2019-12-09T13-10-25

I never thought one day I would enjoy ripping hardwood, but today it may actually be that day! I just finished setting and sharpening my 4.5 tpi rip saw for the first time since I purchased it (and it is my first hand saw too) and what a difference it makes! I used to be stressed every time I had to rip something as my sawing had a strong tendency to curve to the left on the back of the board and I would end up cutting a short length, flipping the board around, sawing some more and so on; really painful and frustrating. Well, maybe it was not all operator error and it may be all behind me now; this saw is now going so straight and fast and perpendicular to the cut that I am really enjoying using it. I should really have learnt to sharpen handsaws much earlier :-) #Dominoes #HandToolsOnly #AmericanBeech #Beech #Woodworking

2020-01-02T15-52-17

Playing with a few variations on the domino tiles; the first set I made had 3mm spots, but I like the 4mm ones too; perhaps they look more playful and a bit less elegant. What do you think? I am also trying out coloured epoxy in place of the inlaid Walnut spots, but still have to refine my technique. The epoxy I had on hand was really dense and I made quite a mess trying to jam it into the holes; luckily, the spill out cleans easily with a block plane once it cures. Planing the epoxy makes it quite duller and you can easily see where the epoxy level sinked below the tile face. I also have a few small voids; next time I will try a more liquid epoxy, hoping I can dispense it through a syringe and then flash it with a heat source to get air out. On the positive side, both the liquid and powder pigments worked well and did not prevent the epoxy from curing and it is not easy to chip it out of the holes, even when I tried shallower ones. #Dominoes #HandToolsOnly #RedMaple #Maple #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-16T10-29-51

Finally back to the shop and starting work on a second set of dominoes; this time I am completely changing the steps and am going to wait until the very end before sawing the strips into individual tiles; So, I started by using a paper template and an awl to mark the center of all 168 spots and knifed in the tile boundaries and mid points. #Dominoes #HandToolsOnly #AmericanBeech #Beech #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-16T10-43-37

Finally back to the shop and starting work on a second set of dominoes; this time I am completely changing the steps and am going to wait until the very end before sawing the strips into individual tiles; So, I started by using a paper template and an awl to mark the center of all 168 spots and knifed in the tile boundaries and mid points. #Dominoes #HandToolsOnly #AmericanBeech #Beech #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-16T11-16-34

The second step is to drill all the holes for the inlaid spots. Doing it on a whole strip rather than individual tiles is saving a lot of clamp/unclamp time. Also, lowering the bench lamp to a grazing angle really helps seeing the tiny awl marks and avoid misplacing the drill bit tip! #Dominoes #HandToolsOnly #RedMaple #Maple #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-16T13-49-41

The second step is to drill all the holes for the inlaid spots. Doing it on a whole strip rather than individual tiles is saving a lot of clamp/unclamp time. Also, lowering the bench lamp to a grazing angle really helps seeing the tiny awl marks and avoid misplacing the drill bit tip! #Dominoes #HandToolsOnly #RedMaple #Maple #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-16T15-27-55

Making 4mm-diameter Walnut dowels for the inlaid spots of the new set of dominoes. I started by ripping a piece of Walnut, planing it to about 5mm thick and then ripping it into 5mm by 5mm strips. Here, I am turning the square section into an octagon before hammering the sticks through a 3/16” and finally a 4mm dowel formers. This time I took a few minutes to make myself a simple jig to hold the strips in place while knocking off their edges; it is just a 1/8” by 1/8” groove plowed into a scrap piece of Pine but it works great. #Dominoes #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-16T16-26-53

I had to saw the 4mm dowels into 1/4” plugs to inlay the spots for the new set of dominoes and came up with yet another jig. This one is just a scrap piece of hardwood with a 4mm hole and a saw kerf crossing through it at 1/4” from the edge of the piece; this way I can cut a consistent length without having to mark or measure and the dowel fibres are supported inside the hole so there is no splintering that could become visible as gaps in the dominoes spots. #Dominoes #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-17T09-35-50

Yet another jig! Holding the plugs straight up to hammer them into the holes for the dominoes spots is a challenge and if they start leaning, they end up denting the hole entry. So I came up with a simple jig where I can “pre-load” the plugs, put glue in the holes with a syringe, slide the jig in place, and push the plugs into the holes using a nail set. It worked like a charm! #Dominoes #HandToolsOnly #AmericanBeech #Beech #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-17T13-05-42

Yet another jig! Holding the plugs straight up to hammer them into the holes for the dominoes spots is a challenge and if they start leaning, they end up denting the hole entry. So I came up with a simple jig where I can “pre-load” the plugs, put glue in the holes with a syringe, slide the jig in place, and push the plugs into the holes using a nail set. It worked like a charm! #Dominoes #HandToolsOnly #AmericanBeech #Beech #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-17T13-15-49

I am really glad I decided to work on long strips and delay sawing them into individual tiles until the end. Sawing the plugs flush for the whole set of dominoes only takes a minute! #Dominoes #HandToolsOnly #AmericanBeech #Beech #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-17T13-16-16

I am really glad I decided to work on long strips and delay sawing them into individual tiles until the end. Sawing the plugs flush for the whole set of dominoes only takes a minute! #Dominoes #HandToolsOnly #AmericanBeech #Beech #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-17T14-12-57

Sawing the domino tiles apart. #Dominoes #HandToolsOnly #AmericanBeech #Beech #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-18T11-01-29

Here is the completed set of dominoes after a first coat of Danish oil. #Dominoes #HandToolsOnly #AmericanBeech #Beech #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking