Arts & Mysteries blog

Sam Maloof, woodworker

2009-05-25T11:48:28.407-04:00

Maloof rocker, courtesy of Wikipedia

As I am sure you know, our community is marking the passing of Sam Maloof. We are lesser for the loss of this iconic woodworker. A gifted furniture maker, and teacher, Maloof was also an inspiration for the integrity of his work, and his life.

I’ll leave in depth reports and the inevitable retrospectives for those better acquainted with Maloof’s life and work. Personally, I was always struck by the very humble way he approached his life’s work. I think there’s a tendency for those who have achieved a certain level of accomplishment to lose perspective of the overall importance of their work. I find entertainers particular guilty of this but it can happen to anyone including furniture makers and woodworking authors.

Maloof referred to himself only as a “woodworker”. This humble title concealed the truth of who Maloof was, what he did, and what we must do going forward without him. Basket weavers, pen turners and cabinetmakers are all woodworkers. So are trim carpenters, and Welsh stick-chair makers. I don’t see any of these pursuits as particularly similar. Associating ourselves solely in terms of the material we use is sort of silly don’t you think? It doesn’t speak to our goals and aspirations.

I don’t think we admire Maloof chiefly for the way he operated his band saw or his prowess cutting mortises. Maloof was a furniture artist whose medium was wood. He clearly expressed his esthetic, while creating usable functional furniture forms. I think the nexus between fine art and functionality is very difficult to pull off. Sam Maloof’s life and work will continue to offer us something to shoot for.

In case you didn’t know, perhaps now is a good time to mention. Popular Woodworking is hosting a conference near Chicago that will focus on design. I highly recommend you attend. There are lots of places to learn about how to sharpen your tools. And I’m not disparaging the usefulness of the other WiA, which will be held outside Philly. I just think as “woodworkers” we often focus on the process or the material and lose sight of the art work that requires perhaps more of our attention.

Adam

Safety Tips from A&M readers

2009-05-10T10:30:34.615-04:00

I may be biased, but I think the folks who read and comment on the Arts & Mysteries blog are some of the smartest folks on the internet. I read and enjoy their many different views here and elsewhere. So I've collected their wisdom from the previous week's blogs about Woodworking Safety. Thanks everybody for participating.

Sage Advice:
From Curt:
If the chisel slips, where's it gonna go?
Chisels do NOT fit in pockets, even if they do.

From Al:
WHATEVER tool you're using, take a look around to see where its going to go WHEN, not IF it slips.

Put a wooden floor in your shop, and you'll be less inclined to try to "kick Save" that sharp tool when it rolls off the bench (they always land sharp side down in my shop) Wood floors are also easier on your back/knees/feet.

Wear eye protection when sharpening with a wheel, hand cranked or not.

Boy I can relate to this last one. I bought a Norton 3x wheel for my woodcraft slow speed 8” grinder. That wheel makes a huge mess. Forget the fact that it’s easily an 1-1/2” smaller in diameter than when I bought it 6 months ago. That wheel throw such a shower of debris. Friability? You bet. Do I like it? I don’t know any more. You need a Chris Schwarz commemorative shop apron when you use that thing.

Adam

Hand Tool Shop First Aid Kit Essentials:
Sprays and Salves
From Luke:
My go to cream is Eden salve, an herbal cream concoction from the Bulk Herb Store. It really is great stuff. The small tin is all you need. The kids like it too for their scrapes - they can put in on themselves.

Also, Cayenne pepper (get the powder) is effective for stopping bleeding - just don't rub your eyes when you finish putting it on your cut, or the bleeding won't seem so important for a while! Your mileage may vary on this one with sawed off limbs or severed arteries. I haven't tested it that way and really have no idea.

From Steve:
I would recommend keeping a small bottle of Betadine (or generic equivalent) in your first aid kit. It is good for flushing out deep and/or large wounds, and it doesn't sting like alcohol. It makes a mess, however, staining everything a yellow-brown. (It might make a good wood stain--who knows?)

From Josh:
If you didn't know honey also makes a decent ointment in a pinch.

From Steve:

I don't use NuSkin on cuts, but I do use it on those annoying (and painful) fingertip cracks that one gets in cold weather. It works great for sealing/healing those up. There's a new variant from 3M (Nexcare) that's even better, as it dries much more quickly.

