John Weber
05-23-2004, 10:05 PM
I just got home from my second class at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking just south of Indianapolis. AWESOME as always! I participated in the Hand Plane class with David Charlesworth and Tom Lie-Nielsen. David provided instruction on sharpening and usage, while Tom spoke at length about different planes, manufacturing, the future of LN, and a host of other topics.
David’s sharpening techniques utilize two water stones (I used a 1000 and 8000 grit Norton) and a simple side clamp jig. I was able to get very good results with fair ease and some of the fluffiest shavings I’ve ever produced. I also purchased his video that shows his technique and find it to be very good as a refresher. David had just finished a week long class on hand tools and woodworking, but still had plenty of energy for the weekend. David is a woodworker and teacher in England and had great insight on a variety of topics.
Tom was a real joy to speak with. Very easy, friendly, and knowledgeable. He brought the entire line with him for us to try and they are real beauties. I fell in love with the 4-1/2 and need to pick up a low angle block soon. He also had his new chisels - WOW! He showed a short video from LN and we were all amazed at all the hand work in the tools. The saw handles are basically each done by hand. Tom talked about future products including more chisels, saws, and some other improved reproductions. Basically the sky is the limit. Again, we all put Tom on a platform of sorts, but he is as down to earth as anyone. He was also giving the class a nice discount on tools, but alas I had to pass.
If you are not familiar with Marc’s facility it is top notch, he lives on site so everything looks great. The shop is huge, with planers, jointers, mortiers, etc… all lined up. He has an OSS for each spindle size, a mortiser for each chisel size, etc… the facility is really set up to handle large groups in a very efficient manner. They also use video and everyone has there own workstation. There was also a large finishing class in the other building.
The attendees were from all over the country and had a wealth of skill and knowledge. It’s amazing what people have done and know. It was nice to just listen to conversations. At first I was a bit intimidated as some times hand tool guys can be a bit anal, but the folks in the class all had a great sense of tools and techniques. I ended up the last guy working as I was just trying to get my Number 6 sole just a little flatter. I was wishing for more time, but we helped Tom pack up and like I said before, he is a very enjoyable guy to be around.
A Super Weekend! John
http://www.weberwoodworking.com/picss04/hpclass1.jpg
http://www.weberwoodworking.com/picss04/hpclass2.jpg
http://www.weberwoodworking.com/picss04/hpclass3.jpg
http://www.weberwoodworking.com/picss04/hpclass4.jpg
David’s sharpening techniques utilize two water stones (I used a 1000 and 8000 grit Norton) and a simple side clamp jig. I was able to get very good results with fair ease and some of the fluffiest shavings I’ve ever produced. I also purchased his video that shows his technique and find it to be very good as a refresher. David had just finished a week long class on hand tools and woodworking, but still had plenty of energy for the weekend. David is a woodworker and teacher in England and had great insight on a variety of topics.
Tom was a real joy to speak with. Very easy, friendly, and knowledgeable. He brought the entire line with him for us to try and they are real beauties. I fell in love with the 4-1/2 and need to pick up a low angle block soon. He also had his new chisels - WOW! He showed a short video from LN and we were all amazed at all the hand work in the tools. The saw handles are basically each done by hand. Tom talked about future products including more chisels, saws, and some other improved reproductions. Basically the sky is the limit. Again, we all put Tom on a platform of sorts, but he is as down to earth as anyone. He was also giving the class a nice discount on tools, but alas I had to pass.
If you are not familiar with Marc’s facility it is top notch, he lives on site so everything looks great. The shop is huge, with planers, jointers, mortiers, etc… all lined up. He has an OSS for each spindle size, a mortiser for each chisel size, etc… the facility is really set up to handle large groups in a very efficient manner. They also use video and everyone has there own workstation. There was also a large finishing class in the other building.
The attendees were from all over the country and had a wealth of skill and knowledge. It’s amazing what people have done and know. It was nice to just listen to conversations. At first I was a bit intimidated as some times hand tool guys can be a bit anal, but the folks in the class all had a great sense of tools and techniques. I ended up the last guy working as I was just trying to get my Number 6 sole just a little flatter. I was wishing for more time, but we helped Tom pack up and like I said before, he is a very enjoyable guy to be around.
A Super Weekend! John
http://www.weberwoodworking.com/picss04/hpclass1.jpg
http://www.weberwoodworking.com/picss04/hpclass2.jpg
http://www.weberwoodworking.com/picss04/hpclass3.jpg
http://www.weberwoodworking.com/picss04/hpclass4.jpg