Dollhouse Dormer Part 3

Cutting dormers for the Elizabethan birdhouse part 3.

Today I am cutting the window openings in the dormers using a miniature table saw with a 3 and3/8" diameter blade. 

First thing to do is draw lines right onto your tablesaw top. Use a felt tip marker and  a straight edge draw a put a line across the top that is the same width of the saw blade that runs parallel with the blade. Then draw a line perpendicular to that line to indicates the center of the saw blade's arbor hole.

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

That intersection of those two lines is the center point of where your blade will come through when you raise it up through your panel.

The first two sides of the window openings, top and bottom, were done using the table saw fence against the bottom edge of the dormer. The top point of the dormer lines up with the line indicating center of the arbor.

The last two cuts are created by placing the bottom edge of the dormer against the miter fence and using those lines on the table top as my reference point I line up the dormer to center the blade on my cutting line.

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

Because my window is centered on the peak of the dormer I have used double back tape to stick to temporary plywood fences to the top of my table saw (those are the light colored wood). Now I can just flip the dormer piece  over after making the first cut to make the second cut without recalibrating my position.  Note in the photo that I have clamped the dormer to the table saw top to make these cuts. When it is possible to use clamps I always take the time to do so instead of risking my fingers.

Cutting dormers part 1
Cutting dormers part 2

power strop to go

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

 More work done today on my new carving stand including a way to power hone my tools for those scary sharp edges that cut wood as if it were butter.

My carving stand was built using a "hide-a-horse", lightweight (7lbs) folding saw horse. I love it, it sets up in seconds but folds up into a very small package easy to store under a bed or in a closet.

Watch the video on this link to see how it works http://hideahorsefoldingsawhorses.com/

 A proper tool stand was made to fit. It is screwed to the base plate, not to the saw horse. The screws allow me to take this carving stand apart and flat pack it. If I wanted to I could then  put the pieces of the stand (minus the saw horse) into a suitcase and fly away with it.  I put T-nuts into the back side of the plywood to hold the vise and used plastic knob screws to go into the T-nuts. That make it fast to take apart but still strong. I have put cork sheeting on the underside so the tool stand so it can be used on its own on a table or desk.

I put a layer of thin adhesive backed cork sheeting over the magnetic, stainless steel knife bar. I purchased the bar from my local Ikea store but they can also be found on Amazon or Ebay.  The length of the bar is what determined the size of my carving stand. I like the stand to be that long because it keeps the C clamps that attach the stand to the sawhorse, desk or table top from hitting my knees. Also it gives me lots of room for hanging up carving tools. The cork sheeting is shelf liner from the Contact brand. You can find it in hardware, home center stores and places such as Walmart.

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

Another chore today was mounting a honing disk onto a mandrel so I could use it in my battery powered drill motor. This kind of mandrel can be found in hardware stores. The honing wheel is made by gluing layers of mat board together.  Be sure to carefully cut the circles so you don't have to do a lot of sanding to true up the disk surface after the glue is dry. Use the motor turning against a sanding block. But to get that chore done even faster turn it with the drill motor against a running power sander.

Add captionphoto copyright Karin Corbin 2012

 The green color on the wheel is honing compound. The wheel does not need to be charged with compound very often, it last a good long while.

Cutting Dormers: part 2

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

Cutting dormers for the Elizabethan birdhouse part 2.

This time I am using the same miter slot sled jig I made in part 1  to cut a dormer for the back of my structure and also  the two side gable  ends. These pieces are triangular without any vertical side lengths. I have changed the angle of my miter fence using the 60 degree drafting triangle and now the base of the triangle will rest against the fence unlike in part 1 where the vertical sides were resting against the fence.

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

The first step was to cut a piece of material to the width of the base of the triangle given in  my measured drawing.

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

The right side of my jig was cut off by the saw blade so that is an easy indicator of where the actual cutting line is and I will make use of it as the registration for the point of my triangle. All I have to do is place a scrap piece of plywood at the corner where the fence and that right side of the jig intersect. Then I butt the material I am using for the dormer over to that location, remove the scrap and while holding the material down on the jig against the fence I slide it on through the saw blade to make the first cut. I always turn off the saw motor and let it come to a full stop before removing the part from the jig or trying to remove the waste cutoff piece.