Tweezers
From Josh:
I have the excellent splinter removal kit Joel at TFWW sells in my first aid kit. The very sharp probe and tweezers are very effective at getting even deeply embedded splinters out. It's inaugural use saved me a trip to the ER to remove what turned out to be a rather nasty 3/8" poplar splinter that went up under my right thumbnail. That hurt enough that I was happily confessing to a number of crimes against lumber to the board that was interrogating me.

From Dave:
For splinters that don't go very deep, I prefer fingernail clippers over tweezers. It's easy to get the corner into a shallow hole, and the lever gives you plenty of grip on the splinter itself. Just remember not to squeeze too hard or you'll just end up clipping the splinter off.

Other Stuff
From Bob:
A portable, sterile eye wash bottle is definately something to strongly consider.

From Curt
Keep good chocolate in your first aid kit. You'll always know where it is and what's inside.

Deal on Fatigue Mats at Woodcraft
From Jon:
About a year ago, I bought 2 anti-fatigue mats at Woodcraft. They're 2' x 5' and cost about $15.

I'm looking at these in terms of improving traction and preventing slipping on floors awash in shavings or saw dust. As such, my recommendation is get these as long as your bench or longer. But at essentially half price, these are certainly attractive.

Adam

Ergonomics

2009-05-07T20:06:30.696-04:00

When you push a plane, you are exerting a force down, against the bench and forward against the stop. We build our workbenches to react these forces. But those forces don’t come from thin air. The force you apply toward the stop is reacted in friction between the soles of your shoes and the floor. The force you press down with is counterbalanced by your lower back and “core” (more about that tomorrow). If you followed my physics, you now know what we should have in our shops. But how many of us do?

Bench height:
Conventional wisdom suggests a high bench is easier on your back. It saves you from leaning over. If your bench is used primarily for coffee drinking and client impressing, then by all means make it bar height and don't forget the curly maple and purple heart. But if you do a lot of planing, it really makes sense to make your bench low enough to allow you to use your upper body weight. The exact height depends on the thickness of your most oft planed stock and the sort of planes you use (wooden or metal). My bench is 2" under palm height. And I've worked comfortably on benches 4" under palm height. I really recommend guys think again about the palm-height rule of thumb for work bench height.

Traction:
Guys in powered up shops stand in front of their machines for prolonged periods. Many wear shoes and have mats to make their work more comfortable. But hand tool users have different needs. Planing gnarly wood requires a good connection to the floor. My concrete shop floor gets very slippery with even a fine layer of oily wood saw dust (I was working Lignum Vitae recently and my shop floor was like a skating rink). I’ve since added an anti-fatigue mat that has really helped.

Shoes like these can help you stay safe in your woodshop. But they can also get you shot in some inner cities!

Even the skimpy 3/8” thickness makes a huge difference for prolonged periods standing at the bench, not that I do that often. It’s also less height to trip over. Its sweepable surface is key to maintaining good traction. I chose a mat as long as my bench and 2’ wide (which is plenty). If I had it to do all over again, I would have chosen a 10’ mat for my 8’ bench with the extra 2’ at the right end. I know there are other, possibly cheaper mats available and I don’t know anything about them (so please add your comments). But I like this mat.

I think it makes sense to wear athletic shoes designed for side to side motions in the shop. Shoes for tennis or basketball, featuring low flat soles, really make sense for planing. When working long stock I find I do a fair bit of footwork, walking along sideways with my plane. The traction that athletic shoes offer also helps when securing work at the horse. Neither boat shoes nor work boots make sense for this. And in case you are curious, 18th c leather shoes with heels are absolutely scary to work in.

Shop Layout:
Moving lumber into and projects out of your shop should be easy, with a minimum of maneuvers and turns. In my ultimate shop, my wood rack would be on the same wall as my workbench and the entrance would be at the end of the shop. As my shop is now, the wood rack is in the center of the shop opposite the workbench. Lumber removed from the rack must either be swung 180 degrees or I have to do the limbo, ducking under long boards. This is an ergo no-no.

