really neander woodworking

[Ken Werner]

I found this over at woodnet, which sends you to taunton. Amazing film of neander woodworking in the 1920s.

http://finewoodworking.taunton.com/item/9932/truly-old-school-woodworking

[Justin Green]

I bet they shaved with those tools, too.

[Brian Kent]

Ken,

Thanks for finding and posting that. Kind of makes me feel sheepish about how we agonize over which exact nuance we need on each of our abundant tools!

Brian

[Cliff McNeill]

I am a new guy and this was the first post I found. Great video! Thanks for putting a smile on my face!

[John Keeton]

Hey Cliff, welcome to the creek! And Ken, thanks for the link. Have we come forward - or lost ground? Depends on one's perspective, I guess.

[Jim Kountz]

Have we come forward - or lost ground? Depends on one's perspective, I guess.

Well I can be honest and say that even with my entire shop full of modern and older tools I cannot work like that and turn out the kinds of things they made as fast as they did!!

[Bruce Page]

Ken, that was really fun to watch! What a wonderful bit of rural history.

We are so spoiled.

[george wilson]

These old craftsmen would laugh at the nuances that are brought up here,that's true.

Of course,these type of craftsmen were very specialized,and got very expert at getting every lick of efficiency out of their tools. They also got the muscles that they did their particular work with very well developed. Those guys were pretty old,and had done that job thousands of times. They were very strong.

Before our coopers came to Williamsburg,they had worked at a brewery in England. They worked in a wooden shack,NO WINDOWS,with candles. If they didn't make 2 barrels a day,they didn't eat. They said they had to be in top notch shape to keep that level up. After being in Williamsburg a while,they couldn't do work that fast anymore,because their lives didn't depend upon it.

[Ken Werner]

I kept wanting to count the hatchet man's fingers. Working mighty close and mighty fast. Makes my neandering feel awfully meandering, that's for sure.

[Joe Cunningham]

Thanks so much for posting that.

Those chairmakers were impressive. I think I counted 8 basic tools: hatchet, two-man plane, bow saw, smoothing plane, mortising chisel, hammer, bit and brace. Did I miss any?

I love how he did the glue up--dip the tenon in the hot glue, dip in the other tenon, place in mortise. So efficient.

[Zach Dillinger]

I really enjoyed that video. Thanks for posting.

Zach