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

Now flip your material over, register it again to that same intersection as in the last step (don't forget to remove that scrap you used to located the corner of the triangle) and then cut the last side of the triangle. The peak of your triangle will be perfectly centered across the width and that means it will also be the correct height. This is a very simple method once you get the hang of making triangles this way on your table saw. But if you are going to do lots of them exactly the same size for a production type of product then use a stop block on the left end of the fence instead of registering your pieces it to the corner each time.

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

I will do a post on making the roof cuts for the dormers later, it involves making compound cuts, a bit more complicated as you have to make a left and a right side but  it is  also done with a miter slot jig.

Elizabethan birdhouse

Cutting dormers part 1

Cutting Dormers: part 1

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

Cutting dormers for the Elizabethan birdhouse part 1

I still remember the days when I did not know how to approach making things like dormers for a miniature building. Lack of knowledge and often a lack of tools is where we all begin. This being a teaching blog I will show you how I am cutting the pieces for the front of a dormer that has a steep roof pitch. There are a number of methods to make these cuts and I don't always make them this way.

The miter angle fixtures that come with table saws won't rotate past 45 degrees but for this house I have to cut a sharper angle than 45. The method I chose  is to make a single runner miter sled for my 10 inch table saw. I have a number of pieces to make using this particular angle so the jig will be useful for insuring all the parts get cut to that same exact angle without variation.

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

The runner that goes in the table slot could be made of hardwood or if it is only going to be used a few times pine or basswood will also do the trick.  I am using a metal slide since I have one that I can unscrew and use it again and again for other jigs if I wish. As you will see I am using materials out of my scrap bin for the sled base and for the fence as well. Actually the plywood came out of a neighbor's scrap bin, I am not too proud to use his leftovers!

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

As I am cutting this roof at a 60 degree angle I am using a  drafting triangle with a matching angle to accurately establish the angle. I place the edge of the triangle right against the saw blade being sure it is not resting on any of the saw teeth, sneaking it between them, touching only on the flat of the saw blade. I have attached the fence to the base with double back carpet tape, it is plenty strong enough to hold it in place without shifting. I am using double back tape because I am going to reposition that fence to a couple of other angles for other dormers and gables and dormer roofs before I am done with all the cutting on this structure.

This first dormer front wall I am cutting has some vertical sides on it. Other dormers and gables I will cut are simply triangles with no vertical sides on them. I am showing those in other postings.

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

First the dormer plywood material is cut to width. Then I mark out how tall the vertical sides are. I make sure the mark at the point where the roof pitch starts gets transferred on down the edge of the plywood. That mark is going to be aligned with the cut edge of my miter jig. See photo above, it will enlarge if you click on it. This is a quick, simple and accurate method of aligning the starting point of the cut for the sloped roof line on the dormer.

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

The first cut goes just past the point of the peak.

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

Then the board is flipped, aligned to the mark and the second cut is made.

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

Notice how my board is left longer than the length of the small dormer, it gives me good registration against the fence. I will cut the second dormer piece I need from the other end of the board. That butterfly shaped piece left in the middle will still be there for a nice long registration against the fence.

That center waste piece has complimentary angles that will soon be recycled into making yet another miter sled jig for cutting the timber frame trim pieces that will go onto this dormer and on the gable ends of the house. Be sure to watch for opportunities like this because they give you those exact matches on angle cuts that will fit perfectly onto your house parts. I will show you the jig I make from it later on in this blog.

If I was making a dormer with equal side lengths I could have used a stop block on the fence for the second cut. But these dormers are on each side of another third dormer that sits between them and the peak is not centered across the width of the dormer.  You can see the dormers I just cut on the CAD model in the image below. They are on the left and right of the center dormer. Elizabethan birdhouse image below.

photo and design copyright Karin Corbin 2012

Link to Cutting Dormers: Part 2
Link to Cutting dormers: Part 3

Recipe For A Birdhouse

Before I started cutting the Elizabethan Birdhouse I thought it would be fun to stack most of  the ingredients on the counter and list them as if this were a scratch cooking blog rather than a  scratch miniature building blog. So exactly what does go into a project like this?

