Philippe Lafargue, my Roubo translation collaborator and long-time friend, has been insulted.

Deeply. By M. Roubo himself.

Roubo’s chapters on chairmaking are technically sublime, with many profound insights and word pictures I find captivating. However, he is incessant in his demeaning descriptions of chairmakers, accusing them of being sloppy, careless, unskilled and slothful. Somewhere between the lines he is probably implying that they are hung over, their feet stink and they don’t love Jesus. Though he does not comment on their table manners, we can guess what he might say.

As a graduate of the renowned École Boulle curriculum in classical French chairmaking, Philippe unsurprisingly takes umbrage at these characterizations. He has gone so far as to wonder out loud (well, in print correspondence) why it is that Roubo was so contemptuous of chairmakers.

If we knew where Roubo is buried, it might be worth trying to dig him up and asking him. When you read Roubo’s accounts of chairmaking, you will no doubt ask yourselves the same question.

— Don Williams

Filed under: Books in Print, To Make as Perfectly as Possible, Roubo Translation

Having a woodworking blog, I know that a lot of people who follow my blog are also woodworkers. And if I know woodworkers, it is that they love wood grain. So much so, that the whole idea of painting a piece of furniture that they make is often considered sacrilegious. However, I also know that many women who usually buy furniture for their home would rather have a piece of furniture that goes with their décor. Beautiful wood grain is something many of them don’t even think about when picking out a piece for their home. So I decided to do a little nonscientific poll to see what people think of the following piece of furniture.

This is a buffet my wife bought at an auction. She wanted to paint the base, but leave the top a natural wood tone. She sanded the top and oiled it with hemp oil. Some people call this type of furniture restyle Shabby Chic. I’m not sure if this is technically Shabby Chic or French Country or whatever. My wife calls it Elegant Farm House style.

Below you can see some of the detail of the wood after it’s been painted. To me, the architectural details of the moldings stick out a little more and are not muddled in the wood grain when the piece has been distressed. But what do you think?

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Please feel free to Share this post. The more people who see it and vote, the better.

A while ago, I made the Joiner and Cabinet Maker Packing Boxes out of poplar, since it was the only thin stock I could find in the area. It turned out to be a good exercise on many levels, but the deepest lesson took a while to reveal itself. I now know how unstable poplar can be. The packing box lids are held down with a beefy batten and clinched nails... they should be quite strong. However, these warped like crazy. I had them nailed shut for a while, so they seemed flat, but as soon as I pulled the nails out, the doors sprung back into a saddle shape. This makes for an unsatisfying box.

However, it does not matter for shop cabinets!  The doors still do not close satisfyingly crisply, but I put some of those hokey cabinet magnets in them, and they work just fine. I realized that while I do enjoy working right out of the tool chest, I do not like working out of tool rolls. That has been remedied, as I now have a place for auger bits, gimlets, and eggbeater drill bits. The other cabinet is awaiting it's purpose, but I am certain it will prove handy.


The bit holder is maybe temporary, I simply drilled holes in a piece of pine. It might be ok. I would maybe like to add a support for the shafts of the bits, or maybe hang them. Dunno yet but I am glad I don't have to dig out the roll and unroll it each time I need one now. I will also note that I do use gimlets pretty frequently, at least the small ones. They are quite handy for pilot holes, and possibly faster than setting up the eggbeater drill. I would use the drill if there were more than a couple holes. I've also been thinking about improving my gimlets by adding some sort of loose sleeve to hold onto, their crude finish is not comfortable.

Here is the pair of "packing cabinets" in their newfound orientation:



And what is that overgrown School Box there, you say? What a great question. That is what I called the Anarchist's School Box  back in October when I started it. It is finally warm enough in the shop again so I have finished it up. Here is a closer look:


This is a bit larger than the J&CM School Box, and so I felt it needed lifts. After quickly flirting with some wooden versions, I felt that more elegant brass fit the bill a bit better.

This box is for a fountain pen collector, and so it has 3 tills for the pens, which reveal room below for ink, notebooks, and other supplies.


