johnogilvie

Hi, that's a beautiful humidor. I would not cut out the chip but rather apply one more coat of shellac and repair it with a burn in. You have two colors at the repair. Match the darker one with stick shellac, apply burn in balm, use the lowest heat on your burn in knife that will melt the stick shellac and melt a small bit of the stick shellac. Quickly swipe it over the repair, wipe the knife clean, and swipe off the excess. Wipe off the burn in balm and lightly sand the area of the repair with 320 sandpaper. Then take a fine artist's brush and feather in the lighter color beside the dark grain stripe where you made the repair. The repair should be invisible. I have done this many times.

In summary be sure to use burn in balm to protect the adjoining veneer before you start and keep the heat of the burn in knife at a minimum so it does not burn the wood surrounding the repair. I would make a practice swipe on a piece of scrap first to be sure I had the color right. Melt different colors of stick shellac if you need to to match the wood color in the repair. The color is the key to the whole thing. This may sound complicated but it is not and the repair will take less than ten minutes once you get the hang of it.

Hi,

I am 60 years old and use a table saw every day for long periods of time producing primarily period furniture. I have two 10" table saws in a large shop. Most people I know who use table saws on an ongoing basis remove both the splitter and blade guard because they don't function properly and impede pushing the stock through the saw.

I suffered a devastating injury cutting off three fingers on my right hand just above the bottom knuckle (I am right handed) 25 years ago after I had been using table saws for 18 years at the time. Fortunately two of my fingers (the middle and ring finger were very skillfully reattached by a talented plastic surgeon, Dr Leake, at Kennestone Hospital north of Atlanta. I had over 200 stitches and was told to become left handed. After a year of therapy (mostly self therapy) I had a reasonably functioning hand. In the first months of therapy I had to break the scar tissue loose every day.

The doctor and therapist told me that my hand would improve for a year and after that I would not have any more improvement. I am very right handed. I became obsessed with personal therapy and continued for years afterward. I had a great doctor, but they were wrong about my fingers not getting any better after a year. I noticed significant improvement over many years.

A year after my injury I had almost no feeling in the portions of my fingers that were reattached. I suffered excruciating pain in the "nub" that was left of my index finger when I inadvertently jammed it into something. I had severe pain in my fingers when I came in from cold weather outside. All the steel pins were removed at a year except two. My hand is disfigured intentionally so I could hold a hammer. I could not move my two middle fingers much and you did not want to be near me when I used a hammer. It would frequently fly away from me.

I was told I would suffer extreme premature arthritis in my right hand because of my injury. Here's what really happened and this is a happy ending:

I continued to gain dexterity in my hand every year after the accident, even 25 years later. I have worn out dozens of small rubber balls squeezing them over and over as I drive my pickup truck. I work my hand religiously, clutching and making fists. I have no arthritis in my right hand. I have full use of my right hand. I do numerous intricate carvings and detail work. I tie hundreds of tiny trout flies. I carve intricate feathers on the dozens of decoy ducks I have carved. I have no pain in my fingers. I have no pain when I jam my nub index finger into things. I have not had trouble with pain from the cold weather for years. I have full feeling in all my fingers. I have not lost control of a hammer for a long time. I have even typed 10 novels and dozens of short stories with my hands. Somehow I do it with nine fingers and do not miss my index finger. The typing has caused all the feeling in my fingers to return. The only thing I cannot do is use chop sticks.

When my accident occurred it happened in an instant. The blade was only 3/8" above the table. I was underscoring some cabinet doors the wrong way with the cut on the left side of the plywood instead of on the right side next to the rip fence.

I knew after my accident I would never have another chance and had used up all of my nine lives in one shot. I changed my work habits completely. I use the saw with the blade all the way up most of the time. I only lower it for dados and the like. The blade is much more stable that way. I tried splitters and guards. I found myself having to push harder than I would like sometimes when the work bound somewhat on the splitter. I got rid of the guards. I do better without them. I make all the rip cuts in solid wood with a heavy set blade.

I use push sticks and push aids extensively when working close to the blade. If it feels uncomfortable, I don't do it. I use the jointer hand holds often when my hand will go above the blade in a dado cut. I do still make many (most) cuts holding the work with my hands, but I have a personal rule that I don't push anything past the lead edge of the blade unless my hand is well out of harm's way. Just don't do it guys. It isn't worth it. The therapy is horrible and takes forever and you may not be as fortunate as I was.

Lastly don't run twisted or bowed stock. The saw will launch it back at you. I spent hours deciding what was safe and unsafe after my accident. I sought advice from experts. I read the articles in "Fine Woodworking" pertaining to table saw safety ( there were plenty; I had just never read them). The magazine has done a fine job with their safety articles, The table saw is much more dangerous the more it is lowered, exponentially so. I would be glad to share my personal list of safety rules with anyone interested. It has worked. I have not had a close call in 25 years and turned out a ton of work.

My best to all of you. My email is johnogilvie49@gmail.com. Email me if I can help you in any way. I believe in this.

John Ogilvie

I'm a subscriber since 1976. Could you please feature more articles on building period furniture? Over the last two years I have begun purchasing other magazines from the bookstore in search of info on period furniture. You have access to some real experts like Lonnie Bird, Randall O'Donnell, and Allan Breed, but you don't use them very much. There are others like John McAlister, Jr. in Charlotte, NC you have never used. He was the Cartouche Award winner one year for his six shell Newport secretary. I have toured his house. It is like a museum - full of period furniture he has built through the years. He's 85 years old and is still building period furniture every day in his modest basement shop most people could afford. His furniture would make many splendid articles. It is my holiday wish that you please get back to the basics and utilize these masters. John McAlister would not charge you a dime for what would be several splendid articles. His email is jmcalister@carolina.rr.com. I found John on line at the American Society of Period Furniture Makers website member gallery when I wanted to build a Newport secretary. He willingly shared his plans and photos of his six shell secretary (which is absolutely gorgeous). He and his wife Eugenia had my wife and I tour his house one morning. Another is David Strayhorn in Nashville, TN. He sent me plans and photos free on a Newport 3 shell chest and even offered to let me use his shaper cutters. You can find him at ASPFM as well.

For the first time in 34 years I will probably let my magazine subscription to Fine Woodworking lapse when it expires. I am frustrated every month by the lack of articles on period furniture. The resources are out there. You are just not using them and I do not understand why.