GG, As I promised I've posted an account of this weekends class at...

http://www.shavingsandsawdust.com/woodShop/HomesteadHeritage/Woodworkin-
gWithHandTools.asp

 or

http://tinyurl.com/zmw3p

Enjoy...

Roy Griggs roygriggs@v... www.shavingsandsawdust.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Roy Griggs wrote:
>  As I promised I've posted an account of this
> weekends class at... http://tinyurl.com/zmw3p

Thanks for taking time to do the write-up and take the
photos Roy.   I know that it is difficult to take a
class and document it at the same time.  

I agree with what Roy said in his write-up.  
Homestead Heritage’s instructors Paul Sellers and Stan
Beckworth are great teachers, and really nice guys to
boot.   I took the one-day “Woodworking with Hand
Tools” class that Roy took a couple of years ago and
was impressed enough to sign up for the 3-day 
“Woodworking Basics” class last year.   This April I
will be taking the 3-day  “Occasional Table” class.   

For me, all of this leads to the “Craftsman Style
Rocking Chair” class next year: 

https://www.homesteadheritage-woodworking.com/advanced.html
 
OR
http://tinyurl.com/hncd3

This is the Rocking Chair featured in Woodwork
Magazine in February 2005.  

If you have the chance to attend one of their
workshops, or to just drop by on your way down I-35 to
look at the shop and all of the other intersting
elements that make up Homestead Heritage, it’s well
worth the short detour to do so. 

Steve in Dallas

http://www.oldtoolsshop.com/Galoots/sLongley/

------------------------------------------------------------------------

GG,
 Steve, that is exactly what I would like to do also. And if I keep
teasing SWMBO with pictures of the rocker she will get out of the deal, I
think I can convince her!!!
 I'd also like to take a blacksmithing class, and maybe a stained glass
class.

Roy Griggs
roygriggs@v...
www.shavingsandsawdust.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the risk of this thread turning into a private
conversation...

I took the one-day blacksmithing class last year. It
definitely whetted my appetite for the craft.  They
have a 2-day follow-up blacksmithing class that's in
my future as well.  

Now, to take this thread back in a more general
direction... 

Homestead Heritage holds classes in the homesteading
arts using traditional methods, such as organic
farming, animal husbandry, beekeeping, gardening,
cheese making, pottery, stained glass, basketry,
weaving, blacksmithing, etc. -- and of course
woodworking.  If there is something of interest to
your SWMBO / HWMBO, it could be a nice Central Texas
learning vacation. 

Standard disclaimer applies (YMMV)… no affiliation -
just a satisfied customer.  

Steve in Dallas

"The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne" - The Craftsman
------------------------------------------------------------------------

roygriggs@v... wrote:
> GG, As I promised I've posted an account of this weekends class at...

(read and enjoyed)

I'm a little concerned at this:

http://www.shavingsandsawdust.com/woodShop/HomesteadHeritage/class_3_18-
_06_008.jpg

I have a write up concerning the practice, and some recommendations:

http://www.geocities.com/plybench/tour.html#mortice_hold

    BugBear
------------------------------------------------------------------------

I followed Bugbear's link, and came across this little gem
on marking one dovetail piece from another (which had, of 
course, completely flown my little memory coop ages ago):

   Since the task is to hold one piece at right angles to the other, 
   why not simply use a clamp designed explicitly for this purpose? 
   Get yourself a pair of cheapo aluminium (not cast iron - too
cumbersome)
   "corner clamps" and clamp your workpieces as shown. You can fiddle 
   and adjust to your hearts content. When the workpieces are exactly 
   aligned, tighten the clamps. You can mark the joints when ready. 
   In fact you could mark 2 pins, have your lunch, come back, and 
   then mark another pin - the work ain't going anywhere...(Followed
   by attributions)....

It's so neat how the most obvious answers are often the most elegant,
but not so neat on how easy it is to forget them. 

Tom Ellis
Dayton OH

>
> I'm a little concerned at this:
> 
> http://www.shavingsandsawdust.com/woodShop/HomesteadHeritage/c
> lass_3_18_06_008.jpg
> 
> I have a write up concerning the practice, and some
> recommendations:
> 
> http://www.geocities.com/plybench/tour.html#mortice_hold
> 
>     BugBear

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm going to jump on Paul's bandwagon, too. Did they really advocate at the
class chopping mortises directly over the vise? Seems like an invitation to
damage and misalignment.

