I had been thinking about the possibility of taking a class or two in some facet of woodworking.  For years, I’ve procrastinated and never acted on those thoughts.  Finally, this year I decided to take the plunge and sign up for a class at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking. I’m going to be there for a weekend class (May 9-10) on Embellishments including stringing, cross-band veneering and other inlaid features.  Following that I will be staying on during the following week (May 11-15) for a class building a Virginia/Carolina Sideboard.  These  classes will be with Jeff Headley and Steve Hamilton.  Jeff is a forth-generation cabinetmaker and has written for Fine Woodworking and Steve works with Jeff in his woodworking business building period reproduction furniture.  The picture shows Jeff’s version of the Huntboard that I’ll be building.  I’m really looking forward to this class for the opportunity to learn some new techniques and to improve my skills – especially in the hand tool area.

As evidenced by my lack of posts on the Sculpted Rocking Chair recently, I’ve been gathering and prepping materials for the Huntboard.  So, my progress on the rocking chair will be on hold for a bit while I go off to school. I’ll be back at that project as soon as I get home.  Also,  I plan on blogging about my time at the Marc Adams School as well as progress during the classes so, keep an eye out here for updates.

• Embellishments Class: Day 1
• Hunt Board Class: Day 1
• Hunt Board Class: Days 3 and 4
• The Benefits of a Mentor
• Hunt Board Class: Day 5

I want to solicit the opinions of readers of the blog on what type of information you’d perfer to read about in an effort to better tailor content for the future.  So, if you have not done so already, please take 30 seconds to respond to the poll with your opinion.  Also, if I have not provided a selection in the poll that highlights what you’d like to see, feel free to add your thoughts with a comment to this post!

• Do your tools limit your designs?
• It’s Woodworking season!
• A New Look
• In design, simple is elegant
• DVD Review: Router Joinery by Gary Rogowski

SmartFlix is a DVD rental service much like NetFlix is for movies.  The difference is that SmartFlix rents harder to find DVD’s relating to specialty arts and crafts.

I have personally used SmartFlix and found it to be both easy to use and valuable.  All you do is browse the online catalog in a subject area that interests you, find a title that you want and order the DVD rental.  Within a few days you receive the DVD in a mailer that you reuse (postage paid) to return the DVD to SmartFlix after you have viewed it.  You just have to have it back in the mail one week after the date you receive it.  Pretty simple.

Even better, it turns out that SmartFlix is currently running a contest for woodworking projects that could earn you $250 if your project is selected as the winning one!  To enter, you can submit photos of your project through the SmartFlix web site.  Voting for the project takes place there too.  It looks like the voting ends on October 10th so, you’ll need to act quick.

If you have some good pictures of a nice project you have done, give it a shot and enter.  Good luck if you do!

• It’s Woodworking season!
• DVD Review: Basic Box Making by Doug Stowe
• DVD Review: Router Joinery by Gary Rogowski
• DVD Review: Beginning Woodcarving by Everett Ellenwood
• Furniture design starts with a sketch

Since that day, I have written about many things: techniques, projects, jigs, design, people and experiences.  The process has been great.  I have enjoyed doing it as well as getting to know some of you out there who have been following along and commenting and/or emailing with input, questions and critiques.   I wanted to make a quick post to say thank you for reading and most of all for participating.  Please continue to do so in the future, and for all of you who are reading but not commenting, please do!  The discussion is what makes this medium so rich in content.

With all of that said, I am anxious to get back into the shop and to posting on more topics.  I have a bunch of new projects planned and I also want to continue with the process of talking about design.  That is an area that I would really like to engage in some more substantive discussion – hopefully involving more of you!

So, thanks again for all of your support and until the next post, remember: Its Woodworking Season!

• It’s Woodworking season!
• Furniture design starts with a sketch
• Take the poll…
• Graham Blackburn Lecture
• The joy of a well-tuned hand plane

I also decided that it was time for a new look. So, as you can see I’ve updated the look and layout of the blog with a new theme. I think that this theme allows for a bit more flexibility and maybe better navigation of the site.

Let me know how you like it and of course, if you notice anything that is not working properly, let me know that too!

