Descriptions of the early American system of cabinetmaking apprenticeship almost always touch on how little one received at the end of seven years labor: some proper clothes, perhaps tools. You also, with luck, could look forward to getting an apprentice of your own and doing very little of this again. Sigh.
Today I'm breaking down a fantastic slab of curly maple for a small table I'll be building this week. There are many different ways to go about this. Most, perhaps, pin the board with a foot, lean low and saw away. For material this thick, I prefer to borrow a method of the old-timers. I just sit in the board, hold the saw vertically and work up and down, sawing towards myself. Its surprisingly follow a the line and, with big, large toothed saw, it flys.
