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!

Phil Lowe Scraper Sharpening Video

I finally finished up the video below that I recorded of Philip C. Lowe, founder of the Furniture Institute Of Massachusetts, demonstrating how to use a burnisher to sharpen cabinet and card scrapers. I shot this at a meeting of the Society Of American Period Furniture Makers New England chapter held at FIM last winter.

Scrapers are mysterious beasts, often a challenge for beginners to sharpen. I've collected a number of sharpening methods over the years. This is one of two methods I've learned recently that are far superior to what I had been doing in the past.

While there's a lot of information out there on card scrapers, there isn't much on cabinet scrapers. In the hands of someone who knows how to sharpen them, both are spectacular tools.

You use the cabinet scraper first, after planing, to remove any plane tracks or machine marks. This is the rougher of the two tools. Phil says to scrape from both ends into the middle, even though one direction will be working against the grain and might raise it a bit. Then follow up with the card scraper for a final smooth surface.

This wasn't my first introduction to the sharpening method. Phil published the card scraper part in an article in Fine Woodworking #147 back in 2001. I saw it reprinted in the book Working with Handplanes: The New Best of Fine Woodworkingin 2005 when I was just in the process of figuring out this hand tool stuff. He published the cabinet scraper part in FW #234 in 2013.

But it wasn't until I actually watched him do it at this meeting that it really clicked for me. I hope the video will do the same for you. This is a free lesson from a master craftsman.

Phil sells a reproduction of a specific type of burnisher that Stanley used to make, and the video provides instructions on how to use its unique feature. The key point is dealing with the problem of over-rolling the hook, a primary source of difficulty for beginners (I was definitely one of them).

Whether you use this style of burnisher or a different style, the method he shows is excellent. The magnificent shavings he produces with it attest to that. He uses waterstones for the honing portion of the process, but the method works fine with other types of stones as well.



If you're interested in purchasing one of these burnishers, you can find them at the FIM tools page.

Two Events At FIM

This young man intently testing the Lie-Nielsen tools told me he reads the blog, but I neglected to get his name. I gave him a demonstration of fitting a tenon for a cherry frame and panel door, though the results were rather gappy.

I've been busy the last two weekends with events at Phil Lowe's Furniture Institute of Massachusetts. First was the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event on Friday and Saturday the 6th and 7th. Second was Phil's presentation yesterday for the Society of American Period Furniture Makers New England chapter, the third in his series building a Seymour night stand.

Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event

There are two things I love about the events Lie-Nielsen puts on at various places around the country and the world. First, they let people try out every tool they make, providing skilled staff to help out. Second, they open them up to local vendors and demonstrators, giving them a venue to share their love of the craft.

I had a bench setup in the demonstrator area, representing SAPFM. I got to meet several readers and gave a number of impromptu demos. As always, my sharpening station was a favorite item, along with the Al Breed carving vise I used to hold the cabriole leg I was working on.

One theme that came up several times was people interested in learning to work with hand tools because they lived in small spaces. One young lady told me she was a grad student living with her husband in a small apartment, and the landlord let her use some space in the basement.

She spent nearly an hour with me asking questions and trying things out. In addition to limited space, she also had a grad student's limited budget. But the key was she clearly had the interest.

She got me to thinking about how to deal with these limitations, so in a future blog post I'll be presenting what I call the "apartment workbench", a hybrid of the Roy Underhill portable workbench and Paul Sellers workbench I've built previously.

The goal will be to bootstrap the woodworker who has limited space, limited funds, limited tools, and limited skills, using only what's available at the typical home center. While this isn't my favorite source for tools and materials, with some judicious selection it makes a practical starting point.


Roughing out a cabriole leg with a bow saw and turning blade. The carving vise is held canted in the bench vise.

Remember Paul Lelito's West Bridgewater Walnut? He managed to wrestle several slabs of this in for sale. He also had some smaller, highly figured pieces. If you're interested in any of this unique wood for your project, contact him at 508-451-9999 (cell) or 508-563-2000 (home/shop), or via email at plelito@hotmail.com.


Paul with two large crotch pieces from the upper trunk section.


A section of lower trunk, dead straight grain. Just strap this to the roof of your car to get it home!


Some of the bookmatched sequential boards.


The flitches stacked and stickered at Paul's sawmill at the Magnolia Cranberry Bog in Marion, MA.

