Workshop Video Tour

Watch in High Definition here.  (click on the HD button on YouTube)

My shop has never been cleaner since I'm having an open house on Saturday, and I'm taking advantage by documenting it on film.

It looks a little disorganized since so many cabinets either need to be built or need to be finished. My assembly table still needs a work surface (it's not meant to have unattached strips of 2x4s as a top) in addition to doors. But hey, it's my little slice of heaven.

I'll walk you through the land of unfinished projects and show you the world's cheapest store-bought workbench ($139 at B.J.'s Wholesale Club).

And if you watch the entire video, you'll get to see a scruffy little dog wearing wellies.

Music is "Wagon Wheel" by Old Crow Medicine Show.

See You In St. Charles

Join me at the Woodworking In America Conference August 14-16! It will be too hot to do yard work anyhow, and unless your shop has AC, it will be too uncomfortable for woodworking.

Plus the resort* has both indoor and outdoor pools. And I hear that Marc Spagnuolo and Matt Vanderlist wear speedos.**

Interactive workshops and Q&A sessions on Early American, 18th century, Arts & Crafts, Shaker, and Contemporary furniture will help you learn new techniques and discover the details that make each style unique.

Unleash your creative energy by learning how pieces were made, how to successfully include combinations of mouldings, carving, and inlay, and understand proportions to make an aesthetically appealing product.

Learn methods to recreate Greene & Greene furniture, how to design with wood grain, and how the popular software program Sketch-Up can help you through the design process.

Q & A sessions with expert woodworkers will offer an informal chance to have all your questions about joinery, finishes, and ornamental details answered.

Check out the schedule here. Read about the impressive line up of presenters here. And view the list of exhibitors here.

Not only that, but the keynote speaker for the Saturday night dinner is Thomas Moser, who relied on historical influences to develop his own internationally known brand of furniture.

The Saturday dinner, the Marketplace, and the in-between seminar times are excellent opportunities to meet other woodworkers, make friends, and speak directly with presenters and exhibitors. If it's anything like last year's conference, it will be the best, albeit exhausting (but I'm a wimp), 3 days you've had in a long time.

It's easy to copy a plan from a book, but making your own original piece based on the knowledge you acquire at the conference can be more personally rewarding.

See you there!

*The resort looks pretty sweet and a section has been blocked off for conference attendees to make the stay affordable.

**I'm aware that this is a potential deterrent.

Civil War Woodworking

"A hundred rifles rattle as they are simultaneously cocked and brought to the shoulder. I train my rifle on the man in the kerchief, waiting. The man is clearer now, exhausted from the heat and the trek up the hill. He doesn’t fire. None of the men advancing on us are firing. Yet." —A. J. Hamler, Civil War Woodworking

Ever since I read A. J. Hamler's article on Joe Cress in Woodwork Magazine (sadly, a discontinued publication), I've been hunting for books with decent images of campaign furniture and have found nothing, until now.

A. J. is finishing up his book "Civil War Woodworking" with a publication date of September 1, but you can preorder it on Amazon.

The book is geared toward amateur to moderately experienced woodworkers with easy projects, like a 5-board bench and hard tack crate, that are well within a beginner's reach. At least two projects are a bit trickier: an officer's folding camp chair and a pine field desk with simple joinery.

A.J. is planning a more advanced book as a follow-up to this one which will include projects with more complex construction.

A. J. spent extensive time researching and sleuthing, since there are so few photos and actual pieces of campaign furniture. For the officer's folding chair, he made paper and foam board prototypes to make sure all parts fit correctly, because estimating sizes and angles from old photos was challenging.

He explains how you can build these pieces authentically—and what it means to be "period-correct"—and provides other options if you are more of a Normite than a follower of St. Roy.

In addition to the projects, A. J. also explains the differences between hardcore and mainstream reenactors and those called "Farbs"— people in period attire who might be sporting a wristwatch and sunglasses while talking on a cell phone. He also includes cool photos of reenactors and 19th c. soldiers.

