Some species of wood we use to build projects are very understated. Subdued. Reserved.

And then there is Bubinga.

This exceptionally beautiful, hard and dense wood from central Africa is a true standout when it comes to furniture making. Known occasionally as African Rosewood, bubinga is one of 16 different species of the genus Guibourtia. The evergreen trees can reach heights of 40 – 50 meters tall with a trunk diameter of 1 – 2 meters.

Bubinga is a very tough wood. “It’s right up there on the Janka scale of hardness – taking nearly 2000 pounds of force to drive a steel ball halfway into a piece,” said Eric Poirier of Bell Forest Products. “That makes it a very good choice for all sorts of applications – especially for making tool handles and hand planes.”

Eric had helped me select an outstanding piece of bubinga when I had built my Krenov-style plane. The wood cut, planed and worked beautifully while still being impervious to the fingernail test.

Bubinga’s color is very unique and runs from a striking deep rose color toward a shade of red mixed with purple. While working with it, I kept remembering the distinctive label color found on a Dr. Pepper bottle. “This dramatic color really makes bubinga pop when paired as an accent with lighter wood. A maple project with bubinga accents… wow… now you are talking!”

“It’s not just the color, but the figure of the bubinga that can really be dramatic,” said Eric. “You can see burl, quilted or even something that closely resembled tiger striping within the highly figured boards.”

The wood is very durable, and is often used in boatbuilding. Turners absolutely love the stuff because it takes very crisp detailing. “A bubinga bowl really makes a statement, and bubinga pens will attract a lot of attention from admirers.”

Bell Forest Products keeps a supply of milled bubinga lumber on hand for projects. They also get some very choice boards that can be custom picked from pictures on their website. “Right now, we have an unbelievable kiln-dried slab of bubinga in stock. It’s 1 5/8” thick, 48” wide and a whopping 182” long. It’s got sweet live edges on both sides, and would allow a talented woodworker to make an outstanding project. Heck,” Eric continued, “we’re even throwing in the shipping for free!”

Oh, what the heck.  This is the other article I have had in the hopper for more than a year.  David Keller is a legend in woodworking, and even though I don’t have a photo of him, his story is just too good to sit on my hard drive anymore!

If you can go to your shop and cut through dovetails without having to reach for a hand saw and chisels, you may want to stop and offer some thanks to David Keller. After all, David was one of the brain trust who invented the router-driven through dovetail jig way back in the mid 1970’s. While the owner of Keller Dovetail Jigs is well known in woodworking circles, his path to the level of accomplishment he has achieved didn’t really start with woodworking at all.

David actually graduated with a degree in social psychology and worked at a state hospital in Michigan before he realized that it just wasn’t for him. “I knew I was in trouble when I discovered that there were just too many insane people that I had to work with.”

After looking for a big career switch, he moved west to try his hand at furniture making. He bounced around working odd jobs – such as taking an apprenticeship at a reupholstry shop (he didn’t like it one bit ) while looking for the dream furniture. His search, however, wasn’t very successful. “You have to remember that during that time period, custom furniture making wasn’t really done. People were buying machine-made pieces, and the whole idea of craft building hadn’t yet caught on.” But, David was soon to discover that he was in the right place at the right time.

In a move to the San Francisco Bay area, he met up with noted woodworker Art Carpenter. “It was a very interesting time. We met after lunch on a cold day back in ’71. He liked my enthusiasm and brought me on board. I started out sweeping the floor and sanding for Art for a whopping two dollars an hour. But I learned so much there.

Carpenter was well known for his California Roundover school of furniture design, which dictated a very smooth, tactile approach to building furniture. Another thing Art demanded was that all casework be dovetailed. But, all those dovetail joints took time to cut by hand. Surely, there had to be an easier way…

Carpenter first cut some plexiglass jigs to work as a template for through dovetail work. They worked OK, but David realized that if the work was going to be tight and consistent, it was going to require some precision machining. So, drawing upon his extensive knowledge of drafting – that he remembered from a high school drafting class – and prepared plans for a machine shop in San Jose to cut out. That modest jig he designed is still sold today as the model 3600.

David’s recommendation to improve the router bits even led to the invention of a very commonly used router bit. “By doing away with a guide collar and going to a ball-bearing guide, we effectively designed the first flush-trim bit.”

The rest, as they say, is history.

