Acknowledgements And References

The new woodworking books are here, the new woodworking books are here! 20 copies fresh from the publisher.

I like to give credit where credit is due. These are the acknowledgements and references for the information in my book, Hand Tool Basics.

I'm a self-taught woodworker. That really means I had many teachers, the many live demonstrators and authors of books, videos, and magazine, online forum, mailing list, and website articles who have provided useful information.

Use the information I provide as a starting point. There's plenty more than what I cover; woodworking is a global activity with centuries of history, creating an infinite variety of techniques. I hope that I'll give you the skills and knowledge to be able to assess and incorporate any new information you find.

In general, the tools and methods I show in the book follow American and English woodworking styles. Continental European and Asian styles share many of the same techniques, but there are some differences in the tools. Where information is available, I strive to show historically accurate methods. In general it's safe to assume everything I show has at least 100 years of history. Some things have 2 or 3 hundred. Dovetails date back to the ancient Egyptians.

We are but the custodians of knowledge, passing it on to the next generation.

Acknowledgements

Below is the list of my teachers, in roughly chronological order. These are my primary references. They offer a range of perspectives that don't always agree with each other but still manage to get the job done, showing that it's worthwhile to look at the variety of techniques available.

If you'd like further information on any of the topics I cover in the book, I highly recommend seeking out their work, or even better, a chance to spend time with them in classes or demos. It's always good to have an opportunity to watch someone closeup and drink in the details. Just one new detail about an otherwise familiar technique can make it worthwhile.

My memberships in the Society of American Period Furniture Makers (SAPFM) and the Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers (GNHW), as well as the Lie-Nielsen Open Houses and Hand Tool Events, have given me a number of opportunities to meet and watch some of them.

Don Weber: Don's cover story in the April, 2004 issue of Popular Woodworking is what set me off down this path. He built a table from a log using nothing but hand tools. I was absolutely enthralled. It took me a few years of fumbling around to gain traction, until I started following…

Christopher Schwarz: As the editor of Popular Woodworking, it was Chris' articles on hand tools that put me on the road to success, in particular his articles on sharpening and planing. His books and videos form the core of my woodworking library. He went on to found Lost Art Press, where he continues to publish excellent books and videos on hand tool woodworking. He changed my woodworking forever, and gave me the knowledge to start appreciating other teachers, like…

Roy Underhill: When I first saw Roy's PBS show The Woodwright's Shop, long before I knew anything about hand tools, I thought this guy was bouncing off the walls like a superball shot from a cannon. But once I started learning, I realized every episode was crammed with a breathtaking amount of pure gold. His books and DVDs are another core component of my library. While I'll never be the showman he is and be able to do a half-hour video in one take, I've taken a number of cues from his show in my instructional format.

Philip C. Lowe: I've been following Phil's articles for as long as I have Chris Schwarz's. He's what I call a museum-class woodworker, because when museums need to restore or reproduce a finely detailed period furniture piece, he's at the top of the list. He ran the furniture-making program at Boston's North Bennet St. School for 5 years before starting his own Furniture Institute of Massachusetts, and is the winner of the SAPFM 2005 Cartouche Award. I got to know him when he gave a series of live demonstrations to SAPFM members on building several magnificent furniture pieces.

Michael Dunbar: Mike ran the Windsor Institute in New Hampshire, where he taught chairmaking. He's published a number of articles in Popular Woodworking. He takes a very no-nonsense attitude, as exemplified by his "Sensible Sharpening" method of sandpaper on flat substrate. His repeated frustration at having students show up to classes with basic tools they didn't know how to sharpen or use was what led me to start teaching. My goal was to provide that basic knowledge so people could get on with the more advanced topics of the specialized classes offered by others.

Charles H. Hayward: One of Chris Schwarz's heroes, Hayward was editor and "one-man publishing phenomenon" of The Woodworker from 1936 to 1966. He wrote a number of practical books that are simply spectacular. Anything you can find by him, don't hesitate, just get it! In fact, Chris has since anthologized several volumes of his writings from The Woodworker.

Robert Wearing: Wearing, another of Schwarz's heroes and an acquaintance of Hayward in Hayward's later years, wrote an excellent book that has been re-released by Lost Art Press. This was the source of the three classes of saw cuts terminology.

Bernard E. Jones: Jones wrote two encyclopedic books in the 1910's-20's which have been reprinted several times, one of which is now available from Popular Woodworking.

Garrett Hack: Garrett is a professional woodworker and author in Vermont. I've always loved his designs. He's a master of unique stylistic details done with hand tools.

Jim Kingshott: Kingshott was a British woodworker who put out several outstanding books and videos in the 1990's. He's like your favorite uncle. But of course, Bob's your uncle!

Adam Cherubini: Adam's "Arts And Mysteries" column in Popular Woodworking was a huge influence on my work. With his emphasis on 18th-century work, he showed me I could do everything by hand starting from the raw lumber, and taught me how to use wooden handplanes.

Patrick Leach: Patrick is one of the Internet's premier antique tool sellers, with everything from $20 user planes to $10,000 collector's items. He's partly responsible for the unusually large number of chisels you see on my tool wall; his house is dangerously close to mine. But he's also the definitive reference for information on antique Stanley tools. His website www.Supertool.com is encyclopedic, covering the entire line from the late 1800's through the first half of the 20th century.

