Woodworking Magazine Blog

Last month we showed you a preview of Len Hovarter's interesting twin-screw vise (check out that entry here and see a video). Today Hovarter's web site went live and is offering a $25 discount for pre-orders before Sept. 15.

Following his trip to North Carolina to shoot two shows with Roy Underhill for "The Woodwright's Shop" and a three-day teaching stint at Roy's school, Chris took a few days to head south and visit with family in South Carolina.

But usually when Chris is out of the office, he continues to post blog entries. But yesterday? Nothing. And frankly, I'm a bit concerned.

Yesterday was International Beer Day. And Chris did not write about it. We should all be worried.

— Megan Fitzpatrick

photo by VoxEfx

I've always been hesitant to get to know my personal heroes because it's usually a disappointment. They almost always turn out to be just like the rest of us. A bit vain. Self-conscious. Insecure. Troubled.

So when Roy Underhill of "The Woodwright's Shop" invited me to stay with him at his converted mill in North Carolina while I taught at his school, I was delighted and dejected.

When I teach classes, I tell my students to buy their winding sticks in the “18th-century Tool Section” of their local home center.

They look puzzled until I pull out my winding sticks: two lengths of aluminum angle, one of which is painted black. Aluminum angle is cheap and makes a nice set of accurate winding sticks.

I would probably be a better person if I didn't interact with other people.

That is the thought that flashes through my head when Roy Underhill says to me: "I could go down the street and buy a plastic doll that you could saw in half."

So we shot two 25-minute episodes of "The Woodwright's Shop" today. So you are probably wondering what the heck I did with the other 23 hours of my day.

Manicure? Pedicure? Facial? Crystal Meth bender?

Nyet.

I woke up this morning at 6 a.m. at Roy's place -- he lives in an old mill, and the guest bedroom sits right on the water. We slugged down some coffee. Roy sat in a rocking chair and quietly looked out over the dam next to his mill. I was poring over one of his books on Virginia shore furniture (I could spend a month here just browsing this man's library).

I'm packing up all the tools I'll need in North Carolina for the coming week, and I was a bit shocked this morning as I went through my checklist.

One of the "Woodwright's Shop" television programs Roy Underhill and I are shooting this weekend will deal with the typical toolkit of a joiner circa 1839. I compiled my list based on an old book, "The Joiner & Cabinet Maker," which detailed the fictional life of a young apprentice.

I leave for North Carolina this week to shoot two episodes of "The Woodwright's Shop" with Roy Underhill then teach a three-day class on handsawing at Underhill's little Utopia of a woodworking school in Pittsboro, N.C.

One of the shows will be on English handsawing (no on-screen French-sawing DIY vasectomies are planned) and the other show will be about the simple toolkit of a joiner, circa 1839.

To prepare for the class and show, I built a new sawbench this weekend.

Christopher is at our off-site photo studio today shooting video segments for some upcoming "Shop Classes" on the proper use of hand tools (the videos are tentatively scheduled for an August release). But, it seems he's paying more attention to how he looks on camera than to what he's doing...

People often divide our country into North and South using a variety of metrics. There's the Mason-Dixon line, of course. The Barbecue Line (the word means "grilled meat" in the North and "porky heaven" in the South). And so on.

I use the "Yellow Pine Line." This fantastic material is difficult to find in many Northern climes, except as pressure-treated nastiness. And in the South, the stuff is so common that it grows on trees.

I think it's an ideal workbench material. It's cheap. It's stable. It's stiff. It's easy to flatten. It's available in wide widths. So it should come as no surprise that I get e-mails like this one from Paul:

I live in Aurora, Ill., a western Chicago suburb. It does not appear to be a location friendly to the Southern Yellow Pine that you've prized in earlier articles.  Home Depot/Lowe's/Menards all stock, at best, SPF...so I don't really know what I'm getting.

So now, the question – how might I best obtain woods with the density/strength that you recommend – in a land like mine that seems very un-woodworking friendly?

One note – one of your articles on Southern Yellow Pine suggested that, if it can't be found, that we take the pickup truck down to Cincinnati. Unfortunately, that won't be a good option for my Ford Taurus these days (though it would be fun to do).

I've thought of just dealing with the SPF that Home Depot offers, but I am afraid that I'd be disappointed with it in a year. I'd like my bench to last five, 10, or more years.

Well the easy answer would be to use "SPF" which is a grab-bag category for "spruce, pine or fir." It's certainly strong enough, though usually it's a little soft. And some places don't dry it as well as necessary. But the good news here is that you are actually close to the "Yellow Line." You don't have to come to Cincinnati to get Southern Yellow Pine. In fact, I know of some people in Chicago who have found it in the city at lumberyards (if you are out there, please chime in with the name of the yard!).

Even if you cannot find it in the city, you should be able to sneak over the border to Indiana and find some. It's amazing how the wood choices can change radically by changing your geography slightly

And finally, let me repeat something that I've said about 100 times about workbench materials: Almost any wood will do. Pick something that is readily available, inexpensive, dry and stiff. You'll be fine.

— Christopher Schwarz

Other Workbench Resources I Recommend

• Tim Celeski's excellent workbench site: workbenchdesign.net.

• I actually still like my book "Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use."

• We have a nice and inexpensive CD of many of the workbench and shop plans we've published "The Best of Shops & Workbenches."

• Watch Roy Underhill's episodes (free!) where he builds a French bench.

For me, this is like the day I first saw my name in the phone book. I am somebody.

This summer I'm teaching a three-day class at Roy Underhill's school, The Woodwright's School, in Pittsboro, N.C., conveniently located next to the City Tap room. The class will run Aug. 2-4 and will be on sawing.

