A Boring Subject - Part 1

A Variety of Drill Bits

It has been two weeks since my last entry, a break which I attribute both to the Thanksgiving holiday and to the time I spent repairing my ancient Toyota. The cold weather here in Wisconsin has also made it very challenging to work in the unheated portion of my workshop, so I have no new woodworking projects to describe. In the meantime, I felt a discussion of the different types of woodworking drill bits might prove of some interest.

The tools in the photo above are, from left to right, a Forstner bit, a brad point bit, a twist drill, an adjustable bit for use in a hand brace, an auger bit also for use with a brace, and a spade bit. All the bits except the auger bits can be used with either a hand drill or an electric drill, the augers being designed for hand use only.

Hand Drills

Hand drills are so far out of fashion that I am including an illustration so readers will know what I am talking about. The crank-like tool at the top of the photo is an old hand brace made by Stanley. Its features include a two-jaw chuck designed to hold the squared ends of auger bits and a ratcheting mechanism that allows it to be used in close quarters. The crank provides considerable leverage so that large diameter holes can be drilled in wood with little effort when the brace is paired with a sharp auger bit. The brace is also useful for driving screws when equipped with a screwdriver bit.

The tool below the hand brace is commonly known as an eggbeater drill, so named for its resemblance to another bit of obsolete technology, the egg beater. This device is designed for use with twist drill bits and is suitable for use in either wood or metal. No batteries are required. In the past, such hand drills were manufactured in a range of sizes, some with two-speed gearing. The largest of these were called breast drills and featured a metal plate shaped to fit the operator's chest, allowing extra pressure to be applied while drilling.

I will go into greater detail regarding the different types of drill bits in future entries, but for now I would like to point out that the most common bit, the twist drill, was designed for use in metal not wood. While a sharp twist drill has its uses in woodworking, it requires a pilot hole for accuracy and is prone to splintering the work. What all the woodworking bits have in common are a sharp central point to accurately locate the hole and some form of spurs to score the circumference of the hole and prevent splintering. Auger bits in particular have a lineage going back centuries and are among the most efficient hand tools ever invented.


More to come...

Tearout Problem Soved

In previous posts, I described a tearout problem I experienced while shaping the sides of the Shaker Hanging Shelf. Cherry is not only hard but also somewhat brittle and I had ruined several side pieces by splitting out small chunks of wood when routing across the grain. The solution came in the form of a shear angle router bit from MLCS Woodworking.

The photo shows two flush trim router bits side by side. The bit on the left is a standard pattern bit with the carbide cutter running parallel to the axis of the bit. The one on the right is the shear angle bit with its diagonally oriented cutter. The bit has been equipped with guide bearings above and below the cutter so it can be used both as a pattern bit and a flush trim bit. In use, the angled cutter has a cross-grain slicing action compared with the chopping action of the conventional bit. I found it cut more smoothly than the conventional bit, with less tendency for tearout when dealing with irregular grain.

I am adding MLCS to my links section for those interested in trying the bit themselves. I have purchased a number of bits from this source over the years and can recommend them as a source for reasonably priced bits of decent quality.

A Week Spent on Details

It has been a week since my last entry and I haven't really been able to do much woodworking. I spent much of the time sorting out my Etsy store, figuring out the best way to ship, designing an ad for a local neighborhood newspaper, and working at my day job. I did make a sale to an out of town friend, which rallied my spirits a bit.

I have a second hanging shelf partially finished but am waiting for a new router bit to arrive so I can complete the side pieces. Meanwhile, I am beginning to plan my next project, a Shaker serving tray. None of the actual Shaker designs I have been able to find suits my purpose exactly, so I will be drawing elements from a number of existing pieces in the design process. I will be posting the design as it develops.

Shaker Hanging Shelf - Done!

Shaker Hanging Shelf - Complete

The first example of my Shaker Hanging Shelf is complete. After glue up, I applied two coats of de-waxed shellac. Once the second coat of shellac was dry, I applied a coat of paste wax using 0000 steel wool to help smooth out any remaining imperfections in the finish. You can judge the results yourself, but I am really pleased with the way the finish brought out the natural grain and color of the cherry. Over time, the wood will darken to a rich brown.

I made a trip to Kettle Moraine Hardwoods yesterday morning and purchased another 22 board feet of cherry, half 4/4 thickness and half 5/4. I milled up a small amount to use as the sides of another Hanging Shelf and am happy to report that it is beautiful material! I haven't decided which thickness will turn out more economical for me in the long run, so for now I am experimenting with both.

I had to order some larger shipping boxes to accommodate the shelf, so I will be planning my next project while I wait for my order to arrive. I am considering a serving tray based on a surviving Shaker piece, but need to adjust the proportions to better suit present day needs. I will post more information as the design evolves...

Shaker Hanging Shelf - Applying the Finish

No photos tonight, but I did apply the first coat of finish to the shelf. I used Zinsser Seal Coat, which is a high quality dewaxed shellac, straight out of the can. I usually thin commercial shellacs with denatured alcohol and apply them with a cloth, but this product seemed to be a good consistency for brush application right out of the can. The brush technique worked quite well. I will allow the shellac to dry overnight, sand lightly by hand, then apply a second coat.

