Testimonials From Clients and Students

"Wood Science & Design"
3-DVD Boxed Set

After earlier DVD's on the tablesaw and the jointer and planer, Hendrik Varju, (author of Fine Drawers without Dovetails in Fine Woodworking issue 208, http://www.finewoodworking.com/ProjectsAndDesign/ProjectsAndDesignPDF.aspx?id=32980) has turned his attention to wood. He covers the structure and properties of this material, how humidity affects wood movement, and how to design furniture to take account of this movement and not be blown apart by it.

Watching the three DVDs that last nearly 6 hours I get the strange sensation that I'm back at university listening to a lecture. Professor Varju is at the flip chart going into great detail about flat sawn boards, cell structure, attaching tabletops and so on. I know it is all useful information and I should be taking detailed notes but I'd rather be doing something else. If you're thinking of inviting some woodworking buddies over for an evening's entertainment this is not the movie to get the party swinging.

I'm being unfair of course. The literary equivalent to this is Bruce Hoadley's Understanding Wood, and you wouldn't exactly take that on vacation either, but the information is equally valuable. You can learn more about this DVD and the others by Varju at www.passionforwood.com.

-- Mark Schofield
    Managing Editor of Fine Woodworking Magazine

This set of three DVDs comes from a Canadian maker and teacher based near Toronto. Varju begins with an entertaining demonstration of the ‘bundle of straws’ structure of wood by blowing through a 10in length of red oak coated at one end with washing-up liquid and water to produce soap bubbles. I had not seen this demonstration before and he even repeated it with a 4in piece of hard maple.

The first DVD is slow moving at the beginning and repetitive in places but usefully covers how wood is cut from the log, how the cuts (flat, rift, and quartersawn) affect grain pattern and how each distorts with changes of water content.

The second DVD is well presented and covers humidity, moisture content and wood movement in considerable depth – a topic of great importance to all makers, especially
one who is based in an area where the equilibrium moisture content of his wood can vary by as much as 6% during the year.

The final one looks at cross-grain construction problems and solutions with advice on edge-glued panels, tabletop attachment, frame & panel design, breadboard ends and similar situations.

This set, comprising almost six hours of viewing, provides an excellent course for beginners. More experienced furniture makers will be familiar with its content but it nevertheless provides a timely reminder of the importance of looking at the end grain (growth rings) when constructing solid-wood items such as table legs and tops; a ‘refresher course’ always helps to clarify one’s thoughts on the topic.

-- Richard Parrott
    Furniture & Cabinetmaking Magazine

When I watched this DVD I made notes but I have to go back and watch a couple of chapters once again because you’ve got a ton of information in here. This is insane! It’s perfect because it’s so relevant. A great topic. You really hit the nail on the head with this one.

Even in the parts where you get into the more scientific stuff, you do it in a way that really makes it easy to understand. You really broke it down and your examples were perfect. You broke out the whiteboard and your marker and did a great job with that. To me, it’s one thing to talk about it, but you even held up real physical examples with the various woods. You were able to explain it in so many different ways that it made sense.

In terms of reading the grain and how you covered it in “Jointer and Planer Secrets”, this DVD set, “Wood Science & Design”, really brought it home for me. You used a loupe to show exactly what you were talking about. In a lot of other situations, an educator might kind of talk about it but not really emphasize it or really show what they are talking about. You did a great job with different species of wood to help emphasize everything. Now every time I look at a piece of wood the end grain is one of the first things I look at.

Another topic you brought up, and I think this is one that is really essential to understand, is how the cut of the wood is helps determine how the shape is going to change with changes in humidity. And the third DVD goes into the construction of edge-glued panels, how you attach a table top, frame-and-panel design and breadboard ends. You explained how understanding the basic structure of wood makes it easier for you to design something. And you have an actual formula you use to calculate wood movement. Once you plugged in the numbers, it only took a few seconds to do the calculation and it gave you a huge advantage when it comes to constructing just about anything.

Between your two new DVDs, “Working with Plywood” and “Wood Science & Design”, you did a fantastic job of nailing home some ideas that have been thrown out there and a lot of people give lip service to but they don’t explain it. That’s one of the worst things – when you’ve heard something and you think you know what it is but it turns out that, in fact, you haven’t got a clue.

When you watch this DVD, the number one point is that you’ll never design the same way again. Even if it’s coming off a plan that you bought in a store, you’ll approach your lumber selection so much differently. I had these light bulb moments and decided to rearrange my wood rack so that I can start taking advantage of this information. After watching this DVD, I dare anybody to say that it doesn’t somehow effect the way they are going to use their wood and the way that they’re going to design their pieces.

