My project for course: Traditional Woodworking with Hand Tools
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Following this wonderful course I've not only made a stool, but I've completely fallen for hand tool woodworking. 😊
The stool is slightly altered - it's 57 cm in height and I thought that it would make the stool a great companion with the workbench.
I was able to get a hold of a rather large pale chestnut board. 20 pounds seemed like a bargain, however it was sawn only three months ago. I was advised against working it before drying it out, obviously, but feeling so motivated by the course, I went on and accepted that the wood will likely twist/bend.
I'm not sure but I think it may be the primary reason for why I struggled so much with the endgrain of the board - like it would crumble and I was not able to get any real shavings. (I've planed smaller pieces of dried oak not having nearly as difficult a time).
I really enjoyed the whole process - from ripping/planing the components to the assembly and everything in-between. A lot of mistakes were made and it became clear that a lot of practice is needed to produce something that is really aesthetically pleasing.
The mistakes included breaking off a leg, and drilling the holes in the seat with a forstner bit that wandered off and made dents and scuffs. Actually, breaking off the leg and then resawing all of the legs eventually made sure that stool wasn't too tall. Lucky accident I guess.
The stool is rather flawed, but it's my first piece and I'm quite pleased.
I can't wait to practice further and see what becomes of it.
Many thanks to you both for such a top notch, easy-to-follow-along course.
Absolutely brilliant!
PS. Last week I became best friends with the guy at a local lumberyard (he might not feel the same way - didn't bother to ask) and I'm hoping this relationship will gather less expensive boards and offcuts. Those should come in handy for your next course that you're releasing soon 😉
1 comentário
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Professor PlusHi Nicolai, thank you so much for sharing and we are so so glad you enjoyed the course and have discovered the wonders of working with hand tools. They are just such a pleasure to use! Making mistakes is all part of the learning curve and believe me the mistakes will keep on coming. But my old tutor said to me, part of what makes a good wood worker is being able to deal with your mistakes, repair them well and learn from them.
Even though the wood you bought was green this type of joinery lends itself well to unseasoned timber. A tip for the future is that if you want a super strong joint that will only tighten over time, you can rough shape the leg joinery to slightly over size, then leave the tenon end in a warm place for a while (say a radiator). This will dry it out and it will shrink slightly. Once you have done this, you can shape it to a final dimension to fit the mortise. This means that the leg tenon will be super dry compared to the seat and so will expand slightly over time while the seat will dry and shrink around it. Taking advantage of the moisture differential makes for a very strong joint.
Also just a point worth noting on the wedge direction - they should be at right angles to the direction of the grain otherwise you could risk splitting the wood when you drive them in.
Anyway, great job and were so pleased you enjoyed the process!
Best, Jack and Matthew
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