Lumber:
1 sheet of 7mm marine plywood
1/4 sheet of 9mm marine plywood
4 board feet or so of Black Cherry
1 board foot of  Western Red Cedar

Bricks and Chimney:
Block of raw red clay
Glazing stains
Grout
Polyurethane adhesive caulk to stick the kiln fired pieces to the structure

Windows:
Antique style, seedy (little bubbles) glass with an iridescent coating of gold tone with glows of blue, green, red. Helps obscure daylight view into the structure but lets light shine out at night
Roll of narrow copper foil tape
Solid core solder
Flux
Chemical patina solution to darken the solder
Window Glazing Putty

Door hinges:
Brass Sheet Metal
Brass Screws to secure hinges to door frame
Brass Brads to clinch the strap hinges to the door
Chemical patina solution to turn the brass black

Stucco:
Bucket of exterior grade, elastomeric "Venetian Plaster"
Artist acrylics to add aged detailing to stucco
Primer paint 

Roofing:
Marine Plywood
Thin Fiberglass cloth and epoxy with filler  to seal and reinforce roof joins
Copper sheeting to be cut into shingles
Solder
Blue-Green Chemical Patina Solution

Birdhouse Hole Entry:
Copper Plate from recycling sources
 Blue-Green Chemical Patina Solution
Solder
Polyurethane Adhesive 

Adhesives:
Acrylic adhesive caulking for the wood to wood joins
Polyurethane adhesive caulking for metal to wood joins

Misc supply:
Noel and Pat Thomas "Bug Juice" to stain the Black Cherry wood a dark gray
bronze screws
galvanized brads

LED Lighting:
Not shown as I have not purchased the LEDs yet

Instructions:
3D CAD Model for reference and to generate measured parts drawings
There are no assembly instructions for the more than 1,000 pieces most of which will be fabricated out of that stack of materials.

There is no point in asking me how many hours this will take to complete as I have no idea. It is a labor of love and will be going to my brothers house. There is no deadline which is a good thing as I lost most of last year's labor time to due health issues and this year I can only put in time on my "better" days which means it is a slow cooked recipe. But perhaps the flavor of it will be all the richer for that fact.

Elizabethan Gatehouse Mockup

Front of house

It feels good to have finally settled on what I wanted to make for my birdhouse project. A bit of research was done, then next step was making the basic CAD model for the massing of the Elizabethan birdhouse and now I have the cardboard mockup almost finished.

Back of house

The cardboard model turned out very close to my vision. But looking at it I decided I will add a half inch to the height of the second story and trim a half an inch off the lower edge of twin dormers on the front. Those kind of subtle changes are why I take the time to mockup the project in cardboard, I can see these subtle things more clearly. It will be very easy to make those two changes in my CAD model. In the image below you can see where I am querying the CAD model for some of the dimensions I needed for cutting the cardboard parts.

Next I will try adding two fireplace chimneys to the roof of the cardboard model. Chimneys are a lot of work to make and they are also an issue in terms of holding up to weathering outdoors. Therefore I will have to decide if I feel they are absolutely essential or not. They are a significant design feature on Elizabethan buildings so I must try them to see if they contribute to the overall impact.

After that chimney decision is made I will start putting all the details into the CAD model, the doors, windows, trims, brackets, timbers, etc. This birdhouse is really going to be loaded with lots of architectural details and carvings.

Cutting board and tools

There will be two birdhouse boxes built into the first floor. This piece is going to be sent to Texas so I will be sure to add lots of insulation and cross ventilation so the bird boxes don't turn into ovens in the hot sun. A historic form of early settler's house in Texas is called a "Dog Trot Cabin". It is basically two cabins joined with an open roofed breezeway between them. That design feature cools the building. If you look at this Elizabethan Gatehouse design you will see that I am going to take advantage of the same kind of cooling feature for my feathered friends.