The top till has pen holders made of walnut. I simply bored 6 holes into a small scrap, which I then resawed to make it thinner, and then ripped those in half. The other tills are empty for the user to outfit as he wishes.


The body is made of cherry, while the tills have cherry fronts and backs with pine sides. The box bottom is cedar. I am pleased with how it turned out, and now want a miniature toolchest of my own! Instead of Anarchist's School Box, I think it might be more appropriate to call this a School Chest. I hope it is enjoyed, as I certainly enjoyed building it.

On May 7, 2014, we’re going to give you a chance to act like an editor for Popular Woodworking Magazine for the evening. That’s right, we’re going to let you (and a limited number of other folks) come into the workshop here at the magazine and test some of the newest tools from Senco. Can you tell me more about what’s going on? We’re hosting the event for Senco to […]

The post Senco is Coming to Popular Woodworking Magazine appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

but I chose not to believe them. Just too horrible to consider.

But when faced with the ugly reality, I was forced to admit it must be true.

Dovetailed particle board!

Staring at if for a few terrifying minutes, I believe it cannot be considered “best practice”.

I’m all verklempt. I can’t go on anymore today.

On the lighter side, I did find another gout rocker.

One of the unanswerable questions in woodworking is: What type of bench dog is best? (Other unanswerables: What does Peter Follansbee hide in his beard? How many puns are possible with the word “rabbet?” Would you like to see my feathered crotch?) At least on the bench dog question, I have answered it for myself. I prefer a round wooden dog that I make myself. I’ve had these dogs for […]

The post The Most Domesticated Dog appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

My friend, Roald Renmælmo, and I were discussing why old wooden planes look the way they do.  Roald is researching and duplicating old hand planes used in Scandinavia.  In fact he has posted several galleries showing how he is making the reproduction planes.  It’s well worth taking a look at.  Here’s a link to his blog.

 Anyone who has an interest in old wooden handplanes is usually struck by the fact that many of the planes that are in reasonably good shape are disgustingly dirty.  This fact, alone, would make one curious about the finishing methods employed by plane makers and users.  And, the most important question is what were they trying to do with the finishes.  That question drives every other consideration.  

It’s a question of moisture control.  Planes made out of wood are subject to variations in moisture, just like anything else made from a tree.  So the goal of finish on a wooden plane is not just to make it pretty, but to minimize the effects of moisture.

For commercial plane makers in Europe and North America, soaking the plane bodies and wedges in linseed oil, prior to assembly was normal.  Linseed oil is a drying oil that leaves a film and has long been used as a water-proofing product.  It’s altogether possible that the linseed oil may have been thinned with turpentine, effectively making a crude spar varnish.  Prior to the introduction of metallic driers, boiled linseed oil was manufactured by heating the oil to the point that polymerization would begin.  This may have been a something less than perfect process and some BLO might have taken longer to harden than others.  As the protective film on new planes might stay plastic (soft) for some time, soil and grime would form on the surface.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, as it is, in effect, creating a impermeable membrane (to a greater or lesser degree).

Here’s an example of a jack plane in pretty common condition, grime and the standard paint spattering:

The same plane, after being “scrubbed up” with a little lacquer thinner and receiving a couple coats of BLO.

The surface of oiled (or varnished) wooden products needs to be re-coated from time to time, due to the effects of use, oxidation, etc.  Carpenters and joiners would many times use other products to protect their tools.  Flaxseed/linseed oil would certainly have been readily available and inexpensive in many parts of the world.  It’s continued use would likely increase the “grime/oil” membrane phenomena.  Wax would certainly have been used by some conscientious craftsmen.  But craftsmen are practical people and when a product that will serve their purpose is plentiful and available at low cost, they’ll seize on it.  Enter Lard.  Grease, fat, call it what you will.  But, rest assured, many old working planes saw plenty of animal fat used as a protective coating.  If a plane is exceptionally grimey, it’s probably been given the “lard treatment”.

