Tits at breakfast. |
This morning there was a nice post by Steve Branam about resawing by hand. This was perfect timing for me, as I am planning to finally finish my Anarchist's Tool Chest. I had been procrastinating doing the tills for over a year because I had some bad luck resawing a piece of oak for the runners.
My shop is too small for any power tools, including a band saw, so if I want to resaw, either I have to cart my wood somewhere else, or do it the old-fashioned way, which I apparently suck at.
In reality, I could have resawn a LOT of lumber in a year and a half. I'm sure I would have figured it out eventually.
Watching Steve really gave me confidence that I could do this.
I thought of it as a lot like sawing tenons. |
A small piece was helpful for a first attempt. |
The finished product. Now I'm ready for a bigger piece. |
But, before I go crazy and resaw all of the parts, I thought I should install the runners to the completed till has something to run on. I have a real nice piece of quarter sawn oak that I wanted to use, but of course it needed to be resawn.
Having just had success on a small piece of pine, I thought I'd look for an alternative. I have quite a few scraps of mystery tropical woods that are all about 1/2" thick, so I thought, "Perfect, I won't have to resaw."
I settled on using two 1/2" strips for the lower runner, as in the photo below.
I saved some material by using two smaller pieces rather than one large one. |
On the other side, I used a piece of something else. It had a really wicked interlocked grain, and was not quite as heavy as the rosewood. However, I think it will work fine in this case. And it is pretty, whatever it is. I kind of like the idea of two different types of wood for this. I think it makes for a unique look. It is a bit too fancy of wood for this purpose, but it is in my shop and I decided to use it rather than wait another year to find the perfect board.
Lower runners installed. |
Next up, I'll resaw the long part of the lower till, dovetail it and try to figure out what I want to use for a bottom. Perhaps I'll resaw some oak, or maybe find some other suitable substitute rolling around in my shop.
I think that I have the same problem as far as being nervous about resawing. I know I need to practice a little more. I like the way you made the runners in two different species. It definitely says "This is mine, and I like it just the way it is". The chest looks great and look forward to hearing more of your blogs.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Wood Chippie! I like the runners, too. Although, when I looked at them again today, I think they'll need a bit of adjustment. I don't think I was nearly as accurate as I thought I was when I nailed them in.
DeleteBy the way, I saw your new saw handle on your blog. Nicely done! I tried that once but it didn't turn out. It's about time I try it again.
Helpful post as I am ready to try my hand at resawing for the first time! Wish me luck!
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
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