David Savage

David Savage, British designer and furniture maker, gave a seminar at the Black & Decker University in Maryland today. B & D hosted the free event, where we attendees gave opinions on prototypes, test drove tools, ate pizza, won giveaway items (I won a 17-piece drill bit set) and heard some engaging presentations.

According to David Savage:
Speed + Skill = Craftsmanship.

He also believes designs should be understated—that details should be discovered, not blatantly obvious.

His is a shop with several craftsmen, some teaching and some being taught, and all making one-of-a-kind projects. If David needs to build a small production run, they construct a prototype and one final piece in the shop and then enlist the help of nearby workshops, with whom David has a close relationship, to make the remaining pieces in the order.

As you might notice in his designs, David likes movement—fluid, lively, rhythmic, "calligraphic" motion. He also uses nature as inspiration, as shown in two of his tables: one that resembles petals on a flower and the other resembling a sunflower, with the chairs representing the petals.

The second photo shows how one of the apprentices shaped a wavy table apron. By using shims as fences for the rounding plane, he was able to control the path of his cuts.

David loves to meet with his clients, preferably in their homes, where he can see where the piece will be used. This way, he ensures that the furniture fits perfectly in its final environment, complements surrounding pieces, and interacts with light sources.

He discovered that clients would rather view his pencil sketches when he presents designs rather than computer-generated ones, which they view as too mechanical. Sketches, they say, represent craftsmanship.

David said that sycamore, ash, cherry, oak (on its way back into popularity), and yew and walnut (both difficult to acquire), are common species used in British-made furniture.

He relies mainly on polished shellac or oil and wax for finishing. However, he also uses a technique called a "scrubbed" finish where hot water, bleach, and a bit of soap are used with a heavy bristle brush to scrub the tannins away from the wood, leaving a pale-colored, lightly-textured surface.

David showed us slides of work from other British furniture designers/makers, including John Makepeace, who he believes is the most influential craftsman in Europe.

It was enlightening to see how things are made "across the pond" and I was delighted to witness a friend from my woodworking club, an insufferable heckler, being put in his place by our speaker. Good on ya, David!

You can view much better photos of David's work on his site. The above shots were taken of the slides he presented, so are not the best quality.

Wild & Wonderful Camping

I'll be right up front—I don't "do" camping.

But it's not for lack of trying. We had a camper when I was a kid and we stayed in every KOA campground on the east coast, all the way up to Nova Scotia. But whenever it came time to have our meals at a picnic table, I'd opt to sit in our pop-top VW to eat. After all, a bug might drop out of a tree and onto my sandwich. And I wasn't willing to hazard that kind of risk.

And camping is just so....uncomfortable.

So when my partner, a true nature-lover, suggested we go tent camping 10 years ago, I figured I'd give it the ol' college try.

She set up the entire site—built a fire, pitched the tent—while I swatted flies. I did, however, bring matching dinner plates and napkins.

When it was time to turn in for the night, I took one look at her miniscule dome tent—not big enough to cover an ant hill—and thought I might hyperventilate. But I never let on how much I was suffering.

The next time she suggested we go camping, I offered to buy a new tent. Okay, she said. So I bought a 3-room tent, complete with parlor and ballroom. It was sweet. She was not happy, though, as it took a long time to set up.

A few years ago, we planned a trip to the mountains of North Carolina. Hey, I said, instead of camping, how 'bout I spring for a cabin for us. Sure, she said. So I made reservations at a lovely log cabin complete with vaulted ceiling, jacuzzi, and bidet.

Next week, we're attending her family reunion at Lake Sherwood in Wild & Wonderful West Virginia. Her family will pitch tents, cook over campfires, and sleep on the ground.

And we'll be staying at a nearby hotel.

This camping thing just gets better and better!

So what's all this have to do with woodworking? Well, I'm taking along my carving knives and will attempt to make a kuksa, while sitting on a log, fireside. At least maybe I'll give the impression that I'm an outdoorsy gal.

Swedish Wagon Maker (1932)

This link was sent to me by Jonas Andersson--thank you!

The video shows a Swedish Wagon Maker making the parts for a wagon wheel. Notice that he seems to be using regular chisels and gouges (short-handled) on his lathe, how quickly he shapes the spokes with hand tools between huge pinch dogs, and how he applies glue to the tenons. Very cool video. Enjoy!

In case you missed the other film on Swedish woodworkers (posted earlier), click here.

Landis Valley Museum, Revisited

We headed back to the Landis Valley Museum yesterday, mainly to see a new baby lamb and to enjoy the grounds in nicer weather than the first time we visited.








The gardens were blooming, the vegetables were growing, the sheep were sleeping, and my camera was snapping.

