The Lost Scrolls of

HANDWORK
An Illustrated Magazine of Practice and Theory
FOR ALL WOODWORKERS, PROFESSIONAL AND AMATEUR
HANDWORK is an amateur woodworking magazine [All Rights reserved.] https://journeymansjournel.wordpress.com

Issue.VII SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2019 PRICE - FREE

The Lost Scrolls of

HANDWORK
ARTICLES
Ottoman Style Shoe Shelf Page 7

Make Your Own liquid Hide Glue Page 15

Drawknife Handmade Leather Cover Page 18

Cut Nails Page 20

1 journeymansjournel.wordpress.com
The Lost Scrolls of

HANDWORK
Durability of Summer cut Lumber Page 23

Old and New Method of Dull Finishes of Furniture Page 24

Destroying Worms in Wood Page 25

Chest with Drawers 1675-1705 Page 26

The Lost Scrolls of HANDWORK 2

About Me
My name is Salko Safic, founder of “The Lost Scrolls of HANDWORK” magazine. Husband,
father of five, three boys and two girls. I live and work wood in Australia on the Gold Coast
in sunny Queensland and am a third-generation woodworker working wood with hand
tools.
I was first introduced to the craft by my father at seven. He was a toy maker who made
rocking horses, cradles and other childrens’ toys for retail outlets. I worked with him on
weekends and built my first cradle a few weeks later. I hadn’t realised then I had been
bitten by the woodworking bug, and have been infected with the joy of working wood ever
since.
I began making clocks professionally in 1998 and ceased operations in 2017 to spend
more time with my family. This also freed me to explore other areas of the craft. I have a
deep-rooted passion to build 18th century style furniture. This is something I’ve wanted to
do for a very long time, but never had the time to do it.
Somewhere along the way I decided to write about my journey in the craft. It started with
the blog, then keeping a journal for my future generation and now this magazine. I’ve
always felt that there was a need for a magazine that would cater to hand tool enthusiasts
like myself. Since I’ve always worked with hand tools and ran a successful business using
mostly hand tools, I was confident that there would be other like-minded craftsmen who
would appreciate such a magazine. So, I took it upon myself to begin this magazine know-
ing full well just how challenging it would be, especially since my writing skills are not quite
up there with the rest; just ask my editor Matt McGrane how he got those greys.
Many times I wanted to throw in the towel; the challenge is enormous. But if I did, there’s
currently no one out there willing to shoulder this enormous responsibility due to it not
being “profitable” enough. I feel it’s my moral obligation to keep this magazine alive in
order to reintroduce skill into the hands of those who want it so that those skills can be
passed on to our future generations.
In a nutshell, I’m just a regular guy who is trying to do his part for humanity and the craft I
love so dearly.

3
Editor’s Notes
“The Lost Scrolls of HANDWORK” is intended for Editor In Chief
the hand tool enthusiast. In these pages I hope Salko Safic
to fill a void in today’s woodworking publications. [email protected]
I want to share with you the joy of working wood
with hand tools, the ease with which hand tools Contributing Editor
can accomplish a task, the wisdom that came Matt McGrane
from centuries of working wood and the tech-
niques that are rapidly being lost to antiquity. Art Director
Working wood with hand tools has grown expo- Salko Safic
nentially in the last ten years. More and more
people are turning towards the handcraft move- Graphic Artist
ment for various personal reasons. Salko Safic
It’s from this movement that this magazine was
born. I hope to deliver many articles of a variety Circulations Officer
of projects throughout the years ahead, by way Salko Safic
of contributing authors/artists. It’s my sincerest
wish this magazine will bring out the best in all Positions Vacant
of us and introduce to you artisans never seen Authors Wanted
nor heard from before, the ones who are tucked
away in their workshops from all the corners of
the world.
“The Lost Scrolls of HANDWORK” is an am-
This magazine is about our craft, it’s about you ateur woodworking eBook magazine publica-
and me, it’s about our unsung heroes of the yes- tion.
This publication may not be reproduced or
teryears. It’s all about woodworking. sold but the projects I have written in the
I am constantly on the hunt for contributing articles may be used for commercial use.
authors. If you feel you’re up to the challenge Project blueprint/working drawings may not
be copied, sold and redistributed through
to write an article for the Lost Scrolls of HAND- any physical or electronic means. Any texts,
WORK, please feel free to shoot me an email. video, sound and artwork are the property
of the respective contributing authors. They
Your generosity and expertise would be greatly may not be used in any manner including re-
appreciated. As always, dear readers, I welcome producing items for sale without the express
your feedback, comments and questions. written consent of the individual writers. Our
authors control their work at all times. Any
of the content/s found within HANDWORK
have been freely given to be published in
HANDWORK free of charge by the contrib-
uting authors or are public domain. The Lost
Scrolls of HANDWORK eBook Magazine ac-
cepts no responsibility in respect of the con-
tent of any site to which a hypertext link from
this eBook exists. The links are provided with
no warranty, express or implied, as to the in-
formation provided within them.