In terms of this blog entry, your sharpening station can be anywhere. Focus instead on ensuring you can move lumber or other heavy items in your shop easily. I pulled a muscle in my back carrying a heavy flake board kitchen base cabinet from one side of my shop to the other. I had to duck under the heating ducts while stepping over something. I could have used a moving dolly, but my floor was too messy and the aisle too crowded., which brings me to my next point:

Trip Hazards:
The splayed legs of my saw horses present trip hazards. I've tripped or hit my shins on my saw horses' legs countless times. Scrap wood, tools, dollies and other workshop items all create opportunities for you to fall. Keep your floor clear around your bench. Clean shops are always nice to work in. In my experience, clean up time is the first thing I skip when time is short. But that’s probably not smart. Use Woodworking Safety Week to perform a spring cleaning (I have). Get the scrap wood out from under your bench and find a spot out of the high traffic areas for your horses.

Some folks think of ergonomics in terms of comfy office chairs. We need to think about ergonomics in terms of safety. Think of your body as a machine and give it every possible mechanical advantage possible.

Adam

Edge Tool Safety

2009-05-06T20:22:28.645-04:00

The number one rule about edge tool safety is:

Always keep both hands behind the cutting edge of your tool.

This rule is absolute, and if you follow it absolutely, you'll absolutely never cut yourself.

My friend Dean is using the paring technique described in Moxon. Notice where his hands are in relation to the blade.

When working with chisels I use one of two basic grips: The Moxon grip (above) and the carvers' grip (below). In both cases, both hands are behind the edge. These grips need to become your "home" position. This takes practice. But I think the reason guys break rule number one is because their work holding isn't holding. So let's consider that.

Philadelphia Museum of Art conservator Christopher Storb uses a carving grip to shape a cabriole leg.

Get smart about workholding:
If your workpiece is slipping in the vice such that you need a hand to support it, you're doing something wrong. Don't rely on friction (clamping effect of clamps or vises) to react your effort. Use the vise or clamps only to position the work and react your effort with a wall (your bench IS against the wall isn't it?) a planing stop, bench hook or the like. Take a minute to secure your workpiece. The time you waste will be offset by the time you'll lose if you cut yourself.

This rubber mat, a piece of a carpet pad from IKEA, really helps secure work. I recommend using it. Likewise, super-hard, polished workbench tops are probably a mistake. This pad works so well, I can smooth this board without a planing stop. I'm not suggesting you give up your planing stop. But this is a nice way to increase friction and keep your work from slipping. Use it in addition to your planing stop, vise, and holdfasts.

The right tool for the job:
You really shouldn't need excessive force for most woodworking operations. If you find your work needs more support than your bench can provide, maybe you need to consider using a different tool. Dull tools can also be the cause of needing excessive force. When you take that hand off the back of the chisel, stop and think; "Is this really the best way to do this?" Even when it's the fastest, will the time you save with your hatchet offset the time you wait in the local emergency room?

When to make the trip?
I think many of us have been programmed to think of stitches as only appropriate for serious injurues. Why make a Federal case out of a small cut? Don't think of stitches or the number of stitches as indicative of the seriousness of an injury. You go for stitches when you need to go for stitches. Here are my untrained thoughts on the subject:

When you have excessive bleeding, bleeding that doesn't stop within a few minutes, go to the emergency room. Don't mind how deep the cut is. If you can't stop the bleeding quickly, go.

Any deep cut in a joint area really will benefit from stitches, even when the cut isn't bleeding perfusely. You want to be able to close a wound and immobilize it. That's what stitches do. They speed healing and stave off infection. Chances are, if you cut yourself at 10pm on a Saturday night in my neighborhood, you may be waiting 8 hours to be stitched. You can pack it in for the night, apply a gauze pad and tape as best you can, and head to the hospital in the morning. I think you can go many hours between the time when the injury occurs and when it is stitched.

Don't be afraid of your edge tools. Just make sure you are using a technique that won't allow you to cut yourself and be prepared it you do.

Adam

Splinters; Every woodworker's nemesis

2009-05-05T20:55:48.123-04:00

Both of these nicks were caused by splinters this past weekend.

Splinters are par for the course when working with wood. But when you work in a shop where your hands provide the precision, a bad splinter can end your workday prematurely or just make your work less enoyable. So I'd just like to add a few thoughts that may help you prevent and treat these minor injuries.

Gloves are your first line of defense:
I keep a pair of soft calf skin gloves in my shop for moving lumber. Wearing them for these tasks is a no brainer. I was raised thinking that gloves were only for the weak. My brother Steve once boasted that he spent a week laying cinderblock and at the end of the week his hands were as tough as baseball gloves. But I don't lay cinderblock. I'm a cabinetmaker. And even when I work full time at it, my hands are never like that. When the job calls for it, I don my gloves without a second thought.

