Posts: 3,215
Threads: 0
Joined: Jan 2006
AHill is right. While Becksvoort does fine work I would not put him in the same class as some of the other American Craftsman I know. The best Craftsman I feel I have ever met and had the privalage to talk to are probably Alan Anderson and Tom Stauffer. Alan is a finishing guru. He can take a brand new piece and make it look 250 years old or a flawlessly new. His ability with finishing is absolutely amazing. Tom is the artist with wood. Looking at the pieces they create you can see the versatility of his talent. While they both are very skilled at both aspects of furniture making each has their own expertise and make quite a team. When you look at their prices you will see how much collectors value their work. Seeing pieces in the $60-80k range in their booth at trade shows is the norm. You can see some of their work here.
http://andersenandstauffer.com
Posts: 20,381
Threads: 4
Joined: Sep 2007
Location: CinDay
I thought it, but didn't write it, one of the best who writes for a living. There are some woodworkers we don't even know of that would cause us to bow down. I've been lucky enough to have met a few of them in my life, maybe if I'm real lucky I'll meet a few more. Dave you are high on my list when time to complete comes into the equation, you do excellent work, but scary fast, that in itself is a huge talent.
Worst thing they can do is cook ya and eat ya 
GW
Posts: 24,327
Threads: 0
Joined: Feb 2002
Location: Elizabethtown, KY
Quote:Oh my, more tips in the first 3 minutes than volumes of books.
That's for sure!
One big lesson on how to avoid squeeze out -- don't use too much glue!!!
I learned to use a belt sander when it was all we had for sanding -- the key is PRACTICE!!!
"Truth is a highway leading to freedom" --Kris Kristofferson
Wild Turkey
We may see the writing on the wall, but all we do is criticize the handwriting.
(joined 10/1999)
Posts: 2,167
Threads: 1
Joined: Sep 2003
Location: Maryland
(10-31-2017, 11:16 AM)Wild Turkey Wrote: One big lesson on how to avoid squeeze out -- don't use too much glue!!!
That caught my eye too...how a good fitting joint doesn't need that much glue.
Posts: 2,375
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2011
(10-30-2017, 11:42 AM)AHill Wrote: As for using a belt sander, I wonder how many of his customers are aware he does this and if it would change their opinion that he's used power tools as a (time) shortcut when making his drawers.
If he has a practice or habit of bringing his customers or potential customers to his shop, his customers may be aware of the power tools kept in his shop. Sam Maloof did that all the time, sometimes showing visitors even when his "boys" were working in the shop.
There is nothing wrong with using both power and hand tools to make a living, as long as a woodworker doesn't misrepresent his or her work. Shaping a sculptural chair all by hand without using any power tools would be cost prohibitive in most cases.
Posts: 1,360
Threads: 0
Joined: Sep 2007
His belt sander isn't the kind you find at Harbor Freight, Lowes or the woodworking stores. It looks to be a Skil 449 worm drive, similar in design to the Porter Cable 504. Such a sander, if made today, would hit four figures in cost. Cheap belt sanders deserve the horrible reputation they've earned, but sanders like the one Chris used are in a whole 'nuther category on a multitude of levels.
I love that drawer box sanding jig.
Posts: 12,251
Threads: 0
Joined: Mar 2006
(10-31-2017, 01:44 PM)Bob Vaughan Wrote: His belt sander isn't the kind you find at Harbor Freight, Lowes or the woodworking stores. It looks to be a Skil 449 worm drive, similar in design to the Porter Cable 504. Such a sander, if made today, would hit four figures in cost. Cheap belt sanders deserve the horrible reputation they've earned, but sanders like the one Chris used are in a whole 'nuther category on a multitude of levels.
I love that drawer box sanding jig.
I thought it was a Porter Cable, and many years ago, I used a similar one: it was heavy! About twenty years ago, I bought what was then the top of the line PC belt sander, 4" X 24", at a cost of around $250.00. It would be way too heavy and too much torque to use for finesse work.
Looking on Amazon, PC has some 2-1/2" X 14" belt sanders, purported to be "finish sanders". Anyone have any experience with those?
The drawer box sanding jig looks like it would work equally well for planning, as well as sanding! I may make one.
Posts: 20,381
Threads: 4
Joined: Sep 2007
Location: CinDay
(10-31-2017, 11:56 AM)Handplanesandmore Wrote: If he has a practice or habit of bringing his customers or potential customers to his shop, his customers may be aware of the power tools kept in his shop. Sam Maloof did that all the time, sometimes showing visitors even when his "boys" were working in the shop.
There is nothing wrong with using both power and hand tools to make a living, as long as a woodworker doesn't misrepresent his or her work. Shaping a sculptural chair all by hand without using any power tools would be cost prohibitive in most cases.
He is well published with several articles talking almost completely about how to use a belt sander to do........ whatever. As I mentioned before he wrote about a Shaker chest with at least 8 drawers, and he sanded the drawer fronts, and the case flat with a belt sander, it as as beautiful as a Shaker chest as I ever had seen, and I am a devout Shaker fan. I imagine the people buying from him are a mix of those who do, just not that well, and those who don't. I don't think you could read much of his work, and not have seen the belt sander, so I doubt he is fooling anyone.
Worst thing they can do is cook ya and eat ya
GW
Posts: 4,802
Threads: 1
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: Eugene, OR
(10-31-2017, 11:56 AM)Handplanesandmore Wrote: There is nothing wrong with using both power and hand tools to make a living, as long as a woodworker doesn't misrepresent his or her work. Shaping a sculptural chair all by hand without using any power tools would be cost prohibitive in most cases.
Agreed. What I don't understand is the pins. Hand plane their ends, and the pins look crisp and lively. Sand them hard and they look like mush. Or so I thought. But CB is a top notch craftsman, so maybe I've been wrong about that all along.
Best,
Aram, always learning
"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Web: My woodworking photo site
Posts: 612
Threads: 1
Joined: Dec 2016
(10-29-2017, 02:37 PM)Steve N Wrote: On layout he used his widest chisel, which when it get's down to it is the one deepest into the joint, and if you need to use a narrower chisel 3 times to span across the part most left to be seen you will note the ingenuity to using a full width chisel.
I have never done a hand cut dovetail but how he laid them out using the chisel was the one thing I picked up on in the video. I would have overthought it laying them out but this made it a lot simpler.
|
