I didn't ask because they were busy when I was there, but I will ask them. They have used blo finishes a lot in the past. The rocking chair instructions said to sand to 220, I suspect they went further with these pieces.
They give you a list of recommended hand tools at the first course. The list can be purchased for not much money (compared to setting up a power shop). I wouldn't do without my power tools, but if I had taken their class first, I wouldn't have as many as I do. He will also be instructed in proper sharpening techniques.
Tell him to stay away from their pastries in the deli. :-) They typically have a lemonade and pastry break towards the middle of the afternoon.
"Smoothing" as in smoothing the insides of the pins or the ends after glueup?
Ah, that reminds me of Frid's techniwue of using a plane iron to score his dt's. I don't know that I'd have the balls to try it. :-) A marking knife seems plenty adequate.
Some already have. :-) FWIW, here's a link to the Lee Valley dt marking thingies:
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Handy little buggers.
Actually, I think getting good m&t joints is harder than dt's. But that might just be me.
Yeah, I almost gave up on them before I even started. But I was lucky enough to run across some galootish types who helped steer me in the right direction.
I make it fit into my schedule on individual projects. Since it's a hobby first and foremost, SWMBO is (reasonably) understanding (sometimes) when I tell her (often) that I won't have this project done in just a couple of days (weeks) because first I have to thickness, surface, rip and joint the wood. :-) For me, it's all part of the process.
I hope that folks who haven't tried them realize that dt's aren't some sort of mystical, master Zen-woodworker sort of process. If you can square up a piece of wood, transfer some marks accurately, saw to a line, and have reasonable chisel skills, you can make fine dovetails.
But many hobbyist woodworkers don't bother to acquire some or all of those basic skills, and thus the need for practice.
As for the power and handtool thing -- I'm assuming they dimension all the stock they use for their projects with power tools and then do joinery with handtools. Is that about right?
I'm not much of a metalworker. :-) What I *have* done is take some new Stanley 1/4" chisels and put a skew on them. I just used SS for that. Having a pair of left/right skews has been handy, especially for dovetailing.
I use them for cleaning out little crumbs between the tails and pins, and for getting that last little bit in the corners that can keep dovetails from closing up properly.
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