-- Matt Vanderlist
    Host of Matt's Basement Workshop Podcast

Most woodworking books deal with skills, techniques and projects, but what about the material itself – wood? In his fourth DVD set Hendrik Varju from Passion for Wood discusses the unique properties of wood and how a good design must allow for these properties or the piece will fail.

Advanced woodworkers will know most of the material covered in this set but novices and students will find the video both highly informative and entertaining. Hendrik describes his videos as one-on-one tutoring and this set is no different. He makes the rather dry topic very enjoyable to watch and listen to. He makes particularly good use of the video medium when he demonstrates the porosity of wood by blowing bubbles through a series of solid boards. On one sample he shows the effect of non-linear grain direction. The timbers used throughout the DVDs are Northern Hemisphere species, but the information provided is universal and can be applied to any wood you may use.

In the first chapter he discusses the basic structure of wood, including the tubular nature of this “solid” material, growth rings, earlywood and latewood, sapwood and heartwood (also known as truewood), knots and branches. Differences in these features affect the properties of a given species or tree. The next chapter deals with the different cuts, in particular flatsawn (we call backsawn), riftsawn and quartersawn. The type of cut affects not only the appearance but also the wood movement (which is covered at length later). Another feature of the tree’s structure is the medullary rays. Hendrik discusses their impact on the board’s appearance, particularly with quartersawn cuts.

Having covered the physical structure of the tree, on the second DVD Hendrik proceeds to examine the importance of tangential and radial movement (and why longitudinal movement is usually ignored). Timber movement is affected by relative humidity and moisture content, so he discusses how this affects the treatment, purchase and storage of cabinet grade timber, as well as problems with cracking and distortion.

Joint design and construction introduces a whole new range of problems associated with timber movement. He covers the conflict created by non-aligned grain in adjoining members and the effect of the width of members on the stability of the joint (ie. a wider board experiences more movement). Throughout the discussion of movement and design, Hendrik clarifies his comments with practical examples, either drawn on his paper “whiteboard” or with the aid of timber samples on his workbench.

As he points out, some designs invite failure, either by cracking the board or breaking the joint. He suggests redesigns which eliminate or mitigate the problem. How much is too much? Movement can be constrained by limiting the width of members. Hendrik provides a few rules of thumb for design work. He also examines the use of movement calculations and gives a number of examples of their use. Australian timbers will have different values but the principles are the same.
While general movement problems can usually be overcome by making allowance for them, some fine woodworking applications require a more precise determination of the expected change on dimensions. In these instances the use of calculated dimensions for movement is essential, to prevent drawers binding or panels cracking.

The third DVD deals with specific design applications. The boards in a table top need to be laid out and glued together in such a manner that any distortion is minimized. The top is then secured to the table frame with steel buttons or other devices to hold it securely yet allow movement.     In frame and panel construction the panel is also made by gluing boards together. In this instance the panel must be left free to expand and contract within the confines of the frame.

Hendrik’s third example is what he calls an endcapped breadboard. The end grain of glue-up panel is concealed by a member running perpendicular to the boards. While aesthetically pleasing, it is a recipe for disaster if the endcap is securely glued to the panel. Instead he demonstrates a pinned tenon arrangement that secures the panel in the middle of the endcap yet allows movement across the rest of the panel. As an example, he shows how the same concept can be applied to a wide (bed) headboard attached at either end to a leg.

In the Furniture Tour segment he critiques a variety of furniture pieces including a trestle-style table, dining table, framed coffee table, chair, shelf unit, bedhead, bedside table and blanket box. With each item he discusses the wood movement issues involved and how the design managed them. In his usual informal style, he not only lists the design features used but also crawls under the furniture to point them out.

Finally, in his Thoughts on Woodworking footage, he talks about the use of wide boards versus narrow boards, practical humidity control for the weekend hobbyist and the concept of good design.

By the end of the video the viewer will know not only a lot more about wood and what determines its properties, but also how to select suitable boards or blanks for a project irrespective of the species involved and how to design and build to allow for wood movement.

While this DVD set will interest most woodworkers, its greatest appeal will be to novices, students and inexperienced woodworkers who will benefit enormously from Hendrik Varju’s presentations. For this reason Wood Science & Design is very highly recommended for the libraries of woodworking Clubs, schools and TAFE Colleges.

-- As reviewed in The Australian Woodworker Issue 153

I had an opportunity recently to view some great woodworking videos made by Hendrik Varju. Hendrik is a designer and maker of fine furniture, he also has many years as an educator and has offered many classes and seminars over the years.

