PLAIN OLD FASHIONED WOODCRAFTING

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JOHN VIVIAN'S DO IT YOURSELF

You rip open the wood-working plans to build your new swing set or trestle table and begin reading: "Reduce stock to 57/64 ths on the planer-joiner, cut curves on the bandsaw, scarf dovetail tenons with the plunge router, then chamfer the blind rabbet with your radial saw's dado blade..."

Fine and dandy if you know a rabbet from a cottontail and have a workshop full of elegant power tools. Some years back, a suburbanite woodcraft-hobbiest displayed his mahogany Chippendale reproductions to me. "What era of period furniture do you prefer to build?" he asked. "Early Poland-China," I replied. I was used to cobbling up pig troughs out of old barn boards.

In M OTHER'S woodcraft articles, you'll find no fancy equipment or cabinetmaker's jargon. Straightforward carpentry with reasonably priced tools will be described in plain English so you can build sturdy, country-practical-projects such as decks (issue #132), a kid's tree swing (issue #133), and mailbox posts (this issue). In future articles, you'll find instructions for building a U.S. Park Service-quality picnic table; an indoor/outdoor planting bench with a wet sink; a pioneer infant (or doll) cradle; a kid's tree fort with a secret trap door and rope ladder; a hobby horse with a real tail and mane, etc. Each project will detail an easy lesson or two in practical woodcraft. Even if you don't build the projects, just reading the articles ought to make a practical woodworker out of you.

Equipping Your Tool Crib

First—some advice on equipping a country homeowner's basic woodcraft/general-purpose tool crib. Had I bought one 40 years ago, I would have saved a great deal of money that I've wasted on over-priced, over-promoted, or over-powered equipment. This tool kit should cost you about $600, plus another $100 to stock up on nails, screws, and other hardware. Don't buy it all at once, though; get what you need as you need it. Also, save money by shopping store sales, country auctions, flea markets, and yard sales.

Defining a Good Tool

The best tool is one that does the job well with little effort on your part. In glossy catalogs, tools aren't sold for utility but for design and looks. Trust me, your electric saw won't cut any straighter if it's housing has won a design award. Another marketing tactic is tacking added functions onto a tool that's been honed to perfection. Such is the case of the hand ax, whose design and function has not changed much since the Stone Age. Trying to add a nailpuller, sawblade, and screwdriver to an ax head will only reduce its effectiveness.

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