What you marked out with the knife I was taught to use a chisel. And you opened the starter cut with the chisel. It looks to be the same process. Grandad kinda had his own way of doing things so is one correct or both?
There is a modern obsession with tight tails and ultra precision and consistency. Looking at the tails in drawers from that period, that modern sensibility looks to be exactly that, modern. Certainly, fine furniture, as you point out, would have been built to such tolerances. I can't imagine ammo boxes would have exceeded the craftsmanship of drawers of the same era and so things such as angle, tail placement and pin size would have been eyeballed and based on training more than a precise measurement. Gaps and tight fitting but gnarly looking joints I'm certain would have been common.
I don't think federal arsenals took the time to dovetail a box that would have been smashed and the wood burned as kinling in camp. Brass screws would have been excessive,nails were more available.
@@DonAbrams-hq7ln the reason people used tails to begin with is that nails were more expensive being mostly hand made up until about 1800. Even then machine made nails were expensive until wire nails came about in about 1900. The woodworkers of the 1800s were tremendously fast at cutting tails by hand. I would be surprised if the boxes were nailed but it is certainly possible.
Sadly a week before this video it was announced the woodright shop was not renewed by pbs 😕. Side note there was someone in Gettysburg this past year who had a store that did period boxes and crates but as of a month ago the shop closed But as a side note to wood working my friend Ron in Detroit made his ow brass dovetail guides
I'm not thinking of one off the top of my head. If there were, I would imagine it'd be in the 1862 ordnance manual. This is a great research question. I'll do some digging and let you know if I find anything.
Sort of. Mahogany had already been popular since before the Revolution. Rosewood was abundant in tool making and ebony in inlay work. The real bonus would be to use regionally popular woods. White oak and white pine would have been popular in New England. Red oak and yellow pine would have been popular around Virginia and south. The deep south would have seen more Cyprus used. As far out as Texas you could expect to see mesquite and hickory. Areas around Ohio would see a predominance of tulip poplar. Walnut was generally abundant in finer furniture pieces and basswood would have been common in less valuable pieces. Regular pine would be common in just about all country furniture or as a secondary wood in finer pieces. The Shakers were noted for the attention they paid to avoiding knots in their pieces. However, having seen countless antique furniture pieces in museums, you're not going to see woods like zebrawood, purpleheart, or bubinga. You may however, find exotic pieces in port cities with some deep research. Amazing, question.
1st to *like* another fine wood shop video! Keep the videos and info coming 1st Sgt.
You have awesome talent!!
Awesome, Sarge.
I enjoy watching your woodworking videos. I was wondering if you would consider doing a how to video on the field cot like Captain Whitehall has?
I will be getting to it soon. There is a lot of interest in the field cot and I guess I need to stop dragging my feet. Thanks for the support.
What you marked out with the knife I was taught to use a chisel. And you opened the starter cut with the chisel. It looks to be the same process. Grandad kinda had his own way of doing things so is one correct or both?
Your grand dad was old school. Not many people know about the old chisel method. It's good to see the old methods live on.
There is a modern obsession with tight tails and ultra precision and consistency. Looking at the tails in drawers from that period, that modern sensibility looks to be exactly that, modern. Certainly, fine furniture, as you point out, would have been built to such tolerances. I can't imagine ammo boxes would have exceeded the craftsmanship of drawers of the same era and so things such as angle, tail placement and pin size would have been eyeballed and based on training more than a precise measurement. Gaps and tight fitting but gnarly looking joints I'm certain would have been common.
I don't think federal arsenals took the time to dovetail a box that would have been smashed and the wood burned as kinling in camp.
Brass screws would have been excessive,nails were more available.
All the boxes l have seen are butt jointed with nails, no joinery visible
@@DonAbrams-hq7ln the reason people used tails to begin with is that nails were more expensive being mostly hand made up until about 1800. Even then machine made nails were expensive until wire nails came about in about 1900. The woodworkers of the 1800s were tremendously fast at cutting tails by hand. I would be surprised if the boxes were nailed but it is certainly possible.
Sadly a week before this video it was announced the woodright shop was not renewed by pbs 😕. Side note there was someone in Gettysburg this past year who had a store that did period boxes and crates but as of a month ago the shop closed But as a side note to wood working my friend Ron in Detroit made his ow brass dovetail guides
Is there a documented source for revolver ammo boxes?
I'm not thinking of one off the top of my head. If there were, I would imagine it'd be in the 1862 ordnance manual. This is a great research question. I'll do some digging and let you know if I find anything.
For historical reproductions, would exotic woods be period correct?
Sort of. Mahogany had already been popular since before the Revolution. Rosewood was abundant in tool making and ebony in inlay work. The real bonus would be to use regionally popular woods. White oak and white pine would have been popular in New England. Red oak and yellow pine would have been popular around Virginia and south. The deep south would have seen more Cyprus used. As far out as Texas you could expect to see mesquite and hickory. Areas around Ohio would see a predominance of tulip poplar. Walnut was generally abundant in finer furniture pieces and basswood would have been common in less valuable pieces. Regular pine would be common in just about all country furniture or as a secondary wood in finer pieces. The Shakers were noted for the attention they paid to avoiding knots in their pieces. However, having seen countless antique furniture pieces in museums, you're not going to see woods like zebrawood, purpleheart, or bubinga. You may however, find exotic pieces in port cities with some deep research. Amazing, question.
Wow