When you succeed, there are critics. After all, hand cut dovetails are a signature joint for woodworkers the world over. Some woodworkers who rely on the hand-cut methods have remarked that a jig that allows the average woodworkers to make this venerable joint ‘cheapens’ the craft. “For those who like to cut your dovetails by hand, more power to you. That’s a skill that is very enjoyable and very centering. But, if you want to get a project done with properly fitted dovetails in a reasonable amount of time, using a jig and router provides excellent results and allows you more time to design, assemble and finish.”

In fact, a common criticism of router-cut dovetails is a ‘generic’ feel they have, with pins and tails at precise intervals. Some jigs can overcome this during their setup, but that can be tedious. “We’ve found that users of the Keller jig have been very creative in their suggestions and recommendations. The simplicity of the jig gives the user a flexibility to variably space the tails and pins, or even dovetail around curves.”

While many other companies have released through dovetail jigs since Keller first released his in 1976, the product’s longevity is a strong indicator of its worthiness. “Yes, even after all these years, the jig’s design is still durable, useful, easy to set up and the damned thing still works well!” In fact, one of the original jigs Keller built back in 1976 is still in operation at a Salt Lake City high school wood shop.

Of course, I had to ask if Keller ever had the opportunity to do any woodworking on his own nowadays. “Heck no! You should see what passes for my shop. Every horizontal surface is covered with jigs to mail, manuals, magazines – the works,” Keller laughed. “In fact, we had to shoot the instructional video in someone else’s shop – mine was just too crowded.”

It sounds like Keller might be a victim of his own success.

You can find reviews, customer testimonials and even order a jig online at www.kellerdovetail.com, or by calling 1-800-995-2456.

With the New Year, it’s time to look into the article closet to check on some gems that haven’t seen the light of day.  This one has been almost two years in the making.  It turns out that David is slightly camera shy, but the work he and his crew does is unbelievable.

Woodworking can be a very personal endeavor. We get into it for our own reasons. Maybe it’s because a parent or relative did it. Others of us find the path on our own.

That’s what happened with David Sochar, owner of Acorn Woodworks of Westfield, Indiana. You see, David has always had the ambition to get into woodworking, but didn’t have the right encouragement. “When I was a kid, everything was geared toward higher education. I went to prep school, then to college. During all this education, all I just wanted to do was make things using my hands. My counselors were highly entertained by this novelty.”

When the peace movement hit full stride in 1971, David was caught up in the effort. He wandered around the country for a few years, earning a living doing manual crafts and labor to provide a decent living. “After a few years, I settled on working with wood as what I wanted to do. It’s forgiving, plentiful and a perfect natural material.”

David found his way back to his home state of Indiana. Odd jobs such as framing pictures and restoring antiques helped develop his skills. Eventually, David landed a job with a true architectural shop, building curved staircases, mantles, shutters and other high-end pieces. “It was heaven for me. I had finally found myself.”

As David’s abilities progressed, he eventually helped establish a shop that employed 25 woodworkers and cranked out high-end residential work. Ultimately, in 1991, he had to walk away from the operation. “The owners were less than human. One of them is now doing time in jail. It was a very bad situation.”

He went home that afternoon and announced to his family that he had quit the job. Rather than be alarmed by his move, David’s wife suggested they withdraw some cash to purchase some essential new tools for his hobby shop. “When I got back from the shopping trip, I already had two orders waiting for me on my home answering machine. That was the birth of Acorn Woodworks, and we’ve been running like hell since.”

Today, Acorn Woodworks has a brand new 9,000 square foot facility just outside of Indianapolis. “We have room to dance, if needed. We even splurged and now have a forklift to unload and move lumber – talk about a back saver!” The shop is very well equipped with some of the latest equipment. A 20” Laguna band saw, Delta Unisaws… “We even bought a laser guided rip saw from the last Ethan Allen plant to close in the US. A wonderful 2-1/2 tons of solid American cast iron that can work all day without breaking a sweat.”

While the shop may have some of the latest and greatest equipment, David’s philosophy with his employees hearkens back to a different day and age. Currently, Acorn Woodworks employs five full time woodworkers, and each of them is considered one of the company’s greatest assets. “Today, I have the pleasure of working with some of the best woodworkers I have known, and doing the best work. We have no employee problems and each of these people is like family. I easily trust them with my livelihood.”

In fact, David encourages each of his employees to use the shop equipment to do his own ‘homework.’ “I encourage everyone to make things for themselves, since the problem solving takes on a new dimension when they have to live with their results.”

