Kudus is a city in the Central Java, Indonesia, located among Jepara, Demak, Pati, and Purwodadi districts and in the route of Semarang the capital city of Central Java to Surabaya (please see location map). Based on story, Kudus name was from Al-Quds, which mean holy.

Click image to enlarge

The history of Kudus cannot be separate from the name of Sunan Kudus as the founder and one of the Wali sanga (nine Wali) spreader of Islam in Java at that moment. As his inheritance, Kudus has a famous artefact called Menara of Kudus which form like a temple, placed in one complex with mosque of Menara Kudus that build by Sunan Kudus around 1685 M.

Except famous as a Wali city, since in Kudus area there is wellknown also Sunan Muria, Kudus also known for a long time as a kretek city (city of clove cigarette) as there are many entrepreneurs in the cigarette field. Beside that, Kudus can also called as city of industry because of the long development of industry in the area such as industries in cigarettes, papers, printings, handycrafts, embroideries, foods, etc.

Kali Gelis (Gelis river) which lying in the midlle of the city separates Kudus into two areas, one is Kudus Kulon (west Kudus), the other is Kudus Wetan (east Kudus). Long time ago, according to history, citizen of Kudus Kulon area were entrepreneurs, traders, farmers and moslem theologians, while occupant of the Kudus Wetan area were government officers, intellectuals, teachers, nobles and noble relatives.

Within the growth and development of Kudus, physically Kudus Kulon area, where the majority of the citizens were entrepreneurs and traders, were a steph forward in wealthy compare with the other area Kudus Wetan. With their financial increasing, they build the traditional wooden houses of Kudus full with carved that make it different with the previous traditional houses. That is why, the amazing traditional house, which lately called as the traditional house of Kudus used to only placed in the Kudus Kulon area. At the beginning, the traditional house of Kudus only belong to the Islamic Chinese traders, but furthermore were copied and developed by the native wealthy traders.

The traditional house of Kudus that mostly build before year 1810 M, ever reach the glorious time and become a symbol of prosperity for the owners. The Kudus Kulon area environment was formed with the particular existency of the traditional house of Kudus.

The developing history of Kudus has many influences from foreign cultures like Hindu, Chinese, Persia (Islam) and Europe, which also influence the architectural field in made the traditional house in Kudus. From the research, it can be concluded that there are several motifs colouring the carving style of the traditional house. One is Chinese motif, which form as the dragon carved, Persia or Islam motif that form as jasmine flowers or the particular motif of Kudus that form as lotus flower and colonial motif that form as ropes, crown, and animals. All motifs have correlation with the incoming cultures to Kudus.

The carving art of Kudus dominate by lotus flower as the meaning of Hindu religion. Sunan Kudus introduced a carving dominated by jasmine flowers that described united one to another. The meaning of jasmine was to describe that Islam religion at that time was a small community but it like jasmine, even small, could give fragrance to the sorrounding area. Jasmine made united in one to another to describe that everybody in neighborhood were live in peace even there were differences in the religion.

Within development in making the traditional house of Kudus, influence of the elements of cultures were very viscous gave the meaning of form and function of every part, hence could be separate as follows:

1. Traditional house as the tools to spread religion (dakwah) *)

In the daily life, Kudus citizen are majority obedient muslem. Life of religious service is the social relations that have formed in the many aspects, such as in the house to live which full with the describing of the rukun Islam (Islamic obligation).

In the room inside, there is a place or room called gedongan which formed as mihrab, a place where imam (leader of praying) lead the pray that connected with the symbolic meaning as a holy place and sacral. Gedongan also has significance meaning used as the place of heirloom treasury and the wealth of the owners. Gedongan used also as the main honorables bedroom and at the particular time used as special bedroom for the wedding couple of the childrens of the owners.

Also in the room inside there are four main pillars, which called saka guru that desribe four essence of ideal life. At the top of the fourth pillars, putted tumpang sari where the roof was lying on. The sum of tumpang sari are always odd and always have a meaning, sum of five describe the amount of praying five times a day. The sum of three describe life in soul world, transitory (this world) and the world hereafter.

Front room that called Jaga Satru is provided for parish and separates into two part, left side for women jamaah (followers of imam) and right side for men jamaah (followers). Still in the Jaga Satru room at the incoming front door, there is one wood pillar in the midlle of the room which called balance pillar or soko geder, which has meaning except as the symbol of ownership of the house, it also has a symbol for reminding the resident about the One God, the only One who have to be homaged.

House as the tools to spread religion is represent through Islamic value that formed in the carved style at the partition between front room and inside room called gebyok. The strengthen element of gebyok are two stalk pillars where at its top made a carved that formed as palm of the hand of muslem when doing praying at the position of takbiratulihram (when start to pray) that always at the same time say the words Allahu Akbar which mean Allah The Mighty.

Carving in the gebyok, even it is accumulation from many culture influences, but the visualitation adopted from Arabic calligraphy with Al Quran and Hadist theme. There are many other dakwah messages that formed in the building decoration and it always about aspects of way of life and life attitude of human in do their obligation in the earth for their salvage in heaven.

2. Traditional house as a masterpiece art*)
Traditional house of Kudus if notice deeply is more and more fabulous since its uniqueness and attractiveness in exterior and interior which full with ornamen that made by highest skill woodcarving artist. Foundation of the existancy of the traditional house of Kudus was full with taste and creation that fashioned in the beautiful forms without broken any religion values. Through the activity of art, there is possibility of adding the atmosphere of the deepest metaphysic reality.

Traditional house of Kudus, if seen from Bernard Rudofsky theory, is include in the communal architect that priorities in the art element which done continuosly and spontaneously balanced by whole community with the same tradition from time to time following the ritual habit inside the communal. Art is not just copy and physical implementation of the external form, it also as the spiritual elements that achieve esthetic form. The creation becomes what it called architectural without architect.

The construction of the wooden house made completely knock down that make it easir to release and assemble hence there is possibility also to make part by part of the ornamen fully detail and accurate. The decoration was inspired by the success of temple relief and the development process was instructed by Chinese woodcarver from Sun Ging area. The owners were the wealthy entrepreneurs and traders. The carved decoration were build on the whole component intentionally without gave any empty space left and the results was very optimum, full of meaning, symbolic and the style were correlation among Java, Gujarat, Persia, China and colonial (Europe) style.

Wali Songo influence in the formed of decoration was very dominant even in Islam religion there is a forbidden in the formed of living thing, but they gave the chance of a huge tolerate formed as acculturation and assimilation on the evolutif way thus create a wonderful figurative consequence of imagination from the living thing forms. Art appreciation from the Wali Songo that full with tolerate also accomplished by khalifah in the Arab since Abbasiyah era. Palace of Harun Al Rasyid in Baghdad, palace of Al Mutasin in Samara, Cordoba mosque in Spain, also decorated by fresco formed lion, eagle, horses, and the other creatures. Drawing arts applicated in carpets, ceramics, wall and doors achieved the highest level to become the world admire.

Art ornamentation looks unite with the main building, since the creators were very concern with details, function, structure, ritual, symbol and esthetic that decoratively increase the attractiveness for whoever want to see it. The particular local habitual in the way of life through the architectural behaviour is the description of personification of the Kudus traditional house that make it different in form and style with the other joglo building in Java commonly, except in the form of the roof and soko guru as the support of the tumpang sari.

3. Traditional house as the Class symbol *)

The beautiful traditional houses of Kudus have average age for more than 100 (hundred) through 200 (two hundred). Due to the age of the building, if someone wants to analyze it, they have to use the examination within that era.

According to Prof. Berger, the structure of the Java community at the 19th and 20th century can be divided into several class such as; nobles, government officers, traders and farmers. Colonial politics at that time placed politic emancipation that have aim to liberate individual from old social band which consider shackles the freedom and law enforcement that hold mostly in the feodalism band. Development of individual in the community was appointed to the forming of personality, spirit effort in order to developing the prosperity soon.
In the other words, Kudus citizen that categories as pesisiran (near the beaches) citizen, their wealthy level mostly higher compare with the nobles and the officers at that moment. But in the daily life they did not get any self-respect and honor by the community. They way of living as a trader was qualified as second class and dishonor, hence as the compensation citizen of Kudus Kulon, that the majority were traders, formed the appearance of their house very glorious with the expectation that their too have the rights to get honor same with the nobles. The level of their house made in high five stairs to suit with the social strata like what it done by noble community. Guess from the farmers were accepted in the front room, for the officers community accept in the midlle room while for Bupati (distric chief) and Netherlands people were accepted in gedongan room. Surrounding the house was made high wall same as the form of palace.

Traditional houses that at the beginning owned by traders of Chinese moslem were copied and developed with the Javanese and Islamic values. All over the house were full of carved with ornament from many styles like in the palace of kings in Java, done by high skilled woodcarvers with very fascinating result. Accordingly, it worth to gets the confession of honor like government officers and nobles. For them, house were a symbol of status or stage that worth to get honor and equality.

(Source :* J Pamudji Suptandar, Great Lecture of Rupa art and Design Faculty of Trisakti University/Adopted in English by Deva's father)

The fascinating wooden carved at the traditional house of Kudus must be come from the very skilled woodcarvers. Then, from where the woodcarvers came from?

The carving style of the wooden traditional house of Kudus was quite distinct from the other famous carving centre in Java, Jepara. Historically, Kudus was a carving centre long before it developed as a skill in Jepara. Carving was introduced to Kudus when an emigrant from the famous carving city of Yunan - China, The Ling Sing, arrived in the 15th century. He came to Kudus not only to spread Islamic teachings but also to devote his skills to the art of woodcarving, and his style, Sung Ging, was famous for its smooth and wonderful woodcarving masterpieces.

The Ling Sing was wellknown as mubaligh (spreader of Islam) called Kiai telingsing. The name of Kiai Telingsing until now use as a name of a street in Kudus city. There is a kampong or village surrounding the street called Sunggingan that predicted came from the Sun Ging name. The area, at the past, was belief as the resident of the woodcarvers and carpenters from the devotion of Kiai Telingsing skills.

From the 16th to the 18th century, woodcarvers in Kudus received many orders to construct wooden houses. The main material - highest quality teak - was supplied from Blora's, Tuban's and Bojonegoro's forest. From the 19th century, however, high quality teak became scarcer and scarcer and this, in turn, discouraged the woodcarvers of Kudus to develop their skills.

The carving skills also belong to Jepara's people and has been very famous until now. There is an opinion, which said that wooden carved art in Kudus also done by woodcarvers from Jepara, eventhough in the reality it different in the carving models, especially in the mission and filosophy.

According the history, Mantingan mosque in Jepara has wall that made from carved white stone with the flower motifs that was masterwork of a Chinese called Tji Wie Gwan who brought by Raden toyib to Jepara after come back from his Islamic study in Campa for five years. Raden Toyib then married with Ratu (queen) Kalinyamat, the very famous Jepara's queen at that time.

For his achievement in build Mantingan mosque at the year of 1559, Queen Kalinyamat and her husband gave a new name for Tji Wie Gwan to become Sungging Badar Duwung, Sungging means carving expert, Badar same with stone and Duwung means tatah (tool for carv).

This Sungging Badar Duwung who then recognized as the root source of the Jepara's carving art which consecutively knowing in all over Indonesia and the world. According to history, he was too takes a part in the erection of mosque in Loram (a name of area in Kudus) and mosque of Menara Kudus.

Sungging Badar Duwung then devoted his skill to the surrounding community in Jepara as well as in Kudus and presented high skilled carvers that from time to time growth in numbers. This skill direct and indirect was useful in the process of developing the traditional house of Kudus.

The certainty of mentioned things were still need to be investigated furthermore. But for sure, the traditional house of Kudus has build and become one of the Kudus markers with its fabulous woodcarving.

This time, I´ll give you a complete tutorial to make a very nice sweater.

The first rows: double elastic stitch (10 rows).
After that rows: start the desing.

1st design row:

1 -Pass the first loop from left needle to right needle. (pic. a - b)

pic. a

pic. b
2 - Make one lace, as you can see in pic. c.
pic. c
3 - Pass another loop from left needle to right needle. (pic. d) (*)

pic. d
4 - Knit one stitch. (pic. e)
pic. e
5 - Pass the third loop (the one you made on step 3) over the las one you knit. (pic. f)
pic. f
6 - Knit three stitches (no pic)

7 - Knit two stitches together (pic. g)
pic. g
8 - Make a lace.

9 - Knit one. (*)
10 - Make a lace

11 - and start all over again since the first * to the last *.
Lace.

The last stitches of the row are: - Knit 2 stitches together - one lace - Knit one. (you have to finish like this if you want to follow this pattern)
2nd row: Purl all the row (including the lace loops - that way the little holes appears)
3rd row:

1 - Pass the first loop from left needle to right needle.
2 - Knit one
3 - One lace
4- Pass another loop from left needle to right needle. (*)
5 - Knit one
6 - Pass the fourth loop (the one you made on step 4) over the las one you knit.
7 - Knit one
8 - Knit two stitches together.
9 - Make a lace
10 - Knit three.
11 - Make a lace (*)

4th row:
Purl all the row.

5th row:

1 - Knit three.
2 - make a lace
3 - Pass one loop from left needle to right one (*)
4 - Knit two stitches together.
5 - Pass the third stitch over the two stitches you knt in step 4 - this way you close the upper angle of the triangle.
6 - Make a lace.
7 - Knit five stitches.
8 - Make a lace.
repeat from (*)

6 a 12 row : rice stitch

Start all over again from the first row of the design.

Here you can see a complete view of the pattern:

And here a closer view of the “Lace” design.

You have to use a thin yarn and thin needles to make this pattern.

Try it, it´s not so difficult and the outcome it´s great.

Kisses,

Fran

Visit this sites for more ideas: Knit n Purl Zen , Little Purl of the Orient.

Make all the fun you want to about all his “routahs,” but you have to admit that Norm Abram has done more to foster a worldwide interest in woodworking than anyone else. While I don’t always agree with his choice of construction techniques and joinery, he has made woodworking approachable and less intimidating for millions of people.  I had the chance to meet him (actually, just a handshake) at a Delta/Porter-Cable gathering at the AWFS show in Las Vegas in July. He seems like a great guy and I’d like to have the chance to sit and have a cup of coffee with him sometime.

In Design News, there’s a great article about how Norm got started and how he managed to make it into his 20th season this year on New Yankee Workshop. Did you know that Norm attended college with the intent of getting an engineering degree?  Here’s an intersesting quote from the article:

“I hated sitting in a class of 600 in a thermodynamics class, but I loved being in the lab working with metals. I hung in there for a couple of years and said this isn’t for me. You can learn a lot from school and books, but you really learn from experience,� he says. Going with a gut feeling, he switched to production management in business school, sensing he wanted to be a building contractor. He came close but never earned a degree because midstream in college he “felt it was time to go to work.�  

And the rest is history, as they say.

My wife has me looking at Spinning Wheels.

So help me God, every time I think about it I get stuck humming Blood, Sweat, and Tears for hours.

Anyway, I am sure I have explained that Gail is a prolific knitter. She is quite likely a better knitter than I am woodworker. There is no doubt her completion of projects blows me away. I complete about 0.33 projects per year, and Gail busts out about 2 finished goods PER WEEK. The woman is a machine. Now she wants to start spinning her own yarn. I believe this is analogous to the fact that I use rough sawn stock. Once she starts wanting to raise sheep or alpacas, I’ll have to counter by buying a forest and a sawmill.

I may end up building her a spinning wheel, if only so I can weasel in and take partial credit for all future work she does. Then, at dinner parties I can say things like, this is an Irish Fisherman’s sweater my wife spent 60 hours knitting for me, but hey….back in 2008 I made the spinning wheel that she used during the 10 hours of spinning that was necessary to make the yarn that was needed for the 60 hours of knitting.

While in Dublin last month we visited a knit shop (Cleo) where I saw a different way to collaborate. I first whipped out the camera to get some shots of the clothing racks they used. I thought they were cool.

Then, I saw something on some of the sweaters that struck a woodworking note….6000 year old buttons carved from Bog Oak. (click the photo to read the tag)

So if Gail and I collaborate on some of these sweaters, how might my bragging go… "Well, Gail has about 40 hours in the sweater, but each button takes me approximately 6000 years and 20 minutes. However, you know me…you can’t rush quality."

Heeding the advice of a viewer, Tommy starts wearing a dust mask when milling wood and hopes the damage he's already done to his lungs is not permanent. Tommy cuts the upper pediment box with a band saw and router and mounts it to the top of the desk. Then, he shows how he attached the front, back and upper boards to the box frame.

If you’ve read Woodsmith and ShopNotes magazines for any length of time, you know that we’re a fan of threaded inserts. They make it easy to build jigs and fixtures and knock-down furniture or projects. They’re a great way to add machine threads for attaching screws and bolts.

E-Z Lok is a manufacturer of threaded inserts for a variety of industries and applications. And I’ve recently discovered that their web site is a valuable resource of information you can use when building projects that make use of threaded inserts. Their web site contains PDF documents that contain detailed dimemensioned drawings and complete charts listing dimensions and recommended hole sizes for their inserts. (They caution you to try out the insert on a scrap piece to get the exact hole size.)

Click here for a chart of their inserts for hardwood.

Click here for a listing of the knife-thread inserts for softwood.

I like to use press-in “Finserts” whenever I can (see photo at left). I don’t have to thread them and risk not getting them in straight. You can simply press or tap them in place. Click here for more information on finserts.

If you scroll to the bottom of these pages, you’ll see links for PDF documents of drawings and charts.

E-Z Lok’s products are sold through a variety of distributors like McMaster-Carr, Reid Tool, and MSC.

Just think about when today’s kids become woodworkers….things are going to be a lot different. I say this based upon their choice in automobiles.

To give a foundation for the validity of my statements, let me give you my resume.

I am a car guy. I didn’t see it coming. I was a cyclist, and cars were just the things that could potentially kill you out on the narrow country roads of Indiana. However, when I turned 16, I decided I needed a car. I just wanted a car…any car would have done. So I took all of my money from my paper route, and my parents helped me out by giving me some additional funds, and we went out looking for cars.

I remember we were down in Acton (southeast of Indianapolis) when we looked over and saw a car for sale. It was hard to miss it. It was orange. Those hood scoops were factory original…not some stupid aftermarket crap. The center caps on the Ralley II wheels indicated the car was part of PMD (the Pontiac Motor Division of GM). However, PMD was not the important 3 letter acronym associated with this car. I would say the more important letters were GTO. It had rusty quarter panels, perfect white vinyl interior, and everything was original…including the lady who sold it to us. She had bought it brand new from Tom Wood Pontiac back in 1972. She wanted $1000, and we got it for $900 cash. It was the fall of 1986, and I still didn’t know what I had. I just knew I had a car.

Then, I drove myself to school the next day and something happened…I pulled into my parking spot when a bunch of guys I didn’t know were suddenly surrounding my car and asking me questions about my “Goat.� GOAT?!?!?!? Wow, these guys aren’t dumb…they’re just dyslexic. Well, somehow thanks to an orange Pontiac GTO my life as a Gearhead was jumpstarted.

A couple of years later, in college, I fell hard for convertibles, and I kept myself going knowing that my Rose-Hulman degree would land me an engineering job and enough salary to get a new convertible. During rainy college nights, when I would be fixing Thumper (my 1981 VW Rabbit) on the side of I-70, I vowed that I would get a new car (a convertible) the moment I graduated.

