When Christine, a local woman who works with wedding event set-up and planning, called me a few weeks ago and asked if she could use my shop for her birthday party– I wasn't quite sure how it would work out.
But I said yes. What the hell – if the shop is free, why not use it?
We worked out a few logistics, and decided that everyone would make a small cheeseboard. I mean, who doesn't love a beautiful handmade wooden board in their home?
A few week before - I started prepping for the party - gluing together the cheeseboard blanks, and cleaning the shop. Eric's always a big help - brushing the walls clean in the bench room.
The day before the event, my helpers and I rearranged everything, to make more room and to streamline the process. We were so prepared, there was little to do that morning. Except clown around a bit. Here is my "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" crew - we worked perfectly together. (Thanks so much, Eric, Kris and Lupe!)
When everyone had arrived at the shop, I gave a small orientation speech,
showing them how a cheese board is glued together, and how to plane it down and square it up.
Then the magic began!!!
Everyone chose a board, and scraped them clean. Seriously, the energy in the room was fabulous, even though a few of these new woodworkers were Strip performers and were tired from working the night before. Some told me they'd actually gotten to bed about 5:30 in the morning the night before!
Still, they kicked ass prepping the boards for the planer.
Eric worked with each one as they planed,
and after I showed them how to use the chop saw,
Lupe help them trim their boards square. I'm telling you, we were so organized - that this party went off without a hitch! In fact, I think we might've made a new wood worker or two out of this group.
Look how carefully she's examining her routed edge! Kris was on router duty, and made sure everyone did a perfect job!
Once we got to the sanding and finishing stage, things started to loosen up.
Well, I take that back - this was a really fun and loose group, and they had a blast the entire time!
As they sanded, they knew they were getting closer to seeing the finished product - the excitement in the air was palpable.
Let the oiling begin!
Here we are - just two hours later - with some kick-ass-fantastic boards.
Love the hat!
Anyone interested in a terrific birthday party? This is like a "Build a Bear" party for adults - but we make cooler things.
Much cooler.
Call me!
No comments:
Post a Comment