# Traditional Chinese Woodworking



## chscholz (Mar 29, 2007)

*Liu Shifu*

Forgive me, I don't hang out here all that often. I finally had the opportunity to visit a master woodworker who still uses traditional methods and tools. So I thought I share a few snapshots with y'all.

In fact traditional Chinese woodworking has been quite illusive. A few times a almost had the opportunity to visit a traditional shop it turned out that the woodworker retired and gave all his tools away. Finally, three weeks ago and with the help of good friends we were able to locate a traditional woodworker. Let's just say it took a fair amount of preparation. few packs of cigarette and a quite a few cups of baijiu (bai: white, jiu: generic term for liquor, be warned baijiu is quite potent stuff at least 55% alcohol I have been told) before we finally were ready to visit Liu Shifu.

When we entered his workshop (roughly equivalent to a single car garage), Liu Shifu (Shifu: respectful title for Master craftsman, roughly equivalent to Saint for galoots, Liu: last name) was busy pounding mortises into a rain that was to be come an yigui (yi: cloth, gui: cabinet, looks to me as if built-in closets are a very American invention).

Liu Shifu was so kind to empty his toolbox for me, All together I estimate he had about 50 different planes as well as various other tools (more on that in a later blog in case anybody is interested). All tools are made by himself, whatever was needed for a by specific projects. Liu Shifu explained the use of various planes for various purposes, the importance of different bedding angle, demonstrated his collection of hollows and rounds, molding planes etc, amazing stuff, indeed.

In the West we often hear that Chinese planes, similar to Japanese planes are pulled. Not so. Chinese planes are pushed, never in pulled (at least that's what the Master says).

Another typical Chinese tool is the bamboo ink brush, a highly effective marking tool, simply cut out of a piece of bamboo (which is plentiful in the region). .

It is certainly instructive to compare tools and methods of current traditional Chinese woodworkers with tools and methods that we (notably Roy Underhill, Adam Cherubini and otheres) believe our ancestors used not too long ago. Obviously there are many differences in the details (e.g. not a single drop of glue in Liu Shefu's shop) but my hunch is that, looking at the overall picture, we might discover many similarities.

Thank for listening!

Chris, Arlington, TX


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

chscholz said:


> *Liu Shifu*
> 
> Forgive me, I don't hang out here all that often. I finally had the opportunity to visit a master woodworker who still uses traditional methods and tools. So I thought I share a few snapshots with y'all.
> 
> ...


very interesting thanks for sharing.


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## Ottis (Apr 17, 2009)

chscholz said:


> *Liu Shifu*
> 
> Forgive me, I don't hang out here all that often. I finally had the opportunity to visit a master woodworker who still uses traditional methods and tools. So I thought I share a few snapshots with y'all.
> 
> ...


Agree with Jim…VERY interesting…and I for one am looking forward to the follow up about the different planes.

Also, you say you do not post much…please start doing more, I find things like this (Old style traditional wood working) fascinating. His old work bench looks like it has seen several life times of woodworking do upon it


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## kiwi1969 (Dec 22, 2008)

chscholz said:


> *Liu Shifu*
> 
> Forgive me, I don't hang out here all that often. I finally had the opportunity to visit a master woodworker who still uses traditional methods and tools. So I thought I share a few snapshots with y'all.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the insight. I,m about to restore a chinese plane and wasn,t even sure how you held it!. It was the Chinese that basically ran the furniture trade here in the Philippines, in Quiapo, which incidentaly is the oldest china town outside of china, untill the 1920,s when cheap American imports pretty much wiped them out, some irony there I think. Looking forward to the next instalment.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

chscholz said:


> *Liu Shifu*
> 
> Forgive me, I don't hang out here all that often. I finally had the opportunity to visit a master woodworker who still uses traditional methods and tools. So I thought I share a few snapshots with y'all.
> 
> ...


Interesting insight to a different world.


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## Splinterman (Mar 13, 2009)

chscholz said:


> *Liu Shifu*
> 
> Forgive me, I don't hang out here all that often. I finally had the opportunity to visit a master woodworker who still uses traditional methods and tools. So I thought I share a few snapshots with y'all.
> 
> ...


Now this is very interesting Chscholz…....keep these posts coming….....nice work.


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## JohnGray (Oct 6, 2007)

chscholz said:


> *Liu Shifu*
> 
> Forgive me, I don't hang out here all that often. I finally had the opportunity to visit a master woodworker who still uses traditional methods and tools. So I thought I share a few snapshots with y'all.
> 
> ...


Great post!!! Can you buy the bamboo ink brush or does he make his own?


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## toddc (Mar 6, 2007)

chscholz said:


> *Liu Shifu*
> 
> Forgive me, I don't hang out here all that often. I finally had the opportunity to visit a master woodworker who still uses traditional methods and tools. So I thought I share a few snapshots with y'all.
> 
> ...


That is amazing! Thanks for sharing such an interesting insight to the Chinese woodshop.


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## chscholz (Mar 29, 2007)

chscholz said:


> *Liu Shifu*
> 
> Forgive me, I don't hang out here all that often. I finally had the opportunity to visit a master woodworker who still uses traditional methods and tools. So I thought I share a few snapshots with y'all.
> 
> ...


Thank you y'all for the kind comments.

Daryl, 
look forward to hear about the progress of your plane restauration. Not sure what to say about us wiping out the furniture trade in Quiapo. It looks to me as if we a going full-circle on that: various chatter about "Chinese inspired" design, Chris Schwartz honing his woodworking skills on to joinery for a simple (looking) Chinese stool…

John,
Liu Shifu made the brush (as well as most[?] of his planes) himself. The irons for the molding planes were a bit more difficult to make he said. You take a strip piece of bamboo and slice it up until it is a brush (wish it was that simple!). I guess the Chinese carpenters learn a thing or two during their 5+ years apprenticeship.

Chris


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## chscholz (Mar 29, 2007)

chscholz said:


> *Liu Shifu*
> 
> Forgive me, I don't hang out here all that often. I finally had the opportunity to visit a master woodworker who still uses traditional methods and tools. So I thought I share a few snapshots with y'all.
> 
> ...


John,

poked around the web a bit,

In the US Japan Woodworker has a modern rendition of the ink brush for $31.95
In Europe, Dieter Schmid sells a more traditional rendition for about $2 (scroll down to bottom of page).