That trust in each employee easily shows in the quality of the work Acorn turns out. “Problem solving is what we do. Daily. On the fly. Anticipating. Always problem solving. All we do is custom work, so every project requires the sum of an individual’s experience, and the collective shop experience. We call this shop equity since it is an asset that is important to what we do. We all enjoy a bit – or more – of a challenge.”

Sometimes that custom work can take some very strange twists. “I was commissioned to make a cedar chest for a bridal dress. The customer told me that the bride – his wife to be – was killed in a car accident the day before the wedding. He wanted bluebirds painted on the lid and fittings inside for memorabilia of the wedding that never was. It was an extremely sad story, but it was gratifying to build and he was very appreciative. He explained how this helped with the grieving process.”

With all of the success David is enjoying at Acorn Woodworks, how does this one-time free spirit relax? For someone who has woodworking in his soul, there’s really only one thing he can do. “Well, my wife insists I need a hobby – other that wood – but I can’t imagine what she is talking about.”

With care… always.

When people talk about the good old days of hand tools, they often cite the attention paid to the small details. Plane mouths that are machined to tight tolerances. Comfortable handles on chisels. The look and feel of a solid performing work of art.

That’s why you might be surprised that one of the true artisans making new hand saws started out doing rough work.

Andrew Lunn, the owner of Eccentric Toolworks, got what some folks might call a late start in woodworking. “I did have a shop class in junior high school when I was 14 years old. But that wasn’t what really got me going. In fact I didn’t make anything after that until I was 27 years old! I was working in an office and started to get the feeling that I wanted to work more with my hands.” According to Andrew, this career change came totally out of the blue. “I got myself a job working on a construction crew, doing restoration work to fire damaged buildings. It was all really unfocused at first–I knew I felt drawn to working with wood, and that I felt drawn to working with my hands. But I didn’t know if that would mean carpentry, or furniture, or what. So I put together a modest hand tool shop in my garage and began making things by hand. That’s what really got me going.”

Over time Andrew realized he was attracted to the smaller, more skilled tasks that focused his attention. “Several years ago, I got the idea that I wanted to make myself a whole set of hand tools, and that I would in turn use that set of tools to make things. The prospect of making a saw felt particularly interesting so I thought I would start there–and basically I started and just never stopped!”

Today, Andrew makes some of the most comfortable, true cutting – and beautiful – hand saws available for sale. His saws are not mass-produced. Instead, just as a tailor would fit a suit to a customer, each saw is fitted to the individual client placing the order.

“Basically I start with a measurement or two from the customer then send them a poplar prototype of their handle that incorporates those measurements. I get feedback from them and incorporate their input into the actual handle. I also tune the saw for the particular woods the customer will be using.” Andrew ships the saw with the final handles made of beautiful curly maple, cherry, quartersawn beech, or walnut.

Yes, you are reading this correctly. Each saw is truly made by hand in his shop. The handles are shaped entirely by hand. Most of the metalwork is done by hand with files and other hand tools as well. “The saws are tuned and fussed over until I am totally happy with them.”

While Andrew could certainly just build some functional plain-Jane looking saws and call it a day, his signature on these tools makes his work truly stand out. Decorative cut outs at the front of the saw make what would normally be a shop workhorse a thing of beauty. “Saws to me represent a creative outlet, so the way they look reflects various openings or possibilities that I thought could be explored. I enjoy the entire design process, both with function and appearance, so as much as possible I try to meld the two into a single fabric.”

When I asked Andrew about his favorite aspect of building these beautiful tools, he had some difficulty identifying it. “I don’t know if I really have one. I like each part of it and get really absorbed while doing it. The metalwork is so important, and has a subtle art to it. The handles, those are a really big deal too. Saws are just very lean tools–there’s nothing there that isn’t important. It takes a lot of concentration and care. That’s why on some of the saws I etch the words, ‘With Care … Always.”

When I say the word ‘wood’ to you, you probably think of the stuff that trees are made of (obviously) and a color that runs somewhere in the pale (maple), brownish (oak) or dark (walnut) category.

Some logs, however, can really surprise you with their dramatic colors. Purpleheart is a striking example of just how unique the natural color of wood can be.

