LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner
116K views 260 replies 68 participants last post by  canadianchips 
#1 ·
Joinery Details

Joinery is the art of knowing what wood to remove and what to leave behind. Reductive & simple, yet seductive in its intricacies balancing negative space with strength. Take too much wood away and you leave no strength. Take too little and you've compromised the tenon. You are the joinery designer/ engineer.

There are several important details to know about wood and its properties. Double a board's measure in height and it is twice as strong as doubling a board in its width. Hmm. Wood moves more across its growth rings than between and none in its length. Hmm, again. Wood has little tensile strength between its fibers. There is more, but finally you have to practice. To learn what is a good fit takes practice and care with one's tools.

Northwest Woodworking Studio

Furniture Table Wood Rectangle Writing desk
 

Attachments

See less See more
2
#2 ·
Joinery Details

Joinery is the art of knowing what wood to remove and what to leave behind. Reductive & simple, yet seductive in its intricacies balancing negative space with strength. Take too much wood away and you leave no strength. Take too little and you've compromised the tenon. You are the joinery designer/ engineer.

There are several important details to know about wood and its properties. Double a board's measure in height and it is twice as strong as doubling a board in its width. Hmm. Wood moves more across its growth rings than between and none in its length. Hmm, again. Wood has little tensile strength between its fibers. There is more, but finally you have to practice. To learn what is a good fit takes practice and care with one's tools.

Northwest Woodworking Studio

Furniture Table Wood Rectangle Writing desk
Welcome Gary, I'm glad to see you here on LumberJocks. Thanks for sharing the information on Joinery.

Mike
 

Attachments

#3 ·
Joinery Details

Joinery is the art of knowing what wood to remove and what to leave behind. Reductive & simple, yet seductive in its intricacies balancing negative space with strength. Take too much wood away and you leave no strength. Take too little and you've compromised the tenon. You are the joinery designer/ engineer.

There are several important details to know about wood and its properties. Double a board's measure in height and it is twice as strong as doubling a board in its width. Hmm. Wood moves more across its growth rings than between and none in its length. Hmm, again. Wood has little tensile strength between its fibers. There is more, but finally you have to practice. To learn what is a good fit takes practice and care with one's tools.

Northwest Woodworking Studio

Furniture Table Wood Rectangle Writing desk
I'll be following this Gary. You have brought up many important principles of design already.
Thanks for sharing.
 

Attachments

#4 ·
Joinery Details

Joinery is the art of knowing what wood to remove and what to leave behind. Reductive & simple, yet seductive in its intricacies balancing negative space with strength. Take too much wood away and you leave no strength. Take too little and you've compromised the tenon. You are the joinery designer/ engineer.

There are several important details to know about wood and its properties. Double a board's measure in height and it is twice as strong as doubling a board in its width. Hmm. Wood moves more across its growth rings than between and none in its length. Hmm, again. Wood has little tensile strength between its fibers. There is more, but finally you have to practice. To learn what is a good fit takes practice and care with one's tools.

Northwest Woodworking Studio

Furniture Table Wood Rectangle Writing desk
Thank you for the information Gary
 

Attachments

#5 ·
Joinery Details

Joinery is the art of knowing what wood to remove and what to leave behind. Reductive & simple, yet seductive in its intricacies balancing negative space with strength. Take too much wood away and you leave no strength. Take too little and you've compromised the tenon. You are the joinery designer/ engineer.

There are several important details to know about wood and its properties. Double a board's measure in height and it is twice as strong as doubling a board in its width. Hmm. Wood moves more across its growth rings than between and none in its length. Hmm, again. Wood has little tensile strength between its fibers. There is more, but finally you have to practice. To learn what is a good fit takes practice and care with one's tools.

Northwest Woodworking Studio

Furniture Table Wood Rectangle Writing desk
Thanks for the info, but mostly I enjoyed the table. That is a very attractive design.
 

Attachments

#6 ·
Good Enough

As a furniture maker of a few years time, I realized something important about my work. Oftentimes my clients wouldn't notice the extra work I had put into pieces. Some times they noticed things that were just so automatic for me that I barely thought of them and they missed the really fine work I had done somewhere else!

My realization was that I had to pick my moments on some pieces. Sometimes I needed to do the extra work to make it just so, whether or not the client would see it. Other times, I could do very good work and the client would still be blown away. Good enough wasn't a diminishing of my standards but an understanding of what I would and would not be paid for.

Sometimes I just had to fuss over a hidden detail just because. The deal I made with myself was to say it's okay to be this obsessive/ compulsive craftsman as long as you know you won't get paid for it. Except by yourself. No bitching about how much you're making or losing on this piece. If you want it to be good enough for your high standards then this hour is free. So that was the bargain. No complaining about not getting paid for time that the client hadn't asked for but that I had to give. And at other times, I would be just good enough to fool everyone, but me.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Table Wood Sleeve Wood stain Fixture
 

Attachments

#7 ·
Good Enough

As a furniture maker of a few years time, I realized something important about my work. Oftentimes my clients wouldn't notice the extra work I had put into pieces. Some times they noticed things that were just so automatic for me that I barely thought of them and they missed the really fine work I had done somewhere else!

