Saturday, December 21, 2013
The Trade of the Joiner
Came across this video on sash construction from the Arnold Zlotoff Tool Museum. Great video check it out at http://www.arnoldzlotofftoolmuseum.com/Trade_and_Crafts_Videos.html
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Mini Moravian Spring Pole Lathe
I had a spring pole lathe, but it got to be a pain using it at living history events because of the problem with transporting the long pole. Finding a good straight pole is difficult in my part of Nebraska because the trees tend to grow more out in the open. This causes the trees to be more scraggly and gnarly. Not good for a spring pole.
I wanted a pole lathe that I could break down and set up with no tools. I also wanted it to be self-contained so if I had to set up on concrete or in a building I could. The Moravian spring pole lathe was the ticket. I will
primarily use the lathe to turn chair parts, but with the application of a modified tool rest, I should be able to turn bowls. The thing I’m most impressed is the tensioning device I use for my hickory spring. By turning the screw I can move it on the beam thereby changing the resistance.
Last week I used it at the local museum's pioneer day. The lathe drew a crowd which is always good because I want people to get involved and uses the tools I display not just watch me use them. The lathe was the definite favorite of the kids. Most of the people that tried the lathe could not really coordinate the foot and tool action together, but in the case of the children, it didn't matter they just want to work the treadle. I just about could have charged admission for the amount of kids wanting to pump the foot treadle. It actually worked out nice because it was extremely hot and humid and I had plenty of child labor to power the lathe while I did the turning.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Update on Dutch Tool Chest
A few things I've done different is I've added a drawer for my large chisels and a shelf for awkward sized tools like my bow saw and large gauges. I also designed my locking battens to run inside of the door supports. My saw tills are nothing fancy, but they are more universal so if I change saw sizes I won't have to redesign the tills.
The box is heavy but I can still muscle it around. I really like this design everything is easy to get to and when I take it to living history events I will be able to lock it up.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Stave Church and Norwegian Woodenware
Check out the link and go see it you won’t be disappointed. http://www.chapel-in-the-hills.org
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Spiral Candlestick
A few months ago I forged out a spiral candlestick common
to the eighteenth century. While this is obviously no great feat in the realm
of blacksmithing, I’m still happy with the way it turned out. I've heard these spiral
candlesticks referred to as “courting candles”. The idea being that parents would
adjust out a section of candle and when it burned down to the frame of the
candlestick the date was over. I believe this is more folklore than fact.
In
the 18th and well into the mid 19th century, people were using tallow candles. They were cheap and could be made on the frontier using locally available resources. The problem with tallow candles is they tend to be soft and prone to flopping over if
unsupported. It’s my belief that these candlesticks were used to support the
tallow candle within the spiral frame. Unlike my picture which shows the candle
all the way up, the proper use would be to have the candle down inside the frame. The user would then turn the handle like the one seen on the right of my candlestick. This would work like a screw and follow the spirals of the candlestick thereby lifting the candle.
Next to the candlestick are candles I made the
other night. They're made with a 50/50 mix of beeswax and beef tallow. I mixed the candles with beeswax to make them harder and cleaner burning. I've read that
this was done in the past to stretch-out the more expensive beeswax. Beeswax is
expensive even by today’s standards.
For some historical background, an advertisement
in the Nebraska City News, dated February 27 1858, list the prices of goods sold at a local store. The going rate is as follows: “Candles Star 35cts”,
“Tallow Candles 15-20cts”. It doesn't state what quantity the candles were sold in, but
obviously tallow candles were much cheaper. I don't know if "Star" is a brand of candle or a type of candle.
To the right is a picture of a box of Star Candles recovered from the Steamship Bertrand that sunk in the Missouri River north of Omaha Nebraska on August 1st, 1865. It was located in 1968 and contained a sizable quantity of candles and candle molds.
To the right is a picture of a box of Star Candles recovered from the Steamship Bertrand that sunk in the Missouri River north of Omaha Nebraska on August 1st, 1865. It was located in 1968 and contained a sizable quantity of candles and candle molds.
If you’re wondering, tallow is nothing more than
rendered down animal fat. It can be from deer, beef cow, or just about any
other type of animal. Pork fat; however, tends to stay soft and doesn’t burn as
well as beef fat in my opinion, so I would avoid it. If you’re interested in
making tallow I suggest watching Keith Burgess’s videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/historicaltrekking
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
More Work on the Dutch Tool Chest
I've got the chest together and I think I’m really going to
like it. I put my shaving horse in the picture so viewers could get an idea of
its size, it big! 40 inches long by 16 inches deep. The small middle shelf is
for my bow saw, panel gauge, and large wooden square. Just below the main box
will be a thin shelf for my large slick and framing chisels, you can see the
runners for the drawer in the picture. One thing I’m doing different is that I
am making my battens for the removable front panel slotted to hold my locking
runners. That way I don’t need separate brackets.
The only real problem I've had has been the warped side
panels. This caused the dadoes for the shelves to be cut uneven which cause a
gap between the shelves and the side panels when they were assembled. Not
sure what I’m going to do about it. I will either leave it as is or I might
make metal reinforcement brackets to hide and reinforce it like in campaign furniture.
Well more woodworking and painting, then its off to the forge to make my hinges and handles. When I get it done I will take it outside and take better
and more detailed pictures.
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