One of the enjoyable upsides of writing this blog and contributing articles for several magazines has been receiving emails from fellow woodworkers around the world with questions about everything from shop setup to furniture design. While I am honored to receive these inquiries, it has become time consuming to answer them with individual emails, and it would probably be helpful to share some of this information with more readers. So from time to time, I will answer some questions in a “mailbag” post on the blog.

I invite your questions. Unless you request otherwise, your name and email address will be kept private. Please put “woodworking question,” or something similar, in the subject line of the email.

I’ll only answer a question if I think I know what the heck I’m talking about, based on the “sawdust and shavings of my shop,” and, of course, I can offer just one person’s viewpoint. I hope readers will also enter comments with their own take on the topic. The goal is to be usefully informative. The many internet forums contain tons of information and this is simply a small addition to that.

Topics include: wood, joinery, the selection, use, and preparation of tools, shop setup, and furniture construction. Haha, don’t ask me about turning, relationships, or finance because I don’t own a lathe and you could end up lonely and bankrupt.

Examples:

• A technique or tool that you’re struggling with: How much camber should there be in a smoothing plane blade?
• How to: What steps do you use to cut tenons by hand?
• An opinion: Do you like Japanese or Western bench chisels, and why?
• A construction question: Which joint would you suggest for . . .?

As always, thanks for reading, and happy woodworking!

Rob

First and foremost, a woodworker needs to know wood. No degree of prowess with tools and techniques can compensate for a lack of understanding of the material into which steel cuts. The guys at American Woodworker magazine have put together a sawdust-in-your-pockets practical collection of topics that I think would benefit any woodworker: Getting the Most From Your Wood-Buying Bucks, published last year. My recommendation is unsolicited and uncompensated; I just want to share good information.

The sections of the book are:

• Finding Great Wood. This includes getting wood from locally cut trees, using salvaged wood, dealing with wood defects, and understanding lumber grading.
• Sawing & Milling Great Wood. Topics include flitch-cut logs, resawing, milling rough boards, and the best explanation of reading grain direction that I’ve ever read.
• Drying Your Own Wood. Even though you might not use the plans to build your own kiln, the explanations of drying wood and moisture meters are very helpful.
• Very Special Wood. My favorite section. Five different authors share their intimate knowledge of eight different wood types and species, such as spalted wood and mahogany and its look-alikes.
• Special Finishes. This is a sampling of finishing strategies and principles for woods including pine, walnut, cherry, and oak.
• Projects for Special Wood. Here are some interesting furniture projects and techniques for managing large slabs.

Even in areas where I think I have a good amount of knowledge and experience, I was able to pick up useful tips and helpful clarifications. Typical of Fox Chapel books, the layout and photography are attractive and inviting.

What I do not like about this book is the title. The book does give information for you to achieve that goal but, as a title, it underestimates the scope and value of the contents. One of the reasons I wanted to write this review was my concern that the book might be overlooked because of its title.

I’ve tried to open the cover for you in this review, but I think if you take a look for yourself, you’ll like it. Its practical approach makes it a good addition to books I’ve previously recommended: Understanding Wood, by Bruce Hoadley, and the encyclopedic volumes, Wood, by Terry Porter, and Wood Handbook, from the US Forest Products Laboratory.

Don’t you just love wood?

Wood comes from trees, simple enough, but sometimes the trees or logs have a surprising history or the wood has been processed to dramatically alter its properties. Surfing the internet for wood sources is much more fun than cruising the TV menu, so here’s a resource list that I hope you’ll find interesting and perhaps will inspire a new project. Following the list are several resources for general information about wood. Enjoy!

Ancientwood, Ltd unearths 50,000 year old, enormous kauri logs in New Zealand, then processes them into workable honey-colored lumber with an exotic, opalescent appearance. Greener Logs retrieves sunken exotic tropical timber from waters in Central America and sells this old-growth lumber, including big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) via Greener Lumber, located in Missouri.

Blue Moon Exotic Wood in Ithaca, New York operates an exotic woods plantation in Palau in the South Pacific where they sustainably harvest Cuban mahogany (Swietenia mahogani). I once got my hands on a small chunk of this species and still recall its remarkable working properties, sometimes described as like slicing cold butter. It is, of course, expensive, but I don’t think I can much longer resist giving this stuff a try when the right project comes around. Another source for Cuban mahogany, among other species, is Urban Forest Recycling who salvages removed trees in the Florida Keys.

Northwest Timber in Oregon buys and mills salvaged logs, notably my favorites Claro walnut and Western big-leaf maple. I really think Lewis gets his wood from heaven and you might agree after perusing his online store!

You can buy directly online from the above dealers and from Pure Timber (below).

Normal wood is subjected to special processing by the following companies to produce amazing new possibilities for the woodworker. Pure Timber in Washington puts solid wood of many species through an amazing proprietary process that yields wood so flexible it can be tied into a knot. The shape stabilizes after it dries. You can buy lumber ready to bend to your imagination. Seasonwood in Canada offers a special heat treatment which produces a controlled darkening of any species of wood. The process also makes the wood much more stable. WoodSure in Oregon infuses wood with acrylic resin to produce dimensionally stable, super-durable wood. With the addition of dyes, they can also produce dramatic figure effects.

To explore innovative materials that you might want to incorporate into your projects, take a look at the Inventables website, especially the “wood” section. You can order samples of the materials from them.

