One of the great things about having a website is that occasionally I hear from some amazing people. One of these people, from the other side of the globe, is Bogdan Jeric, a woodcarver extraordinaire from Slovenia. For all the internets dangers and faults, the fact that I could be in touch with such a craftsman from so far away is a tremendous plus to me. Check out his website (hot link below), apparently galerija means gallery in slovak.
A walk in the park
A number of people have wondered at how I work wood. I installed millwork commercially for 35 years. Whether it was Bloomingdale’s store or Boston College the job was working with a chop saw, a skilsaw and a drill. For the last 20 years, most of the time, there was a table saw there too (the little Makita portable- I learned how to cope complex curved crown molding on it).
I cope cut laminated counter tops by climb cutting (backwards so it wouldn’t chip the laminate) with a skil saw, with an undercut because there was no backsplash.
I installed all the 18” deep oak window sills scribed to within 1/32” in an entire building with a Bosch jigsaw holding it upside down, with the blade towards me.
I learned to cut tile with a diamond wheel, a grinder, and a wet sponge.
I spent my working life removing wood from a piece held with one hand with an exposed moving blade in the other on a set of plastic sawhorses, and I was pretty good at it.
I’m not unusual, most finish carpenters are good at it.
What this means is, a grinder with a carbide wheel or sandpaper is like a creative walk in the park to me
a second shout-out to some great guys!!
I wrote this over a year ago but really feel that it is something that should be renewed periodically. Some of the people of your past are important.
I was in the construction trade, carpentry, for 40 years, before I “retired” and started building furniture full time. While in the trades, I worked for almost 60 different companies (some of them many different times) in over 200 locations. Most of the time, I would be on the job for the “finish” work, installing millwork or doors and hardware. Every company has slightly different tools in the gang box, a slightly different method of working, and vastly different expectations of what the work should look like when you leave. The quality of work and the quantity of work were the 2 contradictory things that constantly were a sticking point.
In your life, there are people who stand out, people who made a difference in how you saw things. These are 4 people who stand out in my working life, people who helped me immensely with that aforementioned contradictory sticking point. By the way, these are all wonderful people and I know that, typically, these guys all think that this is no big thing! I’m saying that, in my life, it was a very big deal.
Gary Guilmette: The little Vermont Frenchman who, with humor and example, taught me to care ONLY about the integrity of the work!
Charlie Duffer: The outside foreman for National Door who brought me inside based on my work ethic. A believer of the integrity of the work, Charlie taught me how to install doors and hardware on a fast production basis. Please, work smarter not harder!
Norman Godfrey: This guy hired me based on our work together and on his jobs (the Henri Bendel store in Chestnut Hill in particular), quality of work was primary. He pushed me to new heights. pickled oak panels for 3 floors while carrying a 1/8” reveal cut through the whole job.
Bob Drover: This man is the best mechanic I have ever known. He taught me how to make a living installing millwork to 1/64” while keeping production in line with what any other carpenter could do at a much lower level. I carry his techniques now in making furniture and am incredibly grateful that this man took me under his wing.
joinery
I've added a new page to the website. I've recently come to realize that many people don't understand what goes into making fine, long lasting furniture. You can put pieces of wood together with nails, screws, and glue and it will last a while (think ikea), especially if that furniture isn't used. If you want furniture that will last and stand up to continuous use, then the mechanical joints need to be sound, substantial, and solid.
So the new page is - the joinery - and it's an attempt to explain custom furniture from my perspective. There may be more pages to come, the cradle I made may get a page of it's own.
COLD!!
It's cold in my shop so I took the time to set up and take a few pictures of my latest chairs. I think I'm going to take these 3 (the 2 low backed chairs and the armless walnut rocker-seen elsewhere on the website) to the Philly show.