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## kiwi1969 (Dec 22, 2008)

chscholz said:


> *Liu Shifu*
> 
> Forgive me, I don't hang out here all that often. I finally had the opportunity to visit a master woodworker who still uses traditional methods and tools. So I thought I share a few snapshots with y'all.
> 
> ...


Hey chris, next time you fly over the Philippines, drop a few of those laminated irons out the window, Stephen shepard on his full chisel blog gave them a great review and when i,m on my feet again I would love to get some.


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## SubVette (Mar 3, 2014)

chscholz said:


> *Liu Shifu*
> 
> Forgive me, I don't hang out here all that often. I finally had the opportunity to visit a master woodworker who still uses traditional methods and tools. So I thought I share a few snapshots with y'all.
> 
> ...


This is truly fascinating, I would love to see some of the finished products. Thanks for sharing


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## chscholz (Mar 29, 2007)

*Preparing stock*

It's all about efficiency.

For us hobbyists it is interesting to see how full-time hand tool users perform the dreaded task of stock preparation. Well, it's all about efficenty.

It is important to note that Liu Shifu currently does not have an apprentice who would possibly be helping preparing stock. Yes, he would like to see someone take over his shop, continue his life's work so to speak, but this is not an option at this point. In some way it is lucky that we met Liu Shifu at the end of his career: early in his career a Chinese Shifu will hardly ever allow outsiders to watch them work, not to mention photograph. In fact, Liu Shifu was very interested in the prospect that his life's work could find a forum in the United States.

Stock preparation starts with the equivalent to a broad ax which, with enough pratice, get's you farily close to the final dimensions of the board.


















The ax is, like many tools in China laminated and for obvious reasons a-symmetric


















Next is the equivalent of the Jack/scrub plane.










After that the equivalent of a fore plane, i.e. a long plane to smoothen out the hills and valleys left by the Jack plane.










And finally the smoothing plane. Without asking Liu Shifu explained that the smoothing plane is shorter than the previous planes and has a steeper bedding angle.


















Similar to Western planes with Chinese planes you start the stroke with pressure to the toe of the plane and end the stroke with pressure to the heal of the plane. Of course since the ergonomics of Chinese planes are very different to Western planes this shift of pressure is nothing more than a simple movement in the wrist. So instead of coordinating left hand/arm/shoulder and right hand/arm/shoulder
to adjust the down pressure distribution just about right, you only habe to put a bit more pressure on your index fingers or your thumbs.

Checking for squareness. Notice the position of the feet realtive to the workbench. When using Chinese planes you stand almost directly behind the pice you are planing. This probably contributes to the excellent performance of this type of plane.


















Highly efficient, is it not?

Thank you for listening.

Chris, Arlington, TX


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

chscholz said:


> *Preparing stock*
> 
> It's all about efficiency.
> 
> ...


Very interesting thanks for sharing


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

chscholz said:


> *Preparing stock*
> 
> It's all about efficiency.
> 
> ...


back to the basics .
how many carpenters today ,
even own hand tools ?
thank you for bringing him to life !


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## Zuki (Mar 28, 2007)

chscholz said:


> *Preparing stock*
> 
> It's all about efficiency.
> 
> ...


Amazing. I have marked this as a watcher. Can't wait for the next part.


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## woodworm (Jul 27, 2008)

chscholz said:


> *Preparing stock*
> 
> It's all about efficiency.
> 
> ...


I was reluctant to say a word, but could not stop my fingers from typing this :- chopping axe in woodworking shop,... that is awsome.

:early in his career a Chinese Shifu will hardly ever allow outsiders to watch them work, more or less its true.


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## Splinterman (Mar 13, 2009)

chscholz said:


> *Preparing stock*
> 
> It's all about efficiency.
> 
> ...


The quality of work that can be turned out by these craftman with such basic tools is fantastic.


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## kiwi1969 (Dec 22, 2008)

chscholz said:


> *Preparing stock*
> 
> It's all about efficiency.
> 
> ...


Big thankyou for the detailed pics. The workbench is so simple and the bench stop looks interesting, kind of our western monstrosities look like overkill. Will add this to my favorites list.


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## charlton (Jan 24, 2009)

chscholz said:


> *Preparing stock*
> 
> It's all about efficiency.
> 
> ...


Nice. Gotta love the picture of the dude smoking while he's working.  Can't wait to see what the final result is. We're so spoiled here in the western world with our power tools and LN/LV hand tools.


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## chscholz (Mar 29, 2007)

*The Mystery of Sung Hua Stones*

Last week I had the distinct pleasure to visit the Gu Gong in Taipei (aka. the National Palace Museum or short NPM).
In fact the NPM is one of the great museums and owns many fine examples of Chinese cultural heritage. Major sections of the museum include paintings, calligraphy, rare books, porcelains/ceramics, jades and curios

Many of the items on exhibit are extremely rare. For example in the ceramics section one can admire 21 items of Ju Ware, i.e. fine porcelain with a characteristic greenish-blue glaze. Less than 70 pieces of Ju Ware are worldwide in existence. Or how about a the equivalent to Gutenbergs Bible? The Rare Books sections host volumes such as an Exegeses on the Book of Mencius, printed many hundred years before Gutenberg (Ok, I know, Mencius was not a deity and Gutenberg did not print an exegeses).

Unfortunately the NPM does not host a lot of items related to woodworking and even fewer items related to hand tools.

Worth mentioning is the Permanent Exhibit 108: Splendors of Qing Furniture This exhibit hosts a few exquisite pieces of fine Chinese furniture. All furniture is perfectly executed and highly decorated. In contrast to so-called Ming furniture that pursues refined simplicity during a certain period during Qing Dynasty highly ornamental embellishments ad carvings were all the rage. Nevertheless, all furniture is made out of Huang Hua Li or even Zitan. Both are precious species of wood, very dense, gnarly and excruciatingly hard to carve. Zitan (aka. red sandalwood) is an extremely rare species of wood what was worth its weight in gold. One researcher argues that zitan was mentioned in the Bible [1]. In fact, recently a well-known boutique plane maker started offering certain planes with Zitan infills.