This South American hardwood grows in the rain forests of Brazil, Guyana and Suriname.  “When the stuff is first cut, the boards are very plain looking – kind of a light tan,” said Eric Proirier of Bell Forest Products.  “But, once they are exposed to the air, they take on a vibrant purple color.  It’s an amazing transformation.”  But, Eric warns, if you want to keep the bright purple, you are going to have to put a UV blocking finish on it.  “If you don’t, eventually the wood will change to a darker brown color with just a hint of the purple in it.  Still nice looking, but nothing like what you started with.”

Since it is harvested from the tropical rain forests, there is a concern about over harvesting.  “There have been some cases of that in the past, but we have made a commitment to buy our logs from environmentally-responsible loggers.  For something as dramatic as purpleheart, we want to ensure that future generations of woodworkers will be able to work with it.”

Purpleheart is also legendary for its hardness.  In the Janka test (how much force it takes to push a steel ball halfway into the wood), purpleheart rates at 1860 pounds of force.  “That’s more durable than North American hickory… it’s pretty strong stuff!”  Very sharp tools are the keys to successfully working with this tough wood. “Keep your chisels and planes honed, and be sure to use carbide on your power tool bits and blades.  Other than that, it’s a very well-behaved wood that works well.”

What can you do with Purpleheart?  The unique color makes it a natural accent for lighter woods. Dovetail keys and splines to reinforce a corner are naturals, and it makes outstanding cabinet knobs and pulls. “An inlay or stringing done in purpleheart is eye-catching especially on a maple or birch table top.  People who see your work will ask how you stained the wood to look like that.”

Since the wood is also very hard and durable, it’s a natural for making the bodies of wooden planes.  “You can’t dent the stuff with a fingernail, making it ideal for plane makers.  Even if you just wanted to laminate a purpleheart sole onto another material for the plane body, that would give you the durability you need to make a long lived tool.”

Its  tough nature and shock resistance makes it a great pool cue material, and Bell Forest Products keeps a number of pool cue blanks on hand for that purpose.

It also excels in the kitchen.  “We have put together a kit of the wood necessary to make a Wood Whisperer cutting board containing maple and purple heart.  Even if your culinary skills aren’t all that good, the cutting board you use will dazzle your guests!”

In so many things in life, bigger is better.

If you have a bigger hammer, you can drive large nails faster. If you have a bigger offensive line in football, you can block better and move the defense out of the way to score a touchdown. If you have a bigger truck, you can haul more wood home!

And, when it comes to workbenches, a bigger, more massive model gives you more stability when cutting, planing, routing and doing all manners of other woodworking.

Keeping with this theme, the folks up at Lake Erie Toolworks believe that bigger is better when it comes to vise screws. And, when I mean big, I really mean big!

You see, Lake Erie Toolworks currently makes the largest wooden vise screw in the world. I had a chance to talk with Nick Dombrowski, owner of the company, to talk about his enormous vise screws. But first, Nick started with the basics. “First of all, a solid, well designed workbench make woodworking faster and more enjoyable. You don’t have to waste time and energy trying to work around the shortcomings of a table on sawhorses or even most of the commercially available benches out there. There is plenty that already has been said about solid workbenches, and we are working to make our vises an essential part of any solid workbench.”

Nick’s first experience with massive vise screws was when he worked at an organ building shop. “They all used vises with 2 1/2” maple screws, and they all worked great. Very smooth, quiet and fast acting.”

Nick later went on to build his own workbench with a steel screw vise. While the screw gave the vise plenty of muscle, it didn’t have the same ‘feel’ as the wooden models. That’s when Nick set out to make vise screws as good as – if not better – than the antiques he had already worked on.

Now, it’s important to disclose the kind of vises you can build with these wood screws – twin screw vises, tail vises, face vises and even a cool vise design that had fallen out of favor for decades – the leg vise. It’s a traditional form that today’s woodworkers should look into building on their benches. “Leg vises have a lot more capacity than the fast-acting face vises. This gives you a lot more flexibility without getting your prized lumber close to guide bars.”

Currently, Lake Erie Toolworks is also working out the details for a shoulder vise screw to build the vise commonly seen on European benches. “Shoulder vises, while a little more complex, are totally worth doing if you like to dovetail.”

“Sure, there are no perfect vises out there; that’s why we encourage woodworkers to consider these other designs.”

Nick’s vise screws are made with a combination of CNC equipment, dedicated machines for internal threading purposes, lathe work and hand finishing. Hard Maple is the wood of choice. It has the highest shear strength of typical vise screw woods (beech, ash, etc), lessening the likelihood of having the long-grain fibers shearing off, or chipping, in use.