There were several other demonstrators I know from previous events. Peter Follansbee was there Friday making his signature 17th-century riven oak carved pieces. Matt Bickford was there with his magnificent moulding planes. Tico Vogt was there with his Super Chute shooting board. John Cameron, one of Phil's instructors, was there with some amazingly complex joinery.


Peter Follansbee working on a carved frame-and-panel door.


Matt Bickford demonstrating his moulding planes.


Tico Vogt demonstrating his shooting board.

John Cameron with some of his beautiful joinery.

Padauk frame-and-panel top showing the puzzle-like interlocking pieces. He said these techniques were invented to hold tropical woods together before the advent of modern glues.

Chairmaker Peter Galbert was there Saturday with his toolmaking assistant Claire Minihan and a new assistant, Tim Manney. Peter is a fantastic chairmaker and teacher, but he's also quite a tool inventor. I've tried out his lathe caliper in the past, as well as the absolutely fantastic travishers that Claire makes. 

He had several new items this time, a couple developed with Tim's help. There was a reamer, an adze, and a drawknife sharpener (now being carried by Benchcrafted).

The fascinating thing about Peter's tools is that he's addressed some very specific problems for chairmakers and created tools, or refinements of old tools, that work amazingly well. Of course, their use isn't just limited to chairmaking.

The adze was fantastic. This is something of a lost tool. I have a commercial one, but it doesn't work very well. Peter's version is easy to use, well-balanced, extremely effective, and easy to sharpen. Tim gave me a brief tutorial, then I worked on the pine slab they had on the bench of a shaving horse.

The Drawsharp drawknife sharpener was equally fantastic. Like Peter's caliper, it's a unique approach to an old problem. He demonstrated its use for me. The edge it produced was breathtaking, with beautiful cutting action. I have several nice old drawknives that would benefit from this (in case anyone's wondering what to get me for Christmas...).

Peter Galbert dishing out a seat slab with his adze.

As always, the main Lie-Nielsen tool display was like a candy store. They always have several benches setup with a variety of fine hardwood practice lumber. You can see more event photos in their Facebook photo album.


Sampling the wares in the candy store.

SAPFM Seymour Night Stand Presentation

Phil's presentation this time focused on the joinery. The front legs are joined with rails, as are the back legs. The top front rail is dovetailed into the leg ends. The other rails are secured with mortise and tenons; the bottom rail is a double-mortise and tenon.

Phil laying out the dovetail socket in the top of the front leg.

The back panel floats in grooves. The side panels are glued into grooves. Drawer runners go front to back, floating in mortises. The primary wood is mahogany, with poplar secondary wood.

I only have a few photos, because like the last meeting I ran his video camera so people could watch closeups on a projection screen and record for posterity. I setup my tripod with pistol grip head on another workbench and stood on the bench. That gave me a nice high shooting angle down onto Phil's bench.

This time I had the wireless mic set up right. After the meeting I downloaded all the video onto his Mac and put together a quick test movie comparing the camera's built-in mic from last meeting with this meeting. The wireless mic makes a huge difference, eliminating all the background noise, people and chairs moving around, coughing. His voice comes through warm and strong. It makes the whole video seem much more professional.

This meeting was a real lesson in precision layout and fitting. I've read about everything Phil did before in his various magazine articles, but being there really made it sink in. There's just no substitute for watching and hearing him work.

The tools make a distinctive sound as the chisel snaps into a knife line, then slices across the grain. And with over 40 years of experience, he's breathtakingly fast and efficient.

For layout, Phil always takes measurements from his full-size drawings, then takes the measurement from the ruler. That's how he sets his gauges and combination square length.

He marks short widths and lengths with a cutting gauge. To mark longer dimensions, he sets the combination square, then holds the head to the part and makes a small mark at the end. Then he sets the knife point in that mark, slides a square across to it, and knifes all the way across. He marks firmly and deeply, so that a chisel edge will drop positively into the line.

He always chooses a reference surface, then takes every measurement from that same reference. For instance, for the double mortise-and-tenon, he stepped off each line progressively from the front face. That way, even if the piece isn't quite at the right width or thickness, short or fat by a bit, the lines will still be spaced correctly.

And he always marks both parts (mortise and tenon) at the same time, off the same setting. That point dropped magically home when he laid the marked up double tenoned rail end on the marked up double mortise leg face. All the lines matched up exactly.

There are those who argue you should be able to fit a joint straight from the saw, no trimming. But Phil always cuts fat by about a sixteenth, then trims to the line with a chisel. He did that for the dovetail, the tenons, and the notches in the drawer runners.

