June Meeting featuring Denny's Tool Cabinet

Time to Start, About 30 Members in Attendance 

On one of the warmest days of the year so far we had a good turnout for this month's meeting.  As is our custom, we began with the round robin introductions and due to the heat decided it was better to amplify our voices then to turn off the swampers and their low hum.  Several new faces in the crowd -- Welcome!  Not a lot of business to attend to this month but your all reminded about the AWFS convention/show that will be in town this July 22nd. - 25th.  Unfortunately the general consensus seems to be that the seminars and classes are lacking this year but for the $25.00 admission you get the chance to see all of the newest tools and gadgets in the woodworking industry plus have a chance to spend some cash and acquire them!  The other business item is in regards to the Christmas Project.  This will be a toy and there is no limit on the amount or type of material you use.  After the members vote on them they can either be given to your own kids, grandkid, nieces, nephews, etc. or donated to a charity of your choice.

Show & Tell and Other Items Brought Up

     Ed, who seems to be on the hunt and receiving end of many antique planes told us about a #6C Baily Jointer Plane he currently has his eye on.  According to his own description it's a pretty well rusted piece that I believe is spending its time in a neighbors yard but Ed would like to get it anyway!  I did a quick Ebay check and there are a number of them listed currently.

     Another item of interest was brought up regarding an On-Line clearance sale that Lee Valley will be having.  The dates are June 22nd. through the 26th.  Here is a LINK to that information.  Beth highly recommended their brad point drill bits; who knows that may be one of their clearance items!

     Tim brought in a heavy duty card scraper that he began using for his guitars but has found it to be great for working on his rocking chairs as well.  It's by Stuart MacDonald and although he's primarily a luthier, this LINK to his site should prove to be interesting too.  There is a video dealing with the card scraper too.

Bridge City Tool Works Crowning Plane

Ted brought in a Lie-Nielsen spokeshave and antique brass plumb bob that he recently acquired.  He also shared this specialized tool he was given as a gift by a long time client of his.  It's a Bridge City Tool Works crowning plane and highly specialized.  This is the same company I've given a link to for the Kerfmaker tool that Jamie shared with us.  Pretty impressive company and definitely a maker of high quality, specialized tools.  Among the other things Ted does to keep busy in the shop is wood turning.  This Walnut and Ash bowl is an example of his recent work.

Ted's Walnut & Ash Bowl

                                                                                                   

Bridge City Kerfmaker

Here is a LINK to Bridge City.  There is a video explaining how to use the Kerfmaker that's pretty impressive.

John's Ash & Curly Maple Bowl

John has been bitten hard by the woodturning bug and brought it a beautiful example of one he recently completed with Jimmy Clewes.  The lid is Curly Maple which is finished with dyes and multiple coats of lacquer.  On the bottom he used an interesting technique of "scorching" where he torched it on the lathe and then wire brushed it to remove some of the softer wood leaving a very cool, textured finish behind.  Reminded me of the 60's and 70's when we'd torch Redwood to create a reclaimed appearance then heat nails, screws, etc. and burn them into the wood to add to the antique look.  That stuff never turned out as nicely as John's bowl!

 

Denny LaRocca's Beautiful Cherry & Maple Tool Cabinet

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         Presentation: 

Denny's Tool Cabinet

Denny LaRocca is known to all of us as Jamie's shop assistant.  Here's an example of some of the work that he does as well, a tool cabinet designed to hold his ever growing collection of tools.  By his own admission, he admits to sometimes buying tools on a whim only to have them gather dust somewhere in his work area -- unopened!  He blames the recent Lie-Nielsen tool event at Jamie's shop as being the catalyst for this project.  After spending more on Lie-Nielsens fine tools than he should have he decided that rather than have them laying around carelessly in his shop it was time to build a proper cabinet.  

He began by sketching out some of his own ideas but then Jamie handed him a book called The Toolbox Book by Jim Tolpin, here's a LINK to it from Amazon.  The basis for his cabinet can be found on page 101.  It features machine cut dovetails and through mortise and tenon joinery.  Denny modified those plans to suit his own requirements.  One interesting thing he changed was the traditional use of through mortise and tenon joinery.  Almost seems like a "no duh" concept seeing how he works in Jamie's shop but rather than hand cut those tenons he used the Festool Domino joiner.  Check out the link if you've never sent this amazing tool in action.  

Domino Tenon

It uses a piece of wood similar to the biscuit you may be familiar with: 

If you checked the cabinet out closely you can see the ends of them on the front rail.  Not only is this a strong way to assemble the case, it also adds a nice decorative element.  

Tool Holder Designs

     During the construction process, Denny came up with a number of different ways to hold his tools securely in the cabinet.  Shown at left are some that didn't make it into the final project but were critiqued by Jamie and others in classes --- that is, if you can call a calloused "that sucks" a critique!  Designs that made it into the cabinet are shown in the picture essay below but many included magnets and shaped wooden forms to hold the tools in place.  As Denny acquires more tools there is enough free space in the cabinet to accommodate them.

With a project like this, one where you spend time working on it as you can it's difficult to calculate the amount of hours you spend.  Conservatively, Denny guesses at about 100-150 hours.  The doors hinge on continuous piano hinges and are held shut with magnets.  The finish is Watco oil.  

     He elected to have Cimarron Drawers do the dovetail work on these with wood he supplied to ensure a nice flow of the grain all the way across the cabinet.  Larger drawers have small, finger jointed drawers inside of them for better organization:

Note the exposed Domino tenon  on the rail between the drawers

Here are some of the detailed photos of the various tool holders:

Chisel Holder

Marking Gauges and Lay-Out Tools

Various Squares

As part of his tool kit, Denny showed off his shop made mallet.  It's filled with shot but an interesting feature is the unequal curved shape by the head.  The purpose of this is so that when he chokes up on the handle for better control, his thumb fits nicely into the shorter radius -- smart idea!

Denny's shop made mallet