• It’s Woodworking season!
• An introduction…
• Classes at the Marc Adams School
• Furniture design starts with a sketch
• An evening with Kelly Mehler

I spent a considerable amount of time scraping and sanding all of the parts of the table. There were areas on the legs where the knees transition into the posts that needed some cleanup. I carefully worked these first with a card scraper and then followed up with hand sanding. Of course, the rest of the table also required a bit of sanding as well. Because all of the parts had previously been smoothed with a plane and/or and scraped, my sanding schedule for the table started with 150 grit and finished with 180 grit. I tried going to 220 grit but, it seemed to be burnishing the Cherry so, I do not think I will continue to that fine a grit. When all of the sanding is complete, I will give the table a thorough vacuuming and then a final rub down with Naptha to remove all traces of sanding dust and to determine if any areas need further attention.

In the picture (click for larger view) you can see the Queen Anne Side Table in its current state. All that remains for the construction is to put a decorative edge on the top, attach the top to the base and add the hardware. Speaking of hardware, I recently ordered a set of drawer pulls and a matching escutcheon from Horton Brasses. The style is reminiscent of the hardware typically on antique Queen Anne furniture and should work nicely on this piece.

I have also started to consider how I will finish the table. Most Queen Anne furniture that you see is stained dark. Generally for Cherry, I like to use a natural finish allowing the wood to oxidize over time with exposure to sunlight, darkening naturally to a rich patina. However, for this table I am considering adding just a slight bit of coloring with Garnet shellac to even out the tone all of the components.

A quick primer on shellac:

Shellac is a universal binder and a very good finish in its own right. The substance is made from refining and drying the secretions of the Lac bug which is found in India and Asia. Essentially, any finish will adhere to shellac and shellac will adhere to almost anything. Additionally, shellac serves as a perfect sealer between different stages of the finishing process. For example if a dye or stain is used and then sealed with shellac, none of the dye or stain will be removed when the topcoat is applied. One important thing to realize is that only dewaxed shellac will support all topcoats. Most pre-mixed shellacs (aside from Zinsser Seal-Coat) contain wax and will cause problems with adhesion when another topcoat is applied. Shellac that is purchased as dry flakes is dewaxed and must be dissolved in denatured alcohol to produce the finish. Because alcohol is used as the solvent, shellac has the benefit of drying in minutes. Also, shellac has the properties of dissolving into previous coats effectively creating one single thicker coat when multiple coats are applied.

Shellac solutions can be mixed to different strengths or concentrations. This is referred to as the “cut” of the shellac – the premixed stuff is usually about a 3 lb. cut which would equate to 3lbs. of shellac flakes by weight mixed in 1 gallon of alcohol. I usually mix to around a 1 or 1 1/2 lb. cut. This produces a good workable consistency and fairly light coats. I only mix what I will use within about 6 months because shellac in the liquid form has a limited shelf life after which it will have a tendency to not dry or harden. For me, this means a 1 lb. cut is 2 oz. of shellac flakes (by weight) mixed with 16 oz. of alcohol (by volume).

There is nothing real scientific about mixing shellac – it will work no matter what strength you mix it to. It’s easier if the flakes are ground to a fine consistency before dissolving in the alcohol. Using an old coffee grinder would work well, or you can do what I do – put the flakes in a plastic bag, seal it and then hit it with a rubber mallet until you have very fine pieces left. Put the alcohol in a glass jar, add the shellac and seal the jar. Swirl the mixture around every half hour or so for about the first four hours and then let it sit over night. The next day it should be ready to use. The last step before use is to strain the shellac mixture through paint strainer or coffee filter to remove any impurities left after the refining process.

I took some time to create some finish sample boards from scrap Cherry following the same sanding schedule as the table. On the left half of the top board I used Watco Natural Danish Oil followed by two coats of Garnet shellac and then a top coat of General Finishes Arm-R-Seal. The other half of that board did not receive the Watco. On the lower board I used Boiled Linseed Oil followed by the same sequence of Shellac and Arm-R-Seal with the right half of the board not receiving the BLO. Sorry for the picture – it does not really show the variations too well. I am considering the using BLO/shellac sequence because it is not showing the blotching that the Watco seems to. Some of the Cherry on this table is a bit curly and may be prone to blotching – I do not want to obscure any of the curl in the boards.

It’s very easy at this stage of a project to speed through the final finish preparation steps and finish process in an attempt to get the thing out of the shop. I always find myself battling this. In the long run it’s always best to spend the necessary time to prepare the surfaces as well as possible and to test all of the finish steps to assure a desired end result. Of course, this takes more time and delays moving on to the next project but, in the end it yields the best results.

• Queen Anne Side Table: Completed finish and hardware
• Modern Shaker Table: Completion
• Twin boxes in Cherry, Maple and Walnut
• A pause in the action
• Asian/Arts and Crafts inspired table

This week I lost a teacher, someone who taught me many lessons both in hand and in heart. This teacher taught me many things about life and about myself. As often happens with the best teachers, many of the lessons he taught me I did not know of at the time. Not until I drew upon them later did I understand how and why they were learned. From this teacher, I learned both the practical and the abstract. I learned a work ethic and the lesson that nothing was beyond my capabilities if I worked hard to obtain it. I did not know it at the time but in these lessons he taught me to use my mind, my hands and my heart in everything that I do.

My teacher had only an eighth grade education. However, he was skilled and wise well beyond those years. He did not practice as a craftsman or an artist but, many of the lessons he taught were the ones that shaped my abilities in these areas. I learned mostly by watching him and listening to him and sometimes helping with the things that he did. I learned to do by doing and that trying and failing is better than not trying at all. Beyond the practical, he taught me that kindness, compassion and sharing a helpful hand would always yield returns in the end. He was always there for others and he was always willing to share everything that he had to give.

I’ll always have an undying respect and admiration for my teacher. He taught me how to love, how to laugh, how to work and how to cry. From him I learned to be a better husband, a better father and a better friend. He taught me how to learn, how to teach and how to share. He gave me my passion, he gave me my skills and he gave me my humility.

This teacher also gave me my life – this teacher is my father. He has shaped me more than I may even understand. The lessons that he taught are innumerable and the gifts that he gave are immeasurable. Being with him during his last days and holding his hand I could not help but think of the times when the roles were reversed and he had held mine. Guiding me and teaching me from then until now.

The best teachers are not always who we think they are and the best lessens are sometimes the hardest to learn. I know that even in his passing he has taught me things that I may not yet understand and I am certain that those lessons will continue to be realized as I go on without him. I can only hope that I can pass on those lessons as well as he has done with with me.

I’ll miss you Dad.

Proverbs 7:1-3
My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.

• The Benefits of a Mentor
• Woodworker’s Safety Week 2008: Close calls in the workshop
• An introduction…
• DVD Review: Profiles of Sam Maloof and Tage Frid
• DVD Review: David Charlesworth Chisels – Precision Preparation and Techniques for Presision Joinery

My name is Mark Mazzo and I’m a woodworking craftsman/designer living in Upstate New York. Woodworking is something that I’ve always had a keen interest in. I’ve been woodworking and collecting tools for several years now and I find that there’s something very special about creating beautiful and functional things with my hands. At some point I’d like to spend all of my time designing and building things out of wood, but for now I have a day job and I just do woodworking as a hobby. It makes for a good activity in the cold, snowy and sometimes long New York winters. Though, as I sit here writing this today in September, I do not want to think about that change of season just yet!

I’ve worked to develop a reasonable set of skills for this craft in many areas. However, I feel that you never stop learning in anything that you do. So, I continue to learn new skills and techniques on every project that I undertake. In addition to the mechanical skills and techniques required in woodworking, one other area that I am continuing to evolve is my sense of design. In the past, I’ve done many projects that have followed existing plans for a piece of furniture, etc. However, with each new project that I undertake I am further developing the skills to build things of my own design and I am finding this new chapter in my woodworking a very rewarding experience.

My intent with this web site is to chronicle the path that I follow in developing these design skills and to also show the progress as I create finished products from my designs. Along the way, I’d like to share new techniques and skills that I develop and use as well. I’ve learned much that I know about woodworking and design from the Internet (as well as may other sources) and I’m hopeful that I through this site I can impart some of my findings to others interested in the craft.

I am sure that as this site evolves there will be many other things that are relevant to discuss here. We’ll just have to see where it takes us. The woodworking community on the Internet is a fast growing one. It is my hope that with this site I can contribute to that community in some meaningful way – not to mention that I think hearing from others interested in woodworking and discussing designs, techniques and approaches to problems will only serve to help evolve my skills as a woodworker and designer.

So, that’s it for now. Please stop back when you can and send me comments and questions on what you see. I’m looking forward to the journey.

• An introduction…
• A New Look
• DVD Review: Basic Box Making by Doug Stowe
• Graham Blackburn Lecture
• An evening with Kelly Mehler