cleaner job. The only time I bore out a mortice first now is when

I'm doing something huge, say the size of a 2x4. Even then, I -might- do it

by hand.

 

I followed the instructions in one of Tage Frid's articles in Fine

Woodworking, and found it rather an easy skill to pick up. For tenons, I've

found it a toss-up between hand and power tools. If I'm only doing a few

tenons, I use hand tools. If I'm doing a production run with a lot of

duplicate pieces, I'll use my tablesaw and a tenoning jig that I've made.

Either way, with practice and the right tools, it's a breeze. And it's FUN,

too!

--

Regards, Jason Magnus (aka Jay Brandt)         <rzex60 at email.sps.mot.com>

In the SCA, HLS Jason of Rosaria, JdL, GdS, AoA           (Member # 3016)

 

 

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

From: rzex60 at email.sps.mot.com (Jason Magnus)

Subject: Re: Tusk-tennons

Organization: The Polyhedron Group

Date: Thu, 23 Jun 1994 21:05:51 GMT

 

Suze.Hammond at f56.n105.z1.fidonet.org (Suze Hammond) wrote:

 

>  BM> In article <keeganCrq582.Jrt at netcom.com> keegan at netcom.com (Tim

>  BM> Bray/C. Keegan) writes: >Jason Magnus (rzex60 at email.sps.mot.com) wrote:

>  > Tusk-tenons are period and work really

>  >well for knockdown joinery, but I haven't worked out how to design a

>  >joint to use them in this application.

>  >

>  >Regards,

>  >Tim

>

> Can anyone describe these? My friend Ed is a cabinetmaker, recently become

> interested in period techniques, and never heard of this one...

 

A 'normal' tennon, also called a blind tennon, does not go all the way

through the morticed item. They may be fixed in place with glue, with pegs

from the side, with a water-swolen friction fit, or with small wedges that

brace against the bottom of the mortice and spread the tennon as it is

forced into the hole (this last type is called a 'fox wedged' tennon).

 

A 'through' tennon does go through the morticed item, and usually stops

flush with the far surface. Often these are fixed in place with wedges

driven in from the far side, or less commonly with pegs from the side.

 

A 'tusk' tennon is a period joint for knock-down furniture. It is often

found on trestle tables and other furniture that must be repeatedly

assembled and disassembled, but which needs to be sturdy. Look for examples

where the streacher rail of a trestle table meets the leg. In some cases it

is also found in timber-frame architectural woodworking as a decorative

joint.

 

Start with through-tennon that extends past the far side of the mortice and

which has a hole piercing top to bottom (or side to side) through the

tennon. The mortise is a square or rectangular hole that goes all the way

through the leg or rail that the part with the tennon is to attach to. The

tennon is the narrowed-down end of the rail that goes into this hole, and

in this case goes several inches past the far side. What makes it a 'tusk

tennon' is the hole in the tennon, which has a tapered peg (the 'tusk') in

it, locking the joint together. This hole is placed so the side toward the

mortice remains a bit within the mortice, while the rest of the hole is

exposed. The tennon is held firmly in place in its mortice by a tapered peg

through that hole, that acts against the far side of the mortice. When

assembled, the tennon end with the peg piercing it sort of resembles the

head of a tusked mammal, thus the name.

 

I'd be happy to field other questions on period woodworking and joinery.

I've got a fair amount of reference materials, research, and practical

experience in that area.

--

Regards, Jason Magnus (aka Jay Brandt)         <rzex60 at email.sps.mot.com>

In the SCA, HLS Jason of Rosaria, JdL, GdS, AoA           (Member # 3016)

 

 

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

From: keegan at netcom.com (Tim Bray/C. Keegan)

Subject: Re: Tusk-tennons

Date: Fri, 24 Jun 1994 04:56:40 GMT

 

Suze Hammond (Suze.Hammond at f56.n105.z1.fidonet.org) wrote:

:  BM> In article <keeganCrq582.Jrt at netcom.com> keegan at netcom.com (Tim

:  BM> Bray/C. Keegan) writes: >Jason Magnus (rzex60 at email.sps.mot.com) wrote:

:  > Tusk-tenons are period and work really

:  >well for knockdown joinery, but I haven't worked out how to design a

:  >joint to use them in this application.

:  >

:  >Regards,

:  >Tim

 

: Can anyone describe these? My friend Ed is a cabinetmaker, recently become

: interested in period techniques, and never heard of this one...