The Lost Scrolls of HANDWORK 4

TO OUR READERS
AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
The cost of producing “The Lost Scrolls
of Handwork” has reached a point that is
beyond one man’s income. Of the seven
issues released to date, six have been free
of charge. I thought it would be possible to
Safety is the ultimate responsibility of every
continue providing a free magazine but as woodworker; hand tools are safe as long as they
it stands, I can no longer burden my family are used as per manufacturer’s instructions.
with the cost. I hope you can understand Keep all blades sharp, blunt tools are dangerous
my predicament. Beginning with Issue 8, I and will result in poor work. Mind where you
will start charging US$5.00 for the maga- place your hands when using your tools. Nev-
zine, and it will be available through Etsy. er work wood when you’re tired or intoxicated,
The magazine has grown and improved even the smallest amounts of alcohol can result
since it was first released in June 2017 and in poor vision and judgment. When operating
it can continue to grow with your support. machinery, read and follow the recommenda-
Please consider purchasing future issues to tions of your machines owner’s manual, using
help ensure the magazine - and our craft - appropriate guards and safety devices, and
maintaining all your tools properly. Use ade-
continue.
quate sight and hearing protection.

Handwork
[email protected] www.journeymansjournel.wordpress.com

ls of
Scrol
st
T he L o

Est. 2017

5
 Woodworking in a Tiny
WOODCENTRAL Shop

I've been woodworking as a hobby for 10 years, the

last 3 years almost entirely with hand tools. The
change happened when I moved and my shop was
seriously downsized and all power tools went into
storage. That was the impetus to get into hand tools,
which was a good thing - it has opened my eyes to
old time woodworking (though I still wish for a
Welcome to WoodCentral! Since 1998, wood- bigger shop).
workers of all stripes have met here in our
forums and chats to share a wealth of good Matt’s Blog
information, offbeat humor and a unique cama-
raderie. In that time, we’ve accumulated thou-
sands of woodworking articles, reviews, “shop
shots” and other features, as well as a million
or more archived messages on just about every
woodworking subject. Browse at your leisure,
stay as long as you like, and don’t hesitate to
send us your suggestions and feedback. Wood-
Central is, and always has been, by and for
YOU!
www.woodcentral.com

The Lost Scrolls of HANDWORK 6

 Ottoman Style Shoe Shelf
BY SALKO SAFIC

In many cultures, removing one’s shoes prior to en- Arabia or possibly the Ottoman period in 17th cen-
tering one’s home is customary. God told Moses to tury Turkey and the rest is just standard worldwide
remove his shoes before God’s presence, but besides construction.
religious reasons it is practiced for hygienic rea- The two species of wood I’ve chosen are bird’s-eye
sons. My cultural background is Bosnian, and I was cedar for the main frame and an African species
brought up to remove my shoes before entering my called eyong for the raised panels. Eyong is very soft
house. I continue this tradition in my own home. and will dent easily, so raised panels are a good use
The shoe shelf mixes and matches design aspects for it. The two give a beautiful contrast and a mood
from different places. The raised panels are from of antiquity.
16th century Europe, the Arabic lettering from To cover the cost of materials and to make this Issue

7
free to download, I don’t provide the dimensions or Lay out and cut the tenons for the rails according to
include the plans in this article. If you wish to build the plans. Then layout and cut the mortises in the
this heirloom piece, please consider supporting the mating stiles. The picture below shows one stile with
magazine by purchasing the plans made available to its two mortises complete. Mark the other stiles from
you via Etsy. You can also support the magazine by the first by first flushing the ends and placing in a
donating money via PayPal. vise.
This project is an exercise in marking joinery directly
from mating pieces, rather than measuring, which
can cause inaccuracy. Read on to see the various
ways this is achieved.

Side Assemblies
The shoe shelf comprises two side assemblies and
two shelves. The side assemblies are frames that each
house two panels. Dimension the stock, but don’t
cut to final length yet. Determine the parts’ ar-
rangement in the frame and mark the inside faces as
reference surfaces.
Place a chisel against the end wall of the first mortise
Plough a centred groove on the inside edges of all
and move a square up to the chisel, as in the picture.
pieces, making sure to reference off the inside faces.
With the square in that location and the chisel held
perpendicular to the stiles, mark the extents of the
mortises for the remaining stiles. Repeat for the other
end of the mortise. This ensures that all the mortises
are in perfect alignment with each other.