Pete Taran: Like Patrick, Pete is another encyclopedic source of antique tool information, this time on saws at www.VintageSaw.com.

Erik Von Sneidern: And like Pete, Erik is another antique saw specialist, focusing exclusively on Disston saws at his Disstonian Institute, www.DisstonionInstitute.com.

Aldren A. Watson: Watson was a professional woodworker, author, and illustrator in Vermont.

Lie-Nielsen Staff: YouTube videos from founder Thomas Lie-Nielsen and demonstrators like Deneb Pulchalski, along with live demonstrations at their Hand Tool Events, cover a great deal about how to use and maintain their tools. I think this educational component is an important part of the company's success, completing the connection with their customers.

Alan Breed: Al is another museum-class woodworker. He's the guy high-end auction houses call when they want a reproduction of an antique that's on the block for millions of dollars, so the sellers will have something to fill the empty spot. He runs the The Breed School in New Hampshire, and is the winner of the SAPFM 2012 Cartouche Award. For a number of years, he's been incredibly generous sharing his time and knowledge in a series of live demonstrations to the GNHW Period Furniture Group on building period pieces.

Paul Sellers: Paul is a British woodworker who put out an excellent book and DVD series. He used to run New Legacy School of Woodworking in Penrhyn Castle, North Wales, possibly one of the coolest school venues around. He's another very no-nonsense guy, attempting to demystify the craft and bring it to the masses without complicated methods.

Christian Becksvoort: Christian is a professional woodworker and magazine author in Maine who specializes in hand tool work.

Peter Galbert: Peter is a professional chair maker in Massachusetts. He's also an inventor, creating several very useful tools and versions of existing tools. He was the one who showed me how to get the most out of a wooden spokeshave, and watching his YouTube videos resulted in a huge improvement in my turning skills on the lathe.

References

Some of these may be difficult to find because they're out of print. But they may be available used or as reprints.

Books (including a few useful references from authors not listed above)

Bickford, Matthew Sheldon

Mouldings In Practice, 2012

Blackburn, Graham

Jigs & Fixtures For The Hand Tool Woodworker, 2014

Fine Woodworking

Working With Handplanes, 2005

Hampton, C.W., and Clifford, E.

Planecraft: Hand Planing By Modern Methods, 1934

Hayward, Charles H.

Cabinet Making For Beginners, 1948 (several editions)

The Junior Woodworker, 1952 (don't let the title fool you, it's for any beginner!)

Woodwork Joints, Revised Edition, 1979

Hoadley, R. Bruce

Understanding Wood, 2000

Hock, Ron

The Perfect Edge: The Ultimate Guide To Sharpening For Woodworkers, 2009

Jones, Bernard E.

The Complete Woodworker, 1920?

The Practical Woodworker, 1920? (reissued as a 4-volume set)

Kingshott, Jim

The Workshop, 1993

Sharpening: The Complete Guide, 1994

A Woodworker's Guide To Joints, 1998

Krenov, James

The Fine Art Of Cabinetmaking, 1977

Laughton, Ralph

Success With Joints, 2005

Popular Woodworking

Hand Tool essentials, 2007

Rae, Andy

Choosing & Using Hand Tools, 2002

Schwarz, Christopher

Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use, 2007

The Joiner And Cabinet Maker, 2009 (with Joel Moskowitz, update of 1839 anonymous original)

Handplane Essentials, 2009

Sellers, Paul

Working Wood, 2011 (also available as a set with 7 DVD's listed below)

Underhill, Roy

The Woodwright's Shop: A Practical Guide to Traditional Woodcraft, 1981

The Woodwright's Companion: Exploring Traditional Woodcraft, 1983

The Woodwright's Work Book: Further Explorations in Traditional Woodcraft, 1986

The Woodwright's Eclectic Workshop, 1991

The Woodwright's Apprentice: 20 Favorite Projects From The Woodwright's Shop, 1996

The Woodwright's Guide: Working Wood with Wedge & Edge, 2008

Watson, Aldren A.

Hand Tools: Their Ways And Workings, 1982

Wearing, Robert

The Essential Woodworker, 2010

Whelan, John M.

The Wooden Plane: Its History, Form, And Function, 1993

Videos

Kingshott, Jim

Bench Planes, 1996

Special Planes, 1996

Mortise & Tenon, 1996

Dovetails, 1996

Schwarz, Christopher

Coarse Medium & Fine, 2005

Building Furniture With Hand Planes, 2007

Handplane Basics: A Better Way To Use Bench Planes, 2009

Sellers, Paul (available as a set with his book above)

Working Wood: Woodworking Essentials 1 and 2, 2011

Working Wood: Master Sharpening, 2011

Working Wood: Master European Workbenches, 2011

Working Wood: Master Housing Dadoes, 2011

Working Wood: Master Mortise & Tenons, 2011

Working Wood: Master Dovetails, 2011

Underhill, Roy

The Woodwright's Shop, Seasons 1-31 (and counting, starting in 1980)

Online Forums

These are an excellent way to join with like-minded people to learn and discuss hand tools, their use, and how to deal with problems. In fact, as my skills developed, it was seeing the questions posted on these from beginners struggling through the same learning curve I had climbed that motivated me to put together a video course and book.

