Picture from Joel's website (linked below)

When I first began collecting antique wooden planes, the name Cesar Chelor was an oft told inside joke. Chelor was a mid 18th c planemaker. He was owned by New England planemaker Francis Nicholson. When Nicholson died in 1753, he freed Chelor, providing him with land, and tools.

"As to my Negroman Caesar Chelo[r] considering his faithful service, his tender care, & kind & Christian carriage I do set him free to act for himself in the world & I do will and bequeath unto him his bed and beding, his shift and clothing, his bench & common bench tools, a set of chisels, one vice, one sithe & tackling & ten actes of land to be set of to him at the end of my woodland…& one third part of my timber."

From Joel's website (thanks Joel)

Chelor continued making planes, stamping them with his own name. Today, these rare planes are among the best known and most valuable antique wooden planes on the market. A single plane can be worth thousands of dollars. Finding one among a box of dirty planes with rusty irons is the hope of every collector. They are the proverbial diamond in the ash can. Collectors often joke that they bought a box of duds for $5 only to find a Chelor (gloat gloat). Or that uninitiated collectors who got some woodies in a box lot with a crispy (good condition) Stanley 45 should send all those marked "Chelor" to famed internet tool dealer Todd Hughes, who will know how best to dispose of them (selling them for thousands of dollars).

For this reason, Chelor deserves the honored top billing for Woodworking Black History Month. The story of his bondage, freedom, and subsequent business success is such an American tale. The best part about it is that it reminds us that Black History is really American history. Chelor deserves the attention he gets because he reminds us that a hard working woodworker can overcome any adversity.

To learn more about Chelor, google him or start here at my friend Joel's website.

Adam
P.S. Note the use of the term "shift" in Nicholson's will. I believe this was the word used for the long (often unisex) shirt worn by people of the 18th c and before. I've used this term before and had people look at me funny. Not sure when "shirt" took over for "shift".

Saturday, February 06, 2010 10:43:35 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [6] 

As you all know, February is Black History month. School kids will learn about the likes of George Washington Carver and Dr. Charles Drew. If they are really lucky, they will get to hear stories about the Tuskegee Airmen. I got to meet some of them when I was in the service. Their presentation was one of the most gripping and moving I’ve ever heard.

Let’s blame it on our collective ignorance or lack of interest, but by mid month, shamefully, our kids are learning about the likes of Eddie Murphy. So while I’m in roll-up-my-sleeves-and-help mode, I thought I’d like to add a few days worth of Black History that you might find interesting.

I know there are some who resent Black History Month. And I might be convinced that it can be counterproductive as a political tool. But my interest isn’t political, it’s woodworking. I think you'll like what I have to offer on the subject.

In fact, for me it's just a chance to delve into the personal lives of folks who lived long ago. Hand tool woodworkers inevitably end up questioning the intentions of woodworkers long passed. We know what tools they had (pretty much). What we want to know is how they used them and what were their inetntions with them. The more we understand of the lives they led, the better off we are (as interpretters of their sensibilities and work).

Stay tuned!

Adam

Thursday, February 04, 2010 7:02:20 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [7] 

A few months ago, I read about Schwarz' ambitious teaching schedule here. I've taught a few classes and enjoyed them thoroughly. Sometimes I feel a bit guilty since I always feel as though I learn as much or more than the students.

In a recent class, I got to see the performance of a wide range of hand planes working along side of my cheap, antique, wooden planes. I don't want to sound like a curmudgeon, but I DO want to be clear: I continue to be unimpressed by metal jack planes, the bevel up planes, and indeed most new planes FOR THE WORK I DO. With the machines switched off, I need to remove wood quickly and easily. And my planes haven't seen their equal in any classes, conferences, or demos I've seen or conducted.

I'm looking for a plane that has a slippery sole, a cambered iron (pretty sure you can do this to any plane, but BU blade geometries will be different), that is light weight and holds it's adjustment through rough work. Ditto, work benches need to have super stiff (and I prefer wide) planing stops (loose bench dogs designed for tail vises just don't seem to cut it).

In my shop, and I think ANY shop without machines, jack planes need to remove wood fast. I'm looking for shavings that are .060" or thicker. You should be able to remove an 1/8" of pine from a 1"x6"x3' in a matter of minutes.

I think there are things you can do to a metal plane to improve it for the functionality I seek. Waxing the sole really helps. Cambering the iron helps. With so many replacement irons on the market, it makes sense to buy a spare and experiment with camber. Of course, this will necessitate you learn to hone free hand. You can adjust throats by moving the frog. You can even file the mouth open a little. But this is an awful lot of work.

