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/im_/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: Uncategorized
A Walk in the Woods in June
With June comes summer, and the forest pretty much goes on cruise control. Everything that was happening keeps happening, and not much new happens. American basswood (Tilia americana) is a late bloomer, literally. It blooms in the early part of … Continue reading
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Sharpen This, Part 3: What the &^%$ is Sharp?
Read the other installments in the “Sharpen This” series via this link. People say that “sharp” is like pornography – you know it when you see it. The problem with that statement is that you cannot see sharpness. When a … Continue reading
Posted in Sharpen This, Uncategorized
Last Chance for These Sticker Designs
This is the last call for the three stickers designs shown above. I’m busy designing three new stickers for my daughter Maddy’s sticker empire – these new designs should be ready in August. You can order a set of three … Continue reading
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Meet the Author: David Savage
One of the books I am most excited about publishing is David Savage’s “The Intelligent Hand,” which is supposed to be in my hands for editing by the end of the year. As many North American woodworkers are unfamiliar with … Continue reading
Posted in The Intelligent Hand, Uncategorized
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Sharpen This, Part 2: Hear No Evil
Read the other installments in the “Sharpen This” series via this link. When you learn to sharpen, I think it’s essential to do something that is normally a bad idea: Close your mind. Let’s say you are 5 years old … Continue reading
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Sharpen This, Part 1
Read the other installments in the “Sharpen This” series via this link. After years of working with professional and amateur woodworkers all over the world I have concluded that people who are hostile to handwork tend to badmouth it for … Continue reading
Posted in Sharpen This, Uncategorized
56 Comments
Call me anything but boss
When my former husband and I moved to southern Indiana in 1988, we became friends with a carpenter named Joe who possessed an endearing confidence that everything he thought and said was right. He and his wife were literal about … Continue reading
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