Logan Cabinet Shoppe

Now that the podcast has been successfully ongoing for several weeks, I would like to get your opinion on the way that the podcast is set up for viewing. I'm not looking so much for feedback on what is in them or how the information is presented in each episode. I think the comments I have received on the individual podcasts have done a good job of providing feedback on the episodes themselves. Instead, I'm looking for feedback on the website arrangement. Do you like having the blog and podcast on separate pages or would you rather see each podcast episode embeded into the blog post like I have done here using the trailer?

I can see benefits of presenting the videos both ways. When embeded into the blog, the blog text that is posted and the comments on the podcast are all in the same place. However, with the podcast on its own page, it is easier to go back to previous episodes since the episode list is right there on the right of the video window. Of course you could always use the little icons at the bottom of the video window to view previous episodes as well when they are embeded into the blog post, this just isn't as obvious as having an episode list right there.

So please let me know what you the viewers think by leaving a comment. How do you prefer to see future podcasts presented?

Any other feedback is always welcome as well. Just leave a comment.

As always, thanks for your continued support!

OK, I promise, this is the last episode on sharpening. There are just a few different tools left that really weren't covered by the other episodes so I wanted to touch on them before I move on. I'm going to be using several of these tools in an upcoming project series starting this fall, so I wanted to make sure I cover sharpening them for anyone who wants to follow along with the project. But this is the last one, honest, I'm moving on. :)

No, I didn't get laid off (yet) or lose my life savings playing the stock market. The donation I'm seeking isn't even for me. In fact, it will be for one of the viewers of my podcast (but you'll have to watch the episode to find out how to get in on it).

Here's the situation. After just a few more episodes, I'm going to be starting a project series for the podcast. I don't want to give away too much (not that it's earth shattering or anything, but I think it will be cool), but I want anyone who has regularly followed the podcast to be able to follow along and build their own project if they would like. Up to this point in the podcast, I've covered almost everything that I think is needed for someone to start at the beginning with Episode #1, acquire tools, sharpen all their tools and get ready to build a piece of furniture. All that's really left is a brief overview of effecient shop setup, and a short discussion on a few shop accessories that I find useful on a daily basis. These topics are planned to be covered in episodes # 9 and # 10.

I have covered sharpening pretty extensively I think (to be concluded in Episode # 8), and that is pretty much all that is needed to tune up most hand tools. There is one thing that I really haven't covered up until now, however, that might be a small sticking point for someone new to the craft; hand planes. While I don't typically over analyze the tuning of hand planes, they do often require a little more setup and tuning than just sharpening (though that is usually more than half the battle). As a result, I've received numerous requests to do a podcast on tuning up a hand plane.

I think that this should probably be done before I start the project series so that no one, regardless of experience level, feels excluded from doing the project because they don't have the knowledge to set up all of their tools, including a plane or two. So here is what I'm asking from my loyal blog readers and podcast viewers.

I need a plane to tune up. I only have old woodies in my shop, and the majority of us today don't use these. So in order for the podcast to be as useful to as many viewers as possible, I'd like to tune up a vintage metal plane for the podcast. Problem is, I don't own any.

I thought about going out to try to find one, but I really don't want to spend a lot of time scouring flea markets or Ebay to find one just to turn around and sell it after tuning it for the podcast. I really have no need or use for it after that.

So here is my proposal and my request to those of you out there who hoard these things (you know who you are). Send me a common bench plane, perhaps a #3 or #4 size (please no block planes and nothing longer than a #5). The plane should be in somewhat decent condition. Please don't make me have to repair broken totes or replace missing parts. I'm not looking to restore it, I just want it as a demo for tuning and putting to use for the podcast. If I have to clean a little surface rust from it that's fine, I just don't want to have to do major repairs or replace missing parts. It needs to have some good length left to the iron as well as I won't be upgrading the iron (unless someone wants to donate one of those as well :)). The goal is to get my hands on a plane that for the most part just needs some tuning.

In return for your plane donation, and as a way to say thanks for supporting the podcast, I will send you a pair of layout tools made in my shop, to include a wooden try square and wooden marking gauge, similar to the ones I use in my shop and seen in several of the previous podcasts. I will then use your donated plane in the podcast, tuning and sharpening it so that it is ready for use. After the podcast, I will donate the plane that I tune and sharpen in the episode to one of the viewers through some method that I will disclose at the end of the podcast (so you'll at least have to watch it to get in on the action).

So that's my call for viewer support. If you have a plane that you are interested in donating please send me an email and we can work out the details. I guarantee you that at least one lucky viewer will thank you after the podcast.

Thanks again to all of you out there who read the blog and watch the podcast. These things would just be a random web site out there in space without all of you, so thanks!

