Boys, Woodworking, and Timeless Truths
As my parents, both in their mid-80s, are downsizing some, Mother gave me a book titled, What I Know About Boys, by Louis Redmond, published in 1952.
As I think about my grandsons, I liked the following page out of the book.
“Until they are corrupted by Adult Guidance, Boys approach raw materials in the spirit of pure craftsmanship. This consists of making, with infinite patience, something of no use at all. A Boy left alone in a workshop soon discovers that the essence of woodworking is to take a board and reduce it to a pile of shavings, and this knowledge can remain a source of happiness to him all his life.
If women only realized this, they might think twice about pestering their husband to fix the screen doors when they could be making, with an investment of only five fundred dollars in power tools, a table that cannot be bought for for less than twelve dollars in any store.”
Some things never change! 1952 or 2007.
Alan – planesaw
Edited 6/10/2007 4:54 pm ET by Planesaw
Replies
A couple of years ago, I inherited a few tools from my father. I didn't know it but when he was 12, he received a workbench and a few basic hand tools for a present. At about that same age, I was making things out of a book called "The Boy Builder". Apparently, this book was part of the workbench gift. Everything was 1930's. I made an ice boat, pipe racks as well as a bunch of other things from the book. I always thought that that must have been a great present for a young boy. Dad is in his eighties, Parkinson's disease, legally blind, not in the best of shape but he still has his workbench and doesn't plan to give it away anytime soon. He must have been weak when he gave me his pristine #3 Bailey. Those tools gave him a lifetime of pleasure. His house is full of furniture that he made over the years.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
I remember the "Boy Builder," and also "The Boy Mechanic," which had similar projects. Always intended to build that ice boat, too, but never did.
Somehow -- and this is not just nostalga -- or I don't think it is -- the practical books for children of the 20s through 40s connected better and were more inspiring. FOr that matter, I spent hours and hours reading the old "Book of Knowledge" about practically everything.
I was born in 1954, so all this stuff was one to two generations ahead of me.
Joe
PS, my father works in his shop almost every day.
J
Edited 6/10/2007 11:07 am ET by Joe Sullivan
I remember the "Book of Knowledge" very well. I too read it and reread it many times. I was born in 1931 but did not start woodworking until I retired in 1996. My father left me a couple of chisels from the early 1920's, a hand operated bench mounted drill press (that I don't use) and a few other things. I use the chisels. The first plane I bought was a Stanley #5 jack plane for $5 at a garage sale. It was almost new and I keep it in good condition. I like to use it.
I make a few pieces of furniture now and then. Have about 9 or 10 in the house.
Ralph
Hammer1
You mentioned an ice boat. Where are you from?
I have had several DN's, a nite, and two J-14's.
Home ice is Cass Lake, Michigan.
There are not too many iceboaters out there.
Mike
Hi Mike, I'm in Maine. I was only a kid when I built that ice boat. It was the most complicated project in the book and I didn't get it exactly right with found and begged materials. I got a few good runs before I crashed it and broke some parts off. I also built a skate sail in the same book.Clear ice doesn't last long up here before it's covered in snow. We get what we call pressure ridges. The ice will rise up, creating a 6" to 20" wall, they are hard to see. There are a few ice boaters around but you only see two or three. Good conditions just aren't easy to find. What a blast though! Feels like you're going 90 when you are a few inches off the ice.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Hammer,
Know what you mean by a short season. Then when I could drive and discovered trailers - then got a season worth working for. Remember one regatta where we raced on one lake on Saturday, then got snow overnight, and moved to a lake 200 miles away for Sunday!
If you ever get down to Lake Winnepesaukee in the winter, there is a major contingent there. Mostly DN's of course, but a large group of skeeters - largest group outside of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
Memories! Ah well!
Sorry to everyone else for hijacking this thread for a few posts. Now back to our regularly scheduled program.
Mike
Alan,
How true that exerpt from the book you mentioned is.
I have very fond memories of being in the woodshop with my grandfather learning how to work wood... everything from making furniture to windows, pickett fences to garden trellaces and even whittling toys. He was a true craftsman, he built some of the finest houses in Chester, Nova Scotia. He tought me to work wood and appreciate its' beauty.
Except for whittling, I got away from woodworking over the years. Now that I'm returning to it, his picture hangs in my shop. As I carve my wood projects and the chips fall to the floor, my mind goes back to a little boy who would reduce a piece of wood to a pile of shavings on the floor, and loved every minute of it.
Let the woodchips fall as they may...
Chris.
Chris and all,
Sounds like some kindred spirits. (By the way Chris, apparently I live not far from you, but just north of the sweetest place on earth.)
I have been blessed with a close-knit family. Both my grandfathers were very accomplished woodworkers, painters, remodelers, whatever needed to be done. My dad is a retired architect and building supply/hardware store owner. I grew up around tools, skills, and an "if its worth doing its worth doing right" attitude. Somehow, myself and my two sisters all wound up as CEOs and administrators in various people helping services. My two brothers-in-law are also, but thankfully they are also skilled woodworkers, etc.
When Dad downsized his shop a couple of years ago, he made an extensive inventory list, gave us three "boys" 500 points each and told us to bid on what we wanted. He then gave each of us the items we were high bidders on. I got his old hand tools (planes, level, chisels, etc.). We left a few of the power tools on the table (so to speak) as we each had table saws, drill presses, etc. So, my son got those.
I already had some of the handtools, handsaws, etc. of my other two grandfathers and I look forward to passing those on to my son and grandsons.
A close-knit loving family can make a big difference in bringing a lot of joy to this life.
Alan - planesaw
Ahh...just north of 'Milton-ville', eh? Howdy neighbor, it's a pleasure to make your aquaintence.
Chris.
P.S. I do have some of my grandfather's tools. My pride and joys are his 100 yr old Robt. Sorby, Gov. Brand, Hearnshaw Bros., etc., gouges. I also have his original Stanley, Bailey, Dunlop and Morse planes.
Chris,
You got the right "ville." It would be a bit of a drive, but you should join us 4th Tuesday night of the month, 6:30, at Woodcraft in H'burg for SAW-PA (Susquehanna Area Woodworkers). There is also a turner's club. Maybe even a carvers group -- although I am not sure about that one.
Alan - planesaw
Ya never know Alan, someday I may join ya'll at Danny Melhorn's place. Tuesday nights is carving night at our club in East Berlin. But right now I'm putting 60 hrs. a week in trying to get the ballfield in York finished so the team has a place to play. I'm sure you've seen it on the news...the stadium for the minor league team York Revolution.
Since I am working my way back to furniture et. al., when I have time, I'll be there to check it out.
Take care my friend,
Chris
Chris,
Tell me about the carving club in E. Berlin. Maybe you know someone who would do a presentation at the woodworking club.
Alan - planesaw
Alan,
I would be willing to do a presentation when I visit later this summer(?), if your fellow club members are interested. I could bring it up at the next meeting to see if anyone else is interested. Part of our 'mission' is to expose woodcarving to those that are curious about it.
Personally, I find woodcarving a totally relaxing way to immerse myself into a reality different than what we deal with daily, as I'm sure you and most other woodworkers who post in this forum can attest to once in your shops. Once I can aquire some more equipment to speed up the process, I plan on returning to furniture and odds 'n' ends and incorporate some carvings into the pieces, even if they're for my own household and enjoyment.
In general, our club,"Conewago Woodcarvers" is pretty much like any other club. We meet on Tuesday nights, carve our individual projects, share ideas, get on each others 'case' (playfully), sometimes decide on a competition project and vote on who did it the best, etc. We have a show once a year at the community center (E.B.) which is open to the public and usually benefits some charity or another. Through the year we get reknowned carvers from around the country to stop by and give seminars (for a fee), these are opened to the other carving clubs in the area, too.
Ya know Alan, after reading through this whole thread you started, its' pretty neat. Me thinks most of us writing here are of the same age group. A lot of what has been written I can 'second', having shared some of the same experiences. Could we be a group that got to grow up under the 'old' times, yet had to adapt to the 'new' times way of living?
Take care, Chris.
Chris,
Great, I'll bring it up with the "board." Will look forward to a presentation.
And, I agree with your last paragraph. I hit 60 a few months back. I describe woodworking as my "therapy." It gives me the opportunity to see something get "finished." Some of my projects at work take three to five years to be "finished."
And, yes, I think we grew up in the "olden days."
We have lived east, west, north and south. We moved from Las Vegas to New Orleans years ago when our youngest daughter was in 2nd grade. She was born in Vegas so, other than travel, she only knew desert. A few days after we had moved, I was driving her to her first day of school there. We were driving down a narrow street with large live oak trees with Spanish moss hanging all over them. Old, but quaint houses and bungalows lining the streets. Our daughter, an avid reader at that age, said, "Dad, have we moved back into the olden days?"
I told her I had a feeling we had. In more ways than she would know.
My woodworking increased tremendously once we move here. I will look forward to meeting you. I'll email you with my contact info.
Alan - planesaw
When I heard the promo for this, my first thought was "The Boy Scout Handbook" I have to look up my old copy ('60s), and my Dad's ('20s)http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11016692
Byhammer ...
Hadn't heard of it. Will have to check it out.
Alan - planesaw
My grandfather passed down two copies of that same book to me. He was a scout leader, and his personal copy had many handwritten notes in the margin. I referred to that book many times then I was a scout in the early 1970's, and still pull it out once in a while to reminice.Unfortunately, I never met my grandfather, as he passed away when my mother was young. Photographs, momentos, and stories make up my "memories" of the man. Ex-Marine, neighborhood handyman, bare knuckle barroom fighter, expert fly fisherman, and an all around good man. I'll meet him someday ....
Alan,
Sounds good. I will mention your idea at the next meeting. We can work out the details as we go. I too, look forward to meeting you.
Take care, Chris.
Being an only child born in 1938 I used to read a lot. Mainly hand downs, one of the best was "101 things a boy can do".
It taught me to make gunpowder. Sweeps used to leave soot by the roadside and chemists were friendly. I would make up small bombs and bury them in the steep banks of the river Trent with a short fuse to get at the quartz in those banks. Then made a brass cannon, and sent a ball bearing clean through our outside toilet door. Empty at the time.
