Refreshing article by Adam in the latest PWW

Re: Refreshing article by Adam in the latest PWW

Glenn Madsen near San Francisco

>My copy hasn't arrived yet, but I did get their email newsletter, and read Adam's blog wrt Colonial Williamsburg, and the presentations there.

I agree with the 'accuracy where it's needed' approach. I don't care how thick a table top is, if it doesn't have to match anything else. Make it look good, and move on. Get table legs to look right, but .01 isn't needed in my book there, either.

Just because we can doesn't mean we should. And especially, just because someone else can, doesn't mean I should.

I recall what a revelation it was

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>to read somewhere years ago - David Sloane book? - that house joiners used to notch out their floor joists and similar timber on the bottom side only where they touched another piece of the frame, but otherwise left the underside rough. I've seen this practice in place on our own house (built somewhere between 1885 and 1895). Adam has taught me that the same principle can apply in furniture-making.

I'm waiting to collect the last furniture from my parents' house, probably next week (we're waiting on the buyer to clear the last contingency), and one of the pieces, a little chest of drawers that apparently came across the country by wagon in the 19th century, looks to be a good demonstration of this concept. I haven't examined it closely enough to guess about factory/hand made, but there's a lot of rough wood in the non-show locations. Once I've got it, I'll try to take some pictures for group speculation.

My dad's standard...

Bruce, a MN Galoot

>was "this ain't a piano." For the most part, my dad was a carpenter, and he taught me that way. I started working finish carpentry with him when I was 16, and the way he introduced me to the subject was, "this IS a piano..."

Accuracy where it's necessary. Otherwise, it's a waste of time and effort.

Bruce

Re: Refreshing article by Adam in the latest PWW

Adam Cherubini

>I'm glad you liked it Stephen.

There's a new ww group forming in South Jersey and a LN rep came and gave us a demo. Those tools are so beautiful but they sure have the whole dial this adjuster and set this screw thing going such that their hand tools seem like machinery. This fella said he gets all of his planes to take .001 shavings.

I guess I just think there should be some yang for that yin. And I guess I'm as good a yang as any to do it!

Adam

Re: Refreshing article by Adam in the latest PWW

Stephen Kirk in Quakertown PA

>I'm probably a little ying and a little yang. I do own a LV LA Jack plane (which I do love and use a lot). I also have an old wooden jack and even one japanese plane. When I started, I got the wooden jack, but since I'd never really used any planes before, I didn't know how it was supposed to perform. Now that I have the LV, I know what things are supposed to be like, and now I can use my older planes better. I think that without any hands on education, sometimes it helps to have something that works well to serve as a reference. I'll say one thing for a wooden plane, if the sole does go drastically out of flat, it's a few minutes to put back in shape, not hours and days. I like those LN planes though, very pretty and the quality is phenomenal (quality is oftimes hard to find these days) - but if I already have tools that work, I'll use those instead.

I do wonder if some of the Nasa level tolerances these days come from the finicky machines. if at least 2 sides of a board aren't flat and square, ripping it on a table saw can be dangerous. Feeding a warped board through a planer results in a thinner warper board. Plus the cost of high precision measuring instruments is now pretty cheap, so why not get the best thing out there, even if it is way more accurate than necessary.

As a slight aside (and I'm trying not to let this get much longer) have you ever wondered if we need more hands on style instruction in hand tool usage. I, for one, find reading about things just doesn't work too well for me. Hand tool usage, I think, is something that you really need to do. As I gain some proficiency, teaching is something I've considered. Haven't even decided if I want to charge yet.

Re: Refreshing article by Adam in the latest PWW

mikew

>"As a slight aside (and I'm trying not to let this get much longer) have you ever wondered if we need more hands on style instruction in hand tool usage. I, for one, find reading about things just doesn't work too well for me. Hand tool usage, I think, is something that you really need to do. As I gain some proficiency, teaching is something I've considered. Haven't even decided if I want to charge yet."

Hi Stephen,

Amen to your original post. Adam's articles are from a wonderful perspective and a refreshing change from YASA [Yet Another Sharpening Article].

As regards the quote, I think this is why I am excited by TLN's Hand Tool Event held in Boston last year--didn't get to make it personally--and those planned for this year. I think his venue has the opportunity to grow into something even better than reports of the December one. And...they're free to attend.

There are two planned for this side of the US in May, and others back East later in the year. Two day events where one can go, play with tools in a constructive manner, and hopefully walk away with some hands-on experience. And it's not all about LN tools. It is about using hand tools, which is near impossible at the "normal" woodworking shows has a guy with a screaming router and amplified speakers across the aisle.

Take care, Mike

Re: on hand tool use

Glenn Madsen near San Francisco

>"...have you ever wondered if we need more hands on style instruction in hand tool usage?"

I've found that I'm a 'feel' learner. Without understanding how the activity is supposed to feel, I have great difficulty understanding the theory and practice. And until I got to use a sharp, well-tuned handplane, they were of little interest to me. As were chisels, brace & bit, and other 'blessings from the old guys'.

That's why the classes at adult ed were so useful to me. And popular with others. We can't program computers or sell things every minute of our lives.

Re: Refreshing article by Adam in the latest PWW

ThomD

>Haven't seen that one yet. Looking forward to it.

I would say two things for now:

If you are hoping to get some results in the 1/10000" mark you are probably better off with hand tools. Think of snipe, ripples etc... That is starting to enter the area in metal work where with a normal budget one would be using hand tools also.

Nothing new about unfinished drawer bottoms etc... Just look at some furniture. Nothing new about fine tolerances and all finished surfaces either.