Woodworking

I vividly remember in high school woodworking class, 45 years back, the sweet shoosh sound when planing the cheap softwoods we were given for our projects. I was fascinated by the lovely long curly “Shirley Temple” shavings that were produced, and the pleasing aroma released by the pine.

My first big project (for me anyway) was a coffee table with shop bought Queen Anne legs. To be brutally honest, it was a piece of chipboard with shop bought timber ogee molding around the perimeter. I inlaid the top with mottled green “Spanish Lantern” mosaic tiles. That table has survived for over 30 years in our family despite its ugliness. 

My second project laid my woodworking aspirations low for a few years. I did not at all like my attempt at a 3 level bookshelf. I was disheartened. I broke it up. Further disappointment came rapidly. At auction I purchased an old gramophone cabinet with beautiful figuring in the wood but a somewhat deteriorated finish. Knowing a little about shellac and the ability to dissolve it with metholated spirit (de-natured alcohol), I set about stripping the brittle old shellac in preparation for a new finish. Those of you in the know may at this point be empathizing, or shaking your heads.

Some of you may even be saying to yourselves, “Peter, those crafty old polishers and their arsenal of feathers, cloth and brushes could make a pine board look like birdseye maple”. Well, when I discovered the wood figure disappearing along with the evaporating metho, I felt my woodworking aspirations needed a long rest. In fact, I had become an innocent victim of “graining”. Search for “graining” on the internet and a whole new world will open up for you. 

After that failure, I promptly turned my energies to growing vegetables and pulling cars apart and putting them back together. You know, anyone can put a nut on a bolt without drama, but a sharp saw or chisel in the wrong hands can make a right mess of a perfectly good piece of wood. Even a rag wet with metho can wreak havoc by the un-initiated.

One day, just like any other, I suddenly developed a burning desire to build a house – I reasoned that a beach shack didn’t have to be perfect in every way, so my lack of finishing skills would not matter. Even SWMBO could not disway me. The original plan was to do the upstairs framing in timber. However my lack of self confidence with wood resulted in the framing being lightweight welded steel channel. I figured that if I made a mistake (and I made plenty), it would be easier to lengthen steel than wood. That was 28 years ago. The words “If it’s worth doing – it’s worth doing well”, nag me every time we go down to the shack. I always had a desire to do and make things, but little inclination to learn how to do them properly. Just roll up the sleeves, put the head down, and go for it!

These days, reading about the endeavors, and seeing the fruits of the labors of love of many whom subscribe to lists such as OldTools List encourage me to think, plan and apply myself a little harder to make a better job of what I’m doing. I am not a consummate wood worker by a long chalk, having only recently attempted my first hand cut dovetails, but I think that I’m now in a frame of mind to make a better fist of it.

I’m a “monkey see – monkey do” kind of person, (book learnin’ was never my bag) so I decided a couple of years back to enroll in a night school woodworking class. I coaxed my eldest (32 yo) son along too. It was just the experience I wanted. I absolutely loved it. The lecturer showed us each step we had to complete, and then left us to our own devices to test our skills. This Dressing Table was the compulsory project I made in the “monkey see – monkey do” tradition. The second semester encouraged us to be adventurous by permitting us to make a piece of our choice. For this project we had to supply our own materials. I made a Wine Cabinet with a little help from the lecturer. A great leap forward for me especially as I had never really graduated beyond lap joints secured with bent-over nails.