Some forums are extremely active. Participation is global, with people coming from all different cultural backgrounds.

I found these to be a great asset in my learning. Just be prepared for a wide range of information, often conflicting! You'll have to learn to sort through it. That's where I came up with the concept for my "Fistfights And Fundamentals" segments.

These are moderated forums to ensure that everyone stays on their good behavior, but discussions can get heated and feelings can get hurt. Read their policies and spend some time lurking (Internet-speak for reading without responding) before you join in. Don't take things personally, and don't make things personal. Be polite. Remember that different people have different experience, training, and opinions.

There are others besides these, in English and many other languages, as well as Facebook groups such as Unplugged Woodworkers.

www.SawmillCreek.com (US) - Neanderthal Haven forum.

www.WoodNet.com (US) - Woodworking Hand Tools forum.

www.LumberJocks.com (US) - Hand Tools forum.

www.UKWorkshop.co.uk (UK) - Hand Tools forum.

www.WoodworkUK.co.uk (UK) - Hand Tools forum.

www.WoodworkForums.com (Australia) - Hand Tools - Unpowered forum.

Thank You To The MBTA!

Finally, I'd like to thank the MBTA. Other than the shop work and photography, I did nearly all the work for this book and the original video series while riding the Commuter Rail. Yes, I wrote a book on the train! I did all the video editing, photo selection, and writing on my Mac laptop an hour each way to and from work in Boston.

Thank you to all the folks who took care of my commute and gave me a safe, warm place where I could focus on woodworking!

GNHW Al Breed Townsend Pembroke Table

Al shows how the hinge works. The primary apron piece is temporarily clamped to the secondary apron.

How much does my wife love me? A lot! This past Friday was my 30th wedding anniversary. Where did we spend our romantic weekend? In Kennebunkport, ME, so I could be close to Al Breed's shop Saturday morning for the second of his presentations to the Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers Period Furniture Group on building the Townsend Pembroke table. Thank you, dear!

This is the third project in Al's ongoing series for the Guild. I've been videotaping these meetings for the production of a DVD. I'm currently in the process of editing the first project.

For this meeting, Al concentrated on the drawer front in the short apron and the wooden hinge for the drop leaf support. He cut the drawer front directly from the apron so it makes a perfect grain match. Then he cleaned up the cut and trimmed it so he could install beading.

The drop leaf support is formed from the main long apron, backed up by a secondary apron. He had one already made up and formed another one to show the process. This requires removing waste from the inside corner for clearance when the support is swung out, rounding over the barrels, then sawing and chiseling the knuckles.


Paring down to the line in the drawer cutout of the short apron.


Drawing a piece of bead stock through a hollow filed into the edge of a scraper. Like a scratch stock, this shapes the thin bead edge uniformly.


Chiseling the barrel of the hinge round.


After sawing out the knuckles of the barrel, chiseling them smooth.


Chopping out the waste to provide clearance for the opposing knuckle.

The video below is a rough edit of excerpts from the presentation. You can see the cameraman is an amateur. Some of the camera work is a little jerky, I need to pay better attention to the horizon, and the autofocus occasionally thought the background was much more interesting. Getting two cameras to agree on white balance is like getting Democrats and Republicans to agree on healthcare, assuming you can even find where they've hidden the setting in the camera menus.

But make no mistake, the person being recorded is a professional, possessing fantastic skills. Al has been phenomenally generous sharing this information with us and allowing us to capture it for posterity.

The rest of this post is about the video setup and process.


Rough edit of excerpts from the meeting.

Video Setup At Phil Lowe's

Michael Brown, who had originally organized these meetings, had been at Phil Lowe's SAPFM presentation last month on building a Seymour night stand. I spent that meeting running Phil's video camera. He had it hooked up to a video projector, with a cloth draped behind him for a screen.

I was able to zoom in on Phil's bench work and separately in the machine room, giving the attendees a close view of what he was doing. That's especially helpful when you realize most of the people are sitting with eye level just barely clearing the bench, so it's hard for them to see the details of the tools in action even if they're close.

Michael liked that so much he asked if I could upgrade my setup and do the same at Al's, using the Guild's video projector. I was happy to oblige. My intent has always been to be as unobtrusive as possible to avoid interfering with the presentation, but if he was willing to allow me to be a little more intrusive, I could get a much better view to show everybody.

New Setup At Al's

My previous setup was a single hand-held camera. Standing for 3 hours on a step stool holding the camera up got pretty tiring, making it hard to hold perfectly still on zoomed closeups. So for this meeting I added a second camera and mounted both on tripods.

The first camera I left running mostly unattended, set at standing eye height for a medium shot. This is the bench-and-body shot, framed to get Al's upper body and whole workbench. This shows his stance, body position, and how he holds the tool, but is too far and low to see what the tool is doing.

The second camera was on a taller tripod with a manual joystick head, at eye level when I was standing on my step stool. I operated this one directly, zooming in tight and tracking the action. The closeup and higher angle down on the bench allowed me to get very detailed shots of the tool and workpiece. I could zoom in right on the chisel taking a shaving, or back off to include the whole piece.

I connected the closeup camera to the projector via HDMI cable and we stood an ancient 4' projection screen on a side bench. People could watch Al directly, getting the same view I was capturing on the first camera, or look over at the screen for an HD closeup.

