Thread: How legit is graham blackburn?

I’ve been watching him for a few months and he does throw out some howling errors every now and again. Also when he demonstrates some of the tools he tends to use really crappy pine and either a course set or just too big a bite so the finished surface or profile is somewhat nasty.

He does react positively to some comments; for instance in the initial videos for rebate planes he missed out the duplex rebate/filisters like the Stanley 78. I entered a comment to that effect and his very next video was centered entirely on the Record 778.

I do like though that he is showcasing relatively uncommon tools like the various types of moulding planes. His latest video is of snipe rebates and snipe bills; although I’ve seen snipe bills in action before (such as on the HNT Gordon channel) I’d never actully seen a snipe rebate in use or really understood what their purpose was. To be frank I still think a side rebate plane would outperform a snipe rebate but that is purely conjecture on my part.

In the end though he’s using these videos to promote his books.

Originally Posted by D.W.

On of my first dvds was of blackburn making a mortised door frame by hand. It was an interesting video, but let's just say the result didn't remind of mak headly.

Too, someone claimed he taught the cap iron in Williamsburg in 2011 or so, but nobody mentioned it until the part time accountants and such tried to claim it was already known. However, his "plane in any direction " video recently put on YouTube focuses on plugging a plane moth to make it very tight. This work OK, of course, but it does neuter a plane when the cap iron would do better.

Over the years, I've sort of cone to terms with the fact that my early heroes did far more article, book and class stuff than commissioned work.

Yesterday, someone mentioned him to me on my page and youtube instantly suggested his mortising video. Nice coincidence. Almost immediately, he very deliberately said "this type is called a registered mortise chisel " when showing an oval bolstered chisel and I plainly replied "the type mentioned is listed as mortise chisel or "best mortise chisel " in older catalogues and a registered chisel is entirely different, being a heavier firmer type with a robust very heavy tang."

They bear no relation to the "pigstickers," I provided a link to a marples catalogue, of course, but was not impolite. The error of laziness, though, is wholly avoidable and not really acceptable for someone who claims to be a pro.

The comment was removed immediately and the others appear to be curated like a sellers blog. What a fragile man. I guess fixing things gets in the way of selling an image.id be embarrassed, and I'm not a pro by any means.

David, what more realistically occurred (I know because it has happened to me a few times now) is that all messages on YouTube with an internet link will cause the post to be deleted. It has nothing to do with Graham (who is a good guy) and nothing like Sellers (who is a tosser).

Graham may have gotten his terminology incorrect re mortice chisels, but he has been a proponent and teacher of hand tool woodworking for many decades. His books go back a while. I recall that he stood in for David Charlesworth when David was hospitalised about a decade ago.

He is a jazz musician as well - impossible to be a bad guy!

Regards from Perth

Derek

I'm no logician, but based on the above, Sellers is also a 'jazz musician'!

Epic Woodworking - YouTube


I think it was Derek who mentioned Tom from Epic woodworking,
I find the way he presents his videos, very relaxing an easy to follow with no presumptions an he doesn’t seem too be pushing this brand or that brand.
Not sure if he even has a sponsor?
He actually normally doesn’t you fancy tools.
The other thing his videos are aimed at a market with an attention span more than just 15 minutes ie around the 45 min plus, which I find refreshing.
He does go on a little bit, but we’ll we all suffer from that from time to time [emoji849].
He might like Jazz but I have know idea there.

But saying all that I don’t mind Graham’s Chanel either after recently discovering him.



Cheers Matt.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Originally Posted by derekcohen

David, what more realistically occurred (I know because it has happened to me a few times now) is that all messages on YouTube with an internet link will cause the post to be deleted. It has nothing to do with Graham (who is a good guy) and nothing like Sellers (who is a tosser).

Graham may have gotten his terminology incorrect re mortice chisels, but he has been a proponent and teacher of hand tool woodworking for many decades. His books go back a while. I recall that he stood in for David Charlesworth when David was hospitalised about a decade ago.

He is a jazz musician as well - impossible to be a bad guy!

Regards from Perth

Derek

There's another lens for this, but I'll test your link theory later. I've posted link on comments before to imgur, and they're persistent (remain). The other lens is that blackburn is viewing the channel as a tool for directing sales and he simply isn't going to leave any comments that don't make business sense for him. And if so, that's his right. I've ghosted comments on my own channel, but not for being corrected. Rather because they seem intentionally unhelpful and misleading, or more often, because I don't think the three people who watch my videos are interested in getting an Indian wife via an advertisement.