 

: .. Moreach  | Suze.Hammond at f56.n105.z1.fidonet.org  

 

 

Hmmm....  Have him look them up in a book such as "Tage Frid Teaches

Woodworking, Vol. 1: Joinery,"  Taunton Press.  Or some such.  Basically,

a tusk-tenon (also sometimes called a wedged through-tenon) has a tenon

that extends all the way through a mortise and some distance out the far

side.  A hole or slot is chopped or bored through the projecting part of

the tenon just at the point where it emerges from the mortise, and a

wedge or tapered pin is inserted through this hole to tighten the joint.

 

There are a jillion variations on this joint; it can be oriented in a

number of ways, and the tusk-holes can be vertical, crosswise, single,

double, etc.  It is extremely versatile for knockdown joinery, becasue

you just withdraw the pin or wedge to disassemble the joint.

 

Tusk-tenons have been applied to everything from fine furniture to

barns.  They can be any size, from less than an inch to more than a foot

in any dimension.  They can sometimes be a pain to make, and you havve to

watch the grain and strength of the wood because the wedges exert

terrific force and can split the tenon.  But they are incomparable for

rigid yet easily assembled joints.

 

Hope this helps...

 

Colin

The WoodWrong Shop

 

 

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

From: keegan at netcom.com (Tim Bray/C. Keegan)

Subject: Re: Using Hand Tools - Sources?

Date: Sun, 26 Jun 1994 06:17:23 GMT

 

Bruce Mills (millsbn at mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca) wrote:

: Ok, here's my stoopid question for today.

 

: Anybody have any source material or references on how to use hand tools

: (period or not)?

 

: Since I have next to no experience, best to start with overview type stuff.

 

: Akimoya

 

"Tage Frid teaches Woodworking, Vol. 1: Joinery" is an excellent text for

learning both modern and traditional joinery.  Frid is a proponent of

hand tools for M&T joints, using primarily a bow saw (period as far back

as Manuscript illos go) and mortise chisels (ditto).

 

Roy Underhill is the popular god of traditional woodworking.  See all of

his books.

 

That's a start - there are several booklets in the "Fine Woodworking" series

that deal with specific kinds of hand tools, etc.

 

Colin d.

 

 

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

From: rzex60 at email.sps.mot.com (Jason Magnus)

Subject: Re: Rope beds

Organization: The Polyhedron Group

Date: Mon, 27 Jun 1994 20:06:27 GMT

 

In article <keeganCrzpHq.GxK at netcom.com>, keegan at netcom.com (Tim Bray/C.

Keegan) wrote:

 

> Jason Magnus (rzex60 at email.sps.mot.com) wrote:

>

> : In my experience making furniture, it's -consistently- been much faster to

> : make mortices with mortise chisels than it is with drills, etc., in either

> : softwood or hardwood. In fact, hardwood goes -faster- than softwood, and

> : does a cleaner job. The only time I bore out a mortice first now is when

> : I'm doing something huge, say the size of a 2x4. Even then, I -might- do it

> : by hand.

>

> Now you have piqued my curiosity; how can it be faster in hardwood than

> in softwood?  Cleaner, yes, I can see that; but it seems like I can

> drive my chisel deeper with fewer mallet blows in softwood, and lever the

> chips out faster & easier, than in oak. For a 1/2" wide mortise, using a

> razor-sharp mortisiing chisel, I can cut about 1/4" deep MAX in each pass

> in oak; seems like I could get 3/8" at least in fir.

 

Well, Oak and Fir are two woods I mortice a lot. Fir's better than most

softwoods for morticing, as in hardness it's almost a hardwood in spite of

being from a conifer. Pine, on the other hand, can be a mess to mortice,

and is what I was comparing to for softwood, since pine dimensional

construction-grade lumber is the softwood most folks would have access to.

Here's my observations...

 

Morticing hardwood is faster because, if you use the right tools, the wood

chips shear cleanly and with less overall effort. Each chip will fairly

fly from the hole, clearing the way for the next chip to be released. The

chips from softwoods, on the other hand, tend to tear and crush. You waste

a lot of time and effort morticing in softwoods due to chips that won't

clear the mortice, which jams the work in progress. Imagine hand-planing a

brick of wet clay, as opposed to a block of hardwood. The hardwood cuts

clean and smooth, while the clay jams the throat of the plane.

