This past week I taught a class at the Wood and Shop School on building a Shaker candle stand for the first time. The table we made is pretty much a dead copy of one I measured a few years back at Hancock Shaker Village.
photo by Joshua Farnsworth
I was surprised at how well everyone took to cutting the sliding dovetails that attach the legs to the spindle. The fit and and function of the joinery was top notch.
Mark Firley of The Furniture Record was not at all impressed with my machine gun pose.photo by J.F.photo by J.F.
I have written and done a video on building this table in the past; it is one of my all-time favorite projects. Building this wonderful table with all of its cool little details in a class with a great group students really brought the project full circle for me.
Note: I haven’t posted here in a while. But for those who haven’t read Making Things Work and will be visiting the Lost Art Press storefront this weekend (you lucky dogs; I am dying to meet Suzanne Ellison), you can buy the book there.
Guy and Poppy were a pair of retired business professors who had traveled the world. Judging by what I saw as they showed me around their home during my first visit, they’d brought a good bit of it back home with them.
They had been referred to me by a contractor who assured them I’d be ideal for their project. “We just bought a reproduction of a piece of sculpture,” Poppy wrote in her introductory email.
The first photo shows the original swan at the S. Museum, and the second is the reproduction in the museum shop, just like the one we have. We need to have a cabinet built to display the statue, ideally with a couple of doors in which we can store other items. Please give us a call if you’re interested in helping us with this.
It wasn’t the type of job I ordinarily do, but since they’d been referred to me by a professional whom I like and respect, I called Poppy and arranged a meeting.
Their house was stunning: a classic of modernist style, inside and out—not that I would have guessed as I pulled up to the windowless façade, a gray stone rectangle apparently modeled after a freight container. But no sooner had I set foot inside than the scales dropped from my eyes. All of the other exterior walls were glass, spectacular in the house’s wooded setting.
Works of art filled the interior. Here a Coptic embroidery flanked by a pair of Yoruba masks, there a threesome of prints by Warhol, Schiele, and Kandinsky. A sixteenth-century Japanese screen formed a movable divider between the living room and the kitchen, itself a perfectly preserved marvel of original Sixties design. Clearly these people had excellent taste and understood the value of art and craft. I made myself a mental note to send the contractor a letter of thanks for the referral.–Excerpted from Making Things Work by Nancy Hiller
You can now register for seven new classes at the Lost Art Press storefront via the links below. Note: Registering for the class or the waiting list is free – no credit card needed to register. After the dust settles, instructors will invoice students.
Chip Carving Class with Daniel Clay July 7 & 8
Cost: $300, materials included (Click here to register)
Dovetailed Shaker Step Stool with Megan Fitzpatrick July 28 & 29
Cost: $340, which includes all materials. (Click here to register)
Build the Cabinetmaker’s Sector with Brendan Gaffney August 18-19, 2018 ($300, includes all materials) (Click here to register.)
Boarded Bookshelf with Megan Fitzpatrick August 25 & 26, 2018 Cost: $340, which includes all wood and Rivierre nails. (Click here to register)
Build the Cabinetmaker’s Sector with Brendan Gaffney September 15-16, 2018 (Click here to register)
Dutch Tool Chest with Megan Fitzpatrick Sept. 22 & 23 September 22 & 23, 2018 Cost: $340, which includes the wood and nails/screws. (Click here to register)
Make a Coffin-Shaped Bookcase…for use Now & Later with Megan Fitzpatrick October 20 & 21, 2018 (just in time for Halloween!) Cost: $340, which includes all materials. (Click here to register)
Detail from Albrecht Durer’s “Melencolia 1,” 1514,
There are a number of geometric constructions that allow us to create regular (i.e equal-angle and equal-facet length) polygons. Most of those for squares, rectangles and triangles are quite straightforward, requiring but a few steps. However, those dealing with five or more sided polygons get quite tedious involving numerous exacting steps.
Traditional artisan’s constructions are far simpler and each work in the same way to create polygons of any number of sides. The caveat is that they do not generate perfect vertices and therefore do not form regular polygons – i.e. they are approximations. Their products are so close, however, that we cannot see the difference in most drawing and furniture-scale applications. In constructions such as building foundations or landscape layouts, the deviation is a bit more evident. The constructions can, however, easily be “tuned” to near perfect by making small adjustments in the step-out procedures. Here’s a look at three trade-practice methods to create a seven-sided “heptagon.” More details and full instructions for executing these methods are available as a download (free for the next 10 days) at our www.byhandandeye.com shop page.
We use this construction when we know the length of one of the facets of the polygon we wish to generate. Basically, it gives us the focal point of the inscribing circle:
We use this next construction when we know the radius of the inscribing circle. In both of these methods, we are segmenting a line into the number of facets required by our polygon. (In the first, we are segmenting a half-circle circumference line, in the one below, the diameter):
The fastest method, however, is attained through the use of the sector (which you can download for free in the form of a paper template at www.byhandandeye.com).
Using the “line of polygons” (which we derived from another traditional calculator called a “scale of chords”) we start by setting the dividers to the radius of the inscribing circle at the line’s “6” index point:
Then we reset the dividers to the number of facets we want – in this case at “7” for producing our heptagon:
When we step this span around the circle, we have our construction. Again, because this is just an approximation, we will likely have to make a tiny adjustment to allow the dividers to return to the exact starting point. Be assured, though, that you will be so deep in the ballpark with any of these traditional methods that you’ll be able to smell the hot dogs.
A handful of new woodworking class sessions from Daniel Clay, Brendan Gaffney and me will go on sale Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at 9 a.m. EDT on Eventbrite. Classes are limited to six students – the number of benches (plus one for the instructor) we have available in the front room of the storefront, which is filled with natural light. And the mechanical library, Electric Horse Garage and biergarten are all open for inspection.
