After what seems like a century we are back in Shangri-la, having logged thousands of miles in traveling for the past two months. We were home twice to swap out luggage but otherwise we were elsewhere.
It began with our arrival in DC for the very birthing day of Grandson #3. Three weeks later we went to Alabama for the third birthday of Grandson #1 and first birthday of Grandson#2. Then back to DC for GS#3’s baptism, a grand week we got to spend with our co-in-laws. My co-father-in-law and I are twin sons of different mothers.
While in Rochester our hostswe squeezed in a visit to the Eastman House museum. This was a charming veneered French-style chest, although almost certainly late 19th or early 20th century (I did not take it apart to confirm that thought). I was especially taken by the “knotted banding” pattern.
After another brief stop to swap out more laundry we wrapped up our journeys with a trip to Rochester NY where I made six presentations to the Rochester Woodworkers Guild — Principles of Furniture Conservation, Case Studies in Furniture Conservation, How Furniture Conservation Affects My Current Furniture Making, demonstrations of various conservation techniques, a review and demonstration of parquetry techniques, and finally a conservation/restoration clinic based on the pieces the attendees brought with them for that purpose.
Now back home with summer trying to ramp up we are back at it big time. Mrs. Barn is feverishly working on her gardens and I am hard at work on the greenhouse, finishing the installation of a greenhouse fan, draping the structure with a shade cloth our newest son-in-law gave to us when it turned out to be too large for their patio space, and sealing up the perimeter to protect from the voles that are the bane of Mrs. Barn’s gardening life.
The shade cloth was something we had been wondering about as the inside temps were in the 80s when the outside temp was in the 20s. Now that the sun and outside temps are much higher the issue came front and center. I do not like high temperatures anyway, but when I was working inside the greenhouse in 110-degrees I broke out the shade cloth and affixed it in place. Combined with the fan that lowered the inside temps to a manageable 85 degrees.
Even though the 1/4″ hardware cloth covers the entire floor out to the walls, I made a second hardware cloth “flashing” to be ground-stapled on top of the continuous layer then crown-stapled to the walls. The tricky part is forming it to the posts, which usually required another piece or two to be cut and fitted. If voles get past this a number of Rat Zappers will be awaiting them.
As for vole-proofing the space, that began at the very beginning of the construction phase several months ago. I covered the entire inside space with 1/4″ hardware cloth, and now was the time to tie it all together with new pieces at the bottoms of the walls and posts. One more day of that and it will be time to move on the laying out the inside configuration.
I hope we get to stay home more from now on, but that may be a vain hope. In two months the family of GS#1 and GS#2 will be moving to live within five miles of GS#3. I’m guessing that Grandma and Grandpa will be burning up the roads between here and there.
I am anxious to get back into the shop to work at both the bench and in my writing chair, but that might have to wait a little longer.
Whew! Concluding a few months of mostly traveling we got back to Shangri-la late Sunday evening after driving non-stop from Alabama, where L’il T’s family just moved (we were “helping,” a/k/a grandparenting L’il T and his brother). Travel advisory — avoid Chattanooga if at all possible, the construction and attendant constriction made it a more than an hour of stop and go experience at 97 degrees.
I am looking forward to resuming some semblance of norma life, including full days in the shop. This is made possible by the cessation of travel for most of the foreseeable future, along with finding a sturdy Mennonite lad to do most of the yard work. We were spending 3-4 days a week just keeping the grass cut, brush beat back, and trimming the edges. This young man could do what is necessary in 3-4 hours, rather than 3-4 days. Oh, to have the exuberance and fortitude of the young! That plus a $10k lawnmower makes a big difference.
Other than routine chores around the homestead I’ll be preparing for a Labor Day Weekend shindig at my friend Tim’s place, celebrating the historic crafts of our ancestors. I’ll be assembling a vintage-form tool kit to fit into my antique cabinetmaker’s tool chest which has been used as storage for the past couple decades. So, I’ll be there with tools and one of my Nicholson workbenches, in period costume, probably making a small dowry chest. If you are in the region, stop on by.
In addition I’ll be ramping up for my only teaching event of the year, a 3-day Introduction to Historic Woodfinishing workshop near Charlottesville VA.
And resuming work on my magnum opus tool cabinet, and oh by the way L’il T is now big enough to use a step stool to wash his hands and brush his teeth. The ones I made for his mom and aunt are still in service after 35+ years.
And my traveling tool kit needs completing. As do a couple of Gragg chairs. And those half-finished Studley mallet exercises, and the patterns for the genuine replicas. And the custom oculars for my rifle scopes, bypassing the now nearly defunct right eye (dominant). And the boat load of writing and editing staring me in the face. And setting up a video system to make in-shop vids after I get the Gragg video edited. And tuning my ripple molder.
