Starting out old.

Twelve years ago we bought a new range for our house, part of rebuilding our kitchen and an upgrade from the vintage Wedgewood we had when we started. (A beautiful oven, but inefficient; the pilot lights ran constantly which accounts for about 40% of the gas used.) Like many people, we believe in buying things once whenever possible and applied that philosophy here. Ranges are relatively simple things and since this one wasn't cheap we figured we'd have it forever. 

Recently the oven stopped working. I assumed it would be a simple fix, probably a new heating element or the thermistor, both of which I replaced. Turns out it's the control board, the electronic brick with the clock and all the buttons, and something I can't even begin to try fixing. I got on the computer to track it down but soon came to realize that Thermador (which is actually Bosch now) no longer makes or sells this. The appliance tech who came out told us that this is the way these companies try to sell more new products, by making the old ones wear out and by forcing the consumer to replace it. 

When did this become acceptable? 

Our neighbors up the road experienced something similar at about the same time. The dishwasher they've had for the past 30 years finally stopped working and couldn't be repaired so they figured they'd go out and buy a replacement, one that would perform as well for as long. Not possible anymore, as it turns out. Dishwashers have a lifespan now of 5 years, tops. In the pursuit of efficiency of operation, the manufacturers have compromised longevity. 

How can this be, and how can it continue to be? Should a new appliance start out its life on its deathbed? 

Greater Ithaca Art Trail

Getting ready, doing some last minute preparations for opening the shop up to the public. Always a little nerve-racking, for some reason. Cleaning up, mostly, and trying to see the shop through someone else's eyes. My wife, Minnie, is setting out her paintings as well, which really improves the feel of the space. Too bad it's impractical (dusty) to keep some out there regularly. 

www.arttrail.com

Come on out!

Summer's Sticky Drawers

Yesterday I got a call from a woman who had just recently moved to Ithaca from Colorado and was wondering why the drawers on her night stands were stuck shut. Her dad made these and several other pieces so they have strong sentimental value. The short explanation is something that we all know intuitively on some level but perhaps don't understand the specifics of: wood moves.

A ten-inch wide board may be that dimension in the fall, 10 ¼" wide in the summer, but 9 ⅞" or so in the winter. What's happening is that as the humidity of the air changes, so does the moisture content of the wood. The humid summers here are what cause doors to stick and drawer sides to grow to the point at which they no longer open. The remedy is to make the overall width of the wood narrow enough to accommodate the opening in the summer and accept the fact that it will be slightly loose in the winter. The better approach, though, is to design the piece so as to minimize the effects of this movement. 

Different species move in different amounts, and the method of sawing the wood from the log also affects this so, for example, a flat-sawn piece of yellow birch would make a terrible choice for a drawer side because of its high rate of expansion, whereas a nice piece of quartersawn sugar maple would tend to move less and therefore give a better fit throughout the year. 

I went to bed last night reading Eric Sloane's book, "A Reverence for Wood." He gives an example of wood movement that I'd never heard of, which is the way that old shingle roofs can 'breathe out their nails.' What happens is that, with the daily changes in moisture and atmospheric pressure, the shingles will all expand and contract a tiny amount, slowly working the thousands of nails outward and producing a porcupine effect. (He goes on to talk about the benefits of having those nails hold the insulating layer of snow on the roof all winter as well, but that's another issue.) 

One of the advantages of custom furniture is that it's more likely to be made with these considerations in mind. In a factory setting, there is often a utility grade wood that's used for all the hidden parts and isn't necessarily the best choice. Another plus is that, if the drawers do stick a bit, most custom furniture makers will be happy to stop over with a plane and true up the edges of the doors or of the drawer sides as needed. It's a simple procedure and every maker I know would much rather spend a few minutes doing this than have one of their pieces out there in the world functioning imperfectly. I know I would.

Is this woodworking?

Answer: yes. Woodworkers use machines and so I have almost as many mechanic tools as wood tools.

Day Off

 I like to think that I have a pretty good work ethic, sometimes overly so. Yesterday, however, a friend asked if I wanted to go out on Cayuga Lake and fish for lake trout – 'lakers.' I went through the usual internal arguments about whether I had the time or could afford to miss the shop work, but in the end the fact that it's summer won out and I seized the opportunity.

The method was decidedly old-school: a box built around an old Victrola motor and a spool of several hundred feet of 21 gauge copper wire with a hook and spoon at the end. The mechanics weren't without hitch, but we got it figured out mostly and ended up with 2 good-sized trout each.