Thread: Chip and dip

It looks like a block of wax

What Brilliant workmanship!!!

I have watched a few of these youtube videos and have come to the conclusion that the only thing preventing me from becoming a brilliant craftsman is my inability to use use my left foot to hold pieces on my workbench
I am too old for ballet lessons

Originally Posted by ClintO

I have watched a few of these youtube videos and have come to the conclusion that the only thing preventing me from becoming a brilliant craftsman is my inability to use use my left foot to hold pieces on my workbench
I am too old for ballet lessons

That's the problem Clint.

We spend so much time deciding and making massive (300kg+) work benches and they grab a slab and sit on the floor.

BTW I've got stuffed knees and back so sitting on the floor like that is not an option.

Pure speculation but it may be a sponge soaked in camelia oil.

Those guys are just crazy-good.
If I sat on the floor all day, working like that, might be OK.
BUT, I'll need two assistants to help me stand up again.

Does the size of a dovetail corner, the sizes of the parts, change with fashion or is it more a matter of wood thickness?

Somewhere in YouTube is a video of a bunch of Pacific Northwest Native Carvers, all working together in one room. Then the camera turns to the carver who is hollowing out the back of a ceremonial wooden mask. He's sitting cross-legged on the floor, the carving in his lap, swinging a hand-held D-adze towards his privates.

Camelia oil is all I can think of as well, although I think of it as a rust prevention measure more than a lubricant. In fact I've never heard or seen a western woodworker lubricate his chisels while working, so an interesting concept, possible worth exploring.

On a separate note, poor Norm Abrahams would be lost in that workshop, a severe lack of power tools being used!

Looks more like some waxy type substance to me. There's a closer shot that shows signs of chisel imprints in the surface. Makes sense, we use waxes on handsaws, why not on chisels to lube the cutting edge a bit. Either way, that chap certainly wastes no time removing the... waste. I was most impressed when he was fitting those air-tight draws that caused the others to pop out.