More dovetails

No blog entry for Tuesday as it was pretty much a continuation of the day before. Dovetails. Dovetails. And more dovetails. Other than dovetails, we did spend the last two days on the table saw going over the setup and use. I am pretty comfortable ripping, crosscutting (with the use of a sled) and even dado cutting. Today I used the table saw to cut stock for the next project which is the Shoulder Toolbox. Nothing fancy just a rectangular box to carry tools in to a job site. The pine stock we are using is not the best so I carefully laid out the pieces on a 12 foot board to avoid knots or cupping and to make use of the best grain available. The pieces comprise the two sides, two ends and the bottom. The plan is to dovetail the sides and ends, and then cut a dado for the bottom. An additional dado at the top will hold a small sliding till. Like I said nothing too fancy. I was kinda disappointed that this is our project to finish out basic woodworking (as compared to a more traditional shipwrights chest) but realize that a) we do not have the time available and b) I currently lack the skills to do anything more ambitious. On a side note...I think sometime later in the year and closer to graduation (assuming I make it that far and I have developed the skills), I would like to take on building a proper shipwrights chest. For the time being (and assuming I can make dovetails that look good), I have some ideas for finishing out the toolbox: a holder for chisels and other tools, a saw till for my Japanese saws and finishing it with some green milk paint!

Dovetails

Not sure where to start with so much going on...let's start with Friday. In the morning we had a lecture and slideshow on Intro to Traditional Wood Boat Building Techniques with Jesse. Jesse is a pretty interesting guy as he has traveled to both Ireland and the Basque Country to study traditional boat building techniques. One boat that he studied was the San Juan which was built in 1563 in the Basque Country and sailed as far as Newfoundland. The San Juan was found in 1978 by a Canadian archaeological team and was so well preserved it is the best known example of a 16th century ship. What is quite remarkable is that the timbers used to build the San Juan were cut down almost 70 years earlier than when the boat was built! The boat builders of the Basque Country have a long tradition of relying on specialized farmers to grow trees into the various shapes and sizes needed in wooden boat construction: knees, planks, etc. The wood from these trees were usually (as seen in the San Juan) harvested for the next generations to use.

In the shop on Friday, I completed my spar section and it turned out pretty nice. I have to admit it was a fun project as I was able to move a lot of wood shavings using both my drawknife and bench plane. It was interesting that most students didn't have a drawknife as it was an optional tool on our list. I would definitely recommend getting one. Yes, sharpening it is a pain but well worth it. On the same subject of tools...my Veritas No. 4 bench plane was well worth the money. I have been avoiding using it as I did not want to mess it up somehow sharpening it. The reality was that it was sharp and worked right out of the box. Not sure if any other student can say that.

Monday morning we had a quick visit from Sean at Northwest Sails. Sean runs a sailmaking, rigging and canvas shop above one of the school's buildings. I believe in years past they offered a three-month course as well. This year, Sean is going to offer three week classes in Marlinspike Seamanship. You might ask, what is Marlinspike Seamanship? Well, it is the art that includes the tying of various knots, splicing, working with cable or wire rope with cable or wire rope, even making decorative ornaments from rope or line. Basically anything a sailor can make by himself to make his life on board more comfortable. Some of the items they will be making out of canvas are: a ditty bag, tool rolls, aprons, water bucket, etc.

I've probably failed to mention in an earlier post that the school has arranged for Wayne from Force 10 Sailmaking to run an eight-week course in sailmaking and rigging in the evenings. Wayne is also the Director of the Community Boat Project and quite a character. There are additional costs for these classes and I have chosen not to partake not for that reason but because I would like to focus my efforts on power boats only please!

In the afternoon we watched a video on dovetails called "Dovetail A Drawer" featuring Frank Klausz. Two things...Frank is some crazy German woodworker and he can cut a dovetail joint wicked fast. I'm not sure why the school chose to show this video as I am struggling with my dovetails. My first couple of attempts all failed because of my inability to follow instructions, concentrate and/or just stupid mistakes. If there is one thing I learned today it is...ALWAYS MARK YOUR WASTE. What that means is...cut the piece of wood that you are suppose to be cutting. Anyway, my third and fourth attempts I was able to mark, cut and chisel in the appropriate places; however, the end product was not too pretty. Tomorrow I am hoping to be able to focus and have at least one example of a proper dovetail joint.

For your entertainment pleasure there are two links to videos of Frank Klausz making dovetails:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrAAglKLPh8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-o4jryTkUc

Please watch this one. Frank is racing another a guy in making a dovetail (notice how after he finishes he kinda hovers over the other guy):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN9l4hQ19HE

It is your Destiny...

Destiny racing in the Banderas Bay Regatta in Mexico

It is your destiny...the title of a slide show given by Leigh about his extensive restoration work on a sailboat named Destiny (interesting side note is that Destiny is an 85-foot schooner built for newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst and launched in 1934. After serving as a submarine scout during World War II, the ship was sold to Howard Hughes and later became a charter boat in Hawaii). The purpose of the slide show was to talk about working in the "trades" and more specifically in Port Townsend at two of the best wooden boat shops in the country. The good news is that you can look forward to low wages, sporadic work and barriers to entry, but if you are persistent the work is challenging and rewarding. Three traits that all shops look for (and probably most any other job) are: 1) speed, not just fast but efficient, 2) problem solving and 3) owning up to your mistakes.

Work in the shop included finishing both the small and large spar gauge, sharpening a brand new drawknife and then making some wood shavings using the drawknife on a 4 x 4 piece of fir. The goal is to turn the square stock into a round spar. Step one was completed today by shaving the wood down into a octagon. Tomorrow I will finish tuning my No. 4 plane and then use it to further cut the octagon into 16 sides.

Japanese woodworking

Lecture today was actually a video from a series called "The Traditional Crafts of Japan: Kyoto Joinery". What is there to say? These guys put us to shame. The level of craftsmanship is just unbelievable. Apparently when apprenticing in joinery in Japan you do not pick up a tool for the first three years...all you do is watch a master at work. Also if you happen to step over a master's saw as an apprentice, you are done for good for disrespecting the tool! The appreciation and respect for their tools and what they are doing was inspiring. Here are some quotes: "If the blade is sharp, even an amateur can use a plane." "If your tools are in good condition, they'll even cover up a lack of skill." "People often judge a craftsman's skill, not by the finished product but by his tools." And my favorite, "The wood is a living thing, so it's cruel to the wood itself, if you make a mistake." I think I need to spend more time on sharpening and conditioning my tools based on these quotes!

If you are interested the video can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aRZT0PYhJU

In the shop today I completed one side of my rabbet. We then move on to creating spar gauges in two sizes. A spar gauge is basically a tool used to mark a square piece of stock in order to make it round. It is used in the first step of turning the square stock into an eight-sided square stock. The stock is then cut down into 16 sides, 32 sides and so on, until it is round. Tomorrow I will complete the larger of the two spar gauges and then move onto actually making a spar.

Rabbet

The mallet is finished! Finally. I will probably work on it a little more when I have some available time to enhance it's appearance. The good news is that it is functional and I used it quite extensively today in working on my rabbet.

Lecture this morning was on the Parts of a Wooden Boat given by Sean, the Lead Instructor for the school. Lot's of information. Some known but mostly things I have never heard of. Do you know what the following parts of a wooden boat are: a) Sampson post, b) Breast hook, c) Garboard and d) Chainplate? (see answers below)

Rabbet. For this project we are cutting a rabbet groove in a piece of fir that represents a fictional stem on a boat. The marking of the profile, rabbet and beading are done using nails and a piece of batten. The back rabbet is then laid out between the rabbet and beading. This represents the angle at which the planks on the boat will attach to the stem. To represent the planks, we used what is called a "fid" which is the same thickness as the planks. Using a chisel, material is removed from the rabbet, then down to the back rabbet and up to the bearding, allowing the "fid" to fit in at the correct angle. This process is time consuming and somewhat laborious. I'm not complaining since I'm standing at a bench with my "stem" clamped down. Usually this work is done on a boat in different areas and positions around the backbone...probably somewhere best reached from your back!

a) A strong vertical post used to support a ship's windlass and the heel of a ship's bowsprit.
b) A roughly triangular piece of wood fitted immediately aft of the stem and between the two inwales or sheer clamps usually in a wooden dinghy.
c) The strake immediately adjacent to the keel in a traditional wooden boat.
d) A strip of strong metal, often stainless steel, through-bolted to the topsides and a frame and protruding above deck level to take the load of a stay in a sailboat.

