Laugh if you want to.. I probably deserve it. I managed to get blood all over two pieces of walnut I’m dovetailing.
Knicked myself three times while cleaning up the shoulders and flats with my scary sharp chisels.. and didn’t notice the mess until it was too late.
I tried rubbing it off with a little water but to no avail. I’m not worried about the area I will plane at the joint.. but what about the other parts of the board? Anyone?
I plan to be more careful dovetailing the other parts. LOL
Replies
I can't tell you how to remove the blood, but your experience reminds me of another I read about in FWW many years ago. A fellow got blood on a piece that was nearly complete and couldn't get the stain out. Finally out of frustration he simply wrote on the piece, "This is my blood." As I recall, he said that it was the first one sold at a craft fair.
I'm making a box I plan to pass on to my son. The lid is a 9X10 piece of walnut with a perfect owl burl face on it. Maybe after I'm long gone he'll be showing the piece to friends saying, "And this is my dad's blood on the side. He was quite the cut up."
So I'm not alone!! I painted a maple box red due to clumsy dovetailing technique. After the blood had dried and the glue had set I simply sanded everything off and the blood went with it. I don't know how much more absorbent walnut might be in comparison to hard maple. In the end it's an heirloom piece anyway so you can truly hand down a part of yourself if the stain doesn't come out.
Good Luck.
Sanding! Why didn't I think of that?
Probably because I hate to sand. LOL
Thanks very much.. I'll get out the sanding block.
peroxide
Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....
Bill,
I usually leave the paper towels around afterward on the workbench to scare my wife....instead of sanding, I usually scrape...
BG.. I did you one better. I smeared the blood (from all three cuts) on my jeans. Made three seperate trips inside to get band aids in order to keep working.
My big problem comes in forgetting where my other hand is while I'm excavating my sloppy pin and tails. I can't seem to find a fret saw anywhere and my coping saw won't squeeze inbetween the kerf to remove the waste.
I've struck upon a semi solution. I make another cut in the waste next to the kerf to wedge out a nice size sliver.. making room for my coping saw.
What's your strategy?
Bill,
I'm not a big fan of the coping saw...but, if you continue to keep the saw moving in the kerf you can turn it the 90 degrees to cut parallel to your base line. Now, here's what I like to do...make a small/narrow tail cut...take my 5/16" firmer chisle and place it about 1/16" from the base line and give it a couple of good wacks till it pops out....and then pare to the line with the japanese chisel... I don't always have the courage to use the firmer chisel that aggressively...but that is what I like to do on 1/2" or less thick stock...
I stopped using the japanese saw....that was suicide...
Edited 2/10/2004 10:08:16 PM ET by BG
When Aunt Flo visits unexpectantly, my wife cleans her pants with hydrogen peroxide. I would certainly test this on a piece of scrap, as it might bleach your wood. Next time try to get a nice, even coat of blood over the entire surface. It may be pretty.
Ha Ha Ha
Leave it on. Makes for a good conversation piece!
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
PlaneWood
Mike, to the extent it would make a good conversation piece, should I confess how inept I am as a craftsman, or should I make up a good story like, ".. and there I was cutting these dovetails when all of a sudden I began bleeding spontaneously!"
I've enjoyed reading your posts and following your good advice. I'm a novice woodworker who spends most of the time here at KPRC-TV anchoring the evening news.
I'm determined to get better at the craft but it can be very intimidating.. especially when it comes to these hand cut dovetails.
Thanks again, Mike.
Bill Balleza
I think I have gotten blood on every piece of furniture I have ever made! To me, that's a sign that it will turn out OK.
I gave up trying to hand cut dovetails when I realized that I could read a newspaper through the cracks in mine! I never could figure out which side of the mark I should be sawing on. Maybe some day...........
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
Edited 2/10/2004 9:50:53 PM ET by PlaneWood
I know what side of the mark I should be sawing on.. what I can't figure out is how much of the line to leave.
In the current application I've left too much and am now trying to figure out where to pare so as not to wind up, as you put it, reading the paper through the voids.
Ah, it's fun, eh?
aw... give it to the kids, don't leave any for the office...
...how much of the line to leave.
ya knife a line and then split it...here's what I mark with, compared to a pencil...
