Rack and Rule

With a traditional single screw front vice, putting a workpiece in one end causes the moving jaw to rack diagonally and pinch one side of the workpiece without touching the other.

In some circumstances (holding a tapered leg for example) racking can be quite helpful but if you do want the jaws to close square you can eliminate racking easily enough by putting something of a similar thickness in the other end of the vice.

That said, rummaging around for a similar thickness something isn't exactly conducive to efficient workflow and you then need to hold the workpiece, the something and operate the vice all at the same time.

Enter the humble wooden folding rule in it's capacity as a something of variable thickness for putting in the other end of the vice. Just fold out the appropriate number of leaves and pop it in place, leaving both hands free to position the workpiece and operate the vice.

Systainer Explainer Part 1

My first impression of systainers was something along the lines of ‘that’s a lot of money for a box’ and I suspect that many others will have had the same thoughts. However, the people I have spoken to who actually use them absolutely rave about them, so I thought it was time to dig a little deeper and find out what all the fuss is about. Suffice to say that having sated my curiosity, I now count myself amongst the legion of fans who believe that they are actually a remarkable amount of box for the money! I don't want to make this a bullet point list of specifications, that's not really our style, but I would like to explain some of the considerable research and thought that has gone into the design.

Systainers are made by German company TANOS GmbH which was formed in 1993 as a subsidiary of Tooltechnic Systems (which is also the parent company of Festool) specifically to develop and market the systainer range of products. Since then they have supplied over 14 million of them to companies including Bosch, Festool, Makita, Mafell and of course BTI.

The word ‘systainer’ is a composite of ‘system’ and ‘container’, the system part is the clever bit. Because it is a complete system you get all the efficiency benefits of working in a neatly organised workshop, but because it is portable, you can take that same level of efficiency anywhere. The boxes can be connected, so you can lock them together to form a stack, which can then be picked up by the integral handle or transported using a trolley or roller board to your place of work. Lockable safes with full extension drawer runners are also available that can be bolted into a vehicle or building to store your systainers securely without restricting your access to the contents. For the insides of the boxes, a wide range of inserts are available to keep the contents neatly organised.

The boxes themselves are made from high quality ABS with geometric reinforcement, so they are strong and stiff but also very light. The components are available individually, so if you damage a small part like a hinge or a lock, you can often just replace the component – not the whole box.

The boxes come in two main types.

Classic systainers have four tabs which can either lock the lid in place or reach up a little further to both secure the lid and hold another systainer on top. The classic range is more fully developed so there are a wider range of options available. The maxi systainer has twice the footprint (60cm x 40cm) of a standard systainer so you can attach a double stack of standard systainers (either classic or T-Loc) on top of it.

Mini systainers only stack with each other, but drop a foam insert into the bottom of a standard systainer and two stacks of minis will fit in perfectly side by side. There are also lockable systainers, insulated systainers and sortainers with built in sub-dividable drawers. I was surprised to find that you can fit a full set of 12 bevel edged chisels in a tool roll, with a mallet, into the large drawer of a four drawer sortainer and still have room to spare.

The newer T-Loc systainers fasten together like a French cleat, and are then locked into place with the single T shaped locking device on the front. The T-loc’s have several advantages in that they are much faster to use, can be fastened with one hand and (as long as the boxes above are not too heavy) allow boxes to be opened in the middle of a stack. T-Locs are available in five depths.

T loc systainers have the same attachment lugs around the bottom as classics, so you can stack T-locs on top of classics but not the other way around.

The internal shape of the two types is different too, so the inserts that go with them are type specific.

Both classics and T-Locs have the same size footprint – about 30cm x 40cm. This size was arrived at because it is one eighth of a standard europallet, which makes systainers suitable for palletised loads as well as keeping distribution costs down.

There's a lot of information to cover on this product range. In systainer explainer Part 2 we will look at some of the possible adaptations that can be made to the interior of the boxes.

The Robertson Square Drive Screw

In general when a wonderful new invention comes along it sweeps aside the competition, is widely adopted and replaces the previous way of doing things.