When ploughing, I use a sticking board, lining up

the stock to be flush along the front of the sticking
board so that the plough plane fence has more sur-
face to ride against. Plans for this sticking board are
in Issue IV of the magazine. Chop or bore out the mortises and pare to the layout
Crosscut the rails to their final length. To ensure all lines. Fit the tenons to their mortises with judicious
rails are the same length, mark the other rails from paring and test-fit the frame.
the first one cut. Make the panels that will be housed in the grooves
of the rails and stiles. Before raising the panels, scroll
the designs, which are included in the plans and can
be temporarily glued to the faces. Make sure there is
enough room around the scroll design for the bevels
of the panel.

The Lost Scrolls of HANDWORK 8

 Since the stiles received grooves along their entire
length and the lower part of the project has no panels
to fill those grooves, that section of groove must be
filled.

Make inserts to fit the grooves using offcuts whose

grain matches the grain of its mating piece. Plane
the thickness until the fit of the insert is snug in its
groove. Glue in the insert, making its upper end flush
with the lower end of the mortise.
When the scrolling is complete, remove the paper
and use a pencil to create guide lines for the bevels on
the faces and edges of the panel. Plane to the lines
and test the fit in the frame.

Recall that the stiles have not been cut to final length.
Saw both the stile and the insert at the same time,
then cut away the excess insert and plane it flush.
Check to see if the width of the panel is correct. The
edge of the panel should almost reach the bottom
of the groove. If you find the panel just doesn’t fit
and the joints won’t close up, then either plane the
bevels a bit more or use a Stanley No.79 to widen the
grooves.
If done correctly this is the end result. The frame
joints close up completely and the lines on the raised
panels match corner to corner perfectly.

The side assemblies are not quite complete. Mortises

need to be laid out and cut in the stiles to mate with
tenons of the shelf long rails, but that will come a
little later.

9
Shelf Assemblies To mark the mortise width, set a marking gauge to
the short rail’s shoulder depth as in the picture below
There are two shelves and each includes two long rails and make the mark on the long rail. This same mark
and two short rails. Dimension all eight parts accord- can be made on both sides of the long rail since the
ing to the plans. tenon is centered in the short rail and the two parts
are of equal width.

Lay out and cut the tenons on one end of the short
rails and lay out and cut the tenons on both ends of
the long rails. Use a router plane to pare down to the
layout lines. Don’t forget to pare the sawn surfaces of
the shoulders.

Transfer the lines to the other side of the long rail,

cut the through mortise, and pare to the layout lines.
Make a test fit and adjust as needed. If done accurate-
ly the short shelf rail will be flush with the long shelf
To locate the mortises on the long rails that will fit rail.
the short rail tenons, line up the shoulder of a short
rail with the scribed shoulder line on the mating long
rail. With a knife, transfer the thickness of the tenon
as shown below. This gives the mortise length.

The Lost Scrolls of HANDWORK 10

Before continuing with the shelves, it is necessary to The resulting layout lines are shown below.
make mortises in the side frame stiles to fit the long
shelf rail tenons. Butt the shoulder of the shelf long
rail against the side stile and mark both sides of the
width of the tenon onto the stile, as shown below.
This gives the length of the mortise.

Lay out all eight side stile mortises in this manner

and cut the mortises. Test the fit of the tenons and
adjust as necessary. Be sure to mark the joints to be
able to put the mating parts back together.

To mark the width of the mortise, butt the long shelf

Bring Together the Shelves and Sides
rail tenon against the edge of the side stile as shown
below and mark off the face of the long shelf rail.
Dry assemble and clamp up the side frames to ensure
This will result in the outside edge of the stile being
the joints are tight. Dry assemble the long shelf
flush to the long shelf rail.
rails with the assembled side frames. Recall that
each short shelf rail only had one end tenoned. The
shoulder line for the other tenon needs to be deter-
mined from this dry assembly. Place the shoulder of
the short rail’s tenoned end against the inside surface
of its mating long rail. The other end of the short
rail will be resting on the other long rail. Mark the
shoulder line where the short rail meets the long rail
and square the line around the piece. Lay out and
cut the tenon on the short rail.
Now disassemble the project and lay out the long
To mark the opposite side of the width of the mor- rail’s mortise location directly from the short rail
tise, flush the edge of the long shelf rail against the tenon, as done before. Cut the mortise and fit the
edge of the side stile and mark with a chisel as shown. tenon.
Transfer those layout lines to the opposite side.
Now add the support rails to the shelf assemblies.
The support rails will be inserted into stopped dados
in the underside of the short shelf rails. To make sure
the stopped dados are perfectly parallel to each other,
flush up the opposing short shelf rails and mark them
at the same time.

