Popular Woodworking 2003-11 № 137, страница 35
The Machine Room The machine room is downstairs. A garage door and a set of French doors provide easy access for lumber and new machines - Bird says he's constantly upgrading his machinery. The machines are arranged almost two-by-two in angled rows. There are two 10" table saws, a Delta Unisaw and a Powermatic 66. There are two Laguna band saws, one 18" and the other 24". There are two jointers, a Delta 12" and a World War Il-era Yates American 16". There are two shapers, a Delta and a Jet. And there are two router tables, a Bench Dog and one he built himself. In each router table is a Porter-Cable router. He has a Jet planer and a Performax drum sander. A Delta central dust-collection unit, along with Delta ambient cleaners hung on the ceiling, keep Bird's shop almost dust-free. Outside the machine room are several large plastic trash cans - perfect for throwing away unusable offcuts. He is a stickler for cleanliness, and it shows. Like the bench room, the machine room is temperature-controlled allowing Bird to work year round. Chairs, Baseball and Family An intimate setting for a woodworking school, the woodshop is quite spacious for Bird's personal projects. Although he says he enjoys building period casework, it's basically dovetailing and constructing boxes within boxes. Building chairs (like the ones below) is Bird's true passion. Most of Bird's machines come in sets of two (which means less waiting around for his students) and he keeps them in angled rows for easy access. When discussing chairs, or any piece of period furniture, Bird talks a lot about line and proportion. He talks about sensuous curves that flow the way they should, making two individual pieces of wood look like one with no dead spots. He talks about technically challenging pieces that require not only a strong knowledge of joinery but also carving, inlay and creating curved shapes. Bird's understanding of line and proportion comes from studying period furniture in places such as Colonial Williamsburg, museums and books. His favorite book, published in the 1950s, is Albert Sack's "Fine Points of Furniture." Although it's out of print, Bird says you can find some copies. Bird's classes (offered from early spring to late fall) are limited to nine students. Check out lonniebird.com. Of course, with a little pulling, Bird will admit that natural ability does play a part in building a quality piece of furniture. But more importantly than having natural ability is being able to develop that ability, he says. Using baseball as an analogy, Bird says studying and building period furniture is a lot like hitting a baseball. You might have a natural swing and a natural follow-through, but you still need a batting coach or whatever it takes to practice and develop your ability. Bird likes baseball. He's been known to to attend Smokies baseball games (a class AA minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals) three times a week with his family. Bird values time with his family more than anything else. They're constantly together. Bird and his wife home-school their daughters who also help out with lunches for students in Bird's classes. The Birds spent their summer rafting in the rivers that flow through the mountains, traveling to Charleston, S.C., and, of course, hitting the books. "We work together, play together and learn together," Bird says. "I feel like we're really close-knit." Driving out his gravel driveway, over the creek and keeping an eye out for Grace Baptist Church, you begin to realize why Bird and his family chose such an open, idyllic setting for their home, woodshop and new school. It's inspirational, a word Bird uses often when describing the area. A quick look at the spice cabinet Bird fetches from his home for our opening shot, and you can see that the setting has inspired him, too. PW 34 Popular Woodworking November 2003 |