The few tools that are on exhibit at the NPM are in the paleontology section (very few images of tools on the website). The equivalent to our own flint stone in China was apparently jade. For us Westerners Jade is just another semi-precious stone, for many Taiwanese (and Chinese and I suppose South-East Asian in general) jade is roughly the equivalent of diamonds in our own culture. In the bronze section on can admire a sword made of laminated bronze, i.e. bronze with different mixtures of constitutive elements for the cutting edges and for the sword body.

Also noteworthy is the Curios section. In this section on can find all sorts of trinkets, gifts to the emperor with the hope that the favor will be returned in some form or another (in modern terms lobbying and/or bribery). Many of the trinkets are of impeccable craftsmanship and come in custom fitted wooden boxes. In fact, if you ever run out of ideas on how to design yet another jewelry box, the NPM has a wealth of ideas that are rather unique. How about a hiding a hidden compartment in a hidden compartment?

The most interesting item in the curio section (and possibly in the whole museum) are the Sung Hua ink stones.. The story is that in 1662 Emperor Kang Xi enjoyed the look and feel of Sung Hua stones. Sung Hua stones were used as sharpening stones. He had the Imperial Works carve Sung Hua stones into inkstones. Subsequently Sung Hua ink stones have become very popular as evidenced by a large collection of such stones in the NPM. 
In my opinion it is highly implausible that the Emperor of China pokes around grungy old village carpentry shacks and somehow sees an old Sung Hua stone sitting somewhere in a dusty corner. It is much more plausible that the stone that the Emperor saw was one of the finest sharpening stones that the Empire had to offer, possibly in use in one of the cabinet shops of the Imperial Works. With exception of Hommel [2] I have never seen anything mentioning about how Chinese woodworkers sharpened their tools.
Of course that rises the question how good Sung Hua stones are for sharpening woodworking tools. Are they comparable to fine Aransas stones the finest Japanese water stones? I certainly do not recommend to beak into the NPM and sharpen your favorite plane blade on the 1737-model inkstone, sure would be interesting to know though.

[1] Schafer, Edward H., Rosewood, Dragon's Blood, and Lac. Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 77, No. 2 (Apr. - Jun., 1957), pp. 129-136
[2] Hommel, Rudolf P., China at Work, Jan. 1969


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## SimonSKL (Jul 13, 2009)

chscholz said:


> *The Mystery of Sung Hua Stones*
> 
> Last week I had the distinct pleasure to visit the Gu Gong in Taipei (aka. the National Palace Museum or short NPM).
> In fact the NPM is one of the great museums and owns many fine examples of Chinese cultural heritage. Major sections of the museum include paintings, calligraphy, rare books, porcelains/ceramics, jades and curios
> ...


Very interesting and informative. Thanks for posting.


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## jockmike2 (Oct 10, 2006)

chscholz said:


> *The Mystery of Sung Hua Stones*
> 
> Last week I had the distinct pleasure to visit the Gu Gong in Taipei (aka. the National Palace Museum or short NPM).
> In fact the NPM is one of the great museums and owns many fine examples of Chinese cultural heritage. Major sections of the museum include paintings, calligraphy, rare books, porcelains/ceramics, jades and curios
> ...


Very informative narration. Sounds like a wonder to behold, or at least a nice place to visit. m


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## Billp (Nov 25, 2006)

chscholz said:


> *The Mystery of Sung Hua Stones*
> 
> Last week I had the distinct pleasure to visit the Gu Gong in Taipei (aka. the National Palace Museum or short NPM).
> In fact the NPM is one of the great museums and owns many fine examples of Chinese cultural heritage. Major sections of the museum include paintings, calligraphy, rare books, porcelains/ceramics, jades and curios
> ...


What an experience thanks for sharing, I would love to go to China.


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## chscholz (Mar 29, 2007)

*Chinese Hammers: the Common Unknown Tool*

Anybody who has studied Chinese woodworking will not doubt have come across prints like this one where a ancient Chinese woodworker is depicted pounding on a piece of furniture with what appears to be the blunt edge of an axe. For example the Lu Ban Jing, a woodworkers manual written around in the 15th century, shows a woodworker assembling a table by pounding on one of its legs with the blunt side of an axe.









During much of China's long and colorful history, China has been more or less completely isolated from the rest of the world. Areas of extensive trade have changed hands with areas of almost complete isolation. For that reason many of the tools and methods that have been developed in China differ significantly from tools and methods developed in the rest of the world. So is it possible that all those years Western hammer collectors have missed an important tool in their collections? Have we Westerners been fooled into believing that Chinese woodworkers hit their chisels with the blunt side of an axe? Does there exist a tool that is used by millions of Woodworkers that we so far have been completely ignorant of?

*History of Chinese Hammers*

Like probably anywhere else in the world hammers evolved from what we tend to callprimitive wooden tools to our modern hammers. But is completely impossible for me to give a complete (or even basic) history of hammers in China, there is simply not enough information on the topic available (so much for an understatement). Instead I will focus on a very unique type of hammer that appears to be uniquely Chinese: the Chinese woodworker's hammer. I have absolutely no information how this type of hammer evolved, when it become popular and how it became the standard tool for Chinese woodworkers.

*Types of Chinese Hammers*

At first sight, Chinese woodworkers appear to use the blunt side of an axe to hit their chisels.

During the last few decades China has generated a tremendous amount of real wealth for its people and life has fundamentally changed for hundreds of millions of Chinese. Nevertheless the Chinese woodworkers appear to use exactly the same tool for hitting chisels as they did 600 years ago.


On closer inspection however, the tool that on first sight looks like an axe is everything but. This Chinese hammer is not designed to be used as and axe but is a Chinese hammer. The business side of the supposed axe is very blunt and most likely not hardened at all. Moreover Chinese axes consists of laminated steel where a hardened piece of steel is sandwiched between the main axe body. This clearly is not the case with Chinese hammers.

A West woodworker with a complete shop typically owns a great variety of hammers and mallets; Western hammers/mallets are made of a great variety of materials (hardened steel, unhardened steel, different types of hardwood, hard/soft rubber, leather, etc). The Chinese woodworker seems to be able to produce masterpieces with a single type of metallic hammer.

The head of the Chinese hammer is a triangular piece of metal that is attached to a wooden handle. That's it, a utilitarian piece of forged steel in the shape of a wedge, very simple at first sight but highly refined when one drills deeper, just like the traditional Ming furniture that Chinese woodworkers produced for many hundreds of years.