There are however various examples in history of superior technologies being superceded by inferior ones, the betamax video for example was technically far superior to VHS, but because VHS was cheaper it became the standard and the range of films available on betamax soon dwindled to naught.

Another fine example is the Robertson square drive screw, patented in 1909 by a Canadian gentleman called Peter Robertson, it was - if you'll pardon the pun - quite revolutionary. The square driver engaged much more positively with the head of the screw than the pre-existing slot head arrangement, transmission of power was excellent and the tapered square hole in the top of the screw could be punched straight into the cold metal, so it was comparatively cheap to produce.

Henry Ford was a great fan of the technology because it meant that wooden car bodies could be produced faster and more efficiently. You would think that with a product decades ahead of it's time and a mustard keen patron, who also happened to be the most famous industrialist of the 20th century, that the future of the Robertson screw was guaranteed.

Unfortunately, the firm he had licensed to produce them in England were not quite as fine and upstanding as one would hope, and used a loophole to bankrupt their firm and then bought the rights back from the receiver, which neatly eliminated the need to pay Robertson his royalties.

Cowed by this despicable experience, Robertson was understandably loathe to grant production licenses to anyone else and with the exception of the Canadian market, which Robertson's own company satisfied, the Robertson square drive was eclipsed by the inferior Philips (purposely designed to cam out so that it couldn't be over tightened) with which the world has been saddled ever since. Developments using a similar principle to the Robertson drive like Allen (hexagonal) and Torx (star) have unsurprisingly gone on to become hugely popular world wide.

One beacon of hope for the square drive screw is the American pocket-hole technology specialist (and very clever inventors in their own right) Kreg, for whom we are now a stockist and will, over the coming month or so, be introducing their full range of products.

So although Mr Robertson unfortunately didn't live to see it, an altogether more scrupulous British company will now be getting behind his remarkable invention 100% and giving him due credit for it too.

New Workshop Build Part 2

Things are starting to feel a little more homely in the workshop now. The main bench has been installed along with the drill press and an adjacent eye level cupboard to keep all the associated drilling gubbins in.

On the opposite side I've installed a set of shelves to keep things that come in boxes accessible and organised - power tools, socket set, screws etc. Above the shelves is a sheet of steel pegboard for hammers and mallets.

Underneath the left side of the fixed bench is a mini bench for my 4 year old son. This started life as one of the flimsy entry level benches but with the back and sides boarded over to stiffen it and the lower legs cut off, it is now surprisingly sturdy.

Over on the tool wall, magnetic toolbars have been installed to store chisels, saws rasps and marking and measuring kit. We have another eye level cupboard for small items and to save making shelves for planes I have just screwed wooden boxes straight to the wall. All of the shop walls were lined with ply which is already paying huge dividends in terms of being able to attach anything anywhere.

There are still a few more additions and alterations to make, but for the time being it is a workable setup. After the last couple of months of relative chaos, I am thoroughly enjoying being able to find things instantly without having to rummage for them.

New Workshop Build Part 1

Here is the space that was alluringly titled 'workshop' on the plans, I have a general idea of how I want it to end up but for the time being everything is flexible and open to serendipitous influences.

The first of which happened last week when the builder kindly offered me a few boards of leftover timber that was otherwise destined for the skip – not very straight, blobbed with plaster, but a decent quantity of PAR pine nonetheless and very gratefully received.

In the true spirit of ‘use it quick before he changes his mind’ I have decided to press it into service as a secondary bench. As with all bench builds, the first thing you need in order to get started is a bench. This is my portable bench which is made from 5 x 3s, (more skip treasure). Two simple A frames with splayed legs, two horizontals that drop onto 20mm hardwood dowels and a top attached underneath so that you can put tools down whilst still having the workpiece resting on the top rails. It’s rough but sturdy and you can clamp anywhere and screw stops onto it as needed so it is quite versatile.

