Popular Woodworking 2003-06 № 134, страница 44

From the Bench

Why Use Hand Tools?

Are you hostile to hand work? Find out why working with muscle power is worth the risk.

With chisel and mallet at the ready, I paused, knowing that soon there would be no turning back. In that moment, I also became aware that the painter working on the landing nearby was watching with puzzled curiosity. His curiosity turned to shock as I struck the chisel with the first mallet blow.

The previous afternoon, while sanding the continuous, three-story custom handrail, I had discovered a small but deep area of blowout. In many situations, it might not have warranted such a radical repair, but this would be quite visible and was part of an elliptical stairway that was one of the focal points of this high-end house. Additionally, I knew the site manager to be extremely detail oriented, and unlikely to tolerate a "paint and putty" approach in such a critical place.

Though I knew there was some risk of making matters worse, I had reluctantly decided that the best solution was a patch, executed in a "neat and workmanlike manner." The goal was to match the color and figure well enough that, at worst, it would blend into the surrounding material. At best, it would be "invisible." Accordingly, I had selected the most likely candidate from three or four blanks I'd prepared in the shop, and I proceeded to chop out the "mortise" to accept the patch.

The work was fairly straightforward. My blank had been prepared to match the width of the chisel I was using. And with the use of a sharp, finely set block plane (and a couple of jigs to guide my tools), I obtained a tight fit of the "ever-so-slightly" wedge-shaped patch in the mortise. I then continued to do some additional cleanup work in the area while the glue dried, then carved the patch down to match the surrounding profile, and

finished sanding the area. I was pleased to discover that I'd been extraordinarily lucky in finding a scrap that matched the figure, color and chatoyance (the gleam) of the surrounding material almost perfectly. The patch all but "disappeared."

by Don McConnell

Don McConnell builds furniture and does ornamental

carving in Fredericktown, Ohio. Formerly at the cabinetmaker's shop at The Ohio Village, he remains an avid student of the history of the trade, tools and shop practices.

An Act of Madness

At that point, I went back out to the van for additional tools and supplies. When I returned, I was taken aback to find the painter kneeling on the stairs and peering intently at the handrail. Startled, he looked up somewhat sheepishly and said, with a bit of wonderment in his voice:

"Where is it? I can't find it."

Now this painter worked around accomplished finish carpenters every day. So he was accustomed to seeing high-quality wood

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Popular Woodworking June 2003