My realization was that I had to pick my moments on some pieces. Sometimes I needed to do the extra work to make it just so, whether or not the client would see it. Other times, I could do very good work and the client would still be blown away. Good enough wasn't a diminishing of my standards but an understanding of what I would and would not be paid for.

Sometimes I just had to fuss over a hidden detail just because. The deal I made with myself was to say it's okay to be this obsessive/ compulsive craftsman as long as you know you won't get paid for it. Except by yourself. No bitching about how much you're making or losing on this piece. If you want it to be good enough for your high standards then this hour is free. So that was the bargain. No complaining about not getting paid for time that the client hadn't asked for but that I had to give. And at other times, I would be just good enough to fool everyone, but me.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Table Wood Sleeve Wood stain Fixture
Gary
Those are very good points ,being a furniture make myself(not on your level) I've come to a similar conclusion . People seldom notice all the time and effort you put into a piece.
 

Attachments

#15 ·
The Fit

The measure of an eye, of a thumb extended, of one cubit is seen in the result and how well things fit. We all know it when we see it. One can sense the art in craftsmanship by simply looking at the product. Some things we have made work better for the eye and hand. It is not luck. It is the experience of your efforts showing. It is the mistakes you have made along the way and their lessons learned that now inhabit your work.

Confidence is gained by your error and more importantly your understanding of it. What went wrong and why. We gain, in our designs as well as in our technique, valuable information that tells us what to do right this time, or right again.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Wood Rectangle Book Wood stain Hardwood
 

Attachments

#16 ·
The Fit

The measure of an eye, of a thumb extended, of one cubit is seen in the result and how well things fit. We all know it when we see it. One can sense the art in craftsmanship by simply looking at the product. Some things we have made work better for the eye and hand. It is not luck. It is the experience of your efforts showing. It is the mistakes you have made along the way and their lessons learned that now inhabit your work.

Confidence is gained by your error and more importantly your understanding of it. What went wrong and why. We gain, in our designs as well as in our technique, valuable information that tells us what to do right this time, or right again.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Wood Rectangle Book Wood stain Hardwood
Right on Gary. I always have to remind myself after a frustrating day in the shop that my time wasn't entirely wasted if I had learned something from my failures and mistakes. Of course if that were the only measure, then I would be a master woodworker by now, which I'm not, but I have learned a lot about recovering from my mistakes to save my projects and sometimes even improve them. This gives me a degree of the confidence you mentioned and I don't get so upset when something goes wrong anymore.

Very nice box. The handle finishes it off perfectly.
 

Attachments

#17 ·
Forgiveness

Human all too human to quote Fred N. Yes we makers are too human. We're too ready to find error in our work. The voice in our head keeps repeating: Not good enough, not perfect enough. We are always so ready to point out our mistakes, to find the tiniest of errors. When our client never sees them. When another maker doesn't see them nor care. They see the whole, the entire piece and they're delighted.

So I say, keep your standards high but learn to forgive yourself for your errors that no one else can see. Do better next time. If you expect perfection from each of your efforts you will always disappoint yourself. If however you try for perfection but forgive yourself for not reaching it, then your work will satisfy even your harshest critic, you. Forgive yourself for being human.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Wood Rectangle Musical instrument Hardwood Gas
 

Attachments

#18 ·
Forgiveness

Human all too human to quote Fred N. Yes we makers are too human. We're too ready to find error in our work. The voice in our head keeps repeating: Not good enough, not perfect enough. We are always so ready to point out our mistakes, to find the tiniest of errors. When our client never sees them. When another maker doesn't see them nor care. They see the whole, the entire piece and they're delighted.

So I say, keep your standards high but learn to forgive yourself for your errors that no one else can see. Do better next time. If you expect perfection from each of your efforts you will always disappoint yourself. If however you try for perfection but forgive yourself for not reaching it, then your work will satisfy even your harshest critic, you. Forgive yourself for being human.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Wood Rectangle Musical instrument Hardwood Gas
Well Gary, I have to say I agree with you. This frame hangs in my office to remind me of the concept.
Rectangle Wood Font Wood stain Hardwood
 

Attachments

#21 ·
The Fit Again

In joinery the fit of your pieces is like the fit of your shoes on your feet. If you can toss your shoes off your feet as you hit the couch, too loose. If you shoe horn them in, perfect. A good fitting joint fits snug. No pounding together but it shouldn't fall apart either. It's a balance you learn to achieve by sneaking up on it. Learn to use your shoulder plane and you'll be happy no matter how you cut a tenon joint. Finesse the fit.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Table Furniture Chair Wood Rectangle
 

Attachments

#22 ·
The Fit Again

In joinery the fit of your pieces is like the fit of your shoes on your feet. If you can toss your shoes off your feet as you hit the couch, too loose. If you shoe horn them in, perfect. A good fitting joint fits snug. No pounding together but it shouldn't fall apart either. It's a balance you learn to achieve by sneaking up on it. Learn to use your shoulder plane and you'll be happy no matter how you cut a tenon joint. Finesse the fit.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Table Furniture Chair Wood Rectangle
When I first started making furniture, I would pound the joints together with a mallet. I soon realized a good friction fit is all you need. Especially if the joint is well planned out, with good mechanical strength.