The dimensions for the new bench were largely dictated by the space and the materials, I wanted something quite narrow so that the wall behind can be used for shelving and magnetic toolbars to keep the more commonly used tools visible and accessible. The ladder subframe is 3 x 2 PAR and will be supported on three box section legs. All of the work surfaces in the shop are going to be 3 feet high so that work can be laid across multiple surfaces if required.

Having double legs presented the opportunity to install bench slaves in two of them to support large boards vertically for edge jointing. By drilling two offset lines of holes to accept pegs I can have a positionable cantilevered support that sticks out of the front of each leg.

To drill the holes I am using a drilling rig to ensure that everything stays plumb and true. The 25mm FAMAG Bormax performed perfectly, each hole was cut with a single pass and the last hole was as clean as the first. By carefully clamping the boards in pairs with some scrap underneath I was able to prevent blowout and also transfer the hole positions to the next piece.

The ladder subframe is screwed to the wall for maximum strength and rigidity using BTI Drilltec screws. These have a drill point, an aggressive threaded section, a collar of rifling to eliminate jacking and milling ribs under the head so that they countersink themselves.

Without any pre-drilling at all they went through the timber, a sheet of ply, a sheet of plasterboard and bit home on the steels inside the wall. The torx heads fit over the driver like a spline joint over about 2.5mm, so the engagement is very much better than pozidrive.

The subframe was assembled with leather pads to elevate the ladder section slightly and provide some extra grip – any slightly compressible material will do but leather is ideal and easy to get hold of, a couple of old chunky belts in this case.

I also arranged the timbers carefully so that the bowing of the subframe and the top pieces would act against each other to pull themselves back into square when it was all screwed together.

Although this bench will be mainly used as a table to help keep the main bench clear, it was worth building it sturdily enough to be used as a working bench as well. The apron at the front provides ample clamping area and it is plenty solid enough to support morticing work or bolt machines onto if necessary.

Although the timber would probably have been recycled into paper or chippings anyway, I believe it has been put to much better use and will hopefully give many years of good service.

The New Workshop Heaven!

We have recently moved into new larger premises at the Alkerton Oaks Business Park, situated between Banbury and Stratford upon Avon on the A422, about five minutes drive from junction 12 of the M40.

The local area is literally dripping with history, within a couple of miles we have RAF Edgehill where the top secret E28-39, powered by Mr Whittle's jet engine, was developed into the Gloster Meteor. There is also the field of the first pitched battle of the English Civil war in 1642 and the glorious Upton House which was built just 46 years later, developed and preserved by a family that started a little company called Shell, and is now a National Trust treasure.

The Upton Estate remains in private hands and has over 300 acres of woodland, managed in accordance with the higher level countryside stewardship scheme. The estate also farms 1400 acres of arable land, producing conservation grade cereals for Jordans.

The trimmings from the woodland management scheme (currently coniferous nurse trees planted to encourage straight growth in the main crop) end up in a biomass boiler that provides heat and hot water for our new offices and warehouse. As a result the only fossil fuels that the building consumes are a splash in the chainsaw and a dash the chipper. I am hoping that when the current batch of harvested hardwoods have been air dried we will be able to offer boards of premium furniture grade timber with the minimum possible wood mileage.

The building itself is incredibly well insulated, achieving an A rating for energy efficiency. The interior was custom built to our specifications and although we have had to wait a little longer than expected to move in, giving the contractors time to do their job beautifully has paid huge dividends in terms of the quality of finish achieved - heck if we can't appreciate and encourage good workmanship nobody can!

As before, we will continue to receive visitors by appointment and once the workshop area is complete you will have the opportunity to test out your purchases on the premises and receive free tuition in how to care for and use your new tools.

New handles for Narex 8116 Cabinetmaker's Chisels

We really, really like Narex's 8116 Cabinetmaker's Chisels, superb steel, fine accurate machining, great profile and a great price, but I couldn't help feeling that the handles would be so much better if they were just a fraction smaller on the smaller sizes. We mentioned it to the management and before you could say "To bylo rychlé!" a sample of the new handle was resting comfortably in my hand!