Our first attempt at a screen was a sheet hung from the ceiling, but too much light came through it even after partially papering over the windows behind. We ended up with the projector precariously balanced on a dresser carcase in front of the audience.

The results were excellent. People were able to watch in great detail on the closeup screen. Michael noted that people stayed in their seats much more rather than getting up to see.

For audio recording, I had Al wear a wireless microphone and connected the receiver to the closeup camera. The first camera recorded audio on its built-in mic. I did record a little radio interference during the presentation, but overall the sound on the second camera is much better than on the first.

Video Editing

I do all my video editing with iMovie on my Mac. Combining video from two sources is a bit tricky, because I want to have frame-accurate splices. Showing the audio track helps. I can see where Al paused speaking in one camera view, and use that as the synchronization point to match up the other camera view. Then I can slide the exact position back and forth a frame at a time to get continuous visual activity, for example as he moves his hand in one view, continue that motion in the other view.

It's tedious and time-consuming, but I'm getting more efficient at it. It's very much like the coarse, medium, and fine steps of woodworking. Coarse: drag-and-drop to cut and stitch clips together from the two cameras; medium: use the Clip Trimmer to trim them to within a few frames; fine: use the Precision Editor to trim them to exact frame.

I like my videos to be dynamic. I hate static scenes of a talking head that go on for 5 minutes without showing any activity, or shots of a bench with nothing happening while someone talks in the background. They're just hard to watch. I get bored and my attention wanders. I prefer to get that kind of information in writing, where I can read it quickly. Video needs to be visually engaging. So I try to digest things down to the interesting essentials.

Improvements For Next Meeting

For the next meeting, we'll tweak the setup a bit. We'll have a larger projection screen, and I'm building a simple cantilever shelf for the projector that will clamp around one of the support posts in the room, getting it up out of everyone's way.

My parents are getting me a second receiver for my birthday, so both cameras will be able to record the wireless mic. I've exchanged the joystick tripod head for a pistol grip to try to get smoother motion. I learned how to get to the white balance adjustment on both cameras.

I'll move the cameras apart so they have about 45 degrees separation. I also made 2' leg extensions for the tall tripod, elevating the camera to about 8'. Catching the work from different side angles and steeper down onto the bench will provide a better view.

Tripod Extensions

The tripod extensions are simply 1" O.D. aluminum tubing from the hardware store, which was just slightly larger than the tripod leg tubes. I turned oak couplers on the lathe from billets that I had riven out several years ago, so I know the grain is straight and strong.

The tripod legs have channels extruded down the length of each side, so I rasped flats on two sides of the couplers and drove them in with a hammer. The channel extrusion makes a nice tight friction fit. The fit of the extensions is snug but loose enough to pull them off easily. I swaged down the ends of the extensions with a ball peen hammer and drove the molded plastic feet from the tripod onto them.


The couplers and two aluminum tubes fitted in place. You can see the channel in the upper leg, part of the alignment for the locking mechanism.

I can leave the couplers permanently installed. Without the extension tubes, they act as feet for the original tripod tubes.

A Busy Week

Woodworkers Guild of Rhode Island monthly meeting at Keeseh Workshop.

Week before last was extremely busy. Saturday I finished up the shop work and photos for an article I'm writing for the Guild Of New Hampshire Woodworkers Journal. Wednesday after work I drove down to Providence, RI to do a demo for the Woodworkers Guild Of Rhode Island monthly meeting.

The next Saturday morning I was in Rollinsford, NH for the GNHW Period Furniture Group meeting with Al Breed. Sunday afternoon I taught a sharpening class at Woodcraft in Woburn, MA. All week I worked on the text for the article, finishing up while commuting on the train.

Whew! Plus my wife and I spent the first Saturday night at a small concert where the main act came on at 10:30, and then Friday night we did the 5k walk at the Electric Run held at Foxboro Stadium.

Journal Article

The Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers Journal article is on breaking down and dimensioning stock with hand tools. It'll be spread over two issues due to length. I've been on a bit of a kick with this topic lately, since that was most of what I covered at my last Woodcraft class, and was my demonstration at the WWGRI meeting.

One of the main points I want to convey is that these skills allow you to setup a workshop anywhere. When you combine them with hand-cut joinery, the simplest space can become a workshop temporarily or permanently. No power required, no noise or big mess. They open the craft to a broader range of people who otherwise might not be able to participate.

The quarterly Journal is one of the benefits of membership. Soft copies of back issues are available online free to members. If you'd like to get this article in glorious glossy hard copy, along with other fine articles contributed by members, join the Guild here. It's open to anyone, not just those in New Hampshire, and the cost is very modest.

WWGRI Monthly Meeting

Woodworkers Guild Of Rhode Island Program Coordinator Bob Fontenault had contacted me a few weeks ago to invite me to be the guest speaker at their October meeting. I replied that I was happy to do so and suggested the stock preparation demo.

He asked for a brief bio to include in their newsletter, and Editors Ned Quist and Julian Peters spent some time here on the blog picking out some photos. In addition to the meeting announcement they always put on the cover, Julian did a very nice full page spread inside. They billed me as the busiest amateur woodworker in New England. I won't argue this week. Thanks, guys!