Moisture barrier:
In addition to barrier protection, I think keeping my hands soft helps prevent splinters. When my hands become dry and chapped, they become splinter magnets. I keep a bottle of hand lotion next to the sink where I wash up. I try to moisturize after each hand washing. I avoid abrasive or strong soaps if I don't need them. And I wear gloves to protect my hands from the jobs that require detergents to wash up afterwards. My fingers get black when sharpening my tools or scraping walnut. Nitrile or latex gloves offer good protection with little or no inconvenience. They are inexpensive, reusable, and work great. Their use saves me from having to scrub off stuff I don't want to transfer to my work or tools.

Treating splinters:
My goal when removing splinters is to do it in such a way that I don't make a small injury worse. I keep a good, sharp pair of tweezors in my shop's first aid kit. What? You don't have a shop first aid kit? Well use Woodworker's Safety Week as your excuse to make yourself a small dovetailed box to hold these essential woodworking tools. Have fun with this. Inlay a blood wood red cross for instance. Or decorate it with bent over nails.

I made this miniature of a PA Dutch blanket chest for my wife, but it would make an excellent shop first aid kit.

Add to it a good magnifying glass and some alcohol swabs. When you need to dig out a deep splinter, first clean the tweezors with the alcohol. Once the splinter is out, be sure to wash the area well (soap and water at least). Use the magnifying glass to make sure you got all of it.

Keep it clean:
In most cases, I remove my splinters, wash my hands and go back to work. But if the splinter drew blood, I treat it like a cut. No it's not a serious wound. Yes this sounds excessive. But you want to protect it so you can go on working without turning it into something worse. If you get dirt or chemicals in there, even a lowly splinter can snow ball into a painful infection. I like to apply vaseline to small wounds as I think the vaseline helps keep the wound clean. It's a barrier. Bandaids alone don't seem to be much help. When it's a finger tip or joint, which are difficult to bandage, maybe it's time to break out a pair of gloves. If the latex is too thin and the calfskin gloves too clumsy, try a pair of these.

Elsewhere on the internet, folks are discussing what to package a severed digit in for the trip to the emergency room. We're talking about splinters. I don't want to mislead you into making light of injuries in your hand tool shop. I just wanted to start Woodworker's Safety week by seriously considering the most common woodworking injury.

Adam

P.S. Give me your thoughts about what you think belongs in your hand tool shop's first aid kit.

Woodworker's Safety Week

2009-05-04T10:04:25.505-04:00

This is the second year for Woodworker's Safety Week. Started last year by Wood Whisperer Marc Spagnulo, Woodworker's Safety Week is one week dedicated to instruction, tips, and awareness of safety in and around the woodshop. I know I don't need to tell you that woodworking, hand or power, is inherently dangerous. Anything that can cut wood easily can cut you easier. While the magazines discuss router safety and the wearing of ANSI approved eye wear, I thought I'd add my two cents about the unique safety precautions in the unplugged shop. I'll add a new blog entry each day for the coming 5 days to let you know how important I think this subject is. Today, I just want to talk about hand tool shop safety awareness.

How we are different:
Hand tool users are often quite a bit different from Norm-al woodworkers. We use very different tools, and work in very different conditions. Many woodworkers received at least some basic instruction or training that included safety precautions, even if it was just the legal disclaimers that came with your table saw. Chisels don't come with operator's manuals. So it's up to you to learn good, safe technique.

There aren't many of us who are full time professional hand tool woodworkers. Many of us perform our woodworking after working a full day's work. For years, I and people like me, have been beating the drum, encouraging you to pick up the pace in your stolen hours. The result can be a perfect storm for accidents; The rush to get something done, the lack of basic instruction, the need to figure out where you left off 4 days ago, physical fatigue, and for those 9-5 computer users, eye strain, all conspire to hurt you.

Recognizing and staring down the threat:
Whether you are walking down a dark alley, choosing locks or alarms for your automobile or residence, identifying potential threats is the wise first step. In a hand tool shop, I think the threat level is relatively low. Unlike power tool shops, it's not easy to remove a portion of yourself working with hand tools. But this can lull us into a false sense of security. As hand tool users, we use our bodies to a greater extent than our brothers in their powered shops. Cuts, scrapes and splinters are fairly common in any woodshop. These sorts of injuries can cut short your woodworking, lead to more mistakes or potential injuries (as you adapt your technique to compensate for a cut finger), or just make your time in the shop less enjoyable. But more serious injuries including slips and falls, strained or sprained muscles can be seriously debilitating and life changing.

