Completing the second major projects

ByPaul Sellers

Tension always rises at two points in any of my workshops; day 1 when everyone is wondering whether they can really do it and during complex glue-ups when parts that fit ten minutes earlier seem to momentarily freeze shy of the shoulders coming together. The answers are two extremes;usually anyway.Gentleness and kindness seems most appropriate for the early situation, together with a little humour thrown in for good measure and firm force witH unyielding determination and a sizeable assembly hammer settles the latter. Fact is, it takes a certain confidence to ensure success and the start of the course is quickly delineated in The first few hours. Today, coffee tables emerged from a series of quite tense moments. A slipping clamp and a misplaced wack increase the awareness levels of those quietly working at their benches and then suddenly a smile, a laugh, a clapping pair of hands and whoop for joy settles in and peace reigns in the cacophony of mallet blows and saw strokes. Tension flees out the window and we each engage by eye with one another as successes stand in clamps by each bench.

As we started to suddenly apply finish to each of the projects, my success becomes evident too. Saw strokes no longer jarr in the kerf and plane shavings jointing the edges of the new tabletops seem, well, deliberate and highly productive. If you walked into my workshop you would, like,al the I visitors that come, feel that theses men were highly skilled in their work. They exude confidence and success because their dovetails stand proud testimony to it and so too the shavings around the feet ofthe bench. Amazing. Pictures almost ready to show and tell and I have a series of interviews lined up for you to hear too.

Joseph arrives here in upstate New York tomorrow so we are looking forward to him being here and teaching class with me. He is the mastermind behind much of what we do with our New Legacy woodworking and this week’s brainstorming will evidence our aspirations to further enhance real woodworm around the globe.