Daniel Mack

Rustic Furnishings

Course Materials

A student laying out the panels of a rustic chair at a workshop with Dan.

To Prepare:

Enjoy looking through Dan's five books, his website, www.danielmack.com, and work by Andy Goldsworthy, Chris Drury, Patrick Dougherty, David Nash and Nils Udo.

Suggested Tools & Supplies to Bring:

Materials/tools are supplied, but you are encouraged to bring some of your own tools and local materials to share. For convenience, people are encouraged, but not required, to bring some of their own tools and supplies. However, a workshop is a great opportunity to use different tools BEFORE you decide what to buy.

DRILL: electric with extension cord or cordless with extra battery.

BITS: Brad point bits or spade bits… both have tips to hold a place in round wood. (The Black and Decker Bullet set and Irwin Speebore bits 5/8" and 3/4")

SAW: Like the Stanley Shortcut or a folding camping saw from Fiskars, Florian, Stihl, Coghlan's

PRUNING CLIPPERS: Like ratchet clippers by Florian. 157 Water St. Southington, CT (800 275 3618)

KNIFE: Any easy-to-hold knife is OK. Not a Swiss Army Knife

OTHER STUFF: work gloves, safety glasses, Band-Aids to prevent blisters…

BRING: Natural materials you've collected to share with others and pictures of work you do or admire.

SPECIALIZED TOOLS: Take a look at the Tenon Cutters from Lee Valley. For chairs, I use the 5/8 " and 3/4"; for beds I use the 1 1/2" and 2".

Checklist of Course Elements:

Goals:
Tools:
General Set-up Tables, lights, storage, heat, safety, air cleaning, safety glasses
Drills: 1/2", 3/8", corded, battery, "keyless chuck"
Drill Bits Varieties, uses
Drill Press: Floor, table model, use of V blocks, shims
Cutting:
Saws: Hand, folding, circular, reciprocating, jig, chain saws (gas, electric, battery), chop saw, safety, blocking
Tenon Cutter: Stationary, changing heads, adjusting blades, safety, portable (Lee Valley), methods of use
Alternatives: Hand cutting, chisels, hole saws, grinders
Antique Tools: Hollow auger, spoke pointer, rounder
Holding: Hands in gloves, vises, clamps, extensions, bungees, shaving horse and drawknife/spokeshave
Finishing: Rationale(s). Grinders, dremel, sanders (random orbital, etc), sandpaper (grits, backings)
Specialised: Arbortech Carvers
Techniques:
Construction: Mortise/Tenon, Wedged Tenons
Mechanicals: Rationale, screws, (trims, timberloks...)
Chemical: Glues Varieties, conditions for use
Alternative Joinery: Gravity, wire string, wax, Velcro
Bark Applique handling, adhesion, trimming, finish
Finishing Oils, stains, lye, vinegar, Sealers: oils, water-based, wipe-ons, Waxing
Woods Identifying, Acquiring, Harvesting, Peeling, Storing Drying and Kilns and Bugs
Country Woodworking: Froe, Hatchet, Drawknife, Spoke Shave shaving Horse
Seating Seat Weaving, Upholstery
Tricks & Tips markers, paints, plugs, dirt, acorns, leveling legs
A man's work is nothing more than to rediscover, through the detours of art, those one or two images in the presence of which his heart first opened. – Albert Camus
Menu of Possible Projects Time to allow
Trophy chair, about 12" high 4-6 hrs
Simple Bench with 1 ¼" mortise and tenon joints 4 hrs
Imaginal, Ephemeral and Sculptural Objects, "Smalls" Toys, Site Work, done and left in the woods, Willow Deer, Peach Pit Work, Yard Scampers 10 minutes to a lifetime
Counter Stool, driftwood legs 8 hrs
Child's arm chair, about 22" high 6 hrs
Adult arm/side chair 10-12 hours
Headboard 3 hrs
Table structure: 4-6 hrs
Garden Structures or Furniture 3 hrs+
White Birch Bark over purchased casework 2 hrs+

FOR SALE: Books, Birch Bark, old and new tools

Discussion concepts and terms:
Ways to Think about Rustic:

Geometry/nature, order/chaos, mater/pater, understructure/over structure, copy another piece.

Start from intuition: texture, size, material, technique... what wants to speak through you?

Related Topics:

Wabi-sabi, moodling, The Imagination: Mythic, Alchemical, Archetypal punctum/ "feeling in" Home Altars Politics of Organic Model. Green Man./Al Khdir and the Technical Model

Nature-Time-Patience are 3 great healers

Human nature loves heartily well-balanced irregularity and longs for it in life, in character, and in almost everything else – Calvert Vaux, Villa and Cottage Architecture 1864, (1991 Dover Reprint)
"Other" Activities/Exercises to honor the "other" workshop

For workshops at Dan's Warwick studio

Where to Stay??

Warwick Motel, 5 minutes away: 845 986 4822. Ask for special Workshop rate... Or the Holiday Inn Express, Chester, NY, 20 minutes away: 845 469 3000.

Warwick, NY's Points of Rustic Interest for Possible Side Trips
Within 20 minutes:
40 minutes:
80 minutes: