OK, this is what I wanna' do... Advice?

[Cannie]

Hi, Carol! Lots of good advice. I'm printing all this out and saving it. I sure do appreciate it. After the video gets here and I have a chance to watch it and size things up (including my abilities), I'll be back.

I have no idea what "hide glue" is, but I'll check it out. Thanks again.

Cannie

[barbsiddiqui]

does 'Carpe Diem' really mean, "you go, girl!"
-literati Barb

[Carol the Router Lady]

literary license, by dear :-)

[hi ho sliver (Guest)]

this should answer any questions about glue....http://www.thistothat.com/cgi-bin/gl...ood&that=Metal

[louise bayford]

I was so pleased to find women in woodworking site just goes to show I'm not the only one. In regards to your question try your local college many do evening courses. Personally I did an eveing class in wookskills which led to a full time city n guilds course in furniture design and craft. Aother usefull class is furniture restoration and possibly some antiques courses but don't let the high brow put you off. If you have been brought up with lovely antiques you will know more than you think. If you want to see some of my college pieces goto website http://www.bayford.org.uk Good luck Louise

[carla (Guest)]

hi, cannie,

in addition to the other books and source materials people here have mentioned, look for an old book titled "the furniture doctor" by "george grotz"......(i think its been out of print for years and years....i got my copy at the flea market for 50cts many years ago)

mr grotz's book is a wonderfully simple and lucid explanation of the basic principles and techniques used in repairing and refinishing old furniture, with a bare minimum of investment in tools and equipment.....

learning to do basic hand-tool woodworking is really similar to learning to play and instrument.....it takes some time to develop the familiarisation with the tools and techniques, but its by no means difficult, and ever so enjoyable......

you can equip yourself to to the generality of repair woodworking for relatively little investment......most repairs can be done with very few tools......but those tools need be really good ones, which will take a good sharp edge, and stay sharp. this means doing some asking, first, about which kinds of tools to select, and learning to care for them.....

there are some pitfalls for the newbie.....really good hand woodworking tools are not easy to find......most of the new ones you see in stores like "home despot" are simply no good....to do good work, you need find the old high quality tools, like the "swan" or "witherby" chisels, for example, which will keep a really sharp edge, cos they're much better steel than any being made now (with the exception of some very expensive hand-made tools, by modern specialist makers)......these old tools will turn up at garage sales or flea markets for cheaply....50cts or a dollar for a chisel, for example, but it takes some looking....

a good light hand plane is a necessity......a common type of repair involves gluing a piece of matching hardwood into a broken part, and planing it smooth to match the existing surface....look for a no.3 size "stanley", preferably one with the pre-war "heart" logo, as they are much better built than later ones.....

look for the small pattern hand saws (the 20in. length is so much easier to use for repair work) in the old "disston" or "atkins" makes.....and look in the phone book for someone locally who does saw sharpening......its not realistic to try to sharpen saws yourself, and they must be sharp to cut to the line....with the exception of a couple of specialist makers who make very expensive saws, there are no good ones being made today...the ones sold in the stores are literally garbage...."one time use" disposable tools (ughyukkk)



there are a couple of really basic things to find as a starting point.....a good sturdy, if improvised, workbench, so you can chisel, or saw, or plane a part without it shaking under the tool....an old wooden desk which you can likely get for free, just for hauling it away, would make a useful workbench.....

put a good vise on it.....splurge a little bit, and get an industrial grade of woodworkers vise, the common small 7" size, which uses wooden jaw face inserts to protect the work.....emphatically, don't get a cheap, light, "hobbyist" grade of vise.....they are no good, and will cause frustration when you are trying to concentrate on making a part....the older "columbian", "richards-wilcox", and "b&g" vises are good makes.....rusty but serviceable ones often come up very cheaply....a bit of steel wool, some paint, and they are better than any new one you could buy....

find ugly rusty industrial grade c-clamps cheaply at the flea market, and steel-wool them a bit.....they'll do your gluing up every bit as well as expensive shiny new ones.....

and....look for a good "sharpening system"....there are several varieties of electric grinders with both a fast and a slow wheel...some makes are better than others, but any good one will keep your chisels and plane-irons sharp........it takes a while to learn to sharpen the tools, but its dead easy with some practise......
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[trenner (Guest)]

Barb,
What a fun and useful idea you gave Cannie about finding, breaking and fixing some old junk stuff. Maybe she could just come to my house and work on my furniture. :-)
Terri