Posted By Matt on January 2, 2011
I’ve spent the last two days in the shop working on a simple “honey do” project that’s been on the list for awhile. For reasons only a subset of the population would understand, I chose to execute the project almost exclusively using handtools. While I’m glad I did it, the soreness in my muscles suggests I haven’t been in the shop in quite some time.
New Years Resolution: Spend more time in the shop.
Posted By Matt on October 7, 2010
I had something of a déjà vu day. My mind has been smelling freshly planed lumber and remembering people I’ve known and days in the shop long past. I wish I had been in the shop today. More and more I feel compelled to do a little woodworking. The move to Lafayette disrupted the routine left me to build a new shop. Hopefully, the damn dam will soon break and I will, actually, get a little work done. When I do steal an hour to work in the garage, I’m still in that organization stage and, while it’s better, I still find myself a little overwhelmed. In fact, it’s a lot like a scene from the movie La Belle Noiseuse. The painter spends a lot of time organizing and reorganizing, cleaning and arranging brushes, wanting to being working but a little afraid to do so. There is a tension before I begin working on something that may take days or weeks to break through. There is a fear involved. Once you’ve laid iron to wood you can’t uncut it. In many ways woodworking is a reductionist act, like that of a sculptor, and there is some degree of risk involved. What if I’ve lost it? What if I’m not as good as I thought I was? What if I ruin this beautiful piece of wood?
Hopefully I will soon work up the courage to begin soon. If not, I may have to begin any way.
Posted By Matt on July 30, 2010
With much anticipation I received my copy of Robert Wearing’s The Essential Woodworker, just republished by Lost Art Press, LLC.
Mr. Wearing’s book is an instructional look at the principals involved in “traditional” woodworking and includes sections on hand tool use and basic projects. The section on tool use includes exercises to aid in skill building. I think many advanced woodworkers may skip these exercises but this would be a mistake. Many of us have developed bad habits over the years, either through ignorance or laziness, and our skills can always be improved. These exercises are the perfect avenue to do that. The subsequent chapters consider the construction and assembly of tables, carcases, and drawers, since these components are the fundamentals of all furniture construction. As with all of their republications, Lost Art Press has done a terrific job using detailed line drawings and photographs to illustrate the concepts explained in the plain-spoken text. Mr. Wearing notes in the Introduction his intent that the book be used to guide beginners who don’t have the luxury of someone to demonstrate the needed skills. This book not only succeeds in that aim but will is a needed refresher for woodworkers of all skill levels.
My only regret has to do with the construction of the book itself. In the book’s introduction Mr. Wearing also explains his hope that the book will be “propped up on the bench like a music score, and if it eventually falls to pieces there it will have achieved it’s purpose.” With apologies to Mr. Wearing, Christopher Schwartz, and Lost Art Press, this book is far too well made to be brought to the shop.
I can’t recommend The Essential Woodworker enough.
Posted By Matt on July 13, 2010
Tonight I attended a lecture entitled “Boat Building in Louisiana”, part of the In Your Backyard lecture series produced by the Center for Cultural and Eco-tourism. The lecture was given by Ray Brassieur of UL Lafayette and Faren Serette of Vermilionville. Mr. Brassieur discussed the maritime history of Louisiana and the evolution of boats and boat building in the region. Mr. Serette described various boat building techniques and considerations as they related to building pirouges and Louisiana sailing luggers. They also discussed the collaborative building project of the Stella Maris; a 26′ 4″ lugger. By Mr. Brassieur’s admission the project took 24 years! I guess the 3 plus years I’ve spent working on my kayak don’t seem so bad after all.
Both men spent time impressing upon the audience the fleeting nature of Louisiana’s boat building heritage and the fact that this heritage is transferred by word of mouth and hands on experience. Due to the ravages of time and “progress”, both the fleet and the techniques used to build these boats are in danger of extinction. I will emphasize this point from a personal perspective. There are so many things my grandfather, John Ecuer, knew how to do that I took for granted when he was alive. Now that he’s gone there are innumerable things, boat building among them, that I wish I could go back and ask him how to do. Once that knowledge is gone it cannot be reclaimed.
I thoroughly enjoyed tonight’s presentation. After recently moving back to Lafayette I’ve been looking for ways to reconnect with my heritage and this certainly fit the bill. It’s my hope that I’ll be able to meet Mr. Serette and Mr. Brassieur in a more personal setting in the near future.
One of the attendees mentioned this YouTube video of a flotilla of putt putt bateaus making a trip from Bayou Sorrel to the site of Bayou Chene. I thought it was pretty neat:
A free boat building lecture and $2 Abita drafts. What more can you ask for?
Edit:
Dr. Brassieur sent me an email noting that the Pilgrimage to Bayou Chene video was produced by Mr. Jim Delahoussaye. He also turned me on to Mr. Delahoussaye’s blog which I think is terrific. Yet someone else I hope to share a beer with in the near future.
Posted By Matt on May 3, 2010
The last few months have been hectic, to say the least. An occupational move has brought me a new job in a new town. For now, the family is still four hours away and the shop is still in boxes. As a result I haven’t felt like myself in quite some time.
I going to use this transition as an opportunity to get back to what my graduate statistics professor called “lingua franca”. The translation is roughly the “language of the land”. In other words, I’m going to try to go back to basics in my work and family life, and in my woodworking as well. With that in mind, I’m re-re-re-reading James Krenov’s The Impractical Cabinetmaker. Hopefully it will help me get back on the path I want to be on.