Wooden planes seem to offer many objective advantages. Their irons are always quite thick, their beds extend all the way to their soles, they are liight weight, and offer low friction.

Maybe you'd be better off just buying an old woody from ebay, or your local antique shop. The plane you buy will be one less plane for TGI Friday's walls or Cracker Barrel's ceiling of shame.

Most importantly, if you want a sense for the capability of hand tools, you need to focus on tools that remove wood quickly. Your saws, planes, and chisels need to be capable of removing great amount of wood. This is a different value then that held by manufacturers and tool reviewers. We need to do something about that.

I have this dream of teaching hand tool only classes. But I continue to be concerned that the project I want to do will be too difficult for folks who lack tools like mine. I'm currently trying to wrap my head around supplying future students with full kits of 18th c style tools. Like most other things I do, the cost is insanely prohibitive. But that hasn't stopped me thus far.

I'll write more about this in the future, but you can help by thinking about how you remove large amounts of stock and how long it really takes you. I think most guys are using machines to prepare stock and just finishing the boards with hand planes. This "hybrid" approach (hybrid is probably the wrong word) has skewed manufacturers and users values to think of all planes as essentially smoothers. This approach is limiting what we are capable of, what classes I can teach, and what tools our kids will be able to buy. Seeing good woodworkers with expensive planes struggle to do what my planes can do was a real eye opener.

Adam

Sunday, January 24, 2010 12:15:16 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [14] 

Each year, I look forward to attending the "Working Wood in the 18th century" conference at Colonial Williamsburg. It's a chance to spend a few boys' nights out with my closest friends, reconnect with friends I don't see often, and recharge my woodworking batteries. As a woodworking social event, it's top notch. After conference cocktail hours offer a chance to sip a beer with the likes of Roy Underhill, CW's resident master cabinetmaker Mack Headley, or distinguished guests.

Beyond the social, the conference offers serious woodworkers a chance to learn from the best. For me, the topics are almost secondary. I benefit from seeing others plane wood by hand. I like to see how they hold their tools, their work, and their composure as 200 pairs of eyes look on at their work magnified to fit on a movie screen. I need to say this and I don't want to insult anyone; The guys in Colonial Williamsburg do this sort of work day in and day out. They have a great deal of experience with their hand tools. No matter how experienced someone is, folks with band saws as back-ups, tend to use them when the going gets tough. The guys at Colonial Williamsburg slug it out. So, like me, you'll often find that they have a different answer on their test papers. I think their different approach is worth while for the larger woodworking community (even those not inclined to unplug their shops). Seriously- outside of a subscription to PW, I think this is the cheapest woodworking education you can get. As of today, it appears seats are still available for the first session.

This year, the cabinetmakers and joiner/carpenters are teaming up to explore the woodwork of Monticello. What a great topic! Jefferson had a penchant for adding tricky mechanisms, and hidden compartments to his furniture. Wooden hinges like those on Williamsburg card tables or drop leaf tables are pretty neat. Jefferson's furniture should offer ample opportunities to explore all sorts of tricky woodworking. Already built the Philadelphia highboy? Do you laugh at Chippendale chairs? Pie crust tables? Knee hole desks? Jefferson's sliding, hinging height adjustable mechanisms are your next challenge.

Beyond the woodworking is a fascinating opportunity to learn more about this famous President, his life and times, the lives of his children, slaves, and servants. Be sure to visit Monticello's wonderful website to read up on the life of John Hemmings (Sally's nephew?), Irish joiner James Dinsmore, and the other craftsmen who made Jefferson's fertile imagination three dimensional. Their lives offer us a rare and fascinating glimpse into 18th century life and what it meant to be a skilled woodworker.

Lastly, pay close attention to who is chosen to present. The Hay shops 2 new-ish staff apprentices, Bill and Brian, are excellent speakers, craftsmen and researchers in their own rights. Brian Weldy comes to CWF by way of Plimoth. Bill is a serious musician like several other successful Hay shop cabinetmakers. I think there's something to that. In music there is a blend of art and craft, as well as a desire for perfection that isn't common elsewhere. Cooking is a subject that often arrises among my woodworking friends and I think there are similarities there as well. I look to these guys and the truly fabulous Ted Boscana for the direction CW is heading. These guys will likely shape the museum for many years to come.

I'm sorry I won't be there. I'll miss you all terribly. If you go, please send me some photos and notes and I'll post them here. Just don't make the pics too large. I have a 56k internet connection! Yikes!

