FINE WOODWORKING PART I
I’ve always loved working with wood. The smell of a freshly hewn board or the warm touch of a highly sanded piece of hard wood elicit very fond memories of a youth spent working on project made of wood. I grew up in a new suburban development outside of Detroit, Michigan. Once out own home was completed, I loved exploring others in the early stages of framing. I would bring home left over two by fours and other spare planks and build go carts, a seated “chariot” that I rode behind our powered lawn mower, and a variety of smaller boxes and cases. The pieces I crafted as a kid were by no means examples of “fine woodworking” but they instilled a lifelong interest in woodworking that advanced to the next level when I had the opportunity to enroll in a basic woodworking class in 1978 at CSUN.
As a part-time faculty member and electronic repair technician for the music department, I had the chance and time to enroll in 6 units of instruction each semester. I took advantage of this employee “enrichment” perk and spent the next few years slowly advancing to a degree in 3-dimensional art (and later a graduate degree in computer science). I loved my newfound home in the art building and excelled in all of the courses I took. But when I discovered the wood shop, I knew that I had found another creative outlet.
The first semester woodworking class was taught by Professor Tom Tramel. I remember that class like it was yesterday. Professor Tramel demonstrated the power tools in the shop and made everyone pass a safety test. However, the first assignment restricted us to hand tools: chisels, knives, handsaws, glue, and sandpaper. The project description was straightforward and very simple. We were to produce a “spoon”. No further information and no models or previous examples were provided. And I went to work.
I thought about what a spoon was and how they function. And while most of the students in the class selected a chunk of hardwood and started carving out the shape of spoon, I opted to construct my version of a spoon by laminating several pieces of different colored wood together. I continued by carefully sawing off the hard edges, rounding out the deep “spoon” section, mirroring the spoon shape on the handle end, and then gouging and sanding the surfaces until the piece was ready for oil.
I was very pleased with the final result. When Professor Tramel give me an “A” for my sppon and told me that he was very impressed with my sense of design and craftsmanship, my path through the art program was decided. A simple assignment initiated an renewed interest in woodworking that was realized with my art degree, several awards and prizes, and an opportunity to spend the rest of my life working in word.