Shannon Rogers' recent blog post about the George Walker seminar from WIA reminded me that I've been meaning to post this blog for a few weeks now. I recently purchased and viewed George's new DVD "Unlocking the Secrets of Traditional Design". After watching the DVD, all I can say is "Yes, finally!" For anyone who designs their own pieces, or wants to step outside of the world of preprinted plans and start designing their own pieces, this DVD is an invaluable tool. It's clear, concise and most of all, simple to understand.

While all of the information presented in the video was not new to me, there was enough in it to make me start rethinking about a design I have in the works. Let's start at the beginning with a brief overview. George starts us out by looking at a magnificent 18th century New England church entryway and the architecture surrounding the door. To the uninitiated, it seems off topic. What does this door have to do with designing furniture? However, George continues on to break down this piece of architecture into simple elements and then explains how traditional furniture designs were based on architecture, and it all begins to come together.

From there, George takes us back to his shop, and begins to talk about how furniture is composed of simple geometric shapes. He demonstrates how even the most complex pieces of antique furniture can be broken down into simple shapes with simple ratios. Most gratifying of all, he does this with a simple pair of dividers and a straight edge. There's no measuring, no dial calipers, no calculators and no complicated formulas. It's traditional design in its simplest and most basic form.

The way in which George demonstrates the different design principles is exactly how I would image it would likely have been done in an 18th century shop. Having rulers that could only measure down to 1/8" to 1/16" or so, and probably not extremely accurately at that, it would make sense that our woodworking forefathers would not have relied on measurements. They simply would have been much too inaccurate. However, as George so skillfully demonstrates in this DVD, with a simple pair of dividers, one can be extremely precise.

George uses a handful of basic ratios in the video, such as 1:2, 2:3, etc. He also touches on some of the ratios used in the classical column orders of architecture and describes how these ratios migh be used to proportion different parts of a piece of furniture. George uses the proportions of the Doric order in his examples, but it is very obvious from his overview of a couple of the other orders how using a different order might change the feel of a piece to make it feel lighter or stronger. While not an all inclusive delve into the orders, it is enough of an intro to make one want to pull out Chippendale's Director and start studying.

One of the things that George does not touch on in his video is the use of the oft debated Golden Ratio. There have been a lot of articles written about the Golden Ratio's use in furniture design and for a log time, many furniture builders, myself included, embraced the idea and ran with it. However, after using the ratio in previous designs, I'm not so convinced that it was a common practice to use it historically, and I think this is why George doesn't mention it in his video.

The fact is, the Golden Ratio isn't something that is simple to proportion when building furniture with a simple pair of dividers. It's simple to do on paper with dividers alone, but the actual implementation of it on a board isn't so simple without making templates because the Golden Ratio isn't based on whole number proportions. However, the simple ratios and column order proportions that George demonstrates in his DVD are easy to use on paper and in practice on a board.

The final thing George does is enlightening, especially to those thinking that his methods would only apply to traditional period furniture. To show that this isn't so, George designs a chest of drawers, in real time. On the left side, he designs the piece in a period style while on the right side, he uses the same proportioning tools to design a contemporary piece. The result proves that timeless design is timeless.

In summary, in answer to the question of whether I would recommend this DVD, I respond a resounding "YES!" While all of the information may not be new to you, there is plenty of information to make you think, presented in a way that a beginner with no design experience can still grasp. It's definately a DVD for all skill levels. Even if you have no intention of designing your own furniture from the ground up, the video will still give you valuable tools and techniques that you can use in your shop. The demonstration of the usefulness of a simple pair of dividers is worth the price of admission in itself.

Well, summer is coming to an end, vacations are all but over and school is back in session. In this episode I attempt to take some of the mystique out of sharpening your own hand saws. I don't completely understand all of the hesitation that a lot of folks have learning to sharpen their own saws. Really, it's no more difficult than learning to sharpen a plane iron or a chisel. All it takes is a small investment in some simple tools and a few minutes of practice. Hopefully, this episode will convince more folks to go ahead and try it. Oh, and don't worry about giving it a try on one of your high priced premium saws either. In fact, it's probably better to learn on one of these saws than on an old beater. Watch the episode to find out why.

I've also attached a .PDF file with some pages from the video. Feel free to download, print and make notes on them if you like. If you are not familiar with saw terminology, they may be helpful to you as you watch the episode. I also apologize for the vibration in a couple of filing clips. I tried to get a bird's eye view of filing the teeth by putting the tripod on top of the bench but in my infinite wisdom, the tripod absorbed some of the vibration and of course it shows bad in the video. The vibration looks a lot worse than it is and in fact there was very little vibration in the saw and vise but the tripod vibration makes it look bad. Sorry.