Last July, I took a class from Peter Follansbee on making a joint stool. It was at Roy Underhill’s The Woodwright’s School in Pittsboro, N.C., where the sun beat down all week and the mercury crossed the 100° mark every day. My people are from peat bogs; I would rather it be 50° and raining than hot and sunny – and our first two days were spent outside splitting stock from freshly felled red oak logs. But despite the constant threat of heat stroke, I had a marvelous time.
Peter has an arid sense of humor (which I adore) and he is unfailingly generous in sharing his years of woodworking experience, and his deep knowledge of 16th- and 17th-century furniture – not to mention his tools. And working with wet oak was a wholly new experience for me, and a great deal of fun. It seemed revolutionary to me – even though the technique is centuries old – to be able to split off a perfect (or perfect enough) tenon rather than saw it. (And I’m sad you can’t do that with cherry.)
In just one week, most of the 10 students in the class managed to go from a log to a finished drawbored joint stool, complete with shaped legs (some of them turned the legs on Roy’s pole lathe) and a seat with a profiled edge.
I’m chagrined to admit that I was in the minority (as you can no doubt tell from the photo at the top). On the last day, as we were doing a final dry-fit on the tenons in preparation for drawboring, I cut the angle on one of my side stretcher tenons at such a wrong angle that I removed too much material to be able to drawbore it in place. Peter calmly assessed the situation, made me laugh about my mistake, then hewed another stretcher for me from some leftover stock in less than a half-hour, while also helping the other students complete their work. (I’m a horrid hewer; I need a lot more practice and a much stronger wrist.)
By the end of the day, I managed to get the show surface planed and the angles cut on the shoulders of the new stretcher, but the tenons were still square and I didn’t have time to add a bead to match the other three. I think I was having too much fun playing with the gouge and mallet as I cut the simple design shown at right into the aprons – a technique that Peter had me doing with ease in but minutes.
With the class over, I packed all the parts into a tomato flat, tossed them in the back of my car, and drove home to Cincinnati. As soon as I got home, I borrowed from Chris Schwarz a beader to finish the last of the decoration, and I was gung-ho to get the joint stool assembled. I took it into my shop at work … then life got in the way.
As of two days ago, the pieces were languishing at work in the tomato flat, and covered with sawdust. Now, they’re dry-assembled on my bench at home, and I have a couple pins driven. I still have to fit those last two tenons, then drill the holes so I can complete the drawboring.
But I can’t for the life of me remember what Peter told us about pegging the top in place – particularly a two-board top, which is what mine will be.
So I’m delighted that “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree” is at the printer; I need it as soon as possible – because I’m not moving those joint stool pieces off my bench until the project is done.
– Megan Fitzpatrick
That kinda looks like the first bowl I turned……Just kidding!
I work in ambient temperatures not far from Pittsboro and I don’t recall it even reaching 100 degrees last summer. High 90s, sure, but unlike the previous summer I don’t think we had a single 100 degree day in 2011. It was mild, is what I am trying to say. Unlike the bitter cold we are enduring now – it’s only 41 out there. I think I will stay inside until it hits 50 at least.
41 is bitter cold? 41 is shorts and t-shirt weather. Over 80 is for staying inside.
Your therometer was broke cause the Ice Cream store next to Roy’s said it was 100°…
Hmmm…maybe it was the heat index that topped 100°. Anything above 75° feels torrid to me.
Hey it’s great to see you contributing to the Lost Art Press blog
It’s looking good so far! 🙂 I hear you on the heat. The max temperature at which I want to do anything but lie around and drink lemonade is 75. 50 degrees and rainy…mmm.
Snug!! Seconds on the “nice to see you here”!! Thank you for sharing your candid photos. I’ve seen plenty of “perfects”. Sometimes it is more inspiring to see others mistakes and learn how they corrected them (I will try the ole ‘Have Mr. Follensbee cut it for me’ on my next tenon blowout). This gives encouragement to those of us who experience the gaffes more often then the “perfects”.