The Guild has recently started holding their meetings at the Keeseh Workshop in Providence. This is a very nice membership facility with lots of room and a variety of tools available for people to use. There were 32 people in attendance.

President John Heaney opened the meeting with general business, followed by brief show-and-tell. A young fellow named Suresh showed a hand plane that had belonged to his grandfather. One of the other members had shown him how to clean it up with electrolysis and other restoration methods. It looked brand new, ready to go to work, and Suresh said he really wanted to learn how to use it. It's great to work with a tool that has a family history.

During the break I got to meet a couple of people who are readers here. Thanks, Dave and Chris! I had also commented on Ralph Boumenot's blog that I would be at the meeting, and Ralph came as well. Thanks for coming, Ralph!

For my demo, I had my Queen Anne footstool to show the kind of work you can do with hand tools, my portable toolbox with saws, planes, and accoutrements, as well as saw bench, shooting board, and portable sharpening station. For lumber I had a length of rough milled pine from Parlee Lumber, marked up for a variety of rips and crosscuts.

I started off with the difference between rip and crosscut saws. I ripped a strip off the full length of the board on the saw bench, explaining how to steer the saw, then crosscut a few sections off. I ripped one of the smaller pieces in half in the main bench vise, then resawed one of the halves. In a few minutes I had a variety of pieces roughed out.


Starting a full-length rip. Photos by John Heaney.


Starting a crosscut.


Resawing a piece.

From there I talked about hand planes and proceeded to four-square one of the pieces. I showed how to shoot the ends precisely on a shooting board. Tico Vogt had been guest speaker at their August meeting, showing his Super Chute board, so they were familiar with the concept.


Shooting the end of a piece.

Everybody enjoyed the demo. After some question and answer, the meeting broke up and people came up to talk and try out the tools. I mentioned the upcoming Woodcraft class to John, and he sent out an email about it to members late that night.

GNHW Period Furniture Group Meeting

This was the first in the third series of bi-monthly meetings that Al Breed has been conducting for the group. In each series he's presented a number of specialized topics building various period furniture projects. First was a Townsend Document Chest, second was a Plymouth Federal Table, and this one is a Townsend Pembroke table (you can see photos of the Townsend pieces in the book John Townsend: Newport Cabinetmaker). He demonstrates, we watch, then a number of members build along at home.


Al Breed carving out the end of the flutes on a Pembroke table leg.

Al is a fantastic craftsman. A winner of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers Cartouche Award, he does museum-quality work. Where is he getting the details of the Pembroke table? Well, there are some measured drawings in the book Construction of American Furniture Treasures, but he's going straight to the source, making a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to take measurements from the actual piece.

They don't let just anybody touch their exhibits. It's the opportunity to spend time with people like this that make membership in organizations like the Guild and SAPFM invaluable.

I've shot video of nearly all these meetings. By now I've accumulated 2 years worth, which I'll be editing down to produce a DVD for sale. The main challenge of filming in this type of venue is there's a lot of start and stop as people ask questions. That makes capturing a linear narration tricky.

I'm also trying to capture detailed footage of what he does. Since some of the operations require repeated work, I'm able to get a couple shots of it. So I have a big editing job. Ultimately I want to have a video that's engaging to watch and conveys a lot of useful information. A huge thanks to Al for doing this. Yet another example of how generous he is with his skills.

As an example of what you can expect, here's a rough edit of one of the meetings, where he demonstrated turning a leg for the Plymouth table.



Woodcraft Sharpening Class

Sunday afternoon I brought a variety of sharpening setups and saw sharpening tools to Woodcraft in Woburn, MA. I had three students, one of whom turned out to be Suresh from the Rhode Island meeting. Thanks for coming, Suresh!

I went through my usual discussion of sharpening media and methods, bevel angles and shapes. I had a separate granite floor tile with various grits of sandpaper for back polishing for each student. I demonstrated all the procedures for freehand sharpening, then turned them loose.

They soon had their tools taking nice pine end grain test shavings. Suresh opted to try the convex bevel method, which I first learned from Jacob Butler, also promulgated by Paul Sellers.


Suresh flattening the back of a chisel.


Using the convex bevel method to sharpen the chisel on Norton oilstones.

One student had a large antique framing chisel that looked like it had been through a war. It had been so abused in a past life that someone had repaired it by filling the cracks in the socket with molten bronze. Made for an interesting look.

The student had done a good job hollow-grinding it, so I showed him how to register the two points of the grind on the stones and hone it. I tried it out, and wow! A chisel with this much mass moves through pine like it was butter.

He was unfamiliar with shooting boards, so since I still had everything in my van from Wednesday night, I brought one in and demonstrated it. He had an old low angle block plane that made a nice shooter.

I went over saw sharpening, explaining the difference between rip and crosscut teeth. I demonstrated the process, then Suresh filed the teeth on his backsaw.


Filing a backsaw.

My next class there will be mortise and tenon by hand, December 8.

WoodExpo 2012

Where one door closes, another opens. My Queen Anne foot stool wasn't selected for the SAPFM exhibition at the Connecticut Historical Society. I knew I was up against some tough competition for limited space. SAPFM includes some of the finest period furniture makers in the country, so I was just happy to be able to throw my hat in the ring, and it pushed me to expand my skills. Out of over 90 pieces submitted, 34 were chosen.

