Website Changes

Plan for Wood Movement

Rob Carver

Designing and joining wood pieces must account for seasonal wood movement.  This we know.  But just how much to allow is another matter.  Rob leaves the science and math to woodworker and author Christian Becksvoort with a cited Fine Woodworking article.  But there is more that can be said for wood movement by understanding inherent variability with sizes, species, and seasoning.  And variability is the operative word, for it is used in other disciplines from Statistics to Stoicism.

Rob would like us to think about variability in a broader sense as you will see in the article Plan for Wood Movement.  And when you return to woodworking be sure to understand variability.  You don't want your joined wood to crack or stick.

You can reach Rob for comments and additional information, by clicking Rob Carver.

Is Clutter Part of Your

Natural Workshop Habitat?

by Andrew Davis

You think you have seen clutter?  Wait until you see some examples in Andrew's article Is Clutter Part of Your Natural Workshop Habitat?

By the way, how would you rate your clutter?  You see there is a EMGW standard being published in our community sure to spread across the land.  Check out the Bevel Cut Clutter Analysis Grading System.  Andrew has put in considerable research to fine tune his rankings, so take a look.  Maybe you will see your workshop in one of the pictures or categories.  It kind of motivates me to get out the broom.

Andrew welcomes your feedback.

by the Wavy Cutting Board Project Team Led by Jeff Clunie

Auction was held at the Needham Furniture Makers facility.

Segmented Turning by Paul Schultz - December 10, 2022

Furniture Restoration by Thomas Johnson - February 11, 2023

The April 2023 meeting was held at Needham Furniture Makers in Needham.  Attendees had a chance to mix and view the new facility for woodworking classes and available workshop space loaded with various new tools.  The meeting was located in one of the meeting rooms near the spacious workshop area.

I enjoy these articles when Andrew and other writers for the newsletter and website connect our woodworking endeavors to older times. That's what was intriguing at the January 2023 meeting at Handshouse Studios, Dan Sichel's paper on the nail's economic history of nails, or Andrew's previous Bevel Cut articles on the golden ratio and Fibonacci. 

Here, Andrew in his not so obscure tradition of historical fantasy puts forth a connection to the putty knife, where we travel back to Baroque times to get some insight to this age old tool.  It is ironic that as this article is being published, the creator of what we call a putty knife, would be 345 years old on April 1st.

Happy birthday to Maurithaus von Grof deGieskes.  May he be partnered along Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Herman Doomer as recognized pioneers of the Dutch Golden Age.

Read about the untold story of Andrew's Making a Putty Knife.

Andrew welcomes your feedback.

There must be something about humility.  That character trait is highlighted as a virtue among all the great religions.  Agnostics also value humility.  As you may know, it's a constant process to keep one's ego in check.  

Rob brings humility in the context of, what else, woodworking.  As Rob writes, it is a topic among many woodworkers.  The ability to achieve doesn't just require a magnificent skill set, there is something else to hone.  Continue the journey of woodworking achievement by reading Learn Humility.

 You can reach Rob for comments and additional information, by clicking Rob Carver.