MATERIALOGY

Magic

2011-12-19T12:51:00.000-05:00

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

-Arthur C. Clarke

The Sword Maker

2011-11-17T14:25:00.001-05:00

"Many traditional craftsmen respond to modern times when handing down his craft. But the essence of the tradition suffers in doing so."

A lovely video from ETSY via NOTCOT featuring one of Japan's last traditional sword makers.

Video after the jump >>>

Handmade Portraits: The Sword Maker from Etsy on Vimeo.

Return to Polish

2011-11-04T18:34:00.003-04:00

I had been blowing glass for several years before I became vaguely aware of idea of coldworking glass. In the MIT Glass Lab there was old ~12”-14” flat lap at the off the shop which I’m fairly certain began it’s life as a battered potter's wheel. The grit in the tray underneath the lap was fill with some grade of “mystery grit” that was filled with bits of glass and whatever else fell in within the last year. I had used the wheel to flatten tippy pieces and make them less-tippy. To remove any amount of material took forever and, at best, the finish looked as if I had dragged the glass behind my car. One day, my friend Nick showed up with a little glass piece that he had cut in half with a diamond saw and had polished the cut surfaces. My mind was blown for two reasons:

1. You can cut things in half
2. You can make rough surfaces smooth and glassy again

This might seem like no big deal, but having never seen the process it all seemed like magic. Last night, I was in the Cold Shop preparing a blank for next weeks demo for my coldworking class and I thought it might be interesting to go through the process of flattening and polishing a relatively large piece of glass.

Before I get into the how to, I should mention a bit about the process shaping and polishing. Polishing is a progression of actions from course, medium, to fine. This relates to the size of abrasive grits that move from larger particle sizes to smaller particle size, but also the nature of process, more specifically, the inversely proportional relationship of speed and control.

The first tools we use will be the coarsest and also the most aggressive. These tools will be used to quickly remove waste and save time in the process, but one must be careful not to get carried away, the rate of removable can also speed the process of making large errors in a hurry. The tools we will be medium and at this point we are still in to business of removing material, but are now concerned with refinement of the overall shape. At this stage we trade speed for control. We are now concerned with the refinement of shapes and the trying and truing of our surfaces. Also, we will begin to pay attention to the condition of the surface and are weary of scratches and defects that would be laborious to remove in later stages. At last, we find ourselves in the finally in fine phase where our only focus is the refinement of the quality of our surfaces.

First Course:
Now, it only occurred to me to start taking pictures of the process after I had already made the first cuts (sorry). So we find ourselves, at the diamond saw after having cut the checked and cracked edges off a hot-cast billet of glass. After the first straight cut was made, the other edges were roughly marked for square and cut without using the fence on the sliding tray (the fence is only square-ish). I’m not really concerned with squareness or cleanliness as we are just hogging off waste and saving time grinding downstream.
The saw leaves the surfaces filled with deep saw marks and jagged edges. I always expect that I will have to remove at worst 1/8” of material beyond the kerf of the blade. Also I take the ragged edges to a very course 80 grit belt and “seam” the edge before I go any further. The seamed edge is more finger friendly and wont chip when you bring it to the flatlap. Seaming is a very important operation that must be repeated the entire process as your previous seams are ground away. I should mention that but as your surfaces get finer and finer, your seams too will get smaller and smaller (with the least aggressive grit that is still efficient). The flatlap is simply a very flat rotating steel plate in which a slurry of silicon carbide and water is fed. After we leave the 80 grit lap all marks of the saw should be removed and we should have relatively flat, squarish surfaces. This is mostly an eyeballing situation.

Middle Ground:

At this stage we really paying attention to the refinement of shape and accuracy. For my blank I am shooting for surfaces mostly square and totally flat on five sides ( I am keeping the air side of the blank as is, and as a result it will have a gentle curve). At the 80 grit I used a combination square to get the sides square within about ~1/16”-1/8”, now at the 220 grit wheel I’ll be looking for squareness from ~0-1/32”. Also I will be looking for a surface that is completely flat without crowning (a concave curve) or faceting. Both are accomplished by placing the blank on the wheel and establishing a consistent flat and then adjusting the squareness with adjustment of downward pressure and the orientation of the piece relative to the rotation of the flatlap.
To understand how to adjust pressure we first have to understand the dynamics of the grinding.
Here’s what’s happening on the surface of the wheel. Firstly the surface of the wheel is moving fast from middle to the edge, therefore the closer to the edge is more aggressive and will remove material faster. Secondly, the edge that is “upstream” will tend to be worn faster. This is partially hydrodynamic and partially human error. To keep the glass from flying away your natural tendency is to bear down on the front edge. There are two strategies to correct this error, one is to alternate is to regularly flip the piece back and forth working in equal amounts (always a good idea). The other is to angle the piece such that the piece is oriented to the rotation of the wheel at an angle (~45-60 depending on the size of the wheel) to balance the rates of removal from side to side. Also at this point you should be working away your seams just to the point removal and then adding them back with a very fine belt or pad. For curve surfaces I use a 600 grit SiC belt sander for flat I use a 325-600 prepolish resin pad on a magnetic flat lap Either of theses processes are smooth enough that they are ready for final polishing. Before going any further, the surfaces should be free of chips, scratches, checks, and should be perfectly uniform.

Final Countdown

Home stretch! At this stage we are fast approaching a crawl. We are trading our powered tools for the bacon powered one. Once you get finer than 220 grit, powered lapping (with a non-segmented plate) gets a bit dicey. Wheels tend to grip the glass and are usually less trouble than they are worth. Handlapping is simply the process of grinding with loose grit and a flat surface. In this case, a sheet of 3/8” flat glass (which is as flat as the curvature of the earth, which is flat enough for me). The grit is mixed with a bit of water and drop of soap (for lubrication and to break surface tension) and the glass is pushed over the surface in a random motion (circles, figure-eights, and zig-zags).

At this point we are simply refining the surface of the glass, reducing the size of the highs and lows of a rough surface with successively finer grits. On a larger surface the quickest most consistent results are gained by adding more stages of grits. I use 400, 600 and 800. You’ll find that the benefits of less stages are outweighed by the inconsistency of the work and drastically increased amount of time in the finer stages.

There is one more stage before final polishing is to create is to smooth out the soft grainy lapped surface with a glossy “pre-polish”. This can be accomplished with loose pumice on a cork or felt wheel, by my preferred method is to use the belt sander 1200 grit aluminum oxide 3M trizact belt. Since the amount of material that is being remove is so insignificant, flatness is no longer a concern. The last stage is to use a cerium oxide compound to bring the glass back to a pristine polish. At this point the dry surface should be indistinguishable from a wet surface.

One the piece is polished and free of defects, once again the exterior surfaces of the object become almost immaterial allowing your gaze to enter the volume and look at glass itself- Magic!

HELL YEAH!

2011-10-11T23:00:00.001-04:00

Some good F-ing advice from goodfuckingdesignadvice.com via Prof Zeke via facebook.

You're welcome.

A life's work

2011-10-10T23:26:00.000-04:00

PROFESSIONal from VITA BREVIS FILMS on Vimeo.

Think Different.

2011-10-05T20:42:00.000-04:00

R.I.P. Steve Jobs 1955-2011

Virtuallust

2011-10-05T12:34:00.002-04:00

Chris Schwarz just posted several videos on the Lost Art Press blog of perhaps one of my favorite objects that I have never actually seen in person. The toolchest of H.O Studley is one of those things that has always captured my imagination and, until these videos were posted, I only knew it through the handful of images that are readily available and re-published prolifically. The piece, once on loan to the Smithsonian, now resides in a private personal collection (in an undisclosed location). My mental image of the piece was only reinforced several years ago when Norm Abram visited with the chest of an episode of "The New Yankee Workshop". It was then that I discovered that there was even more immaculate ingeniousness and a whole second layer of tools hidden under a series of swinging racks and doors. These new videos, just a sneak peak, introduce new mindboggling level of detail and refinement. Once again my excitement about the chest has been reignited, as well as my virtuallust to one day see it in the flesh.

Shameless Self-Promotion: Vote NOW for BB Rattles on Apartment Therapy

2011-09-24T13:49:00.001-04:00

My BB Rattles are up now in Apartment Therapy's Design Showcase 2011. Voting is only open for four days (ending Tuesday 9/27) so head over there now and vote.

>>>>>>>>> VOTE HERE <<<<<<<<<<

Please submit a vote or three!

Thanks! 

Parts & Labor

2011-09-05T10:19:00.001-04:00

Here we have the latest images from the damage caused by hurricane Niels this past weekend. As you can see, several trees were damaged and workers are working round the the clock to clear the wreckage. 

Go make a mess!

Manual Arts Training: Splitting Hairs

2011-08-30T11:09:00.001-04:00

I am a pretty serious do it yourself kind of person. If it isn’t extraordinarily dangerous (home dentistry) or potentially costly, I am game for just about anything.  There are plenty of things that if you are willing to spend some time in research, tools, and materials you can do yourself, save butt loads of cash, and learn interesting things. For instance, last week I learned how to hardwire a radar detector and install an ipod dock in my car (god bless youtube), saving at least 400 in labor cost. Now 400 bucks is pocket change compare to one basic DIY service that boarder lines on criminal: Cutting your hair.

To me it seems ridiculous to pay someone to cut your hair on a regular basis. Granted my standards are fairly low (a step above flowbie), but with a little practice and a wiliness to look a little silly from time-to-time, there’s no reason anybody can’t cut their own hair. 
After four years of cutting my own hair, im fairly certain I can give Supercuts a run for it’s money (not hard). When you figure that one cuts their hair every 3-4 weeks and pays 15-60+ dollars per cut. No matter what end of the spectrum you are on that a lotta bucks over time. My dad has only paid for two haircuts in nearly 7 decades and those trims he strongly regrets. At some point, he ran the numbers and the total savings came out to 3% of the current U.S. dept. Well maybe not that much, but it was in the firmly in the butt-ton range.

I stopped paying for haircuts in grad school (my girlfriend gave awesome haircuts), but before I was fiercely loyal to my hairdresser-on-fire. So loyal that, I drove an hour to get my hair cut in Cambridge when I lived in providence) and I dropped more bucks than I care to mention.  After I moved to NYC I was had to fend for myself so I grabbed the scissors that came with a electric hair trimmer I had bought years before and took the first snip into the great unknown. 


The first haircut was hilarious.
After about 45 minutes of snipping in the first pass, I had managed to de-nude the circumference of my head, but left a health smiths-era pompadour. I looked silly, but not quite knit-cap-in-summer bad. It took a couple more passes over the next day or two and I ended up with a half-way decent *cough* very short *cough* haircut. 

Things I have learned so far:

1. Wash your hair, hippy!
If you cut your hair dirty it’s really hard to tell what’s actually going on. Also it may look OK at first, but you are in for a rude awakening after your first shower. 
My hair is dead straight and when it is freshly cleaned, I can fluff up the sides and back and even out all the high spots hands free. Also dry hair falls away freely after it’s cut and can be really easily swept up or VACUUMED (it took me 3 years to figure that one out).

2. Get good scissors
I got a pair nice of 5.5” (2.25” blade) Dreiturm scissors from Solingen at a cutlery store for about 100 dollars. Unless I loose them, they will be the only scissors I will every need (unless I get some schmantzy texturing scissors). They are comfortable, fit perfectly in my hand, durable, and cut beautifully. They are also stainless so they don’t rust where they live my travel bag.

3. Take your time 
You can’t put your hair back on without looking silly, so don’t get carried away at when you start cutting. Of course, I am somewhat hypocritical in this regard, as I always seem to cut my hair when I am late or in a hurry. I am happy to say and have mastered the 20 minute hack-job.

4. Divide and conquer
Work in sections. I start from the sides and work back, trim the top, cut the front and blend. I think the transition from the sides to the back can make or break a haircut, so I leave it to last. The front is also to be cut with care. When I try to cut everywhere all at once, I end up with a haircut that looks like I have been attacked by a British beaver.

5. Here be monsters (behind your ears).
One day we’ll evolve transparent ears, but until then you wont be able to see the long hairs you will inevitably miss when you cut your hair a week before. Also I should mention ear lobes are soft targets for stray snips, so stock little band-aids.

The Last Wallet

2011-08-19T18:29:00.010-04:00

One of my favorite scenes from the book Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk is when the main character is sitting on the curb outside his recently blown up apartment. Lamenting the loss of all of his stuff he says:

"You buy furniture. You tell yourself, this is the last sofa I will ever need in my life. Buy the sofa, then for a couple years you're satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you've got your sofa issue handled."

While I don’t think that I am ready to get rid of all my worldly possessions and start fighting underground, I am pleased to report that it appears that I've finally gotten a handle on my wallet issue.

For the last 15 years my wallet has been some P.O.S. counter item that I purchased at Banana Republic while still in high school. This little single-fold cardholder has served me well in the intervening years, but it has seen better days. Honestly for the last couple of years to call it a wallet would be fairly inaccurate, seeing as the two halves have long since disconnected. It could probably be more aptly described as a card-packed leather cash-sandwich. Surprisingly enough, despite the sorry sorry state of my leather pocket-wad, I haven’t been able to get rid of it due to some emotional compulsion (insanity?). It could be part sentimentality, part superstition, and part security blanket, but I haven’t been able to give the sucker up. To be perfectly honest, despite my psychological hang-ups, I haven’t really been able to find a suitable replacement either. All the wallets that I’ve seen in stores (or have been gifted) over the years were either too big, to elaborate, or too flimsy. I wanted something super simple and durable. I consider a wallet an intimate item and mine had to be just right. Up until two weeks ago nothing seemed to fit the bill (pun fully intended)!

Well, that all changed last month when I took a trip up to Maine to visit some friends and to attended the annual Lie-Nielsen Toolworks open house (more about that in the next post). For two nights I was the guest my friend Josie’s father, Robin Lawlor. As it turns out Robin is a master bootmaker and leatherworker with over 30 years experience in the craft. Robin’s work was incredibly impressive and he generously shared his shops and discussed his process. At some point, he caught sight of my pathetic little wallet and said he might be able to do something about it. On the last day, as I pack up to leave, he presented me with a brand new wallet made from leftovers from his various projects. He told me it was made from the finest harness leather and should hold up for a very very long time. I graciously accepted the lovely gift and instantly my attachment to my sweat-soaked billfold disappeared. This for certain was the perfect wallet! It was by someone I know, in this country, and using quality materials that were essentially pre-consumer waste.

My new wallet took a little getting used to. It was slightly larger and thicker than my old wallet-shaped object and it was much more rigid. At first, getting cards in and out was a bit of a hassle and it felt a bit squarish in my pocket. But like the Brooks saddle on my bike, it would only get better and better with time and use. After only several weeks, the sturdy leather feels buttery soft and has contoured to both its contents and the shape of my butt.

Comparing the new and the old, I think this wallet won't suffer the same fate as its predecessor. Looking at at the construction of my old wallet, I get the sense that this was designed to be cheap and disposable. The leather used is perhaps a quarter of the thickness of my new wallet, it's failure was inevitable and most likely intended. It has all the hallmarks of lack of quality that I have come to expect from our mass-manufactures globally-sourced goods. uggh.

On the bright side, I have every confidence that unless it is lost or stolen, this might be the last wallet I ever will need. That’s a pretty satisfying feeling.

Now if I could only say the same for my sofa.

Manual Arts Training: Shifting Gears

2011-08-15T16:33:00.007-04:00

Sorry for the recent lack of lack of bloggering, I blame the summer (and the government, ha!). Hopefully, I’ll get in to gear and catch up on a bunch of subjects that I have been thinking on for the past month. To get things started, I wanted to talk about my most recent foray into manual arts training: learning how to drive stick.

I am frankly embarrassed that it has taken me this long to really learn how to operated a manual transmission. As a car-dude, my head has hung in shame for far to long. So this summer, I made the decision to buy a new (used) car with a manual transmission to force the issue.

To my defense, before buying this car, I could drive stick, albeit miserably. When I was in high school, my cousin Dan took me out for a couple hours at a time with his million year old Audi and I would practice stalling the engine.  The problem is that even after an hour or two of practice (less if you count waiting for the car cool down when it overheated), the whole thing doesn’t really sink in. It doesn’t become reflexive and that’s what I was going for. 

So what is it like driving stick after a month? Totally different!

After a week, I learned to consistently start and stop without stalling or the car bucking like it was possessed by demons. After two weeks, I was shifting faster and (mostly) stopped shifting in to the wrong gears. And finally after three to four weeks, I am getting fancier and starting to get in the habit of doing things like double-clutching and braking with the engine. After a just month of driving stick all the mystery is gone and I don’t know how or why I hadn’t done this sooner.

Driving is a lot more fun and a lot more interesting. Also, I find myself trying to do less while driving, or I should say eating less while driving. Long gone are the mornings of eating the breakfast sandwich with one hand and holding the coffee in the other (which is probably better for the interior of the car as well!) I hated talking on the phone driving before, but now I don’t even consider it an even a bad option. Last year, I read and interview with the head of Fiat Design, Lorenzo Ramaciotti,in Autoweek where he basically said Americans were more interested in cupholders than driving. Well, what he actually said was:

"In Europe we joked many times on the relevance of cupholders for the U.S. But we were wrong, because the user profile is completely different. In Europe, we drive cars; thus I have never taken onboard a coffee mug in my life. In the States, you live in your cars, also because the commuting times and distances are longer; thus it is normal to take on board coffee and/or beverages."
Source: What Americans want, according to Fiat design boss Ramaciotti, By: Luca Ciferri, Automotive News on 12/06/2010 

After getting over a brief swell of national pride, I realized that he was absolutely right and the predominance of automatic cars in the U.S. is an extension of that logic. BTW, I've read that less than %7 of all new cars in the U.S. are manual and dropping.

After moving back to Boston and spending more time in commuter traffic in the last two months than in the entire time I lived in NYC, I am convinced that driving (or getting somewhere in a timely fashion) is probably the last thing on most driver’s minds. If everybody was driving a stick shift, there is no way this whole start-stop-start-stop thing would fly. Like doing anything by hand, driving stick is a far more nuanced and engaged experience. It forces you to make many more decisions than simply: go and stop. As a result, I find myself driving with a greater consideration of what I am doing and what is going on around me. Unfortunately, everyone else is still driving exactly the same.

I drive a lot. Driving in between Boston, Providence and Brooklyn, I put miles on my car like it’s my job (and it sort of is). I really don’t mind driving for long periods, especially because I generally drive against or outside of high traffic period. However, after learning to drive stick (and getting a new car) I actually look forward to it.

Above: Das Auto takes a pilgrimage to Walter Gropius's House in Lincoln, Mass.

Filling

2011-07-26T17:08:00.000-04:00

Artist Judith Klausner via Designboom

Material Confections

2011-06-08T18:59:00.003-04:00

 

This afternoon I saw these radical wooden bikes made by  Sueshiro Sano (via Coolhunting). 

The bikes made me think about how signifigant material selection can be in the both function and meaning of an object. It makes me marvel at the versatility of this particular material and deep knowledge of the maker required to pull something like this off.

It reminds me of the all wood airplanes that were developed by both the Germans and the Allies during World War II. The de Havilland Mosquito, for instance, was a mostly-wooden British bomber that at in spite of it's size was one of the faster airplanes in the world at the time. In the case of the Mosquito, these planes were built buy the expert hands of English carriagemakers and shipwrights. These planes could be made incredibly fast, inexpensively, and could spare precious raw material (metals) for other more critical tasks.

On the other end of the spectrum are objects like Jeroen Verhoeven's Cinderella Table. This equally miraculous object was sculpted from a monolithic block of Carrera marble by CNC controled machining. While the utility of this table is unclear, it's one of those objects that makes me happy to know that it exists, and that someone had the chutzpah to actually make one. 

Image via Artnet

No news from the front.

2011-06-07T19:44:00.003-04:00

I wanted to repost this short but sweet interview from Maarten Bass filmed by Dezeen during 2011 Milan Design Week.  I have been a huge fan of Baas for many years now.  I have always admired Maarten's unapologetic (often irreverent) style, but also his uncompromising vision in spite of his meteoric rise to celebrity. In this video we see Baas’s integrity as designer taking front seat to the seasonal  drive to produce that occurs across the design world.

You go girl!

Interview: Maarten Baas in Milan from Dezeen on Vimeo.

Baanner Imaage and More Baas at:  http://www.maartenbaas.com/

It ain’t where you’re from, it’s where you’re at.

2011-06-04T18:50:00.011-04:00

It’s been a hectic month. For the past three or four weeks I've been running around bouncing from place to place, task to task. I feel like I've spent more time [driving] in my car than in my own bed. So this week, it came as a real relief to have a couple days to myself in the studio to play.

Earlier in the week, while walking to the L train, the construction at building shown above on North 11th and Wythe St caught my attention. This 100-year old textile factory is one of the many beautiful old industrial buildings in the neighborhood that is being transformed into upscale conversions, in this case a hotel. This building was bought by developers five years ago and has been “under construction” ever since. Like most of the construction in the area, it has been stalled or following the economic downturn. However, the developers are back in the black ink, due to a $15 million dollar tax-free federal stimulus shot in the arm, and this spring there’s been a flurry of activity. I’m glad to see that the government is finally addressing troubling lack of yuppie-boarding in the neighborhood. Drrr.

This week they gutted the bones of this old gal and they were displayed on the curb side for all to see. What a spectacle!

There on the sidewalk there had to be probably several 100,000 board feet of old growth timbers. Granted a lot of it was in rough shape, full of splits, nails, and soaked in some sort mystery (likely toxic) oily business, but the sheet volume was staggering

My first response was holy #$%^#!  that’s a %#@&-load of wood

My second reaction was I really need to look into buying a Semi with a crane.

It was amazing to think that locked up in this building, only a block away from my shop and the middle of NYC, was more old growth lumber than will ever pass through my hands in many lifetimes. There’s so much history there! In the most of the larger timbers, you can clearly count the growth rings and most were easily 200 years old. To think, those trees were saplings long before this country even existed! Then you consider the efforts of men who felled, milled, and constructed these massive beams it boggles the mind- a Herculean task!

I don’t know what is happening to this material, but I hope that it is going to a better place. It makes me ill to think that all of this history could end up in a chipper, burn pile, or landfill. I hope that it is reclaimed and reused appreciated as an irreplaceable relic of times past. While I'm glad that this building isn't getting demolished, I always find it sad to see examples of places where people used to work and actually MAKE things be replaced by development that serves a culture than produces nothing. The irony of this situation is that is that this building is right across the street from two of Brooklyn's perhaps most visible manufacturers: The Brooklyn Brewery and Rosenwach Watertanks.
If you see a wooden watertower in NYC (BTW the majority of them are still wooden)it was more than likely made by Rosenwach.

Anyway, back to me and my three days of “me time” in the shop.

In between projects/jobs, I always like to do something either for the studio or for skill building. This week, I was determined to accomplish both and finally build a proper sawbench. Originally, I was going to build it using some nice Ash or Oak, but after seeing all those timbers on the street, I thought I should use some of the copious waste that I have been squirreling away. I had just the junk to for the job: the leftovers from the very first think I built in the studio, the lofted mezzanine. Over the last two years, I have been nibbling away at this material here and there. I used up the bulk of the nicest boards extending my storage racks across the entire width of the space, but the remaining odd sized (considerably less desirable) pieces have just been clogging my storage racks. 

A sawbench is an utilitarian shop appliance which is essential for handwork. They don’t need to be fancy or made from nice material, after all they are going to see a lot of the business end of handsaws. Since this project was as much about building a bench as it was having some fun, I decided to make a bit of a “showy” object. I constructed the bench with some fancy-pants joinery and to make things more fun I decided that I would do it all by hand.

While, I loved every minute of it, there was a bit of a learning curve. I am used to working with clear hardwoods, so working with this soft, spongy-cheese-like, knot-filled, construction grade lumber was an extra bit of a challenge. A fingernail or a hard stare could make an impression in the stuff and it was prone to splitting and spelching at every turn. Accurate paring and chopping took sharp-sharp tools and I had to liberally wax my sawplates to keep them from binding and sticking in their kerfs. When laying out all the joinery, I made the best to attempt to avoid knots and defects in critical areas. Even breaking down the boards, I had to be careful to select pieces that could yield large enough boards after all of the cup and twist was taken out of “raw” pieces. That being said, planing the stuff was dreamy. Dressing the boards was effortless. You could basically ignore the grain direction and still get glassy smooth surfaces (filled with knots).

All things considered, I am pretty pleased with the result.

The picture above shows the finished bench along with all of the lumber that now remains from the loft-build. I think I have just enough wood to build a second slave-bench that will nest underneath this bench. The twist of irony in this project is that this little bench might be one of the last projects that I will finish before I move the shop out of the studio this summer.

TED and Nancy

2011-05-27T15:23:00.002-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, wrote about the death (invulnerability) of craft. The crux of the issue was the communication of tacit knowledge from one person to another in a contemporary context. I used glassblowing as an example of a craft that is prospering against the odds. Serendipitously, a week later glassblower Nancy Callan gave a TED Talk describing her work and her journey into the craft of glassblowing. In many ways, Nancy is the embodiment of the modern craftsperson and is a perfect example of what I was talking about. 

In spite of being an American (and a woman!), Nancy is a direct heir to the Italian glassblowing legacy and a lineage of craft that stretches back more than six centuries. The story of her knowledge stretches all the way back from a little island isolated off of the coast of Venice, to the backwoods of Washington State, to an auditorium in NYC and now the Internets (the world)!  For any generation, it just takes one Nancy to keep the skill alive. HOWEVER, that shouldn’t excuse for complacency, it should be a call to arms (and hands)!

Nancys don’t just appear out of nowhere. They are cultivated, nurtured, and challenged by a community and culture of sharing. This is an essential concept and one that I believe is deeply human. You don’t have to be a master, to make a contribution to this collective culture. You just have keep your mind open to new things and be generous with whatever it is that you have learned or discovered.

Who says you need to buy a guitar?

2011-05-19T14:45:00.002-04:00

I had to post a couple of videos from my friend Zeke Leonard.  In addition to being a very talented maker and musician, Zeke  has recently developed a penchant for stringing up inanimate objects   and turning them into instruments. Too good!

There also a "canjo"   and Jack White after the jump!

Even simpler still...

and then there's Jack and the cows...

He sort of cheats with the pickups and amp, but you get the point.

Time and Materiality

2011-05-18T21:05:00.003-04:00

Last summer, I was invited by Deborah Clemons at the RISD Museum to do an audio recording for one of the glass pieces they have in their collection. The museum wanted contemporary artists to respond to ancient pieces in their collection. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity, if not just to get a closer look at some of the ancient glass they have in their collection. By the way, they have an absolutely spectacular glass collection! The piece that I was to speak about was a beautiful and simple roman glass amphora.

The first thing that struck me about the piece is that despite having been made almost 2000 years ago, the techniques required to make the piece would be familiar to any modern beginner glassblower. I'm sure that the tools were probably more primitive (an there were probably far fewer of them), but probably very similar to those still used by craftspeople in middle eastern regions, like  Israel or Afghanistan.

The more time I spent with the object, I became overwhelmed thinking about of the almost inconceivable amount time that had passed since it was pulled out of the furnace and the material that it was made of. The glass itself was mineral like. The vase was a light yellowish-green hue from impurities in the raw materials and it filled with bubbles, dirt, streaks, and striations- beautiful.  The surface was wonderfully iridized, a feature that was not present when the amphora was new, but rather is the result of the surface's interaction with the environment for 18+ centuries. This type of object, although it was still probably a bit of a luxury item in it's time, was made prolifically. However, in the intervening period because of it's mere survival has transcended its makers, owners, and function. Just like minerals deep in the earth turn into jewels when subjected to time, pressure, and heat, this object is now shining man-made gem. Amazing!

The potential for longevity is one most intriguing aspects of glassmaking. Glass is incredibly inert and isn't nearly as susceptible to the elements as other materials (i.e. wood, fibers, metals, plastics, etc). If it isn't mishandled, eroded, or smashed, it can last virtually forever unchanged. I always joke that if you place a cup on a shelf as long, nothing happens to the shelf the glass will be last almost indefinitely. It's something to keep in mind, as a maker or an owner of glass. Usually I cap off my rants about sustainability making the point that we should be focused on making things that have the potential to last a very long time and that people don't want to to throw away. The next time you are picking out cups at IKEA or throwing away a wine bottle, consider that in 2000 years it could be in a museum with some yahoo, like me, wearing white gloves and drooling over it.

The amphora web page at the RISD Museum and my audio recording can be found here: RISD Museum: Pointed Amphora

New Products!

2011-05-15T16:39:00.004-04:00

Today is the last day of Model Citizens NYC (single tear). This year's show was better than ever! The work, the people, the space, the shop, the marketing, the everything: all amazing!

This year I decided to sell some goods in the shop and over the last weeks I did some small production runs of some small items: BB Rattles, Stampo Cups, and Acorn Pods.

I'm very excited about all of these new pieces and so far the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I'm planning having them available for sale in an online store very soon!

BB Rattles 
White Ash and BB's, 2.5"x4"x1"

These simple wooden rattles are crafted by hand for little hands (and mouths). BB Rattles are a refreshing alternative to mass-manufactured plastic toys, using natural textures and organic shaping to keep the little ones endlessly stimulated.

BB rattles are made from locally harvested Ash, a material prized for its durability and strength often used to make tool handles and baseball bats. Ash is also valued by instrument makers for its superior acoustic qualities. The rattles are conscientiously made using FDA approved non-toxic glues and a special food-safe, natural oil finish.

Stampo Cups

Glass, size varies approx. 3"x"3"x5"

These colorful cups are named from the Italian glassblowing technique called “mezzostampo”, meaning partially molded. In this case, each cup is given a good kick in the bottom leaving the impression of a boot-print. 

Each cup is formed entirely by hand and sized to make each cup unique and individual. Available in five colors: blue, magenta, amber, gray, and red. 

No two cups are alike, perfect for mixing and matching.

Acorn Pods

Wood and Glass, size varies approx. 3"x"3"x7"

These small belljars provide a safe home to display your precious bits and treasures.

Each glass dome is blown freehand and sized randomly at the whim of the maker. The turned wooden bases are exclusively made from offcuts and scraps from larger furniture projects. The variety and species is dependant on what is being made in the studio at any particular moment.

Each Acorn Pod is unique, so please take your time to find the one made for you.

Finally, above are some snapshot from the products in really-real life in setting up pop-up shop. Tomorrow, I'll post photos of some of the amazing work from the rest of the show. Finally, Big thanks for all the help everyone who worked in and on the shop!

Model Citizens NYC 2011

2011-05-11T23:17:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again!

NY Design Week(end) and ICFF are just around the corner May 13-16th. Once again I will be participating in Model Citizens NYC, a dynamic offsite show founded/organized by the amazing Mika Braakman.

I wont have a booth this year, but will be selling three different items in the Pop-up Shop: Acorn Pods, Stampo Cups, and BB Rattles.

I'll updating my website and posting some process photos by the end of week so stay tuned! 

If you are in the NYC area or will be coming through for the design circus, Model Citizens NYC is a show not to be missed. Also, There will be cocktails Saturday night May 14 4-8PM so stop by, grab some booze, and say "Hi".

Model Citizens NYC
2011 Exhibition
The Chelsea Art Museum
556 W 22nd St, New York, NY 10011 (212) 255-0719

Friday May 13: 10AM – 7PM, Press Event 4 – 7PM
Saturday May 14: 10AM – 8PM, Cocktails 4 – 8PM
Sunday May 15:10AM – 6PM

http://www.modelcitizensnyc.com/

Event flyer and more info after the jump.


The third annual Model Citizens NYC, May 2011 is a 3 day exhibition,  open to the public, featuring the work of 90+ designers of furniture,  products, ceramics, glass, art objects and jewelry.
Part exhibit part trade show, Model Citizens NYC provides an  opportunity for independent and emerging designers to have access to the  ICFF and New York Design Week; the community of its peers, domestic and  international buyers, manufacturers, potential clients, collaborators,  and the public.
Our goal, one show at a time, is to foster a community and network  that represents the many independent design voices who persevere  remaining true to their individual curiosities, instincts, and design  processes while providing them with accessibility to a broad audience in  order to generate economic viability for their endeavors.


EXHIBITORS
0 to 1         
Ashley Jean Landon         
B.Light Design         
BELLBOY         
Benjamin Cohen         
Bishop         
Brendan Chapman         
Build It Green!NYC         
Carina Garona         
Catherine Merrick         
Charles Constantine         
Chris Williams         
Click Boom Pow         
Colleen Jordan         
Daniel Moyer Design         
Danielle Vroemen         
Dargelos         
Debra Folz Design         
Design Glut         
Designing Hope         
Elizabeth New         
Emily Rothschild         
Esin Arsan         
Frances Ranno         
Future Retrieval         
Insu Kim         
jack profane furniture         
James Killinger         
Jesse Trentadue         
Jobe Bobee         
John D'Aponte         
Joshua Friedman Design         
Julia Lintern         
Kasia Urban-Rybsk         
Kate McCreary         
Keen Gat         
Lara Knutson         
Laura Weatherley         
Lauren Tickle         
Leah Piepgras         
Margaret Cabanis-Wicht         
Mark Warren Studio         
Matthew Lechowick         
Melissa Borrell Design         
Munire Kirmaci         
Niels Cosman         
Nina D'Amario         
Organelle Design         
Pamela Sabroso         
Paul Choate         
Perhacs Studio         
pirueta by Paulina Gonzalez-Ortega & Amaya Guitierrez         
Plywood Office         
Robert Southcott Studio Works         
Robin Van Hontem         
Sara Dierck         
Sara Mcbeen         
Schmitt Design         
SNOWFLAKE_id         
Stevenson Aung         
Studio Dunn         
Tawny Hixson         
The Brothers Mueller         
Tiffany Burnette         
Tim Richartz         
TrueModern by Edgar Blazona         
Vanessa Marie Robinson

Flesh is Material Too

2011-05-04T18:47:00.013-04:00

The image above is a picture of my right hand taken several days ago (Note: I apologize for the graphic grizzle sports fans, but I am trying to make a point! There's a little more after the jump, so you've been warned.) Looking at this image makes me think about Conan's "Riddle of Steel". In the epic John Milius movie, Conan the Barbarian, Thusla Doom told Conan that the answer to the riddle was "that flesh was stronger that steel". Thulsa was right (sort of), but to see the picture of my cut hand you would think he was wrong, and not because correct because it was glass that actually cut my hand, but hold that thought!

Did you know there is something called "Safety Week" on the Internets? Well there is and we are in the middle of it right now. Do you feel safer? I do.

This is fairly coincidental because for several reasons. Firstly, because of the recent sad news of a Yale Student that was killed in a school machine shop several weeks ago. As a teacher and person who has been in charge of several student shops, this is my worst nightmare and deeply troubling. Secondly, I found myself in the emergency room last week, after having cut myself performing a seemingly mundane task in the studio. While this injury was a sobering reminder of the inherent dangers of working with material and machinery, I am proud that this was the FIRST TIME I have ever received stitches in a work-related injury (despite one or two close calls). That's a safety record plan on keeping and improving upon for the next 30 years.

Nevertheless, I am really unhappy about my injury, irrespective of it's severity. As the doctor was treating my hand, he said, "You must be used to this by now."

To which I replied, "I sure hope not. Otherwise, I better find something better to do with my life."

The funny thing is that as he stitched up the cuts, in addition to thinking that he could really have used more anesthetic, I was thinking he was also a craftsperson.  His craft was fixing people and his medium was flesh and bone. As sat there watching him sew the skin closed with needle and thread, I was thinking: that doesn't look that hard, I could do that (haha). We chatted about working injuries and he told me "this was nothing". He said that typically with construction and woodworking injuries the first thing that goes through his mind is: "Ok, what can I save?"
No Fun!

So in the spirit of craft and safety week, here are some of my thoughts about everyday safety:

1. Safety is always the primary concern when making anything. If you can't do something confidently and safely, stop and figure out another way.  

2. Taking preventions only works if you take them before something goes wrong. Accidents are called accidents because you don't intend for them to happen. So prepare for the worst and hope for the best. The right safety gear will prevent accidents and make working more enjoyable. Eye and ear protection are so easy that there is no excuse to always have them in place. The right footwear and work clothes are also no brainers. Particulate control is also something you should never ignore.

Case in point:

Three weeks ago, I would have gotten an eyeball full of Behlen's Qualasole if I hadn't been wearing glasses. I wasn't paying attention and shook the bottle with the cap not fully on. MY GLASSES SAVED MY EYE (and its certainly not the first time). I hate it when people say " Oh I don't need to wear safety glasses because I'm not using anything with power" or "I am in the shop, but not working". I can recite plenty of horror stories that can make you think twice about that.

3. Speed is not a substitute for good judgment. If you are working in a hurry, you should probably work on your time management. Otherwise, you'll end up wondering how you quickly found yourself in the ER.

4. Never work alone. Don't do it. The really bad accidents happen fast. If you make it through the worst of it, your body will certainly be wanting to go into shock. You'll need help quick. Even in minor accidents a second pair of hands is invaluable. Also never work behind locked doors or block the doors while you are working.

5. If you are tired: go home, take a nap, go to bed. 

If you have a close call or worse and get hurt: your work day is over, go home.

If it cuts wood, plastic, metal, glass, or ceramic, it will also flesh and bone too (really easily).

8. You only have one body, it's disposable.  Focus on the long term gain and don't be lured into the short con. 

This is what I think about with First Aid in order of importance. FYI: I'm not a doctor, nurse or EMT, so take this with a grain of salt:

1. Stop Bleeding. If it's bad, apply pressure directly to the wound for at least 5-8 minutes. If you have to release pressure, start the clock again

2. Get help- It's important to have someone around can help even if it's just to put on a band-aid. It becomes really important in case you pass out. I have a strong stomach, but even I get nauseous when cut. It's not uncommon to feel like you have to throw up or pass out. It's annoying, but evolutionary. Sit down, take a sip of water. 

3. Clean you wound as best as you can. Flush out debris and clean with soap and water. If you aren't going to the hospital. Your going to have to mechanically scrub the wound with soap. If you cant handle that, get a friend or better yet, go to the hospital. This a pretty good time to bust out the Betadyne or hydrogen peroxide if you've got it.

4. Dress the wound as best as possible.  Making sure that the dressing can be easily removed when you do get to the hospital. If you aren't going to the hospital, make sure the dressing won't interfere with healing and will be easy to change. 

5. Go to the hospital. Have friend drive you or get an ambulance. If you are feeling faint, or the bleeding is not under control don't do something stupid like bike or drive there.

6. If you are wondering if you should go to the hospital, guess what? You should go to the hospital.

The worst that can happen is they say no you are OK. I have heard so many stories about people that thought they were OK and they were very much NOT OK.

Back to Thulsa Doom and Conan. Ultimately, the answer Riddle of Steel for Conan was that the will is more powerful that steel or the hand that wields it. So impose your will by working safely and the flesh will be impervious to the steel (or glass)!

Be safe! Be like Conan!

The Internet and The Death of Craft

2011-05-03T23:00:00.002-04:00

Last month I took a trip up to Saratoga Springs NY for the Northeastern Woodworkers Association Annual meeting. It was the first woodworking event and it was very interesting in many ways reasons. 

Firstly, I was clearly in the minority age-wise. I wouldn’t venture to guess what the average age of the attendees but the predominant hair color was grey. Secondly, I saw with mine own two eyes a handful of woodworking personalities that had previously only existed as photonic apparitions of pixels or merely in printed matter. Yes, Peter Follansbee does exist and his beard is glorious! 
Thirdly, I got to hear a firsthand account of the state of craft and the gospel according to Chris Schwarz (who, I was also pleased to confirm actually exists). Chris’s talk on “The Anarchist Toolchest” was certainly the highlight the weekend (Follansbee’s beard being a close second). Chris touched on a wide range of subjects, many of which resonated very strongly with me and that I that I have been mulling over in the past weeks.  In addition to the practical aspects of designing and building a toolchest, Chris delved into the philosophical and subversive aspects of tool storage (I love that sentence!). More specifically what tools do you really need, what you will make with these tools, and what these tools will mean to future generations. Anybody who has responsibly enjoyed beverages with me in the last year knows that one of my favorite topics of discussion is “toolchests and the apocalypse” (fyi: that’s one topic not two) Sufficed to say, this talk (and his upcoming book on the subject) was right up my alley. I’ll get into the apocalypse in the near future, but for the subject of this blog post want to speak to some of Chris’s points about tools for future generations and the state of learning craft.

In spite of only having met him briefly, Schwarz is a person I greatly respect. Ever since got he into the trade of writing about woodworking he has been a champion of craft, handwork, small business, resurrecting “obsolete” methods and the work of important dead-woodworking-writers.  Some people deride this guy as a false prophet, and I’m certainly not comparing him to a Messiah. All I’m saying is that if Jesus had a blog, it would also be plagued by an incessant stream of woodworking malcontents (he was a carpenter after all, haha). I think it is fair to say that he is one of the many people responsible  the revival of handwork and hand tools that we enjoy today. Chris’s commitment to education is admirable.  This guy is all about information- gobbling it up and spitting it back out (the basic action of teachers, babies, and cheerleaders).  He’s been regurgitating faster and with more volume than almost anybody else out there, and the effect has been profound.  I largely credit (blame) his blog my obsession with handcraft’s entry into woodworking and this silly blog which you have found yourself reading. That being said, I did disagree with some of his sentiments about the impending demise of woodworking. Although I must say I don’t remember the particulars of the statistics, Chris sited that recent survey indicated a steady decline in woodworkers over the past decade(s?) toward oblivion. He charged that that the imperative for us to binge and purge as much information so that the next generations would still know which end of the plane was forward (not a Japanese woodworking joke!). While I agree, everyone should gobbling up as much info as possible, I sincerely doubt that woodworking is in an danger of going anywhere any time soon. Why? Well I’ll tell you.

Twelve years ago, I started blowing glass. If you think about the crafts that you would think would be on the verge of extinction, glass would be right up there with sexually-disinterested panda bears. Yet it isn’t- not even close! Yes, the industry of glassblowing has been death-throws for many decades, as evident in the decline of great (former) glassblowing capitols of the world.  Seems that Swedish factories are always closing or being bought and sold (to foreign companies), or that production is being undercut by the Czech or Chinese. Even in the birthplace of modern glassblowing, Murano, the problem is perhaps the most severe. Years of Muranese isolationism and myopia are catching up with them, as old masters grow old and the next generation is abandoning the trade moving to the cities. The industry is in trouble, BUT the studio movement is still alive, well, and thriving. A situation make seemingly more absurd given the craft also is inextricably bound to fossil fuels (natural gas). Sure the economic recession has hurt glassblowers, but it’s hurt everyone else too. However, I’m not talking about sales, I’m talking about skills. This generation has access to better tools, better material, more techniques, more skills, and better foundations in conceptual thinking. Also all of thus isn’t bound by antiquated paradigms of production or proprietary. Even stranger is the fact glassmaking is still grounded almost completely in tacit knowledge. That is to say that you generally learn it directly from one person to another. Which makes “information” about the craft pretty hard to come by (especially to those outside the field). Sure there has been some content published on the craft of glass, but the sources are few and far between and of equally variable quality.  Then when you consider a more obscure aspect of glassworking like coldworking or engraving, there is really only one or two books-period. That’s it. Ironically some of the most valuable (video) documentation of glassblowing in the last 20+ has been horded by a handful of institutions and its distribution ist verboten! If you compare this to the infinite supply of free/commercially available materials related to say “sharpening chisels” or “cutting dovetails” it makes me laugh. *single tear*

I should be more thankful, if you want to talk about sparse resources, ask Peter Follansbee (as seen below demonstrating 17th century convention center woodworking techniques) about finding information about his type of work. I'll give you a hint: it involves a camera and a flashlight.

I feel like most people who have been interested in say coldworking, like myself, have cobbled techniques together through scattered sources, trial and error, seeking out like-minded people and frantically pumping them for as much information when you can. Of course, this knife cuts both ways. As a result of having struggled through learning something like glass making and having gained some sort of material insight, I feel compelled to share these things with others. It’s not that I consider myself a master or think my experiences are better or worse than anybody else’s, it just seems like the natural thing to do. I can’t keep track of all the energy the times when I wish I could have traveled back to the past and say “why don’t you try it like this” or “have you ever seen this tool”. Fortunately, I have had the privilege of having met and worked with people who have been so generous with their knowledge and willing to entertain and nurture the likes of me. The list is of people is too long, and there aren’t the words to express my sincere gratitude. However actions speak louder than words, and I can’t think more appropriate action than to pay it forward and do the same for others.  Which brings me to the whole Internet thing.

In addition to place to being the best place to download music, pay your bills, and stalk high-school acquaintances, the Internet is the latest and greatest tool to preserve craft for future generations. And just like you’ll never (unintentionally) fall out of touch with anybody you’ve ever met (and their babies) because of Facebook, no tool will every be lost because of eBay and every technique from Joseph Moxon will soon be a google search away. As for tacit knowledge, between the forums and YouTube, any Tom, Dick and Harriet can learn to use and sharpen a handplane or chop a mortise my hand from Frank Klausz (I did). The idea of being self-taught is almost anachronistic these days. I would say that because probably 65% of what I have learned about woodworking was from (not published) user-generated content or from forum discussions (person to person) on the freely available on the Internet. One might say, "well that's like learning history from Wikipedia". But it's not the same thing. Most blogs and forums are far from anonymous, and most folks speak from experience, not speculation. In fact, I would say it's almost like a "peer-review" process, and if the thread runs on for pages you know their is some controversy or divergent thinking happening (or good old fashion trolling). Also more importantly, it is an ACTIVE process, a conversation. You can ask questions, answer questions, and crack a joke or three.

I think that as long as the Internet is around, craft isn’t going anywhere. Of course, that assumes that the Internet will always be around, which brings us back to the whole thing about the apocalypse and toolchests. :)

On related topic (the internet, not the apocalypse), for the past weeks, I have been falling asleep watching old video lectures from 3.091 (Intro to Material Science). These lectures from roughly the same time I was an undergrad at MIT, are made available via MIT's Open Courseware. It’s ironic that when I was a first semester freshmen, I recall that going to lecture (and staying awake) to be the biggest hassle. In fact, it was such hassle that I would frequently skip it which subsequently led to me bombing this class the first time around. That is all irrelevant because now that I am very interested, I can go to lecture whenever I want! Go figure.

I love you, Internet! Don’t ever change!

Scale and Scalability

2011-04-28T20:58:00.009-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I got an email asking about a coldworking job. An artist had a large belljar blown for him and needed a punty removed. Not a problem. I wrote back I would be happy to help and asked how large the bell-jar was. His reply was VERY large: 36”x36”x36”

I thought to myself, “yeah right” (big fish), but the next week when I saw the crate in the back of his pick-up, was like “right on”. I didn’t measure it, but it was just about 30x”30”x32”, which in terms of blown glass is off the charts. 

This is where I should tell you that I sort of hate coldworking.

I know you are probably thinking, “Wait a minute aren’t you a coldworker? Don’t you teach coldworking? Hypocrite!” 

Before you light your torches and sharpen your pitchforks, let me clarify:  I generally hate coldworking for other people.

To me it goes against the general spirit of coldworking, which very deliberate and methodical practice that requires time and patience. The moment you start working for someone else, the “time and patience” bit gets thrown to the curb. All of a sudden you are on the clock, and all the whole zen-thing gets goddamn pricy. ALSO, you’re the work is generally not your own, it is someone else’s and the pressure of coldworking someone work is enormous (and the sort of pressure I don’t enjoy). There is generally a misunderstanding about proportion of time and energy that coldworking entails. When you think of glassblowing your sense of time is compressed. A piece might take something takes an hour to make- if it’s really elaborate maybe an hour and half or two. In coldworking an hour is a heartbeat.  Things take many hours, sometimes days, or weeks even. However, that sense of impending failure of glassblowing that starts when the first gather is take out of the furnace is carried through the process of coldworking. Statistically, every hour spend working on the piece increases the likelihood of catastrophe. That can be unnerving.  To think of coldworking as simply “finishing”, does not acknowledge this reality and the cumulative nature of the glassmaking process. 

Anyway, not to go off on too much of a tangent (rant), let’s get back to Moby-Bell-Jar.

Perhaps I am contradicting myself a little, but this is the sort of coldworking I ACTUALLY enjoy. Yes, it is someone else's glass, and yes it was made by a rock-star team of glass blowers, and yes it probably cost a bucket of cash to make and ship from Seattle, but it’s not everyday you get to cowboy up and work with some big glass. Also I should mention a couple of finer points, I had no time limit, my fee was fixed (and incredibly low), and I left alone to work (except for occasional student poking their head in the shop to take pictures or say “damn that’s big”). All things being equal this is the type of “job” I like: unique, interesting, and challenging.

The nuts and bolts of grinding a crown-punty off are normally completely straightforward. In fact if this piece of glass wasn't enormous, it would be a completely unremarkable task. However, the scale presents several interesting practical and procedural issues. The first big difference is that at this scale you have to bring the tool to the glass, in the normal scale the tool is fixed and the work is maneuvered around the abrasive surface. This requires entirely different tools (a water-fed hand-grinder and diamond-pads) and the coordination different set of muscles. The learning curve isn’t enormous, but it certainly isn’t zero if you are accustomed to the other paradigm. The largest object I had previously ground and polished in this manner was the flat seat of 200 pound concrete/glass stool. Applying the same methods to this glass was marginally successful.  This surface was not flat and to make a feature disappear on a contoured surface you must successively expand your margins of grinding. The higher in the grit sizes you go the wider the area you must work on. You are essentially feathering the edges until you are create a new uniform surface. I use the rule of thumb that the area you cover will be at least 100% larger after grinding, but that's if everything goes according to plan .

The thing about glass is that she is completely unforgiving mistress and no defect is hidden on a polished surface. After about 4 to 5 hours I finished the job, but was so unhappy with the result that decided to start over again with another approach. The funny thing is the alternative method was not only completely successful, but also accomplished in a third of the time. Hell of a way to learn, but a really valuable experience and an all around good time.

I sort of love coldworking.

Check Your Pulse

2011-04-22T02:19:00.007-04:00

Take a look at the image above. If your heart doesn't beat a little faster, you might be dead.

More quarter-sawn wood porn after the jump:

This week, I resawed part of a lovely board of quarter-sawn oak I have had in the shop since January. The 12'x9" 8/4 board was an expensive impulse buy the last time I went to the lumberyard. I when to get a bit of maple, and doubled the bill with this board. I haven't decided to do with the rest of it, but three feet were going into a gift for my mother's birthday. Last month she asked me if I could make a table top for an old cast iron sewing machine base. I had just the board for the job (impulse buy or wood clairvoyance? you be the judge!).

Above is a picture of the book matched panel right before the glue up (yes, am showing off my seamless jointing skills) The oak was lovely material. Hard and dense, hand plane friendly. The growth rings were pretty tight and ran perpendicular across the width. This is nice because it ensures that there will be a minimum of warping in the surface as the wood moves seasonally. No sandpaper was harmed in the making of this top and not a single grain torn out (except when I blasted over the glue line of the bookmatched panels with a smoothing plane- needed a little scraping).
Below is the final shape of the panel, with a single coat of oil/varnish. What a material!

Feynman Friday: Guessing at Chess

2011-04-08T15:41:00.007-04:00

It's interesting to think of how this analogy can be extended to any pursuit of knowledge or skill. You might try to learn how to play a game having been given one set of rules. You spend some time learning to play your game with and get quite comfortable playing with your rules. After some period of time you go somewhere else and see people playing your game, but the rules have changed or perhaps they have a very different interpretation of the instructions. At this point it would seem you have several options: Do you dismiss this new game, or do you try to play along and learn some new rules?

In Practice

2011-04-06T02:05:00.005-04:00

These days I haven’t been blowing glass all that often. I have some time at RISD on Tuesdays this semester, but so far I haven’t really had anything specific to make. In spite of this, I still make the effort to make the hour drive back and forth to Providence from Boston to exercise my glassblowing muscles. Like many manual skills, glassblowing is nothing like riding a bike. Sure, you can not blow for a year and you will still know which side of the pipe to gather on, but there are millions of little subtleties and reflexes that don’t come back so readily. That’s why there is a big difference between me and someone that handles hot-glass 5 days a week. 

I became intensely aware of this for the first time about two years ago when I took a commission to make an elaborate piece of glass after about six months of barely any contact with hot glass.  Previous to my little glass-time-out I was very actively working with glass. I was teaching three different classes per week (and occasionally some private lessons), I had a six hour blow slot at RISD, and I was assisting other glassblowers doing production stuff at least once a week. At this point, I would say my skills were probably as good as they had ever been. I could casually make most typical forms and was pretty handy at both large and small scale. Then rather abruptly: nothing. I got busy doing other things, none of which were glassblowing.

Fast forward six months of no-blow, suffice to say things were a little rough. For a week or two it felt like someone had jinxed my tools and pumped my hands with novocaine. I knew how things should be working, but I just couldn’t put the pieces together. It was back to basics. 

Now, where this is where I see people go wrong all the time. Say you want to make something elaborate, like a goblet. You don’t go about making the thing by trying to make the entire thing over and over again. You break it down and learn how to make the parts: cup, stem, mereces, avolios, feet etc.

You learn them by repeating them over and over again until they become second nature. You gain control over the size, shape, thickness so that when you need to call upon a specific element it isn’t random or formed haphazardly, it’s a standard piece of equipment in your tool box. It’s nuts and bolts type stuff.  Once you have all of your parts, making the thing is easy, it’s just assembling right parts in the right order.

In rock climing “the crux” refers to the most difficult part of a climbing particular route. It’s usually the feature or set of features that will define the rating of the route. You can be flying through a route until you reach the crux and everything falls apart (pun intended). The point being if your smart you’ll know what and where the crux is and you’ll have prepared yourself for it. Just like making the goblet, you practice the most difficult parts time and time again so that your entire effort isn’t stymied by your weakest link.
In climbing, some people live for the crux. These people usually spend all of their time on overly contrived bouldering problems spending hours clinging to impossibly small “crimper” holds and twisting themselves in knots to finish a route that might never get more than 2 feet off of the ground. This was never the kind of climbing that was for me. I liked the long routes with the occasional dodgy section to get your heart-rate up. The same thing holds true for making things. I like to push my skills to keep things interesting, but at the end of day, I want to get the job done efficiently and reliably with the fewest unnecessary contortions(or carpal tunnel).

Anyway, this evening I spent my five hours in the hot shop making basic thin cylindrical cups. Cups are a great warm-up exercise, and regardless of what I am making I always warm up with a cup or two.  I decided not to anneal anything, I just knocked things off at the bench and let them break (some were thin enough that they didn’t, until they got kicked our hit with a hot cut off). Not boxing the glass keeps me from focusing on "finishing" something and having a pile of scraps to at the end of the day to chuck back into the furnace is pretty satisfying.
It’s only my third slot since starting to work again after the winter break (almost three months!), my hands are still a little rusty, but every cup (or pile of shards on the floor) is a step back in the right direction.

Feynman Friday: Confusion and Uncertainty

2011-03-25T20:32:00.008-04:00

Considering that blog is called "MATERIALOGY" I have decided to start posting some clips from one of my favorite characters, a man responsible for giving us some of the methods used to describe the interactions of all the "material" around us: the late great physicist Richard Feynman. Feynman had a magnetic personality and possessed a unique ability to inspire, entertain, and explain. An ability that is as compelling today as it was in his time. In this spirit, every Friday I'll be posting my favorite clips of Feynman discussing various topics as only he can.

(Another Clip after the Jump)

It's Always Sunny in Brooklyn. (Part 4)

2011-03-22T19:05:00.009-04:00

The File-nal Frontier (oh dear, that’s bad)

In this the final chapter of our sawing quadrilogy, we will be address this saw’s mettle. First, I’ll prep the saw plate removing any rust and giving it a light polishing. Next, we’ll talk sharpening, and I’ll give this old dog some new teeth.

Going back to the very beginning, here is a picture of the sorry state of the saw plate. There is a lot of surface rust and a bunch of sections that are probably pitted. The good news is that the plate itself was very straight and the teeth were all intact and shaped very well. Heading over to my sink, the first order of business was to give the blade a scrape to remove any raised bits and give the plate a bit of a scrubbing and clean off any oils. Next I gave the plate a 15+ hour bath in Evapo-rust.

The Evaporust makes quick and easy work of any remaining rust, but it also leaves the metal coated with a grayish layer of oxidation. This layer will protect the blade from rusting, but it looks pretty nasty and because a shiny plate is helpful for making square cuts, so the gray has got to go. This is accomplished easily enough with a fine steel wire brush mounted in the flex-shaft accompanied with some Gojo pumice hand soap. Alternatively, I have used GlassPlus or WD40 both which both work well. I use GlassPlus or alcohol to clean metal parts before coating them with a rust inhibitor (camilia and/or boeshield). Using water at this point can cause flash-rusting, which is a real pain considering that you just finished shining up surface nice and bright.

The plate's looking pretty good now. I was a bit disappointed in the amount of pitting in the blade, but ultimately I don’t think it will have too much of an effect on the performance of the saw(?), but it will certainly give the saw some additional character. 

On to the teeth…

Sharpening the teeth is yet another “first” during this project, and something that I have been eager to try my hand at for a longtime. I have been giving all of my saws a lot of use in the past months and inevitably I will have to touch them up. This project is a good excuse for me to jump in and practice on a saw I don’t have any hang ups about(yet). Nevertheless, I don’t want THIS to be the FIRST saw I sharpen, so I rustle through a bin of “utility” saws and dig out a Crown dovetail Saw that I someone had abandoned at the end of the year at RISD when I was a grad student (BTW it’s amazing what people just throw away). I have been using this little saw to cut little pieces of aluminum. 

I started out by tapping out most of the set with some strips of wood and hammer. Next, I took a felt tipped magic marker and marked the teeth. I mounted the saw in a saw vise for the filing. I haven’t decide how to mount the vise yet (for filing standing up or sitting down), so I simply clamped it to a piece of plywood which is clamped firmly into my face vice and sliding deadman. The little saw took barely anytime to sharpening. I first jointed the teeth with a mill-file held in a little jig. This ensures all teeth are at the same level. I decided I would file this saw rip with a small amount of fleam so I zipped down one side taking two swipes of a little needle-file held at zero rake angle and a slight angle (5 degreish off perpendicular to the plate's plane) on every other tooth. Then I flipped the saw around in the vise and passed over the remaining teeth.

This is where the marker is worth its weight in diamonds. It’s amazing how easily you can lose your place if you focus drifts for a second. Staring at tiny little teeth is dizzying enough as it is. I am thinking about getting a magnification headset to help focus, and help me look a whole lot cooler.

After I sharpening I made some test cuts and the little saw was zipped right through a little piece poplar. The difference from before and after was staggering! While I really don’t like straight handled push saws, the quality/feel of cut was starting to approach the qualities to my much nicer backsaws.

Game time for our boy, Billy-Phil Jr.

To begin with the saw plate was filed 10 ppi rip with a somewhat relaxed rake. I decided that I would turn this saw into a crosscut saw, so the first step was to reshape the teeth slightly by shifting the rake back to ~15 degrees (this is the angle of the face of the tool -15 from perpendicular from the tooth line). To help guide the shaping I made a little block of wood with a -15 degree angle running in front of a little hole slightly undersized from the width of the triangular file. I align on of the faces of the file with the line and gave it a couple taps of a hammer reaming triangular grooves in the block. I also made sure to draw in references for the orientation of the block. This is important because you will flip the block and use it from the other side when you flip the saw filing alternate teeth.

Again, the first step was to magic marker the teeth and joint the toothline with a file. Next, I filed the entire toothline to a 15 degree rake and removing the flats made by the jointing. Next step was to set the teeth. This is the process of pushing every other tooth to one side or another. This is accomplished with a little device called a "saw set" which grabs the blade while a little piston equally nudges each tooth a very small amount.

The set of the teeth keeps the plate from bindingand allowing for a little bit of steering in the curf. I will be using this saw for dry hardwoods and so I set the saw a very small amount. After setting I took one little pass to joint the saw again evening out any inconsistencies caused during setting.

For the final sharpening for as a cross cut saw, I had to add the "fleam", the alternating angled profile of the of the teeth that turns each tooth into a little knife, as opposed to a little chisel (rip). From my research, I chose a 20 fleam angle, which seems to be a general all-around setting. The next time I resharpen, I might also try adding “sloped gullets” which add a third angle by tilting the end of the file down, but for now I’ll keep it as simple as possible.

To help establish this fleam angle, I bent a strip of cardboard and taped it to the front jaw of the saw vice. I am thinking that I will make a little angled shelf for the vise that attaches with magnets that I can draw angles on. It would be a great accessory (I should email the maker about that). Also, I made a little mark on the back of the file where to start the file when the guide block touches at the correct angle(not pictured). These visual guides made keeping a relatively consistent angle pretty STRAIGHTforward (harhar). All and all the whole process sharpening, making little guide blocks, and taking photos maybe took half an hour for a saw with a 24 inch blade. Not bad.

The results?

I’m pretty happy. I don’t have too much experience with handsaws, but it certainly beat the pants off any of my backsaws speed-wise. The saw was cut straight and true, and the cut surface wasn’t THAT horrible (nothing a little bit of shooting couldn’t clean up). 

Final thought: 

I am hooked. I love the saws, I love the saw making, and I will be doing a lot more. I am already 2/3 of my way through my next saw (a 7 point Disston no.7) where I reshaped the original donkie beech handle. The second handle not only went much much quicker, but my lines are crisper and I also have nailed a winning finishing regiment with tung oil and French polish (where was this technique my entire life!). I am not entirely happy with my finishing job on my first saw handle. I will probably redo whenever I really have nothing better to do, but that wont be anytime soon. I have two or three more old saws in the pipeline right now before the real fun begins- making some brand new saws from scratch. I think this could be the start of a beautiful friendship, obsession.

It's Always Sunny in Brooklyn. (Part 3)

2011-03-16T02:37:00.016-04:00

Shape and bake.

If time flies when you are having fun, then the surface of space-time must be folding like origami when you are shaping the wood. During this phase of the handle-making process, I lost track of any sense of time, and as a result forgot to snap photos of the entire process. Sorry.

On the other hand, that means that this installment of handle-heavern will be relatively brief (compared to my previous build-blah-blab-fests). I should add, handle shaping is a territory that is well described on the internets and you can find many excellent tutorials from many great sources such as:

Mike Wenzloff of Wenzloff and Sons

Leif Hanson of the Norse Woodsmith

Bob Rozaieski of the Logan Cabinet Shoppe

Ray Gardiner at WK Fine Tools

…to name a few. In addition, these pages are packed billions of links to all kinds of other information like old patterns, sharpening, use, philosophy, blah blah. All good stuff!

Alright, so lets get started by heading over to the drill press. The shaping process starts by defining an outline of the profile of the handle with all edges square to the faces of the blank. The drill press makes quick and clean work shaping the various inside circular curves of this shape. Also, the holes on the inside handle loop will allow me to get a bow or coping saw blade in there to cut that profile.

Next, I take a trip to the bandsaw which I’ve set up with a very narrow ¼” fine blade to shape the outside profile. Making smooth transition is made SOOOOO much easier by the presence of previously drilled holes. Although, the bandsaw cuts fairly smoothly, I stay at least 1/16 outside of my layout lines as I feel I have more control with rasps and files.

The only remaining area to be roughed out is the handle look, where I use a bow saw whose blade can be inserted through the drilled holes. At this point you’ll notice that I am holding the workpiece with a simple handscrew clamped into my face vise. This is a fantastic way of holding the piece that allows you ample access to the various parts and can be reconfigured with a great degree of freedom. This simple solution has kept my lust of a proper patternmaker’s vise at bay for the time being… hahaha

After all the surfaces have been roughed out I use a straight mill file and a spindle sander to quickly smooth and fair all of the edges. At this point I go ahead remove the paper patter with a couple of swipes of with a smoothing plane and dress up both faces for the forthcoming freehand filing fiesta to follow.

At this point simply use my finger as a guide and pencil in some references lines on both sides. For the areas where there are simple roundovers like the top and the horns I mark a single line roughly 3/32” in from the outside edge. For the more shapely areas like the actual tote I mark two lines the first approx ¼” in and the next ½”ish. I use my Peace saw to gauge some of the transitions, but after the initial shaping I will be using my own hand to guide the removal of material. All other transition will be aesthetic choices that I’ll make on the fly. OK so here is one of those moments where, in future handles I would probably opt for the initial shaping to be done with some round over router bits, simply to save time on the more regular shaping. Since I am only making one handle (for now) it’s no big deal. Regardless or router or rasp the shaping transitions and the fine details are what set beautiful handles apart from mass produced blister-makers, I’m for anything that speeds the process and gets to you the fun (more difficult) parts. 
The shaping itself, happens with a smattering of rasps and file. I find the curved side of shorter “modeller’s rasps" are great for shaping the inside curves and the flat sides of "cabinetmaker’s rasps" and a smooth-cut mill files are great for the outside curves. The shaping of the inside of the handle loop is by far the most awkward area to shape. It’s a cramped space where shaping the transition from face to edge is made very difficult without stabbing the opposite side of the loop. However there is a secret weapon to aid in this process and that is a “handle-maker’s rasp”. You might be able to make it out in the background of one of the images above (it’s subtle). 
The most difficult feature for me to visualize (layout) was the lamb’s tongue. This is because the two curved surfaces not only come together, but they also overlap at over the area of contact. It’s also made tricky because you are shaping two surfaces at once and if you focus too much on one surface you will end up butchering the other. A “correct” tongue seems to me one in which the two elements join without disruption of the overall shaping of the individual curves. At least that’s what I think looks good, but whatever floats your boat- it’s a aesthetic choice.

I shaped the tongue first drawing in the interface between the two surfaces and using a marking knife to stake in the line. Next I a long and narrow rasp to define the two curves. I rolled the flat surface of the rasp as a cut and gradually the feature emerged from the wood. The last step was to finish shaping the profile of the cheeks as they entered the tongue and blend as necessary. The last small adjustments were made with fine sandpaper (always) rapped around hard shopmade sanding blocks. It’s really important to use sanding blocks to do final blending. It would be a damn shame to ruin all of your crisp handwork by sandblasting all your edges into indistinct-oblivion.

Satisfied with the overall shaping, it’s finishing time. Went back and forth about how I was going to finish this handle. Lots of people just use several applications of boiled linseed covered with wax and call it a day. However, I have heard of BLO contributing to the growth of mold over time and have always been a fan of tung oil (and tung/varnish blends). I decided to finish the handle in two stages. In the first stage I would soak the handle in tung oil cut with a little bit of turpentine (for drying). After the oil hand  week to dry and harden, I would add some sort of film finish (shellac) with some light sanding to fill the open pores of the walnut. Above is a picture of the handle in the tung mix and below is the handle after drying for about 18 hours. As you can see the color and the grain of this walnut are really blowing up here. It’s going to be a looker! 

As we end part three of our story, we conclude last week's two-day handle extravaganza and converge to the present state of the re-build. In part four, we’ll be looking at cleaning the rusty sawplate, assembling all of the parts, and sharpening up this sucker. We'll meet again sometime soon in the near future (thursday?)to with the conclusion of how billy(burg) met phil(adelphia) (and how they mated).

Hold on to your pants… your saw pants.

It's Always Sunny in Brooklyn. (Part 2)

2011-03-11T17:37:00.015-05:00

Back to the lab with a pen and a pad.

Disclaimer: This was the first time making a saw handle and for the most part I was winging it. As a result some of the steps may be mildly-to-fully ass-backward. Also, I once said I wasn’t going to blog how-to's, I sort of lied, deal with it. For what it’s worth, this a more of a how-did anyway. 

When our story left off, I had a plan and a sketch of a handle that looked halfway decent. In the scanned image above, you’ll see how that sketch has developed and, although you can’t necessarily tell, the drawing has been spray-mounted to the wood . Two things to point out at this… point is that I have already drilled 1/8 pilot holes in drawing block and that there is addition of a sharpie line that corresponds exactly to the position of the saw plate aligned with those 1/8” pilot holes.  The new profile of the handle adjusted to account for the actual position of the saw plate to ensure that I maintained the strongest lamb’s tongue and wasn't in danger of cutting through it. Also worth noting are the position critical radiused sections which will later be drilled out with forstner bits saving lot of finicky shaping (don’t worry there will be plenty of finicky shaping later).

So here's where things get interesting. This is where my little  handle how-did starts differing from every other how-did/do that I’ve seen. As you can tell from the shape of my sharpie layout line, the saw plate of the D8 is not straight- it’s circular, actually its DOUBLE-CIRCULAR! Before you start flipping out and asking yourself “What does it mean?!?” I’ll say that this is the feature that allows for a “let in handle”, which as far as I can tell was most likely almost purely a cosmetic marketing ploy, perhaps to enable the saw handle’s increased hang (the angle of the handle relative to the toothline) and to differentiate the D8's from the no.7’s, 9’s, 12’s, etc. I’ll tell you one practical difference with this style of handle is it increases the ass-pains to cut this slot by several orders of magnitude. Or does it? *dun dun duhhhh!*

Well, yes, yes it does.

Clearly this slot was cut at the factory with some thin circular cutter following a pattern. Alternative techniques that have previously been put forward on the internets for the cutting of this sneaky-slot include:

1. Cutting a slot with a thin circular saw blade on the table saw using some kind of jig and raising the blade into the handle and then filling the oversized gap with a thin strip of filler wood. 

Sheen-Analysis: Scary-tablesaw action, overly complex set up, and a difficult glue up which will still be visable. Loosing, duh, next!

2. Cutting a straight slot per usual techniques and fill the top slot with a piece of filler.

Sheen-Analysis: Simpler, but more visible patch right where you stare at everytime you use the saw. Not so fast trolls, losing, bye-bye, duh, next!

3. Buying a very expensive carbide or HSS cutting wheel and make some kind of jig to cut the slit, maybe using a milling machine or a drill press

Sheen-Analysis: Most direct/accurate method, but requires most $$$ and still scares me. Nice try trolls! You should be chugging “tiger’s blood” instead of sipping on V8, thought-torpedo deployed, BOOM! losing, DUH!

Ok, so the method I devised for the task is simple, winning and required no extra tooling or filler material. First step, put down your chalice of tiger’s blood (last Sheen reference, I swear) and pick up a marking gauge to mark out a center-line on your handle blank. Next head to the bandsaw set up with a tall resaw fence. Offset the blade from the centerline the thickness of the blade (only 1/32” not that it really makes a difference). Saw the blank in half. Now stop, and admire out the spectacular grain figure in this chunk of walnut! This wood came off an offcut that contained a nasty knot in it, I aligned the grain with the profile of the saw handle to maximize the long grain traveling through the critical areas for strength. The wild pattern, while gorgeous, also flows ideally through the handle minimizing short grained areas giving it the strength of a team of unicorns driven by Zeus himself. It’s scientifical.

Ok, now that you have two slices of lignum-love, take the thicker of the two pieces and using your pilot holes as a guide mark out the profile of the blade onto the sawn surface.

I then used a large gouge to stake in this profile. Next, take your handy-dandy marking gauge and set it to the thickness of your saw plate. Transfer this measurement to the blank. I then took 3-4 pieces of blue tape and created two bearing surfaces for my router plane. This is to allow the plane to move smooth-ishly and not to damage the texture of the saw-marks (which will be important later for the glue up). Also, I should add that on my blank, I left about an inch of extra material at the toe end. I will remove this later, but it gives me a place to support the router plane and will keep the plane from tilting as I work the far end of the slot. Now all I had to do was gradually remove material until I reached the scribe line left by the gauge cutter. BAM, circular-slotular-perfection! (That cooking guy, not Sheen)

The next step was to coat each sawn face with a thin layer of Titebond II for dark woods and carefully realign the two pieces. To aid in the process I cut several reference keys in the sides of the blank and check by finger-feel that they are all flush under light clamping pressure. It is important not to go nuts with the glue here because excessive squeeze out with interfere with checking that the pieces are aligned and glue will fill the precious shapely saw slot you have just carefully created. I used a thinned down damp popsicle stick scrape the slot and spread around any glue in the slot (although, I did this as an afterthought and was running around like a crazy person). Ultimately when the clamps came off and I slipped the blade in it bottomed out prematurely on some glue residues, so I rolled a little hook burr on the end of a card scraper and excavated the void a bit until I could line up the bolt holes. I contemplated over-sizing the slot to avoid this step, but I think I made the right decision. This way the sawplate is firmly butted up against the rear of the slot and will be supported during a cut and wont have anywhere to shift to. Will wood movement cause the plate to split the wood in the future?
I don’t know, but we’ll find out wont we. The best part about this technique is that it's safe, very precise, required no jigs, and relatively quick.

Below is a picture of the glued up piece, with the edges dressed up a little. As you can see the seam is almost invisible. I have used this techniques many many times without physical keys (like pins) and it works very well.If the need arises in the future to make another handle in this manner, I think might try to use pins in the pilot holes to align the pieces. The holes are already there and might as well make use of them. Like most things this only occurred to me in hindsight. Whatever, looks good as winged, no?

Alright, that completes round 2. As I ramble on into part 3, we’ll be maxing our burn and continuing to get a handle on this situation, sculpting this blocky-bastard into shape for bikini-season. 

Over and Out.

It's Always Sunny in Brooklyn. (Part 1)

2011-03-09T21:43:00.018-05:00

So I have fallen in love with saws. 

My induction into handsaw-dust began with set of joinery backsaws that I purchased last winter. They been largely unused until the past fall when I began making it a point to do regular sawing exercises for joinery. This consisted of milling up a stack of short little poplar boards and cutting hundreds of angled dovetail cuts. At first I didn’t assemble any joints, I just laid out 20-30 cuts and after they were sawn then tried to divide the material left in between by eye (a Klausz exersiz). Then I got to actually making little dovetail cases, chopping out the waste and pairing the joints. Then it was on to practicing cutting tenons, etc, etc. Anyway, I have a gained little skill, and I am hooked. I am also convinced with continued practice and deliberate use my sawing is only going to keep getting better and better and allow me to cut complex joints that would be a nightmare with my machines. But what about larger cuts?
I think we're going to need some larger saws.

Enter my burgeoning handsaw obsession. 

It begins with a pair of rusty saws I acquired from Flea-bay for virtually nothing. I got a Harvey Peace No. 45 circa ~1880ish and a Disston D8 from the 1900-1920’s (probably? who cares)

The Peace saw is a little gem that has been very very well used. I suspect that this was originally a 24” saw but has been used so much that it was sharpened past it’s original toe and which was cut off where the nib would have originally been. Even still, the blade is super narrow and the etch toothline is encroaching into the bottom of etch (there has been 2-3 inches filed away!) Perhaps the thing that I love the most about this saw which has got me completely mesmerized, is that it was manufactured at The Vulcan Saw Works which was located at Ainsle and 10th Street in Brooklyn (10th street is now called Keap St.). That is literally a five-minute walk from my studio on North 12th street in Williamsburg. It's a true son of Brooklyn!

Originally the plan was to replace the blade of the old boy, but after some consideration and the advice of fellow online ironpigs, I decided I would use the saw as pattern to make an entirely new pair of old saw’s. The original saw I would keep intact and retire it to a place of honor above the door in my studio. But that’s the NEXT project.

Getting back to the other saw, the Disston D8. The saw had a dead straight blade that was nearly full size (albeit, covered with rust), however the handle was filled with splits, dry rotten and would have to go. My first project would be to rehab this saw and give it a new handle. I wondered should I attempt to copy a Disston handle, maybe a thumb-hole model? In the immortal words of the bard Charlie Sheen,“Boring, losing, duh!”

Instead, I decided to look to the Peace saw and use its "tiger's blood" (Sheenism) as a starting point for a new design (which is actually very similar to early Disston No.7’s). The design of the D8 differs significantly from the Peace as it is a so called “let in” handle- the plate actually extends into the handle past the cheeks little section of wood that closes the handle loop at the bottom. Not only does this require some elaborate methods to cut the circular slot, but it also creates a design constraint in the shape of the handle. To make it even more fun I decided to incorporate the detail of the “lamb's tongue” from the Peace saw which is a significantly more delicate that the original chubby D8 handle. For the cheeks of the saw I decided to blend a little bit of backsaw DNA into the love-mix and gave them a more angular shape and extended out the front section an extra ¾”. I think this gives the handle a bolder more aggressive look. To create a new pattern I simply traced the old handle to use as a starting point, and then started messing around with the various curves and horns until all the elements seem balanced to my eye and at the same time adding a bit of extra punch to everything. I didnt want to go crazy with the design for two reasons:

1. I dont want a saw that looks like it was designed by a little boy for Conan the Barbarian or The Kurgan.

2. You have to be careful not to create structural weak points. If you've encountered saws at a garage sales or flea markets saws you know how these weak points manifest themselves: chipped horns, cracked cheeks, broken lamb's tongues. 

I re-sized the grip based on my hand, of course. I have little girl hands and the original was a little big large. The Peace, however, fits like a glove so I used it as a size/shape pattern. The final fitting is going to happen later during the shaping, but I wanted to ensure that the shape wouldn't change so much that it break up the overall design.

So that is how our saw-saga begins...
Stay tuned for the glorious rebirth of my Brooklyn/Philly warlock handsaw. Winning!

The Straight and Narrow

2011-03-07T03:30:00.002-05:00

But, if truth is the correspondence between appearance and reality, then there are some glaring inconsistencies in this system. Straight lines are strikingly absent from nature. If you take a walk in the woods, it is apparent that there is virtually nothing that is ruler straight. Instead, all naturally occurring forms are curved and arabesque. Rocks, bushes, mountains, rivers, gullies, branches, and leavers all follow an organic outline that does not contain a single perfect straight line. Only tree trunks and the perpendicular alignment of he human form standing upright upon the earth offer a commonly seen vertical that approximates a plumb line. Despite this direct evidence of our senses, we continue to connect everything with straight lines. The nineteenth-century Romantic artist Eugene Delacroix once speculated, "It would be worthy to investigate whether straight lines exist only in our brains"

-Leonard Shlain, Art and Physics

Haptic Memory

2011-02-26T17:25:00.004-05:00

 

Last summer, I was in between projects and having a sort of “A-ha” moment connecting between my early experience making things and the path that lead me back to making things. I starting thinking about all the things that I made as child and the contrast of being a kid making things with a very limited set of tools, experience, and knowledge as opposed the challenge of making things now having perhaps too much of one or another. It was at this point that decided to start a little side project. A project that may or not be anything except perhaps an exercise in mining the memory. 

 I decided I would attempt to reproduce/copy some of my very early projects as accurately as possible. In a second part to this exercise, I plan on remaking the objects as I originally intended them if skill and resources were not an issue. Anyway, for the first project I decided to reproduce not the earliest object, but the first object that I actually “designed”. It was a wooden knife that I made for a project in the 4th or 5th grade. 

In the process of making the little knife, I was amazed at the feeling deja-vu that had shaping the various parts and the sense of freshness repeating the motions that made nearly 20 years before.  I vividly remembered points where I fought grain direction, the frustration on with the tools I was using and the amazement with others (I thought sandpaper was magical, ha). Also brought to the surface was the memory of my first and perhaps, worst injury, with an edged tool: A very deep cut into my left thumb in which I glimpsed the white of my bone. Oopsies. 

Perhaps the most significant feeling that re-emerged was the sense of accomplishment that I felt finishing this little object and presenting it to my teacher and classmates.  I think this sense of accomplishment was a profound moment for me and I feel like it still resonates in every object that have made since, including this modern reproduction.  I have many similar objects including I made several years before during shop class when I was in the 2nd or 3rd grade- Yes, we had a shop class in the 2st and 3nd grades (we also had a ceramics class).

This little experiment only underscores my belief in the value of “manual-arts” training at a very early age, an agenda that is quickly disappearing from modern educational models. I have a lot more to say about this, but I will require it’s own post(s).

Anyway, what was the first thing you remember “making”?
If you still have it, try re-making it again. What will you remember?

Aus krummem Holze...

2011-02-18T22:43:00.010-05:00

 
"Aus krummem Holze als woraus der Mensch gemacht ist, kann nichts ganz Gerades gezimmert werden."

-Immanuel Kant 
Idee zu einer allgemeinen Geschichte in weltbürgerlicher Absicht, 1784
 
Roughly translated: Out of such crooked timber as man, nothing truly straight can be crafted.

Breaking Boards

2011-02-17T20:53:00.011-05:00

First it was a tree, then it was a log, then it was a board, then it was bunch of parts, and then it was a thing.

Just like that.

Resurrection

2011-02-14T17:12:00.035-05:00

When I decided to start using handplanes, I was somewhat at a loss as where to start. I had very little experience using planes and,in hindsight, the experience I had was probably more of an obstacle. As I planned my first purchase, I had to decide whether to buy a new plane or fix up on old plane. I ended up buying an old plane: an old Stanley Bedrock Style 605 from the 1920’s off of E-bay for about 90 dollars. The plane was in rough shape, but all the parts were there and nothing was damaged. Using Garrett Hack’s Handplane Book and some tutorials from online, I set about restoring the plane. The first step was to take the plane apart and figure out try to figure out how it did it- I would later have to figure out how well each part was doing what it was doing.

Next issue was cleaning- or rather cleaning/rust stripping. This took probably the longest amount of time. This was partly due to inexperience and partly due to not having the ideal tools and supplies. These old planes have a tar-based protective paint called “japanning” and if it is in bad shape it really should be removed. This plane had about 50% of it’s japanning intact so I decided to strip it down and repaint it. This was the easy part. A couple applications of citrus-powered “safer” stripper and some wire brushing was enough to remove the majority of the old paint. Now the rust was something else and somewhat more unpleasant. I went to home depot and pep-boys and stocked up on a bunch of different acid rust removers. I tried them all out while wire brushing and had very mixed success. The process was long and made uncomfortable by donning all kinds of ungainly safety gear. The stuff stunk like cancer, and it really does burn/irritate the hell out of your skin should you catch an errant drop. I should note that this entire process now takes me no longer than 1 hour. The secret is an assortment of wire-wheel brushes used with my Foredom flex-shaft and the miracle rust remover that is Evapo-Rust. Accept no substitutes!

Anyway, after many hours the plane body was looking fairly good and I followed up by cleaning all the other parts of the plane in a similar manner. I am always amazed at how well cast iron can hold up under pretty nasty looking corrosion. I then masked out all of the parts that needed to be painted and applied several layers of appropriately thick semi-gloss automotive enamel.

Looking good so far. Now started the process of tuning or “fettling” the plane. This process addresses the functional components of the plane and how critical parts mate with each other and the surface of the wood. This is the part where I learned to get over my #2 tool-phobia: file on tool. The first order of business was truing up the mating surfaces of the frog (lilypad?): the places where the frog meets the plane body and the blade. These are probably the most critical surfaces (other than the sole) to well functioning plane. You want these surfaces to match perfectly to keep the blade from moving around causing chattering and headaches. This was accomplished with the help of a flat file and couple of small diamond flat hones used for sharpening knives. With the surfaces mating like rabbits, I moved on to the sole of the plane. This is the part of the plane where the tool literally meets the wood.

For the plane to function properly the sole should be as flat as possible or at least flat. Mine was not. Here I found the common problem with old planes where the section of metal in front and behind of the mouth (where the blade pops out) was hollow, probably worn from many years of use (this section works hard to compresses the fibers of the wood ahead of the blade). Also the sides of the plane were not square either from manufacturing or more likely from having been dropped. Here I had construct a lapping plate from some wet-dry sand paper spray-adhesive’d large piece of float glass. Here’s where shit gets zen. Back and forth, back and forth, flip around, repeat x1000000. I for hours, I pushed and pulled the fully assembled plane over the abrasive and watched my sharpie-layout lines fade away. The sides got a similar treatment, applying pressure to the high sides and regularly checking for square.
One side was squared successfully with abrasion alone, the other took some… coaxing... coaxing with a hammer and a wedge. Hammering on 100 year old cast iron: Tool-phobia #2 conquered! Banging helped a lot, but I stopped short with thoughts of cracking cast-iron haunting my thoughts. The rest I would sand.

The last step was to give my dog some teeth. Instead of using the old blade I purchased a new thicker blade from Ron Hock which utilizes durable A2 steel and a modern style chipbreaker. This is where I discovered that my pup was a mutt. The screw that held on the lever cap to short having only a couple of threads griping the frog. Initially thought that it might be the thicker blade, or a short screw, but doing a little internetsing found that it the lever cap was not correct and may not have even been even a Stanley. A little more internetsing and I had a proper cap on the way via the E-bay. Plane complete!

How does the plane work?
Beautifully- it remains one of my favorite planes and I use it with nearly every project. Of course, it helps that I have it set up as a fore-jack plane. This is a very course plane used to remove lots of material very aggressively and can be plenty “off”. Don’t get me wrong, initially I set this plane up to smooth and it did take some of those lacey shavings that make you grin like an idiot. Does this plane compare to a modern plane?
No not really. Modern planes are made using materials and precision that are unimaginable by 1920 standards and really are superior. However, for the task that I use this plane for a new “premium” plane would be complete hyperbole. For my first plane I am glad that I had to work on/for this plane. I would argue that I learned far more about planes than if I had bought a plane and it was ready to take flawless whisper-thin shavings right out of the box. Granted, when I finally got around to acquiring my first new-new plane I may have had to change my pants.

Springer final thought: I love old iron.

Since my 605 have restored several dozen planes and all sorts of other old tools (including a workbench). They may not be as slick or robust as their modern counterparts (if there are equivalents), but they’ve got soul in spades and that’s never a bad thing. There’s also something very much fulfilling about finding an old tool and putting it back to work. Perhaps may just be foolish nostalgia for the methods of a bygone era, but I feel that working with these tools and in this manner places me in continuity with a tradition of craft. The relationship is less one of ownership and is more one of stewardship. I keep the tools and the tools keep me. (Note: Velveeta-Alert!)

I think if you are looking to get into planes you could do a lot worse than getting a halfway decent prewar Stanley, buy a book (Schwarz or Hack), and fettle the crap out of it. Of course, before you even think about getting a plane, new or old, bug someone who knows what they are talking about and have them teach you sharpening. Unless you like shiny tool-shaped paper-weights (who doesn’t?).

BTW: My blog titles are starting to sound like kung-fu movie titles. Next post: Vanishing Point: Revenge of the Razor’s Edge. Not really… well maybe.

The Invisible Hand

2011-02-10T22:28:00.015-05:00

This week I cut a set of mortise and tenon joints for the base of a display case. I decided that I would try out the new mortising chisels I got last month and some sweet new sawing skills that I have been working on. After carefully cutting and fitting the parts, I started thinking about how all of the time and effort put into these joints would be hidden from view the moment that I placed glue into the joint and clamped up all of the parts. I also considered about the myriad other ways in which this joint could be constructed(i.e. dowels, dominos, screws, biscuits, etc.) or handful of less manual techniques that could be employed to the form the parts (i.e. mortising machine, a router jig, table saw, drill press and on and on and on…)
 The question is why bother this sort of thing by hand?

Here are some of my thoughts:

1. Enjoyment
I am not a production shop. I make one-offs and low volume small batches of things. I enjoy my time in the shop and my time is made more enjoyable having intimate contact with the material (dirty minds). Trust me I am not a purist of any kind, the moment I need to make 100 of something you bet I’ll be going the machine route. However, whenever possible I always prefer the most direct approach to craft. A direct approach being the path that minimizes the barriers between you, your tools and your material. I would argue that there are very few activities more direct then bashing in mortises with a sharp pigsticker, or sawing down a knife line with a backsaw. Fun fun stuff!

2. Speed kills
Most times there is an inverse relationship between speed and control. Often tools and techniques that are “fast” lead to mistakes happening more quickly. I can’t tell you the number of times I have blown past a mark or cut something on wrong side of a mark and simply had to toss the pieces I was working on. Working by hand is slower, which means that either mistakes happen much slower or can be adjusted for in between saw strokes or plane shavings. As in most cases, I didn’t really have time to botch these legs and start again so I took the slow and steady approach. Also, going back to no.1- while not as efficient, or fast, handwork is deeply satisfying and why would you want to rush through that.

3. It’s not what you can make…
…it’s what you can fix. I would love to tell you that every joint comes off perfect square and clean off the saw cut, but I would also like to tell you that unicorn poo is actually strawberry ice cream with sprinkles (the latter is actually up for debate). Even cutting tenons with a stacked dado set on a table saw, the joints can be rough and need clean up to fit properly and have good gluing surface. If you learn how to cut a joint by hand the tricks you learn to clean and fit a joint will be in valuable no matter what the process you use. You’ll also be amazed at how you can make a strong square joint out of (very) less than square parts.

4. Versatility
Having the tools and skills to do something by hand gives versatility and flexibility in the way that you work and the things you are able to design and implement. One of the problems with specialized equipment is being stuck with the functional parameters of this machinery, or the perception of you capabilities. You see this all the time with people who watch woodworking on tv and think you need to have a specific machine or specialized jig for every woodworking task. The bottom line is the that basic the hand-working tool kit is relatively small and when you pair it with modest collection of modern machines, your capabilities(skills) are greatly expanded.

Anyway, back to the joints:

I feel like good joinery is like keeping a secret well. If you do a poor job, it will be plain to see or it won’t take long for the cat to be out of the bag. But if you do a good job you wont hear anything at all and no one will be the wiser. In fact the joint might not every really get notice because the viewer/user will be too preoccupied with the piece simply working as it should. Ninja.

So how did I do? Well, the glue is in, the clamps are off, every thing has been cleaned/finished, and the piece is sitting in a gallery right now. The joints are quietly keeping the details of their constitution a secret. If I did my job correctly, my joints their secret will be safe for a long long time.

Also, if the dings, dents, plane tracks weren’t enough, I very consciously left my crimson makers mark on the inner surfaces of the of the table aprons.

Studio AND at The Science Fair!

2010-06-11T16:09:00.010-04:00

Don't miss your last opportunity to see Studio AND's latest project this weekend at The Science Fair!

The Science Fair, is a show fun show featuring "Scientist-Artists and Artist-Scientists". It is hosted at the Flux Factory in conjunction with The Metric System.

THE SCIENCE FAIR!
The Flux Factory
39-31 29th Street
Long Island City, NY 11101
June 5 – 13, 2010
Hours: Saturdays and Sundays only, 12-6pm
Special Flux Thursday Award Ceremony: June 10, 8pm

Last Weekend, Eliza Strickland From Discover Magazine stopped by the show and wrote a lovely article and posted some photos from the show which can be found HERE

Studio AND is a collaboration between myself and my wonderful studiomate Audra Wolowiec. In 2009 Studio AND created The Department of Mineral Science, a pseudo-instutional branch dedicated to the inspiration of urban exploration. The department's main area of study focuses around the curious pheonenon of Urban Meteorties.

Urban Meteorites are part of an ongoing investigation into the creation of a plausible fictional material. Composed from the materials found in the urban landscape, Urban Meteorites are presented as an artifact from an imagined future.

Press Release:
Flux Factory and The Metric System are proud to present Science Fair, an exhibition of works by artist-scientists and scientist-artists!

Inspired by grade-school education fairs, Science Fair is a collaborative effort that examines science-based projects and concepts through the lens of art. Artists will create their own presentation booths and interactive experiments to be on display at the Fair. The exhibition explores the potential for science as a breeding ground for art: a way to inform and inspire art as a springboard for creative thought.

The Fair will showcase over two dozen projects including an artist-run weather station, robots that draw, urban meteorites, a cabinet of curiosities, and electro-magnetic field mapping.

Participating artists: Robin Brehm, Daupo, Lisa Glauer & Kaethe Wenzel, Fred Forest, Samwell Freeman, Hope Ginsburg & Colablablab, Kate Hartman, Jay Henderson, Jaime Iglehart, Scott Kildall, Rafael Hidalgo Múgica, Julia Oldham, James Rouvelle & Lili Maya, Daniel Schludi, SP Weather Station, Chad Stayrook, Studio AND, Flint Weisser, Elizabeth Whalley, Jing YuThe Metric System is a New York-based collective that encourages cross-disciplinary collaborations between artists, thinkers, scientists, and political activists.

New Work!

2010-05-20T16:33:00.006-04:00

I am still recovering from the all the hullabaloo from NYC Design Week and the frenzied weeks leading up to the main event. After getting several solid nights of sleep, I am still regrouping, putting the studio back together and getting ready to start the next projects that had to remain on the drawing board for this round. In the meanwhile, I have gotten the chance to take photos of my work and update my webpage. To see what all the fuss has been about click HERE.

The Model Citizens NYC 2010 show was a complete success and really distinguished itself as an breakout-independent alternative to the ICFF zoo. My deepest thanks to the amazing people that worked so hard to make it happen! There has been lots of buzz surrounding the event, and bunch of some articles can already be found at: Core77, Inhabitat, Design Glut, NOTCOT, and Metropolis

I am planning on posting a lot in the coming weeks. I am taking a break from the shop and going to Providence and Boston for final critiques at RISD. I am also very much looking forward to checking out the RISD Graduate Exhibition, the RISD Glass Graduate Thesis Show AND the RISD Glass Senior Show. I will be bringing my laptop to download some of my thoughts amassed while pulling together all of this work.

Model Citizen NYC 2010

2010-05-09T12:25:00.007-04:00

Hello Everyone! I am pleased announce that I will be showing all (very) new work at Model Citizens NYC next week (may 15-17) during NYC Design Week and ICFF.

http://www.modelcitizensnyc.com/

This is the second incarnation of Model Citizen NYC and, I have to say, I think it is going to be a phenomenal show. MC-NYC is organized by my dear friend Mika Braakman, who has really out done herself this year. I had the chance to visit the space at Hosfelt Gallery last week and it is absolutely gorgeous (and across the street from the Javits Center).

This years show will be featuring over 40 artists and designers from all around the country and the world AND will be host a small pop-up-shop stocked with a small assortment of curated production. I will be selling two small production runs, including the acorn-pods shown above.

In addition, I am thrilled that a bunch of old friends will also be showing work including: Emily Rothschild & Tom Weis, Brendan Ravenhill, Virginia Griswold, and GRAIN Design.

I will be looking forward to catching up and seeing their latest and greatest! If you are in the NYC area next week you must stop by and say hi!

MODEL CITIZENS NYC 2010

Opening Night Party: Saturday May 15, 5am-9pm

Show Hours: Saturday May 15, 11am-5pm
Sunday May 16: 11am – 7pm
 Monday May 17: 11am- 7pm   

Hosfelt Gallery
531 West 36th Street, Second floor 
New York, NY 10018  
GOOGLE MAP

On 36th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues.

Making A Good Thing Better

2010-04-29T16:50:00.022-04:00

Yesterday, a new tool arrived that I was eagerly awaiting. It was a Lee Valley Veritas Pullshave. I am about to start shaping the seat of the chair that I am working on and I wanted any alternative to my too-flat-scorp (as see below) that I have and also didn’t want to bust out the angle grinder and fill the shop with an inch of dust.

The Pullshave is basically a concave spokeshave with the wing handles replaces with those as you would find on a cabinet scraper. As with every tool that I have bought from Lee Valley, the tool is very well built, affordably priced and arrives a 10-minute-honing-session away from wood-shaving-fun-time. However, I have discovered that sometimes no matter the quality of the tool sometime you have to modify/ tune a tool to get it to work specifically the way you want it to work.

In the past couple of years, I have I bought and restored dozens of used tools- some newish and but most pretty old (mostly from the turn of the century- the 20th century). During my restorations, I learned a lot of tricks about how tune tools to sing like the day they were made, and in many cases better. Restoring tools isn’t for everyone. It takes patience, time, and the willingness to take a file to the tool. For most people that can be somewhat daunting with an old tool, but with a shiny brand new tool it can be outright terrifying. However, sometimes a little grinding or lapping can make the difference between a good to and an outstanding tool.

So what was were the issues with the Pullshave?

Issue 1: Getting a Handle on the Situation

Just like the Jersey Shore, my handle situation was super cheesy and a bit out of hand.

Despite not being a big fan of Bubinga (a tropical hardwood that looks like pine slathered in self-tanner), the handle seemed too long for my dainty-mits. Also I foresaw issues with shaping relating to tool bottoming out too early before reaching optimal-seat-butt-depth (a technical term). It's the same problem I have with my scorp, which has handles set too steeply.

I went to town on a piece of scrap that I had lying around the shop, and sure enough, as the hollow increased the long handle started making contact the opposite side of the depression and limited the angle of attach required to keep shaping. Not a problem! I grabbed some small scraps of ash and turned a new pair of handles in no time.

The rear handle was a little under half the length of the original and somewhat narrower. I made sure to add enough bulk to the end to get a grip on the tool, but not so much that I would reduce the benefit of a shorter handle.

I chose ash for several reasons: it was around, it’s plenty rough, and I think it’s lovely and complements the tool. I also have a pair of spokeshaves with hickory handles and now they match pretty well. I should also mention, that the ash give it a warm americany feeling to balance out the overwhelming canadianess of the tool (hahaha… seriously).

As far as the threding and what not- Lee Valley actually sells a custom handle kit, but I just used parts I had off the shelf. All the threads were 1/4-20 which made things pretty simple. The rear handle is just a bolt that i cut the end off of and screwed into 3/16 pilot hole. In front knob I used a threaded insert I got from woodcraft a while back.

I also slightly modified the front knob making it a little taller, thinking that it might be nicer if using it backwards to push the tool. I shaped the handles with a little bit of a Miller’s Falls meets old Stanley look. Sehr Schick and Wicked Dappa!

Issue 2: Tool’s Got Too Much Sole

The second issue was a little subtler that the first, and took a couple of my brain cells a minute to rub on. The issue had to do with the profile of the sole near the blade. The sole of the tool is concave in one direction (side to side), but flat in the other (front to back). The sole is relatively shore so when shaping lesser hollows this isn’t a problem. However as the walls get steeper and steeper, the flat section (especially in front of the blade) interferes with the tools ability to cut. You are forced to adjust the blade so far down that the tool starts to chatter in the cut leaving a pretty nasty looking finish with plenty of tears and gauges. Again this is a simple fix, round over the profile… but this time you’ve got to bust out the files.

In my case I have the luxury of a 4x106 wet belt sander (yet another awesome glass coldworking to woodcraft crossover). Before, jumping on the grinder. I marked the region round the mouth that I wanted to remove. The picture below is actually after the first shaping, which was much more dramatic as I removed the sharp corner between the flat in front of the blade and a beveled section. The idea is that you make the entire region, not just the part you are going to remove— that way you can see what you have done and where you haven’t ground. At this stage I am going to remove the remaining flat infront of the blade and relieve the section at the very rear of the sole. This can easily be done with a handi-file followed by some light sanding.

The Result: Outstanding!

After these small modifications the tool was singing and hollowing like the dickens! 
A little scraping and you've got smooth place to plant yer butt!

Moral of the story: Rarely (almost never) does a tool work just right out of the box. Almost everything needs tuning or adjusting. The key is to know how it should work, and make sure it is ready to go before you start making the real work. Even most high-end tool requires you to hone the blade before you can make whisper thin shavings. No matter how high quality product, a company can rarely individually-super-fine-tune a tool without driving the price through the roof. Lee Valley makes excellent tools, and this tool is no exception. I am one happy camper. However, a little extra handwork can take a tool up a notch and improve the quality of your work. Going even farther, customizing a tool can give a true sense of ownership and pride that will inspire you to make better work.
Sounds cheesy but I swear it is true!

Rapid Prototyping

2010-04-16T18:56:00.028-04:00

There are plenty of times when for one reason or another you have to get things right the first time. You might have a fast approaching deadline, perhaps you only have enough material for one try, or the material is expensive enough that you really can’t afford to waste it. In the case of my latest projects, all three happen to be the case.

I am preparing a new body of work to show (Model Citizens NYC 2010) during NYC design week and ICFF. With just a month left to get prepare and I have a very (over) ambitious plan to launch a furniture collection, a series of chandeliers, and have two small production runs for sale. There’s a lot to do and there’s no time to waste. There is also very little time to test/experiment/prototype/fail so every design decision has to be sound as a pound.

Depending on who you ask, K.I.S.S. either stands for “keep it simple and stupid” or “keep it simple, stupid”. I prefer the second more derogatory interpretation and in the spirit of “design for dummies”, I’ll be assuming an appropriate tone as I introduce my three step program to avoid going down in flames while working under tight deadlines:

1. Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

So think you’re a modern day Franklin or Edison?
News flash: You aren’t.

It takes a lot of time to design a chair from scratch and get it just right. It takes time you don’t have. So what should you do?
Find a comfortable chair and copy it.

No, don’t mean make the same chair, dodo.
I mean, find a chair you like that is designed for a specific task and pull off some measurements. Use those measurements as a baseline of comparison and a jumping off point (Record the seat height, length, angle etc, etc....) Also, having a chair around will help you visualize the chair in space and allow you to try out little mod-cons.

Here, I took some rubber bands and stretched them between the legs to layout the stretchers. In my original sketch, I had the stretchers oriented perpendicular, but seeing it in space and full size didn’t look right. First bullet dodged, Einstein.

2. Baby Steps

My design process is a series of steps that moves progressively from abstract to real. By its nature it goes from quick and loose to very precise. I make sure that all the “big” decisions are resolved as early on as possible and changes can still be made without starting all over again. I give myself flexibility, knowing that mistakes are inevitable and it’s definitely better to take your licks earlier rather than later. I start every design with a sketch. I draw orthographically with a pencil and paper and can quickly get a sense of the shape of a thing. Drawing is essential. Drawing is a learned skill and activates a special part of the brain. Your hand and eye become linked, and as the sketch takes shape you have made the first step making your idea a thing. I don’t think that I could ever “sketch” with a computer. It’s not as direct and uses a different part of your brain. A part that is too rational, too mathematical.

It’s next I will take my sketch, and produce make a “drawing”. Like a blueprint, the drawing includes measurements and will be used to refine joinery and create cut lists. The drawing is not full-sized, but it is large enough not to leave out any detail. This is where you CAD-monkeys start becoming worth their salt. Making a drawing in Solidworks, MasterCAM, or even SketchUp can make your drawing more accurate and allow changes to happen more spontaneously. I generally don’t use a computer for my drawings, but going through this process a lot recently, I have been think more and more about dusting off the Solidworks getting it fired up with Boot Camp on my Mac.

The drawing is then used to produce a Frankenstein-foam model. The Foam model is small and it is a tool to visualize your drawing in three-dimensional space. Don’t waste time making it pretty; just make sure it is mostly accurate to scale. This is the time to try out some BIG changes— don't be afraid to hack up your model. Working with foam-core and hot glue is cheap and fast. From here on out every change is going to start hurting a more and more, so get it out of your system. Keep an eye out for red flags. Use what you learned from the foam-model and refine your drawing accordingly.

At this stage in my chair , I confirmed that I would have problems with the splay of my legs. The joinery of my chair was ported directly from a bench and a stool, both having geometries that were relatively simple and seats are level. The issues of of an angled seat and back became instantly apparent in the foam-core. I tried several different angled rear legs and established a baseline stretcher spacing to be refined in the next step.

3. Build by Numbers: Size Matters

“If you want to kiss the sky, better learn how to kneel” …on your knees dummy!
That’s a lyric from a U2 song. What Bono is clearly trying to say about design is, you should start small before you get bigger.

Taking Bono’s advise, I make very accurate scale model where every ¼” inch equals one inch. This allows me to finalize my design and process planning, by essentially building the entire thing once, just teeny tiny. Now, this is still a model, so it need not be refined, but now you are shooting for accuracy. This model will ultimately be used to refine your drawing and a real reference for measurements in the final product. This is where you are taking a hard look at the design— refining proportions, trying out some different shapes. This the last time you will be able to say, modify a seat, seat back, leg splay or leg spacing in a couple in minutes instead of hours or days. Also, This is where I re-draw my drawing to the 1:1 scale with my model. This makes direct measurement much easier and accurate.

I scaled the model based on what size scrap boards I had around the shop. I had some ¾” poplar that I milled down to 3/8 and ½ thicknesses- these will be equivalent to the 1-1/2” and 2” stock I will using for the final chair. I milled up enough wood that I could make enough parts for dozens of little chair legs and stretchers knowing that I would have to play around a lot with those parts. I only milled enough wood for 3 seats, any ended up using them all. Also I discovered that I would most likely be making the seat back out of a 3” thick piece of walnut (not cheap), I’ll redo the model and fully shape that part before, messing around with a 40 dollar hunk of wood.

Also, I should say that all the little parts are connected with 1/8 brass rod. The brass rod is equivalent to the 3/4” dowels that will be used in the full-scale chair. The brass is quick, strong and if you slightly flatten the ends with couple of hammer taps, the fit in the wood is snug enough not to use any glue.

Below is a picture of some of the alternative parts that I made. I keep track of the parts that make so I can compare revisions and mix and match sizes. So there you have it. 3-easy steps to get you on your way, knuckle-head!

Prototyping is hard, but tackling a problem in an orderly manner can take (some of) the stress out of the process. It also can keep the pie out of your face when it comes time to deliver the goods and have your work scrutinized. If you are in a hurry it pays to spend the time bulletproofing your plan before you start tooling in to the wee hours (losing your mind).

As for this clown, I know have a lot of work cut out for me, but feel a lot better with my doll (action-figure) sized chair to guide me though the process. Of course, knowing is only half the battle!

Working To The Line

2010-03-31T21:29:00.015-04:00

Most making is all about working to a line. The line is an ideal. It’s an invisible barrier exists in all things. Sometimes it is hidden somewhere deep within, waiting for you find it. Often, you have to stalk it with great care, sometime creeping up on it very carefully. Sometime you approach the line with fear, stopping short before you get there. Other times you might plow straight past the line, usually the result of impatience or inexperience. Maybe you were already at the line, but you weren’t able to recognize it.

What is the line?

Sometimes the line is the black ink of sharpie, the red grease from a china marker, a scratch mark from an awl, or slice from a sharp knife. Other times, it could be some chalk on a blackboard, some graphite on a napkin, a photograph in your mind, or the distant memory from a dream.

Working to the line takes time, but how long does it take?

Well, at first it may take a long time. Perhaps, such a long time that it might seem like the line is nowhere to be found. More often than not, you’ll miss the line at first, but through practice you’ll learn to find the line. With every iteration, your body and mind will remember the path. Your missteps and your successes will ultimately be the breadcrumbs you leave behind making it increasingly easier to find. Eventually, go forward confidently- Boldly sure of each step, and mindful of the perils that wait on the edge path ahead.

So, does fortune favor the bold or the prepared mind?

Both, together.

I recently had a fairly high-pressure task of engraving some glass vessels with some very precise cuts. The vessels were composed of three layers: the outside was cased in clear, beneath was a thin layer of white and another layer of clear. I had to make mitre cuts through the white layer to create long straight clear lines, all uniform in width. The test piece I had been given to practice on, had a very thick clear layer on the outside, making relatively easy to “sneak” up on the lines I was cutting to. The “real” object, however, had been blown much thinner and the clear outside layer was considerably thinner. I wouldn’t know how much thinner until I made the first cut.

With glass cutting, straightness comes from confidence. The first cuts are made by a course diamond wheel that hogs through the glass allowing you to feed the glass with dynamic and fluid strokes. If you hesitate you will cut too deeply or your line will not be straight. Think of painting with watercolors.

When I made the first cut, I found the outside clear glass to be very thin. In fact, the glass was so thin that I would only be able to make a single roughing pass before I knew I would have gone too far. The heart starts beating harder. I wasn’t afraid however because I was immersed in flow.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_%28psychology%29)

Before I made this “first” cut I spent the better part of an hour making test cuts. My hands and eyes were in sync with the spinning wheel in front of me, and I moved the glass around with confidence. In less than 10 minutes, I roughed out the piece. Success! Even though I far from finished (it would take me six more hours to smooth and polish the cuts), I knew I was out of the woods. The rest of the work was slow and careful, but if just one of those first cuts strayed I would have been toast. I was prepared and I was bold.

For the past four year I have been teaching Glass Coldworking at RISD. Every year the first assignment is the same: the flat glass sampler.

The sampler is an assignment that I plagiarized from my first coldworking glass at MassArt. However, unlike the original assignment (which was given over something like 4-5 weeks), my students must complete the task in less than one week. There is nothing creative about the sampler, it is nothing but an exercise in technique. Each student is given a piece of glass roughly 6”x6”. They must dimension the piece to 5”x5” with all four sides square. Two sides must be parallel to one another, one must have a 45 degree bevel, and the last must have a ¼” radius. Finally there must be two equal radiused corners that blend seamlessly from the parallel square edges to the rounded edge. To make things worse, float glass is exceptionally hard and prone to scratching and chipping.

Sound painful?

I guarantee you it is.

I have personally done this assignment myself at least nine times now. Every year, I do the assignment in the morning before the first class and again during demo (in front of a full class). It takes me three hours flat and I still find it challenging. How long does it take someone who has never coldworked glass before?

A lot longer!

So, what’s the point of the “sampler”?

First off, the sampler is designed to use every machine in the shop. So at the end of the week every student has at least attempted to set up and use all of the equipment. Secondly, It teaches basic layout, marking, and process planning. They create reference surfaces and learn to check their work as they go. And finally, and really most importantly, they struggle. Inevitably they make all the classic mistakes and they struggle to correct them. I give them this assignment so they we can target problems and establish good working habits early on. At the end of the week there are very few squares in the class- Many are rectangles or parallelograms and most are way under 5” inches. But everyone learns so much by fighting their way through it. They learn how problems left unaddressed compound themselves many times over. It’s a bit of tough love, but I find it’s better to learn these lessons struggling on a “sampler” than on something that you really care about. Ultimately, the sampler is about creating a line and working to it.

Jack of All Trades...

2010-02-25T17:00:00.031-05:00

... master of none.

That's how the old saying goes. I think about this expression a lot, as it relates to both people and process.

In the picture above, is my No.62 Low Angle Jack Plane (yup, it's a jack of all trades). This plane is fantastic! It's one of the first plane's got when I started down the dark path of woodworking with hand tools. What makes it so great? Well to start off, it's got a bevel up blade, bedded at a very low angle (12 degrees). Considered a large format block plane, it's a crack shot at tackling end-grain and shooting the ends of boards. The sole is 14" long which also means it's totally proficient at jointing and flattening boards (as long as they are not too big). Also, it's got an adjustable mouth to shift between wide open (for material removal) and super tight (for fine smoothing). Finally, because the blade is bevel up, by buying multiple blades you can optimize the effective cutting angles and blade profiles for just about every planing scenario. Sounds great right?

Well, what are all those other planes doing in the background?

Well, those planes are just a handful of tools that individually do most of the aforementioned tasks faster and better (...in my opinion). Yeah, the No.62 could be one of two or three planes you would ever have to use, but having those specialized planes at hand, tuned and ready to go, makes life (work) so much more pleasant and saves valuable time.

I get asked how to make things all kinds of things all the time. I usually follow up with a bevy of questions relating to the specific task and the tools that are available. If your only options are items coming off the shelf from home depot, my answer is going to be a lot different from someone standing in a fully outfitted shop. Take for instance the example of the dado or rabbet in woodworking. All they just slots in the middle/edge of a board. I can tell you at least dozen ways of making that little slot, and within those there are two dozen variations of each. Which is the most simple? Well, If I had a sharp chisel, mallet, and all the time in the world, that would be perhaps the most direct. What about a Japanese saw and a router plane? What about a plough plane? What about a router table with a straight bit? What about a table saw and a stacked dado blade? What about a CNC milling machine? and on and on and on.......

The endless stream of options can be especially daunting, even more so when making decisions buying tools.

My advise here is start at the beginning and ask yourself: What are you trying to do?
Then, I'd consider: Can I do this with the tools I already have or do I need something specific? Next, I'd do research. Google your ass off and see what people are using and why. Finally, I'd ask what can I afford?
I am a big big big advocate of "buy the best tool you can afford". The subtext being: Don't buy junk! You will just get frustrated and be wasting your cash on something that wont last or wont work. A while back, I got flamed on an internet glass forum when someone was asking advise about how to improve a lousy glass lathe. My response was: Sell it and get a tool that actually was designed to work glass. Quit fiddling around and sinking more money into a tool which was designed only to look like it should work. It's not tool snobbery, it's total practicality. It's hard enough not to be discouraged learning something new when you aren't fighting your machinery! Beware of the Dremel-Syndrome. These are toys that claim to do everything, but only excel at sucking and breaking. If I can't get the whole kitten-kaboodle, I go for the individual tool that will offer me the most value (quality, versatility, practicality, fun)- like the No. 62. That way, I am building from a solid foundation and giving myself the room to grow, as my skills and demand expand . Maximize your joy and you'll make better work.

Here it comes- My "people are like tools" metaphor...

What does it mean to call a person a "jack of all trades"? As it applies to people, this expression speaks to perhaps lateral thinking, interdisciplinary experience, an ability to multi-task or manage. These can very valuable traits. Going further, it could mean an ability to think outside the box, balancing different perspectives and challenging "conventional" assertions.

However, depending on how much perspective one has, you might not be thinking outside the box, you might just be stuck in a different box. Master of none? I feel like I have an inherent suspicion of people who claim to be expert in too many fields. It's seems like juggling to me. On the surface things, it looks impressive, but throw in a club and all the balls come tumbling down. It pays to play on your strengths and pick your battles.

I have to constantly remind myself that you CAN'T DO EVERYTHING (....yet! moowahaha!) Trying to have hand in everything may help gain insight in a holistic sense, but can have you running down the rabbit holes. You can end up feeding your academic desires and loose sight of the ultimate goal- getting real work done. A lot of the time, it is much more effective to seek out the aid of a real expert rather than playing the tourist.
Watching how an expert does a thing, you can learn skills and implement ideas a lot quicker, and with far less chance of failing right out of the gate. There is a lot merit to "conventional wisdoms" and practical aphorisms that an expert brings to the table. While I don't think they should be followed blindly nor dismissed out of hand, these paradigms are generally borne out of a deep collective experience and countless failures and successes. Build a foundation! Learning the "rules", and sticking to them you can save yourself a lot of trouble and frustration. Of course, life (work) would be boring if you only followed the rules. Eventually, if you want to continue growing creatively, learning how to throw out that rule book is another tool you'll have to add to your toolbox.

About this blog

2010-02-21T17:18:00.003-05:00

So I have finally decided to start writing a blog.

Q:Why now?
A:Why not...

Q:Why blog?
A: I make things. It's what I do. It's what I've always done. From the time when my dad bought me my first jack knife and started widdling sticks in the backyard, I have loved to make things. It's what the majority of my thoughts and energy are devoted to. Since I was little, I recognized that there were three important parts to learning and mastering skills.

The first part is education. To educate yourself you must seek out information about what ever you are setting out to make or do. This information can come from many sources. In the past, it might be a book or a magazine article here or there. Of course, the better option has always been to seek out someone who is willing to show you how they do thing and might share their insight. Now we've got the internets, and there is so much information out there brought straight to our finger tips, and there so many people willing to contribute. I have learned so much from blogs, tutorials, and forums. It's honestly the first place I go if I am curious about something or have a serious question.

The second part is practice. I can over emphasize this enough: I really don't think the real learning happens until you actually try to do a thing. Books, demonstrations, videos are all well and good, but until you put blade to wood, or glass to stone, it's all an academic exercise. Learning really begins with experience- experience builds insight- insight builds confidence- confidence means success. Now, inherent the process is failure. Failure is so important. Failure means setting out to do one thing and the product of turns out different from the desired result. The fact is, failure happens every moment. As I type I am failing every dozen or so key strokes. Am I crippled by my fears of sub-par touch typing? No, not really. I just hit the delete button (over and over and over again) and keep going. It's the same as anything else. It's the subtle way that you might change the skew of a plane mid-stroke to flow with grain in a board of wood or that split second of extra heat on a punty while blowing glass. It's a natural response, a reflex. It's the same with the "catastrophic" failures like making cutting something undersized or backwards, joining something upside down, using the wrong tool for the wrong job, or god forbid hurting yourself or someone around you. These things will happen as well. They must be anticipated when possible, but they will happen time and time again. After all, accidents are called accidents for a reason. It's by correcting the things to don't intend, that you glean the insights that build skill and reach you goals. Of course, there are also the personal failures. For instance, designing something that doesn't work, is ugly, or unpopular. These failures are perhaps more subtle, but potentially more insidious because they can strike at your core of confidence- making you more hesitant to try again. However, these failures can (and should)have the opposite of effect- motivating you to redouble your efforts and driving you forward to the next iteration and ultimate success. Failure is essential to success- they are inseparable (We'll talk lots more about this later)!

Lastly, the third part is dissemination. This, of course, brings me to back to the beginning and the reason why I wanted to write this blog. For as long as I have been learning to make things, I also wanted to show people what I've done and how they can do the same. So much of what I have learned I owe to those people who were generous enough to share their insight and experience. Having had the opportunity to teach others, I have found is a mutually beneficial exchange. It challenges you to formulate your thoughts and really test your methods. I can't tell you how much I have learned from troubleshooting or someone else's problems or fixing their mistakes. Also, and more importantly, enthusiasm is contagious!

Q: So what is this blog going to be about?
A: In simple terms this blog will be about process. I already document everything and this will be an outlet to for me to share some of my experience and my process. It's not my intention to provide full on how-to's or step by step instructions about how to make what I make. However, it's my hope to provide perhaps point of view on how I work, how things are made by hand, and maybe answer some questions along the way. There will probably be a lot of posts about tools. Yes, I am a highly functional tool junkie. The only thing I love more than a shiny new tool, is finding a good old tool clean it up and put it back to work. Also philosophically, want to talk about what tools are and how they are very different from toys. I want to talk about how tools enable amazing things, but are nothing without the hand that holds them or the understanding of care it takes to maintain them. I'll also document projects and the design process-from plan, build, to use. I know it's sounds a bit cliche, but for me making is way of thinking. Process means sorting through concept, craft, physical matter in an attempt to see something which has never existed before. I'll post about things, places and people who inspire me and might inspire others. I hope to provide some insight, or, at the very least, some entertainment. Please bear in might There might be some [a lot] rambling and plenty of typos along the way (as you can probably already tell, I am not much of a proofreader).

This is an experiment. I don't know if this will succeed or fail, but you already know how I feel about that.