Category Archives: Working Smarter (Not Harder)

Sanding vs. Planing

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One of the questions I am frequently asked is how I achieve such smooth, even surfaces.

Planing and sanding are two methods of removing material and smoothing surfaces. Each technique is completely valid and has its advantages and disadvantages.  When deciding which to use, consider the following.

Planing

Plane when:

  1. you want to achieve a flat surface and crisp edges;
  2. you are using a wood with varying densities and you want it to feel flat and even;
  3. the material tends to clog or quickly dull sandpaper, making sanding impractical; or
  4. the most perfect surface is desired.

Sanding

Sand when:

  1. the flatness of the surface isn’t critical or you need to blend curves or surfaces;
  2. you are using softwood and want the surface to simulate wear or create undulations;
  3. the material is too soft or difficult to work with a plane; or
  4. it is undesirable to have cleanly cut fibres and a highly polished, bare wood surface (e.g. to reduce the sheen).

The Value of Prototyping

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Some of my recent designs have involved complex angled joinery, such as the base of this table inspired by a sketch by Vic Hubbard.  I was having a hard time visualizing in my head how the joinery would work, so I built a prototype to help me understand.

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Since it’s only a prototype to explore the mechanics of the base, I didn’t bother to make the top with the fancy joinery where one V penetrates the edges.  The base was made from two Vs joined with cross laps for a strong connection.  For the top I chose a piece of cherry that tapered in width, to match the footprint of the base and I secured it with dowels.

This is the twelfth slide from my PechaKucha presentation.

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As a table it works, but not very well.  However, I now know how to improve the next one.

You can see more pictures and read details of this table here.

My Fastener Storage System

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Last week, Tom Iovino featured my site on his blog, Tom’s Workbench.  This was part of his write-up about my work.

“Chris has a very skilled eye for design and incorporating bold, natural shapes in his woodworking projects.”

- Tom Iovino

He also included this picture of me in my workshop.

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Ben Strano (@sonicfedora) spotted my fasteners cabinet in the background and asked for some details, so here they are.

Above my workbench, fasteners and small hardware bits are stored in clear plastic divider boxes with self-locking lids that prevent spills.  (I also have another group of them near my drill press where they hold screwdriver bits, countersinks, pen parts and more.)

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The top shelf contains divider boxes with small box hardware, magnets, and 8-32 bolts for handles and knobs.  The next shelf has trim-head screws, boxes of nails, wooden plugs, and picture framing hardware.  I rarely access the contents of the top two shelves.

The boxes on the middle shelf hold round-head screws and the one below holds flat-head screws.  On the bottom row are boxes of 1/4-20 hardware.

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Whether working at my bench or elsewhere, I appreciate the unwillingness of the divider boxes to spill their contents regardless of whether their lids are open or closed.  Whenever working on something that requires assembly or disassembly, I grab an empty divider box to contain all the parts as well as screwdriver bits, drill bits, hex keys or other small bits.

I’ve been using these divider boxes for just over three years and have been really happy with the system.  They contain and organize my hardware, make it easy to sort, identify and select, and do not create any problems in doing so.  Which reminds me that I need to buy some more of those boxes…

How to Read Instructions

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I recently learned that the fine print doesn’t always contain the most important, critical information.

First I Researched

I’ve been experimenting with casting using the Smooth-On’s Crystal Clear resin and did my first pour in the making of Deconstructed.  The resin wasn’t cheap and casting was new to me, so I did my research before purchasing the best product for my needs.

At the store I explained to the sales associate what I wanted to do and he agreed that I had chosen the best resin for the job.  Confident about my product selection, I bought two kits – enough for a one-inch-thick casting, according to our estimations.

Then I Planned

Back in my shop, I began planning for the pour, trying to anticipate everything that I would need.  I waxed the mould well, got a bucket and mixing spatula for the resin, figured out where to pour and how to maintain the correct temperature range, and read the instructions and safety precautions again and again.

The Pour Wasn’t Perfect

With as much planning done as I could bear, I took a deep breath, opened the resin and began mixing, then pouring the resin.  The pour went well, but I noticed that the resin was curing more quickly than I had expected which resulted in trapped air bubbles.

At first, I thought that it was my fault – that I had poured too quickly or that the vibrating technique introduced air bubbles instead of releasing them.  Then, talking with Paul-Marcel, I realized what the problem was.

How I Made the Mistake

When I bought the resin, I had four Crystal Clear formulations from which to choose: 200, 202, 204, and 206.  From my research, I had learned that the most viscous (thick) resin is for castings 1/16 – 1/2″ thick.  Thinner mixtures take longer to cure so they allow air bubbles to escape from thicker pours.

It was the second most viscous resin that I wanted, which was recommended for castings from 1/2 – 3″ thick, so I got the Crystal Clear 202 formulation.  What I had overlooked was that 202 is actually the resin for castings up to 1/2″ thick and I wanted Crystal Clear 200 (so from thin to thick castings, you’d want 202, 200, 204, then 206).

When I got back to my shop, I opened the boxes in which the resin was packaged and put the resin bottles on my bench, saved the instruction sheet, and tossed the boxes in the recycling.  The instructions that came with the resin were for the whole family of Crystal Clear resins so I didn’t notice that I had the wrong resin.

As I later realized, on the front of the boxed in large print, it said: “Crystal Clear 202, 90 minutes cure time, 9 minutes pot life”.  I knew that the resin I intended to use had a 16 hour cure time so had I noticed this I would have clued in to the fact that I had the wrong product.  But I didn’t.  And so my casting cured too quickly and trapped some air bubbles.

