Paul, his version of sharpening

[C.R. Miller]

Mmmmm, I've never ever associated Grinling Gibbons with hand cut dovetails, but I think I know what you're getting at. Plus any mention of Grinling Gibbons is a "thumbs up" from me.

 

[Jacob]

You don't have to be Grinling Gibbons to cut dovetails by hand. In fact anybody can do it if they choose. A few hours of practice and you are off.
One trick is that it's actually easier freehand as you don't have to follow guide lines, but you can mark in positions if you want them neat and tidy.
It's just a simple procedure and getting your eye in.

Forgot to say - nearly all hand cut DTs in most furniture from the days when it was the norm, are obviously cut freehand. It's easier and faster. Easier for beginners too.

 

[aet1]

So why doesn't he make the most of it and actually say so?

Perhaps he gains pleasure in doing, not in being praised?

 

[Trafalgar]

Here 'tis No fighting now. Just one mans view.

I'm prepared to give Sellers the benefit of the doubt that he works with sharp chisels and planes. I'm being a little facetious, because of course they're sharp - at least apparently sharp enough. If this seems a reasonable assumption/conclusion, then why wouldn't his method be valid on its face - it resulted in sharpness.

I'm always disappointed when the uber-sharpeners and tool steel experts don't come on and show their world class breathtaking carving rather than the usual rectilinear Shaker or Arts and Crafts influenced piece that could have been built with tools half as sharp, or at least tools sharpened with half the frou-frou and Sturm und Drang.

"Well, I built this piece out of Pacific Rim lumber they used to use for railroad ties and fence posts and that's why I have $3K invested in sharpening equipment."

Please.

 

[Jacob]

.....If this seems a reasonable assumption/conclusion, then why wouldn't his method be valid on its face - it resulted in sharpness.

.....because it questions the quasi religious faith of the converted modern sharpeners who have invested so much time, effort, money into their weird rituals, scriptures and magical gadgets.

 

[budgie98]

It's NOT the method of sharpening that matters: it's the phase of the Moon!

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Oh give it a break

I'm prepared to give Sellers the benefit of the doubt that he works with sharp chisels and planes. I'm being a little facetious, because of course they're sharp - at least apparently sharp enough. If this seems a reasonable assumption/conclusion, then why wouldn't his method be valid on its face - it resulted in sharpness.

I'm always disappointed when the uber-sharpeners and tool steel experts don't come on and show their world class breathtaking carving rather than the usual rectilinear Shaker or Arts and Crafts influenced piece that could have been built with tools half as sharp, or at least tools sharpened with half the frou-frou and Sturm und Drang.

"Well, I built this piece out of Pacific Rim lumber they used to use for railroad ties and fence posts and that's why I have $3K invested in sharpening equipment."

Please.

After you Charles

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Trafalgar]

It's NOT the method of sharpening that matters: it's the phase of the Moon!

I think you can get a special edge when particularly strong geomagnetic storms hit Earth from the sun, though you have to have certain equipment to capture the effect. It's also helpful if the 185 year old Japanese craftsman who made the chisels or plane irons did so during a total lunar eclipse. It's those very small anomalies in magnetism and gravitational pull, you know, that make all the difference in the world. Gotta be the dispersal of carbides or something.

Now, go out and plane that straight, flat piece of easy-as-****-to-plane Cherry and show it who's boss.