Kale Vogt
Jan. 8, 2024
“Trying” is the word that comes to me when I think about this afternoon’s lesson. Today I shaped the back and arm sticks for my chair; this was easily the most physically demanding step thus far. Hours of grit and muscle spasms led to a moment of euphoria when I witnessed them in place for the first time. Three hours, and then some of block planing, was quite the challenge for my relatively weak upper body. I remember Chris relaying to me once how woodworking is an easily romanticized trade. My burning forearms confirmed this theory. Today also confirmed the intimacy of chair building for me. Every stroke of my block plane today was deliberate; there isn’t a single square inch of this unfinished chair I haven’t touched or put thought into. It’s no wonder this trade is slowly consuming my brain.
My block planing experience was rocky at first, Chris has started me on the vise. Using my body to press the stick against a small piece of wood poking out of the vise, I used my right hand to steady and twist the stick and my left to plane. At 5'2", this was far from graceful for me. After only five minutes or so, I felt a cramp in my shoulder, I had to lift my arm to be almost square with my shoulder in order to reach my stick, and my passes were wobbly and jumpy. Chris noticed my struggling, in the corner of my eye I watched him begin pushing in a low bench across the floor from the other room. He brought me over to demonstrate an alternative option; straddling the bench he placed one end of the stick against a stop with the other end pressed against his chest. This allowed for more of a downward motion when planing; it seemed more fluid to me. I gave it a try after he got up and felt immediate relief. My shoulder wasn’t screaming at me anymore, I was able to lower my elbow and could let gravity do much of the work due to the dramatic angle. Hallelujah…
The planing became steadier stick after stick, and I soon discovered the most comfortable position for holding the block plane. This took some time due to my injured index finger that I recently cut while scooping my seat (a story for a future day). For my small hands, grasping closer to the front of the block plane using my palm and thumb for pressure seemed the most intuitive. A couple long sticks in I began finding my rhythm, five long sticks total to finish the day. I eagerly placed the sticks in the seat once I was finished, I stepped back while crossing my arms and beamed a big grin.
Christopher Schwarz
Jan. 8, 2024
It’s stick-making day. I started by showing Kale how to make sticks using the carving vise at my bench – working the stick with a block plane with the stick jammed against a stop in the vise.
It was awkward because the vise was too high for her. We moved operations to a lower bench – a 30"-high benchtop. With the carver’s vise, she was working about 40" off the floor. That was better, but it was still a struggle.
I dragged my low Roman workbench out from our library and into the bench room. After a five-minute lesson in how the Hulot block in the bench works, she was off to the races.
So this goes out to the very loud and obnoxious people who say the perfect bench height is 38". Sorry, but you’re ridiculously wrong. Tall benches frustrate the ever-living heck out of students who aren’t big and strapping.
When the internet insists that 38" is ideal, beginners go along with it and build their benches at that height. And then they wonder why the hell every operation is so difficult.
It’s not you – it’s your bench. Lower it (or raise it) until things are work well.
This is something that we don't think about as instructors sometimes. Great post! Pay attention to your student and adapt the technique or work environment to suit them and their size, ability, and strength.
I love the picture of your two arms, and where they hit the bench. A picture is worth 1,000 words.
Being 6'3" and 200 pounds is helpful for some things. Reaching the top shelf at the store. Getting a 400 pound bandsaw down the cellar stairs. But for most things in a woodshop I think it would be easier being a lot smaller. Being bigger is rougher on joints. I sit whenever I can. Kale's sore arm muscles will learn to plane pretty quickly. It's not a function of being big enough or strong enough. They'll be running circles around most of us with all that planing.
I've never had small hands -- well, not that I can remember. But I do think most tools and handles are designed for large hands, and that has to be a detriment for many. It's great that someplace such as BadAxe Willmar handles indifferent sizes.