tomfidgen

At the Unplugged Woodshop   I wanted to post a quick note about classes this Autumn season. I offer 3 hour private classes here in  my work shop and topics can range from a basic hand tool introduction to more advanced  sharpening skills and onto hand planing and sawing. You never need to bring anything with you but I usually encourage students to take along their favourite hand plane or saw.  I think it makes more sense to go through a class using the tools you’ll be... Read Full Story

At the Unplugged Woodshop   I wanted to post a quick note about classes this Autumn season. I offer 3 hour private classes here in  my work shop and topics can range from a basic hand tool introduction to more advanced  sharpening skills and onto hand planing and sawing. You never need to bring anything with you but I usually encourage students to take along their favourite hand plane or saw.  I think it makes more sense to go through a class using the tools you’ll be... Read Full Story

‘Outside another yellow moon punched a hole in the nighttime, I climb through the window and down to the street I’m shining like a new dime’ Downtown Train by Tom Waits…from the album Rain Dogs, 1985. Kerfing plane R&D. Hello to all- I’m back in the big city and almost through the first week back to school. iTunes is singing me some Tom Waits this morning and I’m almost enjoying the cool air coming through this September window. Almost like we never left... Read Full Story

‘Outside another yellow moon punched a hole in the nighttime, I climb through the window and down to the street I’m shining like a new dime’ Downtown Train by Tom Waits…from the album Rain Dogs, 1985. Kerfing plane R&D. Hello to all- I’m back in the big city and almost through the first week back to school. iTunes is singing me some Tom Waits this morning and I’m almost enjoying the cool air coming through this September window. Almost like we never left... Read Full Story

Hand Made Modern Main frame joinery complete. In my last post I finished bending the arms and the main double  tenon joinery complete on the cherry bench. The good thing about this design is that there is really only 6 major joinery ‘intersections’ on the entire piece and the double tenon method worked great for what I needed. The bad thing was every joint on this bench is a compound miter! Patience, patience. The arm to leg assembly not only splays outwards to add an inviting out... Read Full Story

Hand Made Modern Main frame joinery complete. In my last post I finished bending the arms and the main double  tenon joinery complete on the cherry bench. The good thing about this design is that there is really only 6 major joinery ‘intersections’ on the entire piece and the double tenon method worked great for what I needed. The bad thing was every joint on this bench is a compound miter! Patience, patience. The arm to leg assembly not only splays outwards to add an inviting out... Read Full Story

Part Two Now where was I ? oh yeah, Cape Breton Island. Summer time. ‘The Gorman Commission’ Sounds impressive no? ; ) It’s a bench in cherry I made during my so called summer ‘ vacation ‘. Inspired by an authentic Danish made, mid-modern rocking chair. The two pieces will share a space in my clients living room so they had to be able to sit well together. The first photograph shows my ‘final’ sketch after 37 previous drawings and design considerations. ( yes, I counted ) Full... Read Full Story

Part Two Now where was I ? oh yeah, Cape Breton Island. Summer time. ‘The Gorman Commission’ Sounds impressive no? ; ) It’s a bench in cherry I made during my so called summer ‘ vacation ‘. Inspired by an authentic Danish made, mid-modern rocking chair. The two pieces will share a space in my clients living room so they had to be able to sit well together. The first photograph shows my ‘final’ sketch after 37 previous drawings and design considerations. ( yes, I counted ) Full... Read Full Story

A Modern Bench in Cherry   August already. Sorry for the delay in posts. I’ve been happily  ‘out of range’ for the past 4 weeks and trying my best to squeeze in a few days vacation. Summer time 2011. I brought the Queens Wharf project along with me from Toronto figuring I’d have lots of free time to work on it out here in the shop. I also thought I’d have some time to continue developing some of the new hand tool designs I’d been working on as well…wouldn’t you know it? ; ) Once we... Read Full Story

A Modern Bench in Cherry   August already. Sorry for the delay in posts. I’ve been happily  ‘out of range’ for the past 4 weeks and trying my best to squeeze in a few days vacation. Summer time 2011. I brought the Queens Wharf project along with me from Toronto figuring I’d have lots of free time to work on it out here in the shop. I also thought I’d have some time to continue developing some of the new hand tool designs I’d been working on as well…wouldn’t you know it? ; ) Once we... Read Full Story