Anyone else remember the episode where is woodworking "project" was assembling a chair from a kit? Kind'a like me showing off my skills with a Sauder Entertainment Center.
Hell, I don't know ... van Gogh was so good that you couldn't see the numbers when he was done.
In my view David Marks is the kind of woodworker that I aspire to be. I know I'll never have the Nimitz-class jointer, bandsawrus, or 3000 sq ft shop like him, but he seems to do woodworking right. His methodical use of jigs and templates, the traditional joining technics he uses, his clear love of the beauty of wood, that's how I want to be when I'm creating. I've never once seen him shoot brads into a piece "to hold it while the glue dries". He always seems to find a better way.
I'm glad that you found inspiration in Bruce Johnson enough to take up the hobby. I hope that as you gain experience you will keep an open mind about all of the woodworking advice you get, televised or otherwise.
I just got drafted into putting one of those things together for Mom.
I think maybe teaching people how to assemble that sort of stuff correctly via a TV show isn't a completely horrible idea. It's harder to do than most people think it will be going in. It took me four hours to assemble the damn thing, because I did it right.
Not that I consider it real woodworking or anything, and I'm not sticking up for this Bruce Johnson guy that you folks like to rag on. (Don't know him. I don't watch TV.) I guess the point I'm making is that good work takes time and attention to detail, even if it is just assembling a particle board entertainment center.
Yep. I remember putting my hand through the side of one of the panels when I was trying to get it to slide onto another part. I slapped it too far from the edge. What an embarassment.
I think Sauder actually makes a pretty good product for the money. Putting it together is not as easy as you'd think, even if you have mechanical skills. (Not saying that I do.)
Ummm, well, uh... I have to admit that he sorta did just that on the apothecary cabinet. Not in the Nahmish style, of course! (Meaning he didn't nail it through the face in lieu of proper clamping.)
Here was the problem: he was gluing a top onto the carcase of the cabinet, which presented two gluing sufaces roughly a foot square. He explained that it's tough to keep larger surfaces aligned when clamping, because they tend to slip-n-slide.
Solution: partially set four brads in the top of the carcase. Snip off the heads, leaving about 1/8" revealed. Apply glue, align the top, then tap it onto the brads with a mallet. Clamp as usual, with the brads serving to hold the two pieces in alignment. Voilá!
A simple, elegant solution that doesn't mar the wood or require fillers.
Kevin
Some of those things would challenge Sam Maloof's skills.
I have to admit having some Sauder pieces in my house. They're really not terribly bad as far as laminated particle board furniture goes. They look fairly decent, but of course they're not fine furniture.
Kevin
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