The second floor and attic dormers will have glass windows in them. Inside the structure I will add low voltage LED lighting to shine out them at night. So not only is this piece going to function as a birdhouse, it is also a lamp and of course first and foremost it is an outdoor sculpture.

It could also be a dollhouse as I have designed it in 1:12 scale but than was not what was requested and it would take a lot more time too.

Fine tuning for miniatures

The other day I noticed the throat plate on my 10 inch table saw was a bit wobbly, not all of the leveling screws were touching the supports underneath. I was cutting a length of wood that was shorter in length than the throat plate so it became a safety issue and of course also a quality issue. Time for a precision tuneup. I cut large lumber pieces into strip wood down to about an 1/8 inch or so on this saw so I need  accuracy from it.

Not all tablesaw throat plates mount and level the way mine does so you will have to figure out the best way to level yours. But it is important to make sure it is flat and very close to level side to side and front to back.

The first thing I do to the throat plate is make sure it is flat. Then I take a file and flatten the ends of the adjusting screws. The ends of machine screws are typically  rough with burrs around the outside edge left from the manufacturing process.

Leveling can be done with the use of a straight edge resting on the table top sliding it back and forth to see if it hits but that is a rather clumsy and hit or miss method, you can't really see how close you are to dead level. All you can tell is if you hit an edge. Better than nothing though and that is how I used to do it. Nowadays I use a dial indicator gauge mounted in a holder. This is not expensive, you can get the setup for around $20.00 but you do want to be sure you have an extension for the feeler end of the indicator so it reaches the table. Dial indicators are useful for other kinds of tool setups as well such as working on lathes, seeing drilling or overarm router depth and router bit heights in standard router tables.
http://www.grizzly.com/outlet/Magnetic-Base-Dial-Indicator-Combo-President-s-Special/G9849

I start by leveling each end at the center then check the level at each of the four screws, then back to double check the two ends. When finished all screws should be firmly resting on the support underneath with no rocking. On this big saw I leave the back end of the throat plate about  half a thousandths high and the front end about that same amount low. That prevents the wood from potentially catching when I make my cuts.

For precise cuts like dadoes in miniature furniture or for cutting and tiny strip wood pieces or miniature furniture pieces then I use a 4 inch or 2 inch miniature table saw. Be sure you have level throat plates on these smaller saws.  It is not a worry with the Preac or Jim Byrnes table saws as they are designed and made level (unless you bend one) but it can be an issue on Proxxon, Micromark and Dremel table saws.
Since I had out the tools I use to calibrate my saws, lathes and such I went ahead and checked to be sure my table saw blade was still square to the miter slot and that the saw fence was also in proper alignment. I am using the same dial indicator type but a different holder that fits into the miter slot. One of these days I need to make a miter slot fixture for my miniature table saws, no one sells that item.

Saw cuts, drilled holes, routed edges are only as good as your hand control for feeding them combined with the quality of your tools but also it also matters how you set tools up and care for them.

make a stropping wheel

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

Over the last couple of days I built a homemade stropping wheel for sharpening my carving tools. It makes them incredibly sharp, even the very tiny 1mm and .5mm gouges can be sharpened to a razor sharp edge with this wheel. There is no risk of overheating or burning the small tools. It will remove any minor nicks as well. A local carving teacher told me how to make this wheel.

The cost is low and the materials are easy to come by. The material the wheel is made from is mat board. Yes, it is the mat board you find at art supply stores and framing shops. You adhere layers of it together with a PVA glue such as Elmers. Be sure you cut accurate circles so you don't have to spend a lot of time shaping it into a true circular surface after you mount it to a motor. I did the final shaping of my wheel with a coarse grit sanding block while the motor was spinning the wheel. The sanding to a true circle creates a lot of fine dust so I used a vacuum cleaner nozzle right next to my sanding area to collect the dust. Don't forget to wear a dust mask! After the wheel is trued you can put honing compound on it.