By the way, going from the GTO to Thumper was quite a change. Thumper only had compression in 3 of its 4 cylinders, so even though I thought I was Ayrton Senna when I would shift the four speed manual transmission, the car sure didn’t perform like his F1 car. Thumper didn’t perform or sound like my GTO. However, the GTO only got 8 miles to the gallon. (Honest to God…it got 8 mpg). Thumper was far more economical for a college student even with the cheap fuel we had in the early 1990s. Still, I always loved the sound of the V8.

Today, Gail and I have four cars, and we cover a wide spectrum. We have a 4 cylinder Jeep Wrangler with a full roll cage, Skid Plates galore, a Warn Winch, and ARB Air Lockers with 4.56 gears. (Our rock crawling history was done with Low Gearing…not high HP.) Gail has a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with a V8. We have the amazingly economical 2006 VW Jetta TDi (Diesel), and we have a Mercedes SLK with AMG Sport Package. So we have a 4 cylinder, a 6 cylinder, an 8 cylinder, and a diesel. We fix EVERYTHING ourselves, and we keep our cars forever. (I am a true Gearhead...)

When we got the Mercedes, Gail said I had to get rid of the convertible I got 5 days after I graduated from Rose-Hulman, so I gave it to my mother. (I am a very good son).

I love my Mercedes. I love the fact that it is soooooooooo smooth. It idles like a finely engineered automobile, but when you plant the right foot hard, it opens up an adrenaline flood of tsunami proportion. If I am getting on it, the traction control kicks in on the 2-3 shift. Do you know what it takes to break loose those huge back tires while letting out the clutch on the shift into third gear?

However, when the SLK is cruising along, the guy driving next to it has no idea what that silver beauty can do. He probably thinks, “Wow that car is beautiful.� And when it is suddenly gone he thinks, “WOW!!!! That beautiful car is FAST!!!!!!!�

By comparison, this week while driving home from work, my Diesel Jetta was passed by a Husqvarna chain saw. It wasn’t really a chain saw; it was actually a WeedWhacker. You’ve seen them. Little cars driven by 18 year old guys with some kind of coffee can sticking out from under the rear bumper that makes the car sound like something you’d use to clean up a fence line. So the Weed Whacker passes me, and at the next stop light it couldn’t accelerate as fast as my Diesel Jetta that only has about 98 hp. And I, as a Mechanical Engineer and a Gearhead, just couldn’t figure it out. What is the appeal in that sound? Why would a kid want fancy wheels and a coffee can that makes WeedWhacker noises when there are so many other options?

I think I want to do an intervention. I want to work with the local schools and get all of the kids together at the racetrack when they turn 15 and go through a little Scared Straight program.

We’ll start with a Shelby Cobra. I’ll make sure the side pipes are nice and loud, and we’ll just take each kid for a couple of hot laps and let them see what real hp and real exhaust rumble is all about.

Then, I can pack 4 kids into an AMG Mercedes Sedan (let’s go with an S65). And we’ll start by just sitting there letting them play with the interior toys and feel the leather seats and just generally get the feel of what you get with a $200,000 Mercedes. Then, I’ll turn to look at the collection of 15 year old kids, and say, “Let’s see what this 4 door Family Truckster car can do.� (I won’t necessarily tell them that this particular 4 door has a bi-turbo V12 that pumps out over 600 street legal and factory warrantied horsepower.) It just looks like a beautiful 4 door Mercedes that blows away just about anything on the road without having to make any funky WeedWhacker noises.

This is my true calling. I need to work with America’s youth to let them know that WeedWhacker Mufflers are just wrong. You only have three choices:

If I don’t do this, then we are going to lose this generation to the mistaken belief that the WeedWhacker sound is not only acceptable, but that it actually symbolizes performance.

Think of what that attitude will do to the future of woodworking. My nephews will end up saying things like, “My uncle Jeff thinks that 5 hp Unisaw is tough, but give me a 7 ½� Skil saw with an exhaust rattler any day.� “Uncle Jeff thinks his 18 inch Bandsaw is cool, but I would much rather just use this jig saw with the optional motor Rattler.� These little punks won’t even have the decency to build upon the foundation of a Festool Plunge saw. They’ll be buying saws from Harbor Freight and bolting on aftermarket equipment to accentuate the screaming of the cheap Chinese bearings. And in their mind, they’ll be cool.

Robby Pedersen has spent almost 20 years teaching cabinetmaking to young people. His shop and showroom — RVP~1875 — in Story City is a destination stop for school children throughout central Iowa. Before starting his business making reproduction furniture, Robby ran the period cabinet shop at the Living History Farms in Clive, IA.

During this seminar podcast, Robby will demonstrate cutting dovetails with the same tools and techniques used by pioneer craftsmen of the 1800s. You’ll find a link to the seminar guide, distributed at this seminar, for sale at the Woodsmith Podcast Store.

So today I get a copy of the WoodWorker's Book Club bulletin and it lists the "Top 50 Member Favorites." I eagerly flipped through to see if my book on workbenches made the list.

It did. It was No. 30.

