Day 4: At Least We Cut Good Dovetails, Nicked Fingers, and Hard Meatballs

DAY FOWAH, as they would say in Maine.  What can I say?  The class is getting to know each other a lot more and it is a really great mix of people.   We're also really getting into our work.  Around 3pm Bill B. wispered to me, "You hear that?"  It was silent.   Except for the occasional hammering of a chisel or the scratching of sand paper the room was silent.  Everyone was caught up in their tasks, completely focused on what they were doing.  

I have to say one of the best things about this course is that we spend so much time critically learning to do things correctly by hand.  There is no easy way to learn woodworking, you have to develop hand-eye coordination that only comes with repetition and a keen sense of how the wood reacts to you, not a machine.  In a lot of other schools what you would walk away with is a project, but at CFC I'll be walking away with experience.  Well experience, sore fingers, and strange muscle aches.  This is the first time in my life that my fingers hurt.  Honing tools is no joke.  PK says you don't buy tools you buy tool kits, all of which need hours and hours of flattening, sharpenting, and adjusting.  It's enough to have your finger go on strike, which is what mine did, so I had to bribe Aaron to finish honing my cutting gauge.  There are just so many hours you can stand over a 6000 grit stone filing a metal toothpick to the size of a sewing needle.

The class at Bruvetto's (L to R: Daniel, PK, Sybil, Marie, Bill P., Francis, Allen, Bill B., Phil, Moi.  In there some where are Sybil's partner and Aaron the TA, they hid)

We had our first class outing, to Bruvetto's, an italian restaurant in Camden.  The food was great, but not as good as the company, who finally let loose on the jokes... (i.e. Why couldn't the woodworker cut his meatball?  Becuase he was cutting it against the grain).  If you didn't laugh, I understand, you probably had to be there.  It also may have just been our class, but redneck jokes were really popular.   My favorite joke of the night was told by Aaron our TA (Why does the Pope wear boxers in the shower?...  Becuase he doesn't want to look down on the unemployeed).  At least we cut great dovetails.  Speaking of dovetails,  

 

Here we have Francis's official first dovetail, he cheats at home that's why there so good.

Bill's pretty imaginative, he plans on using his dovetails as a bathing suit next time he's at the Swedish Sauna.  Don't ask me how.

Of course Daniel's is perfect.

Marie is so into her dovetail she wants to know what it's like from inside.

It took me a day and a half, but I finally did it.

As for Bill P., Sybal, and Allen (firstblood) you'll have to wait till later.

DAY 3: Shake Ya Tail Feather and Nicked Fingers

DAY THREE and everyones motivation is holding strong.  There's no doubt that this class is dedicated.  We have access to the shop everyday from 7am-Midnight and it's rare, if between those hours, that there is no one here sharpening chisels or practicing mortis and tennons.  

Three days of learning can be seen on everyones fingers.  I wish I had the forsight to take before and after photos of our hands because they are pretty banged up.    Allen's fingers will tell you why you shouldn't put them infront of your chisel while pairing out a shoulder.  Daniell learned just how fast a 1000 grits wet stone can take off skin.  Everyone will tell you how hard it is to get metal filings out from under your finger nails and I learned my first night not to rub your eyes with filings on your fingers.  One look at Francis's index finger will give you reason, maybe 10 reasons, why you don't use your finger as a gauge when paring dovetails. 

PK  gave us a demonstration on cutting dove tails.  Like everything else he does it looked easy, but in reality was so much more complex.  

Here is little history lesson-  The dovetail joint predates written history.  Furniture found entombed with mummies in Egypt had dovetail joints but when that furniture was made we're not sure.  The joint is known for its strength because it only has one vector of force that can loosen the joint.  That means its one bad ass joint, and a reason a lot of craftsmen take them seriously.  

Marking a dovetail

A marked dovetail

Using a dovetail saw to cut out the dovetail, yes it gets its own saw.  And yes I'm tired of saying the word dovetail.

