Wild Bench

Here's that bench from last post in it's natural habitat:

Branches and Benches

I just finished up this cedar bench that will be fitting into a beautiful backyard space.

I've sort of been backlogged lately, but now I'm going to get back to working on some crotch pieces of a maple tree that I've acquired. They are great pieces of wood and should finish up very nicely.

Lathes and Lago

So here's the great news: I'm going to Italy!!!!!!!

You see there's this cool Italian furniture designer Lago, and they've got a unique design workshop that they run every summer called Lagostudio. You send in a portfolio and if you're lucky enough to be selected you get to go design some things with nine other creative people from all over the world at the Lago mansion near Venice. I'm excited!!!!!!!!!!

In other good news my dad had dropped me off an old lathe a couple weeks ago. I finally got around to get it running and I'm looking forward to learn about wood turning

The first test project on the lathe was a small handle for a prototype piano tuner I'm working on. It turned out pretty well!

Tables and Signs

I've been getting into woodcarving a little bit lately and I got to practice on a chalkboard sign for my favourite cafe. I basically carve out the letters, brush on some ink, then sand everything down to clean up any ink that's spread over the edge of the letters. It's a pretty easy technique, but I like the rustic look it gives to the lettering. It's obviously handmade, imperfect, and kind of beautiful...just the way I like it.

I've also been working on a table top with that maple tree my friend had cut down last fall. I've been handplaning it and I've gotten to use my new Spiers smoother a bit. It's a great tool, but I've got to get a new blade before it will reach it's full potential. The other item of note was that I hand cut the edges of the table using a ryoba handsaw, which was an interesting experience to say the least. I never thought of wax as a necessary item in a woodshop, but now I'm waxing my planes, my saws, and just about anything else that moves!