Here’s a badger plane made by Malloch in Perth.  I have to believe that if a scraping from the surface of this plane were analyzed, the “oink” would still be present.

Same plane with some of the grime removed:

Some planes were treated a little differently.  The jointer below is my favorite user.  While not the longest plane I use, at 28″ it’s a very steady tool.  It has been well cared for over its lifetime and I would guess that it came from a professional shop or was owned by a careful hobbyist.  It appears to have been finish with shellac and wax.  It is pretty much flawless.

In my experience, the use of shellac or other spirit varnishes on wooden planes was not that common.  Although, I would guess that it might be found on presentation tools, such as plough planes and on other tools owned by “persnickety” folks.

Many collectors balk at the notion of removing finishes from antiques.  That said, I’m not a collector, I’m a user and I like to maintain my tools as best I can.  That includes keeping them clean and well protected.

I’m going to throw out a big caveat here.  If you are a wooden plane user and you decide to clean up your old tools, be prepared to recoat them with some protective product, immediately, lest you find your favorite little plane taking on a new twist or crack.

While I own many iron planes, my daily users, my favorites are made out of wood.  There is something almost spiritual,  that takes place, when you’re working with a wooden plane.  It just seems right.

 

In today's internet world it's a treat to find a craft that's particular to one region and still being carried out in the same way as it has been for hundreds of years. Last week I had the chance to learn some of the skills of a traditional Cumbrian craft for myself. Continue reading →

I don’t often ask for input from my blog readers as I’m fairly adept at rambling on without much guidance.

However, I’ve received several comments and e-mails (all positive) regarding my last few posts on woodworking with kids and am thinking about a more structured approach to the topic. Before I dive too heavily into it, I thought it might be a good idea to gather a little information and figure out how much interest there is in the subject and the best direction (if there is one) I should take in discussing it.

Thus, I have a short poll for you and a request. Please take just a few seconds (seriously, like 10 seconds!) to give me some feedback, if you don’t mind. Pick as many of the below choices as you want. If you care to expound upon your vote, feel free to leave a comment in the blog post’s comment section.

Take Our Poll (function(d,c,j){if(!d.getElementById(j)){var pd=d.createElement(c),s;pd.id=j;pd.src='http://s1.wp.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/shortcodes/js/polldaddy-shortcode.js';s=d.getElementsByTagName(c)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(pd,s);} else if(typeof jQuery !=='undefined')jQuery(d.body).trigger('pd-script-load');}(document,'script','pd-polldaddy-loader'));

Cheers,

TKW

 

I recently bought some new bandsaw blades for one of my bandsaws and the company that supplied them went to great trouble to help buyers by giving instructions on how to fold a bandsaw blade. At first glance I thought that’s going to be helpful for new users to learn how to fold a bandsaw blade. Inside the package was a nicely photographed step-by-step guide to recoiling or refolding a bandsaw blade. I learned to do this 50 years ago and have done it throughout my working life, and so I looked at the instructions. I tried to make sense of what I saw and read and tried it by following and doing but I realised these instructions didn’t really work. I asked John to try to follow the instructions and he couldn’t make it work and so too Phil who couldn’t make it work either. So here is a method that works easily and gets the snake back into the bag without biting back.

http://youtu.be/f-7x8X6I3RA

 

The post Folding a Bandsaw Blade Video appeared first on Paul Sellers' Blog.

Over the weekend I traveled to Chicago for the Lie-Nielsen Tool Event at Jeff Miller’s studio and had a great time hanging out and chatting with everyone. When I originally posted I was planning to visit for the day I mentioned it had been a few years since my last visit, and man am I glad I made it this year!

First of all, I can’t say enough about how much I enjoy having an opportunity to hangout with fellow woodworkers and being able to get a little hands on with some tools. But the chance to stand around and have a conversation with Jeff is like the cherry on top.

I know I mentioned this years ago, but one of the first classes I took in woodworking was with Jeff. I can easily say I walked away with a ton of information (way more than I ever expected from an afternoon-long class) so I can only imagine what those of you who have taken classes spanning several days, especially on the topic of chair design and construction, have experienced.