So let's start out the week with the recognition that we hand tool users, while arguably safer than our powered up friends, are not immune to workshop accidents. And while easily preventable cuts are by far the most common injury for us, other, more serious threats loom. The bottom line is, we are woodworkers just like everybody else and we need to take safety seriously. For the next week, I'll discuss some specific hand tool threats, what I do about them, and hopefully raise your consciousness about Woodworker's Safety.

Thanks Marc for this great idea. I'm looking forward to checking out all my favorite blogs (see menu at left) to see what they have to say. Thanks also to Kari Hultman, whom I met yesterday and who told me about this (I missed it last year).

Adam

P.S. A&M blog has some of the smartest readers on the internet. On Saturday, I'll collect the tips and wisdom from those of you who comment or email me this week. I'll post my favorites to Saturday's blog entry to cap off Woodworker's Safety Week.

Mount Pleasant open house

2009-04-17T13:38:47.347-04:00

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is hosting another open house at Mount Pleasant in Fairmount Park Philadelphia Sunday, April 26. I believe the event is free and parking will be available at the museum's new parking garage where a shuttle bus will run between the museum and the park (along scenic boat house row).

This mansion's impressive and intact woodwork, dating from the early 1760's, is on display. The house really hasn't been refurnished since it's restoration a few years ago (new roof, some structure, fixed up dormers). This has left the interior woodwork accessible.

Much of the tour's focus will be on the house and the one armed Scotsman who originally owned it. A privateer who struck it nouveaux riche, Captain James Mac Pherson is the poster child for upward mobility in 18th century America. Mount Pleasant was the bling, the posse, the ride, and the trophy wife all rolled into one, fabulously expensive crib. Though he won't get top billing, Thomas Nevell, Mount Pleasant's builder, would be an equally interesting focus for the education and curatorial staff that will give the tours. Nevell wasn't just briefly apprenticed to Edmund Woolley, the builder responsible for Independence Hall. Woolley was Nevell's guardian. Nevell was orphaned at age 9. The esthetic relationship between Independance Hall and Mt. Pleasant now makes more sense to me. Nevell probably had first hand experience with the construction of Pennsylvania's famous State House.

Mt. Pleasant is linked to a number of historical figures including Bendict Arnold and John Adams. But Arts and Mysteries readers may be interested to learn that Benedict Arnold's wife, Peggy Shippen, was the daughter of Sarah Plumley, Charles Plumley's daughter. Also interesting is the fact that Sarah's father in law, Edward Shippen, the joiner that recorded the famous Plumley inventory, was also her step father. Charles Plumley's wife Rose Budd (what a great name) remarried after Charles' passing in 1709.

For the would-be wood-historian, there's still plenty more here. Nevell's original account book is in existance as is his copy of the Carpenter's Company Rule Book of 1786 (which he provided drawings for). The latter is available in the HABS. (The former is only available on fiche as far as I know). These importnat pieces of documentary evidence allow us to compare specific bits of Mt Pleasant with account data and hand written, price per foot annotations in Nevell's copy of the Rule Book.

No? Not compelling? How about the often debated use of column orders in architecture? Furniture? The front and rear facades of Mt. Pleasant used two different column orders. Nevell taught architecture in his later years and specifically offered in the "Pennsylavania Gazette" (Oct 31, 1771) "I propose to teach the drawing of five orders". On the second floor, a room that may have been a study, an Affleck highboy carved by Philadelphia Master Carver Martin Jugiez (said to be the ugliest man in Philadelphia) stands aside the carved mantle piece also carved by Jugiez. The relationship between the classically proportioned and adorned mantle piece and the high boy are staggering.

No? Not relevant? How about the sense that nothing ever really changes? Read about Nevell (linked above) and pay special attention to his years in debtor's prison. How about this gem: Nevell seemed to make more money teaching than he did working wood. Also, note his finanical condition upon his death. Thomas Chippendale didn't end well either. I've read this often enough to think there's a trend. Hand tool woodworkers tend to die broke.

Nothing? Wait there's more: Politically, I lean toward the libertarian/conservative side. Currently, my camp is harping about big government, it's ills, and our Founders' intentions. Pretty sure Nevell's trade union took care of him in his old age. If the Carpenter's Company of Philadelphia had not intervened in his behalf, this Revolutionary War Veteran, a man who helped construct the building in which the Declaration of Independance and the U.S. Constitution were signed, may have died broke, alone, and homeless a few blocks away. What exactly were our Founding Father's intentions? Maybe it's high time we learned more about the world in which they lived.

But my side isn't completely off base. Nevell went broke paying the taxes on a property his step son, George Weed (never trust a man named George Weed) inherited. Interestingly, the benefactor of Nevell's retirement savings felt no obligations toward Nevell.

They say those who forget the past are destined to relive it. (I think that's a strange thing to hear coming from someone wearing knee breeches and a puffy shirt.) But interestingly, I think we tend to compartmentalize this sentiment to war fighting or federal fiscal policy. I'm just trying to make better furniture. A trip to Mount Pleasant offers you all of it.

Oh, and I'm going to be there demonstrating something. Hope to see you. Bring the whole family! There's lots to learn at Mount Pleasant.

Adam

Chair, Hands fine

2009-04-02T07:27:48.626-04:00

Of course yesterday's blog post was an April Fool's joke. Work continues on my chair. And recent cuts while demonstrating aside, I almost never cut myself. I think the worst injury I ever received related to woodworking was the time I intentionally caught a center bit, which, as I expected, buried itself into my palm leaving me with a stigmata that would make Padre Pio blush. In retrospect, the wound healed quickly (thanks be to God) and I would do the same thing again. It was really a beautiful bit. I use it often.

The chair is still mostly a train wreck, but I accepted that long ago. Not everything we do in our shops will be a masterpiece. Woodworking is like everything else. You have to practice at it. So I'm over it. I'm over the mistakes and I'm moving forward. But I'll continue to clue you in on what I feel I'm doing right and what I don't get right. I'm writing to help you with your woodworking, not to show off. And I realize there's a fine line between that and an excuse for shoddy work.

I do indeed have a back shop. You've seen pictures of it here. There is a Woodcraft slow speed grinder in it. I have a Jet wood lathe (currently sporting a spring pole). No table or band saws. No planers. I really do work wood by hand. But I liked the idea that there might be one reader, maybe not wholly convinced we actually landed a man on the moon, who would say "Aha! I knew it! I knew he was a fake!".

My favorite part of all was the suggestion that I shoud go ahead of the more seriously injured in the emergency room. Maybe I watch too much tv (or watch too much crap), but I think the whole idea of being a diva is particularly funny. Why is it accomplished people in the entertainment industry get to forget their manners? Why can't Tom Lie Nielsen do stuff like this for instance? Or Robin Lee? Chris Schwarz? None of these guys have posses. HELLO How you expect to be treated like a diva without a posse. At least Tom has bling.

For those of you who expressed concern, thank you and I humbly apologize for yesterday's very stupid post. I certainly didn't mean to make light of workshop injuries and I appreciate your well wishes.

Adam

Chair Update

2009-04-01T09:24:49.529-04:00

As you all know, I'm building a Chippendale chair in a series of articles for Popular Woodworking Magazine and I've been having some troubles with it. In the first article, I undercut the back legs, and while I tried to salvage the large pieces of Honduras Mahogany, the damage was done. I had trouble mortising the rear legs. The angled mortises were difficult to cut accurately and the result was a poor fit up. Squaring the bottoms of the legs resulted in yet another problem at the rear joints. I poorly planned the size of the back splat and had to cobble pieces on to make up the width. The crest rail to splat joint was also less than perfect.

But the worst was yet to come. Last night, while carving the back splat, I made my worst mistake of all. I guess my gouge was not quite as sharp as it should have been. I was pushing a bit too hard and this, combined with the irregular shape of the chair, created "perfect storm"-like conditions. I slipped, cracking the back splat, and sent the gouge into my left palm. I'm proud of my brutally honest and open approach to writing and sharing with you my mistakes in hopes that you can avoid them in your shop. But I'm not proud to say that with my hand bleeding, I lost my temper and smashed the chair back on the shop's concrete floor. I had worked very long and hard on that chair, and despite the many set backs, I always kept my cool. I guess this mishap was just the last straw.

