Book Review: Chisel, Mallet, Plane and Saw by Tony Konovaloff

This book can be summed up as another Cabinet Maker's Notebook.  Tony and James Krenov have history together so it is understandable that the author would want to follow in his mentor's footsteps.

I'll get the negative out of the way first.  Tony chose to self-publish the book.  In doing so he apparently forewent the professional services a seasoned publisher gives an author.  The prose, topic organization, and design are not quite where I think they should be.  The book still reads well and is chock full of good woodworking advice.  While reading, you soon understand how Tony's character and temperament drove his choice to self-publish Chisel, Mallet, Plane and Saw.

Tony works exclusively with hand tools.  The audience of Chisel, Mallet, Plane and Saw is the power, or blended tool woodworker that has some experience under his/her belt.  Tony talks a little bit about all aspects of a hand tool only workshop going back and forth between a high altitude view and the nitty gritty details like sawing, or using a chisel.  The idea is to give the reader a sense of the whole hand tool only experience, and instruct in the way Tony sees as his best way.  The author's own words say it best: "What I have tried to do with this book is tell you how I do things without leading you by the handtool".

The book is less than 150 pages yet contains a lot of information to digest.  Less than 70 pages separate how to use a chisel and a discussion on design.  Interspersed throughout the book are woodworking philosophical tidbits like sometimes the wood is best left in the tree, and re-sawing sucks; buy S2S lumber from the mill in the correct dimensions you need.  The book is roughly organized into three sections (defined by the reviewer, not the author):  How to use and sharpen the tools, joinery and construction of furniture basics, and the larger aspects of running a woodworking business.  I would post the table of contents, but I do not have (nor did I seek) permission to do so.

My two favorite features of the book are the gallery of some of Tony's work and the tools and toolbox discussion.  I guess that is actually three favorite features.  Chisel, Mallet, Plane and Saw is not the book that will take you from initial interest to New England Highboy, but it is one of the books you need to read if you ever want to take woodworking from building tables in your spare time to putting food on the table all the time.

Stand Behind Your Craftsmanship

In the April 2013 issue of Popular Woodworking is a guest piece by Peter Franks titled A Woodworking Disorder.  Peter coined a new phrase with concomitant acronym:  Compulsive Mistake Identification (CMI).  The malady is when we show a piece to a new audience and immediately start pointing out the mistakes made during construction.

The article struck enough of a cord with me to post this blog entry.  Quite simply, Peter is right.  Woodworkers are loathe to accept kudos.  The source of disparaging our own work may come from humility, or maybe inoculating yourself against ridicule from friends, or family.

The original purpose behind the Pragmatic Woodworker blog was to share my ups and downs in woodworking.  Let's face it, most of the focus of the blog entries are on mistakes (I know nobody reads enough of the blog entries to catch the trends, so just believe me and keep reading).  Pragmatic Woodworker is indeed a digital monument to CMI.

The digital monument will stay intact, but I propose here and now that all woodworkers swear off CMI in favor of a more positive lexicon.  We all suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune in life, so why expose ourselves unnecessarily?

Instead of pointing out the loose joint, stray gouge mark, or whatever obstacle you overcame, discuss what you learned building the piece.  See what I did there?  You didn't 'mess up' (negative), you 'overcame an obstacle' (positive).  Concentrate on the positive aspects of your ham-fisted ill built wooden cartoon caricature of an heirloom when presenting the piece.  Save the self recrimination for the shop where it will make you a better artisan.

This is not supposed to be a superficial self help feel-good Dr. Phil article.  It is really about the reception of your work.  Your audience's appreciation is a reflection of your appreciation and pride in the project.  Stop for a second and reread the last sentence.  Think about how the spirit of a gift can be sabotaged with one remark about a blemish, or mistake:  "Grandpa Jack only gave us this blanket chest because of all the mistakes he made.  I bet the real one he makes...".  Ok, so that was an example of pettiness, but the goal is to really drive the point home.  Pride is infectious, enjoy it, use it wisely.

The artistry of our work is in the flaws.  How the whole comes together despite the inherit reflection of humanity is what craftsmanship is all about.

Stand with me folks.  Let's avoid CMI in favor of positive presentation.  You will help build your own esteem in the process!  Ok, I just made that last part up, because I am certainly not an expert in practicing what I'm preaching in this post.  However, I hope to be soon.

Skill Happens In Spite Of Your Best Efforts

I got to spend a couple hours in the shop this evening.  A loft bed has taken a lot of my time for far too long. Prepping the headboard posts for the last 8 mortises was the latest sub-project.  The posts are octagonal and have a bunch of leftover table saw marks from initial preparation.

Hand planing has been a very deliberate process ever since I picked up a Stanley #5 years ago.  I generally plan each stroke, or series of strokes to achieve a discrete goal.  Tonight was different.

I queued up some music and put the first post against the planing stop.  I tuned out; about 45 minutes later I tuned in to the post in front of me.  I had three planes lined up on the bench (jack, smooth, block) and 7 smooth sides of the octagon post.  I guess at some point everything clicked--at least with stock narrower than the plane.

Wood Strikes Back

Mother nature gave me a little surprise in the middle of the night.  At first glance you might think "FREE WOOD!".  However, closer inspection reveals that this once mighty oak is rotten to the core.  I have a lot of woodworking in my future.  I just didn't think it was going to be so primitive.

On the bright side, nobody was hurt, and I get to make some changes to the deck.  Though not apparent in the photo above, just under half the deck now lies under the upper boughs.

Firewood anyone?

Project Plan: Walnut Book Case

Woodworkers Journal recently released a free walnut book case plan as part of their web ezine offering; every issue features three free plans from their vast library.  I usually enjoy reading Rob Johnstone in the ezine, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't like the free plans they offer, too.  More often than not, the plans do not appeal to me for any project, but I always at least examine them in superficial depth looking for a technique, or detail I haven't seen before.  The walnut book case hit me hard and I am immediately making plans to build at least two of these book cases.

