A different kind of "over the top" Vegas

Damn! 

If you've never been to a Bass Pro Shop,

 then you're really missing something! 

Just walking up to the building, you know you're about to enter something special. 

It's hard to describe. But it's over-the-top,

 and fits perfectly in Las Vegas. A trout stream and palm trees? 

Only in Vegas!

 Once you enter, the sheer size of the store is overwhelming. There are stuffed animals everywhere, Including giraffes,

elk, 

 lions, 

tigers, 

not to mention the giant fish tank, with a 4 foot catfish swimming around. I didn't stick around for the fishing demo, but I suspect it would have been interesting. 

Follow the footprints over to the housewares department, 

and you'll find everything you need for outfitting your cabin. Like these redneck party cups -

 a red Solo cup onto crystal base. 

(This would make a great Christmas gift for my brother-in-law!)

 These tacky paper towel holders really had me laughing,

And I loved these fish pillows!

And the fish mailboxes.

Some marketing genius dreamt up this redneck glassware collection, which is nothing more than mason jars.

Come to think of it, my brother-in-law probably knows a lot of people who use mason jars as drinking glasses!

Even the fixtures in the store are cool - like this gi-normous box wrench used for hanging clothes.

 Seriously, the housewares department is amazing! Lamps! Rugs! Almost anything a person could need... except for fireplace tools. Which I need.  :/

I don't completely understand the whole Duck Dynasty thing, but there sure was a lot of their stuff around.

For the record - I also don't "get" the whole "proud to be a redneck" thing. 

When you enter the fishing department you know you've entered someplace very special. Overhead - there are sculptures of fish everywhere. 

The ceiling is painted blue, and textured, to make you feel like you're walking on the ocean floor. Very cool!!! That's a shark headed right for me, down the middle of this picture. Awesome.

Toward the front of the store, there was a huge selection of food items - they had everything from barbecue sauces 

hot sauces,

to old-fashioned candies, chili mixes, 

 and everything in between.

Since it is Christmas season, there was a full line of ornaments. My sister would love these little antler ornaments.

I spent three hours trying on clothes, they have a great selection of Carhartt gear, and some really nice outdoor clothing. I hate shopping for clothes, but shopping in this environment didn't seem so bad.

On the way out, my hands weighted with bags of purchases, I noticed these two fish benches.

In the setting sun of a gorgeous weekend, this was a terrific way to spend a Sunday. 

And just for the record – no, I don't own Bass Pro Shop stock!

Making a tambour

Back in the day, I used to make a lot of tamboured pieces. What's a tambour, you ask?

tam·bour  (tmbr, tm-br) n. 1. A drum or drummer. 2. a. A small wooden embroidery frame consisting of two concentric hoops between which fabric is stretched. b. Embroidery made on such a frame. 3. A rolling front or top for a desk or table, consisting of narrow strips of wood glued to canvas. 4. Architecture See drum. v. tam·boured, tam·bour·ing, tam·bours

Think of a rolltop desk, and you'll understand what tambour is. I've made dozens of jewelry boxes with custom tambours, some of the best-selling items that I've ever made!

In fact, years ago, I built some kitchen cabinets using tambours for the doors - and it was an incredible kitchen, if I do say so myself! Imagine an upper kitchen cabinets that looks like a rolltop desk.

So when I posed a challenge to the Sin City Woodworkers group for our holiday party - make something out of a single 2 x 4 -  I decided to make a small tamboured wall cabinet. The only stipulation to this contest is that everything must be made from a 2 x 4. All of the components have to be from the single board. You can add hardware, or other fasteners, but no additional wood. 

Here's how I made the small tambour. 

Starting with some resawn 2x4 stock, I took my small trim router 

and rounded over each edge of that board.

 It's much easier to do it while the pieces of wood are still attached to the board, then doing each individual slat. That would be too dangerous. While the board is whole, sand the edges, 

and then rip them off on the table saw.

 Do that a few times and you'll wind up with enough slats to make a tambour.

 I couldn't find any fabric to use for the backing of this so I asked my friend Kris if she had anything at that would be suitable. Of course she hooked me up! She brought in several pieces of fabric and I chose this.

Generally, I like to wait a day after cutting my slats before gluing them to the fabric. Sometimes, one will twist or warp a bit, after cutting it free from the board. So I let them sit for a day.  

If you're making a small tambour, it's easy to hold the fabric in place with a little bit of duct tape. 

Spread glue on it, and then 

lay the slats down, one by one. After the glue starts to set, trim the fabric. I usually do this with an X-Acto knife and a straight edge. 

This is also the time when you will clean up any glue that has seeped through, onto the wood. Do it while the glue isn't fully hardened and it will be much easier, trust me!

 With the fabric trimmed, 

I usually clean the edges with a straight bit in my router table. 

You don't want any glue residue riding in the tambour track. Here, the edges are cleaned 

and I'm ready to test the fit in this cabinet track.

A perfect fit! 

I need to add the trim piece on the front of this cabinet, and maybe a French cleat on the back of it for hanging on the wall. But I'm almost done.

This 2 x 4 cost less than $3, and is an inexpensive way for you to practice your woodworking techniques. I highly recommend it!

Since all the projects in the 2 x 4 challenge will be voted upon anonymously, my cabinet isn't a candidate for being entered in the contest. Damn! But I plan on making a second piece to enter in the contest. I just won't blog about it! 

When our group holds the contest in December, I'll be sure to post some pictures here - I can't wait to see what people build!

Feeling particularly thankful this morning....

It was bound to happen sooner or later. 

During Open Shop hours this past weekend, someone accidentally brushed the blade with his fingertip. All I can say is I'm so thankful that I have Sawstop tablesaws all around the shop.

A couple of interesting videos...

This first video made me laugh– I'm not sure I could recite the alphabet backwards, even if I was sober!

Could you?

Not only that, this guy had some dance moves that I would never be able to do!  You have to give him credit – he seems like a very talented guy, even though he was a little looped. 

And this video of a bear rescue - this is your "feel good" video of the day!