Popular Woodworking Editors' Blog

Confusing the Beginners-In Person

I don't make many personal appearances, but next Saturday, October 27, I will be at the Woodcraft store in Roswell, Georgia. I'll be giving some presentations and hanging around to talk to people. If you're in the area I hope you'll find the time to stop by and say hello.

A week or so ago I wrote on the blog about what hand tools I use, and one of the things I'll be talking about in Georgia is using hand tools in a modern woodworking shop. One of the things I see happen is that people who want to learn to use hand tools get overwhelmed and confused by the variety of tools, and the tendency of experts to get bogged down in minutia. One of the most frequent questions we get asked at the magazine is, "What tools and skills do I need to get started?" My answer is, "You don't need them all, and if you can shave your face without cutting off your nose, you're well on the way to developing the skills."

My plan is to go through the basics, give some recommendations on the most often-used tools, the skills to use them effectively, and some techniques you don't see every day. I will also be talking about the Festool Domino
the experience we've had with it here in our shop, and how it compares to other methods of making joints.

In between the formal stuff, I'll be there to answer questions and talk about almost anything. If you have a copy of one of my books I'll be glad to sign it, and if you want to pick up a book or a set of large format plans, I'll have them on hand. I hope to see you there.

Each month I receive newsletters from woodworking clubs and guilds around the country. Some come from groups I’ve spent time with and some arrive from people I’ve met while doing furniture and woodworking shows.

This month I was particularly interested in a newsletter from the Washington Woodworkers Guild – "The Wooden Word." On the first page of the newsletter (open the pdf below to read the page) a man is pictured standing next to a Massachusetts Block Front Chest. That would normally catch my eye by itself, but this article had my name associated with it as well. What did I do this time?

Tom Witzig is an accomplished furnituremaker and member of the guild who decided to build his Block Front Chest using a chapter from my book “Building Period Furniture” (Popular Woodworking Books) as a basis. As I see it, he builds pieces exactly as he should. Tom changes the design to fit his style of craftsmanship, he allows the material on hand to dictate the size of the piece, and he makes the necessary adjustments along the way. In my opinion, not following the plan and directions to the letter makes you understand the process better. Understanding the process allows you to apply those methods to future projects. If you follow the directions, you build one piece. If you understand the process, you can build any number of projects employing the same techniques.

On the downside of the article, Tom nailed the drawer runners to the case (as I indicated to do) and the case side split. That upset him and he vowed to add rear drawer dividers and not nail the runners if he built the piece again.

That would upset me too, but only for an instant. I don’t mind cracks in the case side due to wood movement – although my customers weren’t real fond of them. I think it makes the furniture more authentic looking when building reproductions. If you examine period pieces in museum collections, you’ll notice many case pieces that are cracked at the sides. It’s what happens over hundreds of years. Some of the pieces show old corrections or fixes while some stayed as they were.

You wouldn’t dream of fixing an original John Townsend chest – would you? I let time take its course on my pieces. What would you do?

– Glen D. Huey

The Auriou company has been making rasps by hand since 1856, and have only recently become available to woodworkers in the United States and Canada, where they have been hailed as outstanding tools. Several of the North American catalog companies that carry the tools still have stock on hand (get your credit card ready), but once that is gone, no more tools are expected.

Mike Hancock, the Auriou representative for the United States and the United Kingdom, said that the company had been growing quickly during the last few years, but that some employees refused to work overtime to keep up with demand. The situation deteriorated during the factory's normal August shut down, and now the company has been handed over to liquidators.

The full text of Michel Auriou's statement about the closure can be downloaded below.

Auriou's rasps are, without a doubt, the most prized rasps in the Popular Woodworking shop, even more so than the Nicholson patternmaker's rasps that most people consider as the best. Auriou also made carving tools, adzes and other tools.

The teeth of the Aurious are made by hand, which gives them a slight randomness in their arrangement on the blank. This randomness creates a rasp that cuts quite smoothly and quickly. If you'd like to read more about how these rasps were made, Joel Moskowitz of Tools for Working Wood has written an excellent explanation of the process that you can read on his web site.

If you are looking to purchase Aurious, here are a few of the places that we know that carry them. Act fast.

As to our recommendations for the rasps to have, that really depends on your work. We typically use a cabinetmaker's rasp followed up by one of the modeller's rasps. We've also used the rifflers, which are excellent, if your work demands it. I'm not sure how fine ours are. The cabinetmaker's rasp is coarser than the modeller's rasp, which is a good combination for us.

• Tools for Working Wood
• Lee Valley Tools
• Lie-Nielsen Toolworks
• Woodcraft
• Highland Hardware
• The Best Things
• Classic Hand Tools

And if all of those sources are sold out, we recommend you take a good look at the Gramercy Tools handmade rasps from Tools for Working Wood. Though not quite as perfect as the Aurious, they are high-quality tools.

Download the full text of Michel Auriou's statement.

AuriouStatement.htm (6.47 KB)

— Christopher Schwarz

I’ve taught a number of classes during my woodworking days. Teaching is one area that I thoroughly enjoy each and every time I’m called upon. I’ve found that most woodworkers who take classes are very receptive to direction as well as open to new or different ideas on how to go about the craft. I enjoy the looks on their faces when they grasp the idea put forth, and I like it when that bewildered look in their eye turns into a twinkle.

In my prior life, although I knew each woodworker had a certain method of work, I didn’t realize how different those methods could be. I adopted my Dad’s way of thinking – do it his/my way or do it wrong. Since becoming a part of the Popular Woodworking staff I’ve been privy to a number of different paths that all lead to the same end result. Editor Christopher Schwarz, Senior Editor Robert W. Lang and I approach woodworking from various directions, but each of us arrives at the same destination.

So, you may ask, what about Managing Editor Megan Fitzpatrick? She’s the subject of this entry. Today, Megan and I began work on a project in the Popular Woodworking shop. She asked that I teach her my woodworking methods. Poor woman.

Megan has a couple challenges in learning woodworking and at least one big benefit. You might not know this, but Megan is a teacher in her own right. She is a former adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati (and now a 4th-year PhD student). I’ve found those who teach, when learning something they haven’t mastered, are usually like a sponge when being taught. I’m sure Megan fits this model too.

What about those challenges? Chris and Bob (no, they’re not the problem) have each spent time in the shop working with Megan, filling her head full of their woodworking methods. She’s benefited from their teaching and now she’s traipsing down my path as well. She’s being shown a third method of work. This could be good – or it could be bad.

With each new teacher she must forget, or at least put out of mind for the time being, the processes she learned with other instructors. That opens her mind to accept new methods. And that, in the long run, allows her to grow as a student. (I think it’s best for students to examine a number of ways to get things done, then choose the method that best fits his or her comfort level and ideas.) Megan may end up being the better woodworker of the Popular Woodworking staff because she’ll be able to take three different methods of work (one from each editor) and apply the ones that work best for her…then pitch the rest.

If things go well over the next few weeks, I’ll keep you posted on our progress. If things don’t go so well, I expect you’ll hear about it from Megan. Maybe this should be titled, “Wish Me Luck.”

– Glen D. Huey