work bench
by Lew Larason
Andrew and Brian VanVreede, brothers who grew up in Newtown, have the ability to rebuild a room in your home, paint it and then design and build the furniture for it and do all this from their all from a workshop that is 825 square feet. Andrew, a graduate of Virginia Tech in aerospace engineering and Brian, a framer who also worked in a grocery store, both had a talent for and enjoyed woodworking. So in 2010 they joined forces and opened Bucks County Craftmasters. They both pool from their prior experiences. Andrew said, “My Aero Space Engineering has been helpful, especially when working out problems. It’s amazing how often that engineering training has come in handy in dealing with woodworking problems.” Brian’s framing experience has been useful when they design a room or build a piece of furniture.
Their fairly small, 825 square-foot workshop has the equipment of a much larger space. Their large power tools and workbenches are well laid out. Among the tools is a 24-inch thickness planer that was built in 1932. Its electrical system has been rebuilt to handle modern usage. Since it weighs about 3,500 pounds, it doesn’t even vibrate when it’s running. Another tool, a 16-inch jointer, was built in 1921. It too has had its electrical system reworked and now runs smoothly.
Other tools consist of a 16-inch band saw and an open-end 22-inch sander. Because of the open end, they can sand a surface any length and up to 44 inches wide. Along with a drill press, a lathe, a molding cutter and so on, they also have a table saw with a large extension.
This gives them a surface seven feet long and four feet wide—very handy when they’re cutting large panels, especially sheets of plywood. All of their power tools are connected to a dust collector which can be activated from any tool. In a separate area, they have storage for paint, finishes, sandpaper, extra blades etc.
Since they use a mortice and tenon joint when crafting furniture, and in many of their built-ins they have a special tool that gets a lot of use. It’s called a Festool Domino Machine and is a double mortice cutter. They have several different sizes of domino-shaped double tenons. These are fitted into the appropriate size mortices for a tight mortice and tenon joint. As Brian said, “It’s a biscuit cutter on steroids!”
They use many different types of wood, particularly in the furniture they design and build. Customers can choose from a wide variety of exotic woods, which the brothers obtain from local supplier Mike Quinn. They always have samples to show. They also have a good supply of domestic woods like walnut, cherry, oak, maple and so on. Some of the boards they have are quite wide, a few still sporting their natural edges. These free-form pieces often are used in their natural state. If there are cracks or splits that could become a problem, they inset butterflies, also called double dovetails. Using these is a classic method of securing splits.
Generally, they are made from wood of a contrasting color. The use of contrasting colored woods in the same piece is a nice touch and done in this shop quite often. “It’s part of our design,” Andrew said.
Plywood is used when rebuilding a room and often in case sides and door panels as well. As Brian said, “It’s a good material with some really nice surface woods or veneers. It’s strong and stays in place with no shrinkage or warping. Bendable plywood is available and can be very helpful in certain situations.” They also use top quality veneers on some of their special items. They obtain this material from www.oakwoodveneer.com.
Among their workbenches is one in particular that stands out. It’s made from pallet wood that Brian rescued when he worked in the grocery store. He cut the thick pieces of good oak about 2-inches long and then glued them together on end, making a bench top that looks like an end grain butchers block. It’s very durable. He used the thinner wood to create the legs and base. He also built a wood vise that screws in and out and works well.
To finish reading about these woodworkers, turn to page 84 in the Spring 2016 issue of Bucks County Magazine.