Category: Make a Joint Stool from a Tree

“Make a Joint Stool from a Tree” has been out a while now, so once you’ve digested  your copy, go get at some oak and let us see what you came up with. Hopefully summer will let go soon, so the heavy work of busting open a log won’t seem so daunting. I know I have cut back on what I have tackled during the heat and humidity.

Here is a stool sent in a while ago by reader Larry Barrett:

Here’s what Larry had to say:

“Attached are a few photos of joint stools, carved boxes and chairs – all made thanks to things I have learned from you both, either via your new book, Peter’s blog or classes with Jennie.  I have a good sized black (or maybe red) oak and a chestnut oak on the ground so there may be more to come.”

We’re thrilled to see this sort of work, so keep them coming. If you are working your way through the joint stool book, send me some stuff. We’d love to see it.

— Peter Follansbee, one of the authors of “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree”

Since the publication of “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree,” many readers have asked what sort of hatchet they should buy to get started hewing the legs for their joint stools.

Peter Follansbee, one of the two authors of the book, took a few minutes to show me how you can do the work with either a single- or double-bevel hatchet. And he discussed several brands of tools that are available on the market now. He also showed off a hatchet that Jennie Alexander, the other author of the book, had converted to a single-bevel hatchet.

If you are curious about hatchets, this quick video will get you started.

— Christopher Schwarz

Joiners, green-woodworkers, chairmakers, et al: Your “where-can-I-get-a-good-froe” problems are solved.

Some people like old tools, some like new tools. Some use both. For years, I have used old blacksmith-made froes. It requires some good luck to find old examples that aren’t massive and heavy. The froe really is a finesse tool, not a brute-force tool. That’s a deceptive concept for something that you hit with a large wooden club.

Many years ago, Drew Langsner needed a number of froes for his students at his green woodworking school, Country Workshops. Getting frustrated trying to line up a bunch of antique froes that would all work about the same, Drew set about to make a new froe. Having split and rived stock for decades, Drew analyzed what really happens with the leverage forces when using a froe. He then designed a tool that looks a little funny at first, but it works like a charm. There is a reason for its appearance.

Drew has studied exactly what happens when you twist the froe blade in the split, and based on his research, he developed a froe with a smaller blade than many antique examples. And this is really a situation in which bigger is not really better. His froe has a blade that is even in thickness, (not wedge-shaped) has convex bevels and is narrower from top to bottom than many old froes. In addition, the eye is not tapered like most, but cylindrical. This allows a tight-fitting turned handle, now fastened in place with a washer and lag bolt. Jennie Alexander adopted this froe as soon as Drew began making them, and never used another.

After years of making these froes himself, Drew has teamed up with the folks at Lie-Nielsen Toolworks and now the Langsner froe is in production in Maine. What you get is a tool that is designed by a world-class master of riving, and produced by a company known for its attention to detail and high standards of production. The larger froe show in the video is $85. The small basketmakers’ froe is $75. The tools should be available on the lie-nielsen.com website soon. Or call them to order one.

I’ve been using one for 2-1/2 months now, and I am a convert. Because of its relatively thin blade, this froe enters the stock with a minimum of force. Thus you can begin levering sooner, before the tool has really split the stock way ahead of itself. The smaller blade also helps in this regard, putting you in control of the split more readily. It is also very lightweight, another plus. Don’t worry that it doesn’t look old-timey, this froe is ready to make halves of halves of halves… .

Here’s the horse’s mouth: Drew’s text in the CW website  http://countryworkshops.org/rivingtools.html

And a “froe story” in the CW newsletter: http://www.countryworkshops.org/newsletter34/

— Peter Follansbee, one of the authors of “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree.”

Before “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree” was a book, it was a workshop that Jennie Alexander and I taught a few times. The first session was 1991 at Drew Langsner’s Country Workshops. We had 12 students – several from the museum world, a few woodworkers and some innocent victims. Alexander and I used to duck out to the porch outside the shop and whisper, “What do we do next?” It was a free-for-all – especially when it came to the turned decoration on the stiles. A few students took the plunge and turned their stiles, a few made stopped chamfers and another batch made shaved “turned” decoration.

When we got around to actually finishing the book, I opted to use only the shaved/stopped chamfers as the “alternate” decoration for stiles. One of the reasons the book took us ages to complete is that we always tried to put everything we knew in it – so finally I left stuff out and got it done.

Today I made a sample stile with decoration that mimics or at least follows the turned patterns, but is cut using only a saw and some chisels. I used a spokeshave a bit, too. We find these forms from time to time on 17th-century examples, so if you’re ready to make a stool, and the turned work is intimidating, here’s a simple alternative.

I used a square and awl to line out the demarcations for the collar, bevel etc., then cut in with a backsaw at a few of these lines. You can use a marking gauge to help define the depth of these saw cuts. I started to, but then I just eyeballed it.

After making the saw cuts, the next step is to chop down to these kerfs with the chisel. Work alternately between bevel down, bevel up, hand-pressure and mallet work. I found it helpful on this, my-first-one-ever, to keep rotating the stile on the bench, working each face in succession. Must be from years of turning these things… .

The stile shown is a simple version, somewhat based on some northern Massachusetts chairs of the mid-17th century. I have seen more elaborate examples that have “coves,” “beads,” “collars” and more – just like turned work.

— Peter Follansbee

Editor’s note: Be sure to check out Peter’s blog for more on joint stools, 17th-century joinery and bird photography.