Roughly two years have passed since my last post.  During those two years, my wife and I have relocated and set up two wood shops in our newly-aquired home.   Carole's "garage shop" consists of one bay in a two-car garage, very well equipped for scrollsaw work, sanding, and re-sawing.   My "basement shop" houses a Grizzly hybrid table saw, a large workbench, a wall of jigs, and various hand tools.   Getting the shops up and running has been a huge effort, but we're both pleased.

Over the past couple of years, we've found time to work on many projects, both separately and together.  Until now, however, we've been focusing on getting things done, not on posting.  That will change now that we've settled in.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting and providing updates.

Here's a recent project.  I've been making small jewelry boxes (roughly 7 1/2 inches by 4 1/4 inches, by 2 1/2 inches high).  Carole suggested I add more interest to the slab-tops.  The dramatic top here is the result of her input.

The electric guitar box shown is roughy 5 inches square. I made it from cherry (for the most part) for my grandson who is taking lessons on a solid-body base guitar. I wanted to simulate electronic dials and a bridge for the strings. It will be flocked inside so he can keep things like picks, a capo, maybe even a spare string or two . . . .

Grand Piano box

The photo shows a small (roughly 4" x 4") box I made for my granddaughter. The wood is cherry. Making it turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant and satisfying little project. I used a scroll saw for most of the cutting, and a router to form the "keyboard". Cut-outs on the side of the piano by the keyboard were formed with a round file, then sanded smooth. Since I wanted the lid to be fully removable, it is not hinged to the box body. Therefore, when the piano lid is held open by a support that is essentially similar to the kind found on real pianos, there is a slight chance that the lid can slip off on its low side. But the location of the support was very carefully chosen to minimize that risk. In addition, there is a hole to receive the top of the support on the underside of the lid. Still, gentle handling is needed. The flocking inside the case is a reminder that this little piano is really a small trinket or keepsake box.

New Book on Scroll-sawn Boxes

Here's Carole's new book. I'm not selling it, and you won't find a link anywhere on this blog that would make it possible to go to some retailer who is. I just thought that those of you who have seen her work on this blog or elsewhere might be interested in knowing she has a second book out.

A Desk for My Daughter

The photo on the left shows a Shaker-inspired, leather-topped, cherry desk in its final stages of completion. The top is frame and panel; leather will be glued to a 3/4 inch plywood substrate. The drawers are traditionally made, guided by runners and kickers, hand-cut dovetails front and rear. (See photo below.)

With the exception of the frame for the top and the drawer front, the finish is multiple coats of shellac, rubbed down between coats. Because the top frame and the drawer fronts will be subject to quite a lot of wear and some soiling (skin oil deposits), after the shellac was applied I coated those components with several coats of shop-made wipe-on poly. Other desks I finished that way have held up for several years of heavy use.

The frame and panel desk top, with the leather being trimmed to fit (by Carole, whose bowls and boxes are displayed in earlier blog posts), is shown in the photos below.

There are few things I enjoy more than seeing a project like this through to completion. My daughter is picking the desk up this coming Friday. My hope is that she will enjoy it for a long, long time.

Measuring Progress

Getting better at any activity -- from baking bread to woodworking -- is usually accompanied by an awareness that things just seem to work out more efficiently, with less frustration and difficulty. Rather than being a slave to formulas and prescriptions, it becomes possible to "tell" when a bread dough has risen just enough, or when a dovetail pin is hand-cut at an optimum angle.

On YouTube there's a brief teaser video promoting an instructional DVD on dovetailing by Frank Klaus. (Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-o4jryTkUc .) In the video, Klaus makes a comment that clearly indicates he does not rely on aids and measurements in determining when a pin is cut at the proper -- roughly 11 degree -- angle. Instead, he makes his own judgment, based on experience. I find his off-the-cuff comment refreshing, since it's a reminder that woodworking is a human activity accomplished by human beings who think, feel, and make judgments.

Unfortunately, there are two problems that result from becoming really good at something. First we take our competence for granted. (One author has dubbed this the "unconscious competence" phenomenon.) We just know how to do things, and expect that others know, too -- or that they can learn quickly. The other is that having forgotten the learning process we followed, we have no clue about how to teach others to do the task at which we excel. Returning to the "beginner's mind" is a gift outstanding teachers possess. Few teachers, indeed, can claim to have that gift.

So if you are reading this blog post as a hobbyist woodworker, I would urge you to enjoy -- and even keep track of -- the process you follow in learning various skills. Enjoy the journey of learning. And if you're lucky enough to have the opportunity to teach someone else what you've learned to do, take full advantage of it. It's not just an act of generosity. It's also pleasant, reinforcing, and rewarding for you.

Framed Stained Glass

A friend asked me to make a frame for a stained glass work that her deceased father made many years ago. The leaded glass work lay in her attic for a long time; but she is moving soon and wants to give it a place of honor in her new home. It's a small piece (11"x18"), and I certainly didn't want to have the frame compete with it. The accompanying photo shows the simple, unobtrusive result. The frame will be hung in a window well, from narrow chain. The rear side (not visible in the photo) is also framed out and finished off as carefully as the front. As a result the piece can be viewed from either side. The wood is pine; the finish is multi-stage: a few coats of 2 lb. cut super-blonde shellac, followed by some Minwax cherry stain, then a few more coats of shellac. My hope is that I honored her father's craftsmanship, and that she likes the end product as much as I.