 

When I mortice hardwood, I get about 1/4 inch penetration on each pass. I

start at one end, work my way to the other, and reverse the chisel and come

back. (I stop about 1/8" from each end, to avoid crushing the finished

sides of the mortice as I pry out the end chips.) Then I clean up the ends

with a plunge cut when the rest is deep enough. A 3/8" wide, inch-long,

inch-deep mortice in white oak takes about 16-20 mallet strokes, including

the plunge cuts to shear the ends of the mortice clean. A 3/4" wide mortice

of the same dimensions takes the same amount of time. The chips are simply

wider. Each chip in hardwood is about 1/4 inch x 1/4 inch x the width of

the chisel in size. When done, the bottom of the mortice will be fairly

flat and smooth.

 

On the other hand, a similar mortice in fir or pine will take almost twice

as many blows, half of which are to remove chips that didn't pop right out.

This doesn't include time spent with a smaller chisel or an ice pick,

extracting reluctant pieces. Then add more time to smooth the bottom of the

mortice, which is usually fairly ragged. Each chip in softwood is about 1/4

inch x 1/8 inch x the width of the chisel in size. Twice as many cuts are

required down the length of the mortice to minimize tearing and crushing of

the chips.

 

Note that in -any- case, the wood being morticed should be securely held,

preferably in something heavy. Any effort that makes the wood or workbench

bounce around is energy that is -not- being spent doing useful work. I use

a 'blockmakers clave', which is a 24" section of 12" diameter hardwood tree

limb with an 8" wide, 4" deep square notch cut in one side. The log has

four legs, and the work is held in the notch with wedges and spacer blocks.

The nice thing is that it supports the wood on three sides, with wood on

all touching faces. Even if you mortice through the piece, your chisel

simply strikes more wood, and is not damaged.

--

Regards, Jason Magnus (aka Jay Brandt)         <rzex60 at email.sps.mot.com>

In the SCA, HLS Jason of Rosaria, JdL, GdS, AoA           (Member # 3016)

 

 

From: timsmith at oasys.dt.navy.mil (Tim Smith)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: HELP REQUESTED - Books on ancient woodworking techniques

Date: 15 Jul 1994 17:50:52 GMT

Organization: David Taylor Model Basin

 

Poklon ot Timofeya Ivanovichya k Lord Emrys Cador!

 

A couple of books I've found helpful (& available through ILL):

 

McGrail, Sean, ed.  _Woodworking techniques before A.D. 1500 : papers

presented to a symposium at Greenwich in September, 1980, together with

edited discussion_.  Oxford, England : B.A.R., 1982.

      Series title:  BAR international series ; 129.

      Series title:  Archaeological series (National Maritime Museum

(Great

    Britain)) ; no. 7.

 

Goodman, William Louis.  _The history of woodworking tools_.  New York,

D. McKay Co. [1966, c1964].

 

Dosvedanya,

 

Timofei Ivanovitch                 Ponte Alto                 Atlantia

Tim Smith    Code 522    CD/NSWC   Bethesda, MD  20084   (301)227-1312

 

 

From: tip at lead.tmc.edu (Tom Perigrin)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: HELP REQUESTED - Books on ancient woodworking techniques

Date: 15 Jul 1994 21:58:46 GMT

Organization: A.I. Chem Lab, University of Arizona

 

>I am seeking information on early period (pre-period to you Mid-realmers)

>wood working techniques; preferable Roman or Celtic. Brythonic would

>be ideal.  I am looking for such basics as common carving methods

>used, board splitting, etc.

 

Bad news...   while there are lots of books about 19'th C techniques, and

some info on 17'th and 18'th C techniques, things get THIN before that.

 

The only two monographs I have seen relating to your question ae;

 

Woodworking Techniques before AD 1500, Edit Sean McGrail, Nat Marit Museum,

Greenwich, Archaeological Series #7

 

Roman Crafts, D. Selwood, R. Seaby, London

 

After that, you ae going to have to start going in the primary literature,

which will be difficult outside of a school with a great Archeological

library.

 

 

From: tip at lead.aichem.arizona.edu (Tom Perigrin)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Period foods? tools?

