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Sculptured Grape Leaf Woodcarvings

While my time spent on woodcarving has waned a bit lately my interest in this age old handcraft is still as strong as ever. I enjoy all facets of woodcarving, from simple whittlings to architectural masterpieces. One of my keen interests has always been in sculptural carvings. Here are a couple of carvings of grape [...]

April 30, 2008No CommentRead More

Woodworking Tips And Tidbits – 04/27/08

April 27, 2008 No Comment

1. When carving Cottonwood Bark ensure that the wood is no more than a year off the tree. Cottonwood Bark contains a waxy oil that will dissipate over time and cause the bark to become brittle and dry. Once this happens your chisel will break the edges of the bark, making it hard to create [...]

Building Benches Is For The Birds

April 24, 2008 4 Comments

When asked what hobbies I have I often mention, in addition to woodworking, how I enjoy gardening. However, lately I realized that the majority of the gardening I do would be best termed as ‘yard work’. While gardening evokes images of kneeling in a bed of sweet-smelling, brightly colored flowers musing about the beauty of [...]

Woodturning Spindles At The NWG

April 22, 2008 No Comment

This month’s meeting of the Nova Woodturner’s Guild was another fun and informative gathering for approximately 40 members. We were treated to an instructional segment on spindle turning and a ‘show and tell’ of some great work by the Guild members. Dave Wilkins conducted the spindle turning instruction, demonstrating the use of the skew and [...]

Craftsman Style Coffee Table – Part 4

April 21, 2008 No Comment

Well, this weekend allowed me to get a bit of time in on the Craftsman Style Coffee Table that I have been puttering away with for the fast few months. I was able to get the slats for the ends cut, mortised and tenoned. I went with five same-width slats evenly spaced from each other [...]

Woodworking Tips And Tidbits – 04/20/08

April 20, 2008 No Comment

1. When building a deck it’s possible to straighten a warped deck board – even when working by yourself – with the aid of a scissor-style car jack. A 2×4 cleat screwed to the supporting joists allows you to exert enough force with the jack to straighten the board. Then screw the board in place. [...]

Candle Holder Spindle Work

April 18, 2008 No Comment

Wanting to try out the new spindle gouge that I turned the handle for a week ago I turned a candle holder. And since I also wanted to try out the new drill chuck I decided to put a base on it: This is made of cherry and finished with Turner’s Polish. It stands at [...]

Google SketchUp For The Woodworker

April 17, 2008 No Comment

Who’da thought that woodworking would bring me back to the computer? As much as I try to get away from this electronic life-sucking gizmo I’m always drawn back, but this time in a real good way. One of the latest cool tools to hit the woodworker’s workbench is Google Sketchup, a 3D computer aided design [...]