The first shipment of the new ones arrived today, so we will be dispatching them with the smaller handles as standard when our new website launches (fingers crossed) on December 5th.

In the meantime, please use the shipping comments box to add 'smaller handles please' or 'larger handles please' and we will send you the appropriate chisels.

Lateral Thinking !

One of the minor points levelled against bevel up planes is that their capacity for lateral adjustment is limited because the cutting iron is nestled down between the side wings.

Here's a quick and easy way to give your bevel up plane as much lateral adjustment as a bevel down one.

First mark up the sides of the iron with a permanent marker so that you can monitor your progress.

Next carefully hold the blade over a linisher (a well secured upturned belt sander will do if you don't have one). Allow the shoulder of the blade to make contact first and then gently lower the blade until the sparks start just behind your thumb. You are aiming for this:

A nice even taper running from about halfway up the iron to the shoulder, taking about 1.5mm to 2mm out of the width on each side at the shoulder.

The result:

About twice as much adjustment as you had with the parallel sided iron, and the front end remains parallel so it will still fit into a side clamping honing guide.

The Quangsheng iron I am using here is differentially hardened carbon steel (only hardened from the slot down so that the soft upper part dampens vibration). Air hardening steels are all or nothing, so if you try this with an A2 blade the whole thing will be hard and it may take a little longer to grind back.

Free Shipping Fortnight!

...or you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.

There are all manner of things that can go wrong with an order - computer says one shelf says nil, lost in the post, defects, niggles and other fluff to sort out. True, it is rare, but it would be churlish to pretend that it doesn't happen occasionally.

We work incredibly hard to ensure that these problems never get as far as the customer, but if there is one thing that makes complete and total customer satisfaction easier to achieve, it is time!

In order to sway the balance of time in our favour we are offering FREE shipping on all UK orders for the next two weeks (13 - 26 November) in the hope that we can persuade our regular customers to get their Christmas orders in nice and early. Just to spice things up a bit further we have waved our discounting wand over a selection of popular products and put them up on the Workshop Heaven homepage.

At the end of the day I don't want to spend Christmas day worrying about whether Mr Jones from Llandeilo received his Quangsheng No. 4 in time. I'd much rather be enjoying the way my carefully waterstone-sharpened carving knife will sever immaculate wafer thin slices of roast fore rib of beef with no downward pressure at all, or marvelling at the fact that my four year old son actually likes brussels sprouts! If you are prepared to indulge me this small favour I am more than happy to redress the balance with a bit of free shipping.

The Combination Square

Invented in the United States in 1878 the combination square is a very versatile instrument indeed. I thought it might be fun to run through as many ways to use one as I can think of and then see if anyone can come up with any others.

As well as the obvious uses for marking lines square to or at 45 degrees to an edge, the combination square can also be used as a depth gauge:

A rudimentary marking gauge or panel gauge:

A protractor, dovetail marker or an extra sliding bevel if need be:

A graduated centre finder for both establishing and measuring from the centres of round materials:

Or a mitre gauge:

A small level, (and because it's a square you also have a means of gauging for plumb):

A greater level of accuracy can often be achieved by using the components independently.

The square head can be used as an internal 135 and 90 degree square:

The centre finder as an external 90 degree square (note the cutout for the corner to rest in):

And the protractor head can be used as either a level or an inclinometer:

On a good one like this Starrett C435M-300 Metric Combination Set, the photo engraved hardened steel blade is accurate enough to use as a straight edge too:

In almost all cases a dedicated tool probably will do a better job (assuming that you are looking at a similar quality level). However, for a lot of woodworking tasks the level of accuracy you can achieve with a decent combination square is perfectly acceptable.

If budgetary restrictions are a consideration then you may be better off getting one good quality combination set than struggling with lower quality individual tools.

The sheer abundance of things that you can do with a decent combination square make it a wise investment for the beginner woodworker and it will always be a useful tool to grab whether you are working in or away from the workshop.