Woodworking in America – Postscript

Attending Woodworking in America September 12 – 14 was a superb way to spend a few days. I went for the full weekend, which entitled me to spend Sunday in Old Salem enjoying a behind-the-scenes tour of several buildings and exhibits. In many cases, the “Do Not Touch” rules were suspended for the day, allowing us to look at furniture construction by opening doors and drawers. There was a collection of workbenches, some of which dated back to the early 1800’s. In addition, there were tours of the joinery shop, the gunsmith’s shop, lots of time at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, and Salem Tavern Museum.

The event began with a breakfast and opening remarks by the folks from Old Salem and Popular Woodworking magazine. Weekend attendees then were allowed early entry into the Marketplace area, where vendors sold everything from antique infill planes to CNC machines. Among my favorite vendors: Lie Nielsen (from whom I bought a bronze apron plane,) Hock Tools, Lee Valley/Veritas (from whom I bought several items, including a low angle jack plane,) The Superior Works, who had hundreds of antique tools, and Blue Spruce Tools. The Marketplace held an amazing variety of power and hand tools of nearly every size and description. And, the NC Woodworkers had a great booth with projects designed for kids.

Most of my time was spent in classes on Friday and Saturday. I had a class on combination planes with Roy Underhill, of the Woodwright’s Shop TV show on PBS, a session on cutting dovetails by hand with Frank Klaus (who also gave me a personal critique and lesson at the Lie Nielsen booth after class,) and workshops on hand tool jigs, restoration projects at Old Salem, table saw joinery, and a class on Japanese hand tools.

Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Frank Klaus in the Lie Nielsen Booth

The Superior Works Booth

Old Salem Joinery Shop

Roy Underhill

Vintage Old Salem Workbench

Woodworking in America

“Woodworking in America” will be held just up the road in Winston-Salem this year, and I plan to attend. The event is a national gathering of woodworkers from across the country who will be participating in  workshops over the course of two days. Several nationally known instructors will be conducting workshops on a variety of topics. In addition, there will be a marketplace with vendors from across the country. And, on Sunday, participants who have opted to purchase the three-day pass will be touring several Old Salem facilities, including the Single Brothers House, The Frank Horton Museum, and the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA.) One of the exhibits on Sunday will feature workbenches used in Old Salem over the years. 

For those not familiar with Old Salem, the town was founded by Moravians in the 1760’s who had originally come to the New World and settled in the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania area. Eventually, the towns of Salem and Winston merged. The restoration of Old Salem began in the 1950’s, and features both restored and recreated structures. Exhibits and re-enactments showcase the way of life the town’s residents would have experienced in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. Salem College, a four-year liberal arts college for women founded in 1772, is the 13th oldest college in the US, and the oldest women’s college.

Since I grew up in Winston-Salem, I am excited to have the chance to attend such an event as Woodworking in America in my old hometown. It should be a weekend filled with instruction, history, old friends, and perhaps the purchase of a new tool or two. 

For more information on the conference, here’s a link to the website: woodworkinginamerica.com

Left Handed Mandolin is a Winner!

My Show Entries

 

 

 

I have never entered any of my work in a competitive show before. But the NC Woodworkers were encouraging members to submit pieces for the North Carolina Woodworking Showcase in Raleigh last weekend. So, I took my latest two mandolins and entered them in the musical instrument category. The left handed one got the blue ribbon for musical instruments, and also won best in show for non-professional entries. 

I had no idea that my work would win anything — but it was a great feeling to see a blue ribbon awarded to “Lefty.”

I think the stand I built at the last minute may have helped with the overall entry.

Now I need to learn to play it!

Left-Handed Mandolin

Left Handed Mandolin

As I have noted before, I can’t play the mandolins I have built because I am left-handed, and they are made for the right-handed player. So, I have now built a left-handed mandolin. I am going to try to learn a little bit about playing, but I suspect that as a musician, I will be a much better woodworker. 

I tried to make this mandolin a mirror image of my second one. I used all the same woods, though I think I improved on some of my techniques. The finish is very similar to #2. It took some conscious thought to reverse some pieces, most notably the “compensated” bridge, which allows for a slightly different string length for each pair of strings.

Although building a mandolin takes a lot of time, it is quite fulfilling to string it up and get it set up upon completion. 

Mandolin Makes Music!

I have built a couple of mandolins now, but have had no idea about how they actually play or sound. I don’t play. In fact, I am left handed, and can’t even hold a right-handed mandolin correctly. (Building a mandolin started as a dare from my brother, but that’s another story.) (There is a left handed version that I will soon write about.)

Here’s my second mandolin:

My Second Mandolin

My wife and I planned a trip to Cambridge, MA to see several of our favorite singer/songwriters play together under the band name “Redbird” at a little club there. They were playing three nights, and we were going to two of the shows. Just on a whim, I emailed one of the folks that would be playing and asked if they would be interested in having a mandolin available to play, explaining that I had built it. I got a message back from one of the guys in the band saying that he hadn’t played mandolin very much recently, but encouraged me to bring it along and come see him before the show. So, I did.

The musician’s name is David “Goody” Goodrich, and he primarily plays guitar, but is really a multi-instrumentalist. I found him before the show, and he was encouraging about my mandolin. He liked the feel and the sound, and started playing little riffs. It was nice to finally hear real music coming from that little box! He played the mandolin on several songs that first night, and asked me to bring it back the second night as well. During that next night’s show, he played it during about half the band’s songs. I have to think that he must have really liked it to keep playing it.

Here is a little video I shot of my mandolin getting played by Goody Goodrich with the band Redbird at Club Passim in Cambridge MA on Friday night, August 22. The other band members are Peter Mulvey, Kris Delmhorst and Jeffery Foucault. The shows by Redbird have the feel of sitting around someone’s living room as each player in turn comes up with a song, with the others joining in. The video is a cover of Alejandro Escovedo’s song, “Wave.”