The free download is is no longer available, but the plan is for sale all the time here.

I'm changing their plan to suit me and my tools, and I'd love to see some feedback on my design ideas.  I don't have (nor even asked) permission to post details from their plan here, so I will confine my commentary as much as possible to the obvious details visible in the above photo from their site. 

In essence this book case is a plywood box with ornamentation glued on.  Purists may scoff, but a dressed up plywood box is not a Bad Thing in my philosophy.  Using less expensive materials makes this project more accessible to those with lesser means; using 'bolted' on ornamentation makes the project more accessible to those with lesser skill levels.  Sounds like this project has my name written all over it. 

Ultimately, the modular nature of this project lends itself to skilling up or down in certain areas.  The faux fluted stiles on the front, for example, are easily produced by hand, machine, or pocketbook.  Every part of this case can be purchased at the home center store and merely assembled.  Or you can shoot higher.  All the moldings can be produced with planes, or a router and then cut free from boards.  Similarly, fine hardwood can be swapped for the plywood panels in the carcase.

My first change is lighting.  I really like the down lights at the top of the case.  As your eye goes down, though, things get a little darker.  I plan to put lights on the bottom at the rear facing up, too.  The shelves will necessarily stop about 3/4 of an inch from the back to allow the light to go up/down.  A book stop of  1/4" to 3/8" in height will be added to the back of the shelf.  I hope to create a back-lit effect to display all the contents.

The next change is at the bottom, or plinth, of the cabinet.  The wrap around molding is another faux effect.  I intend use real hardwood, hopefully walnut, for the plinth.  Maybe I'm reaching, but I want to try my hand at blind dovetails.  The bookcase seems ideally suited for experimentation because I can always back out and build to the plan.

The original plan calls for thin high grade plywood for the back.  I want to use 1/2" thin tongue and groove bead board.  This is the most uncertain aspect because I don't have the tooling to create the wanted effect and am unsure if I can buy my way out of the problem.  I may glue up a panel and make a crude scratch stock to do the beading detail.

Here at the end is my pie-in-the-sky wish.  I don't know if I can afford it, but I'd really like to use these rosettes in place of the stock circular style featured in the plan.

I went to the two local home centers and priced the plan as it is published.  The materials come in at roughly $225.00 per unit, including the puck lights.

Hand's-eye View

Lee Valley ran a special on brass mallets recently.  I've been looking for an inexpensive brass mallet for a while and as luck would have it, I had a Lee Valley gift card burning a hole in my pocket.  I found out about them from a banner ad on popularwoodworking.com.

I was only looking for one, but got both of the Journeyman's mallets simply because of the now expired 2-fer special.  However, now that I have them they have to be called aspiring apprentice's mallets.  The purpose is to use them to drive some small carving tools.

Mary May, a renowned woodcarver, received a lot of ink and film coverage last year.  I have absolutely no artistic talent.  After Mary appeared on The Woodwright's Shop carving to a paper pattern glued to the wood, I figured I could at least attempt a simian imitation of carving.  I did a little research and purchased several very inexpensive carving tools.  I practiced a bit on balsa and it went well.  Poplar was a bit more work but still 'doable'.  Walnut on the other hand may have been wingnut for all it succumbed to the chisels.  So, I put a small carving mallet on the neat to have list; there was also the hope that it would be useful for adjusting planes.

The purpose of this post is to talk about their size, not their usefulness.  Catalog photos all too often leave out a natural human relation scale.  Here are some photos of the mallets in my admittedly large paw.

Small Head

Large Head

Gentle Taps

Mallet Parade

Firm Convincer

Precision Control

Just Because

2012 Tally Of Custom

It is time once again for the annual recap of where my woodworking money went in 2012.  The 2011 list can be found here.  The list for this year is considerably smaller; a reflection on my available time and money, for sure.  As before, no effort is made to quantify anything.  The annual list is more of a reflection than any kind of endorsement.


toolbarn.com The source for my Powermatic mortise chisels.

acmetools.com Supplied my Powermatic bench top mortiser.  "Supplied" is a nice way of saying I bought it with the aid of much saving and some gift cards.

Grace USA  I wrote at length about Grace USA screwdrivers.  I purchased custom drivers and packaged sets that I am very pleased with.

Lee Valley  My major, as in big deal, purchase from Veritas was the dual marking gauge.  I'm very happy with it so far, but have only had it for one project.  I may comment further as I really learn this tool.

Lie-Nielsen  My meager patronage consisted of only a chisel and some oil.

Lost Art Press  I bought several titles this year.  I reviewed two here and here.

shopwoodworking.com  F+W Media's woodwhoring, I mean woodworking, commerce site.  Yes it is run very much as a modern American corporation, but making money is not a sin, and they have a lot of good product to offer.

Woodcraft  I scored some great small pieces of Jatoba on clearance.  They will make great knife handles.

Rockler

Highland Woodworking  Be sure to enter their sweepstakes.  As of this writing they are giving away 1000 bux worth of Lie-Nielsen goodies.  I really like their newsletter, especially the feature on customer's shops.

Jim Bode tools  Picked up a sweet 1/2" paring chisel.  I've been looking for a good paring chisel ever since I saw Roy Underhill perform micro-surgery on a block of wood with one.

I'm going to give the 2012 Woody award to Grace USA for my custom screwdrivers.  Lee Valley's dual marking gauge is a close second, but I have not had enough time to play with it.  I'll return and update this list with forgotten vendors, if any.


My blessings to all for a healthy and productive new year.  Hopefully I can make a bigger dent in my project list in 2013.