Sailing

No blog on Friday for three reasons: 1) it was a shortened day because of the potluck dinner that evening, 2) I stayed a couple of extra hours to get caught up and actually fell further behind and 3) by the time I got home to Seattle I was too tired. Some quick notes about Friday's classroom session. It was a session on the power jointer and the planer given by Peter (more on Peter later). Peter is a no nonsense straightforward passionate type of guy (he's exactly what you picture a boat builder would be). He started off by reminding us that these tools can and will maim. The jointer is used to flatten the face of a board. The planer is used to set the thickness of a board. Peter is the first instructor to actually turn the machines on in the classroom and demonstrate how they are used! The one thing I will take away is that you put stock "over" the jointer and "through" the planer. During my time in the shop that afternoon I continued to work on the mallet handle and had hoped to get checked off on my mitered bridle joint. Unfortunately that didn't happen and turns out I have to start all over again. So as of today I still need to finish a mitered bridle and the carlins. Which takes me to my weekend project of building a bench in the garage so that I will be able to do some "homework" on the weekends. It exactly didn't get done (mainly because I forgot my cordless drill at school), so I guess it will have to wait until next weekend.

Today was actually a pretty good day. Morning session was on Basic Sailing and Rigs, and again was taught by Peter. He asked the class how many people considered themselves experienced sailors, how many have sailed before and how many have no clue about sailing. I didn't raise my hand. Not sure why, probably because I don't consider myself a sailor from my fooling around with the laser's at The Citadel and our sunfish. Peter went over some basic sailing maneuvering, parts of the sail and types of different sails. He gave a slide show on all kinds of different sailboats and rigs from all over the world. Then he showed us a film...but first I need to tell a little about Peter. I don't really know him at all (but I hope to). He is one of the two instructors for the small craft program, so if I stay in that program there is 50/50 chance I would get him as an instructor. What I do know is that he apprenticed under Donlon Arques in Sausalito, CA (the Arques School is named after him and where I would really love to do an apprenticeship), worked at Mystic seaport, did a bunch of other things and then spent 10 years in Hollywood building boats for all three Pirates of the Caribbean movies, among others! So the film he showed us was made by him when he was in film school and shows him on his sailboat, Bertie, on a voyage from San Francisco to British Columbia in search of Allen & Sherri Farell and their boat, China Cloud. To say that that the Farell's were interesting and unique is a vast understatement and you can really see why Peter has a fond attraction for them. Boat Building and sailing is more than a hobby or occupation to these people...it is a way of life. When watching the film certain words came to mind. Freedom. Independence. Simplicity. Very powerful stuff. I hope that my journey going forward will reveal a little bit of each.

A highly suggest that if you have a few minutes watch the film (it's in three parts) and a video about the Farrel's:

Allen Farrell, CHINA CLOUD, BERTIE and Chinese junk rig at sea
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw6mdrcDL1o
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFb3AfxxgO0
Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIBDOUSd-Ag

Allen Farrell: Boat Builder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O52F8yYPSw

In the shop today I continued to work on the mallet. One quick note. The right tool does make the job easier. I am so glad that I bought a 1/2" mortise chisel this weekend because I was able to make quick work of the mortise in the mallet head. I then finished up the handle and cut two slots at the top. With the handle inserted into the mallet handle I added a little glue and three hand cut wedges. The mallet handle and head will not separate in my lifetime at least! Some finish up work tomorrow and I'm done. We had a quick demonstration and discussion on rabbet's (no, not the little furry kind that you put into stew) which are grooves where the planks intersect with the centerline timbers (stem, keel, etc.). More on that tomorrow.

Mallet

Today we finished the lecture series on Wood Technology. The main topic of discussion was rot. Rot is caused by fungus which derives it food from a host plant (in this case wood which contains sugars). The three stages of rot are: mold, stain and decay. The first two are on the surface and can be treated with a simple solution of vinegar and water. Decay is a little more complicated to fix and hence why many of us would like to go into the repair and restoration business. Like many other trades, the lack of maintenance by owners leads to steady work in the boatyard for shipwrights! One interesting fact that I did not know is that "waterlogged" wood is rot resistance. I'm sure you are asking how can that be? Well, one of the elements that fungi needs to thrive is oxygen. Go figure.

In the shop I started working on the mallet project. I first drew out the shape of the handle (half sections of both the profile and thickness) on a piece of door skin. Then cut the door skin on the bandsaw to create a template to transfer the shape to my piece of ash stock. I then cut the ash stock on the bandsaw and made a rough looking handle. Tomorrow will be spent shaping the handle with the flat spokeshave. For the mallet head, after finding the center and laying out the mortise, I used a forstner bit on the drill press to drill a hole in the maple stock from the top and bottom. Believe it or not but the holes line up almost exactly in line. I have lot's of chiseling to look forward tomorrow to complete the mortise.

More wood?

In the last two days I've learned more about wood than I will probably need to know for the rest of my life. Our instructor probably knows more about wood then the trees in the forest do. Did I mention that Ray is definitely made from old growth wood? The discussion today included; marine plywood, wood buying, board feet, grades of wood and the advantages/disadvantages of hardwood vs. softwood.

