The creative habit is like a drug. The particular obsession changes, but the excitement, the thrill of your creation lasts.
— Henry Moore, Sculptor, 1898-1996
Detail of multiple mortise and tenon joint — dry fit of the shelf.
Calling it a success
April 27, 2011 By
The cradle will rock
April 13, 2011 By
I scratched my head for 10 seconds, and then I remembered where these old Stanley trammel points were:
Vintage Stanley trammel points I found in old box.
I found them in the box I bought a couple of years ago, of course!
The 8-inch beam was not going to help. So I decided to make a new one, long enough to trace a 27-inch radius. A sharp block plane does a nice job of rounding the sharp edges:
Preparing a new beam to use with the trammel points.
A few minutes later I was using the trammel points on their new beam, to trace the arc on the boards destined to become rockers for the cradle:
The cradle rockers *must* be as perfect as possible.
A little shaping at the band saw and at the oscillating spindle sander, and the rockers were ready for a dry fit. First, the shot from the foot board — the reverse curve on the ends helps to prevent rocking too far and tipping the contents:
The rocker at the foot end.
And also a corner shot, to provide a view of the matching rocker at the head end:
Corner shot, with rockers in place.
I cannot think of a better way to trace long arcs like the ones required for the rockers. Any length beam will do; I like them!
— Al Navas
Woodworking in America video: Using dividers to lay out anything
October 21, 2010 By
From the Woodworking in America “Instructors” web page, this is the summary of George Walker’s session:
Use dividers to lay out anything, from dovetails to casework
One of the simplest woodworking layout tools is also the most powerful. The are precise. They don’t require mathematics to use. And they simplify many of the layout operation. You layout dovetails quickly and perfectly with dividers, plus you can use them for many other layout chores that would be tedious and prone to error with numbers and math. George R. Walker, the host of two influential DVDs on design and the “Design Matters” columnist for Popular Woodworking Magazine, shows how you can use dividers at every stage of a project, from designing the carcase and mouldings to placing the hardware.
In this video Walker gives the historical background of the divider, and sets the stage for laying out drawers. I had a bad angle to show properly the layout of the graduated drawers using dividers; but you are in luck, because you can read his Popular Woodworking Magazine article “Graduated Drawers”, at this link. Toward the end of the video Walker shows the “classic Doric order” to illustrate proportions (bingo – perfect for using dividers!), stating that it “…contains the “DNA of traditional design…”, studied by architects, carpenters, silversmiths, etc.
— Al Navas