11
The depth of the stopped dados is the same as the Add glue and insert the short shelf rail tenons into
thickness of the support rails so that the support rails the long shelf rail mortises and hammer in a wedge.
end up flush with the short rails. The width of the Drive the wedges carefully as there is little wood
dadoes is the same as the width of the support rails. between the mortise and the long shelf rail shoulder.
Chop and square the dados and fit one end of the Allow the glue to dry on the shelf frames and flush
support rails. Number the mating pieces to be able the wedged tenons.
to assemble the same way during final assembly.

Next glue in the shelf support rails. Finishing nails

To determine where to cut the length of the support or screws can be added as extra support. The shelf
rails, assemble and clamp together the short shelf rails assembly should look as in the picture below.
and long shelf rails. Place one end of the support
rails in its dado and mark the length directly from the
other short rail dado.

While the glue is drying, cut the battens to length.

Determine the lengths directly from the shelf assem-
bly. Space the battens so they appear to be equally
spaced. Glue and nail each batten in place. I used
Shelf Assembly Fine Cut Headless Brads Standard 2D 1” long from
Tremont Nail. This cedar can be brittle and I feared it
The tenons that join the short rails to the long rails
could split using a larger cut nail.
will be wedged. The slot sawn in the short rail ten-
ons should be perpendicular to the grain of the long
shelf rails when assembled. Before sawing the slot in
the tenon, drill a hole near the bottom of the tenon
so that the tenon won’t split when driving the wedge
home.

Side Assembly Glue-up

Glue up the side assemblies and clamp them over-

night.

The Lost Scrolls of HANDWORK 12

When the glue has dried, plane the joints flush.

Final Assembly and Finishing

All that’s left to do is to glue the two side assemblies to the shelves. Assemble both shelves with one side
assembly first, then add the second side assembly. Wedge the tenons and clamp the final assembly. When the
glue has dried, clean up the joints.
The project was finished with three coats antique oil, followed by a coat of Renaissance paste wax for a silky
feel.

13
The Lost Scrolls of HANDWORK 14
Make Your Own Liquid Hide Glue
BY SALKO SAFIC

The Lost Scrolls of HANDWORK 15

I came across a website several weeks ago that showed
how to make liquid hide glue. I copied it down but
didn’t note the website I took it from. So, whoever
you are I thank you.

What you need:

Hide glue granules

Urea
Water
Container

Cover and let it sit overnight. The next day heat the
mixture up to 140°F (60°C) for 2 hours. The liq-
uid hide glue is now ready to be used. Pour it into a
small plastic bottle and when you need it, just heat
the bottle by immersing in hot water until the glue
temperature reaches 140°F.
Results
The results turned out better than expected. Tack
time is about 4 minutes and I really didn’t get much
more from Patrick Edwards’ “Old Brown Glue”. I
ripped, jointed and edge glued the some beech and
These three ingredients are mixed by measure of let it sit for an hour. An hour is never usually long
weight. Follow this recipe to mix your own batch. enough time as no glue can cure within that short
1 oz (28 grams) of 192 gram strength hide glue gran- time span, but it shocked me that I couldn’t break the
ules joint. What’s even more surprising is that the glue
0.2 oz (5.6 grams) of urea dried clear! See for yourselves. The glue joint is in the
1.5 oz (42 grams) of distilled water middle.
Mix the urea into the granules and stir.

Then pour the distilled water into the mix and give it
a quick stir.

16
Then I edge glued pine and the squeeze out was a whereas you cannot perform a rubbed joint with LH
light transparent brown colour. When I wiped it off, (the pieces I used were very thin and even then, I
there was no dark colour on the glue joint. Again, see couldn't do a proper rubbed joint).
for yourselves. • You can glue an edge joint with HH straight
off the plane. However, you cannot glue an edge
joint with LH straight off the plane; the edge surface
must be roughed up with some course grit paper.

