I think you're having a lot of fun with that old chest!

Last week I gave the Makita jigsaw a try after a decade off. It was bought only to replace this stair trim (skirting?).

  

 

So first I cut these two ovals, attached a backing, and got stuck. One backing cleanly cracked along the grain. Next, taking a cue from @Smallpatch I try out the scroll saw. First job removing and fishing the 5" t-connector blade on this gifted amateur unit. I'll need new blades, but at a slower speed it ain't half bad. But the half that is bad made an uneven cut.

 

I'll save time next time by making a better cut, but for now, the inside oval was contoured and filled. The final assembly is a little asymmetrical. The big question:

 

Do I mount as intended, oval up? Or add key rings under, and mount oval down?  Maybe trim the “wings” off of it. Follow a cm above the backing arc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 21, 20224 yr by Woodman
Ha! Caught me again formatting images! Moving them into correct sequential order. And fixing nouns which should have been adverbs. Don't even get me started on spelling and adjectives.

That is some beautiful wood!

4 hours ago, Grandpadave52 said:

That is some beautiful wood!

It is, I could never use it though. It'd make my cut's look even more crooked than they are  

Got almost all the boards through 1 session of sanding today. Was working on the 2 that I plan to use for the back and I heard a voice .......it was Otis. He said " Easy young Lad..my old chest will come closer to giving you what your after if you don't erase all the age she's earned  "     So..I stopped there and will finish those 2 by hand from here on out. Here's another look at her after some daylight hit it....

 

 

10 minutes ago, aaronc said:

I heard a voice .......it was Otis. He said " Easy young Lad..my old chest will come closer to giving you what your after if you don't erase all the age she's earned  "     So..I stopped there and will finish those 2 by hand from here on out.

 

 

Listen to Otis. He's correct.

Glad to know others hear voices too. Gets me closer to normal

On 4/19/2022 at 6:39 PM, aaronc said:

Whatever that original finish is it quickly clogged up my sandpaper

Home brew varnish. Depression-era floor refinishers used everything imaginable. One door I was stripping took so long I gave up for six months. It still smells uriney sometimes. Eventually went chemicals, power washed, etc. And a floor same era, the varnish turned into rubber bands. 
 

Beautiful progress. What brand of files are they?

1 hour ago, Woodman said:

Home brew varnish. Depression-era floor refinishers used everything imaginable. One door I was stripping took so long I gave up for six months. It still smells uriney sometimes. Eventually went chemicals, power washed, etc. And a floor same era, the varnish turned into rubber bands. 
 

Beautiful progress. What brand of files are they?

 

 

Figured it was something along those lines on the finish..thanks for info..that stuff is always educational.

 

The actual farm style file pictured is a Mexico made Nicholson...the double cut side is decent for smoothing...just for the record I'm not a modern Nicholson fan. The raspy looking one I believe is iridium..I'll double check tomorrow when I get home. I know for sure it came from Corradi and is more raspy than file. Its an Italian Co that sells quality stuff. The other place I get files is Otto Frei. I get my Glardon Valorbe swiss made files from there for rasping powder horns or whatever along those lines. I wanted great files to do carving on my horns...through much trial and error I found them...but there aren't many imo. The swiss GV is the best of the best imo and the machinist engineers aren't crazy expensive for 8" files. Just my .02 on that...

Edited April 23, 20224 yr by aaronc

8 hours ago, aaronc said:

swiss GV

I've been looking for a wood rasp that will take off some material but wind up with a smooth finish, which file would you recommend for this??

Edited April 23, 20224 yr by Pat Meeuwissen

On 4/21/2022 at 5:10 PM, aaronc said:

It is, I could never use it though. It'd make my cut's look even more crooked than they are  

So, this morning I was trying to make a frame spacer - between glass and image - and cutting with my old 32tpi ZONA. Double crooked! 

 

This novel clamping method involves two oak blocks each with 10+ pounds of lead attached. And I push the blocks together until just before the horizontals begin to bow. Although I could have clamped one block and piled up the lead on the other block for double the something-or-other.

 

 

3 hours ago, Pat Meeuwissen said:

I've been looking for a wood rasp that will take off some material but wind up with a smooth finish, which file would you recommend for this??

I'm not the biggest rasp user in the world, but my experience tells me you are looking for 2 rasps. The more coarse ones remove the wood, and the ones with finer teeth clean up the marks. Even so, it won't be a sandpaper smooth finish. Anyway, you might want to consider a Shinto rasp (there are a number of different models, check them to see which one might serve your needs). They are relatively inexpensive and have 2 sides on each model, coarse and fine. You'll see them called "hacksaw rasps" now and then because they look they are made from hacksaw blades. Even so, they work well and might be just what you need.

I tried an experiment stacking several lengths of a broken bandsaw blade together,alternating the tooth direction. Just Gorilla taped the ends. It worked....sorta. Not really worth the time and effort.  

