Because You Know...Paul Sellers
Sometimes I post about some pretty minor stuff, then again - most major things are an accumulation of little things...soooo.... During the course of building the Dining Room Built-In, I accumulated a but of wood scraps, although I have gotten much better about what to keep and what to toss. I always like making things from scrap materials,
...and today I made a board to hold sharpening stones so they don't slide around then sharpening chisels, knives and plane irons. I got the idea from Paul Sellers, a master cabinet maker. I didn't make an exact copy of Sellers' board, but we have different requirements and resources. The first step to making this board was cutting the piece of ceramic tile I bought at Lowes for about $3...
Luckily, I still had my tile cutter from back when we laid tile in the laundry room (I sense a legacy post coming on!). Because I'm not willing to invest in the sharpening stones Paul Sellers uses, I'll use the tile as a flat surface and tacky glue sandpaper on it, then finish off the sharpening on the Smith stone. Then it was just a matter of outlining the boards and setting the corners with the corner chisel...
Then I had an opportunity to use the router free-hand. It's amazing, after all these years, this was actually the first time I used it free-hand as opposed to mounted on the router table!
But here's the funny part...I had forgotten that this was the plunge router, and almost completely ruined the board in about 5 seconds!
Fortunately, it didn't go all the way through! After the insert recesses were cut I added a stop to the underside. Paul Sellers used a pretty small stop because he mounts the board in a carpenter's vice:
I have in times past walked into the workshops of others where the owners have died. By invitation I have been invited to buy the tools and equipment. The new owner had no concept of what it meant to me to walk into the creative sphere of another and survey his life. - Paul Sellers
...which I don't have. So I added a bit larger stop, again using a piece of scrap and pocket screws.
Then a few coats of amber shellac:
And done!
Now - no excuses not to sharpen my tools!