Woodworking, c. 1812

Try this *LINK*

Dan Donaldson

>Go to Stephen Shepherd's website which is at www.ilovewood.com (I am also attaching a live link). Look in the left frame and select Alburnams archive. There is a wealth of information there on tools and methods from the 1800's. (be prepared to spend a couple of hours of reading time ;-)) Stephen also has a book out with a lot of info. There is a review of the book on the WC Book Review page.


http://www.ilovewood.com/

Can't help directly

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>The Sebastopol schools did that field trip in fourth grade when our boys were in school (and may still - they're 28 and 32 now, and I'm not keeping up with the schools). It's a great experience. One warning: bring lots of warm clothes. Second warning: bring rain gear. Third warning: bring lots of warm clothes. I spent half the first day shivering, even inside a sweatshirt and heavy wool shirt, until my body's thermostat adjusted.

When our younger son - the history buff - went he decided to be a soldier, and we spent over a week researching historically correct Russian military uniforms, though he wound up deciding not to make one. I can still remember him and the one other student who had chosen soldier, a girl named Annette who was about as big as a minute, marching around with muskets that towered over them.

I congratulate you for doing this research and planning this project. Nine-year-olds are still open to learning, presented well, but old enough to think outside their immediate world, so you'll get a chance to present some important ideas to them. And, at that age, they're physically capable of doing some of the work.

Re: Can't help directly

Hal B., San Francisco

>Thanks, Bill. I enjoyed hearing about your experience. I was impressed with my son's class: when they heard that the artisans were going to do a woodworking project, 3 boys and 3 girsl signed up to be artisans. I'm wondering if they had Polartec in 1812...

Re: Try this

Hal B., San Francisco

>Thank you. That's an amazing site. I have to set some time aside to go through it, and while I won't get it before this trip, I plan to order Stephen's book.

Re: Woodworking, c. 1812

paul womack

>populated by Russian immigrants,

Whilst there is some info on woodworking in this period, I suspect that woodworking techniques in Russia may have been different. Geography matters.

That's the pedantic view. On the plus side, any thing that ain't actually a unisaw is gonna be a good approximation :-)

I'd take continental Europe as your model. English and USA practice was different in some respects.

It also has the merit that it didn't chang much; thus relatively recent information is most liely applicable.

For example, at a local auction, I found (but didn't buy) a large mitre box, mostly made from wood, but in design terms, just the same a the modern nobex model. The only metal pieces were fitting, screws, adjusters and the blade. I assume (in my ignorance) that it was old, but with some help from Wolfgang Jordan (in Germany) I found it was (IIRC) circa 1930!

Bugbear

Re: Woodworking, c. 1812

Adam Cherubini, NJ

>This is outside my area of study, but i can offer a few generic pointers:

As far as tools go, I agree with Bugbear. I'd show framed saws, and short horned planes. I'd acentuate odd ball stuff as opposed to neat factory made sets.

As far as interpretting, I think that's the harder job. Read "Krushchev's Shoe" by Roy Underhill. Keep very low expectations for productivity. Kids like to do, but doing isn't the only way to engage children.

With respect to history: I think here is your greatest challenge. Your goal should be the avoidance of myths and unintended and inaccurate thematic messages. This is what good living history museum staffers do to earn their meager salaries.

Knowing nothing about the time, geography or culture, let me make a few suggestions: Settlers came to settle. You could discuss the rigors of settlements: finding a home, possibly a job, learning about your neighbors. Even though it was done at the time, making a really good dovetail joint, for instance, probably wasn't high on their list of things to do to survive. Avoid the exceptional. Try to find some truth you can pass on and use the woodworking to do it.

This is not easy.

Anyway that's my advice for what its worth.

Adam

P.S. Interpretting/reenacting is inherently political. I suggest embracing that fact and making the political message accurate and poignant.

Re: Can't help directly

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>Wool. Lots of wool. Though I'm an Oakland native, I've lived in the Midwest, but I don't know that I've ever been as cold as the first day on that Fort Ross trip. The only heat is in the main building, and I shivered constantly, until, all of a sudden, my body decided there was no point, and reset its expectations. It was quite an amazing feeling. After that, I was fine.

Re: Woodworking, c. 1812

George Makowski

>Hal, I am a historian of Russia by training and have some reading on Russian woodworking and some contact over the years, long ago now, with Old Believer Russians many of whom did woodwork. The height of traditional Russian wooden construction is visible in Northern Russian homes and churches. in SF you sould be able to find lots of pictures of these in library collections. Stanford and Berkeley have large Russian studies collections and Berkeley with its tradition of anthropology and ethnography may have books specifically on Russian traditional woodworking.

Roy Underhill in one of his books shows a picture of an Estonian work bench and gives a citation to the book he took the image from. That may help for some regional information.

Russian traditonal wood work especially on the frontiers like Siberia and Alaska and CA apparently emphasized ax and hatchet work, hewing and splitting, much like 1600s work in England. My surmise is that planes were rare and rarely used for most work. Furniture was rare and simple, benches, tables, boxes.

You may also be able to find information from the local history efforts in Sitka. Also, there may be some kind of evidence left from the time when SF had a sizeable Russian community.

Good luck and please post about your project, I would love to see those kids working at Fort Ross.

George in AL