This past weekend at the Barony Beyond the Mountain and Bergental Yule celebration, an Arts and Science display was held among the many other activities that were happening. I was unable to make it to St. Eligius with my project so this was to be its debut. Ástríðr Sægeirsdottir and I arrived and were presented with a space to set up our displays. She was displaying a small silver spice spoon which she had made for me as an anniversary gift.
I barely had the bucket unpacked when the first questions began rolling in. I would continue to set up my display while talking about the project as a whole. I will admit that while I had an idea of how I might set things out, the first few questions really helped me place items out upon the table. An early question was about the designs and repoussé work, so those tools and samples gained a prominent place in the display. The extra wood bits and sample staves helped me illustrate grain direction and some other choices. The books I brought allowed me to show other samples, tools, and helped describe other aspects of the project itself. Of course, I forgot to snap a photo of the display while I was there, so the above photo was recreated the next day at home.
I met some wonderful people that day and was filled with so much encouragement at every corner. We talked about culture, construction, cræft, and despite my nerves and shyness, I had the most wonderful time. One woman even proudly brought back over her utility bucket made by a master cooper within the SCA, so that I could see it and perhaps gain some insight. (It had the most wonderful chamfer on the bottom cutting up to the base.)
I could not have done this with out the encouragement and love from Ástríðr and to her, I am forever thankful. I left there with a list of questions, suggestions and ideas to further this project along. I would like to make a sample split pin rivet and gather some samples of yew and natural dried pine for example. I was also asked if I had thought about either Kings and Queens A&S champs or Artifacts of a Life. The truth is that I had, but not so much as to have made a decision. On the drive home I listened to a great podcast called Cut the Craft. This episode featured the wonderful, Roy Underhill.
The work we did early in our evolution with the materials of nature shaped us – as we shaped it.
Roy Underhill
To see the project in person, I guess you’ll just have to come visit me at the event, Artifacts of a Life.
I am calling the woodworking portion of this project complete as the staved vessel takes form. This one won’t be holding liquid it seems. I have much more to practice. The next step is the metalwork. Plenty of time.
I wonder what the Anglo-Saxon’s might have used for temporary hoops in place of my well fitting, and adjustable pipe clamps. Sure, the cooper in business to make storage barrels probably had a set of metal hoops just for the purpose, but I am unsure if the person who made these small grave goods had such a luxury.
Perhaps the copper alloy bands were made first and then the staves trimmed to fit within this known shape. Certainly a test for the next bucket.
While it looks to be just a piece of scrap wood, this simple bit of pine is actually a proof of concept. Measuring in at about 1.5 x 8 in, it helped show me that some of my process is solid while others need some work.
One item that worked well includes the cleaning and sharpening of an antique wood plane. The jointer is about 22 inches in length and while it still needs a bit of help, but for now it will do what is needed.
I also found a piece of common 2×4 with very straight grain running along the length. Using a splitting knife, I was able to rive a fairly even thickness after an initial piece was split from the face.
With the jointer mounted in my bench-vise blade up, I was able to then shave the sides on an angle with ease. I will have to research if the rings should be inside or outside.
What I need now is a way to hold this piece so I can take a draw knife to it and shape the wide edges. While I will build a shave horse someday, this piece is small, so a bench mounted version is being built. I also want to make a small jig set to 30°, so that I can measure the edges after I shave them on the plane.
Lastly, I need to sharpen my curved draw knife so it will take a cleaner slice. I am pretty sure a plastic spoon might do a better job at the moment. All kidding aside, I now wonder if my spoon knife might work well to make the hollow on the belly since it is so small.
Like many good stories, this one starts at The Met Cloisters, Fort Tyron Park, New York, NY. The day following the coronation of Ozurr the Boot-Giver and Fortune Sancte Keyne, Ástríðr and I joined several others including our Baron of Stonemarche, Keziah Planchet as well as Olalla, Iddo, and Ezekiel to the fabulous Met Cloisters Museum. Among the many items of inspiration from Unicorns and Horns, to Architecture and Furniture, one item, in particular, jumped out. The simple, yet not so simple, box.
Walnut and paint; iron mounts, South French, ca. 1200-1225, Private Collection, United Kingdom (L.2008.58.1a-c) – On view at The Met Cloisters ¹
Sometimes called a cofferette, a chest, a hutch, a reliquary… it was one of these containers that Baron Keziah ² implored I make for her so that she could embellish with paint. Well, the truth was I had planned to make one anyway and despite all the teasing going on on the book of faces (#notabox), the following day, planning would begin.