Looks like an ice pick. Is it?
And how do you SEE the line from such a sharp point? Do you scribe over it with pencil?
not an ice pick, got it in a box with some machinist tools - looks like a piece of 5/32" rod stock worked down to a point - 7" long - has a nice feel - I twirl it on a stone once in a while and don't abuse it
the scratch is easy to see an there is little ambiguity about where to aim your kerf - - I do feel a back saw is a better tool to cut dovetails than a coping saw, but ya do the best ya can with whatcha got - - when the tool becomes the limiting factor, you can justify taking a step up -
good luck, and believe me, I have left some blood on wood, but less than I have left on metal...
Bill - as stated by other posters a marking knife is great. Just register the chisel in the cut when it comes time to do the fine paring. If you want, you could probably increase visibility of the knife line with a pencil for cutting, just remember that pencil lines are inherently inaccurate unless you use a 2 or 4h pencil that you hone as faithfully as your chisels. Scratch awls also work well but I find they tear up the soft stuff. Lee Valley has a really cool looking marking gauge that's all wheels, I think I also saw it in the Garrett Wade catalog. The price was reasonable - around $50cdn if I remember correctly. Garrett Wade also had one for mortising I think... when's your birthday... Valentines Day is coming... maybe a belated Groundhog Day gift.
I have a terrific wheel marking gauge.. not Lee Valley.. and about $30 more expensive. It's a great tool.
What I wish I could find is a fret saw.. and a good marking knife.
Planewood, I bleed on everything I make, too! And I agree with you - the "blood sacrifice" helps ensure a successful project. (My wife and I first learned this when making costumes, btw.)
When (not if!) I cut myself (usually with the razor saw), I try to smear a little blood in an inconspicuous place, maybe on a tenon or in a dado, just to appease the spirits or whatever.
The four essential ingredients: blood and toil, tears and sweat. :-D"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." A. Einstein
http://www.albionworks.net
go at it from the other direction - - drain enough to stain the whole piece - - ever see the 'the Red Violin'?...
No, thanks. I give enough at the office.
funny, that's the first thing I thought of. Great movie!
Marv
The musican woodworker
I didn't see any bandaids on your hands tonight on the 10:00. Must not be all that bad!
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
PlaneWood
Mike.. wore one bandaid on my left index finger for the early shows.. took it off for the late show as the bleeding had stopped.. but it still stings to bend that finger.
I've decided to wear a leather glove on my left hand when chiseling out dovetails in the future. LOL
Bill
Don't feel bad, I keep a box of bandaids handy in the shop, I'm always cutting myself.
Did you know that years ago, a pottery maker had an accident when one of his assistants fell into the kilm and all the pottery turned this bright red color.
For years after that, assistants would dissappear from time to time.
Years later, it was learned that the extra oxygen when the door was opened caused the red color, not the assistants.
Jeff
Hi Bill;
A lot of places use butcher's kevlar gloves on the free hand.I'm trying to implement them now and it's the older guys with all the scars who are putting up the arguments. To me it's a no brainer,a skin cut may just mean a stain and a curse,but if you sever a nerve or some tendons it means M.D's earnings and maybe a new career path for you.Ihate to sound anal but the economics just don't make sense.IMHO
Art(cuemaster)
Art, yeah, I mentioned to another poster that I plan on wearing a leather glove on my free hand from now on.
I was out of the shop today because two of the cuts are on the first and second joints of my index finger and it stings to flex it.
Hey bill ,
When your blood gets where you don't want it ,one way to remove it is with your own saliva , not necessarily with your tounge , but put some on your finger and rub the stain off. Perhaps a light sanding afterwards . This really works great on fabric and drywall and many other surfaces also.
good luck dusty
"A little bit of blood in every piece I build. And a lot of blood on one."
Leave it on...
tony b.
we have to stop this tread. I read it and for the first time in over a month I cut myself on a knuckle. I used ca glue to stop the bleeding.
stop so other do not get hurt.
David
http://WWW.Darbynwoods.com
dusty.. it must be reflexive.. because saliva is the first thing I tried. It didn't work.. so I tried a wet cloth next. Still no luck. I hope the final sanding does the trick.
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