I used 8 layers of double thick mat board in this wheel. I put weights on the stack of mat board disk while the glue set to prevent voids in the layers. Getting voids is a defect that will spoil the effectiveness of the wheel.

I have glued my new stropping wheel onto a plywood disk screwed to a faceplate so I could spin it with my lathe. It is very important to look at the photo above to see how the wheel should be turning in relationship to the tools you are sharpening. I am standing on the backside of my lathe while I am sharpening my carving tools to get the correct spin direction.

What a difference using this wheel is making in my work. I can't get my carving tools this sharp with hand stropping on leather. The tools now glide through the cuts with little effort or pressure leaving a nicely polished surface. I hear that lovely ssssstt noise as the tools cut. The noise that only happens when you have razor sharp cutting edges with polished bevels.

transfering images

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

Using carbon paper to transfer images to wood is a common method. However the layers of paper and carbon tend to shift and when working with miniatures it is even more difficult to control.

Thin pencil leads break or else the lines keep getting wider as the pencil wears down. Also the paper the image is printed on can tear when drawing on it if you press firmly.

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2012

So now I cut a small piece of carbon paper, cut the image to size and use clear cello packaging tape to hold those two items together covering complete over the paper leaving the tape wide enough to stick the image to the surface I am working on.

Instead of a pencil I use a metal scribe held at a slight angle so the point glides along on the surface of the packaging tape. Packaging tape is pretty tough stuff but it does remove without any trouble from the surface of the wood.

The end result is very nice image transfers with good dark lines and it is quickly done because there is no shifting or fussing.

Final Cut

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2011

The last pair of new scissors I purchased this week also have a micro serrated blade that helps capture the fine fiber so it is easier to trim it off. They are very sharp. I purchased them at a store that sells stamps for crafters. Micromark also carries this little scissors. I think I will try and order a curved blade version of these to add to my collection. They are not expensive, under $12.00 a pair. They are a great tool for that final little trim. Now that I have taken a photo I can see that wee bit more of trimming that needs to be done.

I hereby give myself a certificate in micro scale thatching competence! What a relief to get all that stuff sorted out. But the work is only part way done as now I have to photograph and write the tutorials for the thatching kits.

That is a common sewing pin in the photo next to the penny. Scale is such a funny thing, in the photo the pin looks more like a nail.

Thatching tools

Every time I create another prototype for the Shamrock Cottage I do a little more thatching practice. The other day my thatching frustration resulted in one of those ah ha! moments. I was using the wrong kind of scissors for the job.

What I needed were scissors with micro serrations on one of the blades. The small hairlike fibers will drop into the grooves and stay put instead of skating away across a smooth blade. What a huge difference those scissors made, it is so easy now to get a nice even thatching job.

There are two pairs of micro serrated scissors in the photo above. The ones with the plastic handles came from a beauty supply store, they are made for trimming hair. I chose the inexpensive pair that was less than $15.00. I use those for the basic level and bevel cutting.

The second pair has a small, arrow point curved blade that is only half an inch long. Those are perfect for digging in and feathering out any areas that have too long of strands or areas that look somewhat clumped and ridged. I call them my blending shears. I found those little curved scissors in a store that caters to fishermen who like to tie their own flies. The exact same micro serrated scissors are also available from stores that cater to embroiders. To find a pair like this the keywords to search on are ... micro serrated arrow point curved scissors .

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2011

The other essential tool in the photo is a fine toothed wire brush. The fibers must all be combed in the right direction or your roof will look like a recently vacuumed carpet with fibers going in all directions.

Making the pintles

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2010

A quick hinge preview for you. I won't install the hinges until after the shutters are painted. I have drilled the nail holes into the straps. The wire nails I will fabricate will go all the way through the shutter and then be bent over and clinched on the opposite side of the wood.

I have used a patina product called "Instant Rust" from Modern Options on the hinges. It is real rust but just a light surface coating. I have not used this product before, I am pleased with it. I purchased it in my local hardware store, it is part of a line of decorator products.

