Valley Forge — Sandal Woods

January 10, 2010 By Al Navas

More about an old drawer, and one request

You will remember this old drawer I found in an old chest, in the Old Woodshed store in Intercourse, Pennsylvania:

In that earlier article I requested feedback, as I did not know what this joint is called. I received excellent feedback from several readers (I included links in the earlier article). Today I received an e-mail from another Al, who read that article, and wrote:

Those pin & crescent half moon joints are actually called Knapp joints. Charles Knapp of Waterloo Wisconsin patented the machine in 1867 and then sold it to a group of investors that formed a company called the Knapp Dovetail Company of Northampton Mass. The company sold machines to furniture manufacturers for a little over 20 years. The machines were widely used from about 1870 to 1900 until the first machine that cut more traditional looking dovetails came out. I’ve been looking for info on furniture built with Knapp joints because I have a gorgeous solid maple dresser that has them. However a previous owner replaced all the pulls with really cheap Chippendale style reproductions … I’d like to get back to original looking pulls. And, I’ve built a pair of nightstands that match the dresser (minus the Knapp Joints – I used traditional dovetails) and need pulls for my drawers.

I regret to say that I did not take any photos of the pulls. However, if you read this, and can provide a good source for the pulls, please let us know – Al needs pulls for his drawers. Thanks!

And my thanks to Al for writing with additional information!

— Al Navas

December 30, 2009 By Al Navas

Looking back on 2009

With 2009 done, I look back at the most-read and popular articles of the year, and find an interesting mix: Building, machine setup and use, techniques, and how-to articles topped the list. Videos, too, were extremely popular; not quite viral in 2008, the 1-minute video about the Schwarz Dances continued to be extremely popular.

And now, the top articles:

The single most popular article was about Ron Brese, his new hand plane, and his design philosophy. From that article: “As owner of Brese Plane in Thomaston, Georgia, USA, makes wonderful infill hand planes. In recent communication via e-mail I asked Ron about his approach and philosophy to a brand-new hand plane he unveils right now; I also asked him if he would allow me publish the first photos on this blog, and he agreed (photos below). Folks, get ready for a non-infill hand plane from Brese Plane – a stainless steel hand plane, at that!”

From early in 2008, My setup for resawing on the band saw continues to be a very popular item, and is number two this year. It thrills me when I receive an e-mail message telling me that a woodworker has solved a vexing resawing problem with their machine, and that my article played a role. I continue to rely on the band saw to make drawer bottoms, for example, from thicker stock. Other articles about resawing can be found here.

The FMT Pro and the Super FMT articles were also extremely popular. I have had the FMT Pro in the shop for several years, and is my go-to machine for all projects requiring mortise and tenon joinery (I love it!). And, although it arrived late in the year, the Super FMT is attracting a lot of attention due to its lower price, while keeping all the features of the Pro version. Leigh Industries sent me the Super FMT to evaluate; I have been using it in the shop, and continue evaluation as time permits. In case you missed it, this article on workholding and consistency with the FMT (Pro) is quickly becoming a favorite with many readers, based on feedback I have received since its publication.

When Things Go Wrong, my story about tearout like I had never experienced, hit a nerve with my readers. Of course, it helped that Sharpening Guru Ron Hock also published my story on his new blog, The Sharpening Blog. I always recommend setting aside some shop time to do maintenance on the power tools – January is usually the month in which I do this in my shop, as it is a convenient time of the year. Last January, the blades on my DeWalt planer looked fine; but I should have known better, for I have had the machine close to 5 years, and had never rotated the blades to expose the new edge (my model has dual edges)!

Although Sandy has not been able to spend much time in the shop much for the last two years, the article about her band saw box continues to be a very popular article. She had never made a box like this; but a local sawyer gave us an oak burl from his scrap pile, and Sandy knew immediately what she would make. Once made, she donated it to a local church, and was sold at a Silent Auction in October 2007. A few weeks later she demonstrated to our Woodworkers Guild how to make these boxes – and that was a very popular session, too!

My article about the new dovetail chisel from Czeck Edge was extremely popular. In the article I said “I felt lucky to get one of the new Czeck Edge Hand Tool dovetail chisels while I was in Cincinnati last week. The dovetail chisel is “…a design collaboration…” between Bob Zajicek and Jameel Abraham, of Benchcrafted. I promised Bob Zajicek, owner of Czeck Edge, I would use this little jewel as soon as I got back home…” Shown on the photo is the original version of the chisel; but Bob is already producing a second version, with a tapered and beveled rib, to allow getting into tight corners.

How about some videos? These are extremely popular! The top videos this year were:

Mario Rodriguez, at Woodworking in America (WIA) at Valley Forge, PA: Making and Fitting Drawers
Bob Lang, at Woodworking in America at St Charles, Ill.: Arts & Crafts Style: The Unadorned Truth
Roy Underhill, also from the Valley Forge WIA conference: Dovetails, the details
Bob Lang, in St Charles: What SketchUp can do for you
Christopher Schwarz, at Woodworking in America, Berea, KY: This ain’t no Tango

.I thank you all for reading my blog, and for your support. I wish everyone a wonderful, safe, and Happy New Year!

—— Al Navas

October 31, 2009 By Al Navas

Woodworking in America at Valley Forge: A 17th century carved box by Peter Follansbee

I invite you to step back in time. Step back to the 17th century, please, and admire the carving in this little box by Peter Follansbee; the attention to detail in the delicately scalloped edges of the lid; and the joinery, enhanced by the beautiful nails used to assemble the box.

I also recommend Peter’s web site, and his blog. In them he documents his work, and his “Joiner’s Notes”.

Thanks for sharing your work with, us, Peter. I look forward to learning so much from you!

And for my readers: This is intended strictly to whet your appetite. I have video of Peter’s sessions at the conference, both his formal presentation, and the hands-on-session. I think you will like those two!

Update: My thanks to Bob Easton for suggesting in the Comments section that I start including something in the photos, to give an idea of size of an object. Bob, I will find something, I promise! In the meantime, I called Peter and got the (approximate) dimensions for the box shown above: it is 5-1/2 inches high; 12-1/2 inches wide; and 7-1/2 inches deep. He gave these from memory, as he had already made a second one, and he remembered these dimensions as being quite close.

—— Al Navas