Bill P. banging out some tails

Sybil marking her tail out

DAY 2: Haunch, Sholders, Cheeks, and Ears

DAY TWO again started with a lecture, this time on joinery.  Luckily the background was much nicer clear sunny skies could be seen through the windows that bookend the lecture board.  PK went over the strengths and weaknesses of the Mortis and Tennon, Bridal, Butt, Rabbit and Dado, Allen Peters, and Dovetail joints.  We had a demonstration of cutting out a Mortis and Tennon which PK made seem easy.  WRONG!  Chiseling out a mortis requires a dexterity I haven't yet aquired, same with using the engeneer's square so that you can see if the mortis is straight up and down, by the time I get the two tools situated and try to hold it against the wood I drop one of the tools.  Unlike chisel sharpening though, using the chisel to cut wood is very satisfiying.  If I learned anything today its that I have a lot to learn.  The path to being a woodworker isn't the short stroll through the feild I thought it was going to be, but more like a long streach of highway along the beautiful feild and way of in the distance is the entrance visible only in theory.  

Diagram for tenons.

My First Tennon.  If you need any birthday gift ideas, anything in the background of this picture would be fine.

Marking out a Mortis.

My first 3 Mortis and Tennon Joints.  I know your impressed!

Day 1: Inspiring Porcupines and Chisle Sharpening Black Outs

DAY ONE has finally arrived.  The morning was hot, humid, and densely gray. Peter Korn started class out with a short lecture getting us acquainted with the material we'll be working with, WOOD.  He gave a brief overview of Basic forestry, what woods are the hardest hardwoods (Ebony and Rosewood), what the difference  is between hardwood and softwood, how you can cut wood (flatsawn, quartersawn, riftsawn), how a tree grows (reach for the stars) and how to read grain.  We spent the rest of the day milling a piece of wood flat, square, and parallel, honing our chisels, and attending the Monday night slide show by Garrett Hack and David Savage (If you know anything about woodworking your jaw just dropped).  Both of the men come with a huge resume of experience and notoriety, more later.

I have learned a lot in this one day, but more importantly I've been inspired by everyone here.  Anyway here is the rundown on what you'll learn on the first day.

#1: Rags that have oil in them can spontaneously combust. (Pistachio's too).

#2:  Sneaking up on flatness is not nearly as fun as sneaking up on straightness.

#3:  Flattening the backs of chisels is about as exciting as watching grass grow but requires 100 times more work on your part.  To be honest the satisfaction of finally getting the chisel near perfect is well worth the aggravating redundancy.  I say near perfect because after spending around 8 hours honing my first chisel there are still imperfections, but PK and our great TA's, Kendrick and Aaron, have reassured me that over time the chisel will become better and better.  

This is the 1" chisel.  I purchased a set of 6 Two Cherries Brand Chisels from the school cheaper than everywhere else I've looked.

This is Daniel, Honer extraordinaire/perfectionist.  While I was on my 8th hour working a very dull finish to the hardly flattened 1" Chisel, he was outside signaling the international space station with the mirror finish he polished up on his.

 Getting that bevel just right.

Getting a hallow bevel.

Philosophy #1:  PK's attitude towards work is proof that woodworking should be precise, practical, and most of all fun.  During his demonstrations, which can take some time, we're encouraged to tell jokes.  So far I've only heard one joke, I'm guessing everyone else's jokes are as disgusting as mine and they're keeping their mouths shut.  Which could make for a very interesting last day.  

Inspiration #1:  The slide show was pretty unbelievable.  Garrett Hack is living the life that can only be described as perfect and may be the life I would most like to model mine after.  No I won't go to Princeton and study English (don't quote me on the English part) and no I'm not going to move to Vermont and buy a Clydesdale to pull me across the snow so that I can chop down a tree to make my next piece of furniture.  BUT, I would love to live on and work a small farm (his is a blueberry farm), work for a magazine, travel extensively teaching, and knock out a few items of heirloom quality furniture.  Hands down Garrett has the most serene sounding lifestyle.  Aside from farming blueberries, he grows most of his families vegetables, He also has 3 cows one for milking, one for meat, and a baby cus they're cute.  There is one horse who he uses to mow his acreage.  After the grass is dry he enjoys racking it into crop circles, that's so alien.  