Adam

Tuesday, December 29, 2009 8:39:52 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [5] 

As many of you recall, I took sabbatical from my day job in 2007. I was recalled in 2008. I'm currently on assignment away from home and shop. Guys, like it or not, our nation is at war. And just because no one's asked you to give up your nylon stockings (Hey! They're MOSTLY cotton) doesn't mean others aren't making sacrifices. No, I don't mean me. I live a privileged life in the worst of times. I'm just happy to help whenever and wherever I can. I'm not in harm's way. Let's just leave it like that, can we? I'll tell you more when I can.

I'm presently working on another article for my column, but I won't be able to write every issue. So we've found some folks I think you'll enjoy hearing from. Norm Abram has graciously agreed to…no, just kidding. I'll let Chris talk about what we have in store for you.

Adam

Friday, November 20, 2009 2:47:32 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [14] 

I've had a few occasions to speak to woodworking groups. Each time, I've asked myself how I could make the audience's experience great. Being brutally honest, print is probably a better way to learn. You can read at your own pace. I get to choose my words carefully. The photos and graphics are carefully designed to illustrate the point. So if I was to focus solely on teaching the subject matter at hand, I could probably do a better job in print than I can in person.

Though you know me as a woodworking author, like the other woodworking authors, I'm really a woodworker first, author second. I've sat in those same uncomfortable church, and hotel seminar room chairs, and I know what I've gotten out of the experience.

If you have your wits about you, you can learn WAY more with a 5 minute conversation with the demonstrator than you ever could reading a book or magazine article. And that was certainly my experience, chatting with the likes of Roy Underrhill, Mike Dunbar, or Mack Headley. I think I've read everything these guys have written. Speaking with them, seeing them work, has changed my understanding of their work, approaches, and products.

In a few short weeks, authors you know and some you don't will gather in Valley Forge PA. It will be a magazine come to life. It's your opportunity to get eyeball to eyeball with some really great woodworkers (authors and otherwise). Its a chance for them to step out of their print and for you to see what makes them tick, and what they are really like. Think of it like a woodworking town hall meeting. Got a bone to pick? Maybe you're fine with the Presidents's health care plan but you're mad as hell that I use the word "pitch" to describe the size of saw teeth. This is the place to hash it out. I can't speak for every presenter, but I'll be doing my darnedest to offer you something you can't get in print. For me, that usually means audience suggested demonstrations, lots of interaction, and accessibility.

But you have to do your part too. If you come, don't be a wall flower. Make sure you corner the presenters you've been wanted to interrogate. That's what we're there for. Woodworking In America is a magazine come to life. But don't just turn the pages.

Adam

Saturday, September 12, 2009 11:04:32 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)    Comments [6] 

I'm personally gratified by the amount of progress I see in woodworking today. When the author of "Table Saw Magic" (really? magic?) says to me with a gleam in his eye that he's ditching his power tools to "come over to your way", what am I supposed to say besides "Hallelujah brother!".

I don't emotionally plug into my participation here. I'm just pleased to see folks trying new stuff, no longer convinced the modern industrial manufacturing models are the only way. Forget about better. As human beings we are explorers. I heard a radio show about Alzheimer's patients who wander away from their homes. Its a huge problem, but also a glimpse of who we are, what we are meant to do. Does the Alzheimers cause the need to leave, or does it just remove our inhibitions to do what is natural for us?

Reading thru the various ww magazines and websites one can be lulled into the false impression that everything is known, everything has been done. I'm not trying to put anyone down. And I am just as guilty, if guilty is the right word, of being overly enthusiastic about things I've learned.

I just wanted to remind you, that the hand tool ship has room for more explorers. We don't know everything.

I'm working on a spice chest for a Kelly Mehler class. It's roughly 17x17" and has 11 drawers. The drawer dividers are 1/4" thick. Where do you get 1/4" stock in an 18th c shop? You have only a few choices; plane it, split it, or saw it.

Despite it's diminutive size, the resaw operations were considerable. The stock was 9" wide (KD SYP). This is no kidding around stuff. I used a saw I made (copy from Roubo) for the purpose. I'm not at all satisfied with it. It cuts fast, but is difficult to control. Establishing a kerf (alone) is all but impossible. I began the cuts with a hand saw.

We should assume not EVERYTHING they did in 18th c woodshops was elegant and effortless. Some of their work must have been, as so many modern ww believe, drudgery. The problem is, steeped as we are in our ignorance, anchored as we are to our arm chairs, it's difficult for us to know which operations were drudgery and which were not.

Jim Tolpin has changed his ship's course. He's begun a journey that will take him to far away lands. As such, he's not so much a convert to a woodworking religion, but a model of what we all are or should become. We are explorers. Many a distant shore awaits our discovery.

