While in Phoenix, Arizona, I visited Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home, Taliesin West. Tours of the property are offered daily and the grounds also serve as a school for the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. At the school, the philosophy is simply: Learn by doing. Find this quote, along with many other interesting quotes … Continue reading New Quote Added to “Quotables”
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Unconventional Techniques at the Convention Centre
I'm a pretty creative thinker and am not afraid to try unconventional techniques, even at the Hand Tool Olympics (at Woodworking in America in the Pasadena Convention Center) with a crowd of people, including Chuck Bender, hovering around the bench. Bud Decker filmed my performance which he described as being "by far the most fun … Continue reading Unconventional Techniques at the Convention Centre
Best Moments of WIA Pasadena, 2012
Woodworking In America (WIA) in Pasadena, California was a lot of fun. These were some of my favourite lines from the show. I always seem to get asked the most difficult questions by the US Customs Agents in the airport. This time was different. Customs agent: Where are you headed? Me: Pasadena, California. Customs agent: … Continue reading Best Moments of WIA Pasadena, 2012
Replacing the Pad Protector of my Mirka CEROS
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
Woodworking in America 2012
This post features content from a post I wrote for the Time Warp Tool Works blog. Last year's WIA conference was the highlight of the year for us. It was a busy show and a great woodworking experience during all waking hours. The Woodworking in America (WIA) show in Pasadena, California is exactly three weeks away … Continue reading Woodworking in America 2012
Learning
There are two primary ways to learning about woodworking - from exposure and practice. Exposure comes mostly from reading, listening, and watching. Practice involves applying that knowledge. When I first got interested in woodworking, I read every woodworking book and magazine available at the public library. I attended the annual woodworking show, studied tool catalogs, examined … Continue reading Learning
Risk
Some woodworkers work in a very calculated way. For example, to manage the risk when dealing with the compound angles involved in Angle Madness (or, as I call it, "Why I never want to own an AMP-v2), Paul-Marcel worked through sketches, full-size drawings, calculations and a mock-up before committing to his good material. Each of these steps before cutting … Continue reading Risk
Maple Trestle Table Has a Name
The first day I started construction of the table, I needed a name for reference. Logically, I chose Maple Trestle Table. While accurate, I feel that the name is lacking in depth. It is too simple and does not even encourage a pause. I have named the table Relationship Study. I created a short video … Continue reading Maple Trestle Table Has a Name
It’s Not All About Woodworking
Lately, most of my work has been in marketing Maple Trestle Table. I knew that a woodworking business required a lot of work outside of the workshop and this stage was one of those situations. And I didn't mind it at all. In fact, I welcomed the variety. I had begun photographing the table and … Continue reading It’s Not All About Woodworking
New Quote Added to “Quotables”
Most of my speculative work, including Sculpted Ash Table and Maple Trestle Table is built spontaneously and every design decision I make is dependent on how the piece looks at that very moment. Sometimes, that means I don't even know what I'm building. I believe that the best, most soulful work cannot be planned. It can … Continue reading New Quote Added to “Quotables”