Leif's blog

The Joiner and Cabinet Maker

Submitted by Leif on Thu, 08/12/2010 - 9:02am

The Joiner and Cabinet Maker

Authors:  Anon, Christopher Schwarz, and Joel Moskowitz

ISBN: 978-0-578-03926-8

Available through The Lost Art Press (with DVD here);  Tools for Working Wood; and Lee Valley.

Published 1839; 1841; 1883 (w/addendum), and 2009 (expanded edition includes 1883 addendum and added commentary, notes, and instructions)

First published in 1839, The Joiner and Cabinet Maker is an instructional text on the life of a young joiner's apprentice, and tells the story of a fictional young apprentice by the name of Thomas, starting with his applying for the position and his initial duties in the shop.  Eventually, Thomas builds a client a small packing box, then a "School Box", and finally a simple dresser.  The author goes into great detail on all of these projects Thomas completes, giving us one of the earliest, intimate views of early 19th century woodworking procedures and techniques.

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A Pair of 'Casters

Submitted by Leif on Wed, 06/02/2010 - 8:26pm

Scratch Built Electric Guitars Project

I've not had a lot of time for woodworking for the last few years, at least until just recently, thanks to the economy...  Now that I do, I found that the thrill of it had gotten a bit tarnished.  It all seemed a bit mundane to me - nothing seemed like much fun - so the tools languished while I pondered what I could do to re-inspire myself. 

In the meantime, I turned to another hobby of mine, guitars (and playing them - I'm not that good, but it's something I enjoy).  For most of the last 20 years I've played an acoustic guitar - the guitar-world's version of a hand tool.  Even that seemed a bit stale to me, and it was obvious I needed to shake things up a bit.

Last summer, my wonderful wife gave me an anniversary present of a Gretsch 5120 ElectroMatic and a Vox VT30.  My old Fender (a 1996 50th Anniversary MIM Tex Mex - the forerunner of the Jimmie Vaughan signature guitar) also benefitted from replacing that old scratchy junk amp I had before, and I found that each one was now speaking to me like never before.  They've both been calling me for a while now - so, it's time to go electric, I reckon. 

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Practicing Dovetails

Submitted by Leif on Sun, 05/16/2010 - 7:28am

Unless you are some sort of savant, the only way you can get good at doing anything is to practice.  Once you have practiced just about anything enough, you will get pretty good at it...  You might not ever be a Rembrandt, but usually passable. 

Once you have acquired the skill, it doesn't stay with you, you have to maintain it as well.  What does that mean?  Why, more practice, of course.  The more, the better.  But do you ever have one of those days?  You know the kind I'm talking about...

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Oil Stone Boxes

Submitted by Leif on Sun, 04/25/2010 - 9:01am

 Here's a simple and quick litte project - so simple, I normally might not have bothered posting about it, but since I haven't been posting much lately I thought it might make for a good page or two.

Some time ago, I purchased a few Lily White Washita stones from Tools for Working Wood - sadly, this was some of the last of their stash, as Norton no longer makes them.  At the same time, I bought a new medium India gouge stone and a hard arkansas slip stone, and set them aside until i had time to make some proper boxes for them.

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Tom Law's Saws

Submitted by Leif on Tue, 04/06/2010 - 1:35pm

I just brought his name up in my last post here, and now I see there is more on famed saw-sharpener Tom Law being brought up on the various forums.  It appears he's not doing too well. From a post by Dave Caudill on the WoodCentral Hand Tools Forum:

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