History Lesson

[G S Haydon]

With the wonderfully hot weather it seemed as good a time as any to catch up on some reading.

The books in question are Nicholson http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_XYO ... ch&f=false

And Moxon http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=t_IR ... &q&f=false

One thing I noticed was the different types of tools used and the benches. Nicholson seems very close to what I think of as a typical British Joiner, the bench and tools seem familiar.

Moxon though seems closer to a French way of doing things with Hold-fasts and an apronless bench with a thick top.

What was our evolutionary step? Was it because we did not have enough readily available timber to make thick benches and why is there no mention of hold-fasts in Nicholson or later British joinery books? Was this due to a cleaner straighter timber due to machines and eventually joinery machines becoming the norm?

Any good leads on other similar weekend reading would be appreciated.

 

[Shrubby]

Try and find P.N Hasluck's The Patternmakers Handybook. My 1912 edition has a chapter on benches which has a drawing of a bench somewhere between the medieval English style and the classic middle European (face/tail vice type) He also mentions screw holdfasts and auxiliary vices
Matt

 

[G S Haydon]

Thanks Shrubby,

Sadly no google ebook but I will see what I can find. It sounds promising.

 

[Jacob]

..
Any good leads on other similar weekend reading would be appreciated.

The Wheelwright's Shop. George Sturt. Absolutely essential reading.

Was this due to a cleaner straighter timber due to machines and eventually joinery machines becoming the norm?

Sturt tells of the encroaches of the dealer, selling "deals" (sawn boards, coincidence in the names?) slowly replacing the pit sawing of locally felled timber

 

[G S Haydon]

Thanks Jacob,

I have read some of but not the entire book. A client who shared the same Wheelwright heritage as I do let me borrow a copy. Do you plane up wide planks (350mm+) from sawn on your bench? if so can you do it all with the planning stop or do you nail on a batten to the bench to for extra support too?

 

[Jacob]

T...Do you plane up wide planks (350mm+) from sawn on your bench? if so can you do it all with the planning stop or do you nail on a batten to the bench to for extra support too?

Well yes but not often! Why do you ask? If it's big enough a single screw will do as a stop but smaller might need a batten. I did a set of small table tops about 20" square on a piece of chipboard clamped to the bench with battens nailed around all 4 sides like a tray.

 

[G S Haydon]

Thanks Jacob,

It's the only issue that I can see that is not adequately catered for without a contrivance on a British bench. I like you used a tray of sorts that was formed by screwing plastic blocks to the bench top around the edge of the timber that was to be planed. Nearly all other types of benches seem to have a hold-fast combo, sliding wagon vice or similar that does this. Not saying one is better than the other just hammering it out. I guess you needed the chipboard because you have a tool tray and you didn't want to damage your bench top?

 

[Jacob]

Thanks Jacob,

It's the only issue that I can see that is not adequately catered for without a contrivance on a British bench. I like you used a tray of sorts that was formed by screwing plastic blocks to the bench top around the edge of the timber that was to be planed. Nearly all other types of benches seem to have a hold-fast combo, sliding wagon vice or similar that does this. Not saying one is better than the other just hammering it out. I guess you needed the chipboard because you have a tool tray and you didn't want to damage your bench top?

Oh I see. You mean the lack of end vice and suitably spaced dogs? If your wide board is too long they are no use anyway. Another really handy trick is a sash cramp in the vice. You might need to spacer blocks to get it clear of the apron but it works just the same as dogs and end vice, perhaps even more conveniently.

 

[G S Haydon]

On that I can disagree, from my point of view anyway . The sash cramp idea does not do it for me at all. If I want to flatten a wide board and I did not have a method to clamp it I would rather use some battens or blocks fixed around the edge. I'm far from an expert on this kind of work though, just got a feel of what works for me.

 

[bugbear]

Any good leads on other similar weekend reading would be appreciated.

Yes - Sturt is a useeful source of information, but "The Village Carpenter" by Walter Rose is full of information and joy.

There's no joy in Sturt.

BugBer

 

[AndyT]

Any good leads on other similar weekend reading would be appreciated.

Yes - Sturt is a useeful source of information, but "The Village Carpenter" by Walter Rose is full of information and joy.

There's no joy in Sturt.

BugBer

+1 for Walter Rose. Still in print or easy to find secondhand.

Very good on a sort of rural connectedness - noting the growth of a hedgerow tree which would later be bought, sawn, seasoned and put by for the work it was most suitable for. Mending and maintaining work the men's fathers had done; that sort of long term approach.

 

[DuncanA]

For good weekend reading I recently really enjoyed 'The Joiner and Cabinet Maker'. It was published anonymously and tells the story of Thomas, a fictional cabinet makers apprentice working in 1839. It's recently been reprinted by Lost Art Press with additions from Chris Shwarz and Joel Moskowitz.

It was intended to provide information for young boys looking for an apprenticeship, and it gives some interesting info regarding how wood was sawn, bought and worked back then including the joints and tools used, and how they were made etc. (I don't think it gives any info on holding work on the bench top though). The Lost Art Press edition also includes walk-through instructions to build the three projects Thomas builds in the original text: a packing box, schoolbox and a chest of drawers.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

If you can find a copy, "From Tree to Sea, The Building of a Wooden Steam Drifter" by Ted Frost is superb. Perhaps the last of the (largish) wooden ships built, told by someone serving his time as an apprentice shipwright. His drawings, which profusely illustrate the book, show the processes in great detail.

 

[bugbear]

If you can find a copy, "From Tree to Sea, The Building of a Wooden Steam Drifter" by Ted Frost is superb. Perhaps the last of the (largish) wooden ships built, told by someone serving his time as an apprentice shipwright. His drawings, which profusely illustrate the book, show the processes in great detail.

Lovely book - I was put on to it by Alf.

s/h copies are VERY expensive. I first read a library copy; by the time I decided I'd like my own copy, it was out of print.

BugBear

 

[G S Haydon]

Thanks all! I guess on part of my OP it's not unreasonable to surmise that what we know of as a "joiners bench" was largely due to economy and readily? That's not a dis, I making one myself. I look forward to catching up with some of the titles mentioned.

 

[Jelly]

Thanks all! I guess on part of my OP it's not unreasonable to surmise that what we know of as a "joiners bench" was largely due to economy and readily? That's not a dis, I making one myself. I look forward to catching up with some of the titles mentioned.

Most probably, I remember commenting somewhere in the past, that most of the modern workplace benches I've seen tend towards the "Joiners Bench" and incorporate lots of re-purposed materials that are readily available there.