*Usage of Chinese Hammers*

Since the head of the Chinese hammer has triangular shape there are two different facets that are used for different tasks. The short facet, opposite to the point of the triangle is used for roughing in large mortises.


The sides of the hammer are used for finer carving work and smaller mortises


Interestingly, the hammer seems to be held fairly close to the head, although I can not conclusively state that in some cases the hammer is not held further away form the head like Western hammers are.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

chscholz said:


> *Chinese Hammers: the Common Unknown Tool*
> 
> Anybody who has studied Chinese woodworking will not doubt have come across prints like this one where a ancient Chinese woodworker is depicted pounding on a piece of furniture with what appears to be the blunt edge of an axe. For example the Lu Ban Jing, a woodworkers manual written around in the 15th century, shows a woodworker assembling a table by pounding on one of its legs with the blunt side of an axe.
> 
> ...


Very interesting . I don't know how they can work like that.


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## Woodbear (Jan 2, 2010)

chscholz said:


> *Chinese Hammers: the Common Unknown Tool*
> 
> Anybody who has studied Chinese woodworking will not doubt have come across prints like this one where a ancient Chinese woodworker is depicted pounding on a piece of furniture with what appears to be the blunt edge of an axe. For example the Lu Ban Jing, a woodworkers manual written around in the 15th century, shows a woodworker assembling a table by pounding on one of its legs with the blunt side of an axe.
> 
> ...


That is pretty interesting. I myself don't have near enough hammers. Now I think I need to find one of these. Thanks for sharing. I love learning new things.
In His Will
Michael


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

chscholz said:


> *Chinese Hammers: the Common Unknown Tool*
> 
> Anybody who has studied Chinese woodworking will not doubt have come across prints like this one where a ancient Chinese woodworker is depicted pounding on a piece of furniture with what appears to be the blunt edge of an axe. For example the Lu Ban Jing, a woodworkers manual written around in the 15th century, shows a woodworker assembling a table by pounding on one of its legs with the blunt side of an axe.
> 
> ...


Jim, they can work work like that because they are not old and crippled like me and they are used to it.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

chscholz said:


> *Chinese Hammers: the Common Unknown Tool*
> 
> Anybody who has studied Chinese woodworking will not doubt have come across prints like this one where a ancient Chinese woodworker is depicted pounding on a piece of furniture with what appears to be the blunt edge of an axe. For example the Lu Ban Jing, a woodworkers manual written around in the 15th century, shows a woodworker assembling a table by pounding on one of its legs with the blunt side of an axe.
> 
> ...


What is the pointy side used for? A straight peen??


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## noknot (Dec 23, 2008)

chscholz said:


> *Chinese Hammers: the Common Unknown Tool*
> 
> Anybody who has studied Chinese woodworking will not doubt have come across prints like this one where a ancient Chinese woodworker is depicted pounding on a piece of furniture with what appears to be the blunt edge of an axe. For example the Lu Ban Jing, a woodworkers manual written around in the 15th century, shows a woodworker assembling a table by pounding on one of its legs with the blunt side of an axe.
> 
> ...


That is interesting thanks for posting.


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## LittlePaw (Dec 21, 2009)

chscholz said:


> *Chinese Hammers: the Common Unknown Tool*
> 
> Anybody who has studied Chinese woodworking will not doubt have come across prints like this one where a ancient Chinese woodworker is depicted pounding on a piece of furniture with what appears to be the blunt edge of an axe. For example the Lu Ban Jing, a woodworkers manual written around in the 15th century, shows a woodworker assembling a table by pounding on one of its legs with the blunt side of an axe.
> 
> ...


After reading your post, I went to see just how many hammers I have collected over the years. There are 16, but none like the one you showed. Where would I get one, aside from China?


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## davidpettinger (Aug 21, 2009)

chscholz said:


> *Chinese Hammers: the Common Unknown Tool*
> 
> Anybody who has studied Chinese woodworking will not doubt have come across prints like this one where a ancient Chinese woodworker is depicted pounding on a piece of furniture with what appears to be the blunt edge of an axe. For example the Lu Ban Jing, a woodworkers manual written around in the 15th century, shows a woodworker assembling a table by pounding on one of its legs with the blunt side of an axe.
> 
> ...


I find this quite interesting. I am an ancient Chinese history buff. This may follow the standardization of tools that occurred 2,300 years ago when the Han dynasty standardized building construction. According to archaeological records, The Han Dynasty produced books showing the construction of allowed buildings, the joinery to be used and the tools to perform the construction. The Chinese were casting multi-ton Iron objects and making steel long before Europeans discovered how.


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## chscholz (Mar 29, 2007)

chscholz said:


> *Chinese Hammers: the Common Unknown Tool*
> 
> Anybody who has studied Chinese woodworking will not doubt have come across prints like this one where a ancient Chinese woodworker is depicted pounding on a piece of furniture with what appears to be the blunt edge of an axe. For example the Lu Ban Jing, a woodworkers manual written around in the 15th century, shows a woodworker assembling a table by pounding on one of its legs with the blunt side of an axe.
> 
> ...


Thank you all for the comments.

TopamaxSurvivor, I suppose you could. The tools in the first photograph are Liu Shifu's tools. He is a master woodworker and hence does not do peening. The other two gentlemen are temple carvers who are in process of carving large Buddha statutes. They would not do any peening either.

LittlePaw, as the where one can purchase these hammers. I am not aware of any vendor in the West who would carry this kind of hammer. Dick.biz in Europe started carrying a fair amount of low-cost Chinese tools, some of which are quite authentic. I don't believe they have Chinese hammers.

Thank you all for listening.

Chris


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## chscholz (Mar 29, 2007)

chscholz said:


> *Chinese Hammers: the Common Unknown Tool*
> 
> Anybody who has studied Chinese woodworking will not doubt have come across prints like this one where a ancient Chinese woodworker is depicted pounding on a piece of furniture with what appears to be the blunt edge of an axe. For example the Lu Ban Jing, a woodworkers manual written around in the 15th century, shows a woodworker assembling a table by pounding on one of its legs with the blunt side of an axe.
> 
> ...


