Skill Scale Down 2021

This skill has been impacted by the Skill Scale Down. The impact of this for this skill is as follows:

• This skill remains. It will be gaining knowledge from other skills.
• All knowledge for Ship Building and Fletching now counts as Woodworking Knowledge.
• For how to deal with XP, please see the page Skill Scale Down 2021 for links, information, and a player guide.
• The scope of this skill now includes what was previously covered by Fletching and Ship Building. Please ensure that you take this into account going forward.
• The Design skill used to be a separate skill. It is now considered an intrinsic part of the skill in question. This is the case for all craft skills. Please take this into account going forward.

Overview

Development Credit: Faith

The art of working with wood to create decorative and / or functional items. Woodworkers shape and decorate wood for a variety of uses, from house building to creating furniture or wooden sculptures. Those with the Woodworking skill are able to craft items of beauty or usefulness. Truly, this is a skill which can be seen in every home in Idalos. Woodworking is a general term for the use of wood cutting, shaping and carving techniques in practical applications. This might be furniture making, house building or construction of a ship. Whereas many of the same techniques are common across all types of Woodworking, there are specific techniques involved.

Types of Wood

There are two main types of wood. It should be noted that the type of wood is determined by characteristics of the tree. Although they are named such, hardwoods can be soft and softwoods can be hard.

Hardwood: Hardwood is produced by deciduous trees with broad leaves. Hardwood trees have flowers and produce nuts. Examples include oak and mahogany.

Softwood: Softwood is produced by coniferous trees with needle leaves. Softwood trees are evergreen and are cone bearing trees. Examples include pine and cedar.

Although these two types of wood are broadly used as categories, there are a vast array of wood types. Just as each tree type is totally different one from another, so too are different woods. For example, ash and beech are both hardwoods, but whilst ash is open-grained and flexible, beech is closed-grained and prone to warping.

Preparation

Cutting

The first thing to do is to cut the wood into the requisite number of pieces, each one being larger than needed although approximately the correct size. The adage 'measure twice, cut once' applies here as mistakes in this part of the process result in wasted wood. Each piece, if there are a number of them, will be named or numbered in order to make the later aspects of the job easier.

Sanding

Sanding wood at the beginning of task can help make it easier overall. This is also carried out at the end of a project or job. Sanding is the act of rubbing a sanding block or another suitable abrasive against wood to smooth it out. Sanding blocks comes in a variety of grades, varying from course to very fine in texture. Once the wood is cut to size, a coarse sanding is often used in order to smooth off rough edges and imperfections, fundamentally making the wood easier to work with.

Technique

Joints & Joining

The art and technique of joining two, or more, pieces of wood together. There are of many types of join including, but not limited to:

The Butt Joint: The most basic join possible, this involves putting the end of one piece of wood against the edge of another, usually at a right angle. To make it a bit more stable, a mitered butt joint might be used, where both edges of wood to be joined are mitered (cut and sanded into an angle) in order to make an angled join.

The Half-Lap Joint: Where two pieces of wood will be 'crossing over' each other, a section can be cut out of each piece so that the two sit flush together. Whilst the individual pieces of wood are obviously weakened by the removal of a section, the overall join is quite strong and can look very attractive.

The Mortise and Tenon Joint: A join used when the two pieces are connecting at an angle of 90 degrees. This involves one piece having the mortise hole and the other having the tenon tongue. These are usually deep rectangular shapes and fit snugly together, the aim being that the tenon is completely flush in the mortise.

The Tongue & Groove Joint: Often used in flooring and where plank-shaped pieces of wood are joined together, this join creates a flat surface. One piece has an indented "groove" in it, with the other having a matching ridge known as the "tongue".

Dovetailing: The dovetail join involves two pieces fitting together by a number of "pins and tails" slotting together like a jigsaw. This is a very strong join and can also be very attractive if done well

Dowels: Woodworkers will often use dowels to strengthen their joins. A dowel is a small cylinder of wood which fits into a hole in both pieces of wood. With the dowel half-embedded in each piece, it strengthens the join and negates any wobbling etc

Finished Product

Joinery is used wherever two pieces of wood are placed together. So, the finished product might be shelves, cabinets, boxes etc. Any finished product which is made from more than one piece of wood has used joinery.

