So. Over a year ago now, I went to “Chair School” to make a double bowed Windsor chair from a log with no power tools. It is a course run by Howard Archbold that goes for ten days in a town called Moonan Brook near Barrington Tops.
I think the pictures pretty much tell the story of the steps involved and the process and the type of tools we used. Using only hand tools was so rewarding and exhausting. Coming from a place where I reach first for a power tool this completely opened my eyes to many things about hand tools.
1. Its so nice to work in a quiet environment without the sound of electric routers, trimmers, planers, exhaust fans and all the constant and unpleasant ambient noise of a modern workshop.
2. Sometimes hand tools are quicker. Rather than setting up a power tool for a small job, getting out cables, finding attachments, moving the extractor, you just reach for hand plane and viola job done.
3. Hand tools reward practice. Any idiot can set up a table saw or a thicknesser right? But can you do the same thing with a hand saw or a plane? As a beginner I think if I had not seen a real expert using hand tools to great effect I would be tempted to give up very quickly. Thats because your first 100 goes will probably look shit. But on your 101st go something magical will happen. My example of this is the pole lathe. It took me one whole day to get a bit of log split, roughed into shape, and turned into a leg shape.
But then heres a guy smashing a leg out in a few minutes at the annual Bodgers Ball “Log to Leg” Race.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Inzxe25j9M
4. Hand tools give you an energy relationship to your work. You learn exactly how much effort and power has gone into something. Most of the time you don’t have an energy relationship with power tools, how many watts, how much electricity, went into that cut? No idea. Having this energy relationship teaches you to become more efficient with your technique and strokes. It also makes you naturally exercise. Its also better for the planet.
5. Some hand tools are better than power tools. As someone new to planing at the time I was terribly impressed with the finish you can achieve with a plane or a spoke shave. Much crisper and cleaner than sandpaper and way less dust and wasted paper. 2 thumbs up for sharp knives.
6. The above holds true for everything except the “bow saw”. WTF. It works the opposite to almost any other tool in that the more you try to control it, the more it does the opposite of what you want. The less you try, or the more you relax, the better it works. After I’d finished cutting out my seat, it seriously looked as though I had used an axe to hack it out. A tool that definitely responds to practice if you can be bothered persisting with this piece of shit. Clearly I have no love for the bow saw and am glad we have moved on technologically.
Another thing I am glad we have moved on from is animal glue. We used animal glue. True blue. It stank bad. Like the bottom of a garbage bin + dead animals + the most noxious fart ever + just really bad smells. Not like dead animals it was dead animals. And it made me gag. Over and over. I still get a shiver when I think about it. PVA all the way. Away from the knackery.
buster kruger 