Edit: just confirmed that some comments of the same nature with links remain up on other channels. One of those being a pro, who I figured may ghost what I posted.

Originally Posted by Simplicity

Epic Woodworking - YouTube


I think it was Derek who mentioned Tom from Epic woodworking,
I find the way he presents his videos, very relaxing an easy to follow with no presumptions an he doesn’t seem too be pushing this brand or that brand.
Not sure if he even has a sponsor?
He actually normally doesn’t you fancy tools.
The other thing his videos are aimed at a market with an attention span more than just 15 minutes ie around the 45 min plus, which I find refreshing.
He does go on a little bit, but we’ll we all suffer from that from time to time [emoji849].
He might like Jazz but I have know idea there.

But saying all that I don’t mind Graham’s Chanel either after recently discovering him.



Cheers Matt.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

As mentioned, I had at least one of his dvds back in the day. They're refreshingly different and closer to how I work. He was an old schooler back then who wrote articles and sold various things and was paid to appear. Imagine now paying $35 for a 45 minute DVD (current dollar equivalent) and finding it was a dud. It was common back then. Blackburn's door DVD wasn't a dud, but some other woodworking and guitar dvds that I had were useless in minutes and watching the full length didn't change much.

I've had one article published. It brought $1700, but I and a couple of others left the money to another forum. 10 years prior, the payoff would've been multiples more, and I figured when blackburn disappeared, he'd just been swept away in the disappearance of the older expectation that you pay for anything good, or if providing the info, you get paid.

I saw a video a while ago from blackburn that really was intended to sell a $13 basic set of plans, and thought he was jumping the gun a little.

I don't get the same disingenuous vibe from him that I get from sellers. Just lamenting a little what I didn't know back then that I know now. What I really wanted to see was mack headley working by hand. What we got was a lot of regurgitated rob wearing texts in videos or Rob Cosmans insane video about fitting drawers. I had that one, too.

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

I’ve been watching him for a few months and he does throw out some howling errors every now and again. Also when he demonstrates some of the tools he tends to use really crappy pine and either a course set or just too big a bite so the finished surface or profile is somewhat nasty.

He does react positively to some comments; for instance in the initial videos for rebate planes he missed out the duplex rebate/filisters like the Stanley 78. I entered a comment to that effect and his very next video was centered entirely on the Record 778.

I do like though that he is showcasing relatively uncommon tools like the various types of moulding planes. His latest video is of snipe rebates and snipe bills; although I’ve seen snipe bills in action before (such as on the HNT Gordon channel) I’d never actully seen a snipe rebate in use or really understood what their purpose was. To be frank I still think a side rebate plane would outperform a snipe rebate but that is purely conjecture on my part.

In the end though he’s using these videos to promote his books.

I assume you're talking about side snipes? I have a pair and admit I've never used them. I have a *pair* of stanley 79s because they're more convenient to use set only one way each and would have to find in old texts where and how a side snipe is used because they are a scraper.

You're right about the wood. It should be something that we'd use. Schwarz has a big issue with this, too, showing dimensioning demonstrations with all pine.

Originally Posted by Simplicity

Epic Woodworking - YouTube


I think it was Derek who mentioned Tom from Epic woodworking,
I find the way he presents his videos, very relaxing an easy to follow with no presumptions an he doesn’t seem too be pushing this brand or that brand.
Not sure if he even has a sponsor?
He actually normally doesn’t you fancy tools.
The other thing his videos are aimed at a market with an attention span more than just 15 minutes ie around the 45 min plus, which I find refreshing.
He does go on a little bit, but we’ll we all suffer from that from time to time [emoji849].
He might like Jazz but I have know idea there.

But saying all that I don’t mind Graham’s Chanel either after recently discovering him.



Cheers Matt.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

As mentioned, I had at least one of his dvds back in the day. They're refreshingly different and closer to how I work. He was an old schooler back then who wrote articles and sold various things and was paid to appear. Imagine now paying $35 for a 45 minute DVD (current dollar equivalent) and finding it was a dud. It was common back then. Blackburn's door DVD wasn't a dud, but some other woodworking and guitar dvds that I had were useless in minutes and watching the full length didn't change much.

I've had one article published. It brought $1700, but I and a couple of others left the money to another forum. 10 years prior, the payoff would've been multiples more, and I figured when blackburn disappeared, he'd just been swept away in the disappearance of the older expectation that you pay for anything good, or if providing the info, you get paid.

I saw a video a while ago from blackburn that really was intended to sell a $13 basic set of plans, and thought he was jumping the gun a little.

I don't get the same disingenuous vibe from him that I get from sellers. Just lamenting a little what I didn't know back then that I know now. What I really wanted to see was mack headley working by hand. What we got was a lot of regurgitated rob wearing texts in videos or Rob Cosmans insane video about fitting drawers. I had that one, too.

David, when Blackburn first began posting, I added remarks to his first two videos which, to some extent, admonished him. For example, not mentioning the chipbreaker when discussing setting up a plane. He was okay with this and replied that he would get to it in a later video.

His earlier videos did not mention the books he wrote. I don't think this was his reason for starting up the channel, although it may be a part of it now. I am sure he realises that his audience is likely to be tiny (like yours and mine) and most unlikely going to make him any richer.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by derekcohen

David, when Blackburn first began posting, I added remarks to his first two videos which, to some extent, admonished him. For example, not mentioning the chipbreaker when discussing setting up a plane. He was okay with this and replied that he would get to it in a later video.

His earlier videos did not mention the books he wrote. I don't think this was his reason for starting up the channel, although it may be a part of it now. I am sure he realises that his audience is likely to be tiny (like yours and mine) and most unlikely going to make him any richer.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Perhaps your post lived because the nature of it was "you didn't include this" vs. a correction. The last time Warren visited, he mentioned that Hock had a blog (what he told me was that Hock is a sweetheart of a guy, and I should take into account that he doesn't really use the tools but is willing to revise what he says if someone shows him a better answer), and that blog had a formula for calculating the effective pitch of a skewed angle. The formula was wrong. I think this isn't a surprise as I majored in math and my personal view is the easiest way to see the change in effective angle is to actually make a block and then physically measure it.

At any rate, instead of ghosting warren, Hock thanked him and revised his entry, and by Warren's account was very friendly about it. You know how Warren is wired, but you may not known how he perceives the impact of what he says. He said he hesitated to provide the correction because even when you provide better information, most people dislike you for doing it. I'm aware of this, obviously, but I like to be challenged. Few like to take the risk to fire accurate salvos, though. I like that - but I'm chasing an ideal more than a relationship. The relationships will come of it. I don't push Warren or ask him about motivations - I don't think he'd care for that.

I bring that up because a lot of folks lose their mind a little (even if quietly) if they're proven wrong. I didn't like it years ago. I view it as a treat now - someone freely adds a brick to your foundation and it's something to celebrate.

I doubt most of the woodworking community cares about registered chisels or what they really are, as evidenced by the discussion on SMC. This kind of thing becomes more important as you gain more knowledge because it's like going to math class and seeing a proof and then having the proof given the name of another proof. It's a barrier, not a casual relaxed "better if we don't get too bogged down in the details".

The reference that I posted on Walter Sorrell's channel was not a correction but rather a suggestion that knifemakers watching the channel (he was doing a one off where he forged a chisel) should look to late 1800s England if they want to get into making chisels seriously. As you might expect, when knife makers forge a chisel, they don't usually see it through the lens of woodworking, so you get some oddball things. They all seem to like to forge socket chisels, too, just for the fun of forging the socket. Walter is a fine maker when he has a commission to "fine make" and at least as he describes most of his time before recently shifting to YT, he warned that being a full time knife maker is 7 days a week 12 hours a day to make things work financially, not a 40 hour a week job.

I don't get the sense that Blackburn has done anything like this, but the little cues like basic books that really are just another source for the same information show up on his site. It looks like he's been doing other things the last 15 years, but perhaps also teaching classes at Marc Adams. I don't think fine woodworkers come out of these schools, but I think the people who like to attend the classes would not like the individual curiosity and sometimes isolation that the George's and Mack Headleys would work in when working in their own shops. It's part woodworking, part travel destination and part social dinners, etc.

Sometimes the people who go to these classes and get a certificate that they're a "marc adams master woodworker" open up a school and proceed to teach people how to sharpen tools and do basic woodworking elements. Mack, George, Peter Ross and others are only a rare treat to us when they either cross our paths or something is published of their work, like the wiliamsburg videos.

I see Blackburn's setup pretty much as direction to get you to pay for information that's not unique, but that's the whole of the woodworking and fine woodworking author group, and in my opinion (some won't agree), Chris Schwarz. I think Steve and some others in the community of folks (Steve V is a really really solid guy) get at me for saying it, but Chris Schwarz's writings have never been anything but a detriment to me in learning something. And he takes criticism very poorly when it comes from anyone "above him". I'm not one of those people, but George is, and I remember how poorly he reacted when George suggested jamming saws is something to avoid, and then later suggested a too-hastily made video about clenching nails was done in a way that nobody would've clenched nails even for routine work in the 18th century.

I try to disable any media or link site's providing information from any of them. WBW, Schwarz, Sellers, and so on by using "do not recommend any information from this publisher" or author or channel owner or whatever, but some still gets through. I just again got a link in my yahoo yesterday suggesting buying a $35 streaming video on how to make a roubo bench. For some reason, that bothers me.

Graham is from an older group, it bothers me less. 35 years ago, every hobby pretty much assumed you'd be a member of a club or a subscriber to something and you'd pick targeted information and pay for it. At this point, we have the ability to share knowledge and point to historical sources that are more succint and far more accurate, and often available in digital form with the option to save even the original text for free. But you can attempt to acquire, provide, and discuss information at the 1825 text level - it'll never make a dent against the algorithms, and as much as I think they make people dumber and misled, they obviously know what people want.

Personally, I don't think Blackburn's channel ever exists without the intention to use it to draw and direct people. The studio that he uses is a video demonstration kind of area - imagine trying to build and finish a case, table or bed in it.

I find that Graham's delivery on his You-Tube channel not really a good fit for the format. It feels like he filmed a long form video of him delivering to a class and has chopped it up into short clips on single topics. This means the central thread gets lost making it just a show and tell of antiquated hand tools (not that this is a bad thing). And it feels like you are in the classroom, teacher out the front speaking in a firm and authoritative voice. Again, this will appeal to some and others invoke childhood trauma.

The selling of the books at the end makes it feel like you've just had a "free demo" and now for the sales pitch. But they are all in it for the money, so that's just par for the course.

Does he pass the 'would you like to have a beer and a yarn with him down the pub test? Yes, I think he'd have some great stories.

I don't get sentiment against Sellers. The bit that gets very grating is the "I've been doing this 65 years and I know best" attitude. Like when woodworking was taught 65 years ago it was at its zenith and nothing new has been developed since. And like Blackburn, the delivery is very much akin to the school teacher teaching a class. What I do really like about Sellers is he verbalises each step as he is doing to really emphasise what he is doing - how to hold the tool, the body position and attitude, the motion to use the tool. This is a great way of teaching because it reinforces the visual teaching.

Pub test for Sellers - yeah maybe just once to know more about his background which has never really been made clear.

Rob Cosman - he can teach you to dovetail joints and little else it seems. But then there is the range of pointless single trick tools such as the kerf blade thingy. I am sure his dovetail saw is premium but its more expensive than everything else. And his love for WoodRiver planes gets overwhelming (oh, because he sells them too).

The late David Charlesworth is a hardworking genius with great ideas. But his videos are an absolute endurance to watch. The pace is very slow and David's voice is so soft, that I am generally asleep after a few minutes. So I have to watch them multiple times to understand them. I think David's dedication to methodical test of orthodoxy and developing novel approaches makes him one of the greats. I would have loved to have had a drink with David (if he imbibed liquor), but I would get the publican to leave a bottle of whiskey at the table because you know it's going to be a long one.

Other things I can't stand about You-Tube influencers/content makers are people who build a great audience with informative content like tool reviews and then use that same channel to espouse their unhinged politics or just to spruik lame crappy products.

That said, I watch all of them but turn off when good advice and ideas becomes an infomercial or cheap shoddy entertainment.

I get why people might take umbrage at incorrect, incomplete or misleading content. However, that has to be weighted against the general good they are doing putting that content out there and reaching new audiences.

The woodworking community has grown because of Cosman, Sellers and others. Putting out content for "free" that used to be locked away in bought DVDs and VHSs, or in magazines or in books. The latter two probably the least accessible entry point into the hobby. They have also made the content interesting and fun. There are now tonnes of content makers out there who picked up woodworking from Cosman/Sellers etc and are now passing it on to an even wider audience. While this might seem like quality of the content has declined (and yes some of the techniques leave a lot to be desired), it's just the next step its evolution.

Excellent post.

As far as Paul Sellers, I don't think there's that much out there that he's done single handedly, and some of the stuff, like the strange veneered cabinet in the white house was made in his "shop". If you look at frank strazza's site, you'll see a striking resemblance.

I think if you kind of find little bits and bobs, you see him mention that he was a traffic policeman, and then lived in texas working the craft circuit, making things during the week and selling them on the weekend (my mother did the craft circuit for 40 years, but in a more organized way - she was a teacher, but it was no joke - her part time income from it for the year was about $40k in current dollars in her prime).

And then in 1984, almost 40 years ago, a job at homestead woodworking or whatever the place was called in Texas where former President Bush has his ranch. So, if we piece that together along with the fact that he was trained as a joiner (not a cabinetmaker like we're all doing at the bench), he probably would've been more familiar with built ins, kitchen cabinetry and repair work like windows, sash work, etc.

I set out to work by hand around 2011 or so and figured it out more or less in a year - how to be efficient enough that is, I didn't become a master of anything, but was patient in trialing tools and getting "data" on what could be done continuously and what was efficient. What I came to was about 95% of what you'll find in nicholson's exercises and practical cabinetmaking, though that's a small part of those volumes -I only figured out most of the wood removal and such. It didn't look like anyone's hand work online, and I was put off.

I thought for sure there would be lots of other people who would enjoy the physical engagement and clarity that this kind of work provides - you plan less, fit more, work as accurately, and there is less buying. But the friend who got me into woodworking is a good example of the reality of the community - most people fight themselves to get into the shop and watching folks like sellers or blackburn is sort of a release - good enough. My friend introduced me to charlesworth's sharpening video. I took notes (no kidding) and did exactly what it said - switching time frames, this was about 2006, and may have been 2005). I am not the type to take notes and follow directions, but I did it and the first edge I ever sharpened was sharp. If you're going to work by hand, you have to depart from a lot of what charlesworth teaches, and much of it is just straight out of wearing's teachings, and who knows where wearing got the stuff. Charlesworth *never* hid any of that, and when I asked him about things like "I just have to do something different, I'm grateful for your methods but I can't get things done", he replied more or less that working entirely by hand was "insane" and that his methods need to provide success to someone who is a beginner and he implied, I thought, some approval in that. Maybe he didn't....

......but he was precise in his talk, honest and I can't overstate how much I appreciated that. I sharpen a different way, but you could argue there are elements in it that are charlesworth based. No flat bevels, no honing guides, no back bevel or ruler trick - but I remove material from most of the tool and focus on finishing the very tip of the tool highly - and that's what he does. His method is time consuming, but it shows you what you need to achieve, and you can figure out how to get it in a minute instead of 4 later - and if you don't need to, you'll know it.

I'd love to show you a video of Mack Headley working, but it looks like the video of him making a side stand with pivoting top is taken down on youtube. My very good friend George is up there, and is working by hand. It looks vastly different than the gurus - it is measured, consistent, he is working much faster, but it doesn't look like it. I rarely talk to George about woodworking these days, we are wired the same - he is good at things, I am mediocre but curious. It's good enough!! But once in a while, I get a wild hair, and in the last three weeks, I've made 5 batches of varnish. George made a whole lot more varnish than that - who can you pick up the phone and talk to about that? He's pragmatic and varnish wasn't a 3 week escapade, he was looking to make it to use -get results, not write a book about it. I asked him out of curiosity if he'd made it from pine resin right out of a tree (uncommon) and he had actually gathered resin from trees and done that. I had a question about making turpentine (it looked impractical to do - he confirmed it for me).

But, back to Headley - The way headley worked in the williamsburg video was entirely different - with good stock, and he discussed things like modifying operations to avoid using a lot of fixtures or clamping things when they don't really need it. It is the missing link between working by hand and making 1/5th as much as you'd make with machines and by hand vs. making almost the same amount.

Phil Lowe also comes to mind - you could tell when he demonstrated something, it wasn't geared toward beginners - it was a method that would be efficient enough, and he used mahogany. Earlier on, I found that offputting.. "well, what if I don't have wood that nice to work". You gradually get to the point where you realize that spending on subscriptions and gadgets is the wrong place to put money, if you're going to make something neatly, you need to figure out what good stock is and sometimes a piece will be nice enough that it shouldn't be made with anything but good stock.

Appreciate your lengthy thoughtful post.

some here may have seen this many times:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x1_...el=lvlagnetoTV

CW takes down a lot of videos, or maybe people just dump their channels, but they seem to let this one go. To show how much easier it is for us to get information, George said CW had been selling this video for $70 when he was working there (!!!)

Williamsburg is an interesting place for hand tooling and letting you know what the upper level is (that you can do, watch, learn from). They generally don't use any power tools, and never in front of the public. The trades workers there have to both discuss what they're doing and work in front of people all day when the museum is open. As George put it, his bench was turned so the end was right toward the public and he worked at that end and talked with people, being told to move groups through so that people were in only for about 8 minutes or something so that folks in the museum wouldn't be shut out by a group wanting to see demonstration for hours. I think that would be tiring.

This video was made in the off season, so they were able to work in a shop just as anyone would typically do it. It's uncanny when you listen to a video like this - it's almost 50 years old. George sounds *exactly* like this in 2023!!

Talking to people like George, you start to see a pattern. Once in a while on the English forum, I would say "can someone point me to a fine worker who started off not knowing what they wanted to do and subscribed to paul sellers for 10 years". I don't think there are any. You find the pattern that folks like George or Mack or Peter Ross have their own desire to make things - nobody taught them that. You have to develop it - the desire to experiment, do and make things, and start to learn to enjoy hands on more because you are driven to the the results you want. The blackburn/charlesworth/sellers, and so on (keeping in mind, I'm most fond of charlesworth just by sentiment, I guess) are just a starting point, but people get stuck in them and begin to think things like mitered dovetail joints are some kind of endpoint and it will take decades to get to them, getting ever more careful about methods and jigging up, etc.

Kaare Loftheim (Mack Headley is retired, I think Loftheim is the master cabinetmaker at Williamsburg now) cuts a mitered dovetail joints and talks about making them in a way that gives you a more universal idea - lay it out, cut it, get some experience. It's a joint someone should be cutting after a year and in ways that aren't arduous - we can't all remember 400 40-step methods that all require special tools.

But a woodworking instructor could probably literally make a day's worth of material in an in-person class out of cutting the joint and sentence the person learning to making a corner of the joint in an hour instead of a small fraction of that.

I think that is interesting David.

Thanks David

I listened to a few videos from Pedulla Studio (a single-man outfit who produces very high quality stuff). I wouldn't be able to place which video, but it one he talks about machines vs handcut joinery.

Making a 10 seater Oak Dining Table - YouTube

There is an interesting part in this video where he addresses not doing much hand-tool joinery (although he is obviously capable). It is the part where he does get out some hand tools to finish a joint and addresses why he doesn't do more. In my summary, in effect, he explains he likes hand tool work but has a fantastic machining setup with everything dialled in (one can see in the videos) and has mastered it all and it just doesn't have a place for much hand tool work.

One thing that isn't often said but I've been reckoning with lately is that the attractiveness and viability hand tool work can really depend so much on scale. I made the table below over Xmas (I wanted a new deck table that would be nice but okay to weather over time outdoors). I wanted it light enough to move around easily but in a tough hardwood that could use small dimensions (for weight) and resist scratching, particularly with possums likely to be running over it at nighttimes (roughly-used pine dining tables can look horrible!)

PXL_20230126_211613921.jpg

So I ordered in some very tough Australian hardwood I like the look of but is notorious for being a bit tough to work (Brushbox). I also wanted a little exposed joinery just to give it some interest (drawbored lap joints eventually). Long story short is - it was just horrible at times. The lengths were so large they were hard to clamp and physically handle for hand tool work. I had no space in my woodworking space to put everything. I was just tired in the end of manually picking up and moving the parts constantly. The sliding dovetails for the footrest beam (that serves to lock it tight) - is there a proper name for it? - was frankly just uncomfortable and annoying. I didn't enjoy it by the end.

Looking back - for a table that birds are going to poop on day in day out - I almost wish I'd just used a bandsaw, dominoes, ROS's, got it done in 2 weekends instead of 5, and spend the time I saved doing hand tool work on nice little (small) projects!

Chris