STL321: One podcast, two Mikes
Ben and Mike Mascelli talk finishing and upholstery, then Amanda chats with Mike about his thoughts on our "fine woodworking" question from the last episode.From Chuck:
What is Mike’s favorite finish, and why is it shellac?
On a serious note though: What is the benefit, if any, of the French polish technique over a brush when applying shellac?
What is the most detrimental myth to finishing more furniture and refinishing furniture?
Mike Mascelli’s Foundations of Furniture Finishing course is on demand August 1.
From Bevel Up:
What would Mike’s recommended references for upholstery and woven surfaces (e.g., a woven cord seat) be for those of us who want to incorporate such things into their projects? What books, articles, videos should we be inhaling?
From Jeremy:
Choosing joinery going under upholstery? Upholstered furniture I’ve seen the insides of often looks like garbage. Chipboard, cardboard, staples, etc.—what matters?
Books mentioned:
The Caner’s Handbook (Looks like it’s out of print, but a new version is being released soon.)
David James—Upholstery: A Complete Course
Upcoming courses at Bob Van Dykes’ Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking can be found here: https://schoolofwoodworking.com/upcoming/
Mike Mascelli also mentions this article from FWW #311:
Amanda and Mike Pekovich discuss the second question from the last episode of Shop Talk Live:
We chat about a post in the forum from our friend Rex Hansen, who recently completed the furniture program at North Street Bennet School.
Michael Robbins’s work, which we also mentioned in the podcast, can be found here.
Every two weeks, a team of Fine Woodworking staffers answers questions from readers on Shop Talk Live, Fine Woodworking’s biweekly podcast. Send your woodworking questions to [email protected] for consideration in the regular broadcast! Our continued existence relies upon listener support. So if you enjoy the show, be sure to leave us a five-star rating and maybe even a nice comment on our iTunes page.
Comments
I've enjoyed the discussion regarding the definition of Fine Woodworking and/or fine furniture. Vic's point about "consideration" was very thoughtful, and I would like to suggest two additional phases in the woodworking process where consideration is important. First, and before proportions and materials and joinery and finishing, is that the thing should do what it is intended to do. A dining table should be suitable for dining, and a wall cabinet should hold stuff. You should be able to sit in a chair and do what the chair is meant to help you do...you get the point. Except for the sculptors among us, we are craftspeople who are trying to make functional things beautifully, rather than just beautiful things. Second, and this one is admittedly quite subjective, is that the piece should demonstrate that someone made it. We talk about things like imperfections, dovetail overcuts and baselines, hand-applied finishes, etc. What we really mean is that we all appreciate the idea of human-made stuff, and so we in turn appreciate evidence of a human hand in a piece of furniture, or a ukelele, or whatever. Like I said, this one is quite subjective.
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