Toolemera Blog

What, no finishing?

I've been watching the latest poll on the blog: Favorite Woodworking Activities. People have both common and diverse likes, but... no one likes finishing? I find this most strange. One of my favorite activities is finishing. Whether it's applying a finish to an old hunk of furniture I've restored or the finish to a new piece of woodwork, I find finishing to be restful, meditative and rewarding.

When else can you experience the joy of watching the wooden surface bloom under your expectant gaze? What was pretty but understated glistens, gains depth and life. Really folks, why don't you like finishing? 

Brushing on a shellac finish is most calming. It's an exercise in muscular control, in understanding wood grain and wood movement. Building up a brushed on shellac finish is great stuff. It goes on clear, is scuffed during scraping, is clarified again as each coat is applied and either shines or glows when rubbed out with pumice or rottenstone.

Wax is a delight. It smells good. It feels good. It deepens the coloration of the wood without filling the pores, leaving a welcome tactile sensation for the hand.

Varnish can look great when it imparts an amber hue to outdoor woodwork. Fairly easy to apply and quick to change the look of that weathered old wood into something warm and friendly.

Padding on oil is fun. It's sloppy. It smells good. It gets all over the place. It makes the wood change color in an instant, bringing to life forms and images you may not have known were there.

So what's not to like about finishing?

Till next, most grumpily, Gary

Barnes Drill Press Needs Good Home!

I have been contacted by a nice fellow from Manchester, England, who is in possession of his late fathers shop. In particular, a 26" Barnes Flat Belt Drive standind Drill Press. It's so tall his father had to bore a hole in the ceiling for the top of the spindle. It looks to be in marvelous shape and simply needs a place will it will be loved and used. The current owner would rather not have to scrap it.

Here is one image of the drill press, still in place, waiting for someone to tell it what to do. There are another five or so images over at the website at the bottom of the Barnes Drill Press page.

Not only is this a little too big for my shop (a nice Yankee drill press would do me fine) but it's in Manchester, England, not Manchester, New Hampshire USA.

So if anyone is in dire need of one of these, or knows of a local organization that could use one, please contact me and I'll pass the information along to the owner.

Till next, Gary

Poll results & a new Poll: What are your favorite woodworking activities?

Simply because I have an insatiable thirst for knowledge, I post polls. Perhaps I'm nosey. Perhaps it's a fun widget to create. Perhaps I just want to know what people are doing when they are supposed to be working. Perhaps all of the above.

Hence, a new poll, to wit: What are your favorite woodworking activities? Yes, this continues the wood-centric theme of mine. In time, I'll delve further into book arts, metal, leather and all those other crafts and trades. For now, cellulose runs in my veins. In this poll, you can select as many categories as you choose to. 

The last poll concerned just how much hard earned cash a person would be willing to shell out for a book.  The results are in. 

• $10-$20 = 13%
• $20-$30 = 26.1%
• $30-$40 = 34.8%
• $40 plus = 26.1%

This was a highly scientific survey of 20 average individuals (whose identity must remain a secret, particularly because I have no idea who completed the poll). My generalized assumptions reveal that:

1. 13% are struggling craftspeople for whom every cent counts, or for whom buying that next length of figured maple is more important than the written word.
2. 26.1% will pay either $20-$30 or more than $40 for a craft book, indicating that they have a steady income but of whom half must watch their bank account balances.
3. 34.8% are middling people who will pay in the $30-$40 range for a book which tells me that the price of books has risen dramatically over the past ten years and that people have become accustomed to it.

Once again, vox populi has stated it's claim as to what is acceptable when it comes to books.

Till next, Gary

A saw by any other name...

Over at Jeff Peachey's blog there's been a recent discussion of tool nomenclature. Specifically, when is a bookbinders hammer a blank book hammer or a backing hammer? After much thought and discussion, I have come to the conclusion that the answer falls within the realm of the riddle "Which came first, the chicken or the egg? If you are vegetarian, it's "Which came first, the tofu or the soybean?"

Prompted by this discussion, I unearthed and posted a Hickok Bookbinders Machinery catalog. After some further thought, I dug even farther into the recesses of my shelves and pulled out a Peugeot Freres, Outils Montes catalog of July, 1938. My take on the term "Outils Montes" is along the lines of "High Class Tools". Peugeot Freres, for those who do not know, began as makers of tools and such for the kitchen and the shop. In time, they became makers of such sordid things like cars. There is a company history for those who really want to know more. 

Let's talk frame saws. Common enough in Europe, uncommon but gaining in recognition in the United States, the frame saw is typically seen as a simple wooden frame for holding a blade that looks as if it was chopped from a bandsaw blade. What I 'used' to call a frame saw, or even a bow saw, is known to the French as:

Even embalmers have their own frame saw. Although I don't read a lick of French, I can say with certainty that frame saw nomenclature is as confusing as bookbinders hammers names or plane names.

At least with roses there is a genetic trail to follow.

Till next, Gary

Where do books fall in the manual arts scheme?

Recently, while reading Adam Cherubini's article "Making your magazine come to life", I was struck once again by the development of the many books I have been both reading and evaluating for upcoming publication. Truth, is that at times I enjoy the digging up the books to read them under the guise of 'evaluating' them for suitable content even more than the idea of publishing them. Which might explain why it takes me so long to get to an end stage.

Adam discusses the need for first person training and demonstration in learning hand skills. Magazines and books have their place, but without that first person contact much is lost in the translation of actions to words and pictures. Why, then, are there so many books printed on trades and crafts? Where are we going if people think that:

a. a book can give them all they need to know

b. a 'mentor' is needed to really get the nitty gritty.

c. trial and error will, in time, teach you what you need to know

d. pictures tell stories better than words do

e. words tell stories better than pictures do