I agree with your approach of sneaking up on the fit.
 

Attachments

#23 ·
Design Opportunities

A Mastery student of mine came through town to visit. Over 10 years ago he studied with me and he's building still. Not as much as he'd like but it's a tough game this woodworking world. Not everyone understands how much time it takes and how much skill. Nor do most people appreciate how long it takes to develop that skill.

This isn't a new hobby for folks that they get good at in a couple of weekends. It takes work. It takes dedication, commitment, practice. I have always found it interesting that doctors have a practice and woodworkers have a job. No, we have a practice as much as any doctor. We're always getting it wrong, learning new methods, fixing things. Just like them. Oh my Mastery student is a doc.

There are no mistakes, only new opportunities. In woodworking, as in life. Learn from your slip ups and get up and run again. Thanks for the advice Jim.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Table Wood Rectangle Hardwood Coffee table
 

Attachments

#24 ·
Design Opportunities

A Mastery student of mine came through town to visit. Over 10 years ago he studied with me and he's building still. Not as much as he'd like but it's a tough game this woodworking world. Not everyone understands how much time it takes and how much skill. Nor do most people appreciate how long it takes to develop that skill.

This isn't a new hobby for folks that they get good at in a couple of weekends. It takes work. It takes dedication, commitment, practice. I have always found it interesting that doctors have a practice and woodworkers have a job. No, we have a practice as much as any doctor. We're always getting it wrong, learning new methods, fixing things. Just like them. Oh my Mastery student is a doc.

There are no mistakes, only new opportunities. In woodworking, as in life. Learn from your slip ups and get up and run again. Thanks for the advice Jim.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Table Wood Rectangle Hardwood Coffee table
I've never been sued for malpractice. I've made many bad cuts.

I'm enjoying your blogs.
 

Attachments

#27 ·
Finishing Makes the Difference

How do people engage with your furniture? They look at the form first of course. If they like the shape of
a piece, then they approach it. They eye it to see the wood and the sheen of it. Always, without fail, the very next thing they do is touch the piece. Everyone loves to put their hands on wood because it's warm, it's inviting. And if there's a finish on the wood, then what folks will be touching is that finish. You have to pay attention first to how that finish looks and next how it feels in order to win over a client, a buyer, or an admirer.

The problem is that finishing is part chemistry and part alchemy. It is neither simple nor intuitive. Most
furniture makers, when they finally complete their piece that was supposed to take a weekend but instead
took three months, all they want to do is put a finish on it and walk away from it. But what they usually do
is put on the wrong finish or a bad stain in the wrong way and then they don't like how it looks or feels. So what they do next, instead of backing up, instead of admitting they goofed, they press on! Brave stalwarts, they put something else over the first bad stain or topcoat and now they have a bastard child by two discordant parents/
finishes.

Do they admit defeat now? Start over? Never. I'm a furniture maker! Onward.

They continue the charge and apply another finish or two or three over the first two until such time as they finally say, Enough. It is enough and the finish sucks so I'm done with the thing.

Another triumph.

My approach is simple, hand applied, and almost fool proof. Join us at the Studio July 24-26th for a class on finishing: 3 Days/ 3 Simple Finishes. It's a revelation what simple finishes can do.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio
Glasses Wood Picture frame Varnish Hardwood
 

Attachments

#28 ·
Cobblers

This letter was sent to me by an old friend.

Hi, Gary!

May I give you a story, as promised?

The story is told that if you were a young person in medieval France embarking on a spiritual quest, if you were fortunate you might meet up with someone older, perhaps a teacher, who would say this to you
I think I understand what you are seeking. Let me give you the name of someone I know, a cobbler, in Dijon. I think that it might work out well if you were to become his apprentice. If that happens, let me give you one piece of advice. Don't talk with him about spiritual matters; just let him teach you how to make shoes.

So, time passes, and you find yourself in Dijon, and you seek out the cobbler. Sure enough, as it works out, you become his apprentice.

Years pass, and you learn how to make shoes. Year after year, you measure people's feet. You watch them walk. You listen as they tell you about their work, their daily activities, their lives, their yearnings. You make their shoes, you modify their shoes, you repair their shoes. Your shoes tell stories. You make wonderful shoes that enrich people's lives.