The videos he has produced are a great value. The videos contain in-depth information and many tips and techniques that will improve your success in the wood shop. For example, the video entitled "Revelations on Table Saw Set-up and Safety" contains five DVDs with almost 10 hours of instruction on getting your table saw cutting safely and accurately. Hendrik takes the time to meticulously go through all the steps of setting up this often poorly adjusted tool.

Other titles include:

Working with Plywood

Jointer and Planer Secrets

Wood Science and Design

These videos are not just for the novice woodworker. They contain information that even a seasoned woodworker can benefit from. This is by far the most comprehensive set of DVD's I have ever watched.

-- Vic Tesolin
    Editor of Canadian Woodworking & Home Improvement Magazine

I just wanted to send a quick note to say thank you for all (and I mean ALL) the work you do around woodworking and teaching others about the craft. I first came across your website about the time you put out your first DVD, Jointer and Planer Secrets. All of your DVDs are comprehensive, engaging, and very informative. They are much more informative and useful than other instructional videos available. I understand that is quite a claim, but the level of actual instruction, demonstration, explanation, and illustration I get from your DVDs allows me to make that claim. I have a lot (too many) videos/DVDs that I have purchased over the years and the one quality that distinguishes yours is that I can’t view the entire video in one sitting. And I’m not talking about trying to view all 5 of the tablesaw discs in one viewing, I’m talking about viewing just one disc in one sitting. There is so much information in your presentations that I am constantly rewinding and re-watching/re-listening to different parts of it. And of all the videos that I own, yours are the ones I pick up months later to get “refreshed” or reacquainted to a specific issue.

It’s embarrassing to admit this but I thought the Wood Science DVD was going to be pretty bland and I actually put off watching it. Boy was I wrong. I was glued to those discs, not because I’m a geek and curious about science, but because I learned much more than I thought I would. The examples you provide are relevant and effective (although I almost passed out watching you blow through that piece of red oak!!), and – believe it or not – your drawings are just as important as your words!

So, please keep up the great work. I know there are only so many hours in a day and you have many things going on around you, but I hope you will continue to expand your DVD library.

Thank you again. Stay safe.

-- David R. (Plano, Texas, USA)

Hendrik, thank you for putting together these DVDs (Wood Science & Design and Revelations on Table Saw Set-up & Safety). I have learned so much from you and I love how you teach and get your message across. The Wood Whisperer recommended your DVDs to me and I'm so glad he did. Since woodworking schools are so hard to come by unless you live by one, books and the internet seem to be the only way to learn. Even with the DVDs out there, they are so short and hard to learn from but you have changed that.

I will be buying your other 2 DVDs soon (Working with Plywood and Jointer and Planer Secrets). I hope to see more DVDs in the future from you. I know I would buy them. I listen to you all the time on Matt's Basement Workshop, great show.

-- David S. (Marysville, Ohio, USA)

Sometimes as woodworkers we get too enamored by tools and techniques (like pins first or tails first in dovetails) however, never take the time to understand the nature of the medium we are using. This DVD is the only one to my knowledge that addresses this important area.

Although Hendrick can come across as earnest, I really enjoyed watching this DVD and learned a lot.

Highly recommended.

-- “LB”
     posted on Fine Woodworking website

I've had Bruce Hoadley's book for a few years, but it wasn't until I watched Hendrik Varju's video that I began to understand the value of the information in both the book and the video. As a self-taught amateur woodworker I did not have a good understanding of the properties of wood. I had learned how to select wood to get the best appearance in a project but it wasn't until I saw this video that I developed an understanding of how to factor in wood properties to ensure that a piece is not just good looking, but also long lasting. I highly recommend this video for all woodworkers.

-- “boxster9”
     posted on Fine Woodworking website

I actually own this DVD so I don't need a copy [from the free draw] but I will say it's an amazing video. I thought I would get bored watching a 5 hour DVD [actually, almost 6 hours] but I was glued to my seat watching it. I learned so much and I recommend it to any new woodworker or anyone who really doesn't understand wood.

-- “forummfg”
    Posted on Fine Woodworking Blog

I have attended several of Hendrik's day long seminars, one of which was Wood Science and Design. I've also got both the Table Saw and Jointer DVD's. The DVD sets cover exactly the same content that he covers during the seminars which makes them ideal for those who can't attend the seminar or as a reference tool for those wanting to recall. The information Hendrik provides during the Wood Science and Design seminar is so extensive that this DVD will be a valuable asset to anyone who includes it in their library.

-- “dave100”
    Posted on Fine Woodworking Blog