My report from the Rob Cosman Class

[Gary Benson]

I can not say enough good things about Rob Cosman and Duncan Roberston in regards to their efforts putting on this course. They are both kind, caring individuals who not only know how to produce great results, but also know how to teach others to achieve the same thing. Rob's methods are not the only way of doing things, but to me, his method is the most comprehensive and carefully thought out way for woodworkers of all abilities to produce excellent hand cut joinery. Given his teaching experience, he seems to know what mistake you are making, before you make it. I had some previous exposure to hand tools before the Calgary course, but most of my instruction actually came from Rob's DVD's on dovetails, mortise and tenon, rough to ready, etc. However, this hands on class really took it several levels up. I was able to struggle my way thru it before, slowly getting good results, but he and Duncan helped me gain the confidence and ability to get excellent results, quickly, with no test fitting.

The course was five days long, starting at 6:45 AM, ending between 9-11PM. Both instructors stayed as long as the students, they did not run out at 5. We worked thru about half of the lunches and dinners (someone always made a food run) to extend our shop time. Someone estimated we had around 65 shop hours in just 5 days!!!

Day one was extensive instruction and practice on sharpening chisels and plane blades. We learned that without sharp tools, excellent results are just not possible. Rob's free hand sharpening method takes a little practice, but is the fastest and easiest way I have seen to create a truly sharp tool. We also started some sawing and chiseling exercises.

Day two introduced us to hand planing, squaring an edge, and creating a perfectly smooth planed surface with no tracks. Also we did more advanced sawing and chiseling drills to learn to saw and chisel both plumb and square.

Day three was rough to ready, taking a rough board to flat, square, and uniform thickness. One student got to within .005 inches of uniform thickness, got the DVD door prize, good job Luis from Madrid Spain. After dinner we started thru dovetails. I attached several pics of my samples. Will post more pics of other joints in following posts.

[Gary Benson]

Toward the end of Day 3 we started half blind dove tails. They require a little different technique, but again Rob really helped me with the process, and again gained speed, quality, and confidence to do it right.

[Gary Benson]

Day four was more half blind practice, then on to houndstooth, which is a variation of thru dovetails with varied pin height. The layout is a little complex, but the exact same skills are required to pull it off.

[Gary Benson]

By the morning of day five we were all getting pretty tired, but the first demo was of mitered thru dovetails that would be used in carcass construction. It allows the front of the case to display a neat miter instead of a butt joint. Miters are tricky anyway, but this joint requires a lot of precision. I truly think I got a little lucky, because my first attempt was very presentable. Layout is critical, and really makes you think, which was tough based on the level of sleep deprivation.

[Gary Benson]

The rest of day five was dedicated to mortise and tenon as well as a thru wedged mortise and tenon. I feel that I got the same level of improvement with this joint as I did with the dovetails. All of the skills tend to build on each other, and by the end of the week, my accuracy was orders of magnitude better.

When I got home and was unpacking my tools, I could not resist attempting a set of thru dovetails on some 1/4 cherry. They came out very good, just a little sloppy because the wast between the pins was smaller than my 1/8 inch chisel! I had to rely on the fret saw only to clean the waste.

In the end, if you are at all serious about improving your hand tools skills, you must consider this course. The interaction between Rob, Duncan and all of the students was tremendous. I feel that I developed friends from varied backgrounds, experience, and nationalities, that I will remember for a very long time. I will take more advanced classes from Rob in the future as soon as I can.

Thanks for looking, sorry for so many posts,

Gary Benson

[John Keeton]

Gary, those are some impressive pics!! I was living vicariously through emails from Gary Z and you during the first 2-3 days of the class. Not as good as being there, but kind of neat anyway.

Sounds like you all had a great time, enjoyed each other, and came home with some fantastic woodworking skills. Money well spent I am sure. I wish I could have been there, and I know Rick Erickson is disappointed at not being able to go.

Neat thread, and beautiful results! Your furniture projects have certainly moved up a notch.

[Barry Vabeach]

Gary, for those of us that can't devote that much uninterrupted time, how much of the course is in his dvd. I don't think it would be as good, but I wonder if those of us that didn't go would get some measurable improvement by spending a few hours each week on each task - once a task is learned, then move to the next one?

