the learning curve

 

 For the most part, the artisan woodworker will be producing one off unique pieces of furniture in their workshops. Okay there will be the odd item that follows the design of another, the same moulding cutter or assembly detail will be reused.  However for the most part as a new project is started, the process of learning starts too.

About a year ago I took on a commission to make a simple bridge to span a water feature in a clients garden. After the usual design consultation over a glass of wine, it was desided to make the bridge in Europeian Oak with Iron fish of diffrent sizes set in to the timber in a random pattern. This project was actually featured in my first ever blog. 

Any of you who have combined Iron and Oak before, and then added water will know of the chemical reaction that takes place. A deep purpleish stain will spread into the area around the Iron, which is impossible to remove. Even Oak kitchen worktops that have had their finish cut back with wire wool will be affected by tiny flex of Iron stain.

To counter this reaction I spent many hours researching a suitable heavy duty chemical coating for both the Oak timber and the Iron fish, which would seal each and prevent any reaction. In the end I found two separate finishes that I felt would be up to the task. One was a timber treatment used in the marine industry, the other a metal coating found in vehicle production.

Unfortunately,as the pictures show, neither product lived up to the manufactures promise, or maybe I was expecting too much of them. After trying a few other products we finally decided we weren't going to achive a long term solution to making this design work, and a radical rethink was called for. The solution was a bridge made from reclamed Teak timbers from a local pier. The surface of the wood had a lovely sea worn texture, but was tough and durable. The fish were turned into  an atractive garden sculpture.

All was well in the end, the clients had a bridge they loved and we had learned a lot along the way. That's what the jobs all about.

review: Wurth Amo111 screws

  I'm not proud to say everytime I spot a Rep's shiny company car pulling up in the workshops yard my heart sinks. It's not that I don't like the guys that have been assigned with the near impossible job of attempting to part me from my hard earned cash, its just they always seem to arrive just as I'm in the middle of an important task. Or even worse they turn up just as I have put the kettle on, forcing me to be polite and offer a cup of tea, even though I know this will result in a wasted hour  spent listing to tails of their last family holiday in Disneyland!

Just sometimes though the pain is worth it. For example this week I had a visit from my Wurth rep Gary. Poor Gary has been dealing with my uninspiring account for years, yet still comes in with a positive smile. I had been bleating on to Garry about I project I had comming up that required lots of wooden battern's being fixed to a concreat wall, this would take time and lots of messing about. He suggested useing Wurth Amo 111 fixing screws, these were new to me.

The beauty of the Amo 111 is its simplicity, just drill a 6.2mm hole (yes you need to get a 6.2mm bit) into the wall and drive the self tapping screw straight in. No need for nylon plugs. Design mainly for installing windows, the Amo 111 creates zero tension with no spreading force when fixing, so on corners of walls there is no danger of  walls cracking and breaking out. A milled screw head will countersink into wood plastic and aluminium, with a white and brown cover cap available if needed. The 7.5diameter screw is available in six sizes from 72mm through to 152mm, all of which have a thread which extends right up to the head, and are available in yellow chromate and stainless steel. 

This straight forward wall fixing system was a great find, Garry earnt his cup of tea that day.

the ever evolving workshop

  

Spending the afternoon cutting out some tenon joints for a small church table gave me the opptunity to re-plan the workshop. When I underwent my buisness down sizing project the plan was to work from one small space, which would combine workspace and office, at a low premium. All was working well untill a large kitchen project came up. This was to be the type of project that had promised myself not to take on, but the clients had given me a steady supply of work over the years, and I was very fond of them. So I rented another small studio next to mine, with the intention of storing the kitchen components until the project was completed, and then letting it go. The kitchen project was completed a year ago, and yes I still have the studio. It is now full of timber, tools and the projects made for my next book. I have resigned myself to the fact that the extra studio is here to stay, like it or not. Furniture making always requires space, a lot of joinery and carpentry work can be carried out on site useing a well equipped van, however when making furniture you need a good bench, a few basic machines, somewhere to properly store expencive timbers and veneers and an area to apply finishes. All of which is hard to fit in a van.

One condition i have for keeping the studio is that it must earn its keep. Right now it's a handy storage area and that's it. My plan is to turn it into the machine shop, this will have the twin benefits of freeing up space in a very cramped workshop, and it will also mean a lot of dust and noise can be contained in one place. 

So as I chop away at my tenons, my mind is planing how the new workshop will look and work.

bandsaw tune up

  



On a trip to a local sawmill last week I came apon a Rep from a woodworking machine manufactures. With the aim of shifting a few items from the catalog, he was giving a demonstration on how to get the best from your bandsaw. It was basic stuff, but the coffee was free, so I sat in with the intention of warming up a bit before strapping my timber to the truck.

It wasn't long before I was experiencing that old sensation that what I had simply written off as information for the novice was in fact a direct lesson to the woodworker, so long in the tooth, that they have forgotten  wisdom passed to them an age ago. The message was clear, the only way to achive accurate results with a bandsaw was to constantly insure it is correctly set up. And apart from having a sharp blade with the right amount of teeth centred on the wheels, the main area of adjustment is to be found on the bandsaws guide post set up. Located above and below the bandsaws table, theses will normally consist of two guide blocks, which need to be set about a sandpapers thickness, either side of the blade. I make my blocks out of hard Maple which I pre-soak in a lubricating solution to reduce friction. I have one fellow timber man who swears by his method of microwaveing the blocks for two minutes after a 24hour soak in lubricant. 

The other part of the guide assembly is the Thrust bearing found behind, but NOT touching the blades edge. I have lost count of the old hard worked bandsaws I have seen with the Thrust bearing frozen, unable to turn due to overheating when run too close to a rotating blade. These sorry bearing will usually carry the tell tale deep scares of miss use.

My coffee break lecture was a lesson to us all, if we want the best from all of our woodworking machinery then we have to put in the effort with constant matinance and respect. 

must the show go on?

  

Its that time of year again when the invites to exhibit work start to pop up in the email in box. Last year I threw myself into a exhibiting fury. After making the investment in time and money to make three purpose built pieces to an exhibition standard, I decide to show them at a many events as possible. From the exclusive and beautifully set up 'Celebration of Craftsmanship and Design' held annually in Cheltenham, through to the 'Open house exhibition' which runs along side the Brighton festival in May, and a few others in between. After all of the hard work the sum total of orders from my shows was a big nothing. Now I'm the first person to stand up and say that its not about sales, but about all important exposure. For it is exposure that gets who you are and what you do out there, and these days you need to be out there to survive and thrive as a small business. Also by showing your work you have an opportunity to get connected with the general public, where you can see how they react to your work, and get to know what they like.....or don't.

However my lack of success last year has left me feeling a little jaded about the whole experience. I know the thing to do 

is take it on the chin, buy in some timber and get on with this years show pieces. Instead of this I have decided it will be 'no show' for me this year, which I can tell you is a great relief. But I will not be hiding away in a dark workshop, far from it, instead I am determined to look at new was to get my work and name out there in the public eye. I will keep these pages up to date with my successes and failures at this new course. Wish me luck 

beware unstable timber

  

Rushing on with the daily challenge of bringing in new work, and then trying to deliver that work to the deadlines promised, it is easy to miss important lessons and patterns that are right under your nose. This was the case a few days ago, when making adjustment to some doors I had fitted some months back, It hit me just how many of my projects this year have been plagued by timber movement and shrinkage. It is in the very nature of wood to be unpredictable and prone to structural change over the years. It's this part of its charictor that make wood both a challenge and a joy to work with. However the level of movement I was seeing was beyond what I would normally expect, and allow for.

Just taking glancing out of the workshop window gave me one pice of the puzzle. This year has been the wettest on record, with near constant heavy rainfall. My second problem is the moden house with its double glazed and draft sealed doors and windows, thermostats cranked up to a constant 21degrees and no natural air flow. 

Generaly the timber I work with has been felled, machined into planks and then stacked in a kiln for a few days, where its original 200% moisture content is reduced to a more acceptable 12%. At this point  it is delivered to my unheated, well ventilated timber store, ready to be transformed into furniture. And this is where the problems start. Kiln dryed timber will start to absorb moisture within a few weeks, so if not placed in its new centrally heated inviroment soon, the moisture content will start to rise, causing potential problems at a later date.

So my solution will be, create a timber store with an inviroment more inline with the clients home, leave the purchasing of timber until the last possible moment and finally ask my supplier to reduce my timbers moisture content to a more realistic 8%. Also some better weather would help, but I'm afraid that's a little out of my control.

the Wood Store

  



Final photo shoot for the new book today, and joy of joys it was at The Wood Store in Brighton. I've been spending a lot of time here of late, picking up materials for the books 'up cycling' projects, but any excuse to loiter around for a morning sifting through reclamed timber is always welcome. 

Set up in 1998, the Wood Store is a charity which encourages local building projects to donate any left over materials, or any salvaged timber, which can then be sold on. And it's not only the building trade that are encouraged to donate, anybody with an old door or a few worn out floor boards, are welcome to drop them in. And all are welcome to buy any of the very reasonably priced wood. For those who find buying small quantitys of timber from a trade building supplyer a bit intimidating, the Wood Store offers the opportunity to rummage around unbothered, while you hunt out just the bit of stock you need. 

Although not wide spread as yet, I think, and hope, that we will be seeing more and more projects like the Wood Store in the future as the cost of raw materials increases. It offers a win win situation where the builder is able to cut down on his waste bill, the hard pressed woodworker has a economical alternative to the large timber supply company's and the Wood Store charity get much needed funds.

As well as selling raw timber the Wood Store offer items of furniture made in their workshops by a band of trainee woodworkers all looking for a new start in life. There is even a gallery showing sculpture and other art projects made by the team.

See if there is a project like the Wood Store in your area, its well worth supporting this admirable cause.