A new and interesting blog from Europe

[G S Haydon]

Caught this by chance on FB, they have started writing in English which is very good of them. http://hyvelbenk.wordpress.com/2014/01/ ... cription-2

 

[MIGNAL]

Now I do like that framesaw, fancy!

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Agree - interesting and with potential.

There are some excellent woodworking blogs about at the moment. I enjoyed your blogposts on making an oilstone box, G.S. - very nicely done (both the box and the blogposts!)

 

[G S Haydon]

Thanks CC, nice to think you checked in . Iwill soon be unlisting the videos so they wll still be within articles but not searchable via tinterweb. They are "ok" but I am just finishing up a new space to enable some hopefuly improved versions.

 

[Graham Orm]

Looking forward to more vids G.

 

[bugbear]

Caught this by chance on FB, they have started writing in English which is very good of them. http://hyvelbenk.wordpress.com/2014/01/ ... cription-2

Anyone else think the original Vasa bench hook appears to be made from pieces flattened with a gouge, not a plane?

Odd, given the context.

BugBear

 

[Paul Chapman]

An interesting blog - thanks for posting, GS. Like Cheshirechappie, I always look at your blog - it's one of my favourites - keep up the good work

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[G S Haydon]

Not shure BB but Ii think the Hook was from a wreck of a ship, and perhaps in the world of making and maintaing boats in 16something to clamp and push against was more important rather than a nicely planed item? Also, I would assume many bit's would of been shaped and may well of only had two contact points along the lenght of the workpiece when in the hook (all complete guess work on my part). Stay tuned to their blog!

Thanks, for the kind words on the blog and the vids guys, hope I can keep you entertained .

 

[custard]

I think there may have been winding sticks found on the Mary Rose. No surprises really, I'm sure woodworkers in times past used these kind of aids and I'm equally sure that apart from undisturbed ship wrecks there's no way they would have otherwise survived.

But it raises the interesting question, what other jigs and aids did previous generations of craftsmen use?

I think one of the key things that separates the master craftsman from the occasional wood mangler is the craftsman's willingness to invest time in constructing jigs to improve accuracy and their ingenuity in designing the appropriate jig for the task. I'd further guess that the men who built beautiful Chippendale or Hepplewhite designs had workshops stuffed with elaborate jigs, and wouldn't have dreamt of attempting difficult pieces without first thinking through the jigs they'd need. However, all these jigs have now been lost, and all we're left with is a few surviving tools. I suspect that has left an imbalance in how we think about the craft of woodworking, with too little emphasis given to jig making.

When I listen to outstanding craftsmen today talk about other outstanding craftsmen I'm often struck that they rarely comment on their absolute skill levels, but they frequently mention how fast they work and their abilities as a jig designer and jig maker. Something tells me it was probably the same hundreds of years ago.

 

[bugbear]

Not shure BB but Ii think the Hook was from a wreck of a ship, and perhaps in the world of making and maintaing boats in 16something to clamp and push against was more important rather than a nicely planed item?

But to make a part flat, planing is a LOT quicker and easier than carving! That's what planes are for. Doesn't have to be nicely planed - roughly planed would be fine...

BugBear

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Just a thought BB. Rather than being gouge cut, might it be adzed? The adze has long been a mainstay of the shipwright's toolkit.

 

[bugbear]

Just a thought BB. Rather than being gouge cut, might it be adzed? The adze has long been a mainstay of the shipwright's toolkit.

I did consider that, but the cuts appears to be tiny - and the speed argument still applies.

BugBear

 

[finnberg]

Considering that the Regal ship Vasa sank in 1628 I'd think some damage to the surface would be expected. So I think it might be hard to know what tools were used for surface flattening. And speaking entirely without insight could it not also be that planes for ship building were made for quick hogging and rough jointing rather than dead flat surfaces?

 

[Peter Sefton]

BB I agree the bench hook does look like a carved surface, planing would have been much easier, who know's maybe the apprentice was told to practice carving :!:

Graham your blog looks great =D> I also like the care taken on the oil stone box traditionally another apprentice job, I don't know if you remember swapping posts with Louis Kwok from Singapore last year. Well Louis did join us last year and has been blogging himself both about his time with us and his experiences Woodworking in Japan previously. He has been a great student and an interesting guy to know, this is his blog.
http://kjungwoodwork.tumblr.com

Cheers Peter

 

[G S Haydon]

Thanks Peter,

Yeah, you hit the nail on the head, apprentice job . I think that's what I have enjoyed about my personal journey (can't belive I just used the term "journey" :lol it's like being a lad again but with prior knowledge!

Yeah, I keep in loose touch with Louis via facebook, e-mail and his blog which shows a very fast rate of learning, kudos to you both on that.

On the bench hook, who knows! I have been reading "Planecraft" from Record tools which to be fair is an infomercial of sorts, that said it has (what I found interesting) a nice bit of history on planes. Trying to guess what was used may be very difficult, hopefuly those bloggers can shed some light on it if they feel the need to.

 

[Peter Sefton]

I didn't mean to imply your an apprentice, more of a master craftsman or otherwise enjoy the "journeyman"
Cheers Peter

 

[G S Haydon]

Peter, I posted my response by mistake and had to edit! Trust me, I'm a bit rusty these days and not the slightest bit of offense was taken. I was properly at the bench in the early 2000's, then installs, then office. I needed to get back to the bench (hammer). Impling I'm a master is more the joke :lol:. Doing it from the start again is fun and what's really nice is I can set my own cariculam 8). I have a couple of nice keepsake boxes I want to make for the kids which will test those rusty skills.