Speaking of chairs, this picture posted above is of one of Jeff’s latest masterpieces. The “Toccata Chair” was on display in the showroom, but the prototype was in the heart of the workshop and received a lot of attention. I couldn’t resist sitting in it myself and can only say that if I ever attempt to build a chair as beautiful as the Toccata I hope it turns out almost as nice as the rough “prototype” I sat in!

Jeff was an amazing host for the tool event and was more than happy to answer questions about the tools themselves. And not just questions regarding which to purchase but also a lot of advice on the best way to use them, a topic Jeff is very familiar with considering he wrote a book on it. “The Foundations of Better Woodworking” which is all about “How to use your body, tools and materials to do your best work”

Another topic that came up, partly because I asked and also because Mark Hicks from the Plate 11 Bench Company was at the event too, was some suggestions about workbench vises.

It’s no secret I have plans to make a new bench for myself this year, when exactly it’ll happen I can’t say but this visit was a great opportunity for me to pick Jeff’s brain on the topic, especially when it comes to workbench equipment like tail vises.

What makes Jeff such an expert on benches? Well for starters he wrote an article on it for Fine Woodworking Magazine and the plans are available thru Taunton Press.

Oh…and he was part of this group of guys building a French Roubo Bench that was highlighted over at the Benchcrafted Blog

If you’re still not familiar with Jeff Miller, he has an impressive resume of articles he’s written for some of our favorite magazines. You’ll find them in both Fine Woodworking and Popular Woodworking and they range from tool tests to design and even some articles on some amazing jigs for helping you get the most from your hand tools.

And of course for even more information about Jeff, including upcoming classes, visit his website at www.furnituremaking.com.

Help support the show – please visit our advertisers

The June issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine mails to subscribers (both print and digital) on or around this Thursday. We’re short a managing editor at the moment and extras fall into the purview of that role, but through a combination of caffeine, little sleep and unconquerable anal-retentiveness, I’ve managed to get almost all of the extras posted in time (and the few missing items will be posted later this week). […]

The post Preview – June 2014 PWM & ‘Extras’ Instructions appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I have a chainsaw, I have logs, I have goats...


I've been plugging away on loads of chairs and chair related projects, so I guess it's only natural to seek some sort of unrelated hobby for my free time!

 Between drawing the illustrations for my book and doing this, I feel like I'm right back in art school
But here, the critics are more forgiving.

How do you make time? How can you? How can you stop long enough to realize the value of turning your eyes away from your computer screen, your thumbs away from your mobile device, your self towards doing something with more lasting value?

Making time. This is a curious concept. It is the one thing we are always running out of, or we have none of it for that, or someone is wasting our small resource of it. Time. Precious. And yet when we spend our time working on something that enriches our lives, when we make something of our time, how it fills us with satisfaction.

At the Studio, we teach skills to make & repair the connection between our hands, our heart, and our mind. We teach the value of spending time on ourselves. Because if we experience satisfaction at the bench, time well spent at the bench, this has an effect on everyone that we meet.

All of us need to engage in building & creating. It is one of our most basic pursuits. Make some time for yourself and join us to build something of value.

 

 

I stumbled upon this video not too long ago. I really enjoyed it and decided that you folks might like it too.

The video shows a window frame being made with all the basic steps in just a few minutes of video. It makes me what to make some windows especially after picking up the book on Doormaking and Window-making that LAP recently put out. Fascinating to see the difference between factory made vs. craftsman made.

I would like to find one of those coping planes that is used in this video. Would be a good one to study.

I should mention that the video is curtesy of the Arnold Zlotoff Tool Museum. I would like to make it up to the place someday. Would be quite interesting I am sure.

Enjoy!