The only thing he cut to finished size was the mortises, since he was using a hollow chisel mortiser with specific size bit. So all the layout was based on the width of that bit.

Watching him trim to the line was the final point that drove it all home. With the piece upright in the vise, he would slide the chisel along the wood until it dropped into the knife line; you could hear it snap into place. Then he would lean into it, slicing into the grain.

He always worked either directly across end grain, or across side grain, never down the grain. That ensured that the chisel would stay in the knifed position, not get caught and run with the grain.

For end grain, he worked progressively across the full width of the cut. You could hear a distinctive rhythm of slide, snap, and scritch as the chisel moved to the line then cut in.

For side grain, he worked from alternating sides into the middle, to avoid blowing out the far side grain. Again, the sound of the chisel snapping into the gauge line, then scritching flat across the grain.

That rhythm is what I want to work on. With good positive knife and gauge lines, I could see that's what gave him fantastic precision and control. That, and 40 years of experience!

He quickly had each piece fit with a snug joint, tight enough for everything to hold together dry fit, yet pull apart with moderate hand pressure or light mallet taps.

Chopping the dovetail socket in the leg, holding back a sixteenth for later trimming.


Paring tenon shoulders to the knife line. Slide the chisel up along the wood until it snaps into the knife line, then push in to cut to depth. Repeat working sideway across the full width of the shoulder.


The rails and side panel dry fit to the legs.


Mortising a leg.


Notching the end of a drawer runner, sawing fat by a sixteenth.


Paring down to the line, across the end grain. One half of the notch width has been pared, the chisel is moving to the next. You can see the vertical knife line ready to pare across the side grain.


Paring to the line, across the side grain, first from one side...


...then from the other, again sliding the chisel along the face until it snaps into the knife line, then pushing in to cut.

You can bet these faces are trimmed EXACTLY to the desired dimension. Spectacular precision!

The next meetings in this series are 9AM-1:00PM on the following Saturdays:

• Feburary 22
• March 15
• April 19
• May 17

Meetings are open to SAPFM members and guests, but space is limited. If you'd like to attend, contact Freddy Roman at sapfmnechapter@gmail.com. Not a SAPFM member? You can join here for a modest cost.

Review: Fine Woodworking SketchUp Tutorials

I first tried to use SketchUp several years ago. I could see that it would be a very useful tool, but I never got the hang of the user interface. It just seemed out of control.

When I got an email last month about holiday discounts at Taunton Press showing a book on SketchUp, I decided to take a look. I found two eBooks and a video, all instantly downloadable. I couldn't choose, so I bought all three; after all, the price was right, and I could get instant gratification. Having gone through them, I can tell you unequivocally it was money well spent.

The two eBooks are by Tim Killen: SketchUp Guide For Woodworkers and the follow-on SketchUp Guide For Woodworkers: Traditional Cabinets. The video is by David Richards: Google SketchUp Guide For Woodworkers - The Basics (note that Trimble Navigation bought SketchUp from Google in 2012).

As I started going through Killen's first book, I realized that I recognized the logo on his drawings. It was his excellent drawings of Mickey Callahan's design that I had used to build my Queen Anne foot stool! Turns out he's a fellow member of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers and is passionate about reproducing period furniture.

Killen's first book, 145 pages, consists of 16 chapters covering SketchUp tools and techniques, from basic navigation to creating original drawings to making drawings from imported photos. He uses a variety of different furniture projects for examples, including simple cabinets and tables and a Windsor chair. It's copiously illustrated with step-by-step diagrams and is a fabulous example of written instruction.

His second book, 197 pages, consists of 7 chapters focusing on using SketchUp for cabinetmaking. It includes some review of basic usage, then covers three cabinet projects in different traditional styles down to the last detail. One of them shows how to work from scanned images. He also uses several other projects as examples. Like the first, it's packed with diagrams. Both books include information on creating a set of shop drawings and templates.

An interesting feature, taking advantage of the electronic format, is that the second book has several videos embedded in the PDF. So you can watch a video and see SketchUp in action, then read about the process in detail. The combination of video and text makes it suited to all types of learning styles, whether you prefer to read it or watch it.

Richards' video, 67 minutes, consists of 5 episodes that show basic navigation and usage, then go through the complete process for a hanging cabinet design. The download includes a PDF containing the complete transcript so you can jump around to find things easily.

