Paul Moore of Stockroom Supply is one Crazy Canadian Woodworker! Here he is showing us how he does a bit of woodturning:

Back to the shop…

Festool tools from Germany, though new to the US and Canadian market, have been around since 1925. Their website states, “At Festool, our reputation has always been built on attention to detail, ergonomic design and unyielding precision. Our power tools are designed to solve problems and facilitate the highest-quality workmanship. ” I found that this statement accurately reflects the sentiments of those that use these tools.

Lee Valley recently added the Festool to their line and all this weekend they have their seminar room set up with all the Festool tools that they carry; drills, domino joining systems, dust extractors, guide rail system, jigsaws, miter saw, multifunction tables, planers, routers, sanders, circular saws and storage systems. Staff members are there to demonstrate them and answer any questions that you have.

Continue reading 'Festool Demo At Lee Valley'

Both of them did really, really well. They took turns at each of the tasks throughout the day, giving them not only the chance to share in the making of their projects but to gain a bit of insight and experience in working with wood. They took instruction well, exhibited confidence and completed the challenge that they had set for themselves. Kudos, kudos, kudos to them!

Here’s some photos of the day:

Continue reading 'Shop Time With My Nephew'

I just finished a basketry course with installation artist, Ursula A. Johnson, which was quite fascinating. Not only did I come away with lots of great instruction on how to make a basket but also lots of appreciation for all of the work involved in creating one. I also happily came home with a small basket of my own:

The basket I made is made of White Ash with a Sweetgrass accented handle and a bit of red dyed Ash for contrast. It is about 4″ tall and 2″ in diameter. It was made in the ‘kloqowej’, or star, style. Which means that the basket has a circular bottom with a star pattern.

It is very light and although it appears to be fragile I was quite surprised at just how strong it is. It would take a fair amount of pressure to crush it. It is easy to see why baskets would have been used extensively for storage and transporting.

Continue reading 'Basket Making With Ursula Johnson'

Yes, they are made out of wood! In fact, these are the first pieces that I have made from wood cultivated from our woodlot located on the beautiful North Mountain of Nova Scotia, but that’s another story .

The tallest piece is 9″, the mid one is 6″ and the smallest one is about 4.5″. They are all about 3.75″ in diameter at their widest. They were finished by buffing with wax to bring out the shine.

Another of the cool effects of milk paint is that it also somehow reacts (likely the hydrated lime) with Cherry to give a bronze look where the paint is burnished through to the wood. Here’s some closeups:

Continue reading 'An Ahmaga Trio'

The necessity for the Murphy wall bed came from the fact that my wife’s mother moved in with us a few months ago. In addition to wanting to give her a place for privacy when she has visitors we also wanted to give her a place where she could enjoy the surroundings of some of her own furniture. We decided to turn the bedroom just down the hall from her own bedroom into a sitting room for her. Since we also wanted to retain the option for guests sleeping over a wall bed was the perfect choice. And it is!

The panels are made with Oak plywood and the cabinet style frame work is all done in solid Oak. It’s about 80″ tall and 60″ wide. The stain and finish are environmentally friendly products from Sasco. The Sansin stain and Sasdura, the urethane finish, are both water-based, low VOC and no odour. Not only did they dry in record time and give a great looking finish but with no odour they were a dream to work with.

Continue reading 'Armoire Style Murphy Wall Bed'

The bowl is made of Maple and it is approximately two and a half inches tall and just over seven inches in diameter. After turning it was carved and then burnt. Yes, burnt. I took a propane torch to it (this is where the fun really began ) and charred the whole thing except for the center bowl.

I was really surprised at how hard this was to do. I expected that the wood would go up in flames but it didn’t. I really had to keep the torch on it for a long time to get the charring that I wanted. You can see in the following photos where the flame didn’t char between a lot of the carved grooves. This worked in my favour, giving a neat effect.

Continue reading 'Carved And Burnt Maple Bowl'

This is a beautifully figured piece of spalted wood that could only have been accentuated with a bit of turquoise.

I finished it with just one coat of tung oil and then sprayed it with a matte finish to keep its natural look.

The grain and lines created by the spalting are quite mesmerizing. I find it hard to walk by this piece without picking it up and taking a closer look.

Here’s some more photos:

Continue reading 'Spalted Maple Pot With Turquoise'

This has been a project that was a long time in the making. The wood that was used to make it was reclaimed from other pieces of furniture that somehow found its way back to us.

The four beautiful Maple legs and the Birch top came from an old table that came with our previous home when we bought it almost 25 years ago. We used it as a computer table for several years and then it went on to be used as same at our niece’s home. Years later it returned to us and with no one else wanting it we hung onto it. After visiting Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2009 for the 2009 AAW Symposium we were inspired to use the table in a Southwest style kitchen island for our home.

Here’s a photo of the pieces that we used:

Continue reading 'Kitchen Island From Reclaimed Wood'

The taller box has been textured with staggered ‘brick’ to make its cylindrical shape almost castle-like, perhaps a turret .

The smaller box, with it’s fez shape, seemed more suited to be mostly textured with a few bands of plain wood left for contrast.

Both of them have been finished only by polishing and buffed with wax creating a brilliant shine.

Here’s some more photos:

Continue reading 'African Blackwood Boxes'