However, the foot stool was selected for the WoodExpo 2012, part of the New England Home Show at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, MA, February 23-26. This is an exhibition of custom crafted furniture organized by Tommy MacDonald, aka Tommy Mac of the PBS woodworking show Rough Cut, and Neil Lamens of Furnitology Productions. Thanks for the opportunity, guys! Had I not been spurred on by the SAPFM exhibition, I wouldn't have had something to submit for the WoodExpo.

The Expo also features presentations by guest speakers such as Allan Breed and Freddy Roman, among others. Al is truly a world-class craftsman, winner of the SAPFM 2012 Cartouche Award; I've had the privilege of taking several classes from him. Freddy is the coordinator for the SAPFM New England chapter, and specializes in inlay banding and Federal style.

One of the requirements for craftsmen accepted for exhibition at the Expo is to be present and bring an educational/teaching tool to aid in educating the public about custom furniture fabrication. So if you're at the Home Show, stop by and say hello! Looking at the photos from past Expos, you can expect to see a range of furniture, from my modest little foot stool to spectacular large inlaid Federal pieces.

Journal of the Guild Of New Hampshire Woodworkers

Fall 2011 issue of The Journal.

I'm very pleased to announce that Close Grain is now a column in The Journal of the Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers. This is a gorgeously-printed magazine published three times a year for Guild members. It extends Close Grain to those who prefer the permanence of hard copy.

Editor Jim Seroskie had seen me give a demonstration of dovetailing to the Guild's Hand Tools subgroup and picked up one of my cards. A couple of days later, having perused the blog, he called to ask if I would be interested in turning it into a column for the Journal. He said there were a number of posts that could serve as the raw material for articles, and he liked my emphasis on hand tools.

I didn't hesitate. The Guild is an outstanding organization, consisting of a broad mix of hobbyists and professionals, with some very talented and accomplished members and active subgroups. They're also open to members outside of New Hampshire. Click here for information about membership, and here to join for $45 a year.

Thank you, Jim, for the opportunity! He also let me include my blue stacked-saws logo on the column heading.

This is my first real foray into print media. My post on using a ryoba for sawing tenons was turned into a Tricks Of The Trade entry in the October, 2010 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine (and selected as the winning entry for the month, earning me a nice Lee Valley gift card, thanks, Kari!), and I had a letter printed in the December, 2011 issue of Fine Woodworking arguing for hand tools over benchtop sanders, but this is more extensive.

The inaugural column arrived today in the mail, based on my bench-on-bench project. I had used the BOB during my demonstration, and a number of onlookers had expressed interest in it.


The first column: Building a Bench on Bench. The article is 6 pages long.


The bench-on-bench article on the bench-on-bench on the bench.

It's great to see my name in print! Plus, I'm flattered to be in the same issue as Al Breed, winner of the SAPFM 2012 Cartouche Award. The opportunity to spend time with people like Al is one of the real benefits of Guild membership.

Taking Al Breed's Shell Carving Class

Al Breed showing how to handle the grain when carving the various angled lobes of the shell. Some cuts you have to push the gouge, some you have to pull it. He said 99% of carving is following the grain and knowing how the tools respond to it.

This weekend, Al Breed offered a shell carving class for the Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers members participating in the Townsend document chest project. He had a full house of 12 students. Lunches were provided, excellent wraps and cookies from the Black Bean Cafe.

The chest has three shell carvings, two convex and one concave. The convex shells are carved out of blanks, then glued to the chest doors. That gives you a chance to try again if you make a mistake. The concave shell is carved in the solid out of a door panel, so a mistake can be more costly.

The pattern Al used for the class is a classic Newport shell. The shells on the chest are an earlier, smaller version. Al gave everyone a mahogany blank glued to a backer, a copy of the pattern, a sheet of carbon paper, and a reprint of his Master Class article from Fine Woodworking. He also set out castings of the pattern to follow (he sells the castings on his website; in addition to being a 3-D model, they show the step-by-step sequence of cuts, so they're like a self-contained class). The carbon paper is used to transfer the pattern to the blank.


Al demonstrates the initial rounding of the shell's top edge in a mahogany blank. It's glued to a backing board with hide glue and brown paper. The backing board provides a solid support that's secured to the bench. The paper makes it easy to release the carving once it's finished.


My blank after rounding, setting out of the lobes with a V-tool, and initial shaping of some of the concave lobes. The lobes are alternately convex and concave.


The class hard at work.


John Short working on his portable bench raiser. Oh yeah, I built a bench-on-bench for this kind of work...and didn't bring it!


Continued progress shaping the concave lobes to establish the fillet angles on the their sides. From here I scooped the lobes out.

By the end of the day, we all had creaking backs from concentrated stooping over the work. For the second day, I brought my bench-on-bench so I could work at a more comfortable height.

I also brought my Queen Anne foot stool to ask Al about some fine shaping details (getting the most out of my time with a museum-quality expert). The transitions from the curved tops of the knees to the straight sides of the post blocks weren't as fine as I'd like. He recommended using the square edges of metal-working files to get a crisp inside corner and smooth surface, as well as using them on the straight grain in the rabbet at the top of the post blocks. He also said I should bevel back the undersides of the knee blocks. That maximizes the visibility of their curves.