I've read a few excerpts and it's a great book. Well written • engaging • Civil War woodworking projects. What more could you ask for?

*All images are from A. J. Hamler's "Civil War Woodworking."

The Hide Glue Book

Stephen Shepherd has published a new book, "Hide Glue: Historical & Practical Applications."

He also has copies of "Shepherd's Compleat Early Nineteenth Century Woodworker" available.

Men & Women: An Observation

A lady (non-ww) pointed toward the relief carving on the presenter's 18th c. sideboard and asked, "Is that hard to do?"

There was a low chuckle from the all-male (but for me) crowd, and the speaker looked at the woman, speechless. What a loaded question. She added, "I mean, do you need to have artistic talent?"

After some thought and a few false starts, he answered, "Just try it and see." That's a perfect answer for men. As a woman, that was not what she was looking for.

I want to point out that the presenter did the best he could to answer her question on the fly and added that it is a skill that can be learned. He in no way was being disrespectful of her, nor were any of the men in attendance.

There are always exceptions, and I'm generalizing, but: Women lack confidence.

When faced with something they've never done before, men tend to fearlessly "try it and see." Whereas women usually ask themselves "Can I do that? Can I figure it out on my own? Will I screw up? Who can I ask for help?"

Add to that: Women don't like to make mistakes. (I know that men don't either, but they don't seem to be as petrified about it.) Could be that women don't like to waste material. Could be they don't want to waste their time, when often (and again I'm generalizing) they have less free time than their husbands. That's because women sometimes take on too much, care too much about what the house looks like, and worry too much about everything.

After the presentation, a friend introduced me to the lady and told her that I do some carving. I'm a beginner at carving I explained, but in my opinion, copying an existing design is more technical than artistic. It's more about layout, following the rules of grain direction, and learning to use the tools properly. If you're going to carve original designs, then that requires some artistic skill. I added, "If you have a desire to learn something, you will learn it."

She said that she knits and does other crafts—that she likes to work with her hands. "Then you can do this," I said.

She wanted someone to tell her that she has what it takes to try something new. With women, a little encouragement goes a long way.

This post is in no way meant to be a cut on men or women. I admire both genders for their strengths and weaknesses—for everything they have to bring to the table.

Clear Heart: A Real Page Turner

I don't read much.  And I rarely—like once every other year—read fiction.

So when Joe Cottonwood asked if he could send me a copy of his book Clear Heart, I said yes, but with some amount of trepidation.

What if I didn't like it? I'm not a critical person and I don't like to say negative things, except when it comes to exercise or eating okra, and I knew he would appreciate it (though he did not ask) if I would write a post about it.

Well I didn't like his book....I LOVED his book. In fact, I couldn't put it down and sped through it faster than it takes me to read a magazine.

It's about a 55 year old ex-hippy carpenter named Wally—his bond with his workmen, love for his work, respect for wood, relationship with a "perky Presbyterian" and her kids, Job-like patience, and determination to build the perfect house, despite seemingly insurmountable odds.

But more than that—it's about the connection and interaction between men who are true craftsmen, their good-natured joking, routines and habits (like sometimes getting too friendly with female clients), temperaments, and respect for one another's capabilities.  It's male bonding at its finest.  

And it's filled with endearing characters like Juke, FrogGirl, Abe, Opal (okay, Opal kinda drove me crazy--that chick needs a chill pill!), and fast-paced, nail-biting mishaps.

It's about second chances, belief in the things that truly matter, mentoring, teaching, and friendship.

And it made me want to ask Wally:  "You hiring?"

Sam Maloof, 1916-2009

The world has lost one of its most well-known and iconic woodworkers. Sam Maloof died Thursday night, May 21, at the age of 93.  You can read more about it here.

Sam was a key element in the California modern arts movement and is perhaps best known for his distinctive rockers.  The organic, clean lines and natural finish give his rockers life.  About them he said, "All the parts come together in a very rational way, but they meet each other in such joyful connection. There seems to be a pleasure that the leg fits the chair.  They're happy to be together.  It's as if they really have grown together."

