so glad to hear that... i had also heard that you are supposed to life on returning but i never did it as it was too slow, and i had to be careful repositioning the rasp after each stroke. never understood how it was going to dull the tool. had that same question about hand planes... i heard that you should lift on return but honestly every video i see from people who ostensibly know what they are doing shows them sliding the tool back along the work surface. i am guilty of that. i invested in some wonderful Auriou hand picked rasps (neat videos out there showing how they are made) and love working with them...
I took a woodworking class where the teacher told me to lift the rasp on the back stroke. Oh, yeah, it was you! I like being taught and un-taught something by the same person. It gives me confidence to trust the un-teaching. I don't have to worry that the un-teacher doesn't know something the original teacher knew.
This is right up there with the old "Shop Teacher" edict about not putting your handplanes sole-side down on your bench because your wooden bench would somehow damage your steel blade's edge. Nonsense at its best.
I was doing the short stick tenon on a 7 stick and the plug fell out of my tenon cutter after my first short stick. I now have 1 stick with 2 1/4" tenons and 5 with 3" tenons. Should I remake the long tenon sticks? Will the resulting lower arm position be noticable?
I'd either remake the sticks or shave the entasis right down to the tenon – as seamless as possible. Then wedge them 8" above the seat. Use the back sticks to hold the arm in position.
Depending on how the wood reacts to the file or rasp and how aggressive I want the cutting action to be, I sometimes grip and pull the tool as if it was a drawknife and then push it the same way. Perhaps this is yet another way to abuse the tool.
I wonder if keeping the rasp lightly in contact on the backstroke also helps clear the teeth? I will probably fiddle with that for 30 minutes this afternoon.
so glad to hear that... i had also heard that you are supposed to life on returning but i never did it as it was too slow, and i had to be careful repositioning the rasp after each stroke. never understood how it was going to dull the tool. had that same question about hand planes... i heard that you should lift on return but honestly every video i see from people who ostensibly know what they are doing shows them sliding the tool back along the work surface. i am guilty of that. i invested in some wonderful Auriou hand picked rasps (neat videos out there showing how they are made) and love working with them...
Chris, that certainly makes sense. And you should get that little allergy treated…😉
I took a woodworking class where the teacher told me to lift the rasp on the back stroke. Oh, yeah, it was you! I like being taught and un-taught something by the same person. It gives me confidence to trust the un-teaching. I don't have to worry that the un-teacher doesn't know something the original teacher knew.
This is right up there with the old "Shop Teacher" edict about not putting your handplanes sole-side down on your bench because your wooden bench would somehow damage your steel blade's edge. Nonsense at its best.
Hey Chris, or Apprentices or anyone else,
I was doing the short stick tenon on a 7 stick and the plug fell out of my tenon cutter after my first short stick. I now have 1 stick with 2 1/4" tenons and 5 with 3" tenons. Should I remake the long tenon sticks? Will the resulting lower arm position be noticable?
I'd either remake the sticks or shave the entasis right down to the tenon – as seamless as possible. Then wedge them 8" above the seat. Use the back sticks to hold the arm in position.
Thanks, this helps. There is so much tension (wonky drilling) that I'm not worried about the arm going anywhere!
Thanks Chris. Good tip. Because it seemed ergonomically easier for me, I have always done as you suggested and never had rasp dulling issues.
Moral of story. The blind hog gets an acorn every now and then.
Cheers,
Michael
Does this apply when filing metal as well?
Yup
Glad to hear it. I've been doing the recommended approach for the accuracy it involves and can now stop thinking I'm dulling my rasp! 🙂
Depending on how the wood reacts to the file or rasp and how aggressive I want the cutting action to be, I sometimes grip and pull the tool as if it was a drawknife and then push it the same way. Perhaps this is yet another way to abuse the tool.
I wonder if keeping the rasp lightly in contact on the backstroke also helps clear the teeth? I will probably fiddle with that for 30 minutes this afternoon.