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John: Some non skilled wood workers let the front end of the plane dive downwards as it reaches the end of the board. This can cause the end of the board to be rounded off by the plane's blade as it tumbles over the end. A VERY bad thing to do,and the mark of a truly unskilled worker.
To me,this sloppy planing ranks a few degrees below a trained beaver!
Last edited by george wilson; 07-31-2016 at 9:19 AM.
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George's Violin and Harpsichord video is a fantastic resource. If anyone has not watched or has only watched once or twice. I have watched it many times and continue to find new insights. It is certainly one of the most comprehensive videos I've watched. He isn't following along telling you how to do a certain thing, but as my skill improves I find I can continue to watch that video and new insight is provided.
Similar to watching videos of the sashimono-shi, where you see work done where both time and quality are high consideration and the approach to that work retains this aspect. The goal of working toward quality quickly puts more on the maker to build muscle memory and further trust upon that muscle memory.
Even as one who has a cabinetmaker's aspirations, there is much relevance to my work.
Last edited by Brian Holcombe; 07-31-2016 at 11:02 AM.
Bumbling forward into the unknown.
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Too bad the SEPARATE harpsichord and violin making videos were not offered for public sale. They are both much more comprehensive,since they do not share time. The individual videos are as long as the combined one.
For some reason my film was the last craft film made. I don't know why.
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Phil: Surveys also show that the average American has the intellect of a 13 year old girl,says my wife.Or is it 11 year old girl? So,I don't think the survey you mentioned is proof of anything.
Believe it or not,I FAILED an "art test" in college. When I told Will Reimann,my sculpture teacher,and one of the foremost artists in the country,he laughed loudly,and said "Good for you!!!!,those canned tests are : (unmentionable word!)
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Ha ha, George, I suspect, sadly, that your wife is likely correct.
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I don't know where she saw the survey,but she is very smart and I'm sure her information is accurate. She was just here,and said it wasn't surprising that untrained people would choose different rectangles.
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Originally Posted by george wilson
In a way that is almost a compliment as most girls at that age are known to have more intellect than boys at that age.Surveys also show that the average American has the intellect of a 13 year old girl,says my wife.Or is it 11 year old girl?
Maybe that is the reason there was some popularity of a program that asked, "are you as smart as a fifth grader?"
jtk
Last edited by Jim Koepke; 07-31-2016 at 3:30 PM. Reason: wording
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
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To me the extraordinary guitar George made is intended as a personal indulgence and sweetener to the necessity of practice. It would be possible for a guitarist to walk onto a stage and give a concert with it , without even one person ever seeing any of the embellishment. I don't find anything "gaudy" that is primarily intended for personal use; I think gaudy has to be intrusive and unavoidable ...and even then usually needs help from ugly.
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The guitar was ordered by a movie star who happened to be an 18th. C. enthusiast. His only instruction was "make it as fancy as possible"! I don't think he had much of a sense of TASTE!!!
I like instructions like that. They let me do whatever I want. I didn't make the guitar as fancy as I COULD. There is not much ornamentation on the front. But,at some point,I had to move on to other orders.
The whole thing was a challenge to saw all those thin elements without breaking them,and get them all assembled and glued down without breaking them.
i had to make a very deep throat saw that could encompass the length of the guitar body. I made it of yew wood. It was a challenge to hold up the saw without tilting it and breaking the tiny jeweler's saw blade I used. Someone bought the saw from me,so it is gone now. I have made the frames for 2 others,but not the handle and the chucks that can rotate.
All the designs on the back,sides,neck and peghead are the SAME design. The silver wire inlay is the same as on the back,only a bit less complex. The least complex is in the center of the peghead,since it is a much smaller space.
I made other marquetry guitars,but,unfortunately,did not take pictures. Nor did I get a picture of the nice case I made for this guitar.
Last edited by george wilson; 07-31-2016 at 1:28 PM.
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I will also note that throughout my news editorial journalism courses in college, we were told to write to a third grade level. But, we digress from your thread intent, which as been very enlightening.
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Politicians make speeches geared to a child level all the time. They won't let you know this as it is insulting,but that is exactly what they do.
Your college journalism courses were made to be USED!!!
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George, I'm exactly the same way. I like to make things that function and have some life to them; I initially got into woodworking after wanting to make a bow and a set of arrows, and since then, I've been pretty content with making a few simple instruments and tools. The closest thing to furniture I am motivated to make is a bench, because, again, it's so functional. Glad to know it's not just me.
Your work is really inspiring. That guitar is incredible, and definitely in good taste; ornate without being gaudy.
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I'll come out and say that I think that the most *technical* hand-craftsmen to have ever lived are alive and working right now. The present availability of educational resources, quality tools (concerning functionality), and free time is absurdly high; and consequently so is the amount of people whose hobby consists of being practically obsessed with the most inane minutiae of the craft. I would not believe for a second that at any time in history there have been keener sharpeners, tighter dovetailers, or faster planers than there are right now. It's like music, or sports, or war. The old guys had technique, to be sure... but I'd bet the house on Marc-Andre Hamelin playing Liszt into the ground, any day of the week. And likewise, I'd bet that the highest level of craftsman working today--given his own toolkit, the same lumber, and an exact plan--would produce a better fit, better finished, and more durable piece of furniture than anyone at any point in history.
Whether or not that craftsman could be counted on to produce a decent looking piece of furniture from a blank sheet of paper is a completely different story. But that's a complicated issue. What culture could reasonably assess its position in history? Some think the past is unforgivable, and some think the past is full of superhuman wizards. I think the truth is, as with most things, somewhere in the middle. There are excellent designers today (probably as many per capita as ever), but they won't be revealed until history finds them preferable. Unlike the superhuman wizard sharpeners, who are more or less fish in a barrel around these parts.