And, and, and…
Beginning even before “Starting Time” we were inundated with a constant stream of visitors and the Donsbarn.com booth (the cracks in the barn door opening was soon breached by boomer sooners, who were eventually told to get out until 10 AM). I was working one aisle, John the other, and engagement was spirited.
As I alluded in previous posts I had decided to give two 45-60-minute demonstrations of taking a parquetry panel from the rough to glossy, including the preparation and use of the polissoir. Each of the four demos was well attended — 15-20, which was all about the capacity of my 10′ x 10′ booth — with the observers arriving early and staying until the end. The 11AM demos were focused on cold beeswax finishing with true French polishing (wax and water), while the 3PM demos were all about molten beeswax followed by spirit varnish pad polishing.
Not much more to say or show visually, we were engaged with the flowing audience non-stop through the day, and we did not catch our breath and sit on out stools until 4.50, ten minutes before closing.
Awaiting show time Saturday morning.
Our booth was a perfect location for the Roy Show, but he stood exactly behind the post in the center of the frame.
The only difference in Day 2 was the huge crowd at the beginning of the day as the doors were opened at 9.30 in advance of the presentation by Roy Underhill. The rest of the day Saturday was much like Friday, with the only difference being that each of us were able to do an hour long walkabout to visit all the other venues and toolmakers. I’ll show some pics from my walkabout next time.
Last Saturday we were in Columbia, Maryland, first for my presentation to the Howard County Woodworker’s Guild, where a rollicking good time was had by all. I’ve spoken there twice before, most recently on the sober, memorable day of the second Space Shuttle disaster in 2003(?). There was no memorable public disaster last Saturday, other than the ongoing collapse of Western Civilization.
I had a such a terrific time! I sometimes forget how much I enjoy teaching traditional wood finishing. The large-ish audience was very engaged and I had some difficulty getting things wrapped up and loaded afterwards as person after person came to ask questions as I was packing up.
For this 75-minute demo I selected the highlights from my 3-day workshop Historic Wood Finishing. They might invite me back to teach that event, and I am pretty sure Joshua Farnsworth will ask me to teach it at his school near Charlottesville this summer. Check their respective web sites to catch any updates for that.
After this we met with long-time dear friends K and N to tour the moss art studio where she works, and consuming a delightful meal with them. We bought several of the moss art works as we were both enamored with them.
(I know, I am really lousy at taking pictures with my phone.)
Some months ago I was approached by my friend TimD, who was organizing a “Historic trades” weekend at his place with fellow gunsmiths, horn workers, blacksmiths, weavers, etc. Tim is an accomplished craftsman, primarily making flintlock rifles and associated accessories like powder horns. So, he was gathering a number of friends and acquaintances for a weekend shindig open to the public and he asked me to demonstrate making my Tordonshell to the crowds. It was a peculiar technology to include but I was delighted to participate. I spent three days on display and explained Tordonshell to literally hundreds of attendees.
I was set up to occupy Tim’s gunsmith shop, a reconstructed late 18th/early19th log structure, using the partner’s workbench I built for him a few years ago.
The front porch of the shop was occupied by other artisans including a wool spinner and my very own polissoir-maker Gary.
I was frankly surprised by both the number of visitors I had, and the intensity of their interest in both genuine tortoiseshell and my imitation of it.
Next year’s event is already on the books for Labor Day weekend and is expected to have around 30 demonstrators. I am already at work for my demonstrations, as I will be making things out of finished Tordonshell as opposed to making the Tordonshell itself.
I hope you can join u there.
As I continued preparations leading up to last Saturday’s Boullework presentation to the SAPFM Blue Ridge Chapter I was able to make good progress once I discovered the cause of my earlier frustrations. Which was, as I realized once the initial center cut was completed and the material removed, that the first blade break resulted in a small fragment being embedded in the kerf. Every succeeding blade was damaged by encountering this fragment, continuing the sawing difficulties. When you’re talking 0000 blades it does not take much to throw them off.
Getting a little more sawing done and assembling the demo materials was pretty straightforward.
I even made a scute of tordonshell. Fun, fun, fun.
PS Since I am on the home stretch for reviewing the Gragg chair video (probably about a dozen finished half-hour-ish episodes plus a bonus episode or two) and creating the edit sheets for the project, I am casting my brain forward to next winter. I am thinking about a shorter series on Boullework, Don-stye. Or at least revising and updating my original monograph from my presentation in Amsterdam.
It’s been quite a while since I 1) did any Boullework and 2) made a public presentation.
The last week or two I’ve been going through the exercises I’m demonstrating this coming Saturday to the SAPFM Blue Ridge Chapter, everything from making tordonshell to cutting some new Boullework panels.