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2010

The pintles I am using to hang the shutters are very simple to make. I have used annealed steel wire. Make a simple 90 degree L shaped bend and then cut to length. Don't forget to dress off the end of the wire so it is smooth with no sharp edges left from being cut by the pliers. The other end that goes into the wall can be pointed. That is what the cup shaped grinding stone in the Dremel motor is for, dressing smooth the end you don't want to be sharp.

Dollhouses come in cans?

I have started fabricating the shutter hinges. They will be strap hinges with a pintle support that comes out of the wall of the house. A very basic type of hinge that is not difficult to make.

Research told me a thickness of 3/16 of an inch was used for some real hinges of this type. That meant I needed metal of approx .01 inches to create a 1:12 scale part. Digging into the drawers of metals I have on hand I found a tinned can that was a good match. As I wanted steel for the hinges that also meant it was a good choice. There was a strip of metal wound around the key used to open the can. That is what I am working with.

The tin and plastic coating on the can must be burned off with a torch. This is a job to do outside as the fumes are not good for you. You can anneal the metal at the same time as you burn off the tin. I have given my metal a hammered finish so I had to again anneal the area I was going to form into the hinge barrel as the hammering work hardened the metal.

I am forming the end of the strap around a piece of music wire that I am holding in a vise. Music wire is very stiff and strong so it makes a good forming rod. Tonight's new discovery was that my pair of nylon tipped pliers I purchased at a bead store make easy work of the forming. I can grab onto the metal and hold it against the music wire without damaging the metals. The nylon is soft enough to gain a grip onto the hinge strap so I can pull the strap around to form that tight circle. The top surface of the vise acts as an alignment guide so I get a barrel that is at the correct square angle instead of being crooked in alignment. Of course my forming pin must be clamped at exactly 90 degrees to the top of the vise for this simple trick to work. Or if your don't own a vise you can drill a perfectly perpendicular hole the same diameter as the music wire in a piece of hardwood as use that as your forming tool jig.

Now that I have the hinge barrel formed tomorrow I can cut the strap to length, drill holes in it and even do some decorative shaping of the strap if I wish to do so.

Progress on shutters

The wood work on the shutters is coming along nicely.

I need to make the decision to paint them blue or leave them as they are. I think the aging looks very nice. Of course they are meant to be worn by the wind and the rain as well as having a coat of grime and a hint of green slime. I think I will have to leave the decision to paint or not paint until later when I can do a temporary installation. The  overall look of the project will tell me what to do. I suspect that I will choose the option of painting but for now I will enjoy them as they are.

I have not made the hinges, latches and shutter hooks yet. That is something I am looking forward to doing although no doubt I will feel plenty of frustration during the fabrication of them.

Building the shutters

I have started cutting the parts for the window shutters. They are basic plank board shutters but I am adding some extra detail so they have a little more interest than a plain board does. My boards are being artificially weathered for an aged look. The wood I am using is Western Red Cedar and I have selected pieces with tight, vertical grain. They will be painted blue but the first step is to make the board have a gray tone. You can see the natural color in the groove I just cut.

A groove is cut near the edges of the boards. I want the groove to be the same distance on both edges of the boards so I am using a  jig to control the position. A small flame shaped jeweler's steel burr is being used to cut the detail. My shaper is a Cameron Deep Throat drill press, this is a specialized drill press that  turns very fast and accurately, almost as fast as a router. You can't use router bits or most cutting burrs (exception diamond coated burrs) in most drill presses and get a smooth cut in wood. So generally this work needs to be done with a Dremel or Proxxon motor mounted into a drill press or even a router table. Those machines turn fast enough for routing. Always check that the bit you are using is rated to run at the maximum rpm you plan to use for cutting.

What is important is having complete control over the board you are putting a groove into. I have created a channel which controls the board. The groove will now stay in the exact position along the edge. The only work my hands have to do is push down on the board while pushing it along through the groove.

My jig is  not fancy or complicated, it is built from wood scraps. The fence at the rear is permanently fixed to the base of the jig. The fence at the front is not fixed, I clamp it into position as required. It needs to be adjustable as my shutters are of different widths. Remember jigs can be easy to make and inexpensive. The results you get will make you look like a professional.