In the shop we started our next project which is to make a mallet. Simple enough. Not really. In order to complete this project we had to tune and sharpen our flat spokeshave to carve the handle for the mallet. Not much accomplished today as our time with the bandsaw was limited.

I did complete several projects and actually feel for the first time that I am caught up. Completed a bevel board which is a tool used to transfer the degrees of a bevel. The school unlike most places uses a master bevel board which hangs on the wall in the shop. The bevel board I made corresponds directly to the master. This is so everyone in the school is using the same degree of bevel, whether on a piece of a boat or at the bandsaw, etc. Not a bad idea. I also completed both the common bridle and mitered bridle. Not too shabby for a day's work. Tomorrow will be completely focused on the mallet.

Wood?

Today it seemed like we were trying to make up for not being at school yesterday (Columbus Day). The pace was fast and furious with a lot of knowledge gained and a small personal achievement.

What is a naturally occurring unidirectional, reinforced and laminated composite material? If you guessed wood then you would be correct.  In morning lecture, Ray gave the first of a series of sessions on Wood Technology. Without the knowledge of the materials used in boat building our newly found woodworking skills would definitely be wasted. Some of the considerations in choosing wood for boat building are: availability, durability (i.e, rot resistant), suitability (where you are going to use it) and weatherability. We learned that the best boards for hulls, decking, etc. is vertical grain (or VG) which has about half the shrinkage as flat grain boards. Defects to consider when looking at wood are: knots, checks, shakes, pitch pockets, thunder shakes, stain and a minimal amount of sap wood. One last interesting note...one of the reasons that boat building flourished in the Pacific Northwest during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is due to the availability of old-growth wood. More to come...

In the shop we had a demonstration on the use of the drill press which would be used in the primary project for the day.  Not much to say...tighten the chuck, use a sacrificial piece of wood, clamp your work down and use multiple passes to drill through the material.

The project for the day was to build by hand a bevel gauge. A bevel gauge is a tool used to find the degree of a bevel (say on a boat) and then be able to easily transfer that bevel somewhere else (say the bandsaw). Given a small piece of stock; we had to carefully cut a kerf to allow the blade to retract into the body of the stock, cut a piece of brass at a forty-five degree angle, drill through the stock and brass, and then insert and peen a brass pin. Sounds easy. My first try failed miserably when the pin shattered the wood. Second try...was beautiful. Probably the closest I have come to completing a project so far that actually looks good! A small victory but a victory nonetheless. To say that I was happy today would be an understatement. Maybe there is a woodworker lurking inside of me. Only time will tell.

One week

Five days. One week. Wow that went by fast. Friday was another full day. Morning lecture was on the tabletop saw. I have to say I'm glad that the school has invested in the SawStop. Please google it and watch the video of the inventor putting his finger into the saw blade. Enough said. The rest of the morning was spent at the bench working on joints. I'm almost finished with the Bridle Half-lap and hope that I can complete it on the first try.

Our first field trip was in the afternoon to the Port Townsend Boat Yard. The highlight of the facility is the 300 ton Marine Travelift which is one of the largest on the West Coast. We then visited both Haven Boat Works and The Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op. Both amazing shops that specialize in wooden boats; commercial fishing boats, yachts, power and sail. They both have great full service shops including large ships saw! Two interesting observations. Most if not all of the people we met were graduates of the school. Second, everyone had a metal "Craftsman" or "Snap-on" tool chest on their bench. I was very disappointed to say the least. Maybe I'm the only one that thinks a proper wooden hand built tool chest is the only thing that belongs on a shipwrights bench? My guess is that they just never had the time or did they struggle with fine woodworking as much as I am?

Power tools

Today was a full day of activities. Unfortunately I think my body just realized how active I have been lately.  I'm tired but not too tired or tired of what I have been learning.

Two words. Power tools. Today we had a class on the 14" Bandsaw. Parts, uses, safety, etc. They also told us one of the requirements for graduation...that we leave here with the same number of fingers that we came here with!  Not a bad idea. In the shop we each went through taking the blade off and adjusting the various settings. Have not cut a piece of wood yet but looking forward to it.

In the afternoon we had a lecture from a guy from the PNW Tool Collectors Association about planes.  All kind of planes: wooden ones, No. 1's, No. 4's, joiners, bench, block, etc. Mostly old Stanley's that he had for sale (and would love for us to buy). Very interesting discussion on the various models, conditions and what to look for in an old plane.