Yes, it was a few hours later than expected, and we're sorry. But registration is now officially open for Woodworking in America: The Ultimate Skill-Building Weekend, October 1-3 in Greater Cincinnati.

I finished up work on the base configuration of this old-style Roubo workbench last night for a photo shoot today. But before I tore apart the shop and moved all of our workbenches around for the photographer, there was one last task to perform.

With Woodworking in America in our backyard this fall, we are going all out to show the attendees a good time in the greater Cincinnati area.

So we've planned several extracurricular activities for the attendees. All of these events below have a limited number of seats available and will be first-come, first-served (except the pub crawl). There will be a small added expense (except for the pub crawl) to cover transportation or food. We're not doing these to make money -- we're doing them because, uh, we really want to do these things during Woodworking in America and thought you might, too.

This year's Woodworking in America conference features 44 different classes taught by world-class instructors with lots of opportunity for you to get dusty, sweaty and skilled.

All week I've been itching to saw these joints that connect the legs to the benchtop. I've never cut a 5"-deep dovetail joint in a 6x6, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

It was easy going until my enormous saw suddenly stopped cutting. Had the flesh-detecting technology in my tenon saw kicked in? (Ye Olde Saw Astyntan?) But I'm getting ahead of myself here.

This October, Woodworking in America will be held in our back yard here in Cincinnati on Oct. 1-3. Registration will open in early May, and we'll start telling you all about the instructors and 80 sessions as soon as we get all the contracts signed.

But there is one aspect of planning this conference that I could use your help with. For this conference, we're planning some extra evening events. And I'd like some advice from you about which ones you think are most interesting.

One of the great mysteries of the hand tool world is how Roy Underhill never seems to get older. (Is there a cursed painting in your attic, Mr. Underhill?) The other great mystery is about the unbeveled faces of vintage irons in handplanes.

If you've even bought an old plane you know of what I speak. You take one look at the face of the iron (what some people call the "back"), and it looks like crap.

Roy Underhill has asked me to appear on "The Woodwright's Shop" during the show's upcoming 30th season. (Note to self: You can now stop squealing like a little girl.)

Between now and the time we tape the show sometime this summer or fall, there's lots I have to do to prepare. Shave my back, attempt to stop looking like a frightened lab animal while appearing on television and – oh yes – decide on something to talk about.

My next project is a close copy of a walnut side table from the White Water Shaker community. We'll be publishing the plans in an upcoming issue and donating the finished project to the nonprofit group of volunteers who are restoring the amazingly intact Shaker buildings.

I spent a summer afternoon measuring the project and just staring at it. The more I looked at it, the more it puzzled me.

At long last, Roy Underhill has launched his new web site with a complete list of classes and online registration for his school in Pittsboro, N.C.

If you were shut out of his classes next year, stop reading my drivel and get your hinder over there. Last year some classes filled up within minutes. The web site is http://www.woodwrightschool.com.

I like corded drills – as long as it's an umbilical cord.

Actually, I do like my Makita corded drill for some things (mixing paint, for example). And I do like to use a corded drill when I have a heap of screws to drill and drive. But for most of my onesie-twosie jobs, I much prefer the meat-powered varieties of drills.

Now some beginning woodworkers get confused about what each boring instrument is used for. And, like people who buy a No. 1 plane all the way up to a No. 8 plane, they think you need all the tools to do good work. Not so.

During the Woodworking in America Conference, there were two quotes that really stood out from all the bon mots that were hurled.

Even though I am 100-percent confident in my ability to join two boards together using the tail-of-the-bird joint, I am always riveted when I get to see how other accomplished woodworkers go about the task.

In fact, when I watch others work, I never fail to pick up some important details.

On Saturday at our Woodworking in America conference I got to watch Roy Underhill from "The Woodwright's Shop" television show cut some dovetails and discuss his approach, which is planted in history and practical experience. So here it goes.

As you might remember, we have a bit of a competition going among some of the women attending the Woodworking in America conference this week. Megan Fitzpatrick, Heather Griffin (one of the conference organizers) and Kari Hultman from the blog The Village Carpenter are all vying to be the best borer.

As a result, they'll be competing in the Hand Tool Olympics, sinking a 3/4" bit through yellow pine to see who is the fastest (points off for a hole that isn't plumb).

Today we gave Heather a few pointers on boring, then Megan showed us how she was doing. Then Megan tried to kick Heather in the head. Really. It's in the movie.

By the way, apologies to everyone in advance here. I called both of them "girls" during this short video. Yes it took only 1:09 for my Southerness to shine through. In Arkansas we call 70-year-old grandmothers "girls." And until my voice changed, they called me "girl," too.

In any case, the boring climax of this competition will occur at the Saturday-night banquet at Woodworking in America. It's a full card: Roy Underhill and a catfight.

— Christopher Schwarz

When we select our instructors for our Woodworking in America conferences we look for craftsmen who have devoted their lives to woodworking and who are willing to share that knowledge with the world at large (believe it or not some people still keep secrets).

We also pick the people from whom our magazine's staff would like to learn woodworking.

As a result, the instructors for our Hand Tools & Techniques conference (Oct. 2-4 in Valley Forge, Pa.) are people at the top of their field, or are rising stars who we think you should meet. Many of these instructors are people I've been dying to meet since I started in the craft. Here are a few of my favorites:

Toshio Odate: Personally, I cannot believe we convinced him to travel to this event and speak. I've spoken with him on the phone (we're publishing a couple articles from him in 2010), but I've never met him in person. If it weren't for Odate, I don't think that Japanese tools would be so popular in the United States. His landmark book, "Japanese Woodworking Tools: Their Tradition, Spirit, and Use," is the gold-standard in the field. His teaching and writing have influenced tens of thousands of woodworkers. And we're asking him to speak on a topic that rarely gets touched upon in the Western media: Japanese planes.