A giant loom was on display in one of the outbuildings and I'm always delighted to find ornamental details even in massive, practical machines like this one. As craftspeople, we just can't help ourselves, can we? Why have a plain, straight beam mortised into another one, when you can decorate the joint and edges with ogees and stopped chamfers?













On the grounds are a tavern, gunsmith, blacksmith, and tinsmith shops, a large barn, Victorian homes, a log home, and other structures which include a collections center and agricultural center.

In the agricultural center, behind glass, are several woodworking tools: goosewing axes, handplanes, and a handsome workbench with multiple drawers, a sliding deadman, and leg vise.

The planes and bench in particular were in excellent condition. One plow plane was stamped "E.W. Carpenter / Improved Arms & Handle / Lancaster" and looked like it had hardly been used.




In another historic building—the tavern—we found that the guide had just finished cooking his mid-day meal in an open hearth, so the room smelled like fresh-baked bread. But he wasn't sharing.

The Landis Valley Museum is a fun place to visit. Just make sure you've eaten lunch first before you reach the tavern, or your stomach will be rumbling like a Conestoga wagon on a country road.

Tool Holders

Or: What to do with a few scraps of wood and a few hours of unexpected free time.

When I designed my tool cabinet about 7 years ago, I carefully arranged sketches of my handtools on gridded paper.

Well, needs change, priorities change, and minds change, so my half empty cabinet looks a bit different than the original design.

When faced with a Sunday afternoon with nothing to do but weed the flower beds—a most egregious task—I decided instead to make a couple tool holders for my dovetail and tenon saws and my little mallet.

The saw holders are simple—just a block of wood that matches the shape of the inside of the handles, and little turnbuttons to keep the saws from sliding off the blocks of wood.

The mallet holder mimics the shelf that holds the chisel rack.

Also pictured are two Mag-Bloks (which work extremely well) that I bought from Lie-Nielsen to hold gouges and floats.

So after I made the tool holders, I looked around to see what other handtools needed to be hung in the cabinet. Shockingly, and to my utter dismay, I found that everything—everything!—already had a home in some compartment, drawer, or shelf.

And we know what that means, don't we?
Time to go tool shopping!

Sindelar Tool Museum

Have tissues on hand because you are about to drool.

If you've never visited John Sindelar's website, Sindelar Tool Museum & Education Center,* you've been missing out on one of the finest collections of extraordinary handtools in the world.

John Sindelar has been amassing his collection of rare, one-of-a-kind, unique tools for decades. Enjoy!

*Since I wrote this blog post, John's website has been taken down, so the link is to an article written by Popular Woodworking Magazine which includes a slide show.

Handcut Dovetails Video

To view larger and in high definition, click here.

This is not the most expeditious way to cut dovetails and it's just one of several ways to make them. The video has been sped up; it actually takes me about 20 minutes to do what the video shows in 6 minutes 11 seconds.

You can quicken the process by not using a guide block, and you might be faster at chopping out all the waste with a chisel rather than removing the majority with a fret saw. A marking knife is great for transferring layout lines, but I use a pencil that's been bevel-edged on a sheet of sandpaper.

The double-folded piece of paper in the beginning of the video is used to offset the marking gauge about 1/64" so the pins and tails protrude a bit when conjoined. This provides some wood to shave off with a handplane so the mating surfaces can be made flush.

In my opinion, it's faster to cut tails first because you can saw both tail boards at the same time, plus transferring layout lines to the pin board is easier. But if you plan to make skinny, English-style pins, I suggest cutting pins first. It's nearly impossible to transfer the lines of thin dovetails if you cut tails first.

Always saw with the "show" side facing you. In the video, they are marked "Pins" and "Tails".

If you are careful with laying out, transferring, and cutting to your lines, and sawing perfectly straight, your pieces will go together on the first try.

For a write-up of one way to handcut half-blind dovetails, click here. It explains the use of a wide plane blade to assist in lining up the guide block, and lists the tools I use.

Music: Derek and the Dominoes (Eric Clapton) "Bell Bottom Blues" and the instrumental version performed by Vitamin String Quartet.

I used a 1:8 ratio dovetail marker because I had planned to use cherry. When I used pine instead, I forgot to use my 1:6 ratio marker. 1:6 works best with softer woods.

Lettercarving Video

Watch in high definition here.

I wrote a post on this a while ago but thought it might make more sense to some in video format. Plus this video shows how to carve the serifs on letters. (To be honest, I had nothing better to do today than play with my camcorder.)

The video has been sped up so you won't fall asleep, since I am the world's slowest letter carver. The music is "Closer to You" by Brandi Carlile.

Now that I know how to speed things up in iMovie, I'm tempted to create a "2-Minute Dovetail" video....