Carving & Whittling

Cutting wood into shapes, often used to create wooden sculptures, ornaments and so on, crafted with a cutting tool. This might be a knife in one hand, a chisel in one or two hands, a chisel in one hand with a mallet in the other or a gouge. When done with a knife this is known as whittling wood, whereas done with a chisel, gouge or chisel + mallet, this is wood carving. These techniques are used to create sculptures, bowls, vases etc. The carving techniques are also used to create engravings on wood by gouging or chiseling out section to create relief patterns on the surface of wood. the join and negates any wobbling etc

Finished Product

Ornaments, wood sculptures or engravings on existing pieces of wood.

Wood Turning

This uses a piece of wood held on to a lathe. Tools are then used to cut that piece of wood in a rounded shape. This is used to create curved pieces, from chair legs to knitting needles and candlesticks. Wood turning can produce very detailed, exquisite results when precision tools are used, or can be used for large, impact pieces.

Finished Product

Candlesticks, tool or cutlery handles, bowls etc.

Tools & Equipment

The tools and equipment of a Woodworker's Kit and / or a Carpenter's Kit have everything needed for the character with this skill. For some, a small sharp knife and a piece of wood is all they need, others will require clamps and lathes. It is important that the character considers safety, as the tools for those with this skill are often very sharp. Leather or metal thimbles, protective gloves and so on might well be the order of the trial.

Finishing

Sanding

Much more detailed and intricate than at the preparation stage, sanding as a finish means that the piece is even, smooth and pleasant to the touch. Sanding blocks are used, again starting with a coarse block and then moving on to increasingly finer pieces. It should leave the finished product even, without any variations in the feel of the piece and also make sure that there are no splinters or pieces which might catch. The detail and effort put into sanding at the end of a Woodworking project can mean the difference between good and great quality.

Varnishing / Sealing

One of the major problems with Woodworking is that wood is vulnerable to the elements. Therefore, almost all pieces are finished with either varnish or sealant. Varnish adds colour and sheen, whereas sealant works simply to protect the wood. The creation of varnishes and sealants is undertaken by a chemist, but most woodworkers will have a preference for type or colour. Varnishes range from very thick to a light colour wash. Sealant is usually clear and provides basic protection against the elements ~ and might be applied over a varnish if the woodworker thinks it is necessary.

Fletching

Many people believe that the term "fletching" only refers to the feathers on the shaft of the arrow. While this is one definition, and is, in fact the name for those guiding feathers, the term also refers to the entire crafting skill of making both bows and arrows. The crafting of both the bow and the arrow involve more than just the shaping of wood into a bow and smoothing a shaft to make an arrow. There is a need for knowledge of the properties of each species of tree, as well as the glue used in backing panels, to combine these properties for the greatest performance. So other outdoor skills are quite useful.

Bows

The properties of wood used in the crafting of a bow include not only flexibility and rupture point, but grain uniformity and crown, weight, density and spring. Curvature of the limbs of the bow are achieved by boiling or steaming the wood, and letting it dry while kept bent. But this is only necessary when adding a "recurve" to the ends, or a "reflex" to the limbs. The grain of the wood must be parallel to the width of the limb, not perpendicular to it, as this will cause it to split far too easily. It also must not have a twist to it, as this will cause the limb to twist when pulled, eliminating accuracy. If soft wood is used, the bow needs to be made wider and thinner. Thick and narrower works better for hardwood bows.

First is wood selection, then shaping it to the desired style, then "tillering". These are all necessary steps. After these steps come the options of putting in a recurve or reflex. Then the additional option of "backing" the weapon with sinew or additional slats of wood. If these steps are rejected, finishing the wood by rubbing it with a blend of animal fats, and sometimes brains, and letting it slowly heat to soak the oily fluid into the wood, is the only step left to finish the weapon. A bow with none of these options is called a "self bow". The traditional longbow is one such.

Tillering is the rasping or sanding of the wood facing on the inside the arc, or "belly", to equalize the pull on both ends. The "back" of the bow, which actually refers to the side which faces away from the archer, is never tillered. Equalizing the pull involves more than just the degree to which the ends are moved when the strung cord is pulled. It is the balanced and mirrored degree of arc present in each increment as one compares each limb with the other while pulled. This can be done by setting the bow's "midpoint", or handle, atop a pole and hanging equal weights from both ears. Or the bow can be strung and pulled into precut notches in the pole, observing the limbs as the cord is moved from one notch down to the next. Or, in a pinch, the experienced bowyer can simply place his foot on the midpoint and pull the cord up himself, and assess the curve. If the arcs of the corresponding limbs, on each side of the midpoint, do not match each other perfectly, more tillering is necessary.

