Little did I know that one day, while channel surfing on my sweet self-installed DirecTV system, I would come across a half-hour woodworking program that would change the course of not only my career, but my life. That show was Woodworks with David Marks. Being a relatively handy guy in general, I would frequently stop to watch an episode of New Yankee Workshop in much the same way I might watch a cooking show. It’s just cool to watch someone craft something with their hands, be it food or wood. But there was something special about David’s work that resonated with me deeply. Part of the allure was that he didn’t look like your “typical” woodworker and his projects certainly didn’t look like “typical” furniture. I was immediately intrigued by his tools and techniques. And after years of watching Norm, I was amazed to learn that you can build furniture out of more than just pine or mahogany! To say Woodworks opened my eyes to a whole new world would be an understatement.

One of David’s pieces that really captured my imagination was his Bubinga Veneer Coffee Table. The design was fairly simple and the choice in materials was superb! The maple legs and aprons act as an unassuming canvas that frames the real showpiece: the figured bubinga veneer! I understood the procedures David demonstrated and even with no real furniture-making experience, I honestly felt like I could make the table if I had access to the proper tools. This table would serve as a deeply planted seed that wouldn’t germinate for another year or two.

Eventually, Nicole and I were able to buy our first home: a small fixer-upper in Temecula, CA. Project after project, my DIY skills, confidence, and interest level were growing rapidly. I even managed to accumulate a modest collection of tools, including a Craftsman tablesaw and miter saw. But before I knew it, pretty much everything was scratched off of the to-do list and our fixer-upper was fixed. By this time, my desire to fix old things was quickly morphing into an even stronger instinct to create something new. With several seasons of Woodworks under my belt, I felt confident enough to venture into building my very first project from a plan: a night stand. The rest is history and you can read more about my descent into woodworking madness here if you’re interested.

I have been fortunate in that I was able to eventually forge a friendship with my virtual mentor. During my most recent trip to Santa Rosa, David showed me where he keeps some of the old Woodworks projects. For a long-time fan like me, this was a surreal experience. We came across the coffee table from the show and I told him how much impact that little table had on my woodworking trajectory. Fortunately, we were able to work out a deal and I am now the proud owner of the Bubinga Coffee Table. The table arrived a few days ago carefully wrapped in a crate that was truly worthy of the prize nested inside. Anyone who spends even a small amount of time with David will experience his meticulous nature. Apparently that extends to his packaging too. You just can’t be too careful when shipping a finished piece of furniture and thankfully, the coffee table arrived without a scratch or dent. My step dad helped me unpack the many layers of padding and packing material and as you can see, he had way too much fun.

The table now resides in my bedroom, right next to my comic book reading chair. Yes, the table will be used to hold and display comic books. And some day, it will hold and display my son’s comic books. Truth is, I really don’t need another coffee table. But this table deserves a place of honor in my home and my “relaxation area” is perfect!

I know we all have different inspirations and reasons for getting into the craft and I’d love to hear yours. Have you ever had an opportunity to acquire a piece made by someone you admire? Or do you feel a little weird owning a piece of furniture built by another woodworker? I would bet that more than a few of you keep at least one piece of furniture that you really don’t need, just for sentimental value or because it was associated with an early influence. I’d love to hear your tale!

David Marks inspired the design and process, Norm inspired the finish, but that had to be modified. Norm also inspired the “nested” idea. But that came later after botching a beveled edge and having to trim the original table top back beyond the inlay. Having wanted to build the Nest of Tables, this became an opportunity to do that.

The layout followed David Marks. Using the top as a template, I did a full layout of the base. Placement of legs (which are rotated 45 to front of table, square to the walls), reveal of the aprons, etc. These layout marks were later used to mark cut lines on the aprons. Simply lay the apron stock on the template, mark where it meets the legs, cut. No measuring, no worries about exact angles. If the angles are drawn right on the template, the layout can be transferred easily and accurately.

Joinery was mortise and tenon, except for the front apron, which was loose tenons, as I didn’t think I could cut the 45 degree tenons at my skill level.