Peter Follansbee: This guy is an infectious disease. He made me fall in love with 17th-century furniture and joinery. His research, furniture and writing (check out his blog) have profoundly influenced the way I look at wood, tools and processes. He's working on a book right now about his work that I think will catapult him into the limelight. Honestly, if you don't know squat about early American furniture, you are missing out on one of the most interesting and lively styles around. Look for me in the front row of his lecture. Also, Follansbee is going to be demonstrating joinery in the Hands-on Bench Rooms. Bring your ax.

Ron Herman: Unless you live in Ohio, you probably haven't heard of Ron Herman. He's a general contractor with Antiquity Builders of Ohio and has been working by hand professionally his entire life. He has forgotten more about saws than I know. In fact he lives and breathes saws and is an evangelist for sharpening and using these tools. I don't want to say too much about him here because we're going to do an entry on him later. But let me just say that he is larger than life, unbelievably skilled and is someone you need to get to know.

Roy Underhill: I got to spend several days with Underhill last year and I can tell you this: He is the real deal. He's not some tarted-up semi-skilled hack who looks good on television. He is a man who has devoted his life to hand craft. He reads Andre Roubo in the original French. He is most likely the best woodworking teacher alive today. And he's nice enough that you'd trust him with your kids. There's a reason we call him St. Roy.

Charles Bender: A short look at Bender's portfolio will make you do one of two things: put down your chisels and take up tiddlywinks, or it will inspire you to try to achieve a small percentage of what he's built. I've never seen such a far-ranging portfolio of work. And the number of authentic pieces Bender has built is staggering. He's now starting to share what he knows in the pages of Popular Woodworking and at his school, The Acanthus Workshop. He's a tireless researcher (ask him about his book collection) and has more than book smarts – he's built just about every piece of furniture imaginable.

I'm going to cover some of the other demonstrators in the coming week, but you can get a short look at their bios on our Woodworking in America web site. If you are on the fence about this conference, let me try to give you a push. These instructors are going to both transform and transfix the attendees (us included).

— Christopher Schwarz

P.S. Now is the time to register. We're offering $40 off the admission price until Sept. 9. After that, the price goes to $375. Click here for details on the different pricing packages available, including single-day passes.

MySpace Countdown Clocks

Last month I got to visit Roy Underhill's new school in Pittsboro, N.C. (read about my visit here). One of the coolest parts of the visit was getting to try out his foot-powered table saw and grinder.

I've used a spring-pole lathe before while building greenwood chairs, but I'd never used a treadle-powered table saw. It was a humbling experience (crow begins here).

The correct rhythm is slow and steady. As you can hear in the video, it sounds like I'm trying to square dance while smashing cockroaches. Yet, the saw still cut fairly well until the end of the cut.

As I was using the saw, I couldn't help but ponder its similarities to the Bridge City JointMaker Pro, which uses meat power to make your cuts. The major difference between these two machines is that the treadle saw can do long rips (there's a crank that a helper monkey turns). The cut on the treadle saw is pretty good, but nothing like the glassy smooth surface left by the JointMaker.

Roy shot this short video. I'm just grateful he didn't shoot video of me using his grinder. That was humiliating.

— Christopher Schwarz


Looking for More Woodworking Information?
• Sign up for our newsletters to get free plans, techniques and reviews HERE.
• Looking for free articles from Woodworking Magazine? Click HERE.
• Like hand tools? Read all our online articles on hand work HERE.
• Want to subscribe to Woodworking Magazine? It's $19.96/year. Click HERE.

Last week Roy Underhill took me to the back room of his new school in Pittsboro, N.C.

"Is this the office?" I asked.

"No," Roy said with a wicked grin. "This is where I keep the confiscated tape measures."

It might surprise some modern-day woodworkers that the spring-loaded tape measure wasn't always the tool of choice for laying out one's work. Instead, the preferred layout tool for woodworkers for many generations was the folding rule: a brass-bound boxwood device that would unfold to 24" – though other lengths were available.

And that's why Underhill bans tape measures from The Woodwright's School.

The invention of the modern tape measure is sometimes credited to Alvin J. Fellows of New Haven, Conn., who patented his device in 1868, though the patent states that several kinds of tape measures already existed on the market at that time.

Tape measures didn't become ubiquitous, however, until the 1930s or so. The tool production of Stanley Works points this out nicely. The company had made folding rules almost since its inception. The company's production of tape measures appears to have cranked up in the late 1920s, according to John Walter's book "Stanley Tools."

In our shop here at the magazine, there have always been people in both camps. Senior Editor David Thiel always preferred zig-zag folding rules. Publisher Steve Shanesy uses tape measures. Senior Editor Glen Huey prefers a 24" ruler (non folding) for many layout chores. I've always used a 12' tape and a couple combination squares.

But lately I've found myself holding my folding rule quite a bit. It's a common-as-dirt Stanley No. 66-1/4 that belonged to my grandfather, I believe. Someone in my family has thoughtfully coated the entire thing in a thick film of glossy polyurethane, which makes the device an eyesore.

Plus two of the rule's three joints were looser than I like – they flopped around like when my youngest sister broke her arm. But I fixed the ruler's problem. Perhaps this solution will get me crucified, but it worked great. I put the rule on the shop's concrete floor and tapped the pin in the ruler's hinges using a nail set and a hammer. About six taps peened the steel pin a bit, spreading it out to tighten up the hinge. Now the rule works like a new one.

I like using the folding rule so much because it's great for taking inside measurements on casework. It's stiff, so I don't have to worry about it sagging across a long distance. It's marked in 8ths on one side and 16ths on the other. That's great for most work – sometimes the 32nds and 64ths on machinist-style rules can make a measurement hard to read. And, of course, it won't put me in the "time out room" at Mr. Underhill's.