Date: 16 Aug 1994 21:42:27 GMT

Organization: AI in Chem Lab

 

hkoeh at usht01.hou130.chevron.com (Mark Koehler) wrote:

> Greetings and Salutations!  I suppose an introduction is in order...  I am

> researching for a persona out of freshly Normandized Saxony (England during

 

About 1100?

>                                               but realizes he has a real

> talent as a handyman (Tinker?).

> What tools are appropriate?  I assume he would be able to provide assistance

> and maybe borrow either a blacksmith's or woodwright's facilities, but he

> could construct a makeshift shop using his own tools in a moment's notice.

 

Errr, well, don't bet on it.  Tinkers were considered pretty low people.  A

smith is a wealthy man, a pillar of the village or even of a keep, and has

little use for a tinker.   It's not just the training, it's also social

standing, etc...     Same for a woodwright.  

 

Tinker's carried their shops on thier backs...   some hammers, pliers,

nippers, tongs, a blow pipe, some solders, sheets of metal to make repairs,

a file or two, some clay to make tinkers dams, a piercer, an awl, some

needles and thread,  maybe a small mandrel.

 

> What kind of machines (old definition) and tools were in common usage, or

> were being invented?  What were the common fasteners; screws and/or bolts,

> or just nails?

 

One of the previous gentles answered correctly about joinery, except that

he is thinking too late for your period.  During the early 1100's, etc.,

the primary furniture construction is planked construction, simple boards

and nails.  Joynery, as witnessed by the Mayor of Paris's decree in 13XX (I

have the exact date elsewhere), was a very rare and expensive form of

construction, mostly limited to church and royalty.  A commoner had a

boarded chest and dman little else.  The nobility and even parish churches

might have had mor furniture, but it was pretty crudely made.  The

furniture and construction renaissence really startd in the mid 1300's.

Before then, it was surprisingly crude and rare.  He had the hinges

right...  cotter pins, with the legs banged clear through the wood and

clinched over.  Looks "primative".  I lost a lot of points at an A&S

tourney once because of how crude my hardware was... *sigh*

 

Bolts were very very rare...  how do you plan to cut the threads on the

nut?  When I make a nut for a spinning wheel reproduction, I cut the

threads in a rod with a file, get a bar YELLOW hot, and then quickly bang

it around the threads.   Then you have to file it square, work it so it

threads on and off, and do a lot more work.    NOT easy. I require 2 days

to produce a bolt and nut.  I imagine somebody good could do it in a half

day?    More common were long pins with a slot that could take a wedge,

much like a tusk tenon in wood.  This is much easier for the blacksmith to

make.  Look at pictures of cannons... up until 1800 most of the metalwork

uses this type of wedge.   Even fine work such as astrolabes used a slotted

post, held by a wedge typically shaped with a horses head on the end.  The

entire wedge is called "the horse".  The posts for clocks and watches were

also pinned, rather than using screws.

 

 

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

From: rzex60 at email.sps.mot.com (Jay Brandt)

Subject: Re: Period foods? tools?

Organization: The Polyhedron Group

Date: Wed, 17 Aug 1994 17:51:01 GMT

 

tip at lead.aichem.arizona.edu (Tom Perigrin) wrote:

> hkoeh at usht01.hou130.chevron.com (Mark Koehler) wrote:

> > What kind of machines (old definition) and tools were in common usage, or

> > were being invented?  What were the common fasteners; screws and/or bolts,

> > or just nails?

>

> One of the previous gentles answered correctly about joinery, except that

> he is thinking too late for your period.  During the early 1100's, etc.,

> the primary furniture construction is planked construction, simple boards

> and nails.

 

Quite so. My mistake there. I'm used to thinking as an Elizabethian

furniture maker, rather than for earlier periods. You are correct that a

'six board chest' with the boards nailed to each other was the standard in

earlier times, and even later except for the very well to do. The long

sides and bottom had the grain running lengthwise, and the ends had the

grain running verticaly. The ends often extended below the bottom of the

chest to form crude legs. This necesitated the vertical grain, but also

cause most chests to split the sides, as wood movement at the side to end

joint tore up the side planks. That is a serious problem with nailed

six-board construction, and is what launched the development of serious

joinery.

 

> He had the hinges

> right...  cotter pins, with the legs banged clear through the wood and

> clinched over.  Looks "primative".  I lost a lot of points at an A&S

> tourney once because of how crude my hardware was... *sigh*

 

Thanks. I just returned from Boston, where one of my missions was to see as

much period furniture as I could in the museums there. The hinge

description was from examination of a genuine circa 1550 chest in Salem MA.