What's nice about all of these is that they narrow the focus of SketchUp usage down to woodworking. It's a very powerful design and drawing program, applicable to a broad range of creative disciplines, but without some guidance, it's difficult to get started and use it properly. These do the trick.

I would be hard-pressed to pick just one of them. Both authors do an excellent job. There's plenty of overlap, but I'm a big fan of seeing different approaches to the same task. Each will contribute unique insights, and that's true here. Killen's second book is the most comprehensive, so perhaps that would be the best choice if you could only have one. But really, the cost is very modest, it's worth getting all three.

Working With SketchUp

Now that I know how to use it, I have to say that SketchUp is an absolute tour-de-force of software. The problem before was that I didn't understand how to operate its user interface. It was like I was trying to steer a car by using the pedals.

The zoom, pan, and orbit tools are critical to operating SketchUp, and those are the things I didn't understand before.

What's fascinating about SketchUp is that it truly is intuitive to use. And by intuitive I mean that when you use one of its tools and click on something, it understands what you want to do. No "you meant this and it did that" fussing around. Its drawing paradigm is to form faces from lines, rectangles, and circles, and then with the amazing push/pull tool, extrude those faces into the third dimension.

Connecting lines and arcs is very natural to form more complex shapes. Cleaning up lines and faces with the eraser tool is simple. Copying and duplicating bits of shapes is easy. It just works. It's very intelligent about selecting what you click on. Every intersection forms a new selectable segment.

The other thing that's absolutely fascinating is that you build up a drawing from components almost exactly the way you make the real thing. You form a squared-up piece, cut dovetails in it by drawing outlines and using the push/pull tool to push out the waste, form mortises and tenons by drawing outlines and pushing in or pulling out shapes.

One big difference from working the real wood is that you form parts in place, overlapped at the joints, then go into x-ray view to form the joinery and transfer the lines to the matching piece. The ability to copy components also means that duplicate parts can be formed instantly. Any change you make to one copy is reflected in all the copies.

The ability to compose alternate scenes showing different views and details is a huge benefit. Once you've drawn an initial perspective view, it's easy to add exploded and orthographic views. You can add any number of detail views with dimensions and annotations.

My First SketchUp Project

This all turned out to be timely because I had recently drawn up a project for a class I'll be teaching next year. Until now I've been focusing on skills-based classes; this will be my first project-based class.

The project is a simple Shaker-style step stool incorporating both dovetail and wedged mortise and tenon joints. While that may not be strictly Shaker style, it allows me to cover more joinery skills. Killen's first book also includes a version of a Shaker step stool.

I originally did a freehand drawing of what I had pictured in my mind. There I focused more on general shape and not on specific dimensions. Then I drew up a measured drawing with good old fashioned drafting tools on a drawing board and colored it in with a pencil.

I would have left it at that point had I not seen these SketchUp resources. I downloaded the free version of SketchUp Make and set it up according to Killen's specifications (that's another major hurdle to overcome, because there are a lot of settings that you can get lost in). After going through the exercises in his first book, I was anxious to try it out, so the stool was a perfect opportunity.

My progression of drawings is below. I was quite happy with the results. I was able to do it reasonably quickly for my first attempt as I got used to controlling SketchUp, very little struggling involved. The drawing process flowed very naturally using what I had just learned.


My initial freehand sketch to capture the concept.


Hand-drafted isometric drawing with dimensions.


SketchUp perspective view.


Exploded view.


Orthographic view with dimensions.

If you'd like to learn how to use this powerful tool, I highly recommend these resources. There are others available as well, including free ones. It's a worthwhile investment of your time.

SAPFM Phil Lowe Seymour Night Stand Project

Phil Lowe prepares to route the field for an inlay on a leg.

Yesterday I attended a meeting of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers New England chapter at Phil Lowe's Furniture Institute of Massachusetts. This was the second in a series of free presentations where Phil is building a Seymour night stand, assisted by Freddy Roman.

Freddy had originally suggested the idea to Phil, similar to the series Al Breed has been giving to the Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers Period Furniture Group. Phil is another one of those museum-quality woodworkers, and in fact has worked on a number of projects for various museums in the area.

I've learned a great deal from Phil's articles in books and magazines over the years. Once again this just confirms what a great guy he is, like Al very generous with his time and knowledge. We're incredibly fortunate to be in a part of the country where we can spend time with people like this.