If you ever want to try using a folding rule and have difficulty finding a vintage one, you might consider the one from Garrett Wade with the delightful politically incorrect name: Blindman's Rule. It's $22.40 (sometimes it goes on sale), is made in Holland by Sybren and is easy to read.

— Christopher Schwarz


Looking for More Woodworking Information?
• Sign up for our newsletters to get free plans, techniques and reviews HERE.
• Looking for free articles from Woodworking Magazine? Click HERE.
• Like hand tools? Read all our online articles on hand work HERE.
• Want to subscribe to Woodworking Magazine? It's $19.96/year. Click HERE.

In the comments for "One Schwarzpower. Fail." Chris C. mentioned Roy Underhill's "Lathe from a Loft" article, which we ran in the October 2000 issue of Popular Woodworking. In this story, Roy used recycled lumber (read: he went dumpster diving, much to his daughter's embarrassment) to make a treadle lathe and scrollsaw. I've attached a PDF of the story below, for your reading and building pleasure.

— Megan Fitzpatrick, managing editor


TreadleLathe.pdf (1.69 MB)

For all the girls I’ve maimed before: I’m sorry.

Though I have fairly good hand skills, my feet skills on the dance floor are murderous. When I dance, most people look for a wooden spoon in order to help me through my grand mal seizure.

So it should come as no surprise that woodworking machines powered by feet should be a challenge for me. I first started working on treadle machines when I took a chairmaking class in Canada. We turned all the spindles on a springpole lathe. And it took me an entire day to get the rhythm to actually work a chunk of ash into something round.

This week I went to visit Roy Underhill and he let me work on two of his foot-powered machines: a Graves treadle-powered table saw and a treadle grindstone.

The saw is something special. I want one, though it’s doubtful I’d ever be able to get my feets on one. You pump the treadle, which turns a flywheel, which spins the blade. You adjust the height of the blade by raising and lowering the table. You make crosscuts with a miter gauge in a miter slot.

Rips are a little different. One person turns a crank (included!) to spin the blade. A second person guides the stuff through the blade. There is a rip fence that locks into a second slot.

Roy Underhill had no problem crosscutting stuff time after time. The blade never slowed. The cuts were clean. His rhythm was slow and steady.

For me, it was like a spastic weasel pumping a Nordic Trac. Too fast. And then the thing stalled. After a few tries… it got worse.

Underhill kept saying, “It took me a whole day to get the hang of it.”

Liar.

Then we went out and played with his treadle-powered grindstone. Underhill sharpened a chisel in about a minute. Then he let me try – in front of the entire hamlet of Pittsboro, N.C. Again, my feet kept getting tangled up in themselves. I couldn’t get more than two seconds of grinding before my legs looked like something at the Auntie Anne’s pretzel counter.

Underhill kept saying, “I need to tighten up those pedals. That would make it easier.”

Again, Underhill is an excellent liar.

I think I should stick with hand tools. Foot tools are just beyond me.

— Christopher Schwarz

Editor’s note: Joel Moskowitz is the owner of ToolsforWorkingWood.com, a long-time woodworker, tool collector and book collector. He has the largest woodworking library I’ve ever encountered. During the last few weeks, the magazine’s staff has been asking people for their lists of favorite woodworking books. The results have been very interesting – we’ve even encountered a few books we’re not aware of.

Below is Joel’s list. Well, actually a couple lists. Joel’s an over-achiever.

— Christopher Schwarz

Woodworking Books in Print

Here are some book lists. I know the second I send this off, I will think of other titles that should be included. It’s hard to limit yourself to 10 or 20 “Must Have Titles” on anything. Because I love books, I have hundreds of books in my collection. Some are a learning experience on every page, some are useless but popular in their day, and others are beautiful to look at, but turgid to read. The books listed below are at least a good place for anyone to start. I prefer information that isn’t dumbed down, so my favorites mostly are books that try to talk to me like an adult, expect I’m not an idiot and are comprehensive in professional technique.

This first list is of stuff in print that we mostly stock at ToolsforWorkingWood.com and I recommend to everyone.

"Whittling and Woodcarving" by E. J. Tangerman. My first book on woodworking and still one of my favorites. Best of all: Lots of the samples of carving come from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and are still on exhibit.

"The Encyclopedia of Furniture Making" by Ernest Joyce. I have an older edition but it’s a great overall resource on different approaches to making furniture the modern way. Great for figuring out the details of a design; that is, how to do stuff.

"Woodcarving Tools, Materials & Equipment (New Edition), Vol. 1" by Chris Pye. Pye is a great writer and a master carver. The book is a wonderful read, inspiring and systematic.

"The Marquetry Course" by Jack Metcalfe and John Apps. The best book on learning marquetry that’s in print at the moment.

"Modern Practical Joinery" by George Ellis. I recommend this book for anyone doing restoration on architectural woodworking. Not as good as Hasluck, but at least it’s in print.

"Modern Cabinet Work" by Percy A. Wells & John Hooper. A recent reprint; it’s not as good as Bernard Jones, but it’s worth having.

"Dictionary of Woodworking Tools" by R. A. Salaman. Anyone who is even remotely interested in tools should have this book.

"Illustrated Cabinetmaking" by Bill Hylton. A (relatively) new book. I think the drawings are great and it covers a lot of modern-built stuff.

"Japanese Woodworking Tools" by Toshio Odate. The only book on Japanese tools in English worth having. It’s a classic. It explains tons of stuff, and I’ve had a hardcover edition since it came out.

"How to Construct Rietveld Furniture" by Reter Drijver and Johannes Niemeijer. If you like modern furniture that’s easy to build, you can’t go wrong here. It features 1920s modern furniture from the original drawings of a great designer. Simple, classic stuff. The stuff is a lot more comfortable than it looks.

Out of Print and Odd Books

The following books are out of print or expensive, but I think they are some of the best around for their respective subjects. I’ve left off a lot of favorites that are better known, such as Andre Roubo’s works, and included books that I found important to me – even if they’re not directly woodworking related. (I could generate another, different list: the most important books in the history of woodworking. And another list: the most important books on historical woodworking practice.)

"Building the Georgian City" by James Ayres. A tour-de-force that puts the entire construction and woodworking of the period in context.

"China at Work" by Rudolf P. Hommel. Really interesting from an anthropological point of view.

"The Complete Woodworker, Vol. 1" and "The Practical Woodworker, Vol. 2" by Bernard Jones. Probably the best books on hand tool practice out there. A recent reprint is out of print, but easy to get. Volume 1 is essential. Volume 2 is nice to have.

"Notes from the Turning Shop" and "Further Notes from the Turning Shop" by Bill Jones. Fun-to-read books that are very inspiring and can teach you a lot about getting stuff done. Jones is the last of the professional ivory turners and knows what he is doing.

"The Woodwright’s Shop" by Roy Underhill. Roy was a big inspiration for me.

"Marquetry" by Pierre Ramond. A fabulous book on marquetry. Not a great book for beginners, but it features tons of how-to details on advanced subjects.

"Watchmaking" by George Daniels. One of the best books on craft ever written. It makes you want to build a watch.

"Carpentry and Joinery" by Paul Hasluck. The best book ever written on architectural woodworking.

"Woodwork Joints," "Tools for Woodwork," "Carpentry for Beginners," "Cabinetry for Beginners," "Antique or Fake?" and "English Period Furniture" by Charles H. Hayward. Everything by Hayward is worth reading. These books are the core of everything you need to know about woodworking.

"Adventures in Wood Finishing" by George Frank. Well, it doesn’t really belong on this list but I enjoy reading and rereading this book all the time.

"Memories of a Sheffield Toolmaker" by Ashley Iles. Interesting historically, and especially inspirational and helpful if you are yourself starting a small business.

"The Museum of Early American Tools," "A Reverence for Wood," and "Diary of an Early American Boy" by Eric Sloane. These books were very informative and helped kick off my interest in history and woodworking when I was a boy, and they’re still engaging today. Wonderfully illustrated.

"In Praise Of Shadows" by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki. I first read this book when I was in my 20s and thought it xenophobic, but when I met Toshio Odate many years later he said I should reread it. I did, and I think it is one of the greatest written appreciations of craft and how it calms our lives that there is.

— Joel Moskowitz

The afternoon is quickly fading to evening in Roy Underhill’s shop in Pittsboro, N.C. And as the shadows across the workbenches grow longer from the windows facing Hillsoboro Street, Underhill announces he is going outside to do some sharpening.

He pulls a foot-powered grindstone out onto the sidewalk and fetches a coffee cup filled with water to drip on the stone. And as the evening car traffic builds in the street, he cranks the stone and sharpens a wide firmer chisel.

About 30 seconds into the job a mother and her toddler wander up to the grindstone. The little boy stares intently at Underhill as he grinds a new bevel on the chisel. Then Underhill stops and looks up – not at the mother, but at the boy.

“This is sandstone,” he tells the boy, as if he’s addressing an adult. “I use it to sharpen things like scissors. Or maybe an axe so I can chop down a tree.”

The boy says it must be hard – really hard – to sharpen. Underhill just smiles.

That’s because if Underhill’s plan works, his latest endeavor will make it easier for the next generation to enjoy hand-tool woodworking.

“This is not about the past,” Underhill says, his arms spread wide toward the 10 beech European workbenches lined up on his shop’s floor. “Well yes, of course it’s about the past in one sense. But it’s really about the future. The objective is the future.”

Then he pauses for a moment, and you know that something important is coming.

“If you have a hobby,” he says, “why not make it an ethical one – as opposed to one that is noise-making, planet-damaging and waistline-expanding?”

Roy Underhill, host of “The Woodwright’s Shop” TV show, has opened a woodworking school in the small but artistically inclined town of Pittsboro, N.C. The hamlet of about 2,500 is right outside the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill triangle and is a nice assemblage of tidy old homes and active storefronts.

Next door to Underhill’s place, called The Woodwright’s School, there’s an ice cream parlor. Unofficially they have the best chocolate malts ever. To the rear of the school is a cozy bar that serves Red Oak, a locally brewed beer. Plus, there are antique shops, a music store, barber shop and photographer who has Barbie issues (ask Mr. Underhill about that).

“Even the people who live here say it’s Mayberry,” Underhill says. “How about another piece of cherry pie?”

The Woodwright’s School is an ambitious venture. Not only is it a tough time to start a business, but how about a school that focuses on hand work exclusively? All the woodworking tools in Underhill’s shop are powered by cholesterol (or alcohol). The closest thing to a table saw you’ll find is a Graves foot-powered treadle circular saw (want one) and a treadle lathe and scroll saw.

“This should look like you have stepped back into a shop class in the 1930s,” he says.

There are 10 German Hoffman and Hammer workbenches, and each is equipped with a basic set of tools for joinery (and everything is sharp – I looked). The walls are decorated with old prints and photos (FDR). There’s a huge old radio at the back of the shop. If you can ignore the digital camera attached to one bench, it really does look like an old shop.

As a result, there are a few rules for students when they bring tools to his classes. No tape measures are allowed. Or plastic-handled chisels. Or Japanese-tooth saws.