More time passes, and one day, the cobbler says to you, You have become a fine cobbler. Your fingers listen to the leather, and your heart listens to the people who will wear your shoes. I am growing old, and soon I will reach the end of my life. I want to leave this shop in your hands.

You begin to protest, but the cobbler goes on.

Now hear me. One day, a young person will come to you, on some kind of spiritual quest. If it works out for this person to become your apprentice, let me give you one piece of advice. Don't talk with him about spiritual matters. Just teach your apprentice how to make shoes.

Warmly, Herman F.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio
Plant Wood Outdoor furniture Rectangle Outdoor table
 

Attachments

#29 ·
Cobblers

This letter was sent to me by an old friend.

Hi, Gary!

May I give you a story, as promised?

The story is told that if you were a young person in medieval France embarking on a spiritual quest, if you were fortunate you might meet up with someone older, perhaps a teacher, who would say this to you
I think I understand what you are seeking. Let me give you the name of someone I know, a cobbler, in Dijon. I think that it might work out well if you were to become his apprentice. If that happens, let me give you one piece of advice. Don't talk with him about spiritual matters; just let him teach you how to make shoes.

So, time passes, and you find yourself in Dijon, and you seek out the cobbler. Sure enough, as it works out, you become his apprentice.

Years pass, and you learn how to make shoes. Year after year, you measure people's feet. You watch them walk. You listen as they tell you about their work, their daily activities, their lives, their yearnings. You make their shoes, you modify their shoes, you repair their shoes. Your shoes tell stories. You make wonderful shoes that enrich people's lives.

More time passes, and one day, the cobbler says to you, You have become a fine cobbler. Your fingers listen to the leather, and your heart listens to the people who will wear your shoes. I am growing old, and soon I will reach the end of my life. I want to leave this shop in your hands.

You begin to protest, but the cobbler goes on.

Now hear me. One day, a young person will come to you, on some kind of spiritual quest. If it works out for this person to become your apprentice, let me give you one piece of advice. Don't talk with him about spiritual matters. Just teach your apprentice how to make shoes.

Warmly, Herman F.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio
Plant Wood Outdoor furniture Rectangle Outdoor table
Thanks for sharing. I just loved it.
 

Attachments

#35 ·
We Forget

We forget that the moon is out. We forget that rivers run underneath us. We forget that we can make things with our hands and heart.
We believe that the world is now held in the palm of our hands. It is instead all around us. We just have to look up and notice it.
Remember to remain curious. Believe that you don't have the only way of doing things. Keep open to change. Forgive yourself your mistakes and keep doing good work.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Brown Leaf Wood Wood stain Font

Cloud Sky Natural landscape Plant Fawn

Door Wood Fixture Handle Household hardware
 

Attachments

#36 ·
We Forget

We forget that the moon is out. We forget that rivers run underneath us. We forget that we can make things with our hands and heart.
We believe that the world is now held in the palm of our hands. It is instead all around us. We just have to look up and notice it.
Remember to remain curious. Believe that you don't have the only way of doing things. Keep open to change. Forgive yourself your mistakes and keep doing good work.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Brown Leaf Wood Wood stain Font

Cloud Sky Natural landscape Plant Fawn

Door Wood Fixture Handle Household hardware
Well said, Gary. I imagine that you have taught a lot of woodworkers over the years both directly and indirectly through your writing. Welcome to Lumberjocks. Your work is beautiful and your studio and shop are wonderful.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com
 

Attachments

#38 ·
Marc and I Whisper

Actually, Marc Spagnuolo, aka The Wood Whisperer, and I got together in May to do some work in his shop. I was in the Phoenix area for my mom's birthday and took some time to meet Marc and visit his place. Take a look at the Jewelry Box we put together. It was fun work.

Jewelry Box

If you're coming to Portland, learn about 3 Simple Finishes with me next week at the Studio, 7/24-26.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Table Wood Engineering Desk Varnish
 

Attachments

#39 ·
Marc and I Whisper

Actually, Marc Spagnuolo, aka The Wood Whisperer, and I got together in May to do some work in his shop. I was in the Phoenix area for my mom's birthday and took some time to meet Marc and visit his place. Take a look at the Jewelry Box we put together. It was fun work.

Jewelry Box

If you're coming to Portland, learn about 3 Simple Finishes with me next week at the Studio, 7/24-26.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Table Wood Engineering Desk Varnish
That loks to be a huge jewlery box you are finishing there LOL!
 

Attachments

#40 ·
Congratulations

Think about how you look at others' work. You don't look for every mistake. You look at the scope of the project, the effort required. You consider the time spent on design. You see the form, the choice of wood and think about the time taken to mill the lumber. The hours spent on joining pieces together and the detail in the joinery and the weeks spent on shaping and sanding and how the hardware is hung. You step back and look at the whole piece and you know in your heart how much it took. You congratulate the builder.

Well, do the same to your own self. Congratulate yourself on work well done. Yes do better next time. Always strive to do better, but give yourself a break every now and then. We all make mistakes.

Step back from your own projects. Give them some room to breathe. Enjoy their imperfections. Do good work and strive to do better work each time. But don't slow yourself up with perfection.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Wood Rectangle Musical instrument accessory Hardwood Plank
 

Attachments

#41 ·
Congratulations

Think about how you look at others' work. You don't look for every mistake. You look at the scope of the project, the effort required. You consider the time spent on design. You see the form, the choice of wood and think about the time taken to mill the lumber. The hours spent on joining pieces together and the detail in the joinery and the weeks spent on shaping and sanding and how the hardware is hung. You step back and look at the whole piece and you know in your heart how much it took. You congratulate the builder.

Well, do the same to your own self. Congratulate yourself on work well done. Yes do better next time. Always strive to do better, but give yourself a break every now and then. We all make mistakes.

Step back from your own projects. Give them some room to breathe. Enjoy their imperfections. Do good work and strive to do better work each time. But don't slow yourself up with perfection.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Wood Rectangle Musical instrument accessory Hardwood Plank
some sound advice gary.i need to take it myself.
 

Attachments

#42 ·
How Design Starts

Design starts with a pattern in the sky, a curl in the stem of a plant, the swirl in a coffee cup. It starts with an idea. There is no one single place from which it begins. And so the designer must grab serendipity when it strikes and use it as a stepping stone, a starting point, and then choose from the infinite number of choices then possible.

Inspiration is serendipitous. Design on the other hand is hard work and trials and errors and execution. It is iteration and reiteration. It has a vocabulary that one must learn and develop to suit one's own tastes and techniques. But inspiration can come from anywhere at any time. One just has to be ready and willing to accept it. This is the difference between a designer and a worker. A designer, if you will an artist, is always receptive to ideas, to chance, to coincidence. This requires awareness and desire to find new ideas. Be ready, have your notebook always with you. Keep your eyes open, there's a huge world out there to explore with curiosity.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Chair Wood Wood stain Plywood Natural material
 

Attachments

#43 ·
How Design Starts

Design starts with a pattern in the sky, a curl in the stem of a plant, the swirl in a coffee cup. It starts with an idea. There is no one single place from which it begins. And so the designer must grab serendipity when it strikes and use it as a stepping stone, a starting point, and then choose from the infinite number of choices then possible.

Inspiration is serendipitous. Design on the other hand is hard work and trials and errors and execution. It is iteration and reiteration. It has a vocabulary that one must learn and develop to suit one's own tastes and techniques. But inspiration can come from anywhere at any time. One just has to be ready and willing to accept it. This is the difference between a designer and a worker. A designer, if you will an artist, is always receptive to ideas, to chance, to coincidence. This requires awareness and desire to find new ideas. Be ready, have your notebook always with you. Keep your eyes open, there's a huge world out there to explore with curiosity.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Chair Wood Wood stain Plywood Natural material
I was told at a design workshop. Steal from everywhere, even IKEA as they hire designers to design their products. I'm partial to stealing from mother nature. And from the well known guys, as long as I give them their recognition?
 

Attachments

#45 ·
A Neatness and Precision

In Pete Dexter's book Deadwood, Wild Bill Hickok's partner, Charley Utter, is thinking to himself, "He liked having a drawer, it was a neatness you could see just sliding it open."

Making drawers requires a precision and calm missing from some other jobs around the shop. Cleaning out the dust collector comes to mind. Or hand planing some misbegotten wood like a rowed grain khaya. Drawer building on the other hand needs careful measuring, straight parts, and clear thinking to do a good job. A job that you'll notice and admire in its careful sliding, with the slight woosh of air emerging as the drawer enters and fills its opening almost completely.

You can of course do a fast job and get it done with some drawer glides or run the drawer on a center mount. But it's not the same. It doesn't feel the same. It doesn't act the same.

We'll be busy at the end of this week in the Studio with a class on Drawer Work. We'll be making a drawer box and filling it with one precision cut and fit drawer. When it's right, you'll be able to stand the drawer box on end and put the drawer in place and with a close piston fit the air will only let the drawer slowly descend into its resting place.

Nice."

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Plant Wood Rectangle Drawer Table
 

Attachments

#46 ·
A Neatness and Precision

In Pete Dexter's book Deadwood, Wild Bill Hickok's partner, Charley Utter, is thinking to himself, "He liked having a drawer, it was a neatness you could see just sliding it open."

Making drawers requires a precision and calm missing from some other jobs around the shop. Cleaning out the dust collector comes to mind. Or hand planing some misbegotten wood like a rowed grain khaya. Drawer building on the other hand needs careful measuring, straight parts, and clear thinking to do a good job. A job that you'll notice and admire in its careful sliding, with the slight woosh of air emerging as the drawer enters and fills its opening almost completely.