I guess that last note is the most important bit of in-

formation about LH. The first test I did was a failure
as the glue joint broke on the glue line without much
effort, the reason was that the surface was smooth
off the plane. I suspected this would happen, but I
thought maybe a home batch of LH would react dif-
ferently and it didn't. I wrote about this in Issue III
of this magazine. For the second test of an edge joint
Liquid Hide Experiment Conclusion using LH, I roughed the edges with 80 grit sandpa-
per. Obviously, it was a success.
Liquid hide glue isn’t known to be good for per-
forming a rubbed joint. However, I thought I would
As you can see there are notable differences between
include that usage in my experiment. I let the rubbed
liquid hide glue and hot hide glue. In general, it
joint sit for 12 hours. The glue on the surface was
would be better to use hot hide glue over liquid hide
gummy as expected. It’s a good practice to allow 24
glue, but it's also comforting to know that if you
hours to cure, but I wanted to see the effectiveness of
need that extra open time LH will do the job equally
the homemade batch after 12 hours. The results were
well.
that the glue won. It held up its end of the bargain
doing its job perfectly. As you can see in the picture
below the glue line is intact.

Some points to note before I wither away into my

shop.

• Hot hide glue (HH) will dry hard relatively

quickly on the surface; that has been my personal
experience. However, liquid hide glue (LH) will
remain gummy on the surface for longer than 24 hrs
because of the urea, but will cure in the joint.
• You can perform a rubbed joint with HH,

The Lost Scrolls of HANDWORK 17

 Drawknife Handmade Leather Cover
BY SALKO SAFIC

Ever since I got my drawknife, I’ve protected the edge with blue tape. This may have worked for the times
when I wasn’t using it, but when I did it quickly became annoying taking the tape off and putting it back on
several times over the days of use. I told myself that I needed a cover of some sort, preferably leather.
I went on the hunt for a drawknife cover and came across Texas Heritage Woodworks. They are a small family
run business - a husband and wife team that work off their ranch in Menard, Texas. Jason, who is the crafts-
man, specialises in shop aprons, tools rolls, leather and vice hardware. The bonus is that all their products are
crafted by hand.
For the cover I purchased, the leather type is English Bridle 10 oz. The cover is wet formed and hand stitched
using the traditional saddle stitch technique. The cover is secured around the drawknife with a solid brass
snap. Texas Heritage offers these covers in four different colours; Dark Brown, Black, Chestnut and Burgun-
dy. However, the drop-down menu on their website currently only has two options: Dark Brown and Chest-
nut. The sizes range from 6 inches to 13 inches.

18
To measure what size you need, just measure the blade and round up to the nearest inch. They do not recom-
mend you rely on the number stamped on the blade.

Texas Heritage also have covers for curved blades. Mine cost $40.00 plus $25.00 for shipping international
(in US dollars). On conversion it was about AUD$98.00. That’s pretty expensive, but it’s a lifetime invest-
ment which I know will get passed on to future generations.

The Lost Scrolls of HANDWORK 19

 Cut NailsBY SALKO SAFIC

I’m not sure how far back in history nails go, but By the early 1900’s, wire nails were being produced.
there is evidence of nail making as far back as Ro- Their shanks were cylindrical and they came to a
man times about 2000 years ago. Nails used to be tapered point at the end. Their holding power in
forged by blacksmiths until the first machines for comparison to cut nails is four times less. That mat-
making nails appeared in the 1600’s. These machines tered very little to mass manufacturers then and now,
were nothing more than a workbench equipped with as they are cheaper to produce.
a pair of treadle operated hammers. But while the
machine saved the blacksmith from swinging a ham-
mer it didn’t speed up the process of making a nail.
Nails were still being made one at a time.
One hundred years later another machine was
devised that cut triangular strips of metal; hence
the name “cut” nail. This may come as a surprise to
some, but not all nails were called cut nails. Prior
to cut nails there were wrought nails, meaning a
blacksmith handmade them using a forge, anvil and
hammer. A cut nail is a machine made nail, but both
types of nails were taper ground with rectangular
cross-sections resulting in superior holding power.

20
Handmade nail (top) Cut nail (middle) Wire nail stock like on certain types of mantle clocks I used
(bottom) to make or on mouldings and picture frames. These
Cut nails have a superior holding power in compar- slender nails don’t need a pilot hole prior to nailing
ison to wire nails due to their wedging action in the and are less prone to splitting the wood.
wood. Once the cut nail penetrates the wood, the The general sizes I like to use are:
wood fibres bend with great force, gripping the nail • 7/8”
better than they would a wire nail. • 2d – 1”
Prior to hammering a cut nail into a piece of wood, • 4d – 1 ½”
one must drill a small pilot hole to avoid splitting Decorative Wrought Head Black Oxide Finish are
the timber. When hammering in the nail, keep the machine-made nails designed to simulate a hand
wider side of the nail aligned with the grain to avoid forged nail of the late 1700’s. The head has three
splitting the timber. facets and the nail has a black oxide coating.