I was quite pleased by this bit of news. It was good to be on the same list as Taunton's "Complete Illustrated Guides" (at No. 1), Kerry Pierce's "Pleasant Hill Shaker Furniture" (No. 2) and Jim Tolpin's "Measure Twice, Cut Once" (No. 3, and one of my favorite woodworking books).

But my moment of glee was quickly flung into the dirty litterbox when I saw what aced me out at No 28: "Black & Decker's 24 Weekend Projects for Pets."  

That put my tail between my legs. Time to go home and start writing that birdhouse book I've had on the back burner.

— Christopher Schwarz

Here's another interview that we got a chance to do at the this years The Woodworking Show in Atlanta, GA.

In this video we interview Mark Sillay. Mark is a member of the Georgia Association of Woodturners. He also teaches at John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC.

Mark uses a unique grind on his spindle gouge and shows how he sharpens it. If you've never seen the Jool Tool sharpening system, you're going to be impressed. We have a whole separate interview with the CEO of the Jool Tool in an up coming interview.

After sharpening his spindle gouge, Mark proceeds to cut a very delicate finial out of a piece of 2x4! You gotta see this to believe it.

Enjoy!

Craig Stevens

www.WoodworkersResource.com

P.S. Don't forget to go to our website to sign up for our newsletter and to receive updates on when we release new videos.

www.WoodworkersResource.com

I have been watching Larry Williams excellent new dvd on the making of traditional side escapement wooden planes, which has just been published by ...

So the motto over at the “Rough Cut Forum� is “less type-type, more chop-chop� and that’s meaningful to me. I’ve cleared some time, because I’ve been “chop-chop’in�.

When you are a builder, in our case in wood, each endeavor, demands laser beam focus. A bit of self evaluation has me noticing that I post more when my work is completed and I’m transitioning, a very good trait for a building woodworker. I get notes from the guys over in T-Mac’s Forum telling me to get “chop, chop’in� on Carlo.

Well yesterday, I put Carlo back in focus, along with a Wendell Castle inspired piece. The 2 pieces are in good phase right now, gluing-up on one and sculpting on the other is a nice mix. We’ll see alot of Carlo and peak-in on the Castle piece.

I’ve also taken on the nighttime challenge of being a part in the first that I know of, Furniture: Internet Classroom Blog Build.

Tommy MacDonald (AKA: Chizz, T-Chisel, T-Mac, Big-T) of Rough Cut Fame, with Al and a North Bennett Street School student, Eli Cleveland, have produced an internet woodworking podcast curriculum taking those interested through the building elements of the Federal Period. Yesterday we got our first look at the project, the forum, gives T-Mac a good chiseling and calls it the Crazy Leg table, but I see it as a great marketing tool. Which leg do you prefer?? Would you like satin wood or lace wood in the drawer front??? The bellflowers are an expensive option; would you like to include those????

T-Mac’s design has those building and those watching; making 4 different style legs’ of the Period, bellflower inlay, sand shading edges, making inlay banding, cockbeading and a top decorated with all kinds of inlay elements of the Federal Period. T-Mac’s thinking is that once the forum is exposed to the Federal Period, a Pembroke table, Demilune table and such, could be the next project. The project presentation will be geared towards evening shop time.

For those of you unaware, the Rough Cut forum is what I term, a “building or working forum�, not many posts show after 8am or before 6pm. That may change as the build gets underway. What I like about the forum is nobody tries to dominate knowing everybody on the forum is very knowledgeable and each woodworker has something to offer. After all the tag line is….. “a podcast for the serious woodworker�.

If you are interested in period furniture, or like me believe there is nothing wrong with “Mona Lisa’s Mustache� after all; I have done a Chippendale top in mica and metal and see value in mixing periods, jump into the Rough Cut Forum build or just watch the podcasts. There’s positive energy to feel and it should be interesting to be a part.

As for our blog…….. expect a lot of Carlo, peaks at my Castle inspired piece, an ICFF interview, and a visit into the shop of David Ebner who is presenting at this years Furniture Society Conference. That video is shot, I’m scheduled to shoot another Furniture Society player April 10th.


“less type-type……more chop-chop�………Neil

GO TO: Rough Cut Forum

I have made this set of wooden rings for that couple that are opposites but share a bond that they lone understand.

See my work on my http://www.simplywoodrings.com

Tommy and Al talk workshop safety and make a table saw push stick to ensure all your digits stay intact.

You can sharpen your woodworking skills with helpful tips and techniques from the editors of Woodsmith and ShopNotes magazines. Get a FREE tip sent to your email address each week! Go to WoodworkingTips.com and sign up today.

Here’s last week’s tip from ShopNotes online editor Phil Huber:

My workshop shares space with the family car. So it’s important that all of my power tools be portable and take up as little space as possible. So I made the fold-up router table you see here.

I made a simple router table top and attached it to a pair of 2×4’s with screws. Then, after removing the top of an adjustable clamping table, I mounted the router table to the clamping table stand, as shown in the left photo above. The table is firmly supported by the clamping table base.

