Aliso
kitchen renovation
El Morro kitchen renovation
clocks
model car
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Woodworking
(a continuing project...)
Woodwork is about a number of things. Firstly it's about making practical stuff, like cabinets and furniture. It's also about
making things out of wood that you could easily buy at Walmart made out of plastic, or paper-mache. There's the decorative stuff like clocks and lamps too. Secondly
woodworking is a hobby or past time, which for me means that the process of doing it is at least as satisfying as the end product. Since I'm an average married guy with
children, my scarcest and most valuable resource is my time, which I struggle to allocate well (to hell with efficiently) and hate to waste. Woodworking takes lots of
time. And worse, it really suffers when rushed, not to mention the associated increase in the risk of losing your hand in a 3hp 10" table saw when rushing. I think
that's why I try to use more hand tools, because it's harder to rush with them.
Once you get down to it, woodworking is about some other things. There's the wood, the tools, and the methods. My dad was a woodworker and while he never taught
me formally, he taught me by example, and I must have learnt something. You also learn to work wood by doing, and experience is the best teacher. My dad taught me to
respect tools--to use them properly as designed and not be afraid of them. I'm afraid of chainsaws, and I rarely use them. Chisels I use, properly and wisely. My dad
also introduced me to wood. Australian wood that grew locally and that he got from small mills in the southwest of Australia. I learned about softwood and hardwood,
good wood and crappy wood. Woodworkers use good wood because it's a joy to work. Not necessarily easy to work, but satisfying. I didn't learn too many methods from my
dad, I suppose because I must have not been too attentive during those times. It's a shame now that I don't have the opportunity to see him work.
It wouldn't be woodwork without the wood. Actually I started working in metal, mainly aluminum (living in the US for so long I no longer call it aluminium,)
because it's soft. This was driven by my interest in bicycles that require small, light parts easily fabricated from aluminum. My dad didn't allow me to work metal in
his shop because, rightly, he said that metal filings contaminated the wood and the tools. These days I do a little metalwork, on the other side of my shop, away from
the wood. Back to the wood. Wood is a wonderful material being easily worked, glued and finished, with a whole range of physical properties that make it ideal for
furniture. Even though I tend to stick to flat, and rectangular projects, wood can be shaped and bent, cut, planed, sanded and drilled. It's relatively hard with
reasonable weight, pretty stable even though it does change shape with moisture, and with a little knowledge and foresight can be used to make an incredibly large and
varied range of things. It can also be very attractive due to the color and grain. Wood looks and feels warm and natural--you want to touch it. It makes great flooring
since it doesn't get as cold as tile, or as hard on your feet, and it's easier to clean than carpet (aaargh, I hate carpet...) I prefer hardwoods to work, and have used
maple, cherry, walnut and oak mostly. I have played a little with some exotic wood, but it's usually very expensive and too heavily marked and colored for my tastes. I
prefer more subtly marked wood. I buy my wood milled but unfinished from a small mill in Iowa (Hartzell Wood Stock) and size it using an 8" Woodtek jointer, a 13"
DeWalt planer and my table saw.
Without tools it's pretty hard to work wood. That said, it's hard not to get sucked into buying tools just for the sake of having them (at which point they
become what most spouses call our tools--toys.) Having the right tool is a good thing, and one of the legacies my dad left me was an appreciation that buying a good
quality tool was a good investment (the corollary being that buying a cheap tool will ultimately increase the cost when you finally buy the good quality tool!) I have
made some wise decisions with my tools, and yet there are some that I could have made better. I think the Delta Unisaw was a good choice (even though some feel the
Powermatic 66 to be a superior saw, which it may be.) I may have bought a left tilt rather than the right tilt unit I got, but it's not a decision I regret very often.
I chose the Unifence rather than the Beismeyer fence because I liked the clamping mechanism better, but I sometimes wish I had the two-sided Beisy, allowing me to cut
miters without kickback on the left side of the blade. I think the saw blade is an item that should never be skimped on, and I have a Forrest Woodworker II blade, which
is as good as its reputation, even though I have had much success with the Delta industrial quality combination blade which sells for about $70. Freud blades are barely
acceptable but a good choice for jobs using construction quality lumber such as 2x4s.
I have all the large power tools to turn raw lumber into finished timber: a jointer, a planer, and bandsaw (for re-sawing, something I've only recently become to
appreciate.) I also have a large floor standing drill press with 5/8" chuck to handle large Forstner bits, a scroll saw for smaller, intricate work, a compound miter
saw for floor molding and other 45deg. cut needs. Other power tools include two cordless drills (you need one to drill, the other to drive screws,) a random orbit
sander, a belt sander, a router (fixed base,) a circular saw for cutting large sheets to approximate size and a saber or jig saw. Whew, what did we do before all those
power tools were invented? We used hand tools! I have learned to use Japanese hand saws, which work on the pull stroke rather than the push stroke of Western
saws. They have a much finer kerf (width of cut) because the blade is thinner, with no strength on the push (they flex under compression) but lots when pulled (under
tension.) I also have some fine planes. I know that some truly skilled people can do all finish milling with planes, but I can't. I marvel at the skilled use of hand
planes, and realize that at least I can give myself a reasonable chance for success if I have good quality planes with sharp blades. I recently bought 3 Veritas planes,
made in Canada, with A2 steel blades, that are beautifully built and handle very well. I have much to learn to become proficient in their use. Lastly I have some good
quality chisels--not expensive but well made and kept sharp by my hand. A dull chisel injured more people than did most other tools. There are dozens of other tools I
use. Look at a woodworking catalog and I have at least one tool from every page.
Methods of work define the quality of the finished product, how well it fits, how well it works and what it looks like. Many ways of doing things are tips and
tricks gathered from the pages of Fine Woodworking and other magazines, and by looking at other people's furniture. While there are many quick and easy ways of doing
some things, the best method often takes a little longer, but pays back in durability and strength. Dovetail joints are fine example of this, as they are very strong
and very attractive. I have begun to cut them by hand, and I think that maybe after another 100 or 200, I should be getting the hang of it...
My two big projects have been kitchen remodels, in which I made all the cabinets. For the first one I used birch ply and solid alder for framing and draw fronts.
I used maple for the second kitchen, which was bigger and more involved, including a breakfast counter with overhangs. Other projects include small desk clocks made
from exotic woods for gifts, and a table lamp I designed in the style of a Frank Lloyd Wright prairie lamp, with corn motif.
A new house with a basement has given me the opportunity to build my first real workshop. It's a funky space, with the foundation for a
fireplace smack in the middle of the basement, but short of demolishing the hearth, I will just work around it, figuratively and literally.
The new workshop is almost 600 square feet, but because of the fireplace foundation, the effective area is smaller. But there is a lot of space
for storage in areas that are too small for tools or work. Click here or the photo to take a look.
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