On Preparation

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By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

- Benjamin Franklin

Preparing is not the same as planning.

I think of planning as forethought specific to a task or project, such as creating detailed drawings, cut lists, or mock-ups.  I would also include organizing construction steps in a logical sequence, which is often the extent of my planning.

Preparing, on the other hand, is what is done to improve abilities and is not specific to one thing.  I walk around with my head up, examining the proportions and lines of every shape and the workings of every mechanical object.  I read about woodworking techniques, art, design and architecture.  I lay awake in bed developing design concepts and running them through my head and figuring out better ways and realizing pitfalls.

You see, although I don’t spend much time planning, I have been preparing for this all my life.

Deconstructed, Session 5

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In Session 1, Session 2, Session 3 and Session 4 I began working on an exploded shelf I’m calling Deconstructed.  I finished the last session by filling in air bubbles with epoxy.

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Today, in the final session of this Tweet-Along, I completed the shelf, including applying the first coat of finish.

As always, I documented my progress live on Twitter using hashtag #FlairWW (follow me @FlairWoodworks) which was useful because each update had a time stamp so followers could see the rate at which I progressed.  I attempted to record my build in time-lapse as usual, but due to a technical glitch, that didn’t work.  I compiled the photos and Tweets into a video (duration – 2:16).

Deconstructed, Session 4

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In Session 1, Session 2, and Session 3 I began working on an exploded shelf I’m calling Deconstructed.  I finished the last session by pouring clear resin around the wood parts set in a mould made of waxed melamine.

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Tuesday, I unmoulded the casting.  If everything had gone perfectly, all that would have been required would have been to apply a finish.  Alas, that was not the case, so I continued work.  This was my first time working with resin (Crystal Clear by Smooth-On) and, considering that, I’m happy with the results.

As always, I documented my progress live on Twitter using hashtag #FlairWW (follow me @FlairWoodworks) which was useful because each update had a time stamp so followers could see the rate at which I progressed.  I also recorded my build in time-lapse and compiled the photos and Tweets into a video (duration – 9:36).

In the next session, I expect to complete the shelf.

Hardware Inspires Me

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Experienced woodworkers know that one of the keys to a successful project is to have the hardware that will be used on-hand before the planning stage is complete and building begins. While having a thorough (and accurate) understanding of the hardware is one reason to explore what is available, I also study hardware for inspiration.  The wide variety of hardware available today exhibits so many textures, lines and shapes.  Here are some of the pieces of hardware from the Lee Valley Tools Ltd. catalog that inspire me.

Sometimes I think about what the piece of furniture I might build would look like to go with a particular piece of hardware.

Cast Steel Hands from Lee Valley Tools Ltd.

Other times, I visualize a certain element of the hardware incorporated into a design.

Hollywood open handle from Lee Valley Tools Ltd.

Or I may imagine the pull or knob scaled up as a piece of furniture.

Playful Nature handle

The Eastside Culture Crawl is an annual event where artists of various mediums open their studios to the public.  This pair of antique nickel pulls with a decidedly organic design are from exhibitor Big Bang Boom.  Both are the same size and shape, but not quite identical.

These pulls are the type of hardware around which I could design something.  This page of my sketchbook shows some of the possible orientations for the pulls.

A page from my sketchbook

While sketching I focus on drawing as many possibilities as I can, regardless of whether I think they are good ideas or not.  I feel that the two pulls should be located close together to visually tie them together.  That suggests they would be used as door pulls rather than drawer pulls which are typically mounted in the middle of the drawer to prevent binding when opening.

Or is there a way to have them as drawer pulls close together and not have the drawer bind?

Measuring

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While touring California and Arizona last month, I must have been asked about eight times whether I use the Metric or Imperial system of measurement in my woodworking.

Here’s my stance: neither, if I can help it.  If I absolutely need to measure something, I’ll use the Imperial system because nearly all my measuring tools have Imperial scales and I prefer to see smaller numbers rather than big ones (29 inches rather than 737mm).  Fractions don’t bother me.

I find that working without numbers is plenty accurate and very easy.  Sometimes that means just eyeballing it, as I did for this box which was commissioned.  (After several people asked if I designed it using the Golden Ratio, I checked the measurements and found the proportions to be very, very close.)  If it looks right, it’s right.

Other times, not using numbers means measuring directly from existing project parts or tools like dividers, story sticks, or marking gauges.  I explore this side in my article Working Without Numbers in issue #83 of Canadian Woodworking & Home Improvement, on newsstands now!

Exactly as Precise as Required

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If it looks right, it’s probably right.

In my work, I’ve always tried to avoid numbers.  Mostly, I used numbers to communicate with the rest of the world.  For example, it was more helpful to tell you that Relationship Study was about 45 inches wide than to gesture with my hands.

Recently, I made a simple shop modification – installing a bolt to hang two GripMate hold-downs, using my typical no-numbers method.

To figure out where I wanted the bolt to be installed, I dangled the hold-downs from my finger and put my finger against the cabinet, adjusting the position until the hold-downs hung freely.

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I focused on that point, then drilled a hole at that point.

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Finally, I installed the bolt and hung the two hold-downs.

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With the bolt positioned here, it is not so high as to have the highest point of the hold-downs above the top of the cabinet.  The bolt is also far enough forward to make the hold-down posts stand proud of the cabinet face so they are easy to grab without getting in the way.

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The position of the bolt was entirely dependent upon the hang of the hold-downs and involving numbers would have only added unnecessary complication.  How far, in numbers, that the bolt is located – down from the cabinet top and in from its front – is really inconsequential.