orepass

Day two arrived with a chill in the air, but the sun came out and the many flowers and leaves looked brilliant on the hill sides. I arrived at the class a little area and wandered up the road to peak at the sheep and new lambs. It’s a joy to watch them leaping and running in the grass.

People were more talkative today as we gained knowledge of each other, we watched each other work, sought help and freely spoke. Tensions began to lift as everyone focused on their tasks. There was laughter and story telling as we worked.

Paul began the day by demonstrating glue up of the box. One thing to note is his extensive use of his vise for everything. I’ll talk more later but the vise was his third hand for holding parts while spreading glue, and clamping the piece together. Paul has been building boxes along with us so that he is demonstrating as we go. Next he showed how to chisel the nubs (pins) that protruded and plane all of the edges and faces leaving a very smooth finish.

The pictures below are of the edge planing which is done without removing the heal of the plane from one side to the next and the planing of the sides which was done in the vise with a board raising the center. My fellow classmates range in age and experience and it is fun watching people complete their first dovetails and improve on their previous experiences. It was also fascinating watching Paul and his very talented assistant Logan demonstrate how to repair mistakes, many which became very difficult to spot. I bet on most of the museum pieces in the world there are many patches that go unnoticed.

The dovetailed “shells” were set aside while the glue dried to prepare the top and bottom of the box. I missed photographing the the top and bottom of the boxes, but all of the edge rounding was done with a Stanley #4 and a tiny piece of sand paper. You can look at my weather station blog if you want a few more pictures. I’m finding less and less use for my router.

Paul misses few opportunities to pass on knowledge and when a couple of us finished ahead of the group he called us up to the bench and demonstrated how to make blind dovetails. Hs explanation was clear and concise and the results excellent. He works and teaches with such passion that you sit in awe until he cracks a friendly joke and banters back and forth with the students. This is how woodworking should be taught from someone that has worked the trade, has the passion to teach and the knowledge to throw in all of the extra tidbits that the books and videos miss.

I’m noticing that Paul is very humble in his work, this may be contrary to some. His confidence and experience could be mistaken for slight arrogance, but sitting and talking with him reveals his true nature. There is so much more to tell and I have a notebook full of lessons and thoughts, but I think to fully appreciate what is happening in this class you must be here. One thing I discovered not through Paul but through other participants is the books and videos that Paul has written. The book which I saw on a bench is amazingly detailed and well written, if you can’t make the class this and perhaps the videos would have to suffice. By the way these were not mentioned or harped on by Paul making a sales pitch in any way, rather by others in the class. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and all that it will bring.