Sorry to hear about you losing points in that A&S contest. That's why I

usually provide a sheaf of documentation if I'm going for a seriously

authentic piece - complete with photos of museum artifacts when available.

 

> Bolts were very very rare...  how do you plan to cut the threads on the

> nut?  When I make a nut for a spinning wheel reproduction...

 

-Good- description of bolt and nut making there! Well done!

--

Regards, Jay Brandt --- Austin, Texas, USA --- <rzex60 at email.sps.mot.com>

Motorola,   SPS Sector,   Advanced Products Research and Development Labs

In the SCA, HLS Jason of Rosaria, JdL, GdS, AoA --------- (Member # 3016)

Owner / Designer / Craftsman ------------------------- Bear Paw Woodworks

 

 

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

From: rzex60 at email.sps.mot.com (Jay Brandt)

Subject: Re: Reconstructing a Saxon Place

Organization: The Polyhedron Group

Date: Thu, 1 Sep 1994 18:41:59 GMT

 

tip at lead.aichem.arizona.edu (Tom Perigrin) wrote:

 

> In article <33tp4d$7pr at herald.indirect.com>, locksley at indirect.com (Joe

> Bethancourt) wrote:

> >

> > Most interesting indeed! Comparing it to early American planes could be

> > interesting......I have a little booklet of Early American Tools that  

> > you might find to be Good Stuff.

>

> Someday when we finally manage to succesfully bridge the mear 100 miles

> that seperates us, I will be "happy as a clam" to see this booklet.

 

Hmmm. I think I have the same booklet. Put out by Colonial Williamsburgh, I

believe. It -is- worth traveling the 'mere 100 miles'  to see his copy.

 

> Meanwhile, this thread has launched an idea into my brain...   while

> describing my attempts to create a period 16'th C joiners shop a lot of

 

You too? I'm slowly working on a circa 1575 shop myself. Small world. Maybe

we should compare notes!

 

> people have commented on the need to use modern tools to make the older

> tools, and the need for a complete 'industrial' mileuax to be accurate.

>

> I agree to an extent....   I will never use steel made in small crucibles

> and hammered from poured billets.   But if I make a few more Saxon tools;

> a few chisels, a mallet, a saw, etc...  then I will be able to use THOSE

> tools to make the more modern 16'th C tools...

>

> Bootstrap backwards BEYOND the century one wishes to portrey, and then work

> UP to it starting with the tools of the more distant past.

 

Quite so! Its the approach I've been using for a while now.

 

Examples :

 

I made a 'blockmaker's clave' (14th C period workbench with a

wedge-operated vise, made from a log section with a flattened top, a large

square notch to hold the work, and 4 legs). I did it using a modern bow

saw, a felling axe, a sledge-hammer and steel wedge (the log was american

elm - very tough), a draw-knife, and a brace and bit with a large diameter

auger. I use it regularly, as there's no better tool, even in a modern

shop, for holding wood while morticing it with hand tools. When I set up

Bear Paw Woodworks on-site, it's still my primary workbench.

 

I then used the clave as my workbench to do all the morticing work, joinery

and shaping on the frame for a new turning saw (15th C rip bow-saw).

Admittedly, I used a table saw to dimension the Oak for the turning saw's

frame, and used an electric-powered lathe to turn the knobs at the ends of

the saw blade. But the rest was done with hand tools, and I can now retire

the metal-framed modern bow saw and many of my other modern saws, as I have

a better tool that is period! (I also made the blade, with hand-filed,

hand-set teeth).

 

I use that turning saw to produce some of the joinery on my 16th C

furniture designs. I plan to make other period saws eventually, to replace

most of my more modern saws.

 

Yes, I have several very modern tools in my home shop. But wherever

practical, I use hand tools, and I try to add to my hand tool set by making

or buying new tools regularly as the needs arise. It's FUN!

