working at home for a while now.

[duccio]

I'm making some panels for two of my painter customers. See, there are several almost finished ones leaning against the dresser. Look at all my pony clamps. On top of that dresser are my big wooden screw clamps. I put so many of the clamps around the edge to hold the glue to dry. They're so close together so that the wood doesn't dimple along the edge like a pie crust. The moisture in the glue makes the wood expand, so it has to be held all along the length.

Later on, I make ribs to go across the back of the panel to keep it flat. The sides and ribs are called the panel's "cradling". The thin panels are like big membranes and expand and contract with changes in the weather. The ribs prevent this to a great extent and keep the panels flat. Here are calculations for how far apart to put the ribs for the differing sized panels I am making. I have a certain range (about 12" is ideal) that I use so they are not too far apart, or too close together. The rectangles drawn at the top of the paper are a cutting schedule for the sizes I have to make - for cutting out of the plywood sheets. I use that small hand saw for this as the table saw is too rough and tears out splinters of the veneer all along the edge on the crosscuts.

I'm very good with woodworking hand tools. I learned lots of things from experience, and studying antiques in some of the French stores here in San Francisco. Before power tools, the woodworkers left a record of how to do everything in the fabric of the things they made. All one has to do is look closely and thoughtfully, and then try and imitate. This is almost absolutely fascinating, huh.