Marc Adams Instructional DVDs
Reviewed by Mark Gezella
Move over Mr. Mehler…step aside Mr. Krenov…we got Marc Adams in da house! I'm sure by now you are all well aware that we purchased a complete set of Marc Adams Instructional DVDs from our weekend event last year. And although we're focused on the arrival of Mr. Klausz this month, I've just recently had the chance to review these Adams DVDs (they've been a hot commodity over the past year!). So, I thought I'd pick a few at a time and describe them for those of you who may not have seen them yet.
The two I selected this month comprise his mini-series on furniture making, aptly entitled Furniture I & Furniture II. Both discs begin with a slideshow of sorts that showcase much of the work Marc has produced. Included are some great furniture pieces that incorporate much of what he instructs in his series. For example, a baby bed is etched in my mind that has some beautiful joinery and great marquetry work depicting favorite cartoon characters. This quickly leads to a menu selection that identifies segments of the instruction, which in the case of these two enumerates six to eight options.
Furniture I
Both discs contain an
Introduction as option one. In this first DVD Marc provides a brief history of furniture which takes us from ancient times through the Renaissance into what is now known as "modern" furniture. He then transitions to his tenets of basic furniture function; i.e., furniture enables us to sit, sleep, work, or store. This is a segue of sorts into Designing Furniture, which emphasizes a belief that inspiration leads to good design. There are many steps along the way, but suffice it to say you must first determine needs and requirements, make preliminary sketches, etc. before the fun part of material selection, modeling, and full-scale drawing can commence. A separate aspect to design, which merits it's own discussion is Understanding Wood. This topic covers all issues regarding the biological product, including (but not necessarily limited to) wood as a renewable resource, evaluating trees and milled lumber, cuttings, moisture content, drying, movement, etc. At this point Marc stresses the most critical operation in furniture-making is to square the work first. He repeats this many times throughout his instruction.Once you "understand" wood, you need to know about Shaping and Joining it. Shaping can be a very expressive operation. Marc likes flowing lines, similar to furniture stylized by Sam Maloof. He uses appropriate hardwood when shaping, and prefers to first "hog" off the bulk with aggressive tools such as an angle-grinder or chainsaw. He has a favorite Nicholson #49 patternmakers rasp he uses for final rough shaping, then completes each piece with hand tools such as planes, scrapers, and spokeshaves. Joinery incorporates familiar combinations such as lap, bridle, tongue & groove, biscuited butt joints, …you get the idea.
He gives much thought to
Finishing as well, describing how to choose among the myriad products available today. He favors film finishes such as poly, varnish, or shellac. This is based on a premise that color should come from the wood, not the finish. These tend to protect a piece without distorting the true color of the components. However, with that said, he also acknowledges you must consider end-use as well, which can determine how durable a finish must be; whether it be moisture-, heat-, or for outdoor items even UV-resistant.Furniture II
"If you involve me, I'll understand". So begins his
Introduction in this follow-up DVD. This picks up where Furniture I left off. Once primed with the basics, Marc teaches by example, constructing three very nice projects that incorporate techniques described in his first DVD.He leads off with a
Maloof-Style Stand, chosen for its elegant design. This is the same table you've seen several members display at different SLWG gatherings. This piece emphasizes biscuit & spline joinery, importance of grain orientation, and is constructed of beautiful cherry wood. Next up is an Arts & Crafts Bookcase. These have been popular since the early 20th century and are known for celebrating quartersawn oak with prominent ray flecks. For this project, all wood is milled in his shop, and special care is taken to ensure grain remains straight and true during manufacture. He exercises special care for the door, as it must remain dead flat to operate properly within the case. Most joinery consists of lap and bridle joints on this project. The pièce de résistance is a Sculptural Cabriole Leg Table. This is where his skills really shine, and much to my delight makes great use of his Nicholson #49 (did I just rhyme?!). This table is constructed entirely of black walnut, and while it only consists of four basic parts, it evolves into the most beautiful of the three pieces, due to his "hard-line vs. soft-line" concept of shaping and embellishing.Marc hammers home several key factors to furniture-making throughout this series; no woodworking begins until full-scale drawings are produced on 1/4" plywood (and they are
never cut - patterns are always taken from these), all complex projects can be accomplished through a series of simple tasks, always use tools appropriate for the task at hand, and his ultimate message - ANYONE CAN DO THIS!This is some pretty good instruction, comparable to most other educational videos I've seen. These two DVDs run the better part of two hours each, so you feel as though you've got your money's worth while at the same time aren't bored to tears watching them. As I said in the beginning, these remain popular library items, and you may find you still need to wait a month or so before what you're looking for becomes available. With any luck, these DVDs will be available for checkout at the next general member meeting!