I have settled on a final design for the height-adjustment mechanism. It involves a wooden screw to steady the main post, as well as a cross-peg to support the weight of the stand, as well as to prevent slippage. The wood threader/ die is sold by grizzly. I have never used a wood threader before, so I will have to learn to use it. When I buy a new tool, there is always a learning period associated with it. I usually read all the instructions that come with the tool as well as read any articles or videos online that I find about the tool. I then use some scrap wood and practice with the tool until I feel comfortable with using it on a project. However, I will not have to worry about this for a while as I will only do the threading after the central post is complete.
Tap:
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Wood-Threading-3-4-Tap/G1869
Die:
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Wood-Threading-3-4-Die/G1868
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Interview
Lowe, Chris,
‘Professional Woodworker’ “Your Approach
to Woodworking” Interview. 1/30/2012
Chris
Lowe is a professional woodworker who was just finishing up his most ambitious
project when I met up with him. Lowe is
working an organ case at Cornell patterned after a 17th century
German organ. The Cornell organ is built
with similar methods as the German – including hand planning all surfaces – to
ensure an excellent reproduction of the tonal qualities. The case took about a year to build, and
weighs approximately seven tons.
Lowe
started woodworking by watching what his grandfather would do around the house;
he would sometimes include him in making small projects. With his father he built models, everything
from wooden ships to planes. In his senior
year of college as an English major, he started wondering what he would do with
his degree, so he began building a couple pieces and selling them. After school he opened his business.
Lowe
usually finds clients by “word of mouth,” he never has to do any
advertising. Many jobs come as referrals
from architects or home builders who know about his work. For most projects he will do several rough
sketches, often using design books for inspiration; one of his favorite styles
is Greene and Greene. He then meets with
the clients to map out basic functionality and style options. Once a rough design is figured out he will
design the joinery and other details that do not concern to the client.
The
one aspect Lowe enjoys most about woodworking is being able to make people
exactly what they want at a very high quality level; to be able to provide a
piece that is not a compromise in design and construction. The organ case is an
excellent example of this. The organ
case will last hundreds of years and is the only one of its kind on this side
of the Atlantic. On top of being able to
provide a useful and high quality product, Lowe also enjoys the hand-work
associated with building, especially dovetailing and hand planning. All surfaces of the organ case are planed by
hand and where they are not covered by hand made mouldings, the dovetails in
the corners shine as examples of old-world technique not used very often
today.
Working
on the organ case has certainly been a challenge for Lowe, but most of his
business traditionally comes from building custom kitchens. It is these in these kitchens that Lowe is
most proud of his design work. He loves
being able to reinvent the inside of a house, often taking out walls or adding
windows, completely transforming the interior into something more beautiful and
functional. However, if he didn’t have
to run a business he would like to make smaller furniture, such as tables and
chairs, to be able to use fine detailing skills. He would also add more curved components,
which are beautiful but add a large cost to the total cost of the project.
To come up with a cost for the project, Lowe makes a list
of everything that needs to be done, from material cost, to hours spent on a specific
part of the build. He then adds a little
extra to cover other costs, and to make a profit. Sometimes he gives the customer a price, and
they agree to it, but he usually tries to steer the customer towards a build
first pay later system, as this allows Lowe to give a more accurate price,
which saves the customer money, as he does not have to add on extra cost to
give himself a cushion. For the organ
case, it was a flat price that they paid him; he even had a penalty if he
delivered late.
The
one piece of advice Lowe gave me was to not be scared about starting
something. He said that it takes at
least 10 years to begin to feel moderately comfortable with any craft, and
woodworking is no exception. You have to
start somewhere, so don’t be intimidated.
Monday, February 13, 2012
2/13/2012
Great class period, it was really interesting to hear what everyone is doing as their project.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
To start a new project...
...the last project must be finished. Maple and walnut cutting board, the maple is wood I salvaged from the city wood pile over a year ago.
Now that that is out of the way, I did a semi-thorough cleaning of the shop, and a thorough sharpening of my dulling hand tools (chisels and planes). It will now be much easier to start the music stand.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Dear Reader
Welcome to by blog! I am a high school senior in the WISE English program. Over the next 16 weeks I will be building a wooden music stand and writing an article about it at the end. I hope that the end result will be something that I will be very proud of. Some of my fears include being able to accurately predict how fast I will will proceed with my project, as usually I work very unpredictably. My love of being able to create a quality product is what will drive me through this project.
Over the next two weeks I will decide on a final design, a sketch-up drawing of it, and will settle on the type of wood I will use.
Over the next two weeks I will decide on a final design, a sketch-up drawing of it, and will settle on the type of wood I will use.
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