My workpiece secured to the bench-on-bench. I've completed rounding over the convex lobes.


Al demonstrates a pull stroke with a broad gouge to excavate the ellipse at the center of the shell.


Outlining the petals with a V-tool.


Scooping out the petals.


Emulating Al's technique on my ellipse.


My final piece. The lighting and stray guide lines make it a little hard to see. I did have to "erase" the ellipse and petals with a broad gouge and re-do them. Al said you can use custom scrapers and square-edge and round files to smooth everything down once the piece has been removed from the backer.

Al ended the class with a demonstration of carving a concave shell. The ellipse and petals are the same, but all the lobes are reversed, and the rounded field is sunken in.


Al roughly excavating the field.


Carving out the reversed lobes.


The other unique detail on this shell is a fine scrolling outline that follows the lobe ends. Controlling this requires a specific technique: steering with the handle, the thumb is rolled against the small back-bent gouge to advance it through the cut. This allows tracing out any curve in a continuous line.

I'll practice this a few times before it's time to make the shells for the chest. In some ways it's surprisingly easy, though it does take a lot of patience and concentration. It's also good to be bold. That gives the work a dynamic flow. Timid work looks flat. With over 30 years of practice, Al was able to do in minutes what took the rest of us all morning.

Building A Townsend Document Chest

Sometimes life gives you lemons. Sometimes it gives you gold bars. This is one of those gold bar moments. It started with an email from reader and fellow SAPFM member Dave Macrae. He's also a member of the Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers, and said their Period Furniture Group had a program I might be interested in.

Al Breed, also a Guild member, has offered to do a special series of presentations demonstrating building a reproduction of a John Townsend document chest. The original chest is in the Chipstone Collection at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Townsend is renowned as one of the finest of the Newport cabinetmakers in the Federal period. Al is himself renowned as a museum-quality period furniture maker and teacher (he's also a SAPFM member, always active on their online forums). At no cost, he'll be conducting one 3-hour meeting every two months. The whole project is expected to take up to two years. He's also offered his plans to participants at half price.

As an additional bonus, Guild member Roger Myers offered to put together a group buy of mahogany from Irion Lumber, a superb supplier of high quality lumber in Pennsylvania. Their minimum order is 150 board feet, more than most hobbyists can manage on their own. This would allow participants to build along at home, since this program is demonstration only, not a full-blown class.

When I read through this, I replied to Dave that I'd have to be insane not to participate. I had taken a ball-and-claw carving class from Al last year, so I knew what an amazing opportunity this was. Al is incredibly knowledgeable, and amazingly generous with his knowledge. This further confirmed my opinion of him.

Even though Guild programs are open to non-members, I promptly joined, because this is clearly an outstanding organization, with outstanding programs and outstanding membership. It's not limited to NH residents;  Garrett Hack of Vermont, one of my favorite woodworking authors, is also a member.

I immediately contacted PFG leader Michael Brown to sign up for the program. It's a good thing I didn't delay. Apparently the response was overwhelming. Because of limited space in Al's shop, it's limited to 30 people, so I was lucky to get in. Then I contacted Roger to participate in the group buy. Thanks for the head's up, Dave!

I also contacted Al and Michael about shooting video of his presentations, with the plan to edit them into a DVD for sale. That would allow others to benefit from the program. Knowledge is like peanut butter, it's best when spread around!

Roger and Michael were worried they might not get enough interest to meet the minimum lumber shipping requirement. Not a problem. He ended up ordering lumber for 22 people. The day before hurricane Irene hit, 3200 lbs. of lumber arrived at his house, which he and several volunteers split up into kits and stored in his garage. He also ordered a little extra in case anyone had any mishaps. I arranged to pick up my kit after the first meeting.

That took place yesterday in Al's shop in Rollinsford, NH, drawing participants from four states. Al's method for the meetings is to use various parts left over from his regular document chest class. He apologized for the fact that these are all rejects with some kind of mistake or defect, but they served quite well. His focus was not on basic skills, but on the specific details of this chest and the special challenges they present, so he skipped right to case assembly. This project is definitely a challenge for most of the participants. That's how we progress.

A huge thank you to Al, Michael, and Roger for this! It is a truly spectacular opportunity, showing why you should join your local (and no-so-local) woodworking organization.


The Guild mailing, showing pictures of the Townsend document chest built by Stephen Fee at the Breed School, along with a cut list.


Al dry-assembling the chest case. Look at the figure in that mahogany! The top features half-blind dovetails, mitered at the front. Townsend didn't skimp on construction quality.


Some case details: half-blind dovetails on the bottom, which is composed of a mahogany facing and pine secondary wood; various full and stopped dadoes inside for horizontal and vertical dividers.


Closeup of one of the fine details: a sample pine divider fits into a stopped dado with a V-notch chiseled into the front. The divider is scribed to the notch and trimmed to fit. Since the profile molded onto the divider front matches the profile molded to the edge of the side, this gives the appearance of mitered corners at all divider joints.

