sawing tenons by hand…horror or whatever.

Yesterday in my Chippendale chair class something pricked at me a bit. We were discussing compound angle tenons for the seat rails of our chair and we were focusing on how we will set up to cut these on the table saw. Someone spoke up and exclaimed how glad they were (in a relieved way) that we didn’t have to cut these by hand as we did the post tenons that join to the crest rail. It dawned on me…why are people so afraid to cut joints, in this case mortise and tenon specifically, by hand?
If you put it in the context of its core, sawing tenons is nothing more then simply sawing straight lines over a distance and then stopping accurately. At some level shouldn’t we all be able to saw a straight line? All that being said, I urge all of you go out, grab your saws and squares, draw some lines and saw away. It’s a very valuable skill.
And now….a photo of my chair back….

Craft Boston underway!

After a sad and stressful week in the city of Boston and a somewhat horrifying Friday the art community has come together for a super positive and inspiring weekend at this years craft Boston. I am truly honored to have my sideboard displayed front and center at this event. I am currently going through the “maker denial” phase where I refuse to see the piece is actually really that good so hearing so many positive comments from people about my piece was truly inspiring to me and reminded me why I am building furniture. The rush I receive when I can make someone light up and smile with my work or when I can touch them visually in an artistic way with my work is like nothing else.
A big thanks to everyone who stopped by the north Bennet booth today and admired my work. I am also very grateful for my wonderful teachers who gave me support in building this piece.

Start of drafting

Yesterday I started drafting and planning out my Seymour inspired tall case clock. Before I did anything I carefully unpacked all the components (which was very exciting I might add) and then went on to making the seat board for the movement. Lance Patterson has brackets mounted on the wall of our finishing room which allow you to place any seat board on them and fully set up a clock movement to test the weights and pendulum.
My clock hood is very ornate and I am quickly realizing that the actual case construction of the clock is very simple and it’s the details that will be exasperating on this piece.

Finish finish finish

Yes I know….I haven’t blogged in a bit!
I was asked to have my sideboard in two different exhibits. Craft Boston at the end of the month and the north Bennet street school student and alumni exhibit in may. That being said I have really been hustling to get it completed and it has made it completely to the finishing room!
I will post an entry soon with dates and information about these events so be on the lookout. Not to mention my clock movement will be arriving tomorrow for my tall case clock.

The list grows

My list of current projects is growing longer and longer. I love having multiple things going because it prevents any lapses in work, however I am quickly approaching my limit. In addition to the Chippendale chair and my sideboard I have now added two fairly interesting commission pieces. I am reproducing a cherry cabinet for a wonderful client and I have just been asked by Dan lance and Steve to do a fairly complex inlay commission for a museum at old Sturbridge village. I’ll be busy for a long time and it will make for some really interesting blogging.

A bit about cockbeads

The cock beads on my sideboard are actually a very lengthy and finicky process.
I first rabbeted everything the thickness of the cockbead material and then I proceed to fit the pieces. Unlike most I am not forming the bead profile ahead of time. I am over sizing my pieces in width around a 16th or so. I am creating an even reveal and profiling them at the same time after they are glued on. On the end of an old card scraper I have filed in my profile which i will use to scratch the beads. I round over the bottom edge to stop it from cutting which allows it to essentially stop at the depth of the profile no matter how uneven the surface it is riding over.
I glued on my sides first and then fit the top and bottom. Cutting the miters is easy enough by hand with a good carefully made ramp block and a sharp chisel. I have done it both ways now and I have found doing the fitting in this order is much easier.

Hardware and burritos

Yesterday I received my hinges and half mortise door locks from Ball and Ball. I am extremely pleased with the speed of the shipping as well as the high quality of the actual components and their screws. I was also happy to see that the locks each came with 2 keys. Not sure why this got my excited but I guess I just love small perks. Overall this being my first experience with them l will absolutely be returning.

Also it’s very ironic how when I physically go to Boloco for a delicious burrito bowl I NEVER remember to use my points card. I did realize yesterday however that this card works extremely well for setting door gaps. It’s around double the thickness of a T pass which is my usual choice so
It allows me to butt the door to one end and go. Maybe next time I can remember it at lunch.

Planning my next project

With my sideboard swiftly nearing its end I have already started thinking about my next project. I hate down time and this one will involve investment to make so I thought better start thinking about it sooner then later.
It is a school project however because I am involved I a mentoring group with garret hack, I will be working on the design and some construction details in depth with him.
The piece will a be a tall case clock. I am going to be basing it off of a few different examples of English clocks and Simon Willard clocks that appeal to me. I will be mixing elements, changing proportion and adding in details of my own. I am really honored that I get to make this piece at school alongside lance Patterson who is a master clock maker, as well as designing it with garret hack who I view as a master of contemporary federal design. A real wonderful opportunity which I hope you will all follow me in!
Here are some photos of some clocks and elements inspiring me.

A simple veneer shooting board

A simple way to shoot straight edges on veneer fast and easy! I made a shooting board essentially that hooks on my bench. It’s long because I am typically shooting long lengths of veneer for stringing and inlays using my low angle jack or in some cases a number 7.
In order to hold the veneer in place I have glued 100 grit sandpaper to a equally long piece of half in mdf. This allows me to push down on the veneer while I’m shooting it and eliminate any sliding and shifting that could occur. This also allows me to orient the veneer in any position I need in the case of doing wedge shape pieces or other odd shapes.
A quick simple solution to something fundamental.

Use of shellac before finishing

I have been finding it extremely useful lately to use a wash coat of shellac on details. Notice that. I have shellacked all the inlaid areas of the sideboard legs. It occurred to me when I was constantly the holly details from picking up dirt and dust of random colors that why not just shellac them roughly. They were already planed and ready to go so why not seal them off and forget about them? Also some drawer photos.