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Picture Tour of Shop and House,
Page 3 of 6(1,2,3,4,5,6,)
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I use all of these tools on a fairly regular basis, and I've
made most of them including the bench. The workbench was my first project
25 years ago. My ambition exceeded my knowledge at that point, but the memory
is sweet because I got the wood at a deal, stored it in a friend's student
apartment attic, and got a lot of encouragement to forego the practice of
law and be a woodworker. I've never looked back.
The old style wood planes a got from the woman next door in return for fixing
things in her house. They were her grandfather's and he did a lot of the
cabinet work in the state capital here.
The other planes--Krenov planes to those of you who know that woodworker--are
mainly useful for the ease in which you can shape the soles to work curves.
I tried to handplane surfaces like the master, but boy did that take a suspension
of disbelief! |
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This is my latest workbench,
incorporating a front vise and dog for clamping flat work, but it mainly
functions as a downdraft table to collect dust. The environment of a woodworking
shop has a lot of romanticism--the woods of the world, the smells, the feeling
of wood always warm to the touch--but the way it is practiced today, there
is also noise, danger, and dust. You learn to deal with it for the bigger
picture, and this dust collecting workbench has made my shop life a lot
nicer
The rest of the picture are the pile of jigs and patterns used to create
even a simple design. My basic approach is to use templates and jigs to
control the basic structure and then be free with the detailing.. |
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I use a number of pneumatic
tools. They are lightweight, efficient and long lasting. Pictured are a
venturi vacuum clamp in the back--one of the most used and useful tools
I own--DA (dual-action) sander, and a Trow Holden pneumatic chisel. This
was a favorite tool of Brancusi, the sculptor, which he used to get those
layers of rough carved lines on his wood sculptures. I use it a little for
roughing out, but mostly for texturing. Also pictured are some of the smallest
tools I use--wood engraving chisels. They are very nicely made and very
precise. |
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