I missed the first meeting where Phil showed how to draw up the project due to other commitments, but I'll be there for the remaining ones, 9AM-12:30PM on the following Saturdays:

• December 14
• Feburary 22
• March 15
• April 19
• May 17

Meetings are open to SAPFM members and guests, but space is limited. If you'd like to attend, contact Freddy at sapfmnechapter@gmail.com. Not a SAPFM member? You can join here for a modest cost.

As an additional bonus, Phil is offering paid workshops the Sunday following each meeting for those who'd like to build along. I think that's a great way to pay him back for his generosity.

This project involves cabinetmaking and joinery, inlaid veneers, stringing, and cross banding, doors and drawers, and shaped feet, accessible to those at any skill level. Phil is using a mix of hand and power tool methods. This is especially helpful for those taking the Sunday workshops to ensure everybody is able to complete their projects.

The goal for this meeting was making the inlaid legs. Freddy had already dimensioned the mahogany leg blanks. Phil demonstrated how to route out the field with a hand router or with a trim router and jig, then clean up the corners with chisels.

He showed how to orient the 1/16" thick tiger maple veneer face to show off the chatoyance to best effect. He glued that in with Old Brown Glue, then inlaid the black and white stringing surround, showing how to miter the corners. Then he scraped the inlaid face flush.


Cleaning out the corners of the field.


Scraping the inlay flush with the leg.

Using the full-scale drawing, he laid out the transitions and coves of the foot. He shaped these on the table saw and router table. Then he removed the excess on the bandsaw. He finished up the foot with a spokeshave and rasp.

The shaped foot and inlaid face. It still needs a few fine details finished off.

I helped out by running Phil's video camera, projecting closeups on a screen and recording it so he can produce videos. After the meeting we downloaded the video to his Mac and reviewed it. It came out pretty well.

Meanwhile, don't miss the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event at FIM December 6 and 7. I'll be there on the 7th demonstrating for SAPFM.

CVSW Open House And LN Hand Tool Event 2013

Some of the beautiful student work on display, showing the type of projects covered in CVSW courses.

Last Saturday I represented the Society of American Period Furniture Makers at Bob Van Dyke's Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking. This was their combined Open House and Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event.

For the Open House, Bob had a display of student work and instructors doing demonstrations. There were also several local vendors and used tool dealers. The Hand Tool Event was setup in the other half of the large main classroom.

It was a gorgeous fall day, so rather than trying to cram everyone inside, the dealer tables and several demonstrators were setup outside in the back parking lot. That's where I had my bench. It clouded up and started to sprinkle mid-afternoon, so most of the dealers packed up for the day and I moved inside.

I spent the day doing a variety of random demonstrations as people came up and asked questions. As always, I encouraged people to try out the tools.

I showed rough stock breakdown on the sawbench, resawing with a ripsaw, sawing out curves with a bowsaw and turning blade, shaping a cabriole leg with spokeshave, gouges, and rasp on my Al Breed carving vise, sharpening chisels on my portable sharpening station, sharpening and using a card scraper, squaring and flattening stock in preparation for dovetails, and making half-blind dovetails.

Since I need more practice with the latter, I spent most of my time when I wasn't talking to someone doing repeated half-blind joints, cutting them off and doing them again.

Several woodworking acquaintances said hello, Rick Roberts, Bill Rittner, and Ralph Boumenot, a frequent commenter here (you can read his post on the day here).

Nick Kotula told me about the class he's offering on understanding period furniture styles, where he visits the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art and other area museums to examine their exhibits. An experienced professional furniture maker, he also offers other classes in design and properties of wood. If you're interested, you can contact him at 860-243-1646 or nickolaskotula2005@yahoo.com.

Ben Blackmar stopped by to tell me about his new job. I first met him briefly on a tour of North Bennet St. School in Boston, where he was a student, then later at the Furniture Expo at the New England Home Show. He's not big on fanfare, so I'll just congratulate him and wish him luck. You can be sure you'll be seeing more of him.


This is Michael, 8 and a half years old, trying out my LN Brian Boggs spokeshave. Everyone loves this tool. He spent about 15 minutes making curls with it, then figured out the mechanical interlock as I made a dovetail joint.

I just managed to get pictures of a few of the people demonstrating. There was a lot going on!


CVSW instructor Walt Scadden demonstrating blacksmithing. He was the primary blacksmith during the construction of the replica of the historic schooner Amistad at Mystic Seaport.


LN demonstrator Michelle, right, shows a young man how to setup a bevel-up plane.


SAPFM Co-founder and CVSW instructor Mickey Callahan demonstrates carving.


Mike Pekovich, Fine Woodworking magazine art director, also teaches classes at CVSW.


Tico Vogt demonstrating his Super Chute 2.0 shooting board with the new No-Rock Runway.

As we were packing up at the end of the day, I tried out Tico Vogt's new product. This is the No-Rock Runway, which really does eliminate any chance of the shooting plane rocking in use. This thing is solid, making the Super Chute the Cadillac of shooting boards. It's not yet available on his his website, but will be soon.


A Super Chute with No-Rock Runway, and Lie-Nielsen #51 Shoot Board plane setup on the special carriage to match the runway.

But planemaker Ron Brese has taken this even further, turning it into the Ferrari of shooting boards. He's designed a shooting plane specifically for this setup, the 125-38 Shooting Board Plane. The combination is absolutely awesome.

Wrap the web of your thumb around the handle and your fingers around the body and give it a push; at 10lbs., this thing has the mass to power smoothly through the cut. It feels like a monster with 3/8" steel sole and 1/4" sides, and is appropriately nicknamed the Brute.


Ron Brese's Brute on a No-Rock Runway. The photo can't capture the feeling of raw power in your hand as you push it.

SAPFM NE March 2013 Meeting

Matt Cianci sharpening a saw.

Once again, the SAPFM New England chapter March meeting was held at Bob Van Dyke's Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking in Manchester, CT.

The place was full due to the excellent lineup of speakers on the agenda: Brock Jobe, Don Williams, and Mary May. In addition, planemaker Matt Bickford and saw wright Matt Cianci had tables setup.


Bob Van Dyke opens the meeting.


Freddy Roman, SAPFM New England chapter coordinator, talks about upcoming events for members.

Brock Jobe, Professor of American Decorative Arts at Winterthur Museum, gave the morning presentation. This was a study of turreted tea tables and their development from English card and tea tables.

He had some great photos showing various construction details, particularly how the legs were fastened. Some of this information will be published in book form in the future. I love the graceful form of all these table types and hope to build some of them.


Brock Jobe presenting a study of turreted tea tables.


Matt Bickford demonstrating his magnificent wooden moulding planes.


Look at the beautiful ribbons this plane produces!

One of the interesting projects in the area is the restoration of the Strong-Howard House in Windsor, CT, through the Windsor Historical Society. Christina Vida, WHS Curator of Collections and Interpretation, described how they'll be furnishing the house partly with replica furniture in partnership with the Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking.

CVSW will offer classes in these furniture designs, and students may submit their work for juried acceptance into the house. This is a great opportunity to learn new skills, build some beautiful furniture, and participate in a historical preservation project.


Christina Vida describing the restoration of the Strong-Howard House.


Mickey Callahan, SAPFM co-founder, talking about the new editorial board for SAPFM's annual journal, American Period Furniture.

Don Williams, now retired from his position as senior furniture conservator for the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum Conservation Institute, gave a presentation on restoration where he discussed balancing the decisions that had to be made among competing criteria.

He showed us the decision-making model he's used for decades to help guide him through the process of restoring a piece of furniture. This balances the needs of the object with the needs of the user, the technical limitations of the materials and skills with the desired outcome and quest for perfection, and the resource management of finite time and money with the ethical constraints to preserve historical materials and documentation and allow retreatability.

He showed us several examples of applying this process as well as some of the specific restoration methods. Some items were used everyday in private homes, while others were intended to remain for years in static displays. Each situation had different requirements and various ravages of time to overcome.

Meanwhile, he had to decide how much of the visible history of the object to leave in place. As he said, once you clean off the dirty patina to show the grain underneath, you can't put the dirt back if you don't like the results.


Don Williams demonstrating a wax finish burnished with a polissoir.

Carver Mary May gave a demonstration of carving various decorative moldings. These could be used for picture frames or for architectural moldings that might run into the hundreds of feet. She does beautiful work, and like all carvers, makes it look deceptively easy.


Mary May demonstrating sharpening a carving gouge.

Matt Cianci finished up the day with a presentation on one of his hand-made handsaws.


Matt Cianci explains the cant of a backsaw he made.

SAPFM membership is open to anyone interested in period furniture, whether you are a maker, a restorer, a collector, or just enjoy learning about the history of these beautiful pieces, from hobbyist to professional. As you can see, one of the great benefits of membership is a chance to meet people like the presenters here.