Alas, daddy_O may be correct (eh, or not) that the time is soon coming where the only way you’ll be able to speak to me is through my manager. Today is not that day, however. I know, the title of this post seems rather pretentious even to me but what else would you call it?
Ok, I know it isn’t Sunday (I said my postings would likely come Sunday and Thursday mornings) but The Rookster stopped by my blog the other day. I read his comment here and then checked out his blog where I found a nice little post about my blog (does that mean I need to add it to the “Charles Bender on the web” post?…I digress). Since I’m naturally curious, I continued to delve into his blog…for the next two days (I’m a slow reader if you can’t tell by how fast I type…). It’s chock full of great information. He obviously is very passionate about his woodworking and his woodworking education. The posts are insightful and, quite often, entertaining.
Before we get into this segment, I wanted to address a question, or two, from daddy-O from the last installment. He asked “I think but can”t tell that the bit is putting 2 beads on the edge at the same time.”. So here’s a closeup of the final pic in the last post. Hopefully, you can see exactly what’s going on. It is a double bead that’s being cut by the same cutter I ground for the initial Oxbow post. And to answer another of daddy-O’s requests, click on the pic. When I get a free moment, I’ll try to rework the previous posts to utilize the “click to enlarge” feature for all the pictures.
Let’s pick up from where we left off. I had milled and cut all the parts to size, cutout and shaped the blades. If you noticed, I did not bead the case sides. The reason for this is, I want to route the dovetails into the case side for the blades first. This reduces the chance of tearing out the beads on the case.
This post is to give you a few links to places on the web where there is commentary on my work. I’ll add more as people let me know where to find them.
In this series of posts, I’ll show the step by step construction of a New England Oxbow chest. You’re probably familiar with a serpentine (the face of the piece is concaved on either side and convex in the middle) but you may not have seen an oxbow, or reverse serpentine chest. In a reverse serpentine, the outer portions of the case front are shaped in a convex fashion while the center is concaved. This may sound a little confusing, but stick with me and it will all make sense. [Read more →]
Welcome to my woodworking blog. I’m extremely new to this blog thing so please bear with me as I begin to develop the site. Hopefully, you’ll be able to find useful information and some entertaining stories about my woodworking adventures here. Please feel free to comment on any of the posts I make. The more we share ideas here, the more everyone will benefit. That is, after all, why I am creating this blog. I want my woodworking students, and woodworking enthusiasts from all over the world, to learn from my experience as a professional furniture maker. I also want to share in the vast knowledge available from all those other woodworkers out there. So, please make yourself at home and enjoy the blog as it develops. I’ll begin posting some project and skill posts in the near future. Thanks for visiting.
What you’ll find as you wander through this blog is that I have a unique way of looking at woodworking. I like to keep things simple and straight forward. This is the reason the blog is called “Parings”. I’m going to whittle away all the mystery, hype and nervousness most woodworkers feel as they begin to expand their skills. I’m not here to promote a particular machine or hand tool. Sure, I’ll do some tool and machinery reviews but my only bias comes from seriously looking at the quality of the tools not from some endorsement. If a tool manufacturer makes a great tool for a job, I’ll let you know. If you can make your own tool that will do the job just as good for practically nothing, I’ll not only tell you, I’ll show you how to make the tool.
I’m going to create posts that are directly in line with the way I’ve built furniture for the last 30+ years. It’s also the way I’ve taught all my apprentices and, now it’s how I teach my students. This is serious, no nonsense, earthy woodworking. Did I mention that it’s a whole lot of fun? I’ve had more than 30 years of fun building some of the most incredible pieces of furniture anyone has ever had the opportunity to make. Let’s see if we can make some more, together.
Chuck Bender
