David’s
12 week course at Harton Manor Workshop
My aim on this course is to teach
you all the skills and pass on all the knowledge
necessary, so that you can make high quality pieces
of furniture in your own workshop.
The list below is a detailed summary of what we
cover during the twelve weeks.
Furniture
Making Skills, Techniques & Theory.
What
is sharpness and how do we get it?
• Theory of sharpening
• Use of water stones to prepare new chisels
and plane blades.
• Avoiding hollow stones.
• Cambered blades and squaring of chisel edges.
• Grinding with Tormek and bench grinder.
• Preparation of Japanese chisels.
• The Resharpening of blades.
• Marking knife modifications.
Tool tuning or fettling. Most
tools do not work out of the box!
• The theory and practice of plane tuning
for ultimate performance.
• Preparing the perfect board. Precision Plane
use.
• Modifying marking gauges so that they work.
• Marking out and the accumulation of errors.
• Making and use of shooting boards.
As we
progress, Health & Safety and use and setting
up of the workshop machinery will be covered in
detail. A thorough understanding of risk and the
nature of kickback are essential for safe machine
use.
• The Bandsaw.
• Cross cut saw.
• Drill press.
• Planer thicknesser.
• Dimension saw.
• Routers and their uses, particularly when
table mounted.
• The Hollow chisel morticer.
The
theory and implications of timber movement will
be covered in depth. This vital topic affects everything
we build with solid timber. Correct structural methods
are necessary to prevent self destruction.
• Selection and buying.
• Conversion from rough plank into components.
• Learning to read the grain.
• Face side, edge and fibre marks.
• Best practice machining to minimize timber
movement.
We have a number of
small projects, which introduce new techniques,
tools and skills, as below.
Dovetailing.
• Through dovetails.
• Mitred through dovetails.
• Single lap dovetails.
• Secret mitre dovetails.
• Applications of these joints for carcass
construction.
• Glue theory.
• Minimizing glue squeeze-out, for an immaculate
interior.
A small box project.
• Machining and handling of
thin timber for the lining.
• Bandsawn veneer.
• Inlay technique, patching defects.
• Repairing errors, voids dents and splices.
• Shoulder and rebate planes.
• Scratch stock use.
• Shooting mitres on box linings.
• Clamping theory, pressure and glue spread.
• Workshop friendly finishing with Shellac.
Making winding sticks. This vital workshop
tool is an opportunity to work with a dense exotic
timber.
• Back bevel planing for interlocked
timbers.
• Hand scrapers and scraper planes.
• More inlay techniques.
• Preparing inlay line material.
• Burnishing dense exotics.
Drawer making and fitting.
• Best quality Arts and Crafts
technique.
• Solid bottoms.
• The “let go” principle.
• The need for a precision carcase.
• Runners and kickers.
A small door with a veneered
panel.
• Hand and machine cut mortice
and tennons.
• Wedged tennons.
• Haunches.
• Veneering by hand, press and vacuum bag.
• Scraper plane use.
• Theory for hanging doors with hinges.
This list of skills, theory and technique
is designed to give an indication of the scope of
the material covered in 12 weeks. I encourage a
certain amount of deviation into related furniture
making issues, during our morning sessions, so it
is impossible to be absolutely prescriptive.
"The main reason for this
letter is to thank you for a most wonderful course
that opened my eyes to many things and has quite
altered my approach to work I love to do. What is
especially wonderful is the fact that certain practices
have not only entered ones consciousness but been
completely absorbed by the body. I thank you for
the care and concern with which you guided us, the
freedom you allowed us with your tools and books,
and your personal involvement in all that we did.
What you have given will remain a treasure for the
rest of my days.
I would also like to thank Pat for her kindness
and help and especially for her lovely welcoming
smile!
With immense gratitude to you both and the very
best wishes for a wonderful year."
Khalid Tyabji
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