During Artwalk, I showed my work in Gallery Bistro (2411 Clarke Street) with three other artists: Bronwen Belenkie, Clive Tucker and Mandara Lebovitz. Our exhibition will continue through April 28th. The gallery is open 10am-3pm Tuesday through Sunday. Last week, I spent three days at Lee Valley Tools Ltd. demonstrating joinery techniques. I took the opportunity to hone my skills and … Continue reading Practice and Experimentation with Joinery
Last weekend, I met with some of my fellow Artwalk participants and showed them the yellow cedar chair that I'd built to hang in the tree outside The Bistro Gallery where I will be showing my work. They loved the concept and encouraged me to make another piece for a second tree. So, that's what … Continue reading Table in a Tree
Saturday was a full day in the shop. After breakfast, I went down to the shop and built 90% of a chair which will be installed up in a tree. (In case you missed it, here's the back story.) I documented my progress live on Twitter using hashtag #FlairWW (follow me @FlairWoodworks) which was useful because each update … Continue reading Chair in a Tree
Power carving is unlike working with hand tools because you can remove wood without regard for grain direction or knots. To me, this is liberating as I can focus on form. As I work, I constantly ask myself, "Do I want to save this section or obliterate it? My sculpting approach is to simply remove … Continue reading Include or Exclude?
Inspiration fuels me. When I am inspired, I have seemingly limitless energy. When I'm not inspired, I employ a few strategies to try to rekindle that fire. One of them is experimentation which is fun and a good way to practice woodworking. I usually start with a piece of wood about 18" long and square … Continue reading Connect the Dots
Of all the bench planes (bevel-down) I have acquired, the Veritas ones have been by far the easiest to adjust and for that, I love them. Blade adjustments have always been responsive and predictable; I could set the mouth to let through only a sliver of light quicker than you can read the upcoming quote, … Continue reading New Grips for My Veritas #5-1/4 Bench Plane
In Session 1, Session 2, and Session 3 I began working on an exploded shelf I'm calling Deconstructed. I finished the last session by pouring clear resin around the wood parts set in a mould made of waxed melamine. Tuesday, I unmoulded the casting. If everything had gone perfectly, all that would have been required would have … Continue reading Deconstructed, Session 4
In Part I - Visualizing in Wood, I selected and prepared the table components. Part II - Putting it Together covers everything else - joinery, sculpting, and assembly. To facilitate laying out and cutting the long tusk tenon, I first flattened one face of the upright. I used three round, wooden bench dogs to immobilize … Continue reading Black Locust Wall Table, Part II: Putting it Together
I bought my Mirka CEROS (Compact Electric Random Orbit Sander) 18 months ago. I didn't use it much for the first couple of months, but have been using it a lot more, especially on sculpted shapes, including Ash Table and Relationship Study. The CEROS utilizes a Pad Protector, a thin disc of material with hooks … Continue reading Replacing the Pad Protector of my Mirka CEROS
I have been using this Tweet-Along to experiment with and refine the format of Tweet-Alongs on this blog. For this Session, I have included only my own tweets and removed my username and the #flairww tag. I am undecided about the timestamps and I would like to know what you think of them. Take the poll … Continue reading Child’s Loft Bed, Session 6 – Mortising the Posts
