Tackling Day 2

Our day is winding down here at the shop. Since my fire building this morning, I have been introduced to what seems like hundreds of new concepts (but, is actually probably closer to ten).

Naturally, I got a lesson in "what belongs where" which doubled as a lesson in "I now know the name of that one thing I saw laying around Grandpa's bench when I was 7 years old". Needless to say, my woodworking vocabulary is building by the second.

As you can see, with the help of our shop pup, I learned to work with a variety of handsaws. After Rob shared his knowledge of the differences between Japanese and Western designed saws, I was put to work to cut off small excess pieces so that the puzzle-like sides would fit snug into their respective holes (as you can see in the picture). We are working to construct models of a furniture piece that students will build on their own in one of the advanced courses held here. I was proud to be the guinea pig to test which methods of cutting were quickest and easiest for a new learner.


Collectively we seemed to have decided that a combination of a Japanese handsaw (to cut straight lines), a coping saw (to cut at angles and squeeze into tougher places), and a chisel (to even out anything left that would prevent the puzzle pieces from fitting tightly and flush to the legs) was just the right combination to get the job done. Six side pieces, eight legs, and some exhausted hand/wrist muscles later and we have two basically constructed models! If you would have asked me yesterday what a coping saw was, I would look at you as if you had three heads so, there goes my woodworking vocab skills, again.

As it turns out, I am a big fan of chiseling wood. I can't decide if it's because of the awesome pile of wood flakes it produces or the wide variety of things that can be done with such a simple, almost primal, tool. Either way, I had a great time chiseling away.


Jeffry has an order for a bench for a resort in Chile. Because the wood he will be using has been housed in the cold barn, when it was brought into the warmer shop climate, we needed to be sure the change in humidity didn't cause the wood to warp. This task had me using an electric drill (which surprisingly, I am no stranger to) to drill smaller pieces of wood to hold the bench seat pieces to the beams in the ceiling. This way, the wood would be held flat as it dries and the bench can be level.

As we wind down, my arm muscles are grateful to know they can rest for the next 16 hours but my mind is eager and ready to start a new day tomorrow. Expect that each day, I will be able to woo you more and more with my increasingly advanced woodworking vocabulary paired with my ability to (more) accurately describe these new, foreign tasks. Until tomorrow, ladies and gentlemen.