Reluctant Cook

I really, really hate to cook. Except for twice a year when I LOVE to cook. Makes no sense, I know, but at Thanksgiving and Christmas there's nowhere I'd rather be than in the kitchen. For breakfast today, I made (from scratch) Lemon Scones and Lemon Curd. For our main meal, I'm making baked ham with a glaze of brown sugar and crushed pineapple, baked sweet potato and apple combo, and green bean casserole. For dessert, I made a cream cheese pie with cherry topping.

And what's my partner doing while I'm hard at work?
This:

Mom-in-Law's Antiques

We visited my partner's mom (Lynn) this weekend in Charleston, WV, home to gorgeous mountains, friendly people, and 70 mph speed limits on circuitous roads.

Lynn has an extensive collection of 18th and 19th c. antiques that fills 3 houses and a 3-story barn. In the Charleston house, here are a few of my favorites.

The first is an 1840's corner cupboard made from poplar. The simple design and turned knobs are similar elements found in Shaker furniture.

The second piece is an 8' tall, and nearly 8' wide, cherry flatwall kitchen cupboard that belonged to General McCausland of the Confederate Army, who was responsible for burning the town of Chambersburg, PA to the ground during the Civil War.

Next is a mahogany highboy from the late 1800's.

Fourth is an 1840's sugar chest made from cherry. Woodworkers are famous for checking beneath the "undercarriage" to investigate joinery, as I did with this piece. The sides, front, and back of the sugar chest are joined to the legs with very large mortise & tenon joints, hence the split in the side. The wide boards were restricted in seasonal movement across their widths, having been glued to legs whose grain runs vertically. By rights, all four sides of this piece should be split, but are not.

And finally, some very well made English style half-blind dovetails. English style refers to very thin dovetails, where the tops of the pins are as thin as the width of the kerf of a sawblade. Not sure why the maker felt it necessary to also nail the sides to the front. With dovetails that tight, it would have held together just fine without even using glue. Notice also, the little nails that attach the cock beading to the drawer front.

Woodworking Humor

A friend who builds high-end furniture for a living told me this weekend that it's entirely possible to make a small fortune in woodworking.

The trick is to start with a large fortune.

Images from the Show

The class and seminars I signed up for at the show were all taught by Garrett Hack, an exceptional furniture maker and author. At right are are some of the inlay patterns he makes and applies to his furniture, which was the topic of one of the seminars. In another seminar, he talked about different ways to bend wood, but I had broken my camera by that time (I have a habit of dropping it) so no photos.


Next is a photo of our club's booth as we're setting up. I demo'd lettercarving for several hours on Saturday.


The bottom photo is a guy from the scrollsaw club working on an antique treadle scroll saw. He told me it runs on ham and eggs.

Woodworking Shows

I went to the Woodworks Events show this weekend in York, PA, where my club had a booth and where I took two seminars and one class. One of the best things about being a woman at these shows: no lines in the women's bathroom.

Since I've been attending shows like this for the past 15 years, I've noticed a steady decline in attendance both in attendees and in vendors. Used to be you'd have to crane your neck over the shoulders of 3 rows of people who were crowding over some tool seller's demonstration. Not an easy task for someone who's only 5' 5". You'd find yourself saying "excuse me" throughout the day because of the number of folks you'd inadvertantly bump into. It was noisy, bustling, exciting, and something you'd mark on your calendar months in advance of the show date.

The show this weekend was a veritable ghost town. I've noticed the most significant decline in the last 5 years. Years ago, the closest parking space I could find was about a quarter of a mile from the front entrance. Today, I parked in the second row directly in front of the entrance doors.

So, what's going on? Are woodworkers suddenly taking up quilting? Épée competitions? I don't think so. My theory: the Internet. Fifteen years ago, a woodworking show provided the only chance you had to see certain tools or newly unveiled tools, compare them with other manufacturers' equivalents, and peruse the latest woodworking books. Now, of course, you can compare tools online, find all the specifications you need, even download manuals, price compare, and buy the latest woodworking books at discount prices weeks after they've been published.

I suspect the halcyon days of woodworking shows are over. And that's sad. For me, it's like the end of a time-honored tradition. To no longer bump elbows with so many people who share your same passion, to no longer have to race to each booth for fear of missing out on some great deal or the last issue of a book you wanted....it reminds me of that 80's song: "Video Killed the Radio Star".

Internet Killed the Woodworking Shows.

Assembly Table

Here are progress pics of the assembly table I started about 2 years ago. It's been waiting for a top and doors since then so is completely sawdust-filled on the inside. The top will be something like a torsion box made of studs (see sketch), which will then be wrapped with a finger-jointed walnut apron. The top itself will be cherry mdf, which will be attached from underneath with brackets so I can replace it if it gets too dinged up. The doors will be tombstone-shaped, frame and panel (see sketch), and attached with invisible hinges. Ultimately, the table will have a face vise and twin-end screw vise, but I'll get back to you in about 2 more years on that. The table will mainly be used for handplaning, as it will stand only about 29" tall, and for assembling larger pieces of furniture.
The frame is walnut with 3.5" square legs, while the panels, bottom shelf, and upright support are cherry mdf. At this stage in construction, I'm guessing it weighs about 250 lbs. When finished with top, doors, and vises, it will be more like 400 lbs. I purposely made it heavy, so it wouldn't rack or move under the pressure of handplaning. I pity the poor sucker who has to move it when I'm dead.

Local Politics

I try to keep this blog to all things woodworking, but every so often, I'm going to deviate. This is one of those times.

I was part of a team that was instrumental in electing 3 new people to borough council. We ousted 3 long time incumbents. We didn't just oust them, nay, we kicked their asses!!! Being part of a grassroots effort to change the direction of our town's revitalization toward a positive one has proven to be a great opportunity to meet my neighbors and be part of a group working for the good of the community.

Last night, I went to an after-election party. We had the results by then and needless to say, the champagne was flowing. Someone had written a ballad about our 3 candidates to the tune of "This Land is Your Land", which we all sang loudly and badly. It didn't matter that we had different party affiliations or different views on religion or came from different socio-economic backgrounds. We had all worked together to make a difference in our town. It was exhilarating.

When I retire, I intend to run for local office. My goal is to be town Mayor (stop with the snickering!) . The Mayor gets to do all the fun stuff: plan the Memorial Day event, the Halloween parade, the Christmas activities, etc. But most importantly, I'll get to ride on a float in the Halloween parade. I'm going to start practicing my mayoral wave.

Interesting Observation

A friend who works at the local Woodcraft Store and who is a retired police officer noticed that if a woman comes into the store who is a woodworker or who is interested in learning woodworking, 95-98% of the time, she has blue eyes.

Now, that percentage is probably a bit of an exaggeration, but still, even if it were 75%...