The day ended in a demonstration on carlin notches. Carlins are fore and aft structural members of the deck system that are required whenever there are openings that cut across one or more deck beams (like a hatch or cockpit). The carlin joint is designed to take the vertical loading as well as compression from the side loading. This may sound very boring to the lay person but this is actually real boatbuilding!

Bench time

I'm sure most people would not believe that standing at a bench and cutting joints in wood for seven hours is less tiring than sitting at a desk and staring into a computer screen.  I wouldn't have bet money on it. The reality is I could have spent several more hours and would have only complained when they told me to go home.  Yes, my back is a little sore right now but it is healed by each achievement made today on a two and half inch wide piece of pine. Half-lap. Mitered Half-Lap. Half Dovetail Half-Lap. Are my joints perfect? Not even close. It is said that wood is a living thing. I now believe that to be true as it felt like I was engaged in a day long battle attempting to impose my will on a piece of wood. It's way too early to claim victory. For now...I will settle on a draw and live to fight another day.

What I learned today:

1. Definition of KERF
- a slit or notch made by a saw

- the width of cut made by a saw

2. Definition of SCARF
- either of the chamfered or cutaway ends that fit together to form a scarf joint
- an in-line joint made by chamfering, halving, or notching two pieces to correspond and lapping them

Bruce's Rules for Layout
1. One line. Really I mean it...only one line!
2. Cut to the line.
3. All layout with the same measuring device.
4. Keep the line to the left when cutting if possible.
5. For a long line...roll the pencil.
6. Always have your TriSquare with you.

Revelations and dreams

The first day went by really fast and I actually didn't want to leave (very different from my last job) so I was again very excited for another day.  A couple of revelations today that I probably knew might happen in the back of my mind. 1) I'm not totally sold on my chosen track of Traditional Small Craft. This has a lot to do with the various projects each of the tracks will be working on this year. This year Small Craft will be finishing up the Batella (Italian Gondola) and building; a lapstrake Catspaw Dinghy, a Grandy and a 18' flat-bottom fishing boat.  Other than the fishing boat which sounds like it might be similar to a garvey from back home it doesn't sound all that exciting. Large Craft will be working on the 36' Chamberlin Motor Sailer which entails all of the planking and some interior work, finishing the 28' Hanson Forest Service boat and building two new 20'+ boats from lofting to completion. Sounds pretty exciting to me! [ Note: I've had more time to think and I'm very much looking forward to Small Craft] 2) The other revelation is that I may never become the finest woodworking craftsman to pick up a chisel and plane.  I know it is only the second day but I can see that this stuff does not come naturally to me.  I'm not discouraged or unhappy as I know that ultimately the prize is to learn how to build boats. When I attended graduation of the previous class in September I had actually thought to myself that when the instructors talked about me, I hoped they would say that although I was not the finest woodworker in the class that I would be a good (or great?) boat builder someday. I know that is an ambitious goal for the second day but it is the reason I am here.

One last thought. I mentioned to my instructor today that last night I had dreams of Japanese saws and did he think this was a good or bad omen?  He didn't seem to find it all that strange.  I think I found out today that it was really more of a nightmare than a dream.

First day of school

I find it somewhat strange how excited I am for school to start.  You would have thought by now at my age that this would be old news.  Maybe it's because this is not "school" in the traditional sense but more of an "adventure" or in my case a career transformation.  The day started with introductions of the staff and instructors telling how they ended up at the Boat School.  The new director of the school is an ex-Microsoft turned wooden boat devotee that went to another boat school to learn how to repair her wooden boat.  Unfortunately (or fortunately) just before graduation her boat burned and sunk in a marina fire at the Seattle Yacht Club.  The ensuing full restoration of the boat ignited (no pun intended) her passion for wooden boat building and a career in the non-profit side of the industry. A very inspirational story (see below).

Another interesting story comes from one of the instructors (who happens to be my instructor for the fall term) in that his love of wooden boats had become something best described as a disease. His disease was extremely infectious but he knew that the moment he stepped onto campus for the first time he had found the cure.  I think that this is the case with boating in general but wooden boats and people who love them seem to take it just a little further. Maybe it's like comparing the common cold virus with Ebola?

Overall the first day was great.  We opened up all of our new tools like it was Christmas morning and got to play with them for a bit and learn how to condition them. Sharpening does not seem to be a lot of fun but for some reason I feel that I will be doing it often and for long periods of time this year.

GLORYBE Wooden Boat Restoration

http://www.offcenterharbor.com/flotsam/betsy-davis-glorybe-wooden-boat-restoration/?awt_l=3_7PQC&awt_m=3eXX1giFMWmOk9k