--

Regards, Jay Brandt --- Austin, Texas, USA --- <rzex60 at email.sps.mot.com>

Motorola,   SPS Sector,   Advanced Products Research and Development Labs

In the SCA, HLS Jason of Rosaria, JdL, GdS, AoA --------- (Member # 3016)

Owner / Designer / Craftsman ------------------------- Bear Paw Woodworks

 

 

From: Suze.Hammond at f56.n105.z1.fidonet.org (Suze Hammond)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Searching for a wooden flute

Date: Fri, 06 Jan 1995 23:28:00 -0800

 

WP> From: wpeloqui at medar.COM (Willie Peloquin)

 

WP> I am looking for a merchant who sells wooden musical

WP> instruments. I would prefer a flute or something

WP> similar. Would a flute be in period? I know I can

WP> purchase a wooden recorder locally, it must be

WP> special ordered.

 

I have in hand a copy of Fine Woodworking magazine's series "The Best of

Fine Woodworking" entitled "Small Woodworking Projects", (April 1992)

ISBN# 1-56158-018-X,  1. Woodwork, I. Series. List price $14.95.

 

Among several interesting things, it has an article called "River Whistles

and Cane Flutes" which might make it possible for you to make your own.

It also has patterns to make a wood-geared clock (what I wanted it for), a

Moravian footstool that looks "period" to me, wooden shoes, fireplace

bellows, Norse bentwood boxes (very early period to present), Swiss chip

carving, wooden spoons, snowshoes, carving incised lettering, carving and

turning bowls - including handles and feet on some, several types of boxes

that can be period or not, and a several other OOP things that are very

nice anyway.

 

This can probably be bought at any hardwoods store that carries the

magazine on the rack. Call around!

 

Happy whittling!

... Moreach NicMhaolain

 

 

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

From: shafer at ferhino.dfrc.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer)

Subject: Re: Celt Tents Info

Organization: NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards CA

Date: Mon, 5 Jun 1995 18:25:56 GMT

 

On Sat, 03 Jun 1995 10:19:00 -0600, mike.boelter at rodent.isdn.net (Mike Boelter) said:

 

Mike>         The Chairs you are looking for were featured in a

Mike> woodworking magazine some years ago.  Name of Magazine was Fine

Mike> Woodworking or similar.  If no one remembers the article one

Mike> could always write to the magazines of that sort asking if they

Mike> have an article on same.

 

If it was Fine Woodworking, it's published by Taunton Press and they

are outstanding about back issues and article copies. They also

publish Fine Gardening, Fine Cooking, and Threads, plus Folklore

Patterns.  There's an 800 number which, of course, I don't have here

at work but will gladly supply.  I called up looking for an article

that I had only a description of and the person on the other end

tracked it down for me very quickly.

--

Mary Shafer                                             DoD #362 KotFR  

SR-71 Chief Engineer   NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA

shafer at ferhino.dfrc.nasa.gov          Of course I don't speak for NASA

URL http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/People/Shafer/mary.html

 

 

From: powers at colon.cis.ohio-state.edu (william thomas powers)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: steam bending (was Re: Making Portable SCA Furniture)

Date: 12 Aug 1997 19:00:21 -0400

Organization: The Ohio State University, Department of Computer and Information Science

 

a couple of other books:

"Period Furniture Design" Charles H. Hayward, Sterling Publishing Co

isbn 0-8069-7664-0    "oak stool late 15th; oak chest, oak drawtable

early 16th, oak chest 1600, oak bed end first 1/2 16th; all are just

measured drawings with all the work left to the craftsman.

 

"Encyclopedia of Spanish Period Furniture Designs" Jose' Claret Rubira

Sterling Publishing co, isbn 0-8069-7902-X   67 pages covers 14th century

to late 16th early 17th century mainly chests and chairs. Very nice drawings

but no indication of scale.  Many highly ornate with blow-up drawings of

the ornamentation.  270 more pages covering from the 17th through the

19th centuries.

 

wilelm the smith who works wood as an adjunct to smithing and as a means

of providing objects for a more period existance.

 

 

Subject: Making Square Poles Octagonal

Date: Wed, 28 Oct 98 13:18:03 MST

From: rmhowe <magnusm at ncsu.edu>

To: Merryrose <atlantia at atlantia.sca.org>

 

This was written to tell someone how to make square poles octagonal

for plain use or in turning to use in a tent or yurt. They intended to

use a lathe. This is an old trick. May as well share it.

...................

 

Well, whether you use it like this or not, knocking the corners

off couldn't hurt. Use a pushstick. Octagon is fairly close to

round, then again you could knock a further set of corners off -

but at sixteen sides it gets awful round and might flip on you.