When I assembled the metal and tordonshell packet and set about to sawing, the magic just wasn’t there. On a normal day once I get in the rhythm I can go for an hour or longer per saw bade, sometimes even half a day. But not this particular day. Sigh.
I was snapping blades like I was trying to break pasta. It took me four hours to saw a 1/2″ circle (and a pretty raggedy one at that) and I broke more than two dozen blades in the process. When I swept up the pile was truly impressive, but my camera was not handy.
Bad posture? Bad lot of blades? (it really does happen some time) Packet too thick? Rusty antiquated shoulder? Vision problems? (well, that is a given)
Some days are just like that. I’ll aim to get the bear tomorrow.
I am delighted that in the aftermath of being disinvited from the Winterthur conference on marquetry, the Blue Ridge Chapter of SAPFM immediately extended the invitation for me to make my presentation to their group on May 21 in Fredericksburg VA, at Woodworkers Workshop, 1104 Summit Street. I will be the afternoon speaker/demonstrator. It’s my first traveling presentation in more than two years and I am looking forward to it.
You can get any particular information you need through the SAPFM.org website if you are interested in attending, or you can let me know and I will forward your interest to our Chapter Coordinator. I think there is a $10 fee to cover coffee and lunch.
In related news, I will be one of the presenters (Historic Finishing) at the SAPFM Mid-Year Conference, coincidentally also in Fredericksburg, June 26.
I recently attended and spoke at Groopshop 2019, about 25 miles southeast of Minneapolis on our friend Matt’s farm. I do not recall the finally tally of attendees but I’m estimating about 60 folks convened for three days of intense fellowship and exchanging of knowledge and ideas related to the furniture restoration enterprise.
My talks were on the topics of insect eradication in infested wooden objects (video recorded en toto and certainly to make it to the interwebz at some point) and toolmaking, especially low tech tool making as part of the restorer’s art.
Topics for the other presentations and demonstrations included the far-flung topics of Wood Finishing Terminology, Custom/Production guitar Finishing, Repairing Metal Hardware, Leather Repair, Museum Upholstery, Polishing Out Finishes, Reactive Colorants In/On Wood, History and Technology Of Aerosols, Government Regulations for Refinishing Shops, and many more.
The sessions were interspersed with eating and small groups congregating, and I look forward to our next gathering. A truly grand time was had by all.
Since its beginning Groop has been a moderated email forum but we learned that on Jan 1 it transitions into a private Facebook discussion group.
The second day of GroopShop was just as engaging and instructive as the first, and one again I was paying so much attention to the speakers that my photo record was not as good as it should have been.
The opening session was a demo by one of the reps from Apollo Spray Systems, the HVLP units used widely in our circles. The blow-by-blow of the history of product development was fascinating to me.
My friends Mark and Valeri from Besway/Benco, manufacturers of chemicals and products for the finishing room, provided a chilling account of the regulatory war against our trade. Do Gooders are relentless, that is why they win unless they are opposed in a smash-mouth fashion by someone with the means to do so. Since sanctimonious moral certitude is the regulator’s fuel, I do not expect us to prevail for the most part.
Freddy Roman gave an impassioned and enlightening talk about using social media for marketing his business. In that realm he really is the Energizer bunny. Were I less curmudgeonly I might go this route.
I gave my 120-minute spiel on “Decoding Hide Glue,” covering everything from manufacture to modification to application. We got almost all of it recorded and it will soon be posted, or at least as soon as I can knit it all together.
Bill Ryan is an on-site-work warrior doing mostly architectural punch-list work in new construction, and he brought his complete traveling workshop with him to show its contents and applications. Very inspiring. I am still kicking myself for not taking a picture of his traveling kit.
Tom Delvecchio presented his recent fascination and exploration of 3D printing and its applications to his work in the restoration shop. I’ve long been considering this technology, and since there is a manufacturer her in this county I will delve more deeply.
The after-dinner talk was one of the most intriguing I’ve seen as a young fellow demonstrated 3D imaging and its link to robotic 3D manufacturing. The implication for replicating metal furniture parts especially was astounding. We used to work on 3D imaging at SI and the progress made in this area is staggering.
The final presenter for the gathering was the next morning with the rep from Mohawk covering his line of products, and how that offering has changed over time. Like many practitioners of the furniture restoration arts Mohawk is what I cut my teeth on; I attended a Touch-Up workshop back in 1974 and still have drawers full of the materials I got then, using them as needed to this day.
And thus endeth GroopShop 2018. As always I came away inspired and informed. If you have any interest in the finishing and restoration arts, you should belong to the Professional Refinishers Group.
Mrs. Barn and I spent the afternoon at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. It was delightful. Then we drove home. Less delightful.
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