woodworkin' pt.3

Well, the time has come.  Day 3 of the course was glue-up day.  A pretty exciting prospect seeing the components all coming together.  First step was to check that the legs all fit and the angles were all OK.

Then flip her over ...

Wow.  Seeing the stool at this stage was a real motivator - it's actually going to come together.
From here we had to take a breath and get precise again - measure and mark the placement of the stretchers (that's them sitting by the stool on the bench - crucial elements).  Once their positions were marked, some very cautious drilling was called for - I was so paranoid about the possibility of wrecking it now I was almost happy to stop here and call it an ornament.
Anyway, it all went fine.
Once the stretchers were glued in, we put kerfs into the tops of the legs, glued and hammered (!) them into the top and then whacked in walnut wedges to tighten everything up.  A quick saw, a slow and gentle trim with a chisel and ta-da ...

After a little more refinement of the seat surface with a scraper it was home time.  We decided to use a Danish oil to finish the stool for a bit of surface protection and durability - last coat is drying now, so will take a snap once that's done. 
Suffice to say it is a VERY comfortable piece, supportive and stable, and you can feel your posture improving the longer you sit (or perch, as it were).
Amazing ... I made a piece of furniture!  Stay tuned for the next one ...

So there you go - if you have an interest in fine woodworking (or need a perching stool), get in touch with the guys at Melbourne Guild of Fine Woodworking - you'll be glad you did.  Thanks Alastair for the tutelage, and Peter Galbert for a really nice design.

woodworkin' part 2

Day two rolled around pretty quickly - grey and rainy morning ... time to head for a warm, dry workshop to face the lathe.

I was pretty apprehensive, as I have never been anywhere near one of these machines before, and had promised to return home with all fingers intact (both hands).  The lesson involved a pretty quick demo of how to put a bit of wood onto the spindles, an explanation of the gouging and turning tools and their use, and an efficient display by Alastair of the steps involved ... and in seemingly no time he was holding up a stool leg and telling us that we were ready to go ahead.

And whadda you know - it just kind of magically happened!  Without claiming to be 100% in control of the process, I had a pretty OK looking leg within half an hour (and had apparently started to reveal my 'individual style' via a bit of semi-intentional shaping which didn't exactly match the demo version). 

Of course, the challenge was to get all 3 legs to match ... lucky my individual style wasn't too complicated.  By this stage I had fallen in love with the lathe and decided I was born to turn wood, so would have been happy to do 10 legs and pick the best 3 ... limited timber availability saved us from that fate.
Anyway - got there - then a bit of smoothing with sandpaper while the legs are still spinning, followed by burnishing.  This was done by grabbing a handfull of the shavings off the floor (and there were plenty - near ankle-deep) and cupping your hand under the turned leg with light pressure and letting the shavings rub the leg, leaving a really nice sheen.

Next, we turned our stretchers and that was that.  Back to the bench to pop the legs in and get that first tantalizing preview of the stool ...

Wow - 2 days work done and it's really looking like something's going to be there at the end!
For a FAR better summary of the process, here's Peter Galbert's youtube demo of the process - the man is a maestro, no question.

woodwork goodness

As a long-time designer who now collects and restores mid-century furniture, I have had a jones to design (and make) chairs for a while now ... but no experience in the process of turning a tree into something you could use at home.  Looking at a craftsman-made piece, it all looks just way too complex.
BUT, that was then.  Last week I was lucky enough to participate in a 3 day intensive workshop at the Melbourne Guild of Fine Wooodworking, where the amazing Alastair Boell took a group of us through the process of making our own 'perching stool' (designed by Boston-based chairmaking wonder Peter Galbert).  And it was the most inspirational and empowering fun!
This is what we were working towards ...

 The whole 'fine chairmaking' process is about the use of traditional tools and hand-work for the shaping and forming - drawknives and travishers rather than sanders and routers.  At the start I was a little doubtful about the possibility of me making something even half as nifty ... especially seeing the big square chunks of wood that we were expected to transform ...

Sure - a fat rectangle and five long, skinny bits of mahogany - that looks like potential (?!?).  I'm confident with a pencil and paper, at ease with a mouse and some software, even happy enough with fabric and scissors.  But a block and a super-sharp curved blade on a handle?
So, day one of the course was all about the seat ... here's a few step-by-step pics ...

And what do you know?  After 8 or 9 hours of scorping and scraping a curvy shape had emerged, and the rest of that fat chunk was on the floor in teensy shards.
Day 2 is legs - wood-turning on a lathe ... again - how the heck am I going to do that?