I've still got *all* my fingers and I've done way more than a hundred

thousand board feet of wood easily.

 

You can go from square to octagon two ways fairly easily - on the

table saw or band saw.

 

On the table saw tilt the blade 45 degrees. Put your SQUARE blank

up against the blade and still sitting on its edge on the table.

Now move the fence over against it's opposite side. Lock the fence.

Placing the blank flat down against the table saw and the fence,

you will now be able to saw a fairly good octagon.

 

I recommend using some feather boards to keep it against the fence.

You may need to put a spacer under them to raise the feather boards

and stay on the vertical side of the blank / octagon.

 

Feather boards are those which have a number of slots sawn in them

leaving long teeth about a 1/4" wide, generally angled on the end,

and clamped to the table, and or fence to push the stock against

the fence or table. They hold the stock firmly in position and

prevent kickbacks also.

 

P.S. It helps to turn the saw on first. ;)

 

     /\   ___

    /  \ |   |<Fence

\\/    \|   |  Set up like this. Saw flat.

  \\    /|   |  Kinda hard to draw 45 degrees in ascii.

   \\  / |   |  Imagine a square workpiece.

____\\/__|___|_______________

____|\\|___________________ Table Saw Table

      \\

       \\ Blade goes just a little past the stock, not a lot.

          Move it down after you set your fence for safety.

 

On the bandsaw you would usually have to tilt the table.

Do the same setup. Saw flat to table.

 

Use a guard if at all possible. Watch your fingers, especially when

the stock goes past the bandsaw blade. Keep them out of line with

the blade. I've seen an amputation this way. When the blade comes

through the release of pressure can make your hands move rapidly.

Use a pushstick when you near the end.

 

M. Magnus Malleus, Windmaster's Hill, Atlantia; Great Dark Horde

 

 

Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 21:26:11 -0500

From: Peter Adams <redduke at earthlink.net>

To: JBRMM266 at aol.com

CC: ms154 at cornell.edu, atlantia at atlantia.sca.org

 

You will find the construction notes for a version of the Glastonbury

chair starting p151 in Daniel Diehls book _Constructing Medieval

Furniture_ currently available from the SCA stock clerk for about $20.

It is a good start, though despite his claims I still have some

questions about construction techniques used, especially the nails into

endgrain.

        If you want some SCA furniture based on period design without doing

laurel level research, this is your best commercially available

resource.

 

<snip of furniture book list - see furniture-msg>

 

For Medieval woodwork I reccomend the following,

 

_Woodwrights' (fill in the blank)_ Roy Underhill. Traditional hand

woodworking, primarily dealing with Colonial projects, but many of the

technologies are appropriate for medieval use.  Underhill is concise and

precise about what and why the tool is doing what it does.

 

_Mechanic Excercises_ Joseph Moxon Astragal Press (on loan sorry no

isbn)  Reprint of the 1703 "how to" book, touted as the first ever of

the genre in the english language.  Smithing, masonry, turning, joinery

and house carpentry.  A must have for any student of medieval

technology.

 

_Woodworking Techniques befor AD 1500_ Sean McGrail et Al. BAR

International Series 129, 1982;  The state of academic knowledge of all

types of woodworking from the prehistoric to the Medieval, another must

have for its citations on turning, materials, and techniques.

 

_History of Woodworking Tools_ W L Goodman, David McKay Company Inc.

1964;  This work dates relatively accurately the time periods for the

use of specific hand tools, and is an excellent source for documentation

of technique.  It helps to place information from other sources in

context as well as being a good general history of the developement of

tool use in western society from Egyptian times to the present.

 

Badouin

 

 

Subject: ANST - Info For Woodworkers

Date: Fri, 02 Jul 99 11:23:21 MST

From: "C. L. Ward" <gunnora at bga.com>

To: ansteorra at Ansteorra.ORG

 

Here's a cool resource for those interested in period woodwork.  Most of

their articles will be reflective of 1700's but I understand from

subscribing SCA members that the information is useful and often discusses

period info as well.

 

Joiners Quarterly: The Journal of Timber Framing & Traditional Building

http://www.nxi.com/WWW/joinersquarterly/

 

Gunnora Hallakarva, OL

Baroness to the Court of Ansteorra

 

 

Date: Wed, 28 Oct 1998 15:14:49 -0500

From: rmhowe <magnusm at ncsu.edu>

To: Merryrose <atlantia at atlantia.sca.org>

Subject: Making Square Poles Octagonal

 

This was written to tell someone how to make square poles octagonal

for plain use or in turning to use in a tent or yurt. They intended to

use a lathe. This is an old trick. May as well share it.