Hi UnionLabel,

I'd like to learn more about the books that show "joinery to be used and the tools to perform the construction." 
AFAIK the old Chinese documented pretty much everything conceivable. Building codes, standards of weights and measures, encyclopedias with 10,000+ volumes, details on construction materials, man hours needed, etc. 
But as far as I know there is very little documentation on joinery and as good as no documentation on tools. 
For example the Lu Ban Jing (the "carpenters' manual") has not a single sentence on joinery or tools. 
I am familiar with Homel (tools) and Ecke (joinery); any pointers towards original or secondary sources greatly appreciated.

Chris


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

chscholz said:


> *Chinese Hammers: the Common Unknown Tool*
> 
> Anybody who has studied Chinese woodworking will not doubt have come across prints like this one where a ancient Chinese woodworker is depicted pounding on a piece of furniture with what appears to be the blunt edge of an axe. For example the Lu Ban Jing, a woodworkers manual written around in the 15th century, shows a woodworker assembling a table by pounding on one of its legs with the blunt side of an axe.
> 
> ...


Chris, Lack of mention of "the common knowledge" is a problem in any area of research ;-)


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

chscholz said:


> *Chinese Hammers: the Common Unknown Tool*
> 
> Anybody who has studied Chinese woodworking will not doubt have come across prints like this one where a ancient Chinese woodworker is depicted pounding on a piece of furniture with what appears to be the blunt edge of an axe. For example the Lu Ban Jing, a woodworkers manual written around in the 15th century, shows a woodworker assembling a table by pounding on one of its legs with the blunt side of an axe.
> 
> ...


Little Paw, i just searched Chinese hammers on ebay. What popped up looked like carvers mallets. I would bet if you contacted those dealers in China, they would find you a hammer ;-))


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

chscholz said:


> *Chinese Hammers: the Common Unknown Tool*
> 
> Anybody who has studied Chinese woodworking will not doubt have come across prints like this one where a ancient Chinese woodworker is depicted pounding on a piece of furniture with what appears to be the blunt edge of an axe. For example the Lu Ban Jing, a woodworkers manual written around in the 15th century, shows a woodworker assembling a table by pounding on one of its legs with the blunt side of an axe.
> 
> ...


chscholz, It wouldn't surprise me if the ancient chinese woodworkers used the straight peen end to tighten up their joints a bit.


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## chscholz (Mar 29, 2007)

*Liu Shifu's Toolbox*

*Chinese Toolboxes*
Say you are a Chinese woodworker and, during your seven years of apprenticeship you have made a full set of tools. Because much of your work will be on site, you will have to find yourself a toolbox to carry your tools around.

*Introduction to Chinese Toolboxes*
On first sight toolboxes are simply boxes to hold and transport tools. Upon further inspection one quickly realizes that toolboxes are fairly complicated tools that must meet many often conflicting requirements. On one hand tooboxes must store and protect tools while they are not in use on the other hand, the tools must be easily accessible in the toolbox such that the work of the woodworker is not slowed down.

Much of the work of a Chinese woodworker was done on site. Cabinet makers (including their apprentice) were hired for a few weeks or months, ate and literally lived in the home of the contractor while working on the furniture. For that reason Chinese woodworkers had to carry their tools to the respective job site. In other words the Chinese toolbox had to be light and small enough to be transported to the jobsite as well as containing a complete set of tools.

*History of Chinese Toolboxes*
Chinese toolboxes have been around since professional woodworkers have been around. Obviously there is a need to carry an extended set of tools from one jobsite to another. In contrast to Western woodworkers where toolboxes at times became a purpose in itself, Chinese toolboxes never seem to have been elevated to that level.

*Types of Chinese Toolboxes*
Old prints of Chinese cabinetmakers at work often show tools that peek out of a woven bamboo basket.

The toolbox that I have seen in use at Liu Shifu's shop was a wooden box that contained all his tools with exception of the frame saws.

Liu Shifu's toolbox is not dissimilar to a Western toolbox. Compared to Western toolboxes Liu Shifu's toolbox is relatively small box. The box has a hinged lid that opens the top and a small drawer in the front and a handle on each side. The box has a padlock on it's front.





The lid of the toolbox has a simple bar that holds ten chisels in place. Two wide board divide the main box into two layers. Removing the front board shows that the drawer slides on two L-shaped rail.



The lid is well fitted to the box. As typical for Chinese carpentry corners are mitered. It is not clear what joinery was used to assemble the toolbox. It could also not be determined what type of hinges were used to fit the lid to the box.

Altogether the toolbox appears to be well-worn. It is very likely that Liu Shifu designed and built this box for his own use possibly from left over wood.

With the exception of the top edge of the box, Liu Sifu has as no moldings, carvings or other adornments of any kind. It is a simple well-executed box that is build for a single purpose: storing the tools of a professional woodworker.

*Usage of Chinese Toolboxes*
As mentioned in the introduction, much of Chinese furniture was built at the customer's location. A major advantage of Chinese woodworking tools over American tools is that almost all woodworking tools had wooden bodies and hence much less weight than American tools. It is truly impressive how many tools Liu Shifu was able to store in a, by American standards, small toolbox. Although Liu Shifu seems to work mainly out of his shop, it is conceivable that he uses his toolbox to perform repair work in the field.

*Modern Chinese Toolboxes*
Given the similarity between Liu Shifu's traditional toolbox and equivalent toolboxes in the West, I would not be surprised if there is very little difference between contemporary Chinese toolboxes and Western toolboxes. In fact, it appears to be very likely that a large percentage of modern Western toolboxes are manufactured in Chinese factories.

*Chinese Toolboxes in the West*
The similarity between Liu Shifu's toolbox and Western toolboxes is indeed striking. But it is completely unclear if this similarity is simply coincidence or if Western woodworkers adapted for and function of Chinese toolboxes. Of course we don't have any information how traditional Liu Shifu's toolbox is. In addition the history of Chinese toolboxes is completely unclear. Lastly, it is certainly conceivable that Chinese woodworkers adapted Western designs for their toolboxes.


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## Sawdust4Blood (Feb 16, 2010)

chscholz said:


> *Liu Shifu's Toolbox*
> 
> *Chinese Toolboxes*
> Say you are a Chinese woodworker and, during your seven years of apprenticeship you have made a full set of tools. Because much of your work will be on site, you will have to find yourself a toolbox to carry your tools around.
> ...


A few years ago I was in a factory in Dongguan China where they restore antique furniture. One of the things that struck me was a home made coping saw they had fashioned by knicking wire with a chisel then stringing it across bowed bamboo. It was surprisingly effective and the workers used them to create some fine pieces.


