Making a new handle for a mortising chisel

Brian Eve gave me 3 very nice mortising chisels during our chair building extravaganza event last year.
None of the chisels have got a handle, so my idea is to make three similar handles so they look like a set.
Joshua Klein from "The workbench diary" had a post where he described his method of making octagonal handles.
I think that octagonal handles will look fine on mortising chisels, and since the bolster is a bit elongated, the handles will not be equal on all sides, but will feature two slightly larger sides. This should make a handle that will enable me to automatically position the chisel in the correct way without looking at it first. Or at least that is my theory.

For the handles, I have brought with me some hornbeam that I also got from Brian Eve (He is a really nice guy)

At first I cleaned the blades  in a Sulphuric acid solution just like I did yesterday with the plane irons.

I then started drilling a small hole in the centre of the handle blank. Next I sort of wiggled the drill from side to side in the hole to make it conical.

Then I used my smallest chisel to make the hole fit the tapered tang. I checked regularly that I didn't make the hole to deep or wide.
When the tang fitted so the bolster was around 1/4" from the handle when inserted using only hand pressure, I stopped.

I banged the handle into the table a few times with the chisel inserted to seat it most of the way. After that I turned it around and placed the tip on a knot and gave the handle a couple of good whacks with a big hammer. That settled the tang firmly into the handle.

The blank was then cross cut to 13 cm (5.25"). I chose that length because it seemed appropriate for the size of chisel.

Next I drew a pencil line on the blank that I could plane to. I planed using my smoothing blade to get a decent surface. I managed to take one swipe too many, and nicked the blade hitting the bolster.
After that I was a bit more careful when planing the other sides of the handle.

When the handle had four tapered sides, I drew lines on the corners so I could remove the material and make the handle octagonal.
In order not to jeopardize my plane iron any more, I used a chisel for this operation.
Next step was to chamfer the end of the handle.

At last I sanded the handle to break the edges.

I think the blanks are not completely dry, but I doubt that it will matter. It might even be an advantage since it could cause the tang to start rusting a bit inside the handle thus securing it better.

After having played around with the finished chisel for a couple of hours, I am afraid that the handle is a bit too fat. So I think that I have to try to make it a bit more rectangular in the top of the handle. Right now it is almost square (with the corners removed).

The finished mortise chisel.

Blades before starting.

Elongated hole in the handle blank.

Seated by hand to about 1/4" distance.

Planing to the line.

First four sides planed.

Marking out for the octagonal chamfers.

Restoring an adjustable sash plane, part 2

I followed my plan from yesterday and started out fetching the hot plane from its position upon the heat recovery exchanger for main engine No 2.

The irons were taken out and I cleaned some areas with emery cloth to get rid of the tiny bit of surface rust that was on them.
Next I found a face shield and some rubber gloves and a bucket. I poured a bit of water in the bucket, just enough to cover the bottom. Next I added some Sulphuric acid (96%). I guess that my final solution was around 30%.
The solution got hot as I expected, and I dropped the two irons in the bucket.
At home I have tried to remove rust using vinegar, and it works fine, albeit a bit slow.
This hot Sulphuric acid solution worked like something from a cartoon: Bubbles, smoke and a bit of hissing, and in a matter of maybe 10 minutes the irons were completely free from rust.

I removed the irons, rinsed them of and disposed off the acid solution. In the workshop I used a brass brush to remove the black layer on the irons. As soon as this was done, I sprayed them with some oil.

The bodies of the plane were not completely straight any more, so I used our lapping plate as a base for a piece of sand paper, and corrected the soles and the rabbets. The hollow for the moulding side of the plane was straightened using a 12 mm (1/2") steel pipe wrapped with some sand paper.
I discovered that the threaded rods were a bit loose, probably because of the heat from the insect treatment. I didn't bring any hide glue with me this time, so I have decided to wait until I get home before glueing in the rods again.

