What's a Bench Hook? 2nd. Meeting of the Hand Tool Class

     You may recall that the first project for the class currently held at Wooditis Studio and School is a bench hook, a project I refer to as Project Over-Kill.  Why you may ask, well I've taken this fairly simple shop made appliance and added dovetails, tongue and groove, and dowels to its joinery to make it something that that will be useful but also remind the students of the struggles they may have had making it in class.
     Basically a bench hook is something you hook over your bench, picnic table, truck tailgate, etc. which allows you to secure your wood while you work it.  It works because your hand that is holding the board is putting pressure against the part hooked over the working surface.  Below, I'm putting a chamfer on the bottom of a lid with a block plane.  Other uses are for sawing and chiseling -- they really are a great addition to any woodworkers tools.

Bench Hook in Action

     Although two students were unable to make it to class Thursday those who were here accomplished both parts of the dovetail and will no doubt be gluing up next session.  There is much that goes into making dovetails.  The process begins with carefully transferring the tails onto the pin board:

Transferring Markings

     Something anyone who's done dovetails probably realizes is that since the joint is hand cut and the two parts make a perfect match you need to label the pieces.  I'm sure I'm not the only one to cut a perfect joint only to find out I used the wrong end of the board!  Well, in a class situation you also need to make sure it's your board and not a classmates -- note to self for next class.
     Once your marking is done it's time to make the cuts:

Saw Cut Straight Please

     Here's where we learn that the success of sawing really depends on the body mechanics we use.  Here we see some good form with a Japanese style saw.  The handle is nestled next to her forearm, the saw is parallel to the board, and it looks like she's on track.
     Once the saw cuts are made to separate the pins it's time to chop out the waste between them:

Chopping Out the Waste

     This is the part of the work that takes time and requires a sharp chisel.  We had a session on sharpening to underscore that.  As I told them, sometimes you're lucky and the joint goes together easily but other times you may have to fiddle around with it for quite some time to get things to fit.  I know that there are furniture builders who make this joint on a daily basis and theirs will almost always drop right into place.  For most of us though, it's a bit more effort.
     Just a reminder, next week we'll meet on Wednesday instead of Thursday.  I'll be there shortly after 5:00 in case you want to catch up or get some extra help on your project.  We'll be cutting the material for the tool tote and give the dovetailing a rest while we start with lap joints.  See you then.

First Class Meeting 5-9-2013

     After all of these years teaching there's still a bit of apprehension whenever I start a new class or meet a student for the first time.  I've told myself that's a good thing; having had complacent teachers that "just go through the motions" and as a rule, didn't get much from their class.  Woodworking is a passionate endeavor for me and I want to share that.
     There's an even mix of male/female in this class with four of each.  Skill levels range from novice to those with quite a bit of experience that want to add some hand tool skills to their repertoire.  The goal for the first to sessions is to try to keep the class pretty much at the same place on their project which is this bench hook:

De-Constructed Bench Hook

    My aim is to familiarize them with marking techniques, chisel, plane, and dovetail saws as they build this project.  It's one they'll be able to use in their future work.  Class started with a demonstration on how to lay out the dovetails -- then they were on their own.  Once all the layout was completed another demonstration showed cutting and chopping out the waste.  We accomplished quite a bit with all getting the tails laid out and cut.  First thing next Thursday will be transferring them, cutting the pins,  and hopefully completing the project so we can start work on the tool tote.  Here's some candid shots of them hard at work.  It's interesting to see the different approaches and body stances they use.  They're definitely concentrating on their work -- looking forward to see how the fitting portion of the joint goes.  One thing I've stressed is that cutting the joinery in 3/4" thick material is much more difficult then when we use the 1/2" thick material for the tool tote project.

Getting Ready for the Hand Tool Class

      As of today there are 7 students enrolled in the Hand Tool Woodworking class that starts this Thursday at Wooditis here in Las Vegas.  I've spent much of the morning preparing the stock for the two projects.  Jamie bought the materials we need and brought it over to my shop so I could prepare it for the class.  Our first project will be the bench hook that I refer to as Project Overkill.  Bench hooks are really a pretty simple shop made appliance but very useful.  I designed this one to incorporate dovetail and tongue and groove joinery -- all hand cut!

Bench Hook Material

     We're using Alder for the base and Poplar for the two hooks.   You can see the deconstructed one in the back ground.  Alder is a good material to make your first dovetails in and they're fairly large so students have to deal with small pins or tails.  I'm a tails first guy so the Alder is the first material they'll work on.  The Poplar is a bit harder which is a mixed blessing; yes it takes more effort to saw but tends to pare and chisel smoother.  Of course, just when you think you know how a wood will react it throws you a curve ball.  I'm planning on being able to complete this project during the first two class sessions.
     The other project is a tool tote inspired by the one in Jim Tolpins book, The New Traditional Woodworker. This will take the remaining 4 weeks of the class.  I've modified it some as you can see in this photo.

Tool Tote Material

     I made the prototype out of Alder but Jamie and I decided that the Poplar, being harder, would chisel and cut more cleanly for them.  Sometimes the Alder seems to just fold or dent when paring, even with an extremely sharp chisel.  It's hard to see in the picture but I've also designed it with dovetails on one end and pegged lap joints on the other.  This way they'll get the chance to experiment with both types of joints.
     All that remains is to run off my hand out for cutting dovetails and make a detail drawing showing the layout for the tails.  Looking forward to this class, teaching is always rewarding.