“We’re going to be doing English-style joinery,” he says. “You wouldn’t build a shoji screen with a big Disston. That would be like stir-frying grits.”

Then he thinks about it for a second.

“We’re trying to do early music with the original instruments,” he says.

The first music is being made this weekend (February 2009) with a series of one-day classes on basic joinery. Those will lead to classes on building a tool chest. And Underhill says he’s going to bring in other instructors as well.

Those people will teach a class for a week and then Underhill will shoot a segment with them during the weekend for “The Woodwright’s Shop.”

The other different aspect of Underhill’s school is that he wants to ensure that locals, especially young locals, get plenty of opportunity to take classes. That’s why he’s planning shops that will run on weekends or, for example, on consecutive Thursday nights.

“We’ll see,” he says. “We’ll see if I can get people to do this sort of stuff.”

— Christopher Schwarz

P.S. The school doesn’t have a web site yet (hey, it’s the 1930s OK?). If you want to get on Underhill’s mailing list to learn about future classes, send your request to woodwrightroy@gmail.com.

First the bad news: All of the spots at Roy Underhill's new woodworking school in Pittsboro, N.C., are all filled. But here's the good news: He'll be scheduling more classes soon, as soon as he gets the next television season's shooting schedule finalized.

And more good news: I'm traveling to the school next week to shoot some photos for an upcoming article that Underhill is writing for us, and I'll give you a full report on the facility, the tools and the workbenches.

The school – called The Woodwright's School – has been in the works for some time now, and Underhill says it is a logical extension of what he's been doing his entire adult life.

"I began teaching woodworking over 30 years ago and continued – in a way – when I was master housewright at Colonial Williamsburg," Underhill wrote in an e-mail. "Now I'm returning to it with my own place equipped with vintage hand tools and an atmosphere that takes you back to the 1930s.

"The Woodwright's School will give me a chance to learn from my students and from the other craftsmen who join me there. I look forward to working with folks of all ages, and I'll know that the school is a success when I have as many young people as I do retirees in the classes. Another step forward for subversive woodworking!"

If you want to sign up for his e-mail newsletter so you can be notified of future classes, click here. In the meantime, enjoy these photos he sent along of his facility.

— Christopher Schwarz

One shot of the exterior of The Woodwright's School.

Roy Underhill looking ready to work in the new school.

A nice romantic shot of Pittsboro, N.C.

Normally when a book publishing company sends out a copy of its newest book, the marketing people will include a transcript of a short interview with the author that discusses the book. This is so that a lazy writer can quote the interview without having to actually do the interview.

What, you didn't know this? Well that's because these canned interviews are about 97 percent worthless. And any writer who quotes from them will be ritually shunned at the next gathering of media professionals (usually held at a stinky bar).

Not so with the interview that accompanied Roy Underhill's new book, "The Woodwright's Guide: Working Wood with Wedge & Edge" (UNC Press). The folks at the University of North Carolina Press conducted a fairly amusing interview with St. Roy. And so we're reprinting it here in its entirety for you to enjoy.

By the way, in case you missed it, check out the review I wrote of Underhill's new book for the blog last week.

— Christopher Schwarz

Q: How does The Woodwright’s Guide differ from other books in the Woodwright’s series?
A: The Woodwright’s Guide is an environmentally organized guide to woodcraft. It starts in the forest with felling the tree and ends with the final finishing in the workshop. My other books have followed a similar path, but this is the most comprehensive guide in the series, benefiting from thirty years of experience. It is also my first line-illustrated book with brilliant drawings by my daughter Eleanor. Her drawings, done from my photographs, give clarity to the ideas but retain the specificity of the places and the real people who do this wonderful work.

Q: How did your collaboration with daughter, Eleanor, come about?
A: Both my daughters, Eleanor and Rachel, worked with me on television and traveled with me to museums around the world. When it came time for the new book, I was looking at thirty years of photography of tools and techniques. Having Eleanor make drawings from the photos gave us both consistency and specificity.

Actually both daughters worked on the book. Eleanor did the drawings, and the ones that needed retouching went to Rachel. Both my daughters grew up surrounded by wood and tools, and it’s wonderful that we can still work together!

Q: Are there any special features of this book you’d like readers to be aware of?
A: The Woodwright’s Guide is a book with grain—just like wood. You can work it with your left-brain intellect, following the ideas in the text like a wedge following a split. You can also engage your right brain by grasping the “gestalt” captured in the illustrations. You can also put both the brain and hands to work because in the back of the book I have plans for workbenches, screw-cutting engines, and treadle lathes. I only regret that we weren’t able to include a few Band-Aids with each copy—but that’s in the works.

Q: What is the meaning of the book’s subtitle, Working Wood with Wedge and Edge?
A: The thread of “wedge and edge” runs through the entire book. A blade meeting wood either splits it as a wedge or cuts it as an edge. Wedge and edge consciousness in your woodworking gives meaning to the feedback through the tool handle, guiding your decisions with every move. Wedge and edge means honest woodworking that engages both the grain and the brain.

Q: What do you hope this book will impart to your many readers and fans?
A: I hope everyone can share the sense of wonder at the complexity and beauty of our connection to tools and wood. Our language, our culture, our ways of thinking, all evolved with the tools in our ancestors’ hands. Artisanship in wood is part of every human’s legacy, so let’s honor it.

And it’s not just nostalgia. We know that biodiversity is important to us. Well, so is techno-diversity. We can value heirloom technology just as we value heirloom tomatoes. It may not be commercial, but it sure tastes better!

Q: What led you to give up power tools and devote yourself to a career of working exclusively with hand tools?
A: During the back to the land movement of the 1970s I was homesteading in the New Mexico mountains, struggling to live off the grid. A chance encounter with a tool collector’s trove of treadle-powered tools made me realize that an advanced technology of non-electric machines had once flourished and then been abandoned. This was during the energy crisis of the 1970s and the deep significance of sustainable technology hit many of us like a trip hammer (a water-powered trip hammer, of course).

Q: What about woodworkers who blend the use of power tools with hand tools? Is this book also for them?
A: Curiosity is the ultimate power tool. If you work with wood, or just live on a planet where people work with wood, this is the book for you. That’s because The Woodwright’s Guide cuts deep, both into the way wood works, and into the history of the way we work it. So, if you’re trying to do better at a single task of joinery, this book brings you the observations of a thousand years. And, if you’re curious about our enduring relationship with the natural world, The Woodwright’s Guide will give you a sharper axe to hew your own insights.

Q: What have you been up to since your last Woodwright’s book, published in 1996, and how has it influenced this volume?
A: Shooting the PBS series The Woodwright’s Shop gives me the chance to travel and meet craftsmen and women from all over the world. It’s astounding the extraordinary depth of knowledge so many people have about specific areas of the craft. But it’s the stories I appreciate the most. From woodcarver Nora Hall, I heard stories of her father’s carving shop during the Nazi occupation of Holland. Even the work-worn log cabins and ground-down tools preserved at the Museum of Appalachia tell stories—stories of life and hard work in America’s “wooden age.”

Q: What or who have been the major inspirations during your career?
A: Working at Colonial Williamsburg (in spite of the fife and drum parades) was my university of hand craft. The master craftsmen at Colonial Williamsburg are people at the top of their art. It was a constant struggle for me to live up to their high standards of historical research, craftsmanship, and aesthetic sensibility. Still, it was a great place for me, a generalist, to be. If I needed to know something about wheel wrighting, blacksmithing, cooperage, or any of the trades that built our civilization, all I had to do was walk down the street and ask one of the master craftsmen. As Francis Bacon put it, this was a place where “Many ingenious practizes in all trades . . . shall fall under the consideration of one man’s mind.”

Q: You wrote your first Woodwright’s Book in 1981, over 25 years ago. Have you seen a resurgence in interest in hand-crafted woodworking during this period? Have attitudes changed? Has working with hand-tools gone in and out of style, according to larger trends in popular culture?
A: The cycle of high tech and high touch goes back hundreds of years. The first hand-craft, how-to book in English, Mechanick Exercises, or the Doctrine of Handiworks, was published in 1678. Even then, they were as much concerned with the virtues of “vanishing” hand craft as they were in getting the job done.

Now, of course, we are at a technical crossroads, and it’s good to have a back-up in case the big machine breaks down or runs out of gas. And if you’re going to have a hobby, it might as well be ethical. It seems counterproductive to make a nice wooden cradle for your grandchildren if you choose to make the planet uninhabitable in the process.

But even without the green issue, making things directly with our hands goes to the full depth of our humanity. We’ll never be done with it. Making something gives us the same kind of primal happiness we feel when we encounter a berry bush loaded with ripe fruit. Just as the old hunter-gatherer still resides in each of us, so too does the ancient hand craftsman.  

Q: How does the work you do and the way you do it connect to a larger philosophy of life?
A: It’s a mission. With the gross failure of the intellectual class, it has fallen to the craftsman to expose the hidden power inequities of society. Subversive woodworking has to take the lead, helping people make a choice between mindless consumerism and conscious craftsmanship. Just say “NO” to power tools! Let’s take a bite outta Norm!

Q: Why do you think your many fans have coined the nickname “St. Roy” to describe their devotion to you?
A: I’ve cut myself so many times on the television program that I remind folks of unfortunate martyrs like St. Sebastian. He met his fate on the receiving end of arrows, and St. Simon has an even more distressing history with the saw. I have the chisel. 

In my own defense, however, my TV director kept yelling “Cut!” and I was just trying to oblige.

One of the biggest struggles with learning hand tools is finding instructions that make sense. Many modern hand tool teachers have taught themselves to saw, plane and chop. And while their idiosyncratic techniques might work, they also can be inefficient.

You can go back to the original published sources, such as Joseph Moxon's "Mechanick Exercises," but the instructions there assume you are a denizen of the 17th century. So when you try to learn about using the hatchet, these are the instructions:

"The hatchet marked L, in plate 4. Its use is so well known (even to the most un-intelligent) that I need not use many words on it, yet this much I will say: Its use is to hew the irregularities off such pieces of stuff which may be sooner hewn than sawn."

Then there's Roy Underhill, host of PBS's "The Woodwright's Shop" and author of six books on the craft. He is one of the few people I've ever met who can bridge the gap between the hand craft of the pre-industrialized world and today. He reads Andre Roubo's works in the original French. But he carries a Macintosh laptop, codes his own animations and is on television.

This summer while I was teaching at the Northwest Woodworking Studio in Portland, Ore., Underhill and I overlapped by a couple days – he was teaching a class in making a lathe the weekend before my class on handsawing began. While we were chatting, he handed me a loose-bound copy of his latest book "The Woodwright's Guide: Working Wood with Wedge & Edge" (UNC Press).

During the following week, I devoured the entire tome during my free evenings with the company of a few great Portland beers.

I own all of Underhill's books. They are dog-eared second-hand affairs I picked up after finishing college that I have carried with me from town to town. I laugh out loud every time I read "The Debate of the Carpenter's Tools" in "The Woodwright's Work Book." (Yes, I am aware this is a problem and there is help available.)

So it is no small thing when I say that Underhill's new book (his first in 12 years) is his best. For starters, this book uses illustrations (by his daughter Eleanor Underhill) instead of photographs. This lends an air of consistency to the work and also allows you to focus on what is important in each image (instead of wandering over to look at the chisels on his bench in a photo).