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## chscholz (Mar 29, 2007)

chscholz said:


> *Liu Shifu's Toolbox*
> 
> *Chinese Toolboxes*
> Say you are a Chinese woodworker and, during your seven years of apprenticeship you have made a full set of tools. Because much of your work will be on site, you will have to find yourself a toolbox to carry your tools around.
> ...


A coping saw made of bamboo and a wire! 
Amazing work that the Chinese woodworker are able to do with "rusty old junk". I never gained access to any of the furniture restoration places in the Pearl River delta. How did you get in there?

Chris


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## Sawdust4Blood (Feb 16, 2010)

chscholz said:


> *Liu Shifu's Toolbox*
> 
> *Chinese Toolboxes*
> Say you are a Chinese woodworker and, during your seven years of apprenticeship you have made a full set of tools. Because much of your work will be on site, you will have to find yourself a toolbox to carry your tools around.
> ...


I was in in Hong Kong for a few days with Chinese friends that import Chinese antiques. We got a mainland visa through a travel agency in Hong Kong, took a train to Shenzhen, then drove to Dongguan.

While we were there, also hit some Chinese flea markets selling old pieces. It was a great trip.


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## chscholz (Mar 29, 2007)

*Sharpening*

*Introduction to Sharpening of Chinese tools*

One 15th century contractor complained that his craftsmen spent about half of their time sharpening their tools. Considering the fact that Chinese woodworkers had a preference for gnarly old wood, the harder the better, this does not come as a surprise.

History of Chinese Sharpening Tools

Little has been written about Chinese tools, but almost nothing has been written about Chinese sharpening stones. In his book China at Work, Hommel mentions sharpening stones briefly; the National Place Museum mentions that Sung Hua stones that became sought after as inkstones, were originally used as sharpening stones.

Did did traditional Chinese woodworkers have a preference for sharpening stones from a specific quarry? Did they prefer oilstons or waterstones. Or did they possibly use ceramic stones? It appears as if historians have never attempted to answer these questions.

Jade carving, which is really more misnomer, and should be called jade grinding, was highly developed in Ancient China. It is well documented that Chinese jade carving developed abrasive material that was similar to our super abrasives. Is is conceivable that such super abrasives were used for sharpening woodworking tools?

Types of Chinese Sharpening Stones

Traditionally Chinese tools were sharpened using stones. It is not clear if water or oilstones were preferred, it is also conceivable that both types of stones were used concurrently. In addition I have seen stones that were used to maintain the sharp edge of caving tools that were used without any lubricant.

Today two types of sharpening stones are readily available:

*artificial stones and
*natural waterstones

How about natural oil stones? I can not say with absolute certainty that they do not exist, but I have never seen any natural oil stones in use with Chinese woodworkers.

The set of sharpening stones typically consist of only two stones: one artificial combination stone and one natural waterstone. For initial sharpening artificial stones appear to be in common use. The ubiquitous artificial stone is a combination stone.




This stone is commonly available in hardware stores in China as well as on farmers markets. I estimate that the grit size of the combination stone is approx. 300 grit on one side and 1000 grit on the finer side.

The characters printed on the stone indicate that the stone is supposed to be used with oil as a lubricant. However, I have never seen this stone being used with oil, in fact the only time I have seen this stone was without any lubricant at all.

The natural waterstone is about as common as the artificial stone. I estimate that the grit of this stone is around 4000.




Similar to artificial stones, I have seen natural water stones being used completely dry for quick touch-ups of carving tools. This is possibly due to the fact that many woodworker shops and carving outfits do not have running water on the shop floor. Professional shops such as Liu Shifu's shop have a bucket of water available to wet the sharpening stone.

Usage of Chinese Sharpening Stones

In contrast to Western hobbyists, sharpening does not to be a purpose in itself for Chinese woodworkers. All of the tools that Liu Shifu showed me appeared to be relatively dull. Sharp enough for the specific application appears to be the goal. When asking Liu Shifu about his sharpening procedure, initially he hesitated. Why would anybody be interested in that? he seemed to think. Sure enough, hidden away behind a stash of lumber he had a bucket of water in which two natural waterstones were stored.



One stone that appeared to be relatively flat, is used to sharpen regular plane blades, chisels, etc. The other stone in the shape of a a dogbone is used to sharpen all other tools such as caving tools, molding planes, etc. Other sharpening paraphernalia such as flattening stones, diamond paste, crowning plate, buffing compound, stropping leather, not necessary if you are trained as a Chinese master woodworker.



The work I have seen at Liu Shifu's shop is certainly not up to the standards of the traditional Ming dynasty woodworkers and I have no idea if Liu Shifu could produce such pieces of art if there would be a market in the small town here lives in. Furthermore I am not aware of any documentation that would explain the types of sharpening stones used to produce high-end furniture in China. The only reference about sharpening stones I have seen is in the context of Sung Hua stones originally used for sharpening knives. For that reason it is currently unclear if Chinese woodworkers ever had the need to develop highly complex sharpening techniques like we know them from Japanese woodworkers. It is certainly conceivable that with enough skills one can produce outstanding pieces of art without the trouble and exotic sharpening methods. I suppose it is a Chan (a concept that is called Zen) kind a thing.

At the same time Chines sword making has been highly sophisticated and is the foundation of Japanese sword making. Sword polishing was a well established profession in its own right. But it is not clear if techniques that were used for sword making were ever applied for common woodworking tools.

Not for from Liu Shifu's shop I was able to observe a shop keeper sharpening his knife. Life in China is much more public than in most Western countries and Chinese in general have little hesitation going about their business on the sidewalks (that very often are made of solid granite).





He was using one of the ubiquitous natural waterstones grinding away to re-establish the cutting edge. First one side, then the other side. Of course he did not use any sharpening guide, flattening stone, lapping compound, motorized sharpener, etc.

Modern Chinese Sharpening Stones

As stated earlier, there are two primary types of sharpening stones in common use in China today. Both types of stones can be found in any well-stocked hardware store. These stones are used for woodworking books, kitchen knifes and any other cutting tool imaginable.

Chinese Sharpening Stones in the West

Chinese sharpening stones are fairly unknown in the West. A while ago large distributor and franchise business of woodworking tools started selling the common Chinese natural waterstones in the US. Reviews are mixed, some comment on the cheap price and state that these stones perform exceptionally well, others point out that these stones not as fine as the finest waterstones.


