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Charles Hayward

Charles Hayward, editor.

My ‘other life’ is in publishing. Magazine publishing to be exact. Over the years, I’ve earned a crust as a designer/art director on several blue-chip titles, and I continue to design both print magazines, books and increasingly, digital titles. I’d like to think I know a thing or two about how content needs to be designed to be readable, informative and interesting.

Recently, my woodworking and publishing worlds collided, when I stumbled on the ‘Woodworker Handbooks’ series of books by Charles Hayward. The series was first published by Evans Brothers Limited in 1950. I’ve started collecting the reprints from 1960, the hardbacks with black bands on the covers. Several publishers re-printed the titles later on, but I have heard they were considerably ‘dumbed down’, after the 70’s. I am so impressed with these books from the 60’s though, the quality of their information and the way they have been designed. Charles Hayward’s text explains each process so fantastically well, I decided to research this man a bit more.

Charles Hayward probably served some sort of carpentry apprenticeship before the 1914-1918 war, as at that time he joined the Royal Artillery. After the war, he joined ‘The Woodworker’ magazine (published by Evans Brothers), as an assistant to the editor.

When war erupted again in 1939, he was not a participant in it, but when war was declared the editor of ‘The Woodworker’ fled to a remote part of Scotland, never to be heard of again. Thus Hayward became editor of ‘The Woodworker’ and took the magazine from strength to strength.

Post-war, Hayward had assistant editors, but the magazine was created primarily around his own vision. All the ideas for projects in the magazine were his own. The pieces in the magazine were almost certainly made in his own workshop. In the Evans Brothers building he had a photographic studio with a workbench which he used when photographing constructional details. The finished projects were photographed using s small 2″ x 2″ plate camera. In a small darkroom he developed the plates and made enlargements.

I'm very fortunate in that the college holds good reference for 'The Woodworker'.
I’m very fortunate in that the college holds good reference for ‘The Woodworker’.

One of the compilation annuals, holding re-prints of that years copies of 'The Woodworker'.
One of the compilation annuals, holding re-prints of that years copies of ‘The Woodworker’.

Really excellent articles explaining how to do things properly, before people had routers!. These articles really are quite enlightening.
Really excellent articles explaining how to do things properly, before people had routers!. These articles really are quite enlightening.

With a bit of patience and a home-made scratch stock, the world really is your oyster.
With a bit of patience and a home-made scratch stock, the world really is your oyster.

The drawings, both technical and illustrative, were also his own work. He then wrote the text. It is an extraordinary feat to produce a magazine in this way. He was virtually a one-man publisher.

As well as running the magazine almost single-handedly, he found time to write the textbooks I recently stumbled on. The books, I think, used visuals and text already shot for the magazine, and would have needed again to be edited for the book format, meaning a whole lot more work.

So far, I have found ‘Carpentry for Beginners’, Cabinet Making for Beginners’ and ‘Woodwork Joints’, all of which I think are superb.

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In the series I’m collecting, I think I still have another nine or ten to find. I would recommend them highly, if you’re an amateur woodworker, like me.

Categories
College

College course: Day 11

Good day today. I cut down the shelf which will sit inside the cabinet, and will finish trimming the size on the next day. The bottom rails are both in, so once any odd surfaces are planed to fit, this cabinet can be glued up and I can move onto the final part, the dovetailed drawer.

Here's a shot with one side panel on it's side, and the two rails in place. You can see the rear rails has an identical groove now, so that the back panel can come right down aqnd slot into place. I've used the router to cut a wide groove for the shelf now. Not very conventional, but I just have to get this finished now. The nasty rounded front end left by the router will be obscured by letting in a housing into the front edge of the shelf.
Here’s a shot with one side panel on it’s side, and the two rails in place. You can see the rear rail has an identical groove now, so that the back panel can come right down and slot into place. I’ve used the router to cut a wide groove for the shelf. Not very conventional, but I just have to get this finished now. The nasty rounded front end left by the router will be obscured by letting in a housing into the front edge of the shelf.
The bottom rail at the front of the cabinet has a double stub tenon. The rear rail is just a single stub tenon.
The bottom rail at the front of the cabinet has a double stub tenon. The rear rail is just a single stub tenon.

We finished this year with a good few drinks in a Whitechapel pub round the corner. Conversation covered walks that takes in Dicken’s’ landmarks mentioned in ‘Great Expectations’. Heirloom pieces of furniture, ie are people now buying for quality and craftsmanship, rather than just for low price? And general chat about violins, with the instrument makers who also take up a part of the college’s space. I’ve always wanted to make a violin, perhaps that should be my next course?

Merry Christmas to one and all. Thanks for reading!

Categories
College

College course: Day 10

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Didn’t get a massive amount done on Friday, although I did grind the iron of a new (old) Stanley No.6, which came out very well. Please imagine the wheel moving for a good half an hour, as I stare into space, with the music of Tony Hart’s ‘gallery’ theme playing along…

Categories
Chisels

The reluctant dealer


It’s quite disgraceful that I call myself a tool ‘dealer’, as I just can’t bear to sell any of these lovely chisels.

At Hackney Tools, we buy old, good quality woodworking tools. If you have any tools you would like to sell, please get in touch using the contact form on the home page.

Categories
College Practical techniques

College course: Day 9

Day 9! Sort of unbelievable how quickly the time goes, I’m about two-thirds through my course. I’m really enjoying learning about casework and the myriad of details that have to be considered. Anyway, here’s the progress on my little cabinet, for those who are interested. Click the pic for the jump.

Cutting dovetails in the rails that connect the two side panels I’ve already made.

The dovetails would be a bit deep at the full depth of the stock, so I’m taking off around half the depth here.

The rail dovetail will ft into the top of the side panel as shown. This rail is the rear one, so it needs to be placed so that it doesn’t impede the groove for the back panel, as shown.

Having drawn around the dovetail, the outside edges are marked. The dovetail length is taken from the dovetail with a marking gauge and transferred to the stock. The same is then done for the depth of the dovetail, which again is marked on the inner panel. The whole waste area is then shaded, so I don’t make mistakes and cut on the wrong side of the line.

After a couple of stiff drinks, the two cuts aren’t bad, and they’re just inside the lines, which is good.

To remove the waste, the panel is clamped down, and little by little, you chop back into the joint with chisel vertical, and remove small amounts by paring into the joint horizontally. Eventually, you have something that looks like this.

Looking back at the image, this is very stupid. If the panels had fallen to the side, it would have cracked my joints. In the semi-hysterical excitement of finally bringing my side panels together, I forgot to notice that. Anyway, the first rail is at least a good tight fit on both ends.

I took a break from the rails, and used the Metabo sander to sand down what will be the top and the shelf for the cabinet. They glued up surprisingly well, and after two passes through the planer, both were pretty good. The top can be trimmed to size once I have the cabinet glued up. The shelf will be worked on next week.

This is the carcass standing upright. Obviously still a little delicate, with no bracing at the bottom yet, but you can see the dimensions. One of my rail joints is sloppy, but hopefully will be ok with generous amounts of glue. It’s all a learning curve!

I popped the top on, just to see how the thickness relates to the proportions of the cabinet. I’m really pleased with this, having drawn up the cabinet myself. I figured finishing the panels with oil might have saved me valuable time, but in reality, it’s a pain in the ass. You’re constantly aware of scratching them. I won’t be doing that again.