HatchetMan vs. The Blade

Peter Follansbee and Mike Siemsen went axe to sawblade in a competition to see who could cut a straight edge on a board the fastest.

Armed with a length of red oak and a reckless look in their eyes, they took to the stump and sawbench in a grueling match of sweat and sawdust.

...then they switched tools.

For Your Viewing Pleasure, May I Present:

Music: Time Bomb, by Old 97's.

Moments of Note at WIA

Scariest Moment: Having to bore a hole on stage in front of 300 people.

Proudest Moment: Not puking while on stage in front of 300 people.

Funniest Moment: Megan Fitzpatrick yelling an expletive—loudly—while boring a hole on stage in front of 300 people. Sweet.

Most Heartwarming Moment: Being asked for a hug from a woodworker who reads my blog—Woody Medina.

Most Hopeful Moment: Seeing the considerable number of young woodworkers (20's and 30's) and even some children.

Most Grateful Moment: Being assisted by Bill from Michigan, a married couple with a cute little doggie, and two employees at the hotel in jump-starting my dead battery. Bill, thank you for

sticking around that entire time to make sure I was okay.

Loudest Moment: Cheering for Chris Schwarz' "birthday" at the Fox and Hound.

Most Breath-Taking Moment: Getting a "suck-the-life-force-out-of-you" bear hug from my new BFF, Tom Iovino.

....and lastly....

Most Blushing, Giggly School Girl Moment: Being almost touched on the cheek by Roy Underhill. I almost might never wash that cheek again.

------------
Top photo: Mike Siemsen helps some kids learn to bore a hole by hand.
Bottom photo: Shannon Rogers, Mack McKinney, and Tom Iovino.

It's Not Too Late

You can still register for Woodworking in America, which is this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Valley Forge, PA.

This time, they're also offering single-session registration, so you can pay just $35 for each session that you'd like to attend.

Admission is free to the Marketplace, where you can talk with tool manufacturers (and in some cases, try out their tools) and make some friends.

They also have a $100 shopping spree at the Woodworker's BookShop for the next woodworkers who register to attend the full conference.

Due to some unforseen bummers, I wasn't able to attend the WIA Design Conference in August, had to forgo a one-on-one class this month with Peter Galbert, and gave up a trip at Christmastime to Colonial Williamsburg.

But I'm not missing the WIA in Valley Forge! Hope to see you there. :o)

WTO Tips

Thank you to Marc Spagnuolo, who asked if I would like to contribute to the tips segment of Wood Talk Online. If you're not familiar with WTO, it's a semi-weekly podcast featuring Marc and Matt Vanderlist—two amiable woodworkers chatting about their current projects, what's new around the web, links of interest, and techniques.

You can sign up to be part of the chat room—with comments as hilarious as the show itself—and chime in while Marc and Matt make their presentation.

During my segment, one guy in the chat room suggested I'd make a good phone sex operator. Funny—my partner thinks I sound like a church lady when I read aloud. Wonder what kind of church service the chat room guy attends? (grin)

My one-minute segment is towards the end of WTO No. 59, which aired last Thursday. Hope you like it, my brothers and sisters in wood.

Wedge and Edge Giveaway

A sharp-eyed woodworker noticed that I have two copies of Roy Underhill's latest book Working Wood with Wedge and Edge.

Not surprising. Sometimes people give books to me that I already have and sometimes I give duplicates to myself. One book on Shakers I bought 3 times, forgetting each time that I already owned it.

Because it was so much fun giving away Chris Schwarz' book, I'm giving this one away, too.

But this time, I'm not going so easy on you. The first person to provide the correct answers to all five questions will win the book.

1. To which woodworking guild does Ethan belong?

2. What two things influenced Doug's design for a compact hammered dulcimer?

3. What did Rob have for breakfast in Lukerbad?

4. What kind of fish live in Philly's pond?

5. What province in Sweden did my family come from?

------------

Separate Bonus question to win a 1" x 1" x 2.75" scratch stock housing, with threaded insert, thumb screw, and scratch stock blank:

What color shirt am I wearing? First correct answer wins. One guess per person.

Folks, we have a winner for both the book and the scratch stock. Congratulations to Richard Magbanua!

Shhhhh!

Welcome to my woodworking library. Feel free to peruse the shelves and inquire about any book that catches your fancy. Just pipe down. It is a library, after all.



























I'd like to thank Bill Stankus for the idea of posting one's library on one's blog. THANKS, BILL!
I mean...thanks, Bill.


























You may notice that these books are in no particular order; they are intentionally random. Whenever I have to hunt for a book, I love to stumble upon one that I had forgotten about, take it from the shelf and leaf through it. It's like finding a $20 bill on the sidewalk, without the inconvenience of having to push aside the little old lady who's standing on it.

Ironic Saw Bench

My new saw bench will be used with for sawing boards the traditional way—by hand. And yet I built it entirely with power tools: table saw, compound miter saw, and band saw.

In my defense, my new Lie-Nielsen 7 tpi rip saw has not arrived yet. And using a crosscut saw to rip boards....well, it's just not done. So I was forced to use power.

Either that, or I was being lazy.

Sometimes you just want to build an instant gratification project—one that doesn't have to be pretty, or sanded, or have close tolerance joinery. One that can be designed, sawn, and banged together with hammer and nails in 2 hours.

I searched the internet this morning for saw bench plans and settled on one built by Dan Klauder, who found inspiration in Alex Bealer's Old Ways of Working Wood.

Now I just have to wait for the arrival of my new saw to give it and myself a workout.

Decorative Carving in 17th c. New Mexican Furniture

Here is a link to an article I wrote for Lee Valley's online newsletter:
Decorative Carving in 17th c. New Mexican Furniture.
Below are my photos from the article, in case you would like to see them in a larger format.

Sawtooth pattern on the edge of a board:

Sawtooth pattern on the face of a board:

Bullet design: