Page 25 - Wood Review Dec 202 Full issue

PROJECT
My design process begins on paper with a rough sketch of the main features I want – the number of drawers, doors, spaces, not too much, and I also like to draw some of the details. After deciding on the measurements I then jump into the real thing. Because I use only hand tools I don’t like doing mock- ups, and try to work with the real piece right from the start. I need to see the volume of the piece to figure out how it looks with the wood I’ve chosen.
Working by hand
I start by dimensioning by hand the main pieces of the structure. One
face of the rough board is made flat, normally with a jack plane, unless it
is a very uneven piece, in which case
I’ll start with the scrub plane. I then mark the thickness on that board with
a marking gauge and plane to the knife line. That is the hardest part of all, but also the one that helps me feel the wood.
After the all the wood for the main structure is prepared I start on the joinery for the carcase so I can get a feeling for the overall dimensions of the piece. I work on the rest of the elements the same way. That way for me, working everything by hand, it’s much more fun than if I dimension all the pieces first and then do all the joinery. In this way I can also make adjustments to the project as I work on it.
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