leap

yes folks it's that time of year...

the temps are back to forgiving and there's some sawing and planing to do!

secret new favorite tools

found I could rip one eight foot slab in ten minutes...

flatten...

true...

scribble on it a bit...

then chop the tenon cheeks, no problem

ripping the waste, on the other hand, gonna have to get creative

please don't let OSHA know about this

the idea to do this arrived after a catastrophic bout with a Japanese saw and the complete mental breakdown and near abandonment of the whole damn thing

not bad though, huh?

La de da, life goes on, chop the waste...

marvel in your "craftsmanship"

suck it up because you know nobody including those in hell will ever ever ever see this joint again after you destroy the photos of it

really put that new hammer to good use

check to make sure you went far enough

and then, conversely, worry that you've gone too far

yay, all that work and there's nothing to show for it!

'cept it doesn't budge even dry

yup, time to move on

course

medium

fine

grooves in lower rail to accept panel

next up: panel joinery

contrast

This is wood

but not like any wood you've ever known
this wood is from a tree that sprouted from a seed long before any white European ever set foot on this continent
it was cut down by a white European and nailed to the side of his building
it will now adorn the top of a piece for Matt

this is also wood

wood from a tree that was more than likely grown on a tree farm specifically to be harvested and put on a rack in your favorite big box store

it is also for Matt

I will give both my undivided attention

and try to do my best to make the most efficient use of all of it

though just through the simple act of what I do, it will still be an incredible waste

see

that was only the first round

the final outcome sans two movable shelves

continuance

I love this blog for the simple fact that it is not just a repository for all my rantings
whether pertinent or not
but more as a linear monologue with photographic embellishment

Sometimes I feel obligated to write something profound

"A Bold New Approach for Cutting Brass"
or
"Fifteen Ways To File more efficiently"

"Zen and the Art of Shaping Brass"

"Einsteinien Woodworking; a lesson in how so much can go so fast but so little takes forever"

kids, don't try this next step at home

you gotta really get a grip on it in the final stages of the cut and that puts the meat of your hand perilously close to that weed whacker

but when it's all said and done and that blade slides home with no wiggle, the bolts tighten

and with everything in nominal working order I can begin the decorative shaping

I'd been both anticipating and dreading this sequence since the beginning

what I found was; many cuts make much go faster
a few minutes with the hack saw

and an hour or two with rasps and files

I remain unsure whether to leave the socket heads
from an aesthetic standpoint I'm pleased
and there's no interference with turning the thumb screw
the only reason to cut them off is a different aesthetic