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## DinoWalk (May 24, 2011)

chscholz said:


> *Sharpening*
> 
> *Introduction to Sharpening of Chinese tools*
> 
> ...


It's amazing how many aspects of history go unnoticed or unquestioned. Thanks for this post, it reminds me of my grandfather. He always used waterstones to sharpen his tools, and it wasn't until a couple of years ago when I got into chiseling, that I began to appreciate it. He taught me how to sharpen my chisels, taking care to not sharpen using the same area of the stone, which I did more than once. But an easy fix to an uneven waterstone is to rub it on a concrete block. Thanks again!


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

chscholz said:


> *Sharpening*
> 
> *Introduction to Sharpening of Chinese tools*
> 
> ...


I have really enjoyed all of your posts, thanks for taking the time to do this. I love the minimalist approach to woodworking.


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## chscholz (Mar 29, 2007)

*Glue-less edge joints*

When mentioning that Chinese woodworking does not use glue I always get the question how to edge-joint without glue.

On a recent trip to Southern China I had the opportunity to see a very nice example on what it looks like. 
The Perl River Delta (roughly the triangle spanned by Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Macau) is quite pleasant in Winter but extremely hot and humid in Summer. Since electricity is quite expensive people there tend to use the AC orders of magnitude less than in the US. This puts quite a bit of stress on wooden furniture.

We noticed that one of the two beds in the apartment developed bad mold. Further investigation showed that one bed was completely made out of particle board the other had key parts made out of zhangmu (camphor). Moreover the bed made of camphor did not use glue.

Removing the mattress (which is surprisingly thin and rock hard, the first night is painful, eventually it becomes quite comfortable) it turns out that the mattress is simply supported by a wooden board.



The interesting part, at least for me, came when removing the board that is made up of three sub-assemblies. 
Each sub-board is consists of 4 or 5 camphor planks that are held together with two tapered dovetailed clamps.



I have no information about the origin of this bed other than it was purchased locally, and most likely was built and assembled by a local carpenter shop using whatever tools were available.

In my opinion this is a clear example where traditional methods (edge-joint boards assembled without glue) are vastly superior to it's modern equivalent. Or in other words, methods that are perfectly appropriate for say Rochester, MN, are completely inappropriate to the tropical climate in Zhuhai, China. Unfortunately in the name of progress these traditional methods are rapidly disappearing.

BTW, the holes you see in the bed posts are not because this is a bunk bed (it is not), the holes are there to attach sticks to the bed posts that hold up the mosquito nets.

Thank you for listening.

Chris


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## jerusalemcarpentress (Feb 8, 2009)

chscholz said:


> *Glue-less edge joints*
> 
> When mentioning that Chinese woodworking does not use glue I always get the question how to edge-joint without glue.
> 
> ...


Cool! Thanks for posting! You can totally see where Greene and Greene drew their inspiration!


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## tenontim (Feb 24, 2008)

chscholz said:


> *Glue-less edge joints*
> 
> When mentioning that Chinese woodworking does not use glue I always get the question how to edge-joint without glue.
> 
> ...


This is great stuff! This is the kind of woodworking you don't hear about all of the time. Now I'm going to have to try this on something. Thanks for the post.


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## woodspark (May 8, 2010)

chscholz said:


> *Glue-less edge joints*
> 
> When mentioning that Chinese woodworking does not use glue I always get the question how to edge-joint without glue.
> 
> ...


Interesting post, thanks for sharing!


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## Dennisgrosen (Nov 14, 2009)

chscholz said:


> *Glue-less edge joints*
> 
> When mentioning that Chinese woodworking does not use glue I always get the question how to edge-joint without glue.
> 
> ...


I think its a well known tecnique in europe too
or at least in Skandinavia since using the sliding dovetail
is well known in stabledoors here in Denmark
but remarkeble that they hadn´t use nails or dovels too

thank´s for sharing
Dennis


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## lilredweldingrod (Nov 23, 2009)

chscholz said:


> *Glue-less edge joints*
> 
> When mentioning that Chinese woodworking does not use glue I always get the question how to edge-joint without glue.
> 
> ...


Very interesting! It is always a great day when you learn something…...old? Well an old technique that is new to us.
A very simple thing that makes you stop and think, "Now why didn't I think of that?" Great!


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## chscholz (Mar 29, 2007)

chscholz said:


> *Glue-less edge joints*
> 
> When mentioning that Chinese woodworking does not use glue I always get the question how to edge-joint without glue.
> 
> ...


Thank you y'all for the kind words. Hey Dennis, show us some of the European barndoors


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## Dennisgrosen (Nov 14, 2009)

chscholz said:


> *Glue-less edge joints*
> 
> When mentioning that Chinese woodworking does not use glue I always get the question how to edge-joint without glue.
> 
> ...


Hi Chris
now don´t hold your breath now….LOL
I will do what I can….....just have to borrow the wife´s camera ….remember to bring it with me …LOL
wellyou know how it is when you work 10 -15 hours a day …easy to forget things 
but I have made a written note now and its on the fridge door ..LOL
but in the meentime take a look at mafe´s blog here there is some close up on some doors
but not the sliding dovetail …sorry but I think you wuold like to see the pictures he has taken
from a woodworking/carpenter weiw its queit interressting 

http://lumberjocks.com/topics/19623

take care
Dennis


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## swirt (Apr 6, 2010)

chscholz said:


> *Glue-less edge joints*
> 
> When mentioning that Chinese woodworking does not use glue I always get the question how to edge-joint without glue.
> 
> ...


Very interesting Chris, thanks for sharing. When I look at the photo of the whole panel, it seems that the sliding dovetail is skewed a bit (not at a right angle to the boards' length). Is this accurate or is it just an illusion from the camera lens?


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## chscholz (Mar 29, 2007)

chscholz said:


> *Glue-less edge joints*
> 
> When mentioning that Chinese woodworking does not use glue I always get the question how to edge-joint without glue.
> 
> ...


Dennis,

how did you know this, indeed, I do love Mafe's blog!
Yes I do know 10, 15+ hour days, this might sounds strange but I actually enjoy what I am doing. There were times when I had all the time I wanted. Did not work for me.

Swirt, 
you are a keen observer. This is not an optical illusion, the dovetailed clamp and the matching dovetail have non-parallel faces in the lengthwise direction.
I suppose when the carpenter makes the dovetailed clamp he makes it longer than the width of the panel. drives the clamp in real well and saws off whatever sticks out. In Chinese woodworking any panel (tables, chests, even drawers ) is made that way. When used for fine furniture the dovetailed clamps appear to have parallel sides though. Maybe because the takes more care when cutting the joinery? 
I have been told that that's how they've been made since at least the Song Dynasty (960 and 1279).
Closeup of dovetailed clamp of an antique chair.


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## Dennisgrosen (Nov 14, 2009)

chscholz said:


> *Glue-less edge joints*
> 
> When mentioning that Chinese woodworking does not use glue I always get the question how to edge-joint without glue.
> 
> ...


A lucky punch I gess LOL

maybee you like this too
http://lumberjocks.com/Dennisgrosen/blog/20701

take care
Dennis


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## swirt (Apr 6, 2010)

chscholz said:


> *Glue-less edge joints*
> 
> When mentioning that Chinese woodworking does not use glue I always get the question how to edge-joint without glue.
> 
> ...


I am surprised the tapers go in the same direction. I would think there would be more holding power if one of the two clamps tapered in opposite directions.


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## chscholz (Mar 29, 2007)

chscholz said:


> *Glue-less edge joints*
> 
> When mentioning that Chinese woodworking does not use glue I always get the question how to edge-joint without glue.
> 
> ...


Hi Swirt,

an interesting observation, I for one was not aware of that. It's a lot easier to assemble when the tapers go in the same direction though. We are not talking fine furniture here. I'd say this bed is the equivalent to IKEA furniture in the US. I figure the woodworker who build the board got payed by how many of them he cranked out per hour with an acceptable level of quality.

Chris


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## chscholz (Mar 29, 2007)

*The Huntington Gardens*

Last weekend I had the the distinct pleasure to visit the Huntington Gardens in LA, CA. 
Unfortunately the Japanese garden was closed for maintenance. 
Wandering through the gardens we stumbled into the brand new Chinese garden. 
Chinese garden design is a thousands of years old, highly sophisticated art form that I don't understand as good as nothing about.

I am sure almost everybody knows the shape of the Chinese roofline work.








or Chinese lattice work. 

















The Huntington Gardens also feature exquisitely carved panels such as this one









But it gets really exciting when you start looking at the joinery up close. 
Just as expected, no glue, not nails, no pegs, no shortcuts but honest joinery!








Here's the bummer: the lattice work is dovetailed!









And look at the joinery of the huge arch! Simply amazing!









We talked to a security guard that was walking around the garden. He told us that all the woodwork was pre-cut in China and then shipped to LA where Chinese woodworker hand-assembled the structures.

The Huntington Gardens also had a Greene and Greene exhibit in one of the exhibit halls. I must say, after seeing the Chinese joinery, what Green and Green produced looks rather crude and unfinished. Cloud-lift rails at the wrong locations, the generous use of Buddhist fu symbols, this all looks like a copy of classical Chinese style elements.

And if you mosey down to LA Chinatown and read the historic markers that the city (?) put up one can not help but wondering where one should draw the line between being inspired by great artist on copying other people's work.










In any case, a visit to the Chinese Garden a the Huntington Gardens is high recommended for any woodworker interested in exploring finely crafted outdoors structures.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

chscholz said:


> *The Huntington Gardens*
> 
> Last weekend I had the the distinct pleasure to visit the Huntington Gardens in LA, CA.
> Unfortunately the Japanese garden was closed for maintenance.
> ...


beautiful gardens. always a pleasure to walk around. thanks for the reminder


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## Brit (Aug 14, 2010)

chscholz said:


> *The Huntington Gardens*
> 
> Last weekend I had the the distinct pleasure to visit the Huntington Gardens in LA, CA.
> Unfortunately the Japanese garden was closed for maintenance.
> ...


Very inspiring. Thanks for posting.


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## Ken90712 (Sep 2, 2009)

chscholz said:


> *The Huntington Gardens*
> 
> Last weekend I had the the distinct pleasure to visit the Huntington Gardens in LA, CA.
> Unfortunately the Japanese garden was closed for maintenance.
> ...


Beautiful, I need to go there one day.


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## BrandonW (Apr 27, 2010)

chscholz said:


> *The Huntington Gardens*
> 
> Last weekend I had the the distinct pleasure to visit the Huntington Gardens in LA, CA.
> Unfortunately the Japanese garden was closed for maintenance.
> ...


NIce post! I love the Huntington Library, one of the most beautiful places in Southern California. Haven't been since I moved to Georgia six years ago.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

chscholz said:


> *The Huntington Gardens*
> 
> Last weekend I had the the distinct pleasure to visit the Huntington Gardens in LA, CA.
> Unfortunately the Japanese garden was closed for maintenance.
> ...


Fantastic post! That joinery is incredible. Especially incredible that it didn't have to be


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

chscholz said:


> *The Huntington Gardens*
> 
> Last weekend I had the the distinct pleasure to visit the Huntington Gardens in LA, CA.
> Unfortunately the Japanese garden was closed for maintenance.
> ...


woohoo, another installment of Chinese woodworking. That joinery is amazing. Thanks for posting.


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## phtaylor36 (Jun 13, 2011)

chscholz said:


> *The Huntington Gardens*
> 
> Last weekend I had the the distinct pleasure to visit the Huntington Gardens in LA, CA.
> Unfortunately the Japanese garden was closed for maintenance.
> ...


Wow, that is unbelievable. I should go there tomorrow…Don't they have a Sam Maloof exhibit there right now?


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## kaerlighedsbamsen (Sep 16, 2013)

chscholz said:


> *The Huntington Gardens*
> 
> Last weekend I had the the distinct pleasure to visit the Huntington Gardens in LA, CA.
> Unfortunately the Japanese garden was closed for maintenance.
> ...


Just read through this blog series and enjoyed every word. A great story about the old woodworker and a lot of new, exiting information. 
Thanks for writing!


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## DallasToth (Jun 12, 2017)

chscholz said:


> *The Huntington Gardens*
> 
> Last weekend I had the the distinct pleasure to visit the Huntington Gardens in LA, CA.
> Unfortunately the Japanese garden was closed for maintenance.
> ...


Fantastic post that joinery is incredible.


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