Tall Case Clock Conference

I went to the conference and found it very helpful.  I have no interest in building a tall case clock, but everytime you see Mack Headley work you learn something new.  This time he made a 2 inch diameter cove on some molding.  From what I have read, the typical way to start is to use a plow plane to plow out grooves close to the correct depth and then use a round to trim it to shape.  Instead he used a big gouge and "popped out" chips and very quickly got to 1/16 of the line and then finished with a round plane.  In addition, they demonstrated a shellac technique that I had not heard of -  you brush on about a dozen or more thin coats of 1 1/2 pund shellac over a few days.  Then on the final day, he used a cloth to rub on a few more thin coats and ended up with  a great finish. He explained it was not french polishing because there was no oil in the finish.  I also enjoyed the other presenters, onw of which explained his version of making reproductions - while he used table saws and  jointers, every peice was smoothed with a plane to give it a historic look.  He even used chain mail instead of sandpaper - and while that sound hokey - it actually did a nice job knocking the square edges off planed wood.