...................

 

Well, whether you use it like this or not, knocking the corners

off couldn't hurt. Use a pushstick. Octagon is fairly close to

round, then again you could knock a further set of corners off -

but at sixteen sides it gets awful round and might flip on you.

I've still got *all* my fingers and I've done way more than a hundred

thousand board feet of wood easily.

 

You can go from square to octagon two ways fairly easily - on the

table saw or band saw.

 

On the table saw tilt the blade 45 degrees. Put your SQUARE blank

up against the blade and still sitting on its edge on the table.

Now move the fence over against it's opposite side. Lock the fence.

Placing the blank flat down against the table saw and the fence,

you will now be able to saw a fairly good octagon.

 

I recommend using some feather boards to keep it against the fence.

You may need to put a spacer under them to raise the feather boards

and stay on the vertical side of the blank / octagon.

 

Feather boards are those which have a number of slots sawn in them

leaving long teeth about a 1/4" wide, generally angled on the end,

and clamped to the table, and or fence to push the stock against

the fence or table. They hold the stock firmly in position and

prevent kickbacks also.

 

P.S. It helps to turn the saw on first. ;)

 

     /\   ___

    /  \ |   |<Fence

\\/    \|   |  Set up like this. Saw flat.

  \\    /|   |  Kinda hard to draw 45 degrees in ascii.

   \\  / |   |  Imagine a square workpiece.

____\\/__|___|_______________

____|\\|___________________ Table Saw Table

      \\

       \\ Blade goes just a little past the stock, not a lot.

          Move it down after you set your fence for safety.

 

On the bandsaw you would usually have to tilt the table.

Do the same setup. Saw flat to table.

 

Use a guard if at all possible. Watch your fingers, especially when

the stock goes past the bandsaw blade. Keep them out of line with

the blade. I've seen an amputation this way. When the blade comes

through the release of pressure can make your hands move rapidly.

Use a pushstick when you near the end.

 

M. Magnus Malleus, Windmaster's Hill, Atlantia; Great Dark Horde

 

 

From: rmhowe <MMagnusM at bellsouth.net>

Date: April 8, 2004 10:24:54 PM CDT

To: - Authenticity List <authenticity at yahoogroups.com>, - BARONY of WINDMASTERS' HILL <keep at windmastershill.org>, - Dunstan <Dunstan at yahoogroups.com>, - Manx <TheManx at yahoogroups.com>, - Medieval Sawdust <medievalsawdust at yahoogroups.com>, - Regia Anglorum - North America <list-regia-na at lig.net>, - SCA Arts and Sciences 7/03 <Artssciences at lists.gallowglass.org>

Subject: Lathe Pages

 

>>>

I just started a new page on my turning website based on notes I making from a biography of a 17th century London turner: http://historicgames.com/lathes/wallington.html

Chas

--

MacGregor Historic Games

http;//www.historicgames.com

<<<

 

If you go to the above site you will see a number of pages

on lathes. I think it's interesting that he uses a bow

lathe to make lace bobbins of bone.

 

Charles and I occaisionally exchange notes on lathes.

He does html and I do ascii redactions of various

medieval techniques.

 

Master Magnus, OL, Great Barony of Windmasters' Hill [SCA],

regia.org, the Manx, Great Dark Hordebrother

 

 

From: rmhowe <MMagnusM at bellsouth.net>

Date: May 11, 2006 5:22:47 AM CDT

To: "- Gregory Blount - A&S. Food, Music, Brewing, and Dance SCA Pages (SCA) Greg Lindahl" <lindahl at pbm.com>, - Stephan's Florilegium <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com>, - Medieval Sawdust <medievalsawdust at yahoogroups.com>, "- MedievalEncampments at yahoogroups.com" <MedievalEncampments at yahoogroups.com>

Subject: Woodworking Index

 

<http://www.faqs.org/faqs/woodworking/>;

 

<the end>



Formatting copyright © Mark S. Harris (THLord Stefan li Rous).
All other copyrights are property of the original article and message authors.

Comments to the Editor: stefan at florilegium.org