Right
Wrong
There are all types of cut nails but the ones we’re Clinch – Rosehead are, as the name suggests, mallea-
concerned with in furniture making and restoration ble enough that they can be clinched. You can clinch
work are of four types. hinges with them, for example.
• Fine Finish Standard For furniture work these four types are the recom-
• Fine Cut Headless Brad Standard mended nails to use. I think it’s a good idea to have a
• Decorative Wrought Head Black Oxide Fin- few of the Wrought Head Nails if you plan to do any
ish 17th century work.
• Clinch – Rosehead Standard While it’s frowned upon in modern society and
Fine Finish is the general type you would use in fur- deemed low quality work to use nails, it was quite
niture making. For example, you may add the back common in the 18th century for cabinetmakers to
to a chest of drawers. The head is flat so it should be use nails in their finest furniture. Modern day wire
flush with the work when hammered in. Also, these nails have given nails in general a bad name due to
nails are malleable. So as the back of a chest of draw- their poor holding qualities. I think once you try
ers or the bottom of a drawer expands and contracts them you will never look back.
with seasonal changes in humidity, the nail will move Where can cut nails be bought?
with it while screws will not. USA
The general sizes I like to use are: There is only one company in the USA that is still
• 3d - 1” length making traditional nails. Tremont Nail has been mak-
• 4d – 1 ½” ing nails since 1830 and is still going strong. That
• 5d – 1 ¾” says a lot for the quality products they continue to
• 6d – 2” make. You can buy directly from Tremont Nail, but
Fine Cut Headless Brads are mostly used for thinner

The Lost Scrolls of HANDWORK 21

unfortunately they do not ship outside USA. considerable thickness, say upon one of the pieces
Tools for Working Wood is a reseller of Tremont of 4 1/2 in by 3 in. advised for a planing lesson. Let
Nails and they do ship outside USA. However, the the Sawyer stand so that he can see the lines appear
shipping costs are prohibitive. as one line, or, in other words, let him stand so that
his eye is in the same plane as the lines ruled for the
AUSTRALIA guidance of the saw. In such a position he can, with
The only Australian business I know of resell- slight alteration of position, glance at either side of
ing Tremont Nails is Goods and Chattels here in the blade of saw, and can exercise watchfulness to
Queensland, and they have very reasonable prices. In check the slightest tendency to depart from the line.
fact, the USA could take serious advantage of the low If this care is not exercised quite at the beginning of
Australian dollar and probably buy them for much the cut, it will soon be too late to return to the line
less than what a business could on wholesale. at all, and the temptation to try again from the other
and of the stuff will become almost irresistible. If
possible, however, try to avoid this, and master the
use of the saw by means of perseverance and careful
Short Lessons in Woodworking practice.

By BA Baxter
for Amateurs On of the most important items to remember is the
position of the elbow. Without wishing to dogmatise,
Saws are a difficulty to the beginner, and no small seeing that an expert can do good work in almost
part of his trouble arises from the apparent ease with any position and with his elbow moving in almost
which a practiced hand can divide the stuff. Let me any direction, a beginner ought to make his elbow
give you some practical advice. Always mark a line move in the plane in which the saw moves. Just try
for sawing, and, in cross cutting, let the line be made and experiment: Mark a line on a board, then, with a
on two adjacent surfaces, for there are many who can strip of wood held in the hand, try to move the strip
saw a board at right angles as far as breadth is con- so that it constantly agrees with the line, with various
cerned, but if the square is applied to test the edge positions of the elbow, close to the sides and more
it will be found that the angle is not that desired. In extended from it, and then apply the result to the use
all probability the first attempt to use a saw results of the saw.
in a quantity of saw dust, an increased temperature
in the operator, some divided wood. It seems almost
absurd, but it is necessary to advise the proper saw to
be chosen at first, and to persevere with it, not taking
Don't Overheat the Glue
all the saws in stock one after the other to try which Many woodworkers overheat glue, causing a consid-
is the best, neither try all sorts of positions for the erable depreciation of the quality and lessening the
material or for the operator, for if there is anything in work which a given quantity of glue may accomplish.
which an unstable or vacillating policy is injurious it Glue should never be heated hotter than 135 to 140
is in learning to saw. The operator should as soon as degrees (60 degrees Celsius). Never heat glue “boiling
possible form a habit (of course, if possible, a correct hot” if you wish to obtain the best results from it.
one) and stick to it. Glue may be easily heated by steam to 200 or even
The choice of saws depends on the work to be done. 205 degrees, and if a pressure steam heated glue heat-
An amateur may need a “half rip” saw; that is the er be used, the temperature may be driven up as high
coarsest he will need. If he works in hardwood a as 250 degrees.
handsaw will do instead; a panel saw is indispensable. Heating glue too hot, especially by steam heat, before
These saws, which ha=e no backs to stiffen them, the glue is entirely dissolved will surely cause lumps
form a group which may be said to be generally used which will do a great deal of damage to the work as
on the stools, while the tenon and dovetail saws, well as require considerable expensive labour to get
which are furnished with a back, are for smaller work, rid of them.
and are used on the bench. Another thing in regard to glue: don't buy cheap glue
The advice given to square the lines on two adja- for use in summer. Remember, the hotter the weather
cent surfaces would be more effective on wood with the better the quality of glue is necessary.