While the Paul's link would work just fine, I chop mortises on my WorkMutt
and just sit on the piece while I'm doing it, or secure the piece between
the dogs on the Mutt (is that redundant?)

I think that at a bench you could secure the work between dogs in either the
face vise or tail vise. Chopping as close to directly over a leg is advised,
as well.

Rob in Peoria
1960 Anniversary Shopsmith Mk V Brownie
http://www.galootcentral.com/modules.php?name=Web_Links
As recommended by Popular Woodworking's Christopher Schwarz

Wood shavings on the floor! Wood shavings on the floor!

-----Original Message-----
From: oldtools-bounces@r...
[mailto:oldtools-bounces@r...] On Behalf Of paul womack
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2006 7:40 AM
To: roygriggs@v...
Cc: oldtools@r...
Subject: Re: [OldTools] Re:Special Weekend

roygriggs@v... wrote:
> GG,
>  As I promised I've posted an account of this weekends class at...

(read and enjoyed)

I'm a little concerned at this:

http://www.shavingsandsawdust.com/woodShop/HomesteadHeritage/class_3_18_06_0
08.jpg

I have a write up concerning the practice, and some
recommendations:

http://www.geocities.com/plybench/tour.html#mortice_hold

    BugBear

------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Tuesday 21 March 2006 05:24 am, Steven Longley wrote:
> Homestead Heritage holds classes in the homesteading
> arts using traditional methods, such as organic
> farming, animal husbandry, beekeeping, gardening,
> cheese making, pottery, stained glass, basketry,
> weaving, blacksmithing, etc. -- and of course
> woodworking.  If there is something of interest to
> your SWMBO / HWMBO, it could be a nice Central Texas
> learning vacation.

Oh, that's good to know...this could be a win-win...get SWMBO to take the 
gardening class, while I go off and take chair class <vbseg>, and out of the 
deal we get a nice looking yard, and I get a nice rocker to sit back and look 
at it in...;-) It sounds win-win to me...<g>

-- 

Alan DuBoff - Software Orchestration
GPG: 1024D/B7A9EBEE 5E00 57CD 5336 5E0B 288B 4126 0D49 0D99 B7A9 EBEE
------------------------------------------------------------------------

GG, Paul writes...roygriggs@v... wrote:
> GG, As I promised I've posted an account of this weekends class at...

(read and enjoyed)

I'm a little concerned at this:

http://www.shavingsandsawdust.com/woodShop/HomesteadHeritage/class_3_18-
_06_008.jpg

I have a write up concerning the practice, and some recommendations:

http://www.geocities.com/plybench/tour.html#mortice_hold

    BugBear

 As a normal practice I would not do this...But not having any other way
 to hold the small piece of pine that I was chopping a mortice in, I
 resorted to the vice. I hate trying to work on a moving piece of
 wood!!! BTW Paul Sellers also used the vice (I just thought it to be an
 English quirk!!!8^) ) as did all the other students who I observed.

 Were I doing this at home the wood would have been held in place by a
holdfast by PK or in a vice/dog grip or (my personal favorite for small
 pieces) in a twin screw wood clamp which is then clamped to the bench.

 Thank you, for pointing this out...maybe an addendum to disclaim the
 appropriateness of that particular technique.

Roy Griggs roygriggs@v... www.shavingsandsawdust.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------

GG,

  Steven says...
Homestead Heritage holds classes in the homesteading
arts using traditional methods, such as organic
farming, animal husbandry, beekeeping, gardening,
cheese making, pottery, stained glass, basketry,
weaving, blacksmithing, etc. -- and of course
woodworking.  If there is something of interest to
your SWMBO / HWMBO, it could be a nice Central Texas
learning vacation.

 Three small points I would like to add to this...

 These people are not "artisans", they live the life so those who teach
not only gain their livelyhood from these activities but also their
sustanance.

 Non Texas residents need to be aware that this (Homestead Heritage
Village) is in Central Texas and in the summer it gets Warm and Humid,
not unbearably so, but you should be aware. SWMBO might not think it a
favor to be working in the garden when it's 96 in the shade with 80 per
cent humidity.

 And last but not least, once you get to Texas you ain't gonna want to
leave....

Roy Griggs
roygriggs@v...
www.shavingsandsawdust.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------

At 05:32 PM 3/21/06, you wrote:

>  Non Texas residents need to be aware that this (Homestead Heritage
>Village) is in Central Texas and in the summer it gets Warm and Humid,
>not unbearably so, but you should be aware.