Høvelbenken frå Helberg i Bardu har vore omtalt i ein tidlegare post. Benken som er 6 alen lang, 4″ tjukk og 14″ brei er av furu. Furu er mogleg å datere ved hjelp av dendrokronolig. Foto: Roald Renmælmo

På bloggen vår er det kartlegging av høvelbenkar i Noreg og Sverige som er i fokus. Høvelbenkar som benken i Vasaskipet er spesielt interessante sidan vi kan sette benken inn i ein samanheng med bygginga av skipet, vi kan tidfeste benken nøyaktig til forliset i 1628 og vi kan sjå benken i samband med verktøyet i skipet. Høvelbenken frå Helberg i Bardu er i ein samanheng gjennom si geografiske plassering. Busettinga i Bardu tok til sist på 1700-talet, men dei fleste gardane vart etablert tidleg på 1800-talet. Det gir ei tidsramme for verktøy, hus og høvelbenkar i dette området. For Sørdalen sin del, der både Helberg og Sørgård ligg, fekk hovudbruka rydningssetel frå 1821.

I nærområdet til garden Helberg har dei to mest kjende snikkarane i Indre Troms budd og arbeidd. Både Knut Larsen Høis (1799-1882) og Jon Jonsen Sørgård (1796-1865) har verka her. Verktøyet etter desse er ei sentral kjelde for meg i mitt arbeid med å undersøkje snikkarhandverket i første halvdel av 1800-talet. Difor er eg også spesielt oppteken av om det er mogleg å finne høvelbenkar i området som desse to kan ha brukt? På Sørgård finnast ein høvelbenk som er interessant i så måte. Den er dessverre vanskeleg å tidfeste sikkert. Når eg kom over benken på Helberg og såg at denne var laga av furu så tenkte eg snart på at det har vore nyttig å få dendrodatert benken. Dette for å sjå om han kan vere så gamal at han kan vere brukt av desse snikkarane.

Årringane i endeveden på høvelbenken frå Helberg. Kvar årring er market med eit blått kryss som definerer overgangen mellom dei. Ved å måle avstandane mellom årringane får vi fram eit veksemønster som kan sjåast i samanheng med referansekurvar og tidfestast på denne måten. Foto: Andreas Kirchhefer

Dendrokronolgi er ein metode for datering av fellingsåret for tømmer. Årringane varierer i samband med vekstvilkåra dei enkelte år. Når ein måler avstanden mellom dei dannar målinga eit mønster som kan passe meir eller mindre med mønster frå tømmer som vi har målingar av frå tidlegare. Når materialen eller tømmeret har bevart ytste årring, at ein kan sjå overflata under barken, kan ein bestemme nøyaktig på året treet slutta å vekse. Dendroøkologen Andreas Kirchhefer i Tromsø har spesialisert seg på dendrodaterig av gamalt tømmer og material. Han har gjort mykje arbeid i Troms og har derfor mykje referansemateriale frå område som er relevante for datering av høvelbenken frå Helberg. Andreas har fotografert endeveden på høvelbenken for å dokumentere årringmønsteret.

For å få mest mogleg detaljerte bilete av årringane har Andreas skore reint eit parti av endeveden på høvelbenken og flata gnidd inn med krit. Fotografia er tatt med makroobjektiv og har tetthet på kring 3960 dpi. Avstanden mellom årringane vart så berekna av ein spesiell programvare som brukar digitalfotoet som utgangspunkt. Foto: Andreas Kirchhefer Datering

I endeveden er det målt 190 årringar. Den ytste av desse er datert til året 1749 og den inste til året 1560.  Det er ikkje påvist marg eller geitved i benken så vi  kan ikkje bestemme nøyaktig når furua starta å vekse eller når ho vart hogd. Andreas har difor prøvd seg med å statistisk berekne årringar inn til marg og ut til geitved. Særleg sidan vi ikkje har klart å påvise geitved er det vanskeleg å rekne ut hogståret. Når han går ut frå at det ikkje er langt frå siste årring i prøven og der geitveden startar så foreslår han ut frå geitvedstatistikken at furua kan vere hogd ca 1850. (Kirchhefer, 2014). I den fullstendige rapporten frå Andreas kan du lese korleis desse utrekningane er gjort og korleis han tolkar materialet.