22
 Durability of Summer cut Lumber
Wood Preserving World
There is a widely spread popular fallacy to the effect exceptional checking and are able to make better
that lumber from trees cut in spring or summer, headway than on less checked timber.
when the sap is up, is less durable than winter cut
wood. Laboratory tests have failed to measure such a
difference. Theoretically, summer cut wood because
it has slightly more soluble content might be more
liable to attack of fungus or insects in damp loca-
tions, but in practice this factor is too small to receive
consideration.
Our highest authorities are far from agreeing on this
subject. Prof. S. J. Record says that the trouble with
these plausible theories is that they are based on false
premises and that there is generally more sap in a
living tree in winter than there is in summer, and fur-
thermore, that decay is not due to sap fermentation
but to the action of living organisms of which fungi
are the most important. During the winter practi-
cally, no transpiration occurs in deciduous trees, as
there are no leaves. The roots, however, do not cease
their activity, but continue to grow slowly and absorb
water even in the cold weather. With no chance of
escape through the leaves this water or sap accumu-
lates, so that instead of there being less in a tree in
winter than in summer there is really more.
This explanation sounds very reasonable, but to the
layman it would appear from the fact that the sap
goes up in the spring, that fact that the sap which
may be accumulating during the winter instead of
making more sap in the tree itself really accumulates
in the roots and on account of the frozen condition
of the tree remains there until the thawing out of the
tree in the spring when it immediately starts up into
the tree, causing the starting of the buds and later the
leaves.
Howard F. Weiss, another authority on the subject
and who conducted many experiments, states that
the question is not one of how much sap there is in
a tree in the winter, but that the question is whether
wood cut in summer is more liable to decay than that
cut in winter, and makes the following explanation
which we believe is the correct one:
First, wood seasoned in the summer seasons faster,
causing more checking than when seasoned in winter.
This, of course, lays more of the timber open to the
attack of destroying fungi.
Second, these fungi are more active in warm weather
than in cold and are quick to take advantage of this

The Lost Scrolls of HANDWORK 23

Old and New Methods for Dull Finishes of
Furniture
By Tischler Zeitung
All woodwork is usually provided with some sort of finish, regardless whether the wood retains it's natural
colour or whether it is treated with some sort of stain.
It is of course out of the question to leave a piece of furniture in the perfectly natural state, as every finger
mark would leave it's impress on the woodwork and soon spoil it. For this reason even the waterproof stains
are mixed with a liquid which will coal the wood slightly, saturate the fibre and prevent the showing of greasy
finger marks, without however, changing the natural tone of the wood.
The ordinary finishes containing shellac cannot be used for this purpose unfortunately, for even the so called
white shellac changes the fundamental tone of the wood and darkens the wood to some extent. Where the
final finish is to be dull and somewhat deadened, wax is added to the stain. The wax robs the stain of it's
brightness, deadens it in other words.
This tone is however, very desirable in present practice and we will find that only the less costly grades of fur-
niture are finished with a brilliant finish polish.
The waxing has one drawback though, in that it reduces the adherence of the stain in the wood, as the layer
does not permit a thorough bond between shellac and wood fibre. The more wax is used the worse is the
effect. The wax coating ought to be very thin in order to decrease the disadvantages growing out of it's use.
Furthermore, only the best stains can be used as otherwise the effect will be unsatisfactory. For most stains
the ones containing pure shellac are the best, regardless whether they are used with or without previous wax-
ing.
The shellac layer is so elastic that it follows the movement in the wood, i.e. the expansion, contraction,
shrinkage of the same without cracking. The poorer qualities of resin are not capable of this and care must be
taken, therefore, to obtain only first class guaranteed shellac stains and not cheap products.
All such stains should be applied as follows: First, the stain is diluted with alcohol or else with the prepara-
tions manufactured by the various firms and then it is applied with a good bristle brush, always in the direc-
tion of the wood fibre. The brush is only supposed to be slightly moistened, to prevent applying too heavy
a coating. After drying, the wood is rubbed with horsehair and the stain again applied with prepared cotton
waste or the soft brush.
If waterproof stains are used, it is sufficient to wax the woodwork or furniture first and let it stand for several
weeks, when the wax will have penetrated the grain completely.
A deadened dull surface can be obtained by simple application of the stain with a stiff bristle brush, provided
the tip only is moistened, and the stain applied pretty dry and rubbed into the fibre. The bristles will deaden
the shellac mass at once, thus avoiding all polish at the start.
All the ornaments are to be coated rapidly with the brush soaked with the stain. The stain is then worked
into the grain with a larger bristle brush, obtaining the dead finish desired.
The chemical industry has of course furnished the woodworker with prepared stains that need no other agent
to obtain the desired dull finish. Many of these in Germany have a disadvantage though in that they give the
wood a sort of dull grayish gleam that does not bring out the colours clearly.
Some of the compounds have peculiar characteristics. Thus in one of them we can get the dull finish if we let
the stain dry and then rub it vigorously with a horsehair brush. If, however, we rub it with the brush while
still wet, we still obtain a polished finish. In other words we have two possibilities of finishing. Most of these
compounds may be used for waterproof stains as finishes, as they react to every degree of moisture. This is
very evident in new buildings especially where the woodwork will take on a grayish tone, which is hard to
remove and of course detracts from the beauty of the finished wood. This is, however, peculiar due to the
composition of the compounds and no fault in preparation.
With waterproof stains the finishing compounds play a subordinate role, as they need not be as powerful in

