Ironically, Jeff didn’t know he would end up in woodworking at all. He had taken shop class in his freshman year of high school, as all the boys in the class were required to do, but “didn’t really have any interest in it.” He also, however, “hated school and knew I wasn’t going to college. I knew I’d be doing something working with my hands.”

A tour at the North Bennet Street School in Boston, Massachusetts at age 18 set him on the woodworking path. That tour, at the school with its focus on hands-on training in traditional trades and craftsmanship, “blew me away,” Jeff said.

The year-and-a-half-long course he undertook at age 18 continues to have an influence on his work today, as Jeff is best known for his traditional style of work. It’s also where he first experienced carving. As soon as he tried it, he said, “I knew this was going to be part of my furniture making.”

That interest in carving, in turn, influences the woods that Jeff works with. “Because I do a lot of carving, I do enjoy mahogany,” he explained, noting that it carves nicely and that tools go through the straight-grained wood with a minimal amount of effort. He also appreciates walnut, noting, “I love the natural tone of it. It’s also nice to carve, and will hold a shape well.”

“It’s fun to work with different woods, too,” Jeff added. “I don’t think it would be as exciting if it was always the same.” For instance, “if you get good crotch or flame mahogany veneer, that stuff is a blast when you start finishing it. The grain pops out, and it’s amazing.”

Jeff has the same kind of attitude toward furniture styles: “There’s some awesome new stuff, but the traditional stuff can’t be beat. I don’t think we ever really match what they did back then.”

By “back then,” he means the 18th century when, according to Jeff, “furniture designs were really evolved. They got the lines and proportions just right. His favorite of the 18th century designs is the Newport style (find more information in this article) – again, Jeff cites the proportions and lines as the key elements for him.

Much of Jeff’s work has been in this kind of traditional style, and he doesn’t shy away from larger, more complex pieces. “I like it when I really have to think, when it gets complex, because your head has to really be in it,” he said.

He particularly enjoys the challenges that come with building chairs, which he describes as a sculptural project. “They have to look good from any side, from any angle, because you’re looking at the back as much as the front. There’s a lot of curves, a lot of spaces in between splats – you have to get the splats right.”

Overall, with his projects over the years, “I’ve been in some good learning situations,” Jeff said. For instance, when he attended North Bennet Street School, students were not allowed to use a router. Afterward, when he spent a brief time working for others in shops in Boston, he learned to use a router and make router fixtures. He has taken those skills with him over the years: “I learned to work quicker and more efficiently, without sacrificing anything in quality in the end piece,” as well as the skills to keep learning. “When you work for yourself, you kind of have to figure out everything,” he said.

One tool Jeff uses to help in figuring things out is meditation. He was originally introduced to the practice early in his self-employment years, when he was working out of a shop in his mother’s basement. “She was into meditation,” and had several books on the subject. “It just made sense to me,” Jeff said. “I got into it and started meditating a lot and read those books.”

Although he drifted away from the practice for a number of years, Jeff said he’s now back to meditating regularly. “The idea is to focus on your breath. It brings you to a place in your mind where you pay more attention to whatever comes up. You can develop a little bit better concentration and focus.”

What that means for his woodworking is that the concentration helps him to work through problems on a project. Plus, “it clears your mind a little bit, and makes room for what you want to be there.” Using the visualizing aspect of meditation, Jeff said, helps him see things in his head, such as seeing through to the next step of a project, without needing to work it all out on paper.

He can apply this problem-solving both to his traditionally styled pieces – the body of work that led to his recognition with the Cartouche Award – and to the newer style he’s also introducing, a more art furniture/contemporary approach, titled “Through the Forest, Lightly,” that features carvings of nature scenes.

“It’s fun for me,” Jeff said. “I consider myself lucky because I do enjoy my work” – even if woodworking wasn’t even on his original radar. “Sometimes, I think of it as a lucky choice,” he said.

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-Charles Mak
Calgary, Alberta

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-Paul Guncheon
Wahiawa, Hawaii

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When powered by two 5 Ah batteries, RIDGID reports that it will drive up to 1,200 brad nails on a single charge.

The brushless motor is an oil-free design, needing no routine maintenance. It will pressurize the compressor’s one-gallon steel tank up to 120 psi, operating at a noise level of 77dBA. When set to 90 psi, the motor will deliver .9 standard cubic feet of air per minute. A locking regulator knob ensures that pressure levels will remain constant during use. RIDGID also makes the tank easy to drain, thanks to a quarter-turn ball valve.

A universal push-to-connect quick coupler will accept both automotive and industrial hose nipples. Its design offers single-hand connection convenience. Other user-friendly features on this 19-lb. machine are tank and outlet pressure gauges and a built-in hose wrap for on-board hose storage.

RIDGID’s new Brushless 18V One Gallon Air Compressor (model R0230) is available at Home Depot stores or at homedepot.com. It sells for $199 as a bare tool without batteries or air hose.

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Chris Marshall: Bob, you’ve hit the nail squarely on the head here: oily exotics continue to be oily, which hampers the ability of some topcoats to fully cure. You’ve also got a workable solution: seal the oils in with shellac, specifically dewaxed shellac, such as Zinsser SealCoat, if you plan to topcoat with something else over it. Shellac cures fine over oily surfaces. Then you can topcoat with your preference of finish, because dewaxed shellac is compatible as a sealer coat under most finishes. Shellac isn’t as hard and durable as poly. It’s sensitive to some solvents like alcohol and ammonia, which will dissolve it. But, in your application, the shellac is protected by the poly anyway, so its durability is less of an issue.

Maybe other eZine readers can offer some additional suggestions for finishes they prefer to use on food bowls made from exotic woods. Are there folks among us who use products labeled specifically as “salad bowl finish,” and what success have you had with them on oily woods?

Michael Dresdner: Oily wood is a misnomer; there is no oil in wood. More importantly, the waxy or oily feeling (caused by extractives) has nothing whatsoever to do with finish failing to cure on “some exotics.” Very few woods, including some dalbergias (there are about 300) and Eastern red (aromatic) cedar, contain antioxidants, just like citrus fruit contains antioxidants. That’s why lemon juice prevents cut apples from turning brown. If the finish cures by oxidation, an antioxidant will prevent it from curing.

Oil, Danish oil, oil varnish, oil polyurethane, and many polyester coatings all require oxidation to cure, and all will fail to cure on dalbergias and Eastern red cedar. Evaporative cure finishes, like shellac and lacquer, or chemically cured finishes (epoxy, two-part urethane, conversion varnish) that do not use oxygen will cure just fine. That’s why it works to seal with shellac first, then go over it with polyurethane.

The post Best Finish for Exotic Wood Salad Bowls? appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

– Richard Adler

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