Inspiration #2:  David Savage's slide show was a great introduction for someone like me who doesn't know much about woodworking.  He covered British and Irish woodworkers from 2000-present.  Most of David's slide show focused on the design aspect of woodworking introducing to me people like John Makepeace, the Barnsley Workshop, and David Colwell.  There were many more but I didn't take notes, these were the names that stood out to me along with an Irish guy who's name I wish I could remember.  

Needless to say it has been a big day, and this post is getting quite lengthy.  I could keep writing, but I have to get home before dark so I don't have to relive the terrifying experience of walking down a pitch black road like I did yesterday.  Luckily a classmate dropped me off just a quarter mile away from where I'm staying, or I might have ended up sleeping at the school.  Here's a picture of that walk home.

Seriously that's a photograph of the walk home and exactly what it looked like.

I also saw a porcupine on the side of the road.  It had its tongue out and walked like a robot.   Awesome!

One last thing before I go. Over dinner my housemate told me her horse was addicted to drugs.  I laughed then she told me about Cribbing.  This crazy thing that horses do to get high.  They bite down on something then huff and it squeezes some gland releasing endorphins.  As funny as it originally sounded it's really sad.

The Price of Learning

I've just completed my transactions for tools, the course text has arrived in the mail, I've bought my plane and bus tickets, found a place to stay, and the school has officially charged my credit card, so I thought it appropriate to give a rundown of what the price of this two week woodworking basic course has cost if starting from scratch.

THE RUN DOWN

Tools-$397.87

Text-$12.56

Travel-$601.90

Bed-$450.00

Course-$1240.00

TOTAL=$2702.33

TOOLS

Tools were purchased from Lee Valley and Garret Wade. Garret Wade offers a 10% discount to CFC students, except for Lee-Nielsen and Festool brands, but I bought a Lee-Nielsen #5 Plane and set of 2 scrapers and recieved the 10% discount on both. (Super stoked about that)

Tools purchased included:

-Marking and Cutting Gauge

-Nielsen Low Angle Jack Plane

-Lee-Nielsen set of 2 Scrapers (.02" & .032")

-Marking Knife

-Folding Rule

(The school also recommends an 8" sliding T-bevel but I haven't found one that is affordable. Woodcraft has a nice 10" one but it would be the only tool I would need to buy from them and they are charging $10 shipping. I'll bug a friend to drive my car-less butt to Santa Rosa to buy one in the store.)

TEXT

The course text for the two-week begginer course is Peter Korn's, Woodworking Basics: Mastering the Essentials of Craftsmanship. Amazon had the best deal at $12.56

TRAVEL

Air

Jet Blue had the cheapest flights from San Francisco to Portland Maine. My semi-round-trip ticket (because I'm spending 3 days in NYC) was $564.90

Bus

Since I don't drive, I'm taking a bus from Portland ME, to Rockport, ME. A round-trip ticket is $37.00. Greyhound has services, but I'm

using Concord Coach Lines becuase it lined up conveineintly with my flights.

BED

I wish I was staying in this North Haven Boat Barn-Inspired house designed by Christopher Campbell, but budget is definatly a concern for me. The school offers housing in private houses and apartments in the area for $295 a week. You can also stay with the program insturcter/school founder Peter Korn for $400 a week. The school also sent me a large list of B&Bs, Inns, Housing Services, motels, and locals who will sublet a room from $375-600 a week. I chose to see if there was a cheaper option and there was on Craigslist.

I can't say what the perks of staying with P.K. or other locals may be, but the house I'm staying in is only $450 for the two weeks. And Deb, the woman I'll be staying with, may be the nicest person alive. She offered to pick me up from the bus station as well as the use of a bike and car. Unfortunalty I don't have a drivers license or care for driving so I had to decline the last offer. I get the feeling eveyone in Maine is this nice, but I don't want to set any expectations.

COURSE

The two week Basic Woodworking Workshop cost a total of $1240.00