I like your stool, with the non-turned legs.
I think I’ll order the new book, but I don’t have a source for freshly-felled oak. What other woods are appropriate for this approach?
well, you can use air-dried oak if you have to. Ash is good, I’ve seen some in walnut. Even – I hate to say it, maple. Some real nice ones in England are yew. that stuff turns like nothing else…
Heat index? What is that, other than some way to frighten the light weights. Meh. You have to be tough to make it in this world. Okay, being oblivious to the heat helps, too. Trust me, compared to working outside or in a boxcar during the summer on the Mississippi Delta, North Carolina is downright mild.
And here I thought I was the only one to let a project get set aside. I don’t believe it is so much a poor student as much as getting to many projects going. Hang in there Megan.
If we’re talking about unfinished projects…I know I have plenty of those.
Although, now that I just started listing them it’s *way* fewer than I had a few years ago. Some I finished, some I sold, some I decided against starting. I guess as I get older I’m learning to choose my battles.
The Roubo bench I’m actively working on. The tool chest will be next, and the chopped/sectioned Studebaker pickup will continue to languish.
Hi Megan,
The carving looks nice….the stool will be great! There are probably lots of us who suffered “life getting in the way” syndrome…..myself included. But I’m ready to get that blasted top on…I need somewhere to sit! You’re right about the temps…it was HOT HOT HOT! Of course, I’m a yankee who can’t take the heat!
For the stickler’s out there……on the first day, it was 93F. Tuesday was cool, at 88; but then it got hot again, with ambient temps at 95, 97, and 100 wed, thu, and friday, respectively. At least, that’s according to accuweather….and doesn’t take into account humidity and all.
Regarding pegging/pinning the top, shoot me a note if you want the notes I took….I’m happy to send to you if you don’t want to wait until the book comes back from the printer.
I know we’re all waiting for that day…coming soon!
– Cheers!
I will concede that there might have been one day when it hit 100, but otherwise it was a rather cool summer last year. A hot summer is when the overnight lows are 85.
I had to double check which blog I was reading. The peat bog thing surprised and I was trying to figure out where there are peat bogs in the American south. Had to check the author first then I was really confused. Nice to see you here Megan.
Oh and thanks for the warning about the temps. I’m heading to Pittsboro in August.
Shannon,
It should have been immediately obvious from the lack of animal metaphor or mention of beer that it wasn’t Chris. That, and the lavender shop wall in the photo, I guess.
The a/c is better in the back of the room at Roy’s. Stake your bench claim early.
did anyone else hover over the photos and notice they were saved under “snookie1” and “snookie2”? i hope that’s not a jersey shore reference of some sort.
Yeah, the uncorrected photos looked like they had a bad spray tan. So after I color corrected them I gave them an appropriate name.
My people…they read this blog and make comments like this. Hilarious. Happy Friday.
Y’all should try woodworking in the summertime here in Las Vegas! 90 is a very cool day! Average summer temps top 105 and 116 is not unusual. I have to soak my head to get my hair wet so it will keep me cool(er). Doesn’t last long enough!
Megan; I can’t tell you how impressed I am with your work. You’re turning out really nice stuff.
Cheers!
Hey Megan – Ignore all of the “you think that’s hot….” comments. I am a Southerner, born and raised in Alabama, and my family can trace our ancestry in the South back before the Revolutionary War (so I’m not just a transplanted Yankee). I will assure you that Southerners are just as miserable on a day in the high 90’s with a dewpoint of 75 deg + as anyone else, you included. It’s just that many consider it a source of pride to endure that sort of misery, much as Minnesotans might regard “being out in it” on -10 deg days to be a mark of toughness.
It’s more than a little bit nuts (bragging about being in miserable weather). 😉
I used to walk barefoot to school in 10 feet of snow, with -50 degree wind chills, up hill both ways, dragging my sister on a pallet… during summer “vacation”!