My hand suffered sever tendon damage. While I was in the emergency room late last night, waiting my turn while the more "serious" injuries, gun shot wounds, car accidents, "heart attacks" etc were taken first, I had some time to cool off and think about my next project. With my next article due in two weeks, I've decided to switch gears a bit and start that Mission style bookcase my wife has been wanting. And again, honesty being the best policy, I feel it's time to start discussing my back shop with PW readers. I've always tried to do as much as possible with hand tools, but like you, I enjoy using machines for rough stock prep. I've made some tweaks to my Grizzly G1023S that I'd like to share with PW readers. So while the chair series is officially over, I'm looking forward to this new series even more. While the focus of my column has always been period woodwork, I'm looking at this accident with the chair as an opportunity to explore the more practical side of woodworking. I'll be back to work just as soon as my hand stops throbbing.

Adam

Being Roy Underhill

2009-03-24T12:09:39.4821524-04:00

I cut myself twice during demos at Kelly Mehler's (both times on the same finger). I'm fairly clumsy, but I don't cut myself often in my shop. I didn't realize why St. Roy, jokes aside, seems to. Now I know. Demonstrating a complicated technique quickly, without moving the project too much, allowing cameras and students a good view, without fussing with the tools on the bench, puts you positions you would never permit in your shop. Simply put, it's our fault the guy cuts himself. Stop teasing him about it.

Want to avoid accidents in the shop? Turn off the cameras and throw everybody out. Working wood and demonstrating wood working are completely different activities. That said, I wonder if Deneb Puchalski or Chris Schwarz ever cut themselves. They sure don't seem to.

Adam

Day 3 at Kelly Mehler's School of Woodworking

2009-03-24T08:03:50.969-04:00

Day 3 at Kelly Mehler's school of woodworking started with a rousing discussion of Journeymans' wages, servitude, and slavery. Period furniture was not "build to print". It embodied the choices and culture of the individuals who built it and very much reflected the time. As we encounter questions like "why did they do this?" it's important to know who "they" were. They shared our DNA, but we probably have very little else in common with these folks. What's important for woodworkers is that we look fearlessly, and without preconceived notions, nostalgia, or hope.

It's also true that the experience of early Americans was as diverse as the furniture they left behind. In class was my friend Jerome Bias, a period woodworker and fellow interpreter. Jerome interprets the life of free (and wealthy) African-American cabinet maker Thomas Day . I think Jerome embodies what we all must become: equally conversant with our hand tools and our history. If we are to break free of what can be lifeless, dimensional copies of furniture, we need to examine more closely the lives of the people who bought and sold the furniture we reproduce.

Climbing back down from my soap box :), the rest of the day went pretty well as far as I could tell. We examined the full range of fitting planes available in the 18th c. I set up sample pieces on several benches where guys could try working with a moving fillester, rabbets, match planes etc. I demoed making moldings freehand with hollows and rounds. I like the careful approach in Don McConnell's DVD on the subject. But freehanding is fun, it's a good skill to have, Don certainly does it, so I offered it as an alternative. But for those unfamiliar with Don's approach, buy the DVD, watch it, and donate it to your local woodworking guild.

After lunch,... by the way, Kelly serves a hot gormet lunch everyday. Lunch is catered by a chef from Louisianna. We had chicken the first day, cajun catfish the next, and crawdad etouffer, (or is that rock lobster, Chuck?) the third. Lunch is served in Kelly's spotless office in the corner of his upstairs hand tool shop. Here's a shot of the downstairs, filled to brimming with upspeakable wood torture devices:

This is what your shop looks like, right? The plants are real, by the way. I've seen shops (boat shops mostly) that cockroaches couldn't survive in!

So after lunch, I carved a cabriole leg out of a block of basswood (it was actually bass this time). I was hoping to encourage guys to try sculptural type carving at least. I got a good basic shape and three quarters of the ball and claw done in about 2 hours. With the day drawing short, I went back to fulfill a promise from day two; I cut a housed sliding dovetail (which turned out remarkably well). A few brief, hopefully encouraging words, and that was the end of our class. We headed out for Thai food at Wanpen's restaurant.

I hope the class demystified some of the arts and mysteries and encouraged guys to give the old fashioned tools a try. One unlikely student I WAS able to convince was Kelly Mehler himself! He's looking for a good 5/8" BDS (brass depth stop) dado plane. If you have any leads, email him.

Adam