Born Again

Some friends you don't see for years at a time...it isn't long before the time away doesn't feel like anything at all.  But it takes some effort to make that so...and that is an effort that comes from respect and the want to give of yourself just for the positive result.

Several years ago, as you might deduce from the dates on this blog, something happened to make me stop posting.  For those years the woodshop sat in a storage unit in Watertown while I got married, moved from my house in Waukesha to hers where there was no room for it.  I have helped (to the degree I am capable) raise children, switched jobs, twice if I have my memory straight, rented and rerented and finally sold the old place...and 6 months ago, another move with the whole family allowed me to start putting the woodshop back together.

I have recently finished the first few projects in the new space, one wholly different in feel and layout than the other, and certainly not completely figured out...but like the friends mentioned above, it isn't long before all the stuff from before feels natural again.  And then you're just off and playing...whether it's two long-separated friends, or a person and their tools.  I am grateful for both.

Enough with the gabber, here are some photos of the shop, from move-in storage, to building the workbench, to organization, to set-up, to actual use.  It takes some effort, for sure, but is worth it just for the positive result: letting yourself do something that is wholly up to you, no constraints, true freedom.

It's the middle of June already. A lot's been going on: i've attended my first woodturners meeting. (a bunch of retired dudes, and me...it was cool though). spring and summer gardening, some more wood projects (see below, or above, whatever the case ends up being), helping my buddy get his '71 Duster running. i live an extraordinary life, as you can see. on to my newest projects:

-a Zircote picture frame for Marc and his newly acquired wife. it's about time he settled down.

-a Boxelder bowl. i recently went to some family land and cut up about 500 lbs of boxelder. this bowl is from some stuff i had that was already well dried. salad bowl finish and waxed.

-i finished Kaylen's quiltrack, she totally liked it. i did too. cherry with a couple coats of tung oil.

time keeps on slippin'

it's the end of march already. dang. i feel like i haven't been that productive...though i know looking back through the last couple of posts, and my own life events in general, will prove that theory wrong. lately i made kaylen a ...i dont know what the hell to call it, a candle holder? a wall? basically she has a stove that sticks up above her countertop facing the dining room and wanted a way of hiding the back of the stove....a dollar for the most creative name for this device...name it and win a dollar...here we go.

i've also been working on a quilt rack for her, which you can't see, just in case she actually comes here to check on my work...it'll be done soon, above is part of it, my first ever lapped dovetail joint...crude, but sturdy, i assure you.

i've started another imbuia wood platter that will rival kaylen's original, though i think her's will always be my favorite. imbuia wood smells like cinnamon, sort of, musty. i would wear imbuia wood oil if i could find it...a google search will ensue shortly.

two more bubinga platters are on their way. i love bubinga, and these two are from the same piece of stock, they'd be perfect for a fancy cheese and wine party...which my grubby ass would never be invited to.

i'm no good at html or laying out this silly blog in general...so i just hope anyone viewing this can follow along...thanks for viewing my little corner of the wood..errr, world.

y

ing

friggin' cold.

it is the dead of winter. negative zero temps and nothing to do but cut up pieces of wood in my HEATED garage. i made a bowl of spalted maple, finished with "salad bowl finish" and beeswax; as well as a couple of picture frames. one for sherry, for her birthday/christmas, made of birdseye maple (that stuff chips out so bad i cant even stand it...but it turned out okay in the end), and another that i think will look pretty kickass with a good black and white photo in it, on MY wall, of bubinga with tung oil. i am not having much luck with these frames...either they're chipping out or the boards are flying off the table saw at my head. it's a perilous hobby...but art shouldn't be safe. what's the point if you're not putting your life, or at least fingers, on the line?

take a deep breath

the holidaze is over. thank god. here are some photos of all the ornaments and whatnot i made for friends and family; i love you all, but im glad i don't have to cram to make christmas ornaments for you all anymore.

the bowl is sycamore. and tiffany, if you use it as an ashtray, we are going to have problems. the ornaments, mostly, are cherry wood with various finishes. one is spalted maple with an african blackwood finial, for a dear friend of mine who keeps his woodworking tools at my shop...thank you.

also shown is a cherry sushi platter that i started this summer and finally finished a couple weeks ago. we know a fella with a sawmill who sold me a large chunk of cherry with the bark still attached. i've made two platters from this piece and have three or four more blanks from it yet. i saved that piece from ending its existence in a firepit.

fall.

i managed to get some shelves built in the loft today for all of my and my buddy nate's stock. credit where credit is totally due: the shelves with all my dried turning blanks on is a piece my pops made in high school shop class, it's nothing fancy, but he built it, and im happy to have it. nate has a ton of cherry and some birds eye maple; i just bought a whole bunch of cocobolo, zircote and imbuia...i spent way too much on wood this weekend! i also organized part of the loft; the beginnings of a project that should give us room to store our stock, an area to finish our projects away from the sawdusty environment downstairs, and a place to put all my finished pieces, as i am starting to run out of shelf space in the house.

in other news, a platter i started to dry early this spring is now ready for finish turning. in the photo, the blank is the one of the four that is on the bottom right. it's white ash i got from a fella cutting a tree down across the street while kaylen and i were drinking beers on her porch.

the guy was cool, after he let me load up on wood, he came over, accepted a beer, and cut down a mess of branches and a small tree in kaylen's backyard...now it's the perfect spot to burn things in a firepit, carve pumpkins, and eat bratwurst with way-too-large buns. i know from experience.

Mom

I hadn't yet made anything for my own mother. I am a terrible son. Here is her birthday present for this year, and yes, it is late....

i just sent it out yesterday, and i haven't given her this web addy yet, so she won't find out beforehand. shhh....

i thought this was maple when i grabbed the logs off the side of the street here in town, but it is so dark, im really not so sure anymore. at any rate, this was from where the tree split into two branches...turns out i took most of the cool figuring (wavy grain) off during turning, but im sure she'll like it.

finish via sanding to 320 grit, sanding sealer, and a bunch of coats of tung oil. happy birthday mom.