Rather than attempt to explain the specific details of French style trestle sawing, I have attempted to translate two the of the best primary French sources on sawing timber. The translations are not polished, but they will begin to help explain the methods used to mount heavy timbers on the chevalet type sawing trestle.
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Hobo’s Personal Log, June 15
June 15 is the day when I take stock of everything that has happened in the last 12 months and think about what is coming in the next 12 or 120.
It’s an important date because on June 15, 2011, I left Popular Woodworking Magazine and began to work full time for Lost Art Press, which John Hoffman and I started in 2007. There’s a navel-gazing aspect to this personal exercise, and I won’t bore you with those sorts of details.
Instead, I’ll bore you with a short list of the projects on the horizon. These are projects where we have signed a contract. They will happen. But I cannot say when. So when you ask me: “When will that be out?” My answer will be: “I don’t know.”
1. “The Woodworker Magazine: 1936-1966. The Charles Hayward Era.” We have contracted with the owners of The Woodworker magazine to reprint hundreds of articles on handwork they published between 1936 and 1967, almost all of them by Charles Hayward. This project began the day we started Lost Art Press and, if all goes to plan, it will be out in time for Christmas. John Hoffman, Ty Black, Megan Fitzpatrick, Phil Hirz and I have poured hundreds of hours into this project during the last six years to collect, organize, digitize and edit this information for publication.
2. “Woodworking in Estonia.” We have signed a contract with Ants Viires to produce a new English translation of his important and rare book. The translation is underway. The earlier English translation was not authorized by Viires; it was poorly done and has horrible photos. Our version will be like all our books: worth owning.
3. “Turning Fundamentals” by Alan Lacer. When I began turning about a decade ago, I looked for a book that covered everything in a deep way: tools, sharpening, spindle and faceplate turning. I couldn’t find one that made me happy. Alan is currently writing this book. It will be a monster.
4. “The Traditional Shop” by Richard Maguire. This is another book I wanted when setting up shop. It will be a complete overview of how to set up your shop for handwork. It will dive deep into benches, sawbenches, appliances, storage, lighting and arranging things. I cannot think of anyone better to write this book.
5. “Practical Design” by Jeffrey Miller. This book will outline Miller’s process for designing furniture, from its concept to the finished piece. Jeff will be discussing the book and his approach on his blog in the coming months.
There are other books in the fetal stages, including books on American campaign furniture, Danish modern furniture, “Furniture of Necessity” and 17th-century joiner’s work. And there are projects that are much closer to publication: Roubo on furniture, H.O. Studley, Andrew Lunn’s book on saws, Peter Galbert’s chair book, Roy Underhill’s novel and “The Naked Woodworker” with Mike Siemsen to name a few.
After reading the above list, I think I should stop writing this blog entry and get back to editing. There is work to be done.
Hobo out.
— Christopher Schwarz
The Hunt for the Earliest Holdfasts
To amuse ourselves, Jeff Burks, Suzanne Ellison and I have been trying to find the earliest extant holdfast or the earliest image of one. We’ve gone way back, but the trail goes dead in Roman times. We have people saying the Romans had holdfasts, but we have yet to see one in a museum or image.
W.L. Goodman, the author of “The History of Woodworking Tools,” wrote “sometimes the Romans used an L-shaped iron hold-fast, and for planing, serrated dogs or bench stops” in a September 1964 article for The Woodworker magazine.
Download the full article here.
Robert Ulrich, the author of “Roman Woodworking,” describes a device that could be a holdfast or a pinch dog, but it’s likely a pinch dog. See these images from the British Museum.
I’m suspect the Romans had holdfasts, which is why I keep looking. (It’s something to do after I’ve had a couple beers and shouldn’t operate machinery.) There’s a 18th-century copy of a Roman fresco (which we think is now destroyed) that shows a holdfast. That image (above) is from “Le Antichità di Ercolano, Volume 1,” by Tommaso Piroli (engraver) 1789.
Here’s Jeff’s translation of the image’s accompanying text:
The other involves a curious painting expressing two genii, engaged in the art of the Joiner. The plank with a toothed iron for stopping the boards, a saw, a hammer, a box for storing other instruments of the art are to be seen in the workshop. On the wall a shelf with a vase from the oglio likely to grease the blade. What the above mentioned two genii Joiners were meant to indicate that inclination arose also called the genius of their respective crafts.
So if you see one when you are touring Roman ruins or European museums (which have hordes of Roman artifacts) this summer, let us know.
— Christopher Schwarz
Wee Britain
One of the core ideas behind campaign furniture was it was a little piece of home wherever British citizens roamed. The soldiers, clerks and support staff who administered the affairs of the British Empire all over the globe remade their local landscape to remind them of home.
Their furniture and clothes were another reminder of where they came from.
Brian Eve of the blog Toolerable sent me the above image of a Roorkee-like chair that was built by a Welsh prisoner of war who was held in Bavaria during World War II. If you ever wondered if the Roorkee chair was imprinted on the mind of the British, I think you have your answer here.
More information on the chair can be found here.
— Christopher Schwarz
Bench Building: A Team Sport
Last night I dragged myself home after five days of building 16 workbenches at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking. All of the benches turned out fantastic for two reasons:
1. Wonderful (yet inexpensive) material. We used Horizon Wood Product’s Roubo “bench bundles.” For just $650 per bench, we got some amazing 12/4 and 8/4 ash for the bench. It was all cut to manageable lengths, perfectly dry and clear. Out of the 16 benches, we had only two small, tight knots.
Another testament to the quality of the wood: Due to a mistake I made, I ordered 15 bench bundles for 16 students. We still were able to squeeze out a perfect 16th bench from the material supplied. Without a doubt, I will use Horizon again. The service was outstanding. Pete Terbovich, who handles the bench kits there, is great to deal with.
2. Teamwork. At some bench classes it’s difficult to get students to work together on everyone’s benches, hauling tops around, milling material that is not for their bench, assisting with layouts and goodness knows what. Not this class. These were special students.
I’m back on the road next week – I leave Tuesday for The Woodwright’s School, where I’m teaching a class in the Dutch Tool Chest and filming two more episodes on Roy Underhill’s Show “The Woodwright’s Shop.”
So if I haven’t answered your recent e-mail….
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. Day 1 and Day 2 of the bench-building class are covered on my blog at Popular Woodworking Magazine. The music is from freemusicarchive.org and is by the Freak Fandango Orchestra.