For å supplere dendrodateringa til Andreas kan vi også sjå på spor på sjølve høvelbenken. Dei dominerande spora er etter oppgangssaga som stokken er saga på. Her er det både spor etter utkløyving i enden og markerte spor etter saginga på sider og kantar. Bardu historielag har gjort eit stort arbeid med å kartlegge saghistoria i Bardu kommune og samle dette i eit hefte med tittelen “Oppgangssager i Bardu, 1800 – 1935″. Her har dei med litt om ei sag der Oddbjørn Helberg, brukar på Helberg var deleigar. Denne saga var lagt til Melhus-Tverrelva og låg på garden Melhus, ikkje langt frå Helberg. I heftet skriv dei at saga sannsynlig ble bygd rundt 1850 men nemner ikkje kor lenge ho var i drift. Den tidlegaste saga i Bardu vart bygd kring år 1800. (Haugli og Østvik, 1996)

I enden av høvelbenken er det tydeleg utkløyving den siste biten. Dette er typisk for enkeltblada oppgangsager der stokken ligg berre på fram- og bakdyna. Ein ser også at det er regelmessig vinkel og avstand mellom kvart sagtak. Det er liten frammating som ein skulle vente av ein stokk av så stor dimensjon. Stokken kan vere saga på oppgangssaga i Melhus-Tverrelva, gjerne kring 1850? Foto: Roald Renmælmo

Vi har ikkje kome fram til eit presist fellingsår for furua som er brukt til høvelbenken. Vi har likevel vist at det er sannsynleg at benken er så gamal at både Knut Larsen Høis og Jon Jonsen Sørgård var i aktivitet på den tida han var i bruk. Det er ikkje mange gardane i området på den tida vi snakkar om så høvelbenken på Helberg og verktøyet etter dei to meistersnikkarane høyrer til ein lokal tradisjon og same tradisjon. Kva snikkararbeid denne benken kan ha vore brukt til vil eg kome tilbake til i ein seinare post.

Kjelder:

Haugli, Ola S. og Østvik, Kolbjørn: “Bruk av oppgangssag i Bardu”. Bardu historielag, 1996

Kirchhefer, Andras: “Dendrokronologisk analyse av høvelbenken fra gården Helberg, Bardu kommune“, Rapport 08/2014. 7s

 

Arkivert under:1800-tal, 3,6 - 4,0 meter, Framtang utan skrue, Høvelbenk utan fast understell, Roald snikrar høvelbenk, modell Helberg i Bardu

 

 

 

orkshire chair, a regional chair form produced in the latter half of the 17th century in Britain. More broadly they fall under the umbrella of Charles II oak chairs (1660-1685). They were also produced in nearby Derbyshire, and sometimes refereed to as Derbyshire chairs.They had a few features that set them apart from the earlier Jacobean chair designs and hinted at some of the changes to chairmaking in the coming 18th century. Yorkshire chairs

departed from the Jacobean perpendicular chair backs with a solid plank splat, and moved to a more open back that tilted slightly to conform to the human frame. The open backs were often crested like the crown of a hill, or arcaded with a series of arches supported by small columns. To my eye the proportions are lighter than the earlier chair designs from the 17th century, perhaps a nod towards things to come in the chairmaking world in Georgian era in the 18th century.

 

Note: Thanks to Jack Plane for helping me track down some information on these chairs. I originally began looking for an American “York” chair. All roads came to nothing with only one poor example far removed from these English chairs. Sort of a dogs breakfast, cobbled together by committee. If you have a photo of an American “York” chair, pass it along and I’ll post it.

 

George R. Walker

  What’s the first rule of change? Take note. It’s stopping and acknowledging what you’d like to change in your life, your work, or in many cases, in both.   ( Tweet that )     You may say to yourself,  ” I want to...

Executive summary of WoodTalk #177.

Go listen. It’s a terrific discussion.

(Picture poached from Adam Maxwell.)