The nice thing about the table is it can be raised and lowered to match the task at hand. Best of all, I can remove the router and quickly fold the table up to store it against the wall whenever it’s not in use (right photo).

If you’d like to see other router table plans, just go to PlansNOW.

Good Woodworking,

Phil Huber
Online Editor, ShopNotes

Send for a preview issue of ShopNotes magazine

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'The Woodworkers' Week 2008' takes place in Nagoya from 3rd to 11th June.
It consists of three exhibitions and a forum.

The three exhibitions are:
Chairs -designer/makers' work 2008-
Works of Shin-ichiro Tani, Santaro Takahashi and Tomio Murakami
5-11 June 2008
9:50-20:00
Maruzen Book Store Sakae 4F
3-2-7 Sakae, Naka-ku, Nagoya

30 Woodworkers '08
3-8 June 2008
11:00-18:00
Denki Bunka Kaikan 5F
2-2-5 Sakae, Naka-ku, Nagoya

Wooden Spoons
3-8 June 2008
11:00-21:00
Lachic 5F
3-6-1 Sakae, Naka-ku, Nagoya

The Forum:
The works of furniture workshops
Mr.Daisaku Choh and Mr.Masanori Moroyama
8 June 2008
14:00-16:00
Denki Bunka Kaikan 5F
2-2-5 Sakae, Naka-ku, Nagoya

This is probably the first attempt in recent years for the Japanese woodworkers to make a network and launch events. It is going to be a rare opportunity to see many designer/makers' work in one place.

I will be exhibiting my works at 30 Woodworkers '08.
Shinsuke Kato, the director of Japan Green Woodwork Association, and Kaya Nagoaka, a graduate of Forest Academy, will show their spoons at the Wooden Spoons.
Come and see our latest works.

Popular Woodworking Magazine is hosting a woodworking conference this November devoted exclusively to hand tools, called Woodworking in America. The list of speakers is an all-star line up of hand tool experts and the 3-day weekend will be filled with 40 short classes, a marketplace for toolmakers to display and sell their wares, and social events with demonstrators and toolmakers.

Registration begins in June, but I wanted to give you a heads-up on what will most certainly be an awesome weekend.....and I hope, an annual event!

Read more about it here.

Tommy (with Al asking the tough questions) walks you through the process of making simple dovetails and some clasic "George Washington wooden teeth".

I have a half dozen different squares in my shop. My framing square isn’t accurate enough for fine woodworking. A good try square is plenty accurate, but its uses are limited. The combination square, on the other hand, is one of the most versatile layout and measuring tools in my shop. That’s why it tops the list of my “10 Essential Hand Tools for Your Shop.”

If you’re interested in purchasing any of the items I mention in this Woodsmith Woodworking Podcast, be sure to check out the Woodsmith Podcast Store. You’ll find links to many of the items listed there.

The door pattern has been cut and Tommy now goes to work on the corners with a chisel and a router plane. Once the corners are done, Tommy can send the pattern to the glass company.

I have completed dimensioning, handplaning and scraping the surfaces of the panels for the drawer cases. The panels were longer in length than necessary, an extra length allowance of each of the panels comprises one side of each drawer case. These drawer case sides will be rabbeted into the top and bottom panels. The grain orientation of the drawer cases is similar to the cabinet top and bottom, this is purposely designed in to accommodate any expansion and contraction due to humidity changes in the ambient air. In the lower drawer case, the sides are somewhat longer to accommodate two drawers and a drawer divider. The hardwood drawer divider will be fitted into dadoed slots in the center of either side of the drawer case. Dadoes run perpendicular to grain orientation as opposed to grooves which run parallel to the grain orientation.

The drawer case sides, and top and bottom panels are oriented in the same direction to have the complete drawer case movement occur front to back similar to the cabinet itself. The drawer case sides need to be trimmed to size next and then a dado created in the dual drawer case. The drawer cases are assembled afterwards with careful attention to maintaining the drawer cases perfectly square. Once the assembly is complete, I will fit the drawer divider into its dado.

I'm anxious to begin work on the drawers and have yet to decide whether the drawer faces will be a contrasting color, most likely so. In this case, I need to find a wood which complements European Beech.

Tommy and Al dedicate this podcast to answering the question of the week: What is the best way to attach legs to a column? With explicit instructions, they demonstrate how to use dovetails to get the legs and columns to fit together "nice and tight."

Highland Woodworking adds the CarveWright CNC Wood Router to our collection of woodworking tools. The CarveWright Woodworking System is winning awards for product innovation in woodworking, as it brings modern CNC technology and the power of the internet together with traditional woodworking. The CarveWright can be used to perform a variety of functions such as routing, cutting, carving and jointing and while considered a woodworking machine, it is also capable of creating detailed designs in other soft materials like HD foam and suitable plastics.