The narrative of the book is just as clear. It begins in the forest with a description of a tree being cut down by a faller. Then you follow the tree as it passes into the village in the hands of the cleaver and countryman, the hewer, the log builder, the sawyer, the frame carpenter, the joiner, turner and cabinetmaker.

Each profession brings new skills into the narrative, but they are all joined by the fact that they manipulate the wood by splitting it or shearing it (by wedge or by edge). You clearly see how edge angles (simple geometry!) flow throughout and unite all the professions.

And, as you might expect, the prose itself is enlightening, literate and amusing. As Underhill writes about the qualities of wood:

“Like age on a man, water makes wood softer, heavier and fatter – but not taller.”

Unlike his previous books, however, "The Woodwright's Guide" is focused entirely on technique. Good thing, because that is what is sorely missing from the space between our ears. We can all find plans for a tool tote, bench or cabinet to build. But figuring out how to make a rule joint with moulding planes is beyond the grasp of most.

Underhill's other great strength is his ability to explain extremely complex ideas in a way that makes it feel like you've suddenly achieved Buddhist enlightenment. In this book, Underhill's explanation of how to determine and mark out compound angles for the splay of a sawhorse was worth the price of admission. I went around for several days after that in a giddy haze at finally – finally – understanding it. (The beer also assisted this warm and fuzzy feeling.)

And whatever you do, don't miss the book's short but hilarious and thoughtful conclusion titled "A Great Wheel." I refuse to spoil it in any way by even giving you a hint.

The book is not available yet, but you can pre-order it from a variety of sources, including direct from the publisher.

— Christopher Schwarz

This fall, our magazine is sponsoring the first-ever weekend conference devoted to hand tools and learning to use them.

We're calling it the Woodworking in America conference, and we'll be bringing together the country's best hand-tool woodworkers and manufacturers for a symposium in Berea, Ky., on Nov. 14-16.

There will be more than 40 short classes on tools and techniques during the long weekend, plus a marketplace where toolmakers can display (and sell) their wares, social events with the demonstrators and toolmakers and more.

So who is going to be there? Here's the list of people who have agreed to teach seminars during Woodworking in America as of this date (with more to come):

Roy Underhill: Known as "St. Roy" to the legion of fans who watch "The Woodwright's Shop" on PBS, Roy worked at Colonial Williamsburg and then launched his show about traditional hand tools.

Frank Klausz: One of the country's consummate craftsmen, Frank is a professional New Jersey cabinetmaker who trained in Hungary and has a lifetime of experience with the full range of handwork.

Michael Dunbar: Founder of The Windsor Institute, Michael has single handedly revived the craft of building Windsor chairs, has trained thousands of woodworkers and is a passionate student of the art and history of handcraft.

Adam Cherubini: The author of Popular Woodworking's popular "Arts & Mysteries" column, Adam is a devoted 18th-century woodworker who builds period pieces using period tools.

James Blauvelt: A Connecticut cabinetmaker, joiner and carpenter, James owns Bluefield Joiners and is a student and teacher of Japanese tools and traditions.

Robin Lee: The president of Lee Valley Tools in Ottawa, Ontario, Robin has been a driving force behind the expansion of the Veritas line of premium handplanes and a caretaker of the company's immense tool collection.

Thomas Lie-Nielsen: The founder of Lie-Nielsen Toolworks in Warren, Me., Thomas has been making and selling premium traditional hand tools for 27 years. Thomas's company was the trailblazer in reviving many traditional forms of tools that had been lost.

Larry Williams and Don McConnell: Two of the principals behind Clark & Williams in Eureka Springs, Ark., Larry and Don are bottomless wells of information about traditional tools and their workings. Both are accomplished woodworkers, planemakers and tool historians.

John Economaki: The founder of Bridge City Tool Works in Portland, Ore., John has long been a pioneer in developing new (and very beautiful) forms of hand tools for woodworkers.

Konrad Sauer: The owner of Sauer & Steiner Toolworks in Ontario, Konrad is one of the leading makers of custom infill handplanes.

Wayne Anderson: Wayne specializes in designing and building custom infill handplanes that are deeply rooted in the past but are each a completely original work of art.

Ron Hock: One of the earliest and most important players in the revival of handtools, Ron makes high-quality replacement plane irons, chipbreakers and marking knives in Ft. Bragg, Calif.

Mike Wenzloff: The founder of Wenzloff & Sons sawmakers in Forest Grove, Ore., Mike is a long-time woodworker and expert in saws and saw sharpening. His premium saw business has exploded in the last two years.

Joel Moskowitz: The founder of Tools for Working Wood and an expert on woodworking history, Joel has recently been making many traditional hand tools, as well as selling them through his catalog and web site.

Clarence Blanchard: The publisher of "The Fine Tool Journal" and the president of Brown Auction Services, Clarence sees more old tools in a week than most of us see in a lifetime.

Kevin Drake: After studying under James Krenov at the College of the Redwoods, Kevin founded Glen-Drake Toolworks, where he combines woodworking, toolmaking and education. His innovative tools have received numerous awards; we named his Tite-Mark one of the "Best 12 Tools Ever." 

If you are interested in attending, please visit the web site that is dedicated to this conference at WoodworkinginAmerica.com and sign up for the conference's newsletter (the sign-up box is on the top right of the page). You'll then be the first to be notified of when registration will open (it will be before July 1) and the pricing for this event.

Attendance will be limited to a few hundred people (we want to keep the event intimate and manageable), so be sure to register as soon as slots become available. We are expecting the conference to sell out.

There are more announcements and surprises ahead that I cannot share with you right now, so please stay tuned to the blog and the conference's newsletter.

— Christopher Schwarz