Happy days.
Mufti,
Never saw the book, 101 things..., but we (the guys I ran around with), probably did a bunch of them. Never made gun powder, but used M80s in a lot of ways probably considered not only unsafe today but downright dangerous. Made go-carts (no motor), etc., etc. I grew up a far bit south of ice, but we made go-carts (4 wheels steered by a rope) with sails on them.
Somehow we all survived with all of our limbs and fingers still intact.
Alan - planesaw
Simpler, better times, those, when people didn't worry so much about everything and children were free to explore -- and we most of us survived nicely. I, too made gunpower, and made things blow up. Nobody minded.
Joe
Another book that is great is a hundred-year-old classic by Dan Beard. He was one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America.
I think the book is called "A Handbook for Boys" though my memory is fading.....
It teaches how to make a slingshot, a deadfall, a fish hook; how to fish, hunt, climb trees, find food, track and trap game........
I learned about the book when my son (now tewnty-something) was about 10, and somebody gave him a copy for his birthday. He and I had many summers of fun using infor from that book.
It was almost as much fun as spending $500 on tools so that I could make a table that can only be bought for $12.
Support our Troops. Bring them home. Now. And pray that at least some of the buildings in the green zone have flat roofs, with a stairway.
YesMaam,
Like a lot of boys I fished with just a string and a hook (sometimes a safety pin) and worms we would dig. Also used hot dogs, corn, whatever the fish wanted. Dad was my scoutmaster. Did a lot of hiking and camping.
Alan - planesaw
Those words ring truth, and they remind me of when my kids and those of friends were little.
My frind Dave introduced me to boatbuilding. When his 5-yr-old son was asked by his teacher what his daddy did, Andy answered innocently, "My daddy makes shavings and saw dust." And he meant it.
On the other hand, my son had little interest in working wood, but my daughter did. She spent hours in the shop turning scrap wood into something smaller.
Gary W
gwwoodworking.com
The tone of this subject and with Father's Day coming soon, both seemed to awaken some memories....
As a young boy with a twin brother, things always had to be shared. But the begining of one woodworking task began with just me and Dad. You see, Mom has asked one of her cousins if the old "Murray Airplane" pedal car could be loaned out for awhile. The rubber rim tires were long gone and the thin metal pedal wheels had flat spots, but you could still sit in it, close your eyes, and believe you were flying high in the fluffy clouds!!
In an old 12X16 wooden grainery, Dad had his workshop. A handbuilt workbench had box-end wrenches hanging in order of size and length on the back wall, and just under the workbench sat his dad's old worn German toolbox. To make that airplane real, Dad decided to make sure it had its own spinning propeller.
From the old toolbox came a two-handled drawknife. From a clear, 30" long, Yellow Pine 2X4, Dad's hands pulled away all the wood that didn't look right until the shape of a twisted propeller began to show. As Dad put away his handsaw, he pulled out the old toolbox and let me stand on its wooden lid. Amazed at Dad's magic, I watched those long slivers and curls fall on the floor until they became smaller and finer.... The smell of pine filled the workshop.
Using an old brace and bit, the center hole was bored into the new propeller and a piece of water pipe as a bearing was tapped into hole. Placing a screwdriver in the hole, Dad balanced the propeller by removing more curls of wood. With propeller, bolt, nut and metal washers in hand, Dad asked me if I was ready to follow him back to the little plane. A few minutes later, and after sending me back to the workshop to get the oil can, the airplane's new propeller was mounted.
From the short front yard sidewalk, Dad hollared for Mom to bring my brother and come out and see. In the ever-blowing West Texas wind, Dad packed Jim and me into the cockpit and pointed the nose of the plane into the wind. Slowly, the propeller began to turn, and then began to pickup speed and spin. Two boys were squealing, laughing, viberating, and making memories....
Days later, when it was Mom's turn to host one of those 1950's "Home Demostration Club" ladies' meeting, one guest brought her son, Johnny. Jim and I got to show him our prize and wanted him to climb inside.
I clearly can still hear him say, "NO! I'm not getting in there!!! It's gonna takeoff!!!"
I lost Dad in 1993 due to Cancer, but I have his toobox in my workshop. I wish I could have him here to show him my workshop. I'd like to think he would like it and that he'd be proud.....
Thanks for the "Boy's" theme and walk down memory lane,
Bill
Edited 6/13/2007 11:18 pm ET by BilljustBill
Edited 6/13/2007 11:26 pm ET by BilljustBill
Bill,
Thanks for telling us about the plane. So often "we" get caught up in our professions and trades and don't spend as much time with family and friends as we should.
It's been said that no one on their death bed ever said they wish they had spent more time at the office.
Although I have only a few of the presents I received at Christmas as a kid, all but one (Lionel train) are presents my granddad made. One year he made stilts for each of the 13 grandkids. Another year was sawhorses painted silver with red or blue legs. Another year was a uniquely shaped box kite made of 1/4" dowels and cotton cloth. Another was a man who flip-flopped down a 4 ft ladder.
Alan - planesaw
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