If you’re one of the first six to register, the instructor will be in touch regarding payment and tool lists. If you’re number seven or after, you can choose to be added to the waitlist (for which I encourage you to register – I filled an empty slot in my last class from the waitlist, and Brendan has added the sector sessions below as a result of robust demand).
All proceeds go directly to the instructor; they are not a money-making enterprise for Christopher Schwarz or Lost Art Press. He’s let those of us who are teaching use the space for free as a way to help build and get the word out on the local woodworking community, and because he is incredibly generous. (Note: He is also an excellent teaching assistant, and will likely be around for at least a little while during the classes.)
In this two-day class, students will receive comprehensive instruction in the fundamentals of chip carving, a decorative technique in which faceted “chips” are removed from a wooden surface to produce geometric patterns, stylized images, lettering and ornamentation. Through demonstrations, guided practice, skill-building exercises, and the completion of a decorative wall hanging, students will leave class with all the knowledge, experience and confidence to pursue chip carving on their own. One of the most attractive aspects of chip carving (especially for beginning woodcarvers) is that it can be accomplished at a high level with minimal tools and materials; all you need to become a great chip carver is a sharp knife, some suitable wood and a little practice.
No prior woodworking or carving experience is necessary to take the class, but all are welcome! This class is best suited to those with little or no chip carving experience.
The instructor will provide the wood and other necessary materials for the class. Students must supply their own chip carving knives. If you don’t have a chip carving knife it is strongly recommended that you start with this knife, or this two-knife set. Additionally, it is recommended that students bring a pencil, a sheet of 220 sand paper, a 12” combination square, and, if you have one, a sharp block plane.
Learn how to cut dovetails by hand, and cut and refine curves with hand tools, as you build a classic Shaker two-step step stool (out of cherry) that will withstand decades – lifetimes, really – of use. This one is based off the classic stool in “Making Authentic Shaker Furniture,” by John Shea (Dover, 1975). You’ll also get to listen to me wax prolific about liquid hide glue, use it, and take home a bottle of Old Brown Glue courtesy of Patrick Edwards.
In this two-day class, students will build their own Cabinetmaker’s Sector, my modernized design for the ancient geometer’s tool, used for drawing, drafting and (in my shop) the layout of dimensions and joinery on woodwork. The class will revolve around the skills of modern hand-tool makers, including careful marking and measuring, mixing metal and wood, hand shaping, finishing and (of course) how to use the tool.
Each student will be provided the wood and the necessary brass hinges and pins, everything needed to produce the sector. The first day will revolve around affixing the brass and wooden tabs into the tools, riveting the leaves together, flattening and lapping the tools and reviewing the principles behind the geometry of the sector. The second day will revolve around shaping the sectors, stamping and inking the sector marks, finishing the sectors and learning to use them in the shop. Every student will leave with a completed sector, plus the knowledge of how it works and how to use it.
Build the Boarded Bookshelf from Christopher Schwarz’s “The Anarchist’s Design Book” as you learn how cut dados and tongue-and-groove joints by hand, and drive tapered, square-shanked nails without splitting your work. And of course, plane up your work for a perfect finish. The bookcases will be built in pine…and we might even have time to give them a first coat of General Finishes milk paint (or casein-based milk paint, if that’s your preference – the tool list will include links and pros/cons for both finish treatments).
In this two-day class, students will build their own Cabinetmaker’s Sector, my modernized design for the ancient geometer’s tool, used for drawing, drafting and (in my shop) the layout of dimensions and joinery on woodwork. The class will revolve around the skills of modern hand-tool makers, including careful marking and measuring, mixing metal and wood, hand shaping, finishing and (of course) how to use the tool.
Each student will be provided the wood and the necessary brass hinges and pins, everything needed to produce the sector. The first day will revolve around affixing the brass and wooden tabs into the tools, riveting the leaves together, flattening and lapping the tools and reviewing the principles behind the geometry of the sector. The second day will revolve around shaping the sectors, stamping and inking the sector marks, finishing the sectors and learning to use them in the shop. Every student will leave with a completed sector, plus the knowledge of how it works and how to use it.
During this intense two-day class you’ll build a Dutch tool chest (from either pine or poplar, depending on what’s good, available and inexpensive that month) using dovetails, dados, rabbets and nails (or screws). Because of the demands of the project, this class will likely run into the early evening to ensure everyone completes the chest. The Dutch chest is an excellent introduction to handwork and the result is a fine place to store your tools.
Hinges and lifts are up to the individual makers, but I’ll provide some suggestions/links for both commercially available and handmade options.
Make a Coffin-Shaped Bookcase…for use Now & Later with Megan Fitzpatrick October 20 & 21, 2018 (just in time for Halloween!) Cost: $340, which includes all materials. (Click here to register: Will go live on 5/9/18 at 9 a.m.)
Build a traditional kerf-bent and nailed pine coffin (which we’ll then make into a bookcase for interim use). Note that at the bookcase link, you can download the coffin chapter from “The Anarchist’s Design Book,” free. But it doesn’t come with fun, frivolity or candy corn (all of which you’ll get in this class!). As tempted as I am to build the fire-bent version…my health care exchange insurance just isn’t good enough to chance it! (Apologies to John Hoffman for the coffin image – it makes me chuckle every time!)
A handful of new woodworking class sessions from 
Chip Carving Class with Daniel Clay
Dovetailed Shaker Step Stool with Megan Fitzpatrick
Build the Cabinetmaker’s Sector with Brendan Gaffney
Boarded Bookshelf with Megan Fitzpatrick
Make a Coffin-Shaped Bookcase…for use Now & Later with Megan Fitzpatrick