For general information about wood and specific species:

• Forest Products Laboratory’s Wood Handbook, a pdf download of the whole 508 page book.
• FPL’s Tech Sheets give extensive information on many species. Look on the right side of the page under “Tech Sheets.”
• The Wood Database has lots of information on many species of wood. 
• Same for the Purdue Cooperative Extension – go to “Hardwood Lumber and Veneer Species” on the drop-down list.
• Hobbit House has a zillion pictures of lots of species.
• Woodfinder is a search engine for where to buy specific woods and wood products.
• An article by John English in Woodshop News: “Is it an endangered species and who’s making the call?”

The Wood Expo 2011 promises to be an exciting feature of the 61^st annual New England Home Show, February 24-27 (Thursday through Sunday), at the Seaport World Trade Center, Boston. The theme of the Expo is “Reconnecting the Maker and the Buyer,” and features Tommy MacDonald, woodworker, North Bennet Street School graduate, and host of the WGBH TV series Rough Cut Woodworking with Tommy Mac.

The Wood Expo, originated by Tommy, features a juried exhibit of exquisite furniture by craftsmen who will also be engaging visitors with woodworking demonstrations and discussion. Renowned furniture makers and teachers Phil Lowe and Allan Breed are among the compelling list of guest speakers, while exhibitors include the North Bennet Street School.

The NE Home Show is a huge offering for homeowners, designers, and contractors and has devoted considerable space and marketing to the woodworking section. Tommy has leveraged his star power to promote fine craftsman-made furniture and accessories to the buying public.

Yours truly is one of the exhibiting craftsmen and demonstrators. My piece will be on display and I will be demonstrating and discussing mortise and tenon joinery. It would be fun to meet some Heartwood readers there – stop by and let’s talk shop. I think the idea of the Wood Expo is just what high-end woodworking needs: connecting with, engaging, and educating potential buyers in the context of a major, highly publicized venue. Yea, I’m stoked!

Please see these links for show information and features.

I will be exhibiting my work at the Paradise City Arts Festival at the Royal Plaza Trade Center, Marlborough, MA, March 19, 20, 21, 2010 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), booth #233. Come on over if you have the chance.

This is a highly selective juried show with beautiful work in many media including ceramics, furniture, glass, jewelry, fiber, painting, photography, and sculpture. Many of the 175 artists from 22 states, Canada, and Japan are represented in major collections, museums, and publications around the world. Among its many accolades, Paradise City was named the #1 Art Fair in the US in 2008 by American Style magazine and is a perennial Top Ten pick. It is a tremendously inspiring place to be for anyone who makes or appreciates fine craft.

Heartwood readers, if the greater Boston area is reasonably accessible for you, I can tell you this is a worthwhile visit. Of course, I invite you to please stop by my booth and say hi!

Details are at the Paradise City website (that’s my cabinet on their home page). There’s also a little feature on my work in their print and online Spring Guide, page 8, and in their online slide show, “New Faces” (though I am returning from last Fall’s show).

For collectors and anyone who enjoys beautiful craft and art, including furniture/woodwork, seeing the work “live” is the best way to appreciate it and explore your ideas to acquire fine work. It is really the sophisticated and appreciative visitors to Paradise City that make the show!

• When: December 4 and 5, 2009, Friday Noon – 6 pm, Saturday 10 am – 5 pm.
• Where: Holiday Inn, 242 Adams Place, Boxborough, Massachusetts

This is an excellent opportunity to do something you can hardly do at stores and certainly not online: get your hands on lots of hand tools, give them a real test drive on wood, and scrutinize them to your heart’s content. The Lie-Nielsen folks will, of course, be there answering your questions and running two interactive workstations, sharpening and plane tuning.

Four guest demonstrators, including yours truly (representing Popular Woodworking magazine), will be there for the entirety of both days, at workbenches, to demonstrate, discuss tools and woodworking, and to make shavings and sawdust. You will undoubtedly enjoy the offerings of Bob Van Dyke from the Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking, Matt Kenney from Fine Woodworking magazine, and Bob Zajicek from Czeck Edge Hand Tool.

I will present a demonstration and talk on shooting at about 2 pm each day, which will cover how to make a simple shooting board, how to use it, and which planes to employ.

Readers, if you are anywhere in the area and can make some time – hey, this is woodworking we’re talking about – come over and say hi, it will be fun to see you. This promises to be an enjoyable and informative two days.

This coming Columbus Day holiday weekend I will be exhibiting my work at the Paradise City Arts Festival show in Northampton, MA. This is a high quality, juried show in which I am proud and excited to participate. There will be fine crafts in many media including wood, glass, fiber, ceramics, photography, and painting.

Northampton is in western Massachusetts. If you are in the area, the show is a great way to get some craft inspiration as well as run up the balance on your credit card. There will be a ton of beautiful work at this show.

Readers, I invite you to stop by booth #632 and we can talk woodworking.

Coming up next week: the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event, December 5&6, 2008 (Friday and Saturday) at the Sturbridge Host Hotel, Sturbridge, Massachusetts. John Economaki, Chris Becksvoort, Bob Van Dyke, and I will be among the demonstrators showing techniques and talking tools and woodworking. Here is a fun and informative opportunity to try out top quality hand tools and pick up skills and tips at the many workstations. I hope to meet some readers of this blog there. This is a relaxed, hands-on event. Admission is free.