Assem-buh-ly was done with a band clamp to pull the 45′s together, bar clamps to pull the 90′s together. Care – and 2-3 dry fits – must be taken to be certain the bar clamps are square or they pull the 45′s out.

Sanded to 220 (for blotch). End grain was burnished to help slow absorption. 1/8″ masking tape to protect the inlay. This has to be perfect, and where the tape meets in the corners has to be flat on the inlay right up to the perpendicular tape to prevent stain from being worked under the tape should it “slope” up to the adjoining tape.

1/2 lb. cut Sealcoat – 2 coats
1 coat GF Georgian Cherry gel stain
1 coat GF 1:1 Georgian Cherry / Java
2 coats Arm-R-Seal wiped on, undiluted

White abrasive pads were used to remove excessive hard lines where stain had built up along side the tape causing the oil to accentuate the flaw, as well as any dust or other in-between coat needs 2 coats 1:1 diluted Arm-R-Seal wiped on.

The nested corner tables fit nicely in the entry hall allowing for the front door to open without hitting them.

The goal was simple: let’s turn a bowl! But as easy as that sounds, properly filming a bowl turning from start to finish can be quite tricky with just a few hours to play with. I had to catch a plane that evening and this was something of a last-minute idea. But we managed to pull it off, amazingly.

Anyone who has worked with David knows that the man is a perfectionist by definition. He regularly achieves a level of quality that I can only hope to some day match. So with David Marks, even a “quick and dirty” bowl deserves a perfect spherical profile, an absolutely tearout-free finish, and a crisp decorative band. And forcing him to produce a David Marks creation under those conditions proved to be a challenge and an important learning experience for me. When David works, there is really only one way to do things: to the best of his abilities. So there’s really no such thing as “good enough”. Its either done properly or its not. This is something I really admire.

David shows you a number of tools and techniques in this video. You’ll see some of the more standard options like the bowl gouge, the parting tool, and the pyramid point tool, as well as some interesting offerings from Easy Wood Tools. In this video, David shows the Easy Rougher and The Easy Finisher. You can purchase the Easy Wood Tools, including the David J. Marks Pro Series featuring beautiful Bubinga handles at David?s website. The advantage of buying the David J. Marks Pro Series in addition to getting a signed bubinga handle, is that the handles are longer than the standard Easy Wood Tools which gives them better leverage.

I hope you enjoy this special episode. Maybe this will help fill in the gap left by my severe lack of turning content! And for those of you who miss the good old days of Woodworks, this is going to be a real treat!

Demonstrations

The focus of my demonstrations was the Simple Varnish Finish method, oil-based finish basics, controlling blotch, and popping the grain. With so much material to cover, I wound up doing two very long sessions with lots of Q&A. The crowd was full of old friends, new friends, faces I could finally match to names, and dare I say “fans” (I’m talking to you Cassie! *wink*). Spirits were high and my jokes didn’t fall flat. All in all it was a successful day.

Sellin’ Stuff!

While I was doing demonstrations, Nicole, Mom, and Arlie (step-dad), were busy selling DVDs and chatting it up with the crowd. If you can believe it, technology has reached the point where we could take credit card transactions right on our iPhones. How cool is that?!

Here Comes the Judge(s)!

Sounds like an amazing day already doesn’t it? Well how about we top it off with a little David Marks? David Marks, my friend and mentor, was on-hand to share his knowledge with the anxious crowd of Arizonans. While I didn’t get to watch his demos, I did have the distinct pleasure of judging the competition with him. We carefully inspected each piece and discussed pros and cons, eliminating some projects immediately while elevating others to the “possible winner” status. And if you ever wonder what two woodworkers do when they come across a beautiful chess table, its a no-brainer: they look underneath it!

Batteries Recharged!

Catching up with David always serves to recharge my woodworking batteries. Throw in a wonderful steak dinner and I’m pretty much experiencing woodworking nirvana. I envy David’s creative vision and in comparison, I feel so…….analytical. But its the comparison that keeps me striving to be better and to constantly push myself beyond my comfort zone. After talking about woodworking with a guy like David, its hard NOT to walk away energized and motivated. If you ever have the opportunity to take a class with him, I highly recommend it. And if you are in the Santa Rosa, CA area, you should look into his classes. Learn more about David’s classes and DVDs at DJMarks.com

I’d like to thank the entire Chandler Woodcraft crew for their hospitality and hope we’ll be invited to participate again next year! And a huge thanks goes out to all those who were able to stop by and say hello. I hope you enjoyed the sessions.