The sole of the moulding part of the plane had a few insect holes when I first looked at it, but after the straightening, it became evident that the insects had had a great time living and working in this old plane. I was a bit in doubt, if it would be of any use to continue the project, but it looked as if the worst part of the plane was at the rear end. The wood around the mouth and the front didn't look quite as bad, so I continued.

The wedges looked OK, and I lightly sanded them and went straight on to the sharpening part.

At first I tried flattening the backs with some emery paper and the lapping plate. A few strokes revealed that the backs were far from flat. Someone had ground the back side of the edge to a slight bevel (the ruler trick?).
I wasn't going to wast my evening trying to fix that by hand, so I started the grinding machine and flattened the backs using the side of the wheel.
When I do a thing like this I never wear gloves. Because if you wear gloved there is a much greater risk of over heating the iron. When I feel that my fingers are getting hot, I stop and cool of the iron in a cup of water.
After flattening the back, I ground the bevels and honed everything on my oil stone.

At first I tried to mount the moulding iron, but when I tried to remove the wedge it broke into two pieces. It was completely porous inside. I had seen an insect hole or two from the outside, but I had absolutely no idea that it was so eaten away on the inside.
So I quickly made a small detour from my original plan, and made a new wedge using a piece of old pilot ladder wood from one of my earlier projects (Gerstner inspired tool chest).

The plane was assembled and after a bit of fiddling, the position of the irons looked OK to me.
I found a piece of spruce that was reasonably straight grained and started planing.

The plane leaves a really nice surface, and it cuts exactly as it is supposed to. The only thing that could be better is the shavings ejector from the rabbet part of it.
It looks like the original builder of the plane has managed to angle the blade a bit inwards, so instead of ejecting the shavings away from the plane - it sort of packs them into the plane instead..
I think that I can make a small wedge that can be glued to the plane body that will help divert the savings out of the plane. But I want to attach this with some hide glue, so I can remove it again if it should make things worse instead of better.
As long as I removed the shavings after a series of strokes, everything worked astonishingly well.

Insect eaten sole.

This sole is not so bad.

Remains of the wedge.

Sharp irons.

Nice and crisp.

The profile.

Restoring an adjustable sash plane

A couple of years ago, my dad gave me an adjustable sash plane made out of beech.
It was kept in the attic of his workshop, so he wasn't using it.

It has been eaten a little by insects, so the first thing I did when I got it was to paint it with Gori 22/7 which is an anti insect wood treatment. It smells like petroleum, but it also contains some kind of chemical that should kill the insects.
After that treatment I have kept the plane in a tool chest for a couple of years. Now I decided to bring it on board for restoration.

There are no makers stamps on the plane, and I sort of suspect that it was made by a local joiner who might also have been using the plane later on.
I base this mainly on an observation of the side escapements for the shavings. They lack the finesse that I think would come from a "professional" plane maker.
The stock selection is also suggesting that it is a user made tool. The stock of the moulding side of the plane has got two small knots in it, and again I doubt that at professional plane maker shop would have used a less than perfect piece of beech for making a plane.

The blades are made by H. Crookes of Sheffield and are in remarkably good condition. I cleaned the blades using a rotation wire brush before putting the plane away, but I think I will try to clean them using an acid solution to remove the last bits of rust.
There is a little bit of pitting, but nothing that can't be ground away.

My restoration plan is as follows:

- Clean the irons using a bit of emery cloth followed by a bath in an acid pickle.
- Sand off the lacquer from the plane bodies.
- Straighten the soles of the plane.
- Adjust the wedges.
- Sharpen the irons.

To make sure that all the insects really are dead, I am going to put the plane on top of one of the heat exchangers for the heat recovery systems of the engines. They keep a temperature of around 100 degrees Celsius (boiling point of water).

Adjustable sash plane

Side escapement from the moulding side.

Side escapement from the rabbet side.

Profile of the plane.

Getting ready for going back to sea.

