Adventures in Luthiery, Traditional Woodworking, Hearth Cooking, and more
I recently started a new position in my Information Security career, which has kept me away from the shop (and from posting) for a while. I managed to shoe-horn in some workshop time during Memorial Day weekend 2019, and took the Roubo inspired veneer saw (frame saw) for some test cutting. Just like any…
Sometimes, reorganizing a lumber rack that’s been neglected for 13 years can be like an archaeological dig. Among the artifacts uncovered from tidying up the hardwood rack this weekend: a side-hatchet in mid-restoration (left); a KHM #C.45 upper rosette practice piece in some soundboard patch wood; and a razor-sharp, circa 1850’s broadaxe. …
Holdfasts are probably the second-most-used clamping tool in my luthiery shop. Since I use holdfasts for securing lute-forms, soundboards, birds-mouths, top battens, and almost everything else, I’m almost always about one pair of holdfasts short of the number I really need. For the last 25 years, I’ve used a pair of cast iron holdfasts from…