You can of course do a fast job and get it done with some drawer glides or run the drawer on a center mount. But it's not the same. It doesn't feel the same. It doesn't act the same.

We'll be busy at the end of this week in the Studio with a class on Drawer Work. We'll be making a drawer box and filling it with one precision cut and fit drawer. When it's right, you'll be able to stand the drawer box on end and put the drawer in place and with a close piston fit the air will only let the drawer slowly descend into its resting place.

Nice."

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Plant Wood Rectangle Drawer Table
Gary,

I know Portland is a pretty place. ( Never rains in Portland…LOL) And it would be a "Whoosh" taking your class but for me it is some place I will probably never be. As I commented on your project page great drawer fronts!

I will keep your comments on precision in mind when doing drawers! Thanks.
 

Attachments

#49 ·
Making the Connection

Tools are meant to be used by humans. I think that we learned to think by using them. By using tools, our hands made a connection to our brains and then our curiosity gene dove in and our minds grew because of this. We discovered so much about the world poking about in it with our hands. And by using the power of the wedge, we learned to do all sorts of things from carving to cleaving to sawing and planing.

We are humans and that means we need to keep making that connection between hand and heart and mind. We need to make things whether it's building furniture or creating a great meal. We need to keep that connection alive between our hands and our minds. Typing on this dang keyboard does not qualify. Building something does.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Brown Wood Rectangle Hardwood Circle
 

Attachments

#50 ·
Making the Connection

Tools are meant to be used by humans. I think that we learned to think by using them. By using tools, our hands made a connection to our brains and then our curiosity gene dove in and our minds grew because of this. We discovered so much about the world poking about in it with our hands. And by using the power of the wedge, we learned to do all sorts of things from carving to cleaving to sawing and planing.

We are humans and that means we need to keep making that connection between hand and heart and mind. We need to make things whether it's building furniture or creating a great meal. We need to keep that connection alive between our hands and our minds. Typing on this dang keyboard does not qualify. Building something does.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Brown Wood Rectangle Hardwood Circle
Musical instrument Wood Sports equipment Axe Musical instrument accessory


Here is one I built to make something and make it easier to make using ergonomics .
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/104062
 

Attachments

#53 ·
The Work

Fine woodworking is not crafty. It is craft. It takes time, effort, and a commitment to excellence. It requires persistence and a willingness to overcome failure, repeatedly. It takes practice and patience and then more of both. It is as rigorous and as rewarding as learning a musical instrument or teaching your body ballet or the tango. It is formal and full of expression. There are rules to follow and rules that bend.
It is cumulative in its knowledge and yet so vast that no one can know all its possibilities.

You will not build anything well without throwing yourself all in. But if you, if you do commit to learning and getting it in your bones and doing your best, then the rewards are far greater than you imagine. As my friend Bogy once said to me, "The work makes you. You don't make the work."

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Brown Wood Font Wood stain Varnish
 

Attachments

#54 ·
The Work

Fine woodworking is not crafty. It is craft. It takes time, effort, and a commitment to excellence. It requires persistence and a willingness to overcome failure, repeatedly. It takes practice and patience and then more of both. It is as rigorous and as rewarding as learning a musical instrument or teaching your body ballet or the tango. It is formal and full of expression. There are rules to follow and rules that bend.
It is cumulative in its knowledge and yet so vast that no one can know all its possibilities.

You will not build anything well without throwing yourself all in. But if you, if you do commit to learning and getting it in your bones and doing your best, then the rewards are far greater than you imagine. As my friend Bogy once said to me, "The work makes you. You don't make the work."

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Brown Wood Font Wood stain Varnish
Gary,

Thanks I will do my best to remember that while I'm growling over my next screw up. LOL! Words that ring true.
 

Attachments

#58 ·
Making Time

How do you make time? How can you make time? 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 thing, 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 build something of value.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Furniture Table Desk Outdoor furniture Rectangle
 

Attachments

#59 ·
Making Time

How do you make time? How can you make time? 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 thing, 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 build something of value.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Furniture Table Desk Outdoor furniture Rectangle
This is always a challenge - I look for opportunities even if they are only 20 minutes. Here is a post I put together on the subject (if you are interested ;)
 

Attachments

#64 ·
Getting Right

It is far easier to talk about than to do, but you have to get right in order to do good work. You have to think straight, to get your concentration right, to get your mind working with your hands and not against them. Now this can take hours for me some days before I finally get focused enough to work. But when I do then the work just flies and the time whizzes by and I get something done. It feels great.

