Roots: Wisdom in the Woodshop

Welcome to the second part of my Roots blog. I hope you are enjoying these segments as much as I am enjoying writing them. It has been a great way for me to reflect on the past projects, trials, lessons, and experiences I’ve had over the years. I hope this serves as a way for you to hopefully avoid those mistakes that I made in my youth and to hopefully entertain you as well. In this installment, I’ll continue the story of how I got into woodworking, focusing on a few big projects I made, the mentors I had through it, and how those mentorships helped shape my craft to this day.

It was April of 2016. I had spent the whole senior year in the woodshop. I skipped all the sports I played just so I could focus on refining my work. Whether before morning classes, post afternoon classes, or even on the weekends, I was in the school shop.

Not too much had changed from when I left off in the last blog. I still used an abhorrent amount of nails for my projects. I refused to use wood glue because my broken logic said, “houses are nailed together not glued; therefore, nails are stronger than glue.” I needed help. I needed someone to come to my side and correct me of my ways.

A requirement for seniors at the time was that they needed to complete a senior project prior to graduation. This project required a few things. There first needed to be a mentor. The mentor would guide whatever project the student was focused on. This usually revolved around what the student planned on pursuing post-graduation. This person could be a local business owner, a teacher, or really anyone. The next requirement was the time spent on the project. Seniors were given a week off to do this project. Forty hours were required for the project, just like a typical work week. In the weeks following this project, a slideshow presentation was required to show how you used that time. This was then presented to the junior class, several teachers, and the mentor. This framework was the basic requirements for the senior project.

Through this I met my mentor, Norm. Norm was a retired furniture maker in the valley. He had done it for the majority of his career, starting it as a hobby initially like so many others. I had called Norm to see if I could meet up with him and have him mentor me on a project. He graciously accepted and invited me up to his shop. I toured his shop in the mountains above where I grew up. It was a blast. There he showed me the portfolio of pictures from many past projects, stories behind every single one. He showed me the various tools he had acquired over the years, the jigs that he had built to make the building process more accurate and efficient. He had a great stash of wood as well, with many slabs of Beetle Kill Lodgepole Pine. For those unfamiliar, Beetle Kill Pine is caused by a fungus that is carried on beetles. When these beetles attack a tree, the fungi is introduced. It stains the wood, leaving behind blue streaks on the once white grain. It makes for beautiful lumber.

At the end of the tour, Norm proceeded to give me all the milled wood for the project. It was a very generous thing to do. I had not expected it. He also provided me with templates and plans that he used for the trestle styled base. These templates could be traced on the pieces of wood, then cut out using a bandsaw. A plan was made, and it was all starting to come together.

Having the wood, templates, and general directions meant that I was ready to start the project. I first started by milling all the wood for the top. I wanted to get the top done first, so that the glue could cure for 24 hours. This is where I ran into a few issues. First, I cut the boards to their final size before gluing up. The reason this is a mistake is simple. When gluing up a top, there is little friction with the glue on all the edges. If you are not careful when applying pressure, that wood can slide around. A simple fix is to ensure the clamps are perfectly perpendicular to the wood when clamping. Using a biscuit jointer can also help line up all the slabs. It won’t fully eliminate the wood sliding around, but it certainly helps keep everything in order.

Another mistake here was not accounting for snipe. Snipe is caused when extra material is removed from a board going through a planer. This can be caused by a twisted or unstable board, uneven pressure from the rollers, or the lack of support tables on the infeed and outfeed side. I believe it was the lack of support tables in my case. I borrowed a lunchbox planer from my dad. I fed the boards through the machine and didn’t support the boards on the infeed or outfeed side as well as I should have. Not supporting the wood caused the planer knives to cut deeper into both ends for a few inches on each side, which added extra time when it came to sanding. Since the wood was at final length, I couldn’t just cut off the snipe.

Nowadays I just add a few inches to the final size of a glue-up. I can simply trim the edges after the glue-up ensuring no snipe remains and the ends are perfectly squared up. I also use a planer with infeed and out feed tables. I currently run an Oliver 10045, which is a beast of a benchtop planer. I have almost no snipe and the snipe that I do have is just trimmed off. I’ve been running it for about four months, and it has lived up every expectation I’ve had for it. Maybe I’ll make a more detailed review of it down the road. But for now, back to my senior project.

Another mistake was made. I had miscut the board that was to be used as the middle rail on the trestle base. Sometimes happy accidents lead to creative solutions and improved designs. I couldn’t bring myself to tell Norm because he had already given me so much wood for the project. I ended up driving in the mountains, looking for a dead branch maybe left behind from someone harvesting firewood. I was lucky enough to find a piece just a few yards from the forest service road I was on. I threw it in the back of my pickup and went back to the shop to continue. I cut the bark off it with a drawknife that had been my Great Grandpas. It didn’t turn out perfect, but I was happy with the results.

I learned lots from this table. I learned the appropriate way to mill wood from raw slabs. I also learned the importance of wood glue; how certain glues were actually stronger than the wood it was adhered to. I learned how a well-prepared joint could almost disappear when glued correctly. These small lessons made all the difference in projects moving forward. Following this dining table, I made an end table for my English teacher. Beetle Kill Pine top with barnwood legs. (Yuck) The glue joints were seamless on it. I oversized it so I could avoid dealing with uneven glue-ups and snipe. This saved a lot of time as the project was built in just a few days.

Looking back, I’m reminded of how much a mentor like Norm helped me during that week. Whether it was with selecting wood orientation in the top or deciding which finishes to use, Norm seemed to know it all. Having someone to ask questions, learn from their experiences, and lean on for guidance is an incredible advantage. They were once in that position that I am in. I think that is something important to life and not just woodworking. I’ve come to rely on mentors in many aspects of my life. Whether it’s friends I trust to critique my designs, business owners who started in positions similar to mine, or pastors I turn to when life feels overwhelming, these relationships have been a cornerstone of my growth. Without the guidance of these men and women, I know I wouldn’t be where I am today. It’s their wisdom and encouragement that help me move forward, and for that, I’ll always be grateful.