[Gary Benson]

Barry,
While there probably is no substitute for hands on experience with a teacher looking over your shoulder, Rob's DVD series is very good. His dovetail book is also very good, with detailed pictures of every step. I think you could go a very long way.
Gary

[John Keeton]

I have not had the benefit of Rob's course, but I have watched the DVDs. They are excellent. But, I think one of the things that would be missing is someone actually watching your stance and your body position.

I used to instruct a little with archery, and I would often take pictures of someone's form at full draw. They couldn't believe that their body position was so contorted. They knew the correct positioning, and thought they were doing it. But, the manner in which they were anchoring their shot made it impossible to achieve consistent results.

Perhaps having someone take some pics of one's sawing stance, or chiseling stance would be helpful? Gary, was this something that came up in the course?

[Gary Benson]

John,
No pics were taken, but Rob did personally stand in front and next to use to check our posture and make corrections/suggestions as needed. We had to plane in front of the whole group and we dissected the exact body mechanics involved. Very helpful, for sure.

[Rick Erickson]

Gary, thanks for the update. I hope others who attended will jump on this thread.

[Mark Carlson]

Anyone get a chance to try out his dovetail saw?

[Jim Barrett]

I had a great time at the class. As Gary B stated Rob and Duncan (his assistance) were always there to tutor. I will say the hours were long and I was getting a bit tired. Going for 14+ hrs a day is a bit too much for me but I hung in there! We covered a bunch of material in the 5 days we were there...
I have always used a jig to sharpen my plane blades and chisels. Rob teaches you how to do it by hand and everyone was doing a decent job by the time we left the class.
Rob brought along a bunch of inventory for the students to buy or try out. He had his dt saw there and I know at least 4 or 5 students purchased his saw. I used it off and on during the week...but I could not pull the trigger on it. It is a nice saw but I did not think it was significantly better than my LV or Taran dt saw. I would say if you are having trouble with starting cuts than it would be a good fit. Sawing seems to be my "strong" point...using a chisel is where I need work ;)
Gary B has a Wenzloff dt saw and Rob showed everyone how he sharpens demonstrating on Gary's saw...it made a huge difference. I tried the saw b4 and after the sharpening and WOW is all I can say!
Overall the class is a bargain... for the amount of time you are in the shop and the access to great instructors like Rob and Duncan...I would do it again...!
Next time I would train...like for a marathon!!

Jim

[Mark Casper]

Gary or Jim -

In Rob's book, he suggests using a skew rabbet plane to help align the tailboard when marking the pins. I was wondering if he was encouraging that in the class and if the students were doing it.

Thanks,
Mark

[Jim Barrett]

Yes and Yes....it works slick!

Jim

[Gary Benson]

I agree with Jim the "140 trick" as it is called allows you to easily and precisely align the cut tails with the pin board for proper marking. I have always struggled with closure at the scribe line on the shoulders of the tail board as well as between the tails.
Try it, see what you think,
Gary

[Mark Casper]

Thank you both!!

- Mark

[Jacob Mac]

what tools did you bring with you for the workshop?

[Jim Barrett]

Rob has a list of tools to bring on his website...since I drove I brought a bunch of stuff I did not use...

http://robcosman.com/toollist.htm

[Gary Benson]

Lots of tools, 64 pounds worth to be exact, had to put several planes in my regular luggage to avoid the over weight charge.
Planes-Scrub, smoother, jointer, block plane, skew block, shoulder
Chisels-bench, fishtail, mortise
Saws-dovetail, cross cut, tenon, fret
Layout tools-square, ruler, dividers, dovetail marker, marking knife, marking gauge, mortise gauge, etc.
Stones-Shapton 1K, 4K, 8K, Rob uses 16K as well as 30K!!
Winding sticks, pens, pencils, wax, camelia oil, etc, etc.

Rob and Duncan were both willing to share as needed if you were missing or wanting to try a few items. Quality tools really are a key to your learning.

Gary

[Jacob Mac]

Thanks guys. I am trying to put together the tools and the funds to attend, and I just whiffed on the list on Rob's site.