My blog at Popular Woodworking- Born to Fail at WoodworkingNo matter how long I work in this craft, there are days when I feel incapable of doing anything correctly. Such as today. Readers love to be reminded that even people who do this every day suffer regular failures. If you like to wallow in other people’s misery, this post is for you. (Also, it shows you how I deal with woodworking despair.) For the last month […]
- Half-moon Winding Sticks – to Make or BuyTwo years ago I wrote about some unusual homemade winding sticks I encountered in North Carolina (read the article here). Instead of using inlay to help broadcast a board’s twisted state to your eyes, these used a pair of half-moon cutouts. They worked brilliantly, perhaps better than any other set I’ve used before. This summer I made myself a quick pair whi […]
- In Praise of the Cork Sanding BlockWhen I wrote about the 50 or so essential hand tools you need to make furniture in “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest,” I neglected to include my cork sanding block in that list. I think the reason I forgot was that the block is as essential as my marking knife. I know the tendency today is to eschew abrasives and finish projects straight from the tools, but that’s […]
- Against Perfection, Precision or AccuracyIt’s difficult to argue against perfection in woodworking. That’s because the counter argument is something like: “You’re a hack and can’t get it right, and so you say that your imperfections are intentional.” Or put another way, you can’t be too rich, too thin or have joinery that is too perfect. Here’s how I think about perfection: We now have the technolo […]
- Born to Fail at Woodworking
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![Plate 335. Design of a Piece of Marquetry Appropriate to be Executed in Shell and Copper
The third and last type of veneered cabinetry that remains to be presented, as I have already said at the beginning of this part of my work, is the one where along with wood, one uses metals, shell, ivory and other materials, and even precious stones. This type of veneered cabinetry is named by its workers as marquetry, to distinguish it from the type where one uses only wood veneer. This denomination, although the most generally used, does not seem to be accurate because the cabinetry of which I speak is, above all, a type of very rich mosaic. By means of these Mosaics one can represent all sorts of subjects, not only colored as in works of marquetry or Painted wood, but also by the mixing and the contrast of [positive and negative composition elements] different materials that one uses, which are separate one from the other and create Compositions of the greatest beauty, whose [perfection of ] execution is often argued based on the richness of the materials. — from “To Make as Perfectly as Possible” by André-Jacob Roubo; translation by Donald C. Williams, Michele Pietryka-Pagán & Philippe Lafargue
#Roubo_on_Marquetry](https://web-archive.nli.org.il/National_Library/20161222123739im_/https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/s640x640/sh0.08/e35/19955685_157833051431685_5960291206612123648_n.jpg "Plate 335. Design of a Piece of Marquetry Appropriate to be Executed in Shell and Copper
The third and last type of veneered cabinetry that remains to be presented, as I have already said at the beginning of this part of my work, is the one where along with wood, one uses metals, shell, ivory and other materials, and even precious stones. This type of veneered cabinetry is named by its workers as marquetry, to distinguish it from the type where one uses only wood veneer. This denomination, although the most generally used, does not seem to be accurate because the cabinetry of which I speak is, above all, a type of very rich mosaic. By means of these Mosaics one can represent all sorts of subjects, not only colored as in works of marquetry or Painted wood, but also by the mixing and the contrast of [positive and negative composition elements] different materials that one uses, which are separate one from the other and create Compositions of the greatest beauty, whose [perfection of ] execution is often argued based on the richness of the materials. — from “To Make as Perfectly as Possible” by André-Jacob Roubo; translation by Donald C. Williams, Michele Pietryka-Pagán & Philippe Lafargue
#Roubo_on_Marquetry")
Category Archives: Charles H. Hayward at The Woodworker
Useful Device for Rebating and Grooving
This is an excerpt from “The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years: Volume IV” published by Lost Art Press. Anyone using the Stanley or Record combination and multiplanes, or indeed any form of rebate or grooving plane, will no doubt have experienced difficulty in … Continue reading
The Technique of Woodwork
This is an excerpt from “The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years: Volume II” published by Lost Art Press. The practical working of wood is largely based upon an extraordinarily simple fact; a fact which every man who goes in for woodwork, even … Continue reading
FEATURES IN FURNITURE: CARVINGS AND TURNINGS
This is an excerpt from “The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years: Volume IV” published by Lost Art Press. From the earliest pre-historic ages man has tried to express himself in some form of decoration, first in flint and then in wood. To … Continue reading
Some Interesting Lesser Used Joints
This is an excerpt from “The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years: Volume III” published by Lost Art Press. CROSS HALVING WITH HOUSED SHOULDERS The cross-halving joint, with notched or housed shoulders (Fig. 1), is only rarely used in actual practice. In ecclesiastical woodwork … Continue reading
The Pace
Are we becoming adjusted to speed? I was talking a few days ago to a factory worker who thinks we are and that men are changing and will go on changing under its influence. “Everybody is working,” he said, referring … Continue reading
Sliding Doors
This is an excerpt from “The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years: Volume IV” published by Lost Art Press. Although there are many occasions when sliding doors can be used with advantage it should be pointed out that they should not be fitted … Continue reading
Drawer Runners
This is an excerpt from “The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years: Volume II” published by Lost Art Press. That drawer runners must be strong is fairly obvious, but there are other equally important considerations to be kept in mind. For example, they must … Continue reading