I’ll let you know.
Posted By Matt on September 26, 2009
I attended Lie-Nielsen’s Hand Tool Event in Houston, TX today. The event was hosted by BC Woodwork which was a pleasant surprise. BC Woodwork is owned by Brian Conner who I did some woodcarving for in the past and hadn’t seen in several years.
The event offered the chance touch and feel Lie-Nielsen’s line up:
See sharpening demonstrations by Lie-Nielsen employees:
Watch joinery demonstrations by Kevin Glen-Drake of Glen-Drake Toolworks:
Here’s Kevin using his unique two handled dovetail saw:
And inlay techniques by Frank Strazza of the Homestead Heritage School of Woodworking:
I enjoyed the event throughly and look forward to next year. In addition to offering Brian’s work, BC Woodwork also has an unbelievable selection of huge slabs harvested locally. If you’re in the market for larger than normal lumber, I’d encourage you to check them out.
Posted By Matt on September 25, 2009
I’ve been reading The Memory of Old Jack by Wendell Berry. Mr. Berry’s writing have gotten into my soul…changed me as a person. In many ways Old Jack is a tragedy but a specific passage has touched me more than most:
“That a whole room of people should sit with their mouths open like a nest of young birds, peering into a picture box the invariable message of which is the desirability of Something Else or Someplace Else; that a generation should tax its people in order to make a bomb powerful enough to blow up the world; that a whole country would attempt a civilization with the exclusive aim of getting out of work – all that is strange to him, unreal; he might have slept long and waked in a land of talking monkeys. He is troubled and angered in his mind to think that people would aspire to do as little as possible, no better than they are made to do it, for more pay than they are worth, as if the old world were destroyed and a new one created by Gladston Pettit.”
The older I get the more I think that the way Americans tend to approach work and worth diminishes all three.
Posted By Matt on September 13, 2009
The woodworking community lost a pioneer this week when Fine Woodworking magazine reported the death of James Krenov at the age of 89. Mr. Krenov’s clean lines and respectful approach to the material redefined woodworking for countless craftsmen. His book The Impractical Cabinetmaker went a long way to opening my eyes to what woodworking could be.
It is a bit odd to reflect on how an individual whom you never had the priviledge to meet has impacted your life and work. But such is the case with .Mr. Krenov. He will be missed but will remain an inspiration to many.
Posted By Matt on August 9, 2009
Over the weekend I watched the 2007 PBS series titled “Craft in America“. The three hour documentary explored various artists who work in wood, fabric, clay, fiber, and metal. Among those interviewed was the late, great Sam Maloof. Among the things Mr. Maloof discussed that resonated with me was how a little of himself left with each piece he made and how he could have designed furniture to be made by the thousands but chose instead to make each piece by hand. He explained that by making furniture on something less than a production basis he was able to experience joy from the work and from meeting his clients. That would clearly be lost in a mass production environment.
Another of the artists featured in the series was the blacksmith Tom Joyce. Mr. Joyce recalled his entry into metal work including the dismay of his family when he took up the trade. In the most poignant part of the interview Mr. Joyce discussed the Western African tradition where a blacksmith would often heat forge a piece of his own hammer into that of his son’s as a lasting reminder that we’re all connected. This theme continues throughout Mr. Joyce’s work as shown in the video, most clearly in the gates he made for the Albuquerque Museum of Arttitled the Rio Grande Gates and in the baptismal font he created for Santa Maria de la Pas Catholic Community.
The documentary also discussed how prior to the industrial revolution everything a person purchased had been made by someone else’s hand and prevailing wisdom was that the revolution had somehow “freed” us from that. I suppose I would argue that what we gained in convenience and reduced cost was paid for with lack of craftsmanship, a reduction in the value of handwork, and the servitude of those whose manual labor has replaced that of the true craftsman.
Perhaps the current economic deleveraging and recession will open the public’s eyes to the true cost of mass produced goods and the true value of a useful, well made object that is made to last for generations rather than seasons. An Arts and Crafts revival anyone? It strikes me as exceedingly difficult for a craftsman to make a living in the post-industrial world, but maybe the parallel problem is craftsman desiring to live a post-industrial lifestyle. Something to think on.
My friend Dave also saw part of the documentary and remarked that all of the interviewed artists were remarkably softspoken and seemed quite comfortable in their skin. I wonder if this is the cause or the result of their respective degrees of success doing something they love. Something else to think on.
I recommend this documentary highly, both for the makers and lovers of craft. Perhaps it is even better suited for those who see no difference in a Sam Maloof rocker and something from Ikea.
Posted By Matt on August 1, 2009
Lie-Nielsen spinwheel
The image above is a replacement spinwheel for a Lie-Nielsen Toolworks no. 102/103 block plane. While still quite shiny and undoubtedly well made, the part itself is not terribly remarkable. What is remarkable is how I came to possess it. You see, the spinwheel for my no. 102 block plane was damaged so I emailed the company to request a new one. Not only was the company a pleasure to deal with and send the part priority mail, but they explained that the part would be sent free of charge since it was a replacement. What?!? Who still does that?
I was an avid Lie-Nielsen customer prior to this event. Today, I’m something bordering on a disciple. If you need a well made, beautiful hand plane, saw, or bench chisel then you must consider those made by this company.