But it's a matter of concentration and when we enter the shop our mind is in a hundred different places. Where did I leave my keys? Did I send out that note? Where's my dang hammer? Everything seems to thwart us at first. It can take time to get there and it can feel unproductive. But it is the only way to the productive place where all of you starts to work together and you start to do some good work. You have to get right first.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Brown Rectangle Wood Font Hardwood
 

Attachments

#65 ·
Getting Right

It is far easier to talk about than to do, but you have to get right in order to do good work. You have to think straight, to get your concentration right, to get your mind working with your hands and not against them. Now this can take hours for me some days before I finally get focused enough to work. But when I do then the work just flies and the time whizzes by and I get something done. It feels great.

But it's a matter of concentration and when we enter the shop our mind is in a hundred different places. Where did I leave my keys? Did I send out that note? Where's my dang hammer? Everything seems to thwart us at first. It can take time to get there and it can feel unproductive. But it is the only way to the productive place where all of you starts to work together and you start to do some good work. You have to get right first.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Brown Rectangle Wood Font Hardwood
Gary,

Great advice.
Hard to do for some of us with ADHD. LOL! When I find my mind going in four directions at once (so it seems)I tell myself to "Back away from the car sir!" Take a few deep breaths and come back to the present. I also use a list as a prep tool. Oh yeah I usually, almost always, forget something. Even with the list! I lengthen my time line and set my goal on the steps…. not the project.

Wisdom comes from learning from our mistakes. I'm getting wiser all the time. LOL!
 

Attachments

#68 ·
Education

I got involved building chairs with the Lumber to Legacy project in Albany, OR. Here's the story in their local paper.
Lumber to Legacy

Some high schools kids helped us build this cafe chair design. I wrote to the paper explaining my involvement.

"I wanted to respond further as to why I did this class for the kids. I love to teach and this was another opportunity to be with a group that doesn't get the attention they deserve. Education in the applied arts is mostly forgotten today and it is a need that should be addressed in every community. Technology provides many wonderful things. But it rarely provides the satisfaction of seeing your work at the end of the day in a tangible form. In the shop, these students get a chance to work and see the results of the efforts immediately. The feedback is real and the learning sticks.

What was great was to see how excited these kids were to learn. They listened to me talk about geometry and physics. They asked questions about these subjects. They listened to me talk about joinery and cutting angles. They were to a man interested in learning. And that's what education should be about: curiosity and the excitement of discovery. Add to this the fact that you get to put your hands on tools and it's a slam dunk for just about every demographic. But certainly it is of vital importance for our kids. Please let all our educators know that hands on education needs to be back in every school. From the arts to music to shop class, we need to train our kids in the broadest possible way. This is called a liberal arts education. I'm a fan of it.

Why I did the class." Education works, but we have to help to make it work.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Furniture Chair Wood Wood stain Hardwood
 

Attachments

#69 ·
Education

I got involved building chairs with the Lumber to Legacy project in Albany, OR. Here's the story in their local paper.
Lumber to Legacy

Some high schools kids helped us build this cafe chair design. I wrote to the paper explaining my involvement.

"I wanted to respond further as to why I did this class for the kids. I love to teach and this was another opportunity to be with a group that doesn't get the attention they deserve. Education in the applied arts is mostly forgotten today and it is a need that should be addressed in every community. Technology provides many wonderful things. But it rarely provides the satisfaction of seeing your work at the end of the day in a tangible form. In the shop, these students get a chance to work and see the results of the efforts immediately. The feedback is real and the learning sticks.

What was great was to see how excited these kids were to learn. They listened to me talk about geometry and physics. They asked questions about these subjects. They listened to me talk about joinery and cutting angles. They were to a man interested in learning. And that's what education should be about: curiosity and the excitement of discovery. Add to this the fact that you get to put your hands on tools and it's a slam dunk for just about every demographic. But certainly it is of vital importance for our kids. Please let all our educators know that hands on education needs to be back in every school. From the arts to music to shop class, we need to train our kids in the broadest possible way. This is called a liberal arts education. I'm a fan of it.

Why I did the class." Education works, but we have to help to make it work.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Furniture Chair Wood Wood stain Hardwood
Gary - I've really enjoyed this series, you have been doing. This one really sparked something in me. I love your quote "Education works, but we have to help to make it work".

Mike
 

Attachments

#72 ·
Your Grip

Avoid those teachers who say: This is the only way to do something. Whatever that something may be. That person has never been dancing. Expression is a part of building too. There are lots of ways of building things right. Just like there are several ways of learning. Learning style makes a difference in how well you understand a teacher. Pick a teacher who understands that not everyone is the same. Study with someone who remembers that choice is important too. It's like a grip. They're not all the same.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Furniture Chair Wood Rectangle Creative arts


Chair Wood Rectangle Creative arts Art
 

Attachments

#73 ·
Your Grip

Avoid those teachers who say: This is the only way to do something. Whatever that something may be. That person has never been dancing. Expression is a part of building too. There are lots of ways of building things right. Just like there are several ways of learning. Learning style makes a difference in how well you understand a teacher. Pick a teacher who understands that not everyone is the same. Study with someone who remembers that choice is important too. It's like a grip. They're not all the same.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Furniture Chair Wood Rectangle Creative arts