Shellac is not as durable as varnish or lacquer, but does have many good qualities. Drying time is very short, a matter of minutes if the shellac is properly thinned with alcohol. Because subsequent coats partially dissolve the previous layer, brush marks and other errors are easily corrected. Brushes are easily cleaned with alcohol, though cleaning is not absolutely necessary, as re-immersion in shellac will soften a dirty brush in a matter of minutes. Also, I particularly like the way the shellac brings out the natural color and grain of cherry.

Shellac finishes do discolor after prolonged contact with water and will dissolve if placed in contact with alcoholic beverages. Heat resistance is not spectacular, either. The ease of application and clarity of the finish make up for many of its weaknesses in my opinion. With reasonable care, a shellac finish can last a long time and is easily renewed if damaged. I will post a final photo of the shelf after applying the second coat so readers may judge the results for themselves...

Shaker Hanging Shelf - Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Gluing Up the Shelf

The fact that setbacks are a natural part of the learning process doesn't necessarily make them any easier to accept when they do occur. My setback occurred while I was trying to figure out the best way to notch the sides of the Hanging Shelf to accept the horizontal batten used to attach the unit to the wall.

My first thought was to use the router table as I felt that would yield the smoothest cut. Unfortunately, the router bit grabbed the piece, splitting out a substantial chunk of wood along the grain line. My attempts to salvage the piece by trimming it down spoiled the proportions, so I ended up deciding to make a new side piece. Unfortunately, I was out of cherry by that point. I will be making a trip to Kettle Moraine Hardwoods soon to replenish my supply. I am putting their website in my Favorite Links area in case readers would like to check it out.

Luckily, I only damaged one of the two shelf units I was making. I ended up nibbling the notches in the remaining side pieces using the table saw. The small amount of roughness left by the saw was easily cleaned up and produced none of the splintering I had with the router, so I will be using this process from now on.

After sanding all the pieces, I glued them together using the setup shown in the photo above. I checked everything for square after tightening the clamps, then left them to dry overnight. I plan to use dewaxed shellac to finish the piece as it brings out the color of the wood. Cherry is prone to blotchiness with most other finishes and shellac will allow the wood to darken evenly over time as it naturally tends to do. While I wait for the glue to dry, I will begin the process of selecting my next project...

Shaker Hanging Shelf - Making the Sides and Shelves

Cutting the Sides to Length

This is the stage where I found out whether or not my jig designs would work as planned. The cherry stock had already been thicknessed and ripped to approximate width. Using my home made crosscut sled with a simple stop on the table saw, I cut four pieces of the 3/8" thick cherry to length to use as sides for two sets of shelves. In order to fit my jigs, it was critical that the side pieces be exactly 21" long. The photo shows the crosscut sled from the outfeed side of the saw.

Before cutting the dadoes in the side pieces, I examined each of the blanks carefully to determine the most advantageous grain orientation before tracing the desired outline on each one in pencil. Since I would be doing the final shaping on the router table, it was critical to be sure I would be working the grain in the right direction to avoid tearout just as when I jointed and planed the stock in the first place. I then marked the bottom of the surface I wanted to use as the inside face of each piece to ensure I oriented it correctly in the dado jig.

Dado Jig and Router

I began by clamping the dado jig to one of the side blanks using c-clamps. The router was equipped with a 5/16" diameter straight bit and a 1/2" outside diameter guide collar to fit the slots in my jig. I set the depth of cut to 3/16", or half the thickness of the side piece. I then fired up the router and cut the three dadoes in succession using the jig. I repeated the process for the remaining blanks.

Roughing Out

With the dadoes cut, I proceeded to rough out the countours using a 1/4" wide blade on the band saw. While I could have done the shaping entirely on the router table, it would have meant routing away much more material and producing a lot more dust. Roughing the pieces out to within 1/8" of the final shape was less trouble and took very little time.

Shaping the Sides

I did the final shaping of the sides on the router table using a 1/2" diameter bearing-guided pattern bit and the shaping jig I described in my 10/24 posting. The photo at left shows the setup. The only problem I experienced was some slight burning on the curved edges. I found this could be easily avoided by feeding the stock more quickly.

Copying the Angle

With the sides shaped I could move on to the shelves. Before cutting them to length, I needed to bevel the front edge of the shelves to match the taper of the side pieces. Rather than measuring the exact angle, I transferred it from the side piece to the jointer using my sliding T-bevel. The photo at left shows how this was done.

The Shelf Dry-Fitted

With the jointer fence set at the correct angle, I jointed a length of the 5/16" thick shelf stock and cut it into three 10" lengths on the table saw. I dry-fitted the shelf together to judge the overall effect, and found the end result quite pleasing. I still need to fashion the batten that will be used to hang the shelf unit and attach it to the sides. I will cover that and the finishing process in an upcoming post.

More to follow...