Adam

Monday, September 07, 2009 8:03:07 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)    Comments [13] 

PW has published a compilation of my column to date and added some great Schwarz content to round it out narratively. What you get is a cd that works a little like a webpage. There's an introductory screen that includes a linked table of contents. Click on the article and you get a searchable pdf document. It should work on any computer.

I'm thrilled to see it. Many folks have asked when I'm going to publish my articles in a book. I think this is better. Schwarz really convinced me of just how ecologically evil the printing industry is. Let's save the trees for woodworking.

Just to remind you, there are few articles of mine that I think everyone should have a copy of handy; the ball and claw is probably one of the best, most complete looks at this subject ever. Though there's plenty of quibble with, I think the "Soul and Basis of our Art" was one of my best and worth reviewing. Ditto, the "Plumley Inventory" is worth a reread. Personally, I took a look over my earliest articles to see if and how my writing changed. I think you can certainly see me growing as an author and a woodworker over those 4 years.

My friends and I often joke about our woodworking libraries (how large they are- how you could spend all your ww time making bookshelves to hold your ww books). On the subjects of period woodworking and building case furniture with hand tools, there really aren't that many good titles. For this reason alone, I think that if this subject interests you, you should have a copy.

Adam

Sunday, August 02, 2009 11:47:32 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)    Comments [8] 

Last time I visited Kelly Mehler's school, I admired the fine sharpening set-up he had. People who are serious about woodworking have permanent sharpening stations, and Kelly's is top notch. One thing I like about it is the grinders are downstairs with the other nasty smelly machines.

Anyway, I was thinking about the etiquette of using someone else's sharpening stones. I'm teaching another class at Kelly's this Fall and a student asked about what chisels to bring. I told him (Joe) that if you are bringing your own chisels, you should probably bring your own stones as well. To me, using someone else's stone is like drinking from their coffee cup. I wasn't sure that was a great analogy so I thought I ask you. So I have two questions:

1) Is it okay to use someone else's sharpening stone?

I tried using one of Joel's once. He wouldn't let me. Did I mention that Joel was selling stones at the time? Yes, Joel is a bit quirky, but I think he's right about this one.

2) If using someone else's stone really is icky, what would be a good analogy? My coffee cup analogy isn't a good one. If you washed it before and after you use it, what's the difference if you borrow a cup?

The cup in the picture above has a funny story. I've met Roy Underhill several times at conferences in Williamsburg. He's always mobbed. I mean, he's a real celebrity, and especially so in Williamsburg. I'm fairly certain he doesn't read my column or blog and when he sees me, I always introduce myself to remind him of who I am.

Last year at WiA:Berea, I was fortunate to be pared up with St. Roy in a class on chisel use. Roy is a real professional. The class went pretty well. The following day, I was packing up my demo booth and Roy came wandering thr the market place where my booth was set-up. He had a surprised look on his face when he saw me. He thanked me for my previous day's efforts, then reached into his pocket and pulled out the cup in the picture above, complete with remnants of his morning's coffee (there are always remnants). It's a neat cup and I was thrilled to have it. But that's the point: Stones are like coffee cups aren't they? Unless you flatten them after each use, you really are leaving coffee grounds behind for someone else, agree?

Adam

Sunday, July 19, 2009 11:41:30 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)    Comments [23] 

In anticipation of making this chair, I carved several ball and claw feet and several full legs, including one with the knee returns attached. I'm a firm believer in practice. But it doesn't always make sense to cheap out. I used basswood, which in retrospect was a mistake. Bass carves differently than mahogany...different enough that it's better to use the real thing.

When it came time to start construction of the chair, truth is, I still looked at it as practice. I knew I wasn't going to be satisfied by the results. So I used scrap mahogany. Some of it (the better stuff) came from the family boat shop. The leg stock was dense and oily and had a beautiful brown color. The rear legs were stock from a bed my friend Rod sold me years ago. It too was dense and nice.

But the rails were just 4/4 scrap from Lord knows where. Light in color and weight, these pieces carved significantly different from the other pieces. The material felt weak and deflected under the gouge like pine. I'm fairly certain all of it was the same species.

The really nice thing about mahogany (and very likely the reason for it's popularity in the 18th c) is that it's easy wood to cut, but it has a crispness to it. It's almost like cutting dense styrofoam.

So I was disappointed with the way this crest rail came out. If I had it to do all over again, I'd do ALL of my practice with decent quality mahogany.

Practice makes you more comfortable in an activity. But not all practice makes perfect.

Adam

Thursday, July 16, 2009 12:07:51 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)    Comments [2]