The bowyer begins with seasoned wood, cut during Zi'da or Cylus, when the sap is down, and allowed to cure for a full arc. If the wood is already in plank form, he will begin shaping it, using only abrading tools, like rasps, files or sandpaper. The only use for a bladed instrument is to scrape away the bark on a raw piece of wood. He does not whittle the bark off, he holds the knife perpendicular, and scrapes it. All shaping of the handle and tapering of the limbs is done with rasps and such, as whittling all too often will cause a nick and weaken the grain. It is possible to sand down a nick to salvage the wood, but more often than not, it begins a cycle of tillering overcompensations which ultimately weakens the limb beyond salvation.

Once shaped, smoothed and tillered, it is time for the above mentioned options, if desired. To add a recurve, the last 6" of each end are boiled or steamed for 3 or 4 breaks, until they get soft, and then bent forward. This is done by clamping the softened ends around the convex side of a form cut to the degree of arc desired. The experienced bowyer will have this form on hand before starting. This is left clamped for a full 24 breaks. To add a reflex, or short forward curve near the midpoint, one only needs to steam the middle portion of the bow for a few breaks, then place the back of the bow over a thin log and stand on the bow, with your bare feet on either side of the log, until the bow cools. This will put equal "forward" curves in the bow, giving it more punch. Short bows are most frequently given this option.

Now, if a "sinew backing" is not desired, the bowyer may finish up the bow with the oil described above. Otherwise, the addition of sinew backing will greatly enhance performance of most any bow. First one must obtain the leg sinews from most any large animal. They are dried, then pounded to separate each strand and flatten them to some degree. Then a hide glue, made from boiled hooves, hide scrapings and dewclaws, is diluted to about 2/3 consistency. This is kept warm while a coating is "painted" onto the back of the bow. Then strands of the dried sinew are moistened and soaked for a few minutes in this diluted glue, squeezed free of any excess, and laid from the midpoint out, side by side, in a single layer that covers the entire back of the bow. It is advisable to allow a few inches to overlap the ends, to strengthen them. Allow this to dry, then repeat this process 2 or 3 more times. After this, let it "cure" for a good 15 trials.

Then the bowyer will gently test the weapon at half-drawn strength to see if there is any fine-tuning of tillering or additional sinew-backing to perform. Once this has been tended to, the bow can be finished with the oil as described above, except that it should be done without heat, as this may loosen the backing. The application of this sinew-backing will pull to some degree against the belly of the bow, causing a degree of reflex. So if both options are added to your bow, do not overdo it. It may be up to 2 full arcs before the pull of this backing is fully realized and the bow's form and shooting characteristics are completely settled.

Cords

The bowstrings can be made from the dried sinew strands, wrapped and moistened with saliva. Saliva moistening will make the sinew form a glue coating which serves to bind the wrapping with great strength. Regular water largely lacks the element in saliva that causes this stickiness, so the arrow doesn't stick to the bowstring. But it will cause enough tackiness to throw off accuracy to a degree. There is a significant problem of shrinkage, though, so most bowstrings are fashioned from plant fibers if wet weather is anticipated.

There are many plants with highly fibrous characteristics. Also the cambium bark layer, which is between the wood and the outer bark of most trees, is very fibrous. These fibers can be separated with the application of most types of friction, even just wetting your palm and rubbing a length of it on your pants. This will separate the different strands, and allow the removal of non-fibrous debris. The fibers are then wrapped in offsetting lengths, the ends spread and intertwined, and immediately brought into the winding to keep adding length. The spliced ends must always be wound with a solid strand. This will keep them tightened and wound to such a degree that they are as strong as unbroken fibers.

A simple wrap can be achieved by tightly winding the fiber bundles, taking hold of the middle in your teeth, bringing the free ends together and releasing the middle. The two strands will wrap around themselves naturally. There are other types of cordage wraps as well, and they can all be doubled and tripled and spliced to any length and strength. Rope is essentially made this same way. Like rope, bowstrings can be quickly passed through a flame to burn away unsightly excess fibers.

Arrows

The crafting of arrows uses the same skills described above with slightly different applications. The selection of wood is still very important, but more in the sense that you want as little flex as you can get. Heating is instead used to remove bends, rather than add them. Some fletchers even have straight molds made of a hard but breathable material to place the steamed, straightened shafts in while they dry.

The "feathering" is usually made, unsurprisingly, from actual feathers, which have been split down the middle of the hard quill center, or "rachis", of a feather. Since it takes three "feathers" to give proper aerodynamics to an arrow, it takes half again as many feathers to finish any number of arrows. Once split, the feathers are shaped to the desired height and length, by trimming and shaving a half inch of the feathers from the rachis to give a bit of bare, hard quill to wrap.

Using the same dried separated sinew strands as before, moistened with saliva as above, the natural glue negating the need for tying. Then, holding the three half feathers, at equidistant thirds of the shaft's circumference, from the back end, he wraps the moistened sinew tightly over the shaved rachis ends and lets it dry. He then repeats this process at the back end, wrapping it right up to where he files the nock in the end of the shaft. This will not only hold the feathers in place, but will bolster the nock against the shock of the cord's impact, while firing, and prevent splitting the shaft.

The arrow heads can be made from stone, bone, shell, metal or even glass. The flint-knapping of stone or glass requires a considerable knowledge of stone working to successfully chip and chisel a piece of stone to a thin, flat, sharp shape without shattering it. Bone and metal are far easier, as they can be cut and filed easily to a functional shape and edge. Shell is more brittle, but can still be worked with the same success.

Which ever medium is used, the desired size and weight depend largely on the intended game. But the over all shape is a triangle with an inverted "T" extending from the bottom. This T is then inserted into a slot cut into the forward end of the shaft so that the flares of the T protrude from the sides of the shaft a short ways inside of the end. The part of the shaft showing between the bottom of the triangle and the protruding flares of the T are tightly wrapped with the same saliva-moistened sinew strands. The wrapping is then extended a short ways down the shaft past the T and allowed to dry.

Related Skills

Woodworking is related to a number of skills and works to enhance them. Engineering, for example, is a skill greatly enhanced by Woodworking. A character with the Woodworking skill might find their abilities enhanced by the following, depending on how they use it.

Mathematics: Working out angles, joints and how to best fit pieces of wood together can be made easier and more accurate by the use of mathematics.

Painting: Those who engrave wood might find that the pattern used is more aesthetically pleasing if the character can draw well.

Skill Ranks

Novice (0-25)

The novice woodworker is learning the tools of the trade, the types of Woodworking and the techniques in each one. They might well spend a lot of time on preparation and finishing, learning to be precise in measuring and cutting alongside how to sand and varnish. Once they have developed a good understanding of the types of wood, they start making basic pieces to develop each of the techniques. In Woodworking, the techniques themselves take time to learn but a novice is capable of learning them all if they put in the time. The difference between a novice and a master lies in the application of the knowledge. Items made by a novice woodworker tend to be very simple. If the item is ornamental, it will look amateurish and if it is functional then it will be able to perform no more than its most basic function. There may well still be imperfections in the finished product, from slight bumps and dents to ill-fitting joints etc. At novice, the woodworker will not be able to combine techniques, needing to focus on one thing at a time.

Competent (26-75)

Competence in Woodworking comes with the attention to detail which the novice lacked. At this level of experience, the woodworker’s focus is on functionality and the character can produce pieces which are easily usable and meet expectations. Therefore, an ornamental object produced at this level will look as it should, though without any surprises or much originality, and a functional object such as a box will be made to fit everything exactly as it should. The competent woodworker is now able to combine techniques and can, for example, produce an engraved bowl. At this level, the woodworker will still produce their best work when focusing on one or two techniques. Introducing more techniques to the process increases the risk of the end product being less than satisfactory.

Expert (76-150)

An expert woodworker is someone who can produce pieces which combine techniques to very good effect. They are able to produce items which exceed expectation. Thus, an ornamental piece of sculpture is beautiful and obviously well=crafted and a functional piece is not merely easily usable but also efficient; a tool handle will be well-fitting and balanced with the tool head, for instance. Decorative touches at this level are very nice and can be intricate or simple in their layout.

Master (151-250)

At mastery, the woodworker is able to produce wonders with wood. Techniques are combined to create complex or simple pieces which are way beyond expectations and standards are incredibly high. Items made by a master woodworker are more durable and even functional items are things of beauty. The master woodworker has truly learned how to utilise all techniques to their utmost, combining them in a finished product which is exquisitely beautiful, efficient and the pinnacle of the art.

Progressing Woodworking

• Capstones
• Grandmasters
• Tier 2 PCs

Woodworking Knowledge

The collapsible below has examples of Skill Knowledge for this skill. If you are unsure of what Knowledge is, please check the Knowledge Primer for details. Please remember that our Peer Reviewers will be checking to make sure that your Knowledge claim is appropriate to what you have learned in the thread and ensuring that you are not duplicating knowledge.

A guide to knowledge can be found here (this link takes you to the site) and the person reviewing your thread will do so following the steps laid out in the Peer Reviewer Guide. If you wish to use one of these knowledge in your request, please ensure that it is appropriate to your thread.