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Looking back on 2009

December 30, 2009 By Al Navas Leave a Comment

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!”

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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.

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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.

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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)!

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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!

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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.

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

  1. Mario Rodriguez, at Woodworking in America (WIA) at Valley Forge, PA: Making and Fitting Drawers
  2. Bob Lang, at Woodworking in America at St Charles, Ill.: Arts & Crafts Style: The Unadorned Truth
  3. Roy Underhill, also from the Valley Forge WIA conference: Dovetails, the details
  4. Bob Lang, in St Charles: What SketchUp can do for you
  5. 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!

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—— Al Navas

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Filed Under Blog, Brese Plane, Conference, Czeck Edge, Jigs, Leigh jig, St Charles, Super FMT, Tools, Valley Forge, Woodworking in America Tagged With 2009, FMT, most popular, review, Super FMT, top reading, year

WIA St Charles: Keynote address by Tom Moser – Artistry in Wood

September 27, 2009 By Al Navas 2 Comments

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Duration: 17:39 minutes

From the abstract provided as a hand-out during the Woodworking in America Furniture Construction and Design Conference in St Charles, Ill.:

…In this slide-filled lecture, Tom Moser relates the process of discovery that led him to furniture design, and how the Shaker community located near his first shop in New Gloucester, Maine has influenced his work.

Family, personal, and company memories flowed in Mr. Moser’s presentation to an audience of several hundred at the banquet held during the conference. He was funny, affable, and down-to-earth; a perfect gentleman and the consummate businessman. The slide show journey brought the audience from the humble beginnings of Thos. Moser, Cabinetmakers, to the enormous success it is today.

A personal note: The description of the Moser’s travels in Asia took Sandy and I back in time. Immediately following the dinner and speech we were lucky to run into Mr Moser and his wonderful wife Mary in the hallway. In passing them I asked him a short question about a certain locale in Asia, not wanting to detract from their conversation with someone else. His eyes lit up, and we spent the next 20 minutes together, reminiscing with relish about locales and details from our parallel journeys almost 20 years apart. This was a wonderful end to a terrific speech about the exciting life experience of the Mosers.

My hope is that in this edited version of a one-hour speech you are able to also glean into the life the Mosers, and the company they have built. It is a great journey, filled with great successes and a few setbacks.

I also hope that the story of Thos. Moser, Cabinetmakers, will get you in the mood to plan on attending the next Woodworking in America Hand Tools and Techniques conference, coming up soon in Valley Forge, Pa. October 2-4.

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Filed Under Blog, Conference, St Charles, Video, Woodworking in America Tagged With Conference, keynote speech, St Charles Ill, thomas moser, Woodworking in America

WIA St Charles: Composing with wood grain

September 3, 2009 By Al Navas 2 Comments

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Duration: 14 min., 55 sec.

Grain. Direction. Ebonizing and grain texture. Change of direction. Sculpted curves and flow. Building process. Flow. Chatoyance. Sam Maloof and inspiration… Woodworking in America, St Charles, Ill.

Brian Boggs uses “…the wood’s grain…to complement the overall piece…”  And he makes the components of his chairs flow together, to make a single statement. He uses curves in the design, and the grain of the wood, as part of the design.

In this session I gained better insight into things I should be doing with grain as part of the overall design of a piece of furniture. Does the grain direction work where the leg meets the stretcher? Or does it detract from the overall design? Is it supporting a curve, of flowing against it? And so on.

Using a few examples of chairs he shared with the audience, I focused on highlighting a few key ideas in the edited video of Boggs’ session. As a result, I hope to have caught the spirit of composing with the grain, in the way he intended to convey in his session. If I did not, it is my fault. But listening to him I realized he loves making chairs, and he loves composing with grain as he designs.

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Filed Under Blog, Conference, Design, St Charles, Video, Woodworking in America Tagged With 2009, Brian Boggs, composing, Conference, grain, St Charles Ill, Woodworking in America

WIA St Charles: Arts & Crafts style: The unadorned truth

August 31, 2009 By Al Navas Leave a Comment

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Duration: 20 min., 34 sec.

Arts & Crafts, Mission, and Craftsman.

Do you know the differences? I did not. But after this session, I am now able to tell apart them apart on my own – somewhat, as many of the nuances escape me. Bob Lang did a terrific job covering the period – he is a walking encyclopedia about this movement, popular with many woodworkers. He “…got into this…” in the 1970s, has written books about it, and talks about it authoritatively; and he researched all 16 years of The Craftsman magazine, while working on his Interiors book.

What was striking: I learned that the style is almost unrecognizable today, from its origins in 19th century England. Although many of the names associated with the movement were familiar to me, I learned about the top designers or the time, starting with Gustav Stickley and his brothers. Bob did a terrific job illustrating the differences between Arts & Crafts, Mission, and Craftsman pieces – I hope I remember all the information, for I would like to design and make some pieces in one of these styles at some time in the (near?) future.

My hope is that this edited version of Bob Lang’s session will give you a sense of his depth of knowledge about the Arts & Crafts style. And that my editing reflects the true spirit of his presentation – all shortcomings in the video are my own.

If you get a chance, plan to attend one of the Woodworking in America conferences.

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Filed Under Blog, Conference, Design, St Charles, Video, Woodworking in America Tagged With Arts & Crafts, Craftsman, Design, Mission, style, Woodworking in America