Vic Tesolin - Projects from the Minimalist Woodworker: Smart Designs for Mastering Essential Skills

Text 2021 by Blue Hills Press Photographs 2021 by Vic Tesolin All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the Publisher. Publisher & Editor: Matthew Teague Copy Editor: Megan Fitzpatrick Design & Layout: Lindsay Hess Photography: Vic Tesolin Index: Jay Kreider Blue Hills Press P.O. Box 239 Whites Creek, TN 37189 ISBN: 978-1-951217-25-9 e-book ISBN: 978-1-951217-31-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2021933275 Printed in the United States 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Note: The following list contains names used in Projects from the Minimalist Woodworker
that may be registered with the United States Copyright Office: Ron Hock; Hock Tools; Bad
Axe Tool Works; Furniture Butter; 3M The information in this book is given in good faith; however, no warranty is given, nor are
results guaranteed. Woodworking is inherently dangerous. Your safety is your responsibility.
Neither Blue Hills Press nor the author assume any responsibility for any injuries or accidents.

To learn more about Blue Hills Press books, or to find a retailer near you,
email info@bluehillspress.com or visit us at www.bluehillspress.com. For Paprika, who always helps
to carry the other end of the
boardno matter how heavy.

P R O J E C T S F R O M T H E M I N I M A L I S T W O O D W O R K E R In order to understand, you must do. Those are not my words but rather Vic Tesolins. I think it says a lot about him and his philosophy. Its a very practical way of approaching things not only in woodworking but in life.

You can hum and haw about this technique or that project, but better yet, just do. As I was growing up, my mother impressed upon me that its not the monetary value of a person that shows they are wealthy, rather its the company that they keep. Im richer in life for having Vic as a friend, a brother, someone to bounce ideas offand also to help carry heavy table saws down to basement workshops. I mean really heavy. We wont do that again kind of heavy. We both attended Rosewood Studio years ago and that gave us good bones for the structure of our woodworking careers.

Education is a great thing; what you do with it after all the lessons are over might very well be the truest measuring stick. Whether that stick is metric or imperial is your choice. A number of years ago Vic had a brilliant idea that we should teach together at the circuit of woodworking shows here in eastern Canada. We are the Vic and Steve show and Im proud of what weve accomplished so far. We have a lot of fun and still manage to teach a thing or two. People have said that theyre reminded of Penn and Teller, however, neither one of us is silent, though I like to think we do a bit of magic with wood.

As I stand beside Vic at the shows while he demonstrates, Im blown away by some of the tips and tricks he comes up with. It pushes me to do better. It pushes me to get out of what always works for me and experiment to see if this method might be better or a particular finishing technique might shine above others or if my shop layout could use a bit of a shuffle. Its very pleasing to see how Vic starts with an idea, then executes it. Hes not afraid to try things to see if they work better. He tries them in order to understand.

You the reader, the worker of wood, get this in the form of his now second FOREWORD BY STEVE DER-GARABEDIAN

P R O J E C T S F R O M T H E M I N I M A L I S T W O O D W O R K E R | FO R E W O R D book. There doesnt seem to be any hesitation, either, once hes thought something through. Yes, a measurement might have to be changed or a new angle might have to be brought in, but Vic wouldnt know this if he didnt try it. What does this mean as far as youre concerned? While there are a lot of us, the woodworking community is a rather small group in the big scheme of things. Sharing your knowledge with other people is one of the most noble things you can do. Its how we grow.

Vic brings a lot to the workbench with his wealth of experience. Youre going to learn new techniques and skills if youre just starting out, or pick up a new way of doing things that just might be better than what youve tried so far. Tools in the latest catalogs sometimes get in the way of what the real purpose behind them is. Is it about the tool you buy or what youre supposed to make with it? Do we really need the latest and greatest? Will a laser really make a difference? There is always going to be another new-and-improved version to help you part with your hard-earned dollars. There is no measuring device that I know of that can calculate the satisfaction of making a tool yourself to use for an upcoming project. Dont lose track of why we pick up a piece of wood.

Approaching our craft in a minimalist manner brings us back to what really counts. The first is that it should provide something useful. A cabinet to store spices, a box for precious items, or perhaps a stool to perch on. Second, possibly the more important of the two, it should be fun. Dont worry about cutting dovetails faster. If you make a mistake building a piece, put it in your shop and use it as a lesson.

It is perfectly fine to not finish every project this weekend. Vic pushes me to be better and to try things in a different way. (With one exception: Im still going to cut my dovetails pins first.) Ive seen the projects youre going to read about and make. Im going to be making them as well. Approaching our craft in a minimalist manner brings us back to what really counts.

P R O J E C T S F R O M T H E M I N I M A L I S T W O O D W O R K E R Here we are again.

Book number two on the use of hand tools in a small shop. I hope by now Ive been able to convince you that you dont need a ton o space with a bunch of power tools in order to create wooden projects. Of course, there are many advantages to using power tools if you have the room and budget for them. The reality, however, is that you dont need them in order to work wood. I like to think of machines as apprenticesnot essential but they can be nice to have. They can take on drudgery tasks such as dimensioning stock or creating multiple parts.

In the first book we talked all about the tools that you need and how to keep those tools sharp. We then went through the construction of some of the more critical pieces of shop furniture, appliances, and tools to get you started. Now its time to step up our game a bit and look at some more advanced techniques. In this book we are going to add a couple more tools to your tool kit including a wooden plane that blends the best of both Eastern and Western woodworking traditions, along with a small shop knife that I would be lost without. The projects in this book were selected and designed to have a certain duality to them. If youre happy with how the project turns out, you can include it somewhere in your home.