I watched a PBS documentary last year called "Craft in America" in which Sam was one of the artists who was interviewed.  His principle of following your heart, doing what you are called to do, resonated with me.  

Consider yourself fortunate if you were able to take a class with him or meet him in person. Like each piece of his handmade furniture, he was one of a kind.

*The photo above is from Fine Woodworking's website.

Sharpening Q&A

A reader from the Netherlands asked a number of questions about a previous post on sharpening. Below are his questions (in black) and my responses (in blue). But, because there are so many excellent sharpening techniques and preferences, and more than one answer to his questions, please share your opinion on the subject. 

1. What is the purpose of a microbevel? If your plane is 25 degrees and you make a microbevel a few degrees higher, why not just make the plane 28 degrees? The micro bevel makes honing faster. Rather than having to re-sharpen the entire bevel when it gets dull, you just need to hone the small section that is 28º.  The extra 3º also adds some beef to the cutting edge. That's helpful, especially if you hollow grind the 25º bevel.

2. A few weeks ago I bought a Stanley sharpening set which includes oil, a jig, and oil stone. 

http://www.langansfoamtoolsdiy.com/uploadData/20070813024016P1010013-900.jpg

I started sharpening my blade and then noticed that certain parts were getting a different look. This is when I realised that the shape of the stone was changing and that I need to keep the stone flat as well. What is the best(cheap!) method of keeping the stones flat? I flatten all my stones on fine grit drywall screen that sits on top of thick plate glass.  Keep the stone flat, apply even pressure, and scrub it back and forth until it has a uniform surface.  Flatten your stones often.

3. The higher the grit one uses for honing the blade, the sharper the blade gets? Click here for Chris Schwarz' detailed explanation about this.

4. I still don't understand the differences between diamond, water and oil stones. Does one need to keep all of these stones flat? Or is the diamond stone so hard, the shape never changes? Also if I spray water on an oil or oil on a water stone, what happens then? I will defer to other readers since I've only ever used waterstones (which must be kept flat).  

5. I do get the blade at 25 degrees with my jig and sharpening stone, but it never really gets sharp.  "Sharp" means that two surfaces meet so precisely, the edge disappears. If you see light reflecting off the cutting edge, your blade is not sharp.  Is your jig/guide working well? It should not let your blade "rock" at all.  Another thing to look for is little nicks along the edge--does it look jagged?  Are you sharpening/honing with progressively finer stones? I flatten the back and establish the bevel on 1,000 grit and finish with 8,000.  Other people add 4,000 grit in between those two.  Ideally, you want a mirror finish on the back (approx. 1/2", not the entire back) and the bevel.  Also, the cutting edge must be 90º to the sides.  The problem might not be the blade, but your jack plane.  Is the sole flat? If not, then even the sharpest blade won't be able to make your plane work well.  See Chris Schwarz' post here.

6. Does the back of the blade need to be completely flat? I have seen some vids on youtube where they are putting a thin ruler under the blade while flattening the blade. I assume this changes the angle of the back slightly. This is debatable. I flatten the backs of all my irons--dead flat. If they're in bad shape, I start with an 80 grit diamond stone. I have never used the ruler trick, so cannot comment on its effectiveness.

7. I have only recently started using a jack plane. The Jack plane fell on the ground a few times and the shape of the blade changed and it lost it sharpness. Since then I have been trying to get a sharp blade without much success.  If the blade is nicked or skewed, you'll need to regrind the cutting edge so that it is 90º to the sides of the blade. Some people put a slight camber on the blade's edge, but you still need to start with 90º.  If your plane fell on the ground, it might also be damaged, so check the sole for flatness.

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I'll add that until I took a class on sharpening, I was very confused (and I'm still learning new things).  This is a deep subject with lots of choices, preferences, and strong opinions, but if you're looking for an inexpensive sharpening method, I recommend the Scary Sharp technique. 

Let the debate begin!