As for the golden mean, its real value lies in its geometrical properties: being the [necessarily] only ratio where the smaller to the larger is as the larger to their sum. Meaning, it's not useful as a rectangle, it's useful as two or more rectangles. Use the second rectangle. I'm begging you.
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A lot of what was known about design and building furniture in centuries past is being rediscovered, or at least re-appreciated. There are modern craftsmen who are learning about ways of making furniture - and other woodworking artifacts - that involve much less measuring and much more the use of proportions. Among those are the "golden rectangle", but there are other relationships beyond just that one. Many of those proportions can be discovered through the use of tools such as the sector. Look up "by hand and eye". It's not just a book, but is rather an approach, or philosophy (if you want to use that term). The approach has not been lost entirely from history, but it is being given another look. And it has absolutely nothing to do with current, mass-produced furniture - regardless of quality.
Paying close attention to detail, and actually learning about the craft of wood work takes time, and requires paying attention to well thought out experience and intuitive appreciation of history as well as technique.
Great thread!
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i really can't agree that the best craftsmen ever are living today. I have had the unique opportunity to see a great deal of 200 and 300 year old work. And,if you see the best of it,it is truly amazing.
One piece I am particularly fond of is a 17th. C. revolving shotgun. This was a revolving chamber like a revolver(pistol),which had a single barrel. But,the engraving and chiseling on that piece are remarkable. The barrel on this gun is about 3 1/2' long. down the top of the barrel is a "strip" of raised chisel work,divided into several sections. Every section is harmonious with the others,yet each section is different from all the others.
The engraving and low relief chiseling on the chambers and the lock are also amazing. The gun was fit for a king. A dangerous piece to shoot for sure!! I would never want to put my hand IN FRONT of the revolving chamber. A chain fire is always possible on early firearms using loose powder and ball(or shot,in this case). The technology wasn't much better 100 years later,when Samuel Colt managed to make revolvers popular.(He was not the true inventor by any means). But,the art work is just amazing.
The craftsmen who made such firearms were very compartmentalized. Probably about 17 separate craftsmen worked on a gun. The chiseling and engraving was done by a man who only ever did that work day after day,year after year,or STARVE. We do not find ourselves(for the most part) in that situation. If we did,no doubt our work would radically improve,mine included. It would be survival of the fittest.
Of course,fine firearms are just one illustration of ultra fine workmanship from the distant past. I have seen amazing hand made drafting instruments,furniture,fine musical instruments,and all manner of superb craftsmanship from the past.
We do have some pretty amazing craftsmen these days. But,I doubt that most of them have to work as hard as these of old did. I also know that educated people in the past had a much greater art education than most of us do today. We are attuned mostly to technology. In the past,when technology was limited,people who were educated got a much greater art education than we do today. And,to get their business,craftsmen had to strive VERY HARD to out do each other.
Just simple things like thread spools were quite difficult to make. They had thin,slightly convex discs on each end. The edges of those discs were quite sharp,and a real pain to make without pieces coming loose and ruining them. I have made several dozen of these,and I can tell you,they are VERY FUSSY indeed to make!! They were made of dogwood.
I have a patron who is wealthy enough to commission things like these spools and many other sewing and spinning items from me. She collects early sewing and spinning items. Some of the things I have made for her have been posted here. It has been a challenge making some of these things. I often make missing parts for spinning wheels that were owned by the super rich in the 18th. C..Women were expected to know how to spin as part of their education,even if they never practiced it! Their spinning wheels are unlike any you have ever seen. Inlaid mahogany frames. Brass rimmed wheels. Bobbins made of ivory and boxwood and brass. Level winding mechanisms similar in principle to old Singer sewing machines with the heart shaped cam. I really have enjoyed making parts for these spinning wheels,and aging them until they could not be distinguished from originals.
Here are pictures of thread spools I made for her. The acorns I made are thin steel. They hold thimbles I also made for her. These and many other things hang on small chains(Boy,did I get tired of making chains!) from what is called an "equippage",which held many sewing accessories. I do not have a picture of the whole equippage,as parts were made over a period of some years. There is a picture of a original and the reproduction ivory,boxwood,brass,and iron bobbin and flyer from one of those high class spinning wheels. She had to out bid the Victoria and Albert museum in London to get the spinning wheel. That is how scarce they are by now. And,when they are missing parts,the only to get them is to make them.
The smaller of the 2 thimbles is an exact copy of one excavated at the Geddy House site in Williamsburg(a very well to do family in the 18th. C.). Except,the reproduction is twice the size of the old one. The old one must have been for a young girl. It was very small compared to the one I made to fit my patron';s finger.
I did not have the long period of time to get whale oil to soak into the ivory,as seen on the old one. That would take many years (plus,I have no whale oil!) But,the aging has only to be a plausible looking process,not an exact copy of the old one. The actual work of constructing the parts DOES have to be perfect,though. A particularly tricky part of aging the ivory is that very old things have a microscopic layer of soot embedded in it. I have figured out how to do this after experimentation. The MOST tricky thing is making BOXWOOD look old! Staining just does not look like the tanning that sunlight gives old boxwood.
This lady is the most particular woman in the World. And,nothing gets by her examination. I do enjoy it when she has to ask"which one is the old one?" Most other craftsmen will not work for her. I enjoy the challenge.
These give you just a sample of the things that craftsmen had to compete with each other to make in the 18th. C..
WHAT you should be learning HERE is: If you are making a reproduction of something,learn to scrutinize the object with the utmost attention to detail. A reproduction that is not correct in every detail is NOTHING. I study guns for about 6 months before I make a flintlock reproduction. If I don't get every detail right,it's going to be junk.
Last edited by george wilson; 07-31-2016 at 10:02 PM.
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