Sawing, sawing, sawing

Aaron, our instructor, demonstrating a quality of wood while the assistant instructor, Yuri, looks on

Yesterday was one of those Intense days as noted in the title of the course (12-week Intensive Furniture).  I discovered (well, I already knew it...) that I really do need to practice my hand sawing technique.  We had plenty of opportunity to do just that: practice sawing.

It might seem boring to saw a 3/4" cut into a piece of wood, over and over and over again, but the result was that I learned a lot about my biases.  When I'm sawing to the left of a line, I tend to lean toward the right.  When I am sawing the the right of the line, my sawing tends to be straighter. Don't read any deep political or other meaning into this.  It's just the way I saw. I suspect that it is because I can see the line more easily when I saw to the right of the line.

Aaron demonstrates cutting a mortise

You might wonder what difference it makes.  If I was just rough cutting a board to length, probably not much.  But we next went on to cut a mortise and tenon joint.  For this joint, one piece of wood has a hole in it (the mortise) and the other has an extension (the tenon) that fits into the hole. I didn't have any trouble with the mortise, but the tenon requires a lot of fairly precise saw work, even though you end up trimming it with a chisel (remember them - we spent the afternoon the first day, and the morning yesterday sharpening them, just for this exercise).  My first tenon fits in the mortise as it should, but, because of imprecise saw work, it is slightly skewed so that the two pieces do not come together to make a smooth joint.  It was off by almost 1/16 inch.  So, today I tried again - three more times. Each time was better, but I still found fault with each rendition.  I suspect that learning to see what is wrong and how to go about correcting it are probably the most valuable lessons I'll learn here.

Periodically, the instructor interrupts us for a demonstration or lecture on some aspect of the work we are doing.  Yesterday we discussed "tune-up" of a mortise gauge.

Typical Mortise gauge with two adjustable
marking points

My mortise gauge, which uses cutting wheels.
See the bottom of this posting for another look at it

My mortise gauge is of a different type than the typical one most of the students had (I have one like that at home but didn't bring it), so I took notes, but didn't have to do that tune-up. However, on examination of mine, we discovered that it had its own potential improvements.  This afternoon, we had a similar lecture on another type of marking gauge, the cutting gauge.   I do have one of these with me, and so spent some time making it work the way it ought to work instead of relying on the manufacturer's erroneous setup.  It comes as a complete surprise to me that these tools are made by people who should know how the tools are supposed to be used, but evidently don't.  Here's an online article on fixing the cutting gauge.

Yuri demonstrates using a Japanese saw to make the same cuts we were doing with western saws

Today before and after lunch we had a demonstration of making a through dovetail joint.  Later we cut and squared up the stock we'll be using tomorrow to make our own practice dovetail joints.

One of the concurrent things that is happening is that we are exhibiting our proficiency in using the various power tools in the machine room.  Each time we do some activity on a tool, an instructor observes us and gives his/her signature on our checklist.  The activities include such thing as running a rough board through a jointer to plane one face flat,  This is followed by correctly running the board through the thickness planer to make the two face surfaces smooth and parallel.  Anyone who does woodworking will recognize these as two steps in making a board "4-square."  The goal is to get initialed off three times on each activity.  Once we've achieved that, we won't need an instructor to observe everything we do.  Even though I've done all these things before, I appreciate the attention and thorough instruction that we are receiving.

For anyone reading this who wonders why I am going into all this detail, please understand that I'm summarizing for my own review as much as to satisfy anybody else's curiosity about what I am doing in Maine for the summer.  I know I have a few lurking followers who are woodworkers and are curious about what the school is all about, so they'll benefit from these descriptions. This is also for my family members who are curious about what their brother/cousin is doing. And for everybody else, I hope you enjoy my writing.

A more detailed view of the marking gauge
typical of the type most students have

Notes on usage of my mortise gauge from the
Lee Valley tool catalog

The School: Day One

The 12 week Intensive Furniture course began this morning.

I got out of bed way before I had to, discovered I didn't know how to use the microwave, left early, got to the school before 8 am.  But, even though the class wasn't scheduled to start until 9, I wasn't the first there.  Christoph, an engineer from France arrived at about the same time I did, and Devon was already there.

Christoph and I chose our workbenches, and I hauled in my over-large collection of tools.  Other students started to arrive, and as each arrived and chose a bench, we exchanged introductions.

Demographics: We have 12 students, a large range of experience, and two of the students are women.  I appear to be the oldest student, and the majority, I would guess are half my age, or less.  Many are hoping for a change of career.  A couple, like me, are hoping to improve their skills and therefore their pleasure in woodworking.

The morning was spent as you would expect in any course - administrivia, followed by safety rules, and other stuff of that sort.

Then we launched in to the course.  First was a discussion of wood - how trees grow, how they are cut up to make boards, the big part moisture plays in movement, warping, cupping, etc.

The big question everyone at home asked me: what are you going to make?  Well, now I know.  In the first two weeks we will be making a small bench of our own design which must incorporate dovetails and mortise/tenon joints.  In the next six weeks we'll be making a casework project, again of our own design, which must incorporate at least one door and at least one drawer. At this point, I plan on making a tool cabinet or something similar.

The final segment we will be making something incorporating bent wood.

A significant part of the afternoon was spent in sharpening 3 chisels.  I'm still not finished.  Then we got partway through a demonstration of making a properly squared up piece of wood from a rough cut board.  More of that and the chisel sharpening tomorrow.

The facilities are excellent.  The photo below is of the bench room.  The next room to the right is the machine tool room.  Large and well equipped, but not the huge industrial sized tools I used at AB Tech.

Through the door you can see in the right of the photo is what I would call the "coffee mess" or kitchen area, and the drafting room.

That's my bench with the yellow topped box next to it.  My "home" for the next 12 weeks.

In the evening I attended the weekly Faculty Slide Show.  First up was the fellow teaching a one week woodturning class.  He's from Seneca, SC, and I'm sure I've seen him at the JC Campbell Folk School.   His presentation was about his beautiful natural edge turned wooden bowls.

He was followed by Peter Korn, the school's Director.  He gave us several intertwined histories - his own, the school's, and the modern furniture making movement.   All very interesting.  Well worth coming back to the school this evening.

And so, good night for the first day of school.

By the way, I said I wan't going to show any more APRS plots, but I have two different routes I can take to get to the school from my apartment.  One takes 4 minutes, and the other about 6.  Here's all the plots for me today.  I think you can understand why this is the last one I'm going to post. The distance from Kathy's Lane, Scott Rd, Chris Rd, West Street Ext, and West St to the school is less than two miles.  The Tolman Pond Market is where I bought a sandwich for lunch.

  

Lee's Big Adventure: Day Three, In which I arrive in Rockport

Today, was the final leg of the journey - Connecticut to Maine, via Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Lots of tolls.

Just before reaching Portland on I-495 I realized that the low fuel light had come on.  I still had at least 5 miles to go before I could exit.  I began to sweat it.  I queried my GPS to see where the nearest gas stations were, and found that the nearest one was only about a mile from my exit, at a Sam's Club in South Portland.  So I set that as my destination.

Getting more and more apprehensive as the gauge needle crept down toward empty, I found what I thought was the Sam's Club.  Wait for light to change.  Turn left in to parking lot.  Nope, one light too soon.  A trip around a parking lot.  Back to the stop light. Wait.  Turn Left.  Wait at the next light (about 75 feet further on.) Turn left.  Where's the Sam's?  Rechecked the GPS display.  Next turn 90 miles. Huh??? Re-searched for the Sam's.  Ok, it's ahead on the right.  Turn into the parking lot.  Drive all the way around the building, stopping to let shoppers and other cars move.  No gas station.  Back to the GPS for another station.  It lists a Citgo 0.1 miles away.  I drive to the intersection.  I can't see a gas station of any description as I wait for the light.  Then I see it diagonally across the intersection as the light turns green.  Unfortunately, I'm in the wrong lane and have to turn right.  I drive 300 yards down the road and make an illegal "U-ie" to get back to the intersection.  I wait again for the light.  Pull across the intersection into the lot and drive to the first pump that has an opening on my side.  Made it!  Oh, No.  The pump handle is covered: Out of Service.  I pull out and around all the pumps.  Only one other one is open.  I pull in to it.  Out of Service.  I pull out and make another trip around the pumps.  Finally, somebody else pulls out, and I wheeze into the spot on fumes.  My debit card is refused.  Why? I dunno, don't care.  My stress level is already way high.  I whip out another card; the pump accepts it and I start pumping.  18 and a half gallons later I'm topped off ( I thought the tank only held 18!).

I pull out of the station with the GPS set for the address in Rockport for the school.  I'm still a good distance away.  On the way I pass by all the exits for Freeport.  No need to go to L.L.Bean yet, I continue on.

By now, it's almost 2 pm and I am getting hungry.  I queried the GPS for a restaurant.  All the ones that were not McDonalds, Wendys, Burger Kings, etc., are behind me, but finally, I found one called "Bullwinkles". It was about 10 miles ahead so I chose it.

I stopped at Bullwinkles for lunch and had an excellent Haddock BLT sandwich.  The fish was wonderful.  I must be in Maine.

Back on the road again after lunch, I see that the turn for the school is less than 10 miles away.  As I tore down the road, I passed the Lie Nielsen company on the right.  A woodworker can't pass Lie Nielsen without stopping in, so I turned around and did just that.  I discovered that, as a student at the Center For Furniture Craftsmanship, I'm entitled to a 10% discount on all of their branded tools.  Too bad I didn't know that sooner.  I have might waited to buy that Low Angle Jack Plane I dropped a bundle on a couple of weeks ago.  Oh well.  Hindsight is wonderful, isn't it? Besides, the sales tax would have eaten up the discount, and they gave me free shipping, didn't they?  Anyway, I bought a ticket to their open house on 10/11 July.  That gets me a seat at the Lobster Bake, and a chance to shake hands with Roy Underhill.  Of course, I've already done that a couple of years ago.  But, us North Carolina guys need to say hello.

While I was in the store, I talked to three guys who are students at the school.  We compared notes on how the dovetails on a box on display could have been constructed.  I am really getting excited.

Back on the road again, I went right past the entrance to the school.  It was not where the GPS thought it should be.  So, I backtracked and drove in to the school.  Amazingly, it looks exactly as it does in the photo on their website: a group of red buildings.  I drive around and found a building with a door open to a power tool workshop.  I parked and went in to the workshop and wandered around until I found some people.  One introduced himself as Peter Korn, the school director, and the others were the same guys I met at Lie Nielsen.  I'm not sure how they got back to the school before I did since we all left the store at about the same time.  Anyway, two of them were sharpening chisels.  They told me they are taking the 2-week basic course and that sharpening is a central part of that course.  It turns out that the first two weeks of the course I'll be taking are essentially the same thing, so we know what I'll be doing for the next couple of weeks.

One of the students, Mack, who is here from the West Coast, and will be taking the 9 month course beginning in the Fall, took me on a very quick but thorough tour of the building, telling me that the building I'll be in is laid out essentially the same.  My excitement rises.

Then I set out to find the place where I'll be staying.  I found it pretty quickly.  It's no more than a couple of miles away from the school, but I'm glad I didn't stick with my plan to bring my bicycle so I could ride to school every day.  Large hills, a busy highway, and narrow lanes would have made it more difficult than I could manage.

Because it was only about 3 pm at that time, I decided to drive around a bit and see what I could see.  I picked up Route 1 again and went into Camden.  I had forgotten that Camden is very much a tourist town, and the traffic and congestion was terrific.  I found a back way out of town and back to Rockport as quickly as I could.

I finally checked in at the apartment.  It is in a heavily wooded area, and the apartment itself is a good-sized efficiency over a two-car garage.  I wouldn't want to live here forever, but it will be comfortable enough for the summer.  The owner's teenage son helped me move all my stuff in.  I'm glad he did, because it's quite a walk up stairs. (What, no elevator?)

After moving in, unpacking and putting stuff away, and a nice chat with the owner, I drove to a restaurant several miles away, then to the local supermarket for some breakfast makings.  Then back here for the evening.

It's almost 10 pm.  Outside it is pitch black and silent.  It's even quieter than at home.  No distant highway noise at all.  I think I will enjoy myself here this summer.

In keeping with the previous two entries in this blog, here's the entire track for today, starting in Connecticut, then through Mass, skirting around Boston, and then more or less up the coast to the Rockport area.

The second plot is the part around the area here.   The school is at the two dots next to the lake in the lower left corner, and where I am staying is where it shows my truck and my callsign.  You can see the one trip I made all the way up to Camden, and then back on back roads.

Unless I do something different, I won't bother to put any more plots in my blog entries.  On a day-to-day basis, they won't even be as much as this one.  So, if you really want to see my movements, you will need to figure out how to find me at http://aprs.fi Here's the link for the one below: http://aprs.fi/#!mt=roadmap&z=11&call=a%2FN0SYS-9&timerange=86400&tail=43200

Lee's Big Adventure: Day Two

Another challenging day of driving.  While I only got through most of Virginia yesterday, today I went through VA, WV, PA, NJ, NY, and CT, but the distance was about the same.  There were all sorts of traffic delays, especially in NJ, NY, and CT where many of the roads are either in need of repair or are actually undergoing it.  There were also several delays due to accidents.

I got slightly lost just after I crossed the Hudson River on the Tappan Zee Bridge, and you can actually see that on the APRS plot.  Evidently they are rebuilding the bridge, and the traffic is really screwed up around it.  I misinterpreted what my GPS was telling me, and missed a turn.  Ended up going the wrong direction, and then had to go all over the place to get turned around in the right direction.

I also was surprised by the $5.00 toll on the Tappan Zee Bridge.  I guess it's been a long time since  I went over it.  I used to use it all the time when I was stationed in Newport, RI, and travelled to my parent's home in New Jersey.  That was in the late 60's, and everything is more expensive now than it was then.

As I passed through Sleepy Hollow, I was reminded of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."  According to Wikipedia, there really was an Ichabod Crane, who was a Colonel in the US Army and also served in the Marines.

As I move north, gasoline gets more expensive.  And I had a real surprise today when I went to buy gas in New Jersey.  There was an attendant at the pump who was all set to pump my gas for me.  He seemed very upset when I told him I'd do it.  I can't remember the last time I saw a gas station attendant.

Tomorrow will be a bit more leisurely trip.  I only have about 300 miles left to drive.   Once I get past Portland, ME, my trip will be along the coast.  I'm looking forward to that.

The first map shows the trip from where I stayed last night in Virginia, across West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The second map shows the Hudson River Crossing, and then you can see the jog south where I got turned around.  In case you are not familiar with the area, you will see that on the New York side of the Hudson at the Tappan Zee is Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. It's right about there that I made my error.  I saw neither the Headless Horseman nor Ichabod Crane so I can't blame them for my error.   

After I got straightened out on the Saw Mill River Parkway, I continued up through Connecticut to where I am staying this evening.

Lee's Big Adventure: Day One of trip

I drove just over 400 miles today, which is some sort of a record for me.  I started at about 9 am, and got a hotel room about 6 pm.  That averages out to about 45 miles per hour for the trip.  No land speed records there.  You could probably do better.

But, consider this: When I was taking Linda to Duke Hospital in Durham, Linda, who couldn't drive because of her health situation, insisted that I get someone else to assist me with the driving because she didn't trust me to be able to do it.  She was right to not trust me.   For most of our married life, Linda did most of the driving.  I was just too unreliable.   Fortunately, my good friend Steve would do most of the driving to Durham and back.  I just couldn't drive that far without dozing off.  In fact, I couldn't drive more than an hour or so.  The first time I drove the entire distance was when we were returning home, and Linda was going to Hospice.  My friend Frank, another Ham, drove most of our stuff from the apartment in his truck and I drove the car.  We yakked all the way on the radio, took frequent stops, and arrived home safely.  

I've been apprehensive about this trip to Maine.  I haven't driven a distance like that alone since the 70's, and even then I had to be careful to keep my mind occupied or risk falling asleep.

I got a new CPAP a while ago, and that has made a tremendous difference.  I've been using a CPAP for about 12 years, but had another sleep test a year ago.  My sleep apnea was worse than I thought. The new machine has helped tremendously.  I've also made some other lifestyle changes which have helped.

But, I was still concerned.  This trip really means a lot to me.  I've been looking forward to it since I signed up for it last December.  Because I am taking a bunch of woodworking tools, and will be staying in Maine for three months, flying was pretty much out of the question.  I had to drive.  

One of the things that I did was to take along a bunch of audio books.  I'm currently listening to "The Mongoliad," a book I read and enjoyed several years ago.  Occasionally I find my attention wandering, but mostly I'm keeping up with the story. 

Also, I stopped along the way many times.  In two cases I took naps for a half-hour or so.  Hence the poor average speed.

Additionally, as I noted, I have my radio beeping and booping at me as it broadcasts my position along the way.  Here's the track for today using the website aprs.fi  That's me N0SYS-9 in the upper right corner, and the blue line is my track.

Why the trip?

Last summer my good friend Steve and I went to Maine to attend classes at The Wooden Boat School which is in Brooklin, Maine.  We initially planned to take a couple of weeks, and to travel to Maine by train.  In the interest of time, we decided instead to fly.  Once we got to Maine, we toured from Portland to Brooklin and back again, with stops along the way.  Included among our stops were a tour of the Maine Maritime Museum,  and a somewhat disappointing trolley tour of the Bath Iron Works, both in Bath, ME.  Walking around downtown Bath, I fell in love with Maine all over again.

I first went to Maine was when I was very young, in the late 40's.  It was before my sisters were born, and I must have been about five years old.  Evidently Dad found an advertisement for a farmhouse in Damariscotta, between Bath and Rockland.  We piled into the car and drove through the night from our home in New Jersey.  In those days we didn't have the interstate highway system we have now, so that was quite a drive.  I still remember driving on roads that were being built.  I also remember staying in a white-painted inn near the ocean, and a tremendous thunderstorm.  Other than that, I don't remember much about it.  Evidently Mom and Dad decided that they were not ready to pick and move to Maine.  Gee.  Imagine what a place like that could be worth now. 

Anyway, my next trip to Maine was perhaps 14 or 15 years later when I went to Rockland on my Youngster (sophomore) Midshipman summer cruise compliments of the US Naval Academy.  I have some memories of that which I won't publicly share, but I do remember the lobster boil we had on the fantail of the USS John R. Pierce (DD-753). 

Two years later I went to Maine again on my First Class (senior) Midshipman cruise.  This time I was on a submarine, the USS Grouper, (AGSS-214) and we went to Bar Harbor.  Lots of fun on that one.  I remember that a Navy destroyer also visited Bar Harbor at the same time.  I remember that we were there in celebration of Navy Day, and I believe that a senior member of the Navy League, who lived in a huge house on a hill in Bar Harbor, had made it happen.   I also remember that we submariners looked down our noses at the destroyermen.  I had no way of knowing at that time that a year later I would also be a destroyerman when I graduated from the Academy.

I went to Maine one more time with the Navy.  I don't remember the year, but I was the Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW) Officer on the USS Samuel B. Roberts (DD-823) and we went to the Bath Iron Works shipyard to have our sonar dome replaced. 