One of the great features of a Guild membership is having access to live interactive interviews with notable woodworkers and professionals in the industry. On December 7th, we had a chance to speak with David J. Marks. David Marks is an accomplished designer, furniture-maker, turner, and artist. He was the star of the Woodworks TV show on the DIY Network, which in my opinion, is some of the best woodworking programming ever made! And now David travels around the world teaching woodworking, as well as teaching in his very own school in Santa Rosa California.

David recently released his latest DVD, Bandsawn Veneers, which will show you how to dial-in your bandsaw for precision veneer cuts. And if you are having trouble getting your saw setup properly, I highly recommend you check it out. So for more information about David’s DVD’s and classes, check out his website: DJMarks.com

The full interview is over an hour and a half long and what I have for you here is a 35 minute taste. Here are some additional topics covered in the full Guild version:

• How sanding through veneer cost David a job.
• David’s thoughts on the exploding amount of woodworking content on the web.
• Would David rather be teaching, or perfecting his craft?
• David’s woodworking heroes.
• Tips for a young woodworker looking to land a job.
• And many more questions from the Guild members………

Want to see more from David Marks? Check these out:

David & Victoria Marks Interview
David Marks Shop Tour
David Marks Gallery Tour
David Marks Project in Progress

David recently released a new DVD entitled “Bandsawn Veneers”, so we’ll be discussing the DVD, his classes, his work, and his inspiration. Its an event you don’t want to miss. So sign up today and receive 15% off your new membership.

This Viewer Project comes from Stan. Its a curvy design with some incredible figure!

Here is the latest project that I finished. It is a coffee table for a corner sectional couch. The table was the result of watching David Marks’ video on curvilinear methods. The design for the table came about one Saturday morning while making coffee. We had been wanting a coffee table for our new couch, and all round, square, or rectangle tables just didn’t fit. The cone filter sparked an idea for the shape of the table, so I walked over to the couch and held the filter out in front of me. Bingo, I had a shape!

I own a copy of David Marks’ DVD on curvilinear design, and I had done some bent-wood lamination development on other projects. So I knew that I would use that technique on the outer rim of the top. The top rim is made from 17 strips of Alder wrapped around a plywood form. Used bicycle inner tubes to clamp each layer as I glued up the rm. The rest of the top is book matched quilted maple veneer in a radial pattern. I used the two ply method for gluing up the veneer so that I could center he radial pattern. The legs, made from Alder, were glued up in one step using a cable jig.

I stained the Alder a Cherry color, and then added two layers of a top coat. It was at this stage that I attached the outer rim to the veneer top. I didn’t want to take a chance of getting stain on the maple veneer. Finished with two more layers of a top coat oil. All together the table took about 150 hours.

Want to see more from David Marks? Check these out:

David & Victoria Marks Interview
David Marks Shop Tour
David Marks Gallery Tour
A Guild Chat with David Marks

Also, David recently released his Scrapers DVD. It contains everything you need to know to properly sharpen card scrapers, cabinet scrapers, and gooseneck scrapers. I watched the DVD a few weeks ago and I instantly felt like I was watching a new episode of Woodworks (only more REAL!) You can pick the DVD up here.

Want to see more from David Marks? Check these out:

David & Victoria Marks Interview
David Marks Shop Tour
David Marks Project in Progress
A Guild Chat with David Marks

Also, David recently released his Scrapers DVD. It contains everything you need to know to properly sharpen card scrapers, cabinet scrapers, and gooseneck scrapers. I watched this for the first time last week and I instantly felt like I was watching a new episode of Woodworks (only more REAL!) You can pick the DVD up here.

Want to see more from David Marks? Check these out:

David & Victoria Marks Interview
David Marks Gallery Tour
David Marks Project in Progress
A Guild Chat with David Marks