Inspired by Ralph's 7P's, I managed to get myself a little time in the workshop today finding stuff to bring with me to sea.
The boring and sensible part of me got the upper hand, so the upcoming projects will be new handles for some chisels, and hopefully sharpening of some moulding planes.

I managed to get around 40 minutes of wood working time in the workshop today, bringing the total workshop woodworking time up to almost an hour and a half for this period at home.. Not very impressive.
Besides finding chisels and moulding planes to bring with me, I re sawed some hornbeam to be used for making the handles. The other 50 minutes of workshop time was about a week ago, when I flattened the top of the workbench.

Most of the chisels are Swedish ones, but one is a Keen Kutter. It is a 1.75" wide chisel, so I suppose it is technically a slick.
A previous owner must have misunderstood the idea of the tool, because it has been hammered directly on the socket. It will require some filing to make it look nice again, but the blade is luckily not damaged.
My plan is to turn a handle for it at sea, and then maybe sharpen it.
There are also 3 mortise chisels that Brian Eve gave to me during the chair building extravaganza event last year.

There are 3 moulding planes and one special plane for making windows, The width of this tool can be adjusted to suit the sash of the window.
One side of the tool will make a moulding and the other side will make a rabbet for the glass.
One of my future projects is to make some more windows, so it could be fun to be able to make them look nice with an original tool for it.
Actually I had planned to make windows this home period, but I never got around to do so.
Instead I have painted windows on the house which is not quite comparable to making windows, the latter being a lot more fun..

Planes, chisels and hornbeam stock.

Chisel logo.

The Keen Kutter slick, notice the beat up socket.

Preparing some hornbeam blanks for handles.

Mending a saw blade

After breaking the saw blade for the mulesaw, I tried using one of the other blades that I have.
Two blades have a different tooth configuration, and it became obvious, that this configuration is not perfect for wide hardwood trunks.
I decided that I might as well try to see if I could repair the blade, since I don't know where I can buy a new one. And if the repair job didn't work out, It would be sort of a Life of Brian thing: You come from nothing and you're going back to nothing - what have you lost? Nothing. (Except a bit of time and a few welding electrodes).

At first I straightened out the broken pieces since they were a bit bowed on the ends.

Next I ground the broken edges to prepare a groove when they were fixed in their correct position.

To make sure the blade was properly aligned, I clamped the pieces to a piece of wood with a straight piece along the back of the blade.

I found my old portable electrode welding machine (ESAB Caddy) and some welding electrodes.
My go to electrodes for this type of repair job is ESAB OK 53.05 There might be some more correct types out there, but I always have some of the aforementioned electrodes on hand, as they are really versatile.

The welding could have looked better, but welding thin steel with an electrode welder is not easy. At least not when you have an electrode of 2.5 mm in diameter which is better suited for thicker material.

After welding the blade I used an angle grinder to clean up and level things out on the blade.

I tested the blade, and it went OK for about 8", then it snapped again, but I could see that my welding wasn't very good at that spot, so I just welded it again, and then it held.

So all in all the project was a success.

The blade on the workbench.

Broken edges ground to form a groove.

Holding the blade in position.

Welding complete.

Welding ground with an angle grinder.

The mounting system of the blade.

Blade inset in the tightening/holding device on the saw frame.

A whitebeam plank sawed with the mended blade.

Saw is shown to give and idea of the size of the plank.

I managed to break a saw blade.

Yesterday I was working with the mulesaw, trying to finish the sawing of the sycamore trunk.
At some point I must have gotten a bit too eager, because suddenly I heard a loud snap followed by some clonk noises.
I immediately stopped the feed mechanism and rushed back to stop the electric motor powering the sawing mechanism.

After the flywheel had come to a halt, I could inspect the damage: The blade was broken into two pieces.

I found another blade with a different tooth pattern and finished the trunk.
The new tooth pattern works, but the surface has got a lot of texture as opposed to the old pattern that left a very smooth surface.
I guess part of the problem is that 40" is a bit too large for the saw after all.
The stroke of the saw is not so large that it can get rid of all the sawdust from the centre of the trunk, so the blade tends to bind. Unless I make a very aggressive set on the blade, but that in turn gives a less than perfect surface.

I have made most of the slabs 2.25" thick, so even with some planing, it should be possible to make a stout table.

After clearing up most of the sawdust, I stacked the slabs in the barn, so they can air dry slowly.
It is the first time I have sawed a complete trunk and stacked it this way. I think it looks fine which is good, as it will need approximately 2 years of drying time. This is based on the rule of thumb that one year will dry approximately 1" of thickness.

Asger showing the broken blade.

The stack, broken blade in front.

Asger posing with the broken saw blade on top of the stack.

Motorheads!

Proper Pre Planning

I got inspired by a blog post by Ralph the accidental woodworker.

This time I hadn't planned my time on board very well regarding woodworking.

OK, a fact is that I had the flu when I joined the ship, so doing the daily job drained most of my
energy - leaving none for exercising or woodworking.
I did manage to make a few small projects, but looking back I think I should have prepared myself better.

So to get ahead of the game I have been doing a bit of thinking the last couple of days. One of my thoughts have been that I just can't continue making small chests and cabinets. I like making them, but I need to challenge myself by making something else once in a while. Plus I'll scare people away from this blog if they only see me doing the same old stuff over and over again.

So here is a short list of my ideas for future projects that could be made on board (in no particular order):

Restoring chisels.
I have a bunch of old chisels that could need a new handle, and either turning a handle or making an octagonal handle would definitely be possible on board as would general cleaning and initial sharpening of the chisel. I would need to bring a bit of suitable wood for the handles and also the chisels, but that is no problem.

Making a back saw.
Leif Hanson of Norsewoodsmith has made an excellent series describing how to make a back saw.
This step by step tutorial is so clearly written and illustrated, that it makes it look easy and possible to make your own back saw.
It could be fun to try, and I could make a saw with a very small handle aimed for my sons to use. I would need to bring a piece of steel for the saw blade, and some wood for a handle. The back could either be made from a short piece of angle bar or I could try to find a small piece of brass plate that I could bring along.

Restoring moulding planes.
A couple of years ago I purchased a bunch of old moulding planes. I have tried one of them since, but frankly they could all do with a little cleaning and a lot of sharpening. This is one of the things; I never manage to convince myself to spend time at while I am home.

Restoring wooden plow planes or moving fillisters.
I have somehow managed to acquire a couple of those as well, and like the case is for the moulding planes, these could use a bit of TLC.

Make a tool roll for some of my extra auger drills or chisels.
This would see a return of me sewing canvas. Something I have never blogged about.
Theoretically I could also sew the roll in leather. This type of project has the advantage of being something similar to the sign carving projects. I.e they can be done in the engine control room.

Make an explanatory working model of an engine.
One of my old dreams have been to make a model that can be used to explain how a steam engine works. This would require some turning and a lot of fiddling, but it could end up being a cool thing. I would probably have to bring some hardwood with me for this project.

Make a small Bombay chest.
OK this is not my idea, it was suggested by Brian Eve, and I can see that there would clearly be some challenges in making one. It would require me to either use a jig saw for the curved parts, or bring a frame saw.
The curved sides would probably benefit from me bringing a compass plane too.

Make a model ship or boat.
This would require me to bring a lot of thin strips of wood and a coping saw. Making the strips at home on the table saw or the band saw would be so much easier than ripping them from a piece of pallet wood and then planing them flat.
I think it could be kind of fun to make a 1:5 model of a rowing boat. This could very well be made from the drawings of a boat that I would like to make in full size.

No matter what project I eventually choose, at least I know that I have done a part of the pre planning. Thus I should theoretically have prevented a "less than adequate performance" (you need to check the actual meaning of the seven P's on Ralph's blog).