By the way, don't expect to start on the major projects right away, especially if you don't even know the basics of carpentry or haven't done a LOT of reading on the subject you want to get involved in. I have had people come down to volunteer and get frustrated because they were taking so long to get to the "meat" of what they wanted to learn. It doesn't happen overnight, and you should expect to do very little to nothing for the first YEAR you are involved with any place like the Fort.

A good example are people that expect me to put razor sharp planes, chisles and other carving tools into their hands without using a few basic techniques on a smaller scale first, then moving up from there. You only get to move up if you show proficiency with the small steps first.

It's taken me thirty years of "apprenticeship" to get to this place, and you can't expect anyone competent to just turn over 160 year old items to someone who hasn't taken the time to at least do a little studying on the techniques they are interested in or to have educated themselves in proper tool usage and terminology. A good primer is Fine Woodworking or The old House Journal for antique restoration techniques and that is just a start.

These types of things take time, which means a LOT of sweat equity before even attempting to do the actual work.

I have seen people DESTROY a window sash of that age in just two or three mistrokes of the tool, and that was just stripping and re-glazing one!

In the case of plaster work, though, the curve should be a bit less lenghty, but you still should study-up on molds [[male and female, mold draw, proper mold release agents, plaster mixs and the techniques used to combine them, etc.) before you even endeavor to attempt to do the actual work.

PlymouthRes