G’Day, M’Lords and Ladies. Ye olde carpenters of days long ago built of wood great creations of craft and skille late unseen by mere mortals.
Master William McNaughton, hailing of the Barony of Thor’s Mountain in the Kingdom of Meredes, creates ye olde woodworke of character luxurious, befitting the countenance of a king. See ye the tooles and methodes by which craftsmen of the days of yore plied their vocations. A must reade for ye who long for a more rustick yet refined style of woodworke.
That’s why sites such as the Old House Web are out there. Besides offering lots of practical advice about plumbing, roofing, electrical and other necessities, there are great articles about repairing, refinishing and replacing missing woodworking elements from these gems.
Turners often look at chunks of wood and envision what designs they can coax out of the piece.
And then there is segmented turning. By gluing together properly angled blocks of wood into rings and then stacking those rings of different diameters, wood turners can create a staggering variety of pieces with intricate designs.
This site offers tutorials on how the process works, software that allows the woodworker to design their piece and free plans for handy jigs to help build the project. Draw inspiration from a gallery of turned pieces and even purchase kits of precut wood to get started quickly.
Whether decorative or functional, wooden spoons are a great thing to have around the kitchen.
This site, run by the Spoon Lady, shows the step by step process from stock selection to choosing the right tools to create a beautiful piece of work. It’s a great way to use those choice pieces of stock for functional tools or to present a gifts.
In my last article, I mentioned that I may have to use clamping cauls to get flat panel glue ups.
Of course, I never mentioned what they were, how they were made or the right way to use them. Fortunately, there are plenty of places where you can go to get information. A very good one at New Woodworker, run by Tom Hintz. gives you the step-by-step directions on selecting the wood, making the cauls and using them to get flat glue ups.
For a small investment in wood and common hardware, you can improve the quality of your glue ups. Definitely worth a look.
The fierce warriors who terrorized large areas of Europe during the middle ages are commonly known today as Vikings. What made them so noteworthy? Their awesome fighting ability? The fear they struck into coastal communities?
No, it was their ships.
Viking longships were skillfully built in order to be tough and flexible. Their shallow drafts allowed them to navigate up rivers, yet their broad beams made them stable enough to cross large areas of the north Atlantic.
This web page covers in detail the processes used to build these amazing craft. From the log to the final product, you can see each detail of the construction.
A talented woodworker can make a saw sing as it slices through wood. And, then there are people who can just make the saw sing.
Yes, there are people who actually play their hand saws as instruments. By holding the handle, bending the blade and using a violin bow or your bare thumb, you can coax musical notes from the tool.
Sure, it takes practice, but it beats throwing away a hard-working saw at the end of its life…
