DAY 9 & 10: Rubbed The Wrong Way, Reading Guinnee Pigs, and First Cuts

DAY NINE and TEN have been non-stop. We've actually started cutting into our projects which means we are putting in double time so that we can somewhat finish them by Friday. PK is trying to console us by saying that most people are lucky if they glue up by Friday, but I'm hoping that I can get this done and ship it out so I don't have to take it on the plane back to SF with me. I wasn't expecting this class to be stressful, but I keep having these moments of panic where I think I'm cutting the wrong thing, then I realize I'm doing what I should be, just to have that panic grab me again. Needless to say there is a lot riding on finishing this project.

These past few days have started early, 7am or so, and ending late, 10pm-ish. But it's hard to stop when each step of the process is so rewarding. I can't adequately describe the satisfaction of fitting a joint and having all the pins and tails line up, but its a lot like trying on a perfect pair of jeans, or biting into a ripe nectarine, or building a replica of the golden gate bridge out of Lego's.

On top this busy schedule I'm also being a guinea pig of PK's new book. I feel pretty lucky that I'm getting to read the first two chapters and I have to say so far it's really good. Bill B, who's an English teacher, also gets to be a guinea pig. PK's book is half memoir half philosophy of craft, and without giving anything away, the history of craft and the way craft has changed in just the past 130 years is really fascinating, well at least PK's interpretation of it is. If you want to read more on craft I'm pretty sure that for Mondays post I left a little list of good books to read. If you have any suggestions feel free send them to me.

I don't want to get too off topic, so back to class, Tuesday we had a lecture on abrasives. What I learned was, hand plane your wood and you wont have to worry about sanding. Really I learned quite a bit more, but you can probably find out all you want to know yourself on the Internet.

As a group we went to Suzuki's Sushi Bar in Rockland. We start everyday out with restaurant reviews and Suzuki averaged a solid 8. The prices were fair, and the food was good. I would recommend the rolls, the noodle dishes were, meh. They carried some great beers including one of my favorites, Hitachino Nest. Do the Hitachino White.

Suzuki's

I mentioned earlier that we started our projects on Tuesday, by Wednesday they were starting to look like furniture.

Starting our projects (Near to Far: Daniel, Marie, Bill P.)

(Near to Far: Bill B., Francis, Phil)

I love Marie's sweeping dovetail pattern

DAY 8: Sticky Situations, Keep On Truckin'

DAY EIGHT, It's only Monday and I'm already tired.  I spent all weekend catching up and now the craft bus has taken off again.  This is definitely starting to feel like a marathon.  I don't think I've worked 14 hour days 8 day in a row in my life, and now I'm doing it voluntarily, we all are.

Anyway, PK gave us a pretty long lecture on adhesives and what I find amazing is the glue we use is actually stronger than the natural glue that holds wood fibers together.  He also attempted to show us how to joint wood, that means put two pieces of wood together to make a wider piece of wood.  I say attempt because the machinery, PK, didn't get much sleep the night before.  I'm finding out that woodworking is some complicated stuff.  It seems like you have to do 10 things before you can do one.  For example, if you try to edge joint 3 pieces of wood you have to put biscuit joints or dowels or a rabbit and dado joint to keep them straight, and the clamps have to be engineered in just a way that they distribute pressure evenly from front to back or the wood will bow.  Or you have to rig the wood....  You get the point.  There is quite a bit to think about when your just putting two pieces of wood together.

There weren't any great leaps into our projects, but my battle buddy Daniel, the over achiever, has started his.  The rest of us did the usual, practice joints, sharpen chisels and planes, etc. 

It's Monday and that means SLIDE SHOW!!!  On the program tonight was Aaron Fedarko, our TA and a local furniture designer.  About 4 years ago Aaron quite his job traveled to South America.  He was visiting a salt hotel in Sal de Uyuni in Bolivia where the furniture was made out of, you guessed it, salt, when he decided he would pursue a passion of his and make furniture.  When he returned to America he studied under Brian Boggs and then soon after went through the 9 month program here at The Center For Furniture Craftsmanship. 

A bent laminate chair by Aaron

Here is a game table by Aaron.  Just a little something he did in the 9 month program.

Aaron's Bridge table on display at Rayr Wine Shop and Gallery in Camden

Next up was Pete Schlebecker.  Pete is another local, and a very interesting guy.  He has been practicing Nichiren Buddhism for some time and slowly got into woodworking in the 80's after he built himself and a few friends Butsadahns.  Over the years he studied design acquiring an MFA from the Rhode Island School Of Design.  He does a lot of conceptual work and wood art, and is currently teaching the Joinery in class next to ours.  

Some of Pete's work.

Finally it was the school founder PK's turn.  PK was born and raised in Philly in the 50's where he attended a Quaker school and graduated a hippy.  He found woodworking or rawther (PK's way of saying it) woodworking found him while he was working as a carpenter on Nantucket, then a small local community of 3,000 of which only 30-50 were not born there.  Back then there was no Fine Woodworking Magazine, James Krenov hadn't written his ground breaking first book, and woodworking was somewhat of a lost art.  PK, slowly taught himself how to make furniture after he purchased a few books on joinery, and eventually moved to NYC and started a studio business.  I'm going to run through the rest of his story.  He then taught for quite a while at Anderson Ranch in Colorado, while it was in it's infancy and finally headed to the east coast again to start his own school, thus CFC.  PK has a great view of craft and the philosophy behind it as well as it's spirituality and ability to aid in personal fulfillment.  Seeing his slide show was a definite inspiration, and a reminder to make your life the life you want.  Peter's slide show focused more on the revival of modern craft from the 70's until now, sprinkled with a few of his pieces, but it's hard to find images around the Internet.  

If you are interested in some books on Craft Philosophy check any of these out.

Shop Class As Soul Craft by Matthew Crawford

The Craftsman by Richard Sennett

A Cabinetmaker's Notebook by James Krenov

The Unknown Craftsman by Soetsu Yanagi

The Soul of a Tree by George Nakashima

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 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

The Mission

I wanted to try woodworking as a hobby, and after a lot of searching on the web for a school that would be good for me I came across The Center For Furniture Craftsmanship. Since I'm a full time student at City College of San Francisco I am starting with the 2 week Basic Woodworking Workshop, something I can easily fit into my summer break, and plan on using this blog to share the experience.  My 2 week workshop isn't until the end of July so until then I will share with you what I read, watch, and whatever else I pick up along the way.