I had been researching the different types of medieval chests previously and for this first one, I would make a six board box. This style has been around for quite some time. The joinery is simple but does require nails or some sort of hardware to help hold it together. The Viking Mästermyr Tool Chest ² is a good example of the type.
The Mästermyr Tool Chest ³
The Design: As its name would suggest, the box is made of six pieces of wood; a top, bottom, left, right, front and back. Meridian School of Carpentry’s ⁴ first project just so happened to also be a box of this type. I would adapt that project slightly in size and use only hand tools to construct. A night spent watching videos about furniture design, the golden rule, Fibonacci, and tool making helped figure out the size and placement of the nails and hardware.
The Wood: I chose a piece of 1 x 6 ‘Select Pine’ lumber from my local big box store. I took some time to find a piece that was as free from warpage as they had. Pine was going to be easy to work with for this first project. It did chip and tear out in a few places as I expected and I will need to use a bit more care in the future. I hand cut the six pieces to length and used the hand plane to flatten things up. I was going to use the saw I had made but I may have snapped the string by over tightening it and chose a different saw.
My process for cutting involves inscribing lines with a knife and chiseling a small piece on the ‘waste’ side to help drive the saw straight.
The bottom of the box had to be sawn lengthwise (ripped,) to sit within the sides. I planned to cut a dado (a slot) in the left and right pieces to hold the bottom and in hindsight, I should have done the same on the front and back. The dado was cut using a hand saw on either long side, and a chisel to break out the waste. I used blue painters tape to label each piece as I went along.
When I dry fit the pieces together I found that the front piece was shorter than the others and I ended up trimming the other three sides to bring things much closer together.
The bottom fit very well into the dado (left) It is important to mark your pieces in some way when fitting pieces together (top) especially when you find out that one of your pieces is too short (bottom).
I laid out a curve on the sides to form the legs. This would help the box sit well and formed another unintended bonus. To cut these I sawed straight from the edge to the curve in several small sections and then used a sharp chisel to cut out the waste. Skipping ahead for a moment, after the box was together, I noticed that every time I would pick up the box, I found my fingers reaching under this curve to use as handles. That said, it was far too small at first so I opened each radius up to fit much better.
Top Left; Sometimes it is best to use what you have to draw a curve. Top Right; Vertical cuts will help keep the wood from breaking out when using a chisel. Bottom: Before and After creating a larger ‘hand hold’ at the legs.
The Nails: Period nails are much different than those we have today. I didn’t have the time to find hand made nails for this project but I did modify some to ‘look the part,’ using a file and torch to square the head and blacken it up. (I have another method I am going to try soon which may produce better results and I will report back with results.) It is important to note that these are ‘steel’ nails and not ‘galvanized’ which would produce some pretty bad fumes.
Left to Right: The original steel nail, Filing the sides and top to form a square, The head after filing, Heat treatment to provide ‘color’, and The finished nail in the box.
The Hardware: The Snipebill Hinge is a very period example of a simple hinge. These particular ones are made from two cotter pins attached together. The small V notch in the corner of the board is a tip to help things sit proper. That said, these were a pain to bend and bruised the soft pine in many places. The next time I will try softening the metal with a torch first, as well as installing them prior to assembly.
The latch I did purchase at the store for this project and I was unable to make corner braces in time for this project – but that isn’t to say I didn’t try a quick test.
Details of the snipe bill hinge. The lower left shows a 1 1/2 inch pin in a test piece of wood, vs the 2 inch pin used in the build. The remaining photos show the pin bent over on both the inside (center) and lid (right) in which you can see the bruising and nicking in the wood.
Finishing Touches: Once it was all together and looking great, I did take a sharp chisel to some edges to clean up a few places that did not line up as well as I would have liked. I hit some areas with some sandpaper and as the owner is going to paint it, I left any sort of finish off.
The Finished Cofferette – aka ‘Box’
In the end, I am very happy with the results. I need to practice cutting boards a bit straighter and planing them a bit smoother. Another trick I learned after this build is to cut the sides longer, and them trim them once they have been secured into place which I am likely to try on the next one. I was very happy to use a ruler very little and used dividers, straight edges, and marking gauges to layout the size and position of nails and hardware. I did try making a ‘layout sector’ in the middle of this project and only lost one day on that yet to be finished project but that, is for another blog post and another time.
The Met Cloisters: Read more about the Siege of Orange box on the Met website here.
“Föremål 107095. SHM 21592:132” [Object 107095. SHM 21592:132]. www.historiska.se. Swedish History Museum. Retrieved 02 May 2019.