Back to work

I am home from the big shows in Chicago and my creativity energy is all recharged. Now it is time to focus on building rather than buying. I have completed the firebrick inside the fireplace box. All that remains in there is to put a little sealer on a couple of bricks I trimmed back. I left it unsealed for the photo so you can see how the sealer really enhances the color of the clay. Look over to the left and you will see a brick at the front edge and one just behind it that look dull and pink rather than a rich terracotta.

I will also be putting "smoke" onto the bricks. It has a very specific type of pattern to the smoke application as  the fire keeps some areas clean while others get the smoke and soot. I am assigning that artistic task over to my friend Don as he is very particular in how he thinks it should look. I do trust his judgement and besides that he is an artist so he really should get out the paint brushes now and again. I will explain all about how it is done later when we get to that part of the project.

At the moment I am busy with the very tedious project of refining stucco detailing and adding some weather checking cracks into the timbers. When I got home I took a close look at the stucco and got out the artist trowel and made up some stucco paste to further refine the surface. Having several weeks off made a real difference in what I could see that looked wrong but before had become too familiar for any real objective personal opinion. That task is not photo worthy or blog time worthy so I will fill in the blog showing you items I purchased in Chicago to put in the house such as light fixtures. Or items I will put into the house when I display it at shows such as pottery and a few chairs.

Naturally being me I also bought a few tool items in Chicago so I will post about those as well.

Bench Hook

Have you ever needed a little portable workbench you can use on the dining room table or counter top? Have you ever tried to saw something too big for a razor saw miter box and had it slide all over the place? If so then make yourself a "bench hook". Bench hooks have been around for eons, they are an ancient, simple and very useful jig. They are called hooks because they have a cleat that hooks over the front edge of a work bench or table or counter top.

There is certainly not much involved in making one of these. You will need a flat board and nice straight wood to make the cleats. One cleat is on top at the rear of the top, the other goes underneath the front edge. Be sure to keep the top cleat shorter than the length of the board you glue it to so the saw can clear the cleat. I have left room on both the left and right side of the cleat. Cleat boards are easy to make from 1" x 2" lumber. I have used a leftover piece of Baltic Birch plywood for my base since it was lying around unused. I make sure my top cleat has a truly square 90 degree cut on the ends so they can be used a guides for a flush razor saw that has no tooth set. That type of saw won't cut into the cleat that is guiding it. You could make the other end of the upper cleat a 45 degree angle for a miter cutting guide.

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2010

I have spray glued some rubber drawer liner to the bottom side of mine. That will protect the table top or counter top I use it on from scratches. It will help the bench hook grip to the surface I am using it on which will make working with it easier.

Look Mom no clamps to screw and unscrew! Need to stop to make and eat dinner and your project is in the way? It is easy to pick up the board with the project still on it and set it aside until you can get back to work.

How they work is simple, if you are using a saw that cuts on the stroke that pushes away from your body or using other tools that you push away from you such as chisels then the force of the tool keeps the bench hook in position. Of course you are not limited to just those tasks, you can use them for cutting boards with knives or for light duty hammering tasks. Make one with a Formica (laminate) covering on the top, wax the Formica and you can glue or paint projects on top of  your bench hook.

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2010

In the photo above I have placed a board I am going to cut against the rear cleat lining up the cut mark with the end of the cleat. Next I clamped a piece of plywood in place that lines up with the edge of the rear cleat. That clamped wood will do two things for me, first it keeps the wood I am cutting from shifting around so much, second it gives me a square edge to guide my razor saw against. I did not care that my scrap plywood had a hole in it or that it looks ugly, what matters is that there is an accurate 90 edge to guide my saw against.

See the bucket in the photo below? Just think of all the potential jigs for making miniatures that are hiding in there! With a few buckets of leftover wood, some glue, brads and a few screws you can create so much for so little money. There was that scrap of plywood with a hole in it sitting right on top.

photo copyright Karin Corbin 2010