One of my better rasps was found in a feed store that caters to horse people. It's a farriers rasp. 1 3/4" wide and 12" of rasping surface. We'll, 24" if you count both sides. There's a very aggressive toothed side and a file cut, smoother side. Which gives a surprisingly smooth finish with hardwoods. 

Then there's the old standby...four in hand...I think it's  called. It's OK but lacks a handle. Kinda rough on the hands. 

I just counted and, I have 17 different large rasps and files. 10 of which are rat tails. And, probably just as many...or more... of different types of rifflers and jeweler's files. Mostly used for tuning the fit and finish on bandsaw boxes and marquetry pieces.  

 

2 hours ago, Fred W. Hargis Jr said:

I'm not the biggest rasp user in the world, but my experience tells me you are looking for 2 rasps. The more coarse ones remove the wood, and the ones with finer teeth clean up the marks. Even so, it won't be a sandpaper smooth finish. Anyway, you might want to consider a Shinto rasp (there are a number of different models, check them to see which one might serve your needs). They are relatively inexpensive and have 2 sides on each model, coarse and fine. You'll see them called "hacksaw rasps" now and then because they look they are made from hacksaw blades. Even so, they work well and might be just what you need.

 

+1  Exactly what you need. I have couple different sizes of these. Work great for quickly removing and shaping. Then come back with scrapers, ultra fine files, or sandpaper.

10 hours ago, Pat Meeuwissen said:

I've been looking for a wood rasp that will take off some material but wind up with a smooth finish, which file would you recommend for this??

 

 

I have my mind more than made up on my files...I'm still in the figure it out process on rasps for major stock removal. I have a project I put up that I am doing totally by hand because I didn't have a good stock remover. I have since gotten several rasps in but have not revisited. The Shinto mentioned here is also going to be in my arsenal soon. You'll find a lot of fans of that Shinto. There is another Japanese maker called Iwasaki that makes some in about 3 grades of cooarseness...also has a lot of dedicated followers. I have 3 of the half rounds and plan to get the flats..but once again I haven't used mine yet. I will tell you they come just about razor blade sharp though 

 

Iwasaki - File 200mm Half-Round Medium Cut (woodcraft.com)

 

I know guys that have several farrier hoof rasps that they do all of there major stock removal with as Gene mentioned. I've got a few more pieces to get in and I'm going to try them out and hopefully one of them feels right for the major "hogging off". 

 

20 hours ago, Woodman said:

Home brew varnish. Depression-era floor refinishers used everything imaginable. One door I was stripping took so long I gave up for six months. It still smells uriney sometimes. Eventually went chemicals, power washed, etc. And a floor same era, the varnish turned into rubber bands. 
 

Beautiful progress. What brand of files are they?

 

 

Here ya go,..I think these are the one I have in my project pic. I have 3 different sizes in half round.

 

Wood and soft metals Files - Hand - 8″ - cut 0 - CORRADI Shop

2 hours ago, aaronc said:

these are the one I have in my project pic.

Found the Corradi website. The other you said was a Nicholson Hecho in Mexico. What is it called when the tang is like this?

 

 

 

40 minutes ago, Woodman said:

Found the Corradi website. The other you said was a Nicholson Hecho in Mexico. What is it called when the tang is like this?

 

 

 

 

Not sure officially... I've seen them called farmer files...handy files...ive seen them in different coarseness in files and rasps versions. Some even made for sharpening...ive got a few saved I'd actually like to get. The ones ive seen almost always have a smooth side and a coarse side of whatever type they are. A lot of farmers keep them in tractor tool boxes etc for a do all kinda tool.  Mine is decent...the second cut side will remove some material..but it was no where near as aggressive as a double cut of any of my germans. I always get the coarsest I can get anyway which is most of the time 1 cut over bastard and check the quality. If I like them I'll get other cuts if I want. 

In the different brands I tried the Glardon Vallorbe simply had sharper teeth of any other comparable file of size and cut. When you put your finger on them you know it. They'll turn horn or whatever else into shavings quicker...and with much less work on my end 

I'm waiting to run into a large welding supply for a decent 12" Nicholson with one edge smooth. I saw one double cut coarse on the flats, single-cut on one edge, and smooth on the other edge. Wanted one for my woodwork. Filing the face of a fingerboard with the flat on the neck where the nut goes is one use.

 

So the other plumber picks it up for me, and it is single cut on all four sides. To a plumber, one file is like another, I guess. As long as payday is Friday.

Guys, thank you for the responses. I have a small shinto rasp and like it for certain things but it doesn't cut on the edge. I'd love to find one that does on one side and not the other edge. Will some searching with the info provided. I see the prices run from reasonable to extreme just like any other tool. I notice nobody mentioned auriou rasp files are they just overpriced for what they are or are they that good?