Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Adjustment Mechanism

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

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


Did some rough but important design work today to decide on a final shape for the stand.  My design is based off one by Craig Yamamoto, and is also influenced by George Nakashima.  Right now I will probably use walnut and beech, or walnut and quartersawn white oak.  Either way the walnut will be mostly for accents, mainly the base, the adjustment mechanism, and the lip of the stand. 
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.