24
resistance to atmospheric changes and influences as the ordinary stains and paints that give off colouring mat-
ter when moistened with water.
Some of the finishes mentioned above can be used to obtain different effects depending on treatment. The
last man will think that three or more different kinds of stains and finishes have been used, while in reality
only one is used. One fundamental stain is sufficient and either the same finishing compound can be used in
different ways or else different compounds can be used.
The woodwork in one room can be stained, then polished and waxed. Another room can be finished after
staining with some deadened dull finish and after half hour drying, be polished with a horsehair brush; a
third room can be finished with the same compound and rubbed briskly immediately after the application.
The result will be three different effects with the same finish.

Destroying worms in wood

Certain conditions like structure, fibre, the grain of certain kinds of lumber, especially of the soft woods, also
changes in temperature have a considerable influence on their susceptibility to the attacks of wood worms,
wood fretted, wood ticks, death watchers and whatever other names are given to these destructive little pests.
Protection especially for wooden frame buildings by using lumber not easily attacked, is out of the question as
nearly every type of lumber is attacked sooner or later.
If once these worms take hold of the framework and begin their destructive career, it is hard to weed them
out.
Some of the cheaper preventative measures will be discussed briefly in the following paragraphs:
In the case of furniture and smaller pieces of joinery and so forth, some success can be reached by pouring
turpentine benzine petroleum or alcohol into the boreholes from time to time and then closing them with
putty, provided the worms have attacked only small areas.
These liquids are, of course, out of the question for larger constructions, as we have in roof timbers and truss
works, on account of their inflammable nature. Here we need some agent which is cheap, is fireproof and at
the same time will bring death to the organisms by penetrating deep into the wood fibre.
Tests have been made successfully by sprinkling the wood with boiling hot soap lye mixed with salt water. If
this followed by closing the holes with a mixture of glue and putty, the worms will be effectively killed, as
their air supply is cut off, even if they should have escaped the soap lye. In place of the lye, carbolineum can
be used, provided there is no objection to the odour.
Better, and just cheap, is the method which coats the wood with a calcium or lime sulphate solution or with
sulphuric acid, repeating this process several times.
These liquids penetrate deeply into the wood, kill all organisms, and are easily applied. The only drawback,
that of fuming during application, can be guarded against without much difficulty. The liquids evaporate rap-
idly, so that there is no danger of molesting the people in the house with the odour for any length of time.

The Lost Scrolls of HANDWORK 25

 Chest with Drawers,1675–1705
Workshop of Peter Blin

Typical of the so-called “sunflower” chests that were Object Details

produced in the Wethersfield area of Connecticut, Maker:Workshop of Peter Blin (ca. 1675–
this example displays a striking combination of 1725)
shallow-relief floral carving and applied decoration. Date:1675–1700
The center front panel features the owner’s initials Geography:Made in Wethersfield, Connecti-
surrounded by a wreath of tulips—a variant of the cut, United States
standard motif of three sunflowers. The carving on Culture:American
the panels resembles patterns for sixteenth-century Medium:White oak, yellow pine, white cedar
embroideries. Dimensions:39 7/8 x 48 x 21 1/4 in. (101.3 x
121.9 x 54 cm)

26
The Lost Scrolls of HANDWORK 27