It's The Little Things...

 Let The Sun Shine In

Backyard March 2010I am so grateful spring is arriving. I am ready for the long hours of sunshine and warmer temps. Here in Billings, MT I have been able to work with the doors open on the sunny side of the shop several days over the last 2 weeks.

I am fortunate that the double doors facing the driveway also happen to face south and I can open them wide to let the sun in. On a sunny day at 50° with little wind, the furnace will never kick on if I open the doors and allow the solar gain to heat the shop. 

The increased daylight and temperatures are leaving only remnants of snow hanging out in the shade. The yards are showing some green and there was a noticeable increase in the robin population the last few days. 

It is a good thing that the days are getting warmer, we won't have the need to burn wood. Last night we had a chimney fire at it gave us a good scare. We clean the chimney every year and avoid burning pine, but as we discovered last night, that makes no guarantees. The fire stayed contained in the chimney pipe so there was no damage except to our nerves.

On To The Shop

ML Campbell handy pour spout

I was picking up some ML Campbell Microton dye this morning and was given a couple of handy little pour spouts along with my purchase. ML Campbell started providing little pour spouts that screw onto the 1 gallon cans. 

I used it as soon as I got back to the shop and I love these things! Products like this make me wonder how we could put a man on the moon in 1969 but we couldn't come up with this sooner? I am sure that they have been out there for a while, but where have they been hiding them? 

Using Pour Spout

Well it is true, it's the little things that make a big difference. This spout makes pouring from a standard 1 gallon can a dream. I am sure that you are familiar with the difficulty in pouring from them and the amount of product lost every time you try to pour. This little spout puts an end to that.

The spout also has been sized for good control of the volume that you are dispensing. This is not a gas can pouring fuel into a mower. This is mixing dyes and pouring solvents in a controlled manner. It's perfect.

That's all for now, time to head back to the shop.

Your friend in the shop, Todd A. Clippinger

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Festool HL850 Planer

A New Tool For The Project

Festool HL850 and hand hewn cutter head. On my rustic office project I had to create a hand hewn effect. I was faced with the choice of purchasing some hand tools like an adze and draw knife or the Festool HL850 planer. It is obvious by now that I chose the planer.

The HL850 comes with a single knife that is mounted at an angle on the cutter head. It would not be my first guess that a single knife cutter head could do such a nice job, but this skewed knife makes an amazing cut. I was able to plow a clean cut 90° across the grain of the doug fir desk top. I couldn't believe that it cut just as clean as if I was cutting with the grain.HL850 straight knife and curved knife for creating a hand hewn look.

However impressive as that was, I did not make the purchase of this planer for the straight knife. I had other plans for this planer to be used to create a hand hewn effect in my rustic office project. The HL 850 accepts a variety of cutter heads and one of them does just that, it creates a hand hewn effect.

The HK82RW cutter head is sold separately. It is a machined aluminum cutter head, as all of them are, and has a considerable amount of weight to it. As with the straight knife cutter, this one mounts at a skewed angle which produces an impressively clean cut.

Removing the cutter head on the HL850.

The removal of the cutter heads is quite simple. There is a single button arbor lock to keep the head from moving while it is unscrewed. The cutter head guard pivots easily out of the way exposing the allen head screw which keeps things secure. The screw removes proper as one would expect and the cutter head slides off the machine to be replaced with an optional one.Bed and cutter of HL850.

The HK82RW cutter head has a bow in it which produces a bellied cut. When this is run randomly over a surface it produces a rustic hand hewn appearance, this is just what I needed.

Hey - That's Cheating!

Hand tool purists may cry foul and charge me with cheating, but I am getting paid to create the look, not actually perform the act of hand hewing. I am a big fan of Tom Fidgen's work, but as a contractor I grew up on power tools and so I lean more towards using them. Don't get me wrong, I use hand tools when needed as well, but I see more potential use in my business from this tool than I do an adze or draw knife. (It is at this point I beg Tom's forgiveness and ask that I am not barred from visiting The Unplugged Workshop.)

One of the great features of the HL850 is the dust collection that Festool is so famous for, and if you recall, I also purchased a Dust Deputy recently. This is a match made in heaven because the planer produces copious amounts of cuttings and it is all captured in the Dust Deputy. The Festool hose even connects right to the inlet on the DD. The chip ejection is controlled with a baffle to direct it out either side of the tool. 

Although the dust collection works well, my one complaint so far is with the hose connecting to the planer. It does not seem to make a firm connection as it does with the circular saw or Domino tools that I own. A conscious effort has to be made to insure the hose stays well connected to the planer while in use. It is not a big deal, but the fit is just a bit sloppy and this is a surprise considering it is a Festool product.

Using the HL850Using the Festool HL850 planer to create a hand hewn look is as easy. The planer is just run over the surface as normal. I like to stop and start it randomly on the surface instead of starting at one end and running it a clean shot to the other. A straight run down the lumber with the HK82RW knife just produces a curved trough. The random starts and stops will produce an authentic hand worked look. "Hand hewn" desk leg.

As I have heard from the local shop talk, most contractors building rustic and log homes around here (Billings, Montana) are using the HL850 with the same cutter head to produce a hand hewn look quickly. So you can beat me up for creating fraudulent "hand work" with this machine, but I like the results. Take a look at the desk leg that I produced and see what you think.

