Crafts / Craftsmen / craftswomen (craftspeople, I suppose)

I remember making one of these at college. It's a tricky little bugger!

Never tried one of these though...

Generally made with a router nowadays. A great test of your skill, if you have the time.

Ach. looks like a bitch.

Last night I found a nice piece of wavy figure in the cherry I'm using as a back on my guitar. Horrible to plane/scrape smooth but should look nice when finished.

A couple of weeks ago, I came back from a ride & saw a neighbour across the road struggling with a cherry tree which had grown too close to his house. I offered to help, as he's quite an elderly chap & I could see that he was going to do himself some damage.

Whilst carrying out this good neighbourly gesture, I mentioned what I did & asked if he fancied sparing a bit from his log burner for something more creative. Not only didn't he mind, he offered me access to his log pile ( everything I write lately sounds like a euph! )

I now have several different sized bits of cherry that I can add to my assortment of drying timber :-)

Score!

I remember making one of these at college. It's a tricky little bugger!

3 questions...
wtf?
how?
why?

3 answers...
:-)
with some difficulty
to show off & confuse people

^^ If you're interested, it's about halfway down the page.

http://mvflaim.wordpress.com/tag/dovetail/

^^ well done then.
(I knew it was a wrongun)
I would call it the 'Savile dovetail'

A lot of joints are lovely to look at & quite therapeutic to work on ( when they go right ) The only one that I've used in a practical way are half lap joints.

These things are just far too convenient.

This is one I made about 5 years ago. Starts off as 3 square frames made using through tenons below and saddle joints at the top. Then I screw long pieces to them. This bench is used mainly for storing old bicycle parts and other rammel.
If I want to do any carpentry I have to get the workmate out :)

^ Nice vice! I've yet to start building my new bench :-(

It is a Record 52e given to my father in 1947 as a reward for raising the alarm when a local business caught fire. (he was asked what he wanted).
This is the 3rd bench it has been fixed to as the others succumbed to wet rot and woodworm etc. That's why the latest bench sits on aluminium feet and is held off the wall with brackets.
Record stuff from that era is the dogs bollocks. I have bought 2 similar vices for less than £20 each off ebay and are so much better than the modern 'Irwin' equivalent.
I am going to try and make one of these next:
http://www.woodworkuk.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=808

^ Nice to have that kind of history to a tool. Vice project looks interesting. Will you be using Dura Ace for the gear wheels then ;-)

Ha!
Now you mention it, I will have to use Chater Lee sprockets and Renold chain to keep it all contemporaneous.

Never tried one of these though...

Generally made with a router nowadays. A great test of your skill, if you have the time.

Part of my boatbuilding apprenticeship was building this toolbox. It's all made with hand tools, and the dovetails are cut and chiseled by hand. Mitred dovetails in the lid, and the trays inside are all made with invisible,internal dovetails.

I have worked as a ship's carpenter, on a very large classic wooden yacht, so all my tools were flown out in this chest. It lived onboard with us, and survived being used as a seat in the crews' mess, for a year! It has sailed round the med, and I still use it for my tools every day. I hope this is something which will last a lifetime.

^ Beautiful work Sam! What type of finish did you use? Oil?

absofuckinbootiful

^ Beautiful work Sam! What type of finish did you use? Oil?

Thanks very much. It's actually got a few coats of clear black bison wax. I think these photos were taken just after applying the first coat. The finish is a bit more even now, I think.

One of the first things I made was a box for a friend to store his art materials in. Wasn't as nice as yours though.

that toolbox is sick. I'd be well chuffed if I'd made something like that for myself. I've done the straps for my cameras, and a bag for one, and just using those is nice, but it doesn't even compare to that stonker of a piece.

^euph

Thanks,
I'm not really academically minded, but I enjoy working with my hands. I also play around with a bit of leatherwork. This is a backpack I made, when I needed a new bag in Australia, but a decent backpack was more than $100 to buy. This cost about $25 in materials, and again, hopefully it will last a lifetime.

A year on a boat as a ship's carpenter? What moisturiser do you use for your hands?? Haha. How long did the tool box take you to make? And how much wood did you waste? I think I'm going to kill a whole forest before I get anywhere near that!

I made a box like that in college, still got it but never use it. Completed the course 2months before most of the other guys so the tutor looked through some books he had and gave us a challenge. Hidden dovetails are a bitch.