Meridian School of Carpentry – A Facebook Group – “we are here for the weekend woodworker who has a busy life schedule, but would like to make stuff to improve their encampment”
I’ve been working on a frame saw that I started over the summer.
While it has been in a state that will work, I have wanted to carve into it for some time now. I dont know much about the skill but today was the day to get back in the shop and experiment.
This is the top of one of the risers and the cord will act like reigns.
I am very happy with the way it has come together and now I have to make one for the other side. I was smart and made a pattern first. I do wish I had looked at some other photos as I would have made the ear in particular a touch different.
I think I will simply champher the edges on the center piece and then call it a day on this project.
Earlier this week, Ástriðr Sægeirrsdottir had finished warping up a new pattern on her small loom. Sadly though, she has misplaced her small shuttle. Good for her though that she has a birthday just around the corner, and I some free time.
I have a short thin length of African Padauk that I thought would make a great shuttle. I measured the width of her loom, twice as one does, and added a rather arbitrary inch to either side. I knew I’d be using a 3/4 bit to drill the holes on either side.
I laid out the position where the holes should be and began boring with an auger style bit after drilling a couple of pilot holes. The thin material was not responding well to this bit and it is probable that I need to sharpen it. It did the bulk of the job though and I would move on, using a knife to clean up the remainder. I used a small dovetail saw to cut the notches on the ends.
After a few swipes with the plane to help shape and smooth, and the knife and small chisels to chamfer the edges, I took some rough grit sandpaper to try to bevel the lead edge more. I switched to a higher grit paper to smooth further, and ‘sharpen’ the edge as I would a chisel.
The last step was to chip carve the letter ‘A’ into the side as a small personalized touch. A couple of practice pieces later, I dove into the real thing.
At the end of the day, I wrapped it, made Ástriðr tape it up herself, and then gifted it to her as an early present. I will add some sort of finish to it once she has used up all of her weft string that is already applied.
Overall I am very happy with the way it came out. I will sharpen the auger bits to see if this helps on the next piece, or if the thickness of the material really played a part.
Be sure to check out Ástriðr Sægeirrsdottir’s blog ‘The Working Needle‘ and you may see a photo of it in use eventually.
My paternal Grandfather and his father were both carpenters. At my Mothers house lives not only a chest that they built but also a fantastic Grandfathers Clock. There is also a Chess board that is here with me. I have not really thought much about them until recently and I am looking forward to seeing what techniques I might be able to learn from my forefathers.
Alas, with the backstory out of the way, I have recently rescued and begun restoration on a couple of hand planes from an old tool chest that I believe belonged to them.
One is an unmarked, lower angle block plane about 7 inches long. The sole and sides of the body have a bit of dirt and corrosion but I think I can clean this up fine. The Iron has a few chips in it but a good solid reshaping and sharpening should see this back to use in no time.
Craftsman / Miller’s Falls 4BB – circa 1950’s
The second is a Bench Plane made by Craftsman. Well, branded by Craftsman as they actually didn’t make any of their own tools. I believe this may be a Model 4CBB with a sole of 9 inches long, made by the Millers Falls tool company. It looks like Millers Falls started making tools for Craftsman in the late 20’s, this one was most likely made in the 50’s as evidenced by a Blue Craftsman Logo. My Great Grandfather would have been in his mid 70’s if his hands did use this very plane.
I’ve given this one a small workover and while I need to do some more cleaning on it, the Iron has been sharpened, the sole has been cleaned, and this Plane will Cut. It is kind of surreal to wonder when this plane was last used and if It had been used on any of the projects listed above as I took my first real shavings with it last night.
Planes have been around for quite some time. These two pictured below were recovered from the wreck of The Mary Rose which sunk in 1545.
Courtesy of the Mary Rose Trust
The St. Thomas Guild Blog (Medieval Woodworking, Furniture, and Other Crafts,) has a wonderful article about the history of medieval planes here, with their earliest examples being mid 1200’s. Peter Follansbee talks briefly about these in a video series on a joined stool demo (mentioned in a previous blog post here,) that he built a replica of one of the Mary Rose planes and he believes it was made for a left-handed person.
The Romans had the first known plane with an iron secured by a wedge ¹ and it seems as if they have a rather unique handle design to them. (see Roman-style Handplane Completato, Christopher Schwarz, July 16, 2006, Popular Woodworking Online Blog, link.)
Someday I will venture into making one of these medieval-style block planes, but until then, I will follow in the hands of my forefathers.
Alric the Younger 