The HL850 has plenty of power. It's single knife, skewed cutter head produces a super clean cut at 10,000 rpm (no load.) I should mention that the knives are all carbide so they are sharp and tough. The chip extraction works well but the hose needs a bit of assistance to stay in place. The depth setting is very accurate and the cord is a nice long, workable length.

The cost is typical of Festool, it is higher than for most other brands but the quality and features are commensurate with the price. The HL850 planer cost me $490 alone. The undulating cutter head HK82RW costs $144 and the carbide replacement knives are $33.50. 

I have to admit that I have only run a few test cuts with the straight knife. I have only been using the planer for creating the hand hewn look to date. I will have to cover it as a regular planer at a later date since this is how most shops and woodworkers will be using it. I also did not cover all of the features and characteristics in this entry. That's just one more reason to visit this tool again in the future.

That is all for now.

Your friend in the shop, Todd A. Clippinger

Peace, Love, & Woodworking 

Woodworking Skills In The Real World

Woodworkers Want To Know

Woodworkers often ask me how to make a living out of the shop. This is a short question that requires a long answer. Here, I will give some context of how woodworking skills apply to the real world using my experience as one example. 

In my case, I get projects because of my remodel business. In 1997 I started out as a handy man with no training or skills in the trades and no tools. I had a contractor that guided me and gave me a lot of work for my first year and a half. I read everything that I could get my hands on about remodeling and how-to. I was as passionate and obsessed about remodeling back then, as I am about woodworking now. I soaked in everything and the guys that knew me called me "Sponge Todd."

At the time, I was not even aware of fine woodworking or custom furniture. The highest thing on the skill level chart that I knew of was a trim carpenter. The natural progression in carpentry was to start out as a framer, and then over the years as your skills grew and your body broke down, you became a trim carpenter.

By retirement, you became the legendary trim carpenter that only worked on the high-end homes, showed up and left when you wanted, and was cantankerous. This would frustrate everybody, but you were "the guy," so the clients would never say anything because if they pissed you off enough, it would be time to walk and that would show them because nobody hung crown moulding like you - HA! Well, that is not exactly how it works, but I do know some characters that just about fullfill that scenario.

OK Get To The Point

Replace handrail, bench, and bookcase. Today I looked at a project that is a perfect example of what I want to share. It includes replacing the stair rail, balusters, bench, and bookcase. The challenge is to make them more appropriate for the 1920's style of the house. The floors will also be refinished and that work includes going up the stairs and down the hall. 

This job is perfect for what I do. I don't like new construction, I don't even like doing additions. Most often smaller jobs like this get relegated to the handyman that does not have any sense of design. Typically, they will inflict tasteless work on the house. This type of work can be seen in the photo which was done during a previous remodel. I took this photo for bidding purposes and it is the "Before" image.

The projects I favor are homes from the early 1900's that had some horrible remodel design inflicted on them in the 70's or 80's. I create a remodel that is considerate of the period when the house was first built. My goal is to make the work look more like it was part of the original design.

How Does This All Apply? 

My work relies upon applying the skills that are part of the woodworker's repertoire. Not only that, but I am continually challenged with a variety of situations that require good problem solving skills combined with an eye for design. I have been in the field long enough to know that it is tough to find a contractor that possess both trade skills and design sensibilities. This is my competitive edge as opposed to trying to be cheaper.

I have my own small business because I like having control of the design and building process. I can pick and choose what part of the project that I want to do, but I am not trapped in any single compartment such as framer, sheetrocker, cabinet maker, painter, and so on.

My favorite part of the project is the design process. I don't care if it is designing furniture, a built in, or a remodel, I love the design process. I love hashing out ideas with clients and they enjoy it too. They may or may not have any idea of what they want, but when I get them involved they get excited about the project. If I was just the cabinet maker, a sub contractor, I would never get to partake in the design process as I do now. I would always be building someone else's design.

After the design process the hand skills are applied. I enjoy the mix of cerebral stimulation balanced with the physical aspect. Remodeling is where I first developed my hand skills that I carried into the shop. Granted, using power tools in a remodel is not the same as hand cutting dovetails or carving for a highboy, but don't discount the skills that an individual will develop in my line of work.

Define What You Really Like To Do

Do you like variety and being creative? If you start making furniture how much variety will you have? Not much if you have only a few pieces to offer. Your need for creativity may even feel stifled if you are a slave to making a certain product. My business provides me a continual variety of challenges.

If you have a business that produces cutting boards but want to design a line of Shaker influenced furniture, you will feel like a slave as you churn out cutting boards to fill orders. The point is to be aware of which direction you take your business. 

If you want to build furniture but start doing home repairs, now you become known as a handyman. That is a tough one to get away from.

In many ways I am fortunate, I have enough time behind me that I have built a reputation and I have done various things so I have figured out what I specifically like doing. I enjoy a blend of working in the shop and in the field but I don't like heavy remodels anymore. I enjoy being creative, building with my hands, and providing something that people can use and enjoy for years in their home. This is very satisfying to my mind, body, and spirit.

This is my experience for how woodworking applies to the real world.

The goal of this entry was to provide a context for how woodworking skills can be applied to make a living. I hope this information helps others that may be thinking about moving their career to the shop and are wondering how they will get work or what they will build. It is a very romantic notion that can be disappointing or rewarding if the right decisions are made. 

That is all for now.

Your friend in the shop - Todd A. Clippinger

Share the Love~Share the Knowledge