Since then, Linda and I have attended the Wooden Boat School several times, she taking painting courses, and me building model boats.  Someday I'd love to go back and build a real boat, but that's not a very useful skill for somebody who lives in the WNC mountains.

As I said, last summer I fell in love with Maine all over again, and when Steve and I were in Bath, I decided that I was going to spend this summer there.  My plan was to find a place to rent for the summer and then use that as a base to tour around the state.

Last December I got an email from the Center For Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport.  Several years earlier I had signed up with the school for a week-long woodcarving course with the English master woodcarver, Chris Pye, who teaches there occasionally.  I canceled out when Linda started getting ill.  However, I am on their mailing list forever after.

So, I received this email, and I discovered that they offer a "Twelve-week Furniture Intensive" course.  Then I noted that there was a session to be held beginning in June.  It was exactly what I wanted.  They only take 12 students at a time, so I immediately called and discovered that the course beginning in June was already filled.  They put me on a waiting list.  Several weeks later I got a call to tell me that a place had opened up if I wanted it.  Duh!  I sent off my deposit, arranged for a place to stay, and then started the countdown.

It  amazes me that in spite of having almost six months to prepare, and no matter how many lists and plans I've made, there are still some things that I just won't get done before I leave.  Other stuff keeps taking up my time.  But, I'll be leaving soon for what turns out to be my birthday present to me.

I'm also looking at this as somewhat of a transition point for me.  Linda passed away almost two years ago, and no matter what kind of a face I put on it, I have been grieving since then.  It isn't so intense as it was, but it has still been there.  I watched the video on the school site (watch the video) and was struck by the comments of a former student during the last minute or so of the video.  His experience of being able to completely let go of his regular life, and immerse himself in woodworking, is exactly what I am looking for.  I'm hoping to come home at the end of the course with a new attitude and outlook (and, some new skills, too).

So, I'm going to do my best to keep up with this blog, if for no other reason than to keep a record for myself.  But maybe somebody else might find it interesting.

My APRS track for today (May 27, 2015)

I'm getting ready for my summer vacation trip, and I'll be taking an Amateur Radio (Ham radio) transceiver along to keep me company on the trip.

One of the things I can do with this radio is transmit my position periodically.  I wanted to see what the track looked like from the http://aprs.fi website. The system we use is called APRS, which is an abbreviation for Automatic Packet Reporting System (or, Automatic position reporting system; the original author of the concept doesn't like that)  Hams use it to inform other hams where they are. When my radio receives a signal from another ham who is on APRS, it displays information such as how far away from me he is, in what direction, and any messages he may have embedded in his transmission.  The embedded messages might be what frequency he is listening on.

Generous folks have put up devices known as iGates.  These receive the APRS signals and retransmit  them on the Internet.  Then, several websites take that information, compile it in databases, and display it on tracking maps.  An example of the track for my vehicle today is shown here clipped from the website http://www.aprs.fi

My ham radio callsign is NØSYS, (The second character is a zero) and for my truck I add -9 as my primary mobile station. The track is the light blue line.  You see my truck at the last position near Zirconia on the bottom of the map.

You can see on this plot that I went up I-26 to Arden to go to a restaurant, then to Harbor Freight, and then back home.  Then I went on another trip to NW Hendersonville, and returned via Howard Gap Road.

The track might lead you to believe that I also went through Hendersonville or somehow jumped from Zirconia to Naples.  That's a problem with APRS.  If nobody receives your signal and transfers it to the Internet, through an iGate, then the software just fills in the blanks as best it can.  Actually, on all of my trips, I used Route I26 almost exclusively, except for the Howard Gap segment.

For those interested in the detailed information about my radio and setup:   I'm using a Yaesu FTM-400DM with an external Globalsat BR-355 GPS (the GPS built into the radio works, but is slow to lock up, probably because it doesn't have a good view of the sky) 

My plan is to post either screen captures of the track, such as this one, or else links to the actual track for aprs.fi.  The problem with the latter plan is that the tracks don't last forever on the aprs.fi website.