Popular Woodworking 2006-08 № 156, страница 10
Out on a Limb Making Peace to Make Furniture A couple years ago I bought a vintage Disston No. 7 handsaw to round out the nest of saws that are useful to a typical furniture maker. The saw was perfect: sharp, straight, correctly set and it felt like an old baseball glove in my right hand. But for some reason, this fine-toothed saw didn't cut well. It bound at every opportunity. Even worse, it wouldn't follow a line like my other saws did - it strayed across the board like a tipsy reveler at a DUI checkpoint. Was it the saw? I doubt it. The No. 7 was the first model of saw that Henry Disston made (it was the forerunner to the venerable D-7 saw). Made between 1840 and 1928, the No. 7 was a mainstay of the Disston line, according to the Disstonian Institute, an online guide to Disston saws (disstonianinsti-tute.com). Thousands of these saws were sold to professionals - the No. 7 isn't some oddball tool. Was it the sharpening job? That also was unlikely. I bought the saw from Steve Cooke, who runs Cooke's Sharpening & Grinding Service in York, Penn. (cookessharpening. com). Cooke has a large collection of saws and a wealth of sharpening experience. Was it the user? Believe it or not, I didn't think that I was the problem. I've always had an affinity for handsaws since I was a kid. And though I'd never used a 12-point saw like this No. 7, all my other handsaws were obedient. I was stumped. So after weeks of trying to use the tool, I put it away and forgot about it. A few months ago I was cleaning off the top of a tool cabinet and came across the No. 7, covered in two years of dust but otherwise perfect. I had forgotten how beautiful the handle was and how good it felt in my hand. But I was still a bit leery after our last encounter. I cleaned off the saw, picked up a piece of maple and struck a line across its face. I drew the saw back and braced myself for disappointment. To my surprise, the saw plunged sweetly into the work. After a few strokes I could see that it was hugging my pencil line brilliantly. With this saw I am now cutting faster and cleaner joints than ever before. But all this made me wonder: What had changed? I've had the same experience with a few handplanes, a band saw, a drum sander and a jointer. First frustration, then separation and finally satisfaction. This wasn't the first time I've had to make peace with a tool. Perhaps our brains process our first baffling encounters with a tool and then unconsciously come up with the solution. I think that woodworkers' connection to their tools is more complex than most people think. More than just hunks of steel, iron and carbide, our tools are the conduit between imagining and creating. They are the magic wands that transform a pile of sticks into a cabinet or chair. This is worth keeping in mind as you read through this issue, where we present three perspectives on tools from Frank Klausz, Robert Lang and myself. Each of us explores a markedly different realm. But the one thing I hope you'll do when you put down this magazine is to root through your own shop for a tool that has brought you nothing but grief and try to put it to work. You might be ready, like I was, to take a big step forward. PW Christopher Schwarz Editor CONTRIBUTORS SAMUEL L. PETERSON In 1995, the opportunity to build a workbench led Sam to what has become a fascination with the history and use of hand tools. Upon discovering the Internet message group called "oldtools," Sam found a gathering of like-minded individuals who, together, have rediscovered long-ago forgotten techniques, and kindled the flames of self-sufficiency and honest achievement in woodworking. Sam's day job involves overseeing research funding for the University of Missouri. Researching obscure and forgotten areas of woodworking (see page 72) is how he unwinds after a hard day ofhitting the numbers. Among his other interests are blacksmithing and woodcarving. ROBERT W. LANG Senior Editor Robert W. Lang has been a professional woodworker since the early 1970s. He learned woodworking repairing wooden boats on Lake Erie and in a large commercial shop in Cleveland. Along the way he studied industrial design at Ohio State University, and his experience includes building custom furniture and cabinets as well as managing and engineering large architectural millwork projects. He is the author of several "Shop Drawings" books about the Arts & Crafts Movement of the early 1900s, as well as the new "The Complete Kitchen Cabinetmaker" (Cambium Press) and the forthcoming "Shop Drawings for Greene & Greene Furniture" (available in October from Cambium Press/Fox Chapel). 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 August 2006 |
