OldTools Archive
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264062 | Mike DeLong <mpdelong@g...> | 2017‑11‑26 | Bio v3.0 |
Hi there fellow Galoots, I'm participating in Galootaclaus this year after an absence of several years. This spurred me to find out how much my bio was out-of-date. Wow, it has been over 20 years since I posted an update. I was then 49 year old and it seems like it wasn't very long ago. Oh well, a lot has certainly changed in that time. I've been sitting here on the porch since Paddy O'Dean invited me in December of 1995, so my rocker there in the corner is showing its age. A lot of names have come and gone from the porch, but I'm still here reading the emails every day, though my interaction has been infrequent for the last few years. I am now retired after 23 wonderful years working for Southern Methodist University. I'm still married to the same wonderful woman and we are just a few months short of 50 years together. Both kids are married and livving in other states. I've moved from the Dallas, TX, area to a small private lake in far East Texas. My new shop is a separate building of about 600 square feet, includes a large wooden deck that looks out over the lake. Since retiring in 2007 I have completed several projects, ranging from Shaker Oval Boxes to a Windsor Chair; all built with hand tools (except for turning the chair's legs on an electric apprentice). I was lucky to be taught how to make the Shaker Boxes, without electricity, by List Mom Emeritus Ralph Brendler when he visited this area a few years back. I still make two or three sets a year and give them away to new friends and charities. I am not a hand-tool purist, but I use them a lot. I've pared my tool arsenal down to only user-grade hand tools except for a couple of sentimental items. I still have a fondness for craftsman-made tools, and I have several from previous Galootaclaus swaps. And according to my wife, I have a chisel addiction, but she just doesn't understand a man's need to rehabilitate chisels. I'm also fond of old woodworking related advertising signs. Well, that should do it for another 20 years or so. Mike DeLong |
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264063 | Ed Minch <ruby1638@a...> | 2017‑11‑26 | Re: Bio v3.0 |
> On Nov 26, 2017, at 5:14 PM, Mike DeLong |
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264114 | Dragon List <dragon01list@g...> | 2017‑11‑30 | Re: Bio v3.0 |
Ed, Not to speak for Mike's experience, but we used finely-set block planes to thin the overlap spots on the boxes (i.e., put a bevel on the non-finger ends of the bands for sides and tops). We were getting it down to under 1/16", using cherry and maple, primarily, though I have a set of Ralph-made cherry/black walnut boxes with the same sort of bevels. Best, Bill Felton, CA |
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264116 | Jim O'Brien <jimob@c...> | 2017‑11‑30 | Re: Bio v3.0 |
Welcome back Mike. Shaker boxes are right in my wheelhouse at the moment. I also took a class from Ralph some 10 years ago in Chicago in conjunction with a MWTCA regional meet. In addition, I stay in touch with John Wilson and Eric Pintar at www.shakerovalbox.com in downstate Charlotte, and visit them whenever I pass through there. I’m making up a large batch of boxes and trays right now for an art fair this weekend. So with the volume of pieces I make, the process is not entirely unplugged. My methods are a blend of those two influences. I sometimes taper the fingers a little bit, but I always taper the buried ends to a feather edge, and use a #3 or #4 bench plane. I clamp the veneer strip to the bench on the back end, and set the front of the strip right up to the edge of the bench. I plane the last ~2” (usually) tapered down to transparency. Sometimes they are a little ragged, but they are naturally held against the inside of the box. If it looks too ratty, I just slice off a diagonal once it is assembled and it looks fine. For box sizes 1 – 3, I start with ~.065 to .085 red maple veneer that a local mill cuts for me. I can get 1/16” on my band saw too, but it’s kind of a bother to make a lot of strips 15” to 48” long with any consistency. For cost reasons, I do slice my own birdseye veneers ~.050 - .070 for gluing to ¼” birch plywood for the tops. Merry Christmas and best wishes to all, Jim O'Brien |
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