Because most of the stock is 1/2" or 1/4", this project requires a lot of resawing of the rough lumber. I'll be doing it all with hand tools. You might say that's an insane amount of labor, and I wouldn't argue, but this is even a challenge with power tools. Resawing wide lumber like this requires a good size bandsaw, and manhandling it requires an assistant. Al outlined several tips to help do this on a machine:

• Go easy, don't force the piece through the blade. That will cause the blade to wander on the bottom edge, ruining the thickness. He had several parts exhibiting this defect, though it can be hidden by orienting the part to the inside and rear of the case.
• Run down each edge on the table saw with the blade at maximum height to do a partial resaw. This leaves a smaller amount of wood to resaw in the middle, and the blade will follow the existing kerfs.
• Rip the board into two or three narrower pieces, resaw them individually, and reglue the resawn widths back together. The glue line will be virtually invisible. Resawing the narrow pieces is much easier, and allows them to be done on a smaller bandsaw, or possibly entirely on a table saw. 

The last two tips can also be used when resawing with hand tools, either ripsaw or frame saw.

Today, I started the task of resawing the lumber for the main case with a hand ripsaw, which is a lot of work. It's worth mentioning at this point that if you're not used to this kind of heavy physical labor, you might want to do it a different way. I suspect that in the days of old, it was the young bucks in their 20's and 30's who did most of the pit-sawing.

A little foreshadowing: I started out resawing an entire board, but as you'll see in part 2 of this series, I came to my senses and switched to breaking the board down to shorter lengths first, then resawing. Other than the length being resawn, everything that follows still applies.

Back in my shop, my load of mahogany and copy of Al's plan. This is $341 worth of fine lumber. Look at the figure in that ribbon-stripe mahogany, even in the rough state!


Jointing a rough edge so I can mark it for resawing. Notice the headband and water bottle sitting on the bench: this is going to be a lot of work, no question about it. Take lots of breaks, pace yourself, and be ready to sweat. Break it up over several work sessions.


As Roger said, this stock is a generous 4/4. To find my cut line, I measured 1/4" from one side, 1/2" from the other, and split the difference. That should allow some margin for error. Then I scribed that line with my Tite-Mark, went over it with chalk, and re-scribed it. That left a good visible line. I repeated this on the other edge and the end grain.


Starting the corner with a backsaw. Establishing a good starting kerf is critical. Then I went to work on the corner with a full-size ripsaw. Keep the saw waxed to minimize friction. Don't force the cut; let gravity and the teeth do their work.


Once the first corner was well-established, I flipped the board and repeated the process on the second corner. I've marked where I stopped on the first corner so you can see how the operation goes. Because the first corner has been cut, it leaves a relief kerf for the saw to follow, and reduces the amount of wood in contact with the saw teeth. Repeat this down the length of the board, flipping it every few inches. This will maintain control of the cut and produce a consistent thickness. The trailing portion of the sawplate rides in the cut like a rudder to guide the leading edge, though the teeth can still wander.


To extend the cut down the length of the board, drop the angle of the saw for shallow, long sawing. This also allows you to steer it and correct any top-side wander. Once you get to a full-width cut, it's a pretty straightforward operation. You do have to keep a constant eye on the saw exiting the bottom edge; it can still wander despite the relief kerf. The rest is just labor.


After the second flip. I've marked the previous progress on this side with a dotted line, and the progress on the opposite side with a solid line. You can see how this is just a matter of taking down corners, minimizing the solid wood being cut at all times; it's basically like sawing a giant tenon for the entire length of the board. It's also necessary to insert small wedges in the cut as kerf-keepers, otherwise the wood will close up on the saw. These are just visible in the end of the board and the bottom side.


Good progress after a number of flips. I was taking 30-45 minutes per foot, so an 8' board is a 4-6 hour job. Not something I want to do a lot of, but it's definitely possible to do by hand.


Here's what happens when you get cocky and don't pay enough attention to the bottom side of the board. The saw wandered a bit, despite the relief kerf, just like the bandsaw problem Al had warned us about. I tried to correct it from the other side, but then I was getting the same problem on the opposite edge. So I stopped before I completely ruined it, and started fresh from the other end of the board.


This was a good time to sharpen the saw. This job is a lot of wear on the teeth.


The sharpened saw was binding heavily, so I set the teeth lightly, since I hadn't done it for the last several sharpenings. This looks tedious, but it's actually pretty quick, guiding the sawset along the existing set remaining in the teeth. The increased set made the saw clear the dust from the cut much better, eliminating the binding.

A final note: several people at the meeting expressed interests in the holdfasts Al was using. These were the commonly-available cast holdfasts, which I don't like. As far as I'm concerned, unless you have a blacksmith who can make you wrought-iron holdfasts, the only commercially-made ones worth owning are the Gramercy Tools holdfasts from Tools For Working Wood. Buy them by the pair; buy two pairs to spread the shipping cost. The price is reasonable and they're well worth it.


I have 3 pairs of these Gramercy Tools holdfasts; they fit in 3/4" dog holes. They're made of drawn steel "wire" so they have just a touch of spring to them, and you can beat on them like mad without fear of cracking, unlike cast holdfasts. Spin the shafts a bit in sandpaper to roughen them, and they hold great.

So how did the resawn wood turn out? I'll have to get back to you on that. After completing two-thirds the length of the board, I was pretty tired. Better to leave it for another day than wear myself out completely or injure myself.

(Continue to part 2)