A gloat of magical proportions?
Swingman
saws hangs in my shop today ... and I remember my times with him well. I
distinctly remember him showing me how to guide, with precision, the initial
backstroke cut of a hand saw with my six year old thumb some 54 years ago -
possibly the same saw that hangs on the wall. I also vividly recall
emulating his every move in the shop, including the unconscious, but somehow
manly to me in those young years, act of wiping the beads of perspiration
off his brow with the blade of a carpenter's folding rule, kept handy in a
front top pocket of his overalls.
Considering my enduring passion for making things of wood, those are indeed
treasured memories. But, as of this very afternoon, they are much more than
just a past .. they have a present meaning, and hopefully a future.
I have always had a decided liking for the Arts and Crafts style of
furniture and, here lately, a strong, almost puzzling on retrospect, desire
to make as many pieces, with the very species of wood that defined the
style, that I can. I currently have an end table, a lamp, a coffee table,
and two hall tables in various stages of construction and planning, all in
the A & C style, and all with QSWO as the primary wood ... causing SWMBO to
raise her eyebrows in question more than a time or two.
I may now be a bit closer to understanding this strange itch ... and the
scratching that has resulted in the sudden proliferation of A & C shaped
bits and pieces of QSWO in the shop.
Today, while visiting one of my sisters in honor of Mother's Day, a sister
whom I rarely see, I remarked on a beautiful, A & C settee (much like a
Morris chair in appearance, but made for seating two) in her bedroom. Our 81
year old mother, the honoree of the occasion, who just happened to be within
ear shot, responded with the astounding, to me, remark: "Your grandfather
made that before I was born, and I first learned to stand up holding onto it
as a baby."
You could have knocked me over with the proverbial feather ... I had not the
slightest idea there was any of my grandfather's furniture left on the face
of the earth (save one old bookcase I have made of pecan that was not
notable for its style) for he died some 43 years ago, and the old farm
house, which he built with logs he sawmilled himself off his own land, was
long ago moved to the city and remodeled by one of my cousins who was closer
to the action when it counted than her globetrotting, more urbane, relative.
Lo and behold, in addition to the settee, my sister also has an end table
and a desk chair, all of QSWO, and all in the A & C style, made by my
grandfather almost 100 years ago.
The gloat? It is impossible to describe the feeling of handling these pieces
and inspecting the tool marks, the joinery, the workmanship, and the obvious
care that went into each of these pieces made by the hands of a being that
was also responsible for mine. The old wood is beautifully quarter sawn and
milled by hand, with the medullary flecks as prominent under the finish as
the pieces in my shop today. The old man knew his stuff ... some of the
joints are a bit loose with age, but all the pieces are serviceable and
still hold up to daily use.
Some might see it as more gloatworthy to be in current possession of these
items, but, strange as it may seem, I have no desire whatsoever to own these
pieces, likely much to my sister's relief. It was a treat beyond
understanding to just touch them and to know that they exist. I did tell her
that I would be glad to repair any future damage, and maybe re-glue a joint
or two ... and honor, and homage of sorts, paid from one woodworker to
another.
I left with the understanding that I will make no claim on them, but will
photograph, measure, make note of the design elements and attempt to
reproduce them in faithful detail.
... for it seems that for sometime now all I've really wanted to do is to
make them all again myself, just like my grandfather did.
--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 4/21/03
Glen
Glen
"Swingman" <nos...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:3ebf2e9b$0$27721$724e...@reader2.ash.ops.us.uu.net...
> I have always known that my grandfather made furniture ... one of his hand
> saws hangs in my shop today ... and I remember my times with him well. I
<SNIP>
Tom Plamann
Best wishes and enjoy your new found project.
Tom Plamann
www.plamann.com
"Swingman" <nos...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:3ebf2e9b$0$27721$724e...@reader2.ash.ops.us.uu.net...
snip
Tom Watson
wrote:
>I have always known that my grandfather made furniture ... one of his hand
>saws hangs in my shop today ... and I remember my times with him well.
Thanks for posting that, Swingman.
I really enjoyed the read and I wish you well in your projects.