Chair Wood Rectangle Creative arts Art
Gary I've always looked forward to the articles you've had in Finewoodworking through the years and now I,m really enjoying all of your blogs,I especially like the blogs that suggest ways to think about projects,design and your woodworking philosophy.
I'm glad you decided to join LJs
 

Attachments

#75 ·
Joinery Choices

The value of a classical education is in the laying of a foundation for your work to follow. One learns joinery in order to learn accuracy plus patience and the myriad ways there are to build. For instance, there are a dozen or more ways to build a box, but each situation requires an evaluation and then a decision. Your decision on joinery will depend upon factors like your knowledge or skill, the available tooling options, economy or speed, enjoyment, and finally how late the project is. [If it's for a client or a birthday, it is almost guaranteed to be late.]

If you take the time to build your skills in a variety of approaches, then you can choose a joint for example that fits all the requirements of the situation. A nailed butt joint might be perfect when you're in a hurry or the piece is not precious. It might be completely inappropriate for a shrine to your sainted mother. On the other hand, if you're building mom a present and her birthday is rapidly approaching then hand cutting dovetails might take more time than you have. Splined miter joints are just as pretty but faster. Both work for the job and lend their own signature to the work.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Wood Rectangle Hardwood Wood stain Carmine
 

Attachments

#76 ·
Clean Up

Wait five or ten minutes to clean up your glue squeeze-out from a joint glue-up or lamination. It should be almost plastic and then it will peel right off. On a table top you can use a putty knife or my new discovery, an old chip breaker off a hand plane. It works great. For insides of boxes or cabinets, I use my sharpest chisel. That way if I cut into the wood, it will be a good clean cut. Also the color of the cut will match the wood inside which is always hand planed.

Patience is a virtue here. Let the glue skin over and almost set, but not quite. It will come off easily and there will be no smearing into cracks, corners or pores. This smeared glue will then only become visible when you put on finish.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Brown Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank
 

Attachments

#77 ·
Clean Up

Wait five or ten minutes to clean up your glue squeeze-out from a joint glue-up or lamination. It should be almost plastic and then it will peel right off. On a table top you can use a putty knife or my new discovery, an old chip breaker off a hand plane. It works great. For insides of boxes or cabinets, I use my sharpest chisel. That way if I cut into the wood, it will be a good clean cut. Also the color of the cut will match the wood inside which is always hand planed.

Patience is a virtue here. Let the glue skin over and almost set, but not quite. It will come off easily and there will be no smearing into cracks, corners or pores. This smeared glue will then only become visible when you put on finish.

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Brown Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank
Gary,

I think that's one of those pearls of wisdom that comes from going "Oh Dah." Thanks for jogging my memory. LOL!
 

Attachments

#83 ·
Curiosity

What causes us to look round the next bend? What makes people want to fly or cross the ocean or play with fire? Why do you do something and then do it again just to see if the results will be the same? Why ask why?

All these questions are asked because of a simple if not altogether human trait. This urge pushes us to try things to see what will happen. Like a dog putting his head down between the rocks to sniff out a scent. What is there? What was there? What might be there?

Is it that we cannot feel safe unless we know what's behind the door/ under the bed/ at the back of the cave? Or is that we have to know just to know, just to have that knowledge at our disposal. Is it learning or a pernicious bad habit?

This urge pushes us down dangerous paths no doubt but also down paths of discovery. It is, at its simplest, the impetus for learning. To discover, to uncover, to unravel, to get to the bottom of things. Curiosity. Simple curiosity. What's that? Why does it work like that? It is in the end why we like to work with tools and wood. To find out:
will this work?

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Window Wood Wall Facade Ceiling
 

Attachments

#84 ·
Curiosity

What causes us to look round the next bend? What makes people want to fly or cross the ocean or play with fire? Why do you do something and then do it again just to see if the results will be the same? Why ask why?

All these questions are asked because of a simple if not altogether human trait. This urge pushes us to try things to see what will happen. Like a dog putting his head down between the rocks to sniff out a scent. What is there? What was there? What might be there?

Is it that we cannot feel safe unless we know what's behind the door/ under the bed/ at the back of the cave? Or is that we have to know just to know, just to have that knowledge at our disposal. Is it learning or a pernicious bad habit?

This urge pushes us down dangerous paths no doubt but also down paths of discovery. It is, at its simplest, the impetus for learning. To discover, to uncover, to unravel, to get to the bottom of things. Curiosity. Simple curiosity. What's that? Why does it work like that? It is in the end why we like to work with tools and wood. To find out:
will this work?

The Northwest Woodworking Studio

Window Wood Wall Facade Ceiling
And yet it is becoming frighteningly common to meet persons with no measurable curiosity. How dreary a life that doesn't ask 'Why, or what is around the corner…"
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top