The CarveWright while compact, just slightly larger than a bench top planer, is a full-on, 3-dimensional CNC milling/carving machine. Use it to make signs, carve decorative reliefs or mill just about anything you can imagine in wood, HD foam and some plastics. The CarveWright can handle work up to 5” thick, 14.5” wide and almost any length. Its onboard computer and project design software makes it simple to use even for the novice. Just insert the memory card into the machine and an LCD screen walks you through the process. You don't need to bring your computer into the shop or even have it connected to the CarveWright. You can manipulate designs in almost anyway you like from their 3D pattern library, or create your own. For PC users the minimum system requirements are Windows 2000 or XP with 128MB RAM, 75MB of hard drive space and graphics card with OpenGL support. Mac users need OS 10.3 or later.

The CarveWright includes a carving bit, a cutting bit, two 1/4” bit adaptors, a bit removal tool, a vacuum bag, memory card w/programmer, design software and instructions.

Highland Woodworking is also pleased to announce an addition to our popular Saturday Mornings at Highland Free Demonstration Educational Series. On Saturday, June 28th, 2008 at 10:00am visit our retail store in Atlanta, Georgia where Ben Arthur will demonstrate the basic use of the CarveWright Machine.

Black Desk, Part 1
Black Desk, Part 2

Now I get to start on the top of the desk. The original plan was to use the same plywood and maple as the bottom shelf, however plans change. Especially when I get my hands on a 7ft oak ply desktop!

The church I work at had torn down a desk made by the in-house cabinetmaker. The top was made from 3/4" oak ply with solid oak edging and birch ply reinforcement underneath. It's heavy, sturdy, and best of all: Pre made!

I trimmed it to the 74" length I needed for the desk with a circular saw. I then spread CitruStrip on to remove the varnish. Scraped with a plastic scraper an hour or so later, then wiped down with mineral spirits to remove any trace of the stripper.

I let it dry overnight then started applying the Minwax Water Based Wood Stain in Onyx. On the underside I only applied one coat. Just enough to darken the bright bare wood.

One note about this stain. It dries FAST! In 3 minutes or less here in Colorado. I was unable to stain the entire top in one pass because the stuff would dry before I could wipe it off. I had to do it in sections. I found stripes the length of the top to be most effective in masking the overlapping sections.

I applied the stain in 6 coats over the course of several days, as time permitted. Because the oak ply had been stained and varnished before, the stain didn't penetrate the same as fresh wood would have. It took 6 coats to get the ebonized look I was shooting for. There is some small amount of the original color showing through under just the right light, which adds to the look.

After the stain fully dried (read: when I finally got some more time to work on this), I began applying the varnish. I chose Deft Semi-Gloss Brushing Lacquer because I'm addicted to the smell of lacquer. NOT! The stuff is brutal! I had to open the garage door all the way and use a respirator to put the stuff on. And the smell still permeated the house.

But it gave me the finish I wanted. Because I was going for a satin look over a solid black desk I wanted the look a solid semi-gloss finish would give. It was the closest to the dresser I had already purchased for him that I could get. Normally I would use a gloss finish for all coats except the final one, only then applying a semi-gloss. That does the best job of preserving the color and beauty of wood. But this wood is black. There is no color.

I've gotta say that I really like the way this stuff flows out when it's brushed on. Hardly a trace of brush marks throughout the desk. And with 6 coats (yep, six!), I expected to need to sand it down pretty heavily. But it was unnecessary since there were no brush marks to have to sand down!

My box fan with a furnace filter did a terrific job keeping the dust from landing on the wet finish. No bits or bumps to deal with.

The finish also flowed nicely into the oak's grain, allowing the texture of the wood to show.

I'm happy with the results. I just wish I could keep the odor from getting into my house. I think I'm going to have to stick with the less nasty finishes like shellac and poly in the future.

After the 6 coats were applied over a full Saturday, I let it cure overnight in case there were any thick areas that needed extra time to harden. I doubt it, but better safe than sorry.

So this morning I got my son to help me carry it into his bedroom and install it under his bunk bed. The layout of his room precluded a full shot of the bed with the desk underneath. And, honestly, it's a teenager's room. You really don't want to see any more than I'm showing!!

I had drilled pocket holes in the leg frames with a Kreg drill bit, and these were used with Kreg 1" Fine pocket hole screws to fasten the top to the legs. I also put some felt pads at the top of the legs to keep the top from loosening and rattling on the legs over time.

Once everything was installed and tested by my son and I laying on it (I'm not skinny either), I put his lamp on the end and took some final pics.
My son is really happy with the results, as am I. I love how everything turned out and suspect he'll be using this desk for a long time.

Soon he'll have his computer, some shelves, and piles of crap all over the thing.

He is a teenager, after all.

The upper case is done and the drawers are built. Below the drawers, the candle pulls will be installed. After another trip to the RSID Museum, Tommy and Steve get the specifics about how to make the candle pulls. In an interesting aside, Tommy recalls how 20 years ago this weekend he was in a horrific car crash and spent a month in the hospital.

Tommy works on the "really tough" drawer fronts, eight in all. He's trying to "elevate his game," but the project is "starting to get" to him, especially because of all the tiny pieces of wood. But Tommy is satisfied with the finished pieces and determined to keep moving forward.