Popular Woodworking 2005-04 № 147, страница 10

Out on a Limb

On Making Chairs & Exploring Mysteries

It was a crazy idea, so crazy it just might work.

Instead of attending a woodworking class out of town we'd bring the instructor here.

Call it a busman's holiday - as if we don't see enough of one another, have enough to do or get in enough woodworking - but a couple phone calls later and all the arrangements were made. Don Weber, a traditional woodworker, chairmaker and great guy agreed to come to our shop to spend four days showing us how to build Welsh stick chairs.

Never mind that it's supposed to be a five-day class, we'd get it done in four. We're used to working fast!

We thought the class, which required the use of hand tools primarily, would be a good way to explore making stick chairs, a craft that is experiencing an amazing renaissance in the United States. It was a great exercise and enjoyable for reasons we didn't foresee. (We did, however, accurately predict how much we'd enjoy plying Mr. Weber, a Welshman, with pints of stout in the evenings.)

Here's a short list of other reasons the four days were so enjoyable:

We steam bent the chair arms, a process I'd never undertaken. Many of us used tools and materials unfamiliar to us. I'd never used a trapping plane or rounding plane to taper chair spindles. The chairmaker's devil, travisher and concave spokeshave were other new tools. We got to work with elm to make the seat, and I discovered the amazing strength that comes from its cross-linked grain.

I also learned how stress-free a class project can be. All I had to do was follow Weber's instructions. Unlike most projects I've built, the planning and problem-solving weren't my responsibility.

It was very interesting to ob serve how each student tackled certain aspects of the building

process in his or her own way. Even though we were all building the same chair, each builder called on his or her own experience to approach the various challenges. In some respects, you could almost do a psychological profile based on the differences.

Taking the class was a terrific idea and I'd encourage all of you to enroll in a class in the near future. To aid your search, see the school directory on page 91. It lists some of the best schools in North America.

New Column: Arts & Mysteries

This issue inaugurates a new column that I think you'll find intriguing. It's called "Arts & Mysteries," and it explores the lost or almost-lost techniques of 18th century woodworkers, who produced breathtaking work at breakneck speed. The column is written by Adam Cherubini, an aircraft designer from New Jersey, who has spent years researching early woodworking techniques and putting them into practice in his own shop and as a volunteer in the joiner's shop at Penns-bury Manor, a recreation of the country home of William Penn, the founder of the state of Pennsylvania and a Quaker.

Cherub ini argues that there is much that we can learn from our 18 th century counterparts - if we can only figure out how they worked. After reading his first column on page 32, I think you'll agree with him. PW

Steve Shanesy Editor & Publisher

CONTRIBUTORS

SCOTT GIBSON

One Christmas about 25 years ago Scott Gibson's father gave him the parts of a cherry Hepple white table - the legs, aprons and top. None of the joinery was cut. Scott wasn't sure what to do with the gift. His father, a Windsor chairmaker and carver said, "You'll figure it out." Scott, then a newspaper reporter and editor, did. The project became one of many. For 25 years Scott has effectively wedded furniture-making and his journalism career. He began working for magazines and was editor of Fine Woodworking for three years. Now a freelance writer, editor and photographer, he often can be found in his woodshop in Steep Falls, Maine. His story, "Total Shop in a Box," begins on page 57.

ERIC HEDBERG

Eric Hedberg couldn't help but quit his mechanical engineering gig to build furniture and restore old houses. Woodworking is in his blood. A descendant of a long line of woodcarvers and shipbuilders, Eric began inheriting old family tools when he realized his right brain was thirsty for stimulation. Today he satisfies both sides of his brain through technologically challenging proj -ects that require an artistic touch, such as building an orchestrion (think player piano with drums, cymbals, etc.) for a children's museum, traditional wooden sleds for his sons, and chairs. Eric, who lives in St. Paul, Minn., contributed to "Cheating at Chairmaking," which begins on page 62.

Our Privacy Promise to You

We make portions of our customer list available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services we believe you may enjoy. If you do not want to receive offers and/or information, please let us know by contacting us at:

List Manager, F+W Publications

4700 E. Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236

8

Popular Woodworking April 2005