Create Miniature Furniture with Handsaws
Larry | April 10, 2009
If you listen to the talk about miniature furniture in Internet conferences, it isn’t be long before someone expresses something like “I’d like to build miniature furniture but I live in an apartment and don’t own power tools.” That’s a shame as furniture is so fundamental to roomboxes, dollhouses and the many other scenes created by miniaturists.
It’s a misconception that you need fancy tools to create miniature furniture. I’m not saying that having a lot of fancy tools doesn’t help. Heck, I’ve spent a bundle on mine and don’t want my wife to think they are anything but absolutely necessary. But just as our parents managed to cook without a microwave oven, furniture can be made with a few handtools that can be housed in a shoebox with room to spare.
The most basic operations when creating miniature furniture involve cutting wood. You have to be able to 1) create “boards”, the starting point for any cabinetmaker, 2) you must be able to cut them to length and sometimes 3) you want to cut curved shapes for details. So, with those three needs in mind let’s look at some inexpensive tools to get those jobs done.
Creating boards
Avoidance strategy
Sometimes the best ‘tool’ is ingenuity. It’s not unusual for a cabinetmaker to start with boards that are 3/4” thick and 6” to 8” wide, even when they make tables with large, wide tops. They take boards, ensure that the edges of boards are flat and true, and edge-glue two or more boards together to create large, flat surfaces. If you look at full-size furniture you’ll see the results of this process.
Why not do the same thing in miniature. This actually adds a nice detail to your work as the seams that normally occur in wide table tops, etc. are present in your miniature. Earth & Tree Miniatures sells 1/2” wide (6” in 1/12 scale) mahogany, cherry and walnut. If you buy 1/16” and 1/8” thick stock, you will have boards that are 3/4” and 1 1/2” thick that can be used to make most things.
To join two boards, sand the edges with a large, flat sanding block to square up the edges. Hold the two boards together with a light behind them to check the seam. Add wood glue to the seams and clamp the two boards together.
Sneak up on it
If you decide that you need to rip-cut (cut along the grain) a piece of wood, draw a line where you need the edge to be and use a razor saw, just outside of that line, to make your cut.
Then use a large sanding block to sand the edge to the line. This should give you a very clean, straight edge.
Crosscutting
The most common cutting operation is the crosscut as these cut the various parts to proper length. There are three important goals. The most important goal, of course, is to cut the right length. I’m going to assume you can measure and mark your stock as this post is about saws, not measuring devices (grin).
Unless you’re going to do some fancy joinery (beyond the scope of shoebox tool kits for the most part) you’re going to want to butt-join the cut edges to other pieces of wood. This requires a 90-degree end that is very smooth and that has crisp edges.
To accomplish “square” (90-degrees to the length) cuts, you need a miter box. It need not be fancy. Excel, Xacto and others sell a simple metal miter box that will serve your purposes. I described the construction of a better and cheaper miter box in a previous post.
Miter boxes guide a “razor saw” to produce the 90-degree cut. To get a very smooth cut, use a razor saw with a lot of teeth. I have saws with as few as 29 teeth per inch up to 54 teeth per inch. You want to have at least 3 teeth in the wood at all times. I’ve discussed razor saws previously as well.
There are two schools of thought (western vs Japanese) when it comes to how saws with thin blades are to be used. The western approach is to have the saw cut on the push stroke while the Japanese prefer to have saws cut on the pull stroke. I prefer the Japanese approach for small razor saws as it seems to give me more control. It also allows the manufacturer to make the blades thinner as there is no tendency for the metal to bend as when pushing a saw to cut.
Because of this, I prefer razor saws made this way. Zona is a company that produces such saws and while a bit more expensive than those available from Xacto, they come with nice wooden handles.
Cutting curves
Curves abound in furniture, however, and a razor saw won’t cut curves. For that you need a jewelers saw. These are similar to a coping saw but should not be confused with one. Jewelers saws use a very thin blade with a very high tooth count. They can cut very tight curves and do so very smoothly. They are best used with patience, working the saw with a light touch, letting the blade cut without much pressure placed upon it. This will take longer but it will also save you a lot of sanding time. No matter how well equipped your shop is with power tools, you need one of these for making miniatures.
In addition to the saw, you need a v-block support, sometimes called a ‘beak’. The most common of these is nothing more than a board with a hole drilled in it and then two angular cuts made to open up the hole. This is clamped to the edge of your table using a C-clamp.
While these work just fine, I thought I’d show you mine. The idea actually came to me from Tori West (IGMA fellow) and what I like about it is that it gets the work up higher, closer to my eye. It takes only a few minutes to make, so I thought I’d include the plan here as well.
To make an actual curved cut, you will want a template to follow. I draw them using a graphics program and then attach them to the wood using a “restickable glue stick.” I rest the wood on the v-block and start cutting around the outline. In no time I’ve got the part I need.
So, next time you need a piece of furniture for your project, consider making it. Even without shop and power tools, it’s well within the grasp of people with a minimal set of tools. Besides, the hand tool approach is much quieter and far more relaxing.
Cheers — Larry
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