While you might suspect caring for a wooden screw vise would be challenging, it’s not as difficult as you would expect. “We recommend our customers use a penetrating finish on the screw and furniture wax to make sure things move smoothly. The beauty about this screw is that after a lot of use, you may not need wax anymore, as the action against the retaining nut will smooth the wood out on its own.”

Lake Erie Toolworks sells the screw with everything you will need to install on your bench. “You will have to provide your own ‘chop’ for the vise, but all of the running gear is included and is very easy to install.” Nick likened it to building a simple furniture project. The Lake Erie Toolworks site also offers detailed installation instructions, walking woodworkers step-by-step through the process of installing vise on their benches. And, woodworkers also have an option of how they would like to attach their bench screws. “We offer an external brass garter as well as an internal maple garter to hold the screw to the bench. Customers can make their own garter or even go with no garter at all. It’s all a matter of choice.”

Nick has even gone to the trouble of threading both ends of the vise handle and providing a tapped cap for both ends. “It’s so much more sturdy and durable than trying to friction fit a cap on the end, an if you have to remove the handle, it’s a piece of cake, unlike a glued on cap.”

What does the future hold for Lake Erie Toolworks? “We are very responsive to the needs of our customers. In fact, we have a survey on our web site that lets customers tell us what products that they would want.”

What does Nick like the most about making these massive wood screws? “Tool building really is different than typical woodworking. You get the satisfaction of knowing that someone is using what you’ve made to make other things. Also, I have gotten the opportunity of learning a whole new skill set, that being machining. I’m finding that I like machining about as much as I like woodworking and building tools allows me to exercise both skills on a regular basis.”

Yellow birch is one of those woods you see quite a bit.  It’s been used as the veneer of basic cabinet grade plywood.  It’s been one of the go-to woods for kitchen cabinets for decades.  And, any boy scout or girl scout worth their merit badge will tell you the bark is an excellent tinder for starting a fire.

But, have you truly seen the flame?

Flame birch – also known as figured or curly birch – is seen very rarely in this valuable species.  Just as with curly maple, the board exhibits quite dramatic waves through the sawn boards.  The only difference is that it is much wider and bigger than curly maple. According to Eric Poirier at Bell Forest Products, “It looks more like figured cherry with wider bands of curl.  I also love the color variation you see in the timbers.  Birch sapwood is quite blond – similar to maple – and the heartwood is rather red like cherry.”

Because flame birch’s figure is over a much larger scale, it shines in big projects such as tabletops, bar tops and other flat surfaces. In smaller projects, you aren’t going to get the same effect. “In those cases, curly maple will give you a much better result, as the figure works in a much smaller scale.”

As with other figured woods, flame birch does require a great deal of care when it’s worked with. “It is very susceptible to tear-out and does not respond well to production milling.  Slow speeds, sharp bits and grain direction all play an important role in milling this stuff properly.  Drum sanders work great for thickness planing. Sharp hand tools are also very effective.”

The stresses that helped make the figure in the first place also tend to make the boards more prone to warping.  “We’ll see most of the warping take place during the kiln drying.  However, once it’s dry, the movement is going to be minimal. Even so, it’s best to adjust your plans to accommodate this kind of movement.”

While the wood does have its frustrating moments during construction, once you apply the finish all will be forgiven. “Just about any type of finish will bring out the figure in wood, but some are said to work better than others.  Boiled linseed oil is supposed to be one of the best.  Some types of finish will bring out the figure and give the wood more of a yellow or amber color – shellac, oil-based polyurethane or lacquer, and penetrating oils.  If you want to keep the wood as close to the natural color as possible, I would recommend using a water-based polyurethane or lacquer.”

Finding flame birch does take a bit of detective work on behalf of the sawyer. “There are graders in local log concentration yards that look for and set aside these figured logs. They go through millions of board feet per year, so with that huge volume it makes sense that they find all the good stuff!”

Once the exceptionally figured woods are discovered and local sawmills are notified about the product, that’s when Eric and company will travel to these yards and bid on the logs. “We want to find the best to ensure woodworkers have plenty of this stuff for their projects.”

Currently, Bell has quite a bit of 4/4 flame birch on hand.  But, a recent trip to one of these log auctions netted them some large specimens that allowed for 8/4 boards to be sawn.  “Right now, it’s drying in the kiln.  It should be ready right around Halloween… so it looks like our customers are in for a real treat!  No tricks, we promise.”