After Woodworking in America, I hitched a ride to Phoenix with Paul-Marcel. In his shop, I built a puzzle box with a mechanical lock. In this video, I demonstrate the operation of the box while talking about wooden jigsaw puzzles and the design and construction of the box. (Duration - 10:04) Read about another of … Continue reading Mechanical Puzzle Box
Blog
New Quote Added to “Quotables”
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”
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