Regards, Tom
Thomas J. Watson - Cabinetmaker
Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania
www.tjwcabinetmaker.com
Larry Jaques
-snip of the greatest Mother's Day a guy could have-
>... for it seems that for sometime now all I've really wanted to do is to
>make them all again myself, just like my grandfather did.
Kudos on your extraordinary day. Are free plans (sketches,
whatever) in the offing? ;) If so, please let me be the
first to say that I'd be honored to have a copy emailed to
me when you draw them up.
I watched the movie "Along Came A Spider" yesterday.
The kidnapee was stored on an old 1920s farmhouse
with a fantastic interior, probably very similar to
the pieces you just told us about.
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jo4hn
mahalo,
jo4hn
[snip]
charliebcz
It points out one of our jobs as adults - to help
make wonderful childhood memories for kids that'll
be recalled long after we've gone, triggered by
some little thing. Those fond memories we help
create may get passed along for others to share
and enjoy - the ripples on a pond thing.
Every day of our "busy" lives it's difficult to
realize that we're building memories. If we're
blessed to have kids around, sons and daughters
or a neighborhood kid or three, we have oppoortun-
ities to make wonderful memories because kids
are full of wonder and looking for more. Doesn't
take much time or energy and the effect may be
far greater than we can imagine.
Thanks for the reminder Swingman.
charlie b
Greg B
> saws hangs in my shop today ...
Congradulations on your good fortune to fine one of your Grandfather's
pieces.
Nobody in my family (that I know of) was a woodworker before me. But
I do have some of my grandfather's machinist tools. I still use his
Starrett combination squares (from the 30's or 40's) daily as well as
his steel machinist square. I also have a full set of 0 to 3"
micrometers from him. Not really useful with wood, but nice to have.
And years ago when I was working as a young machinist I certainly used
them then.
Even though my grandfather wasn't a woodworker I can understand the
connection you feel. And isn't it great to feel that connection
through family and through time?
Greg
Rob Stokes
Thanks for the great post.
Rob
"Swingman" <nos...@nospam.com> wrote in message
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William E. Prisavage
I have one thing of my "Grand fathers" a whipple tree from his farm.He
didn't make it,but he used it. I treasure it.
You are so lucky for that time you spent in the past.
"Glen" <gkraig...@ix.NOSPAM.netcom.com> wrote in message
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Mike Hide
--
mike hide
http://members.tripod.com/mikehide2
"Greg B" <gbro...@home.com> wrote in message
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Randall Thomas
it's pronounced croke in oe), board made by my great great grandfather.
Curly maple and figured walnut. The hide glue that holds the veneers together,
has bubbled in a few places, and I am trying to get up my nerve to try fixing
it.
There is a magazine stand at Mom's that my grandfather made. A strange
combination of craftsman and modern / deco, out of walnut with curly maple
insets.
Here is where the warning comes in: My older Brother and I took very careful
measurements of a gun cabinet that Dad had made, which was mounted on the wall
of Dad's study. I was fourteen or fifteen, and my brother in his early
twenties. I spent a couple of months staying with my brother that summer, and
we both made copies of Dad's gun case. We were very proud of ourselves, because
they were just like Dad's in every detail.
Dad came to pick me up at the end of the summer, and we very proudly showed our
hand work to Dad. He looked at them for a minute, from across the room, before
he walked over to mine and opened the front. He looked at how I had fitted the
glass into a dado in the frame of the door. He then went over and examined my
brothers, before he started to shake his head, and said to us, "You did a damned
fine job of duplicating my design. But, I was thirteen when I made it, and
didn't know enough to make it so I could replace the glass if it ever broke.
Why the hell didn't you ask me if I would change anything if I was going to
build another."
The lesson is look at how the last guy made it, and ask the question: Is there
anything that needs to be changed?
Mike Reed
-Mike
"Swingman" <nos...@nospam.com> wrote in message news:<3ebf2e9b$0$27721$724e...@reader2.ash.ops.us.uu.net>...
Leslie Gossett
talented woodworkers.
When I use a tool that use to belong to my father. I always think about how
he used it.
MsLeslie
"Swingman" <nos...@nospam.com> wrote in message
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