  I took the 3 day class - built a dovetail candle box & a wall shelf 
- last January (a year ago).

I also was reminded of all those pretty cedar trees can cause allergy 
problems.  Take a few allergy pills a day or so before you get there 
if you are prone to such stuff.  <sniffffle, sniffle....>

but, well worth a case of the sniffles to spend some time w/ the 
whole staff at Homestead Heritage.

I also took a one day class that taught only how to use hand 
planes.  That was fun, too.

btw, I'm about 2 hours south of Waco if anyone needs a place to stop 
over for an evening respite on their way to/from a class.

Rev. Thomas W. Hoyt
Holy Cross Lutheran Church
Warda, TX
   This is IT - Warda

-- 
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.2.6/286 - Release Date: 3/20/06

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Err, that's WARM and HUMID.... Now we can get hot and humid in summer
(usually doesn't last for long), but I would definitely call 96/80 HOT
AND HUMID.

How do you keep the wood from doing funny things?  I have an
acquaintance that restores antiques (museum quality stuff) in Houston,
and still don't understand how he does it.  He says that he shrink wraps
the piece first, in the place he is picking it up, takes it to his shop
(air conditioned throughout), unwraps, then again shrink wraps when he
returns it, just to be on the safe side.  As he says the hour or so
moving it can cause things to move around, even on 100-200 year old
furniture.

 
 > Non Texas residents need to be aware that this (Homestead Heritage
 >Village) is in Central Texas and in the summer it gets Warm and Humid,
 >not unbearably so, but you should be aware. SWMBO might not think it a
 >favor to be working in the garden when it's 96 in the shade 
 >with 80 per
 >cent humidity.

Gary

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roy, I thought that the ants down there were big and mean enough to do 
that tilling for you.

Larry

> Non Texas residents need to be aware that this (Homestead Heritage
>Village) is in Central Texas and in the summer it gets Warm and Humid,
>not unbearably so, but you should be aware. SWMBO might not think it a
>favor to be working in the garden when it's 96 in the shade with 80 per
>cent humidity.
>
> And last but not least, once you get to Texas you ain't gonna want to
>leave....
>
>
>Roy Griggs
>roygriggs@v...
>www.shavingsandsawdust.com
>
>  
>

------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Twas said!

 >Non Texas residents need to be aware that this (Homestead Heritage
 >Village) is in Central Texas and in the summer it gets Warm and Humid,
 >not unbearably so, but you should be aware. SWMBO might not think it a
 >favor to be working in the garden when it's 96 in the shade with 80
 >per cent humidity.

But I have to protest that it's rarely ever 80% humidity in central
Texas at the same time that it's 96 degrees Fahrenheit. It's very common
for those 2 things to coincide in Houston, but not in McLennan County.
It's (frequently) 96 (or more) in the summer time and it's someimes
80%RH, but usually the temp is lower when the RH is high and vice versa.
Typically RH might be in the 40's or 50's when the temp is in the 90's.
Not trying to say it don't get hot cause the RH is low; just that it
ain't like Houston.

Bob Hutchins, now in Temple but used to live in Sugar Land (Houston
bedroom community).

------------------------------------------------------------------------

GG,

 Gary asks...
How do you keep the wood from doing funny things?  I have an
acquaintance that restores antiques (museum quality stuff) in
Houston,
and still don't understand how he does it.

 Gary,
 After living in Houston for 15 years, I never found anything you could
do...live with it. As long as the furniture is in a/c spaces we didn't
really have any problems other than an abnormaly large range of movement
when you switched from a/c to heat in the winter.
 As for wood in the raw...dimensions were subject to change on short
notice, square and straight today didn't mean it would be tommorrow,
challenging...Most of the ww I did there was Normite cabinate
construction. But that was where I was at the time anyway...

   Larry says...
Roy, I thought that the ants down there were big and mean enough
to do
that tilling for you.

 The ants aren't agregarian, but have been known to pick up a full grown
cow, carry it to their burrow and butcher it on site while stuffing it
down the hole...those are red ants.

 Then there are the fire ants...little ants, big attitude, bite and sting
to match attitude. Bad enough to actually leave scars....and very
agressive.
(But then, they aren't native to Texas, just more ungrateful latecomers...)

 I  no longer live in Texas, but am proof of the old adage...You can take
the Texan out of Texas, but you can't take Texas out of the Texan. Long
live the Republic of Texas!!!

Roy Griggs
roygriggs@v...
www.shavingsandsawdust.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------