Junk mail

Is your mailbox always full of junk mail? We get a buttload of mail every day, and most of the time, it's all a bunch of crapola.

I don't get it. I went to Catalog Choice a while ago, and asked to opt of of all my catalog deliveries, but I still receive them. They go right into the recycling bin; I don't even look at them.

What a waste of money. Even worse, what a waste of trees.

Here's something I received in today's mail.



As if that wasn't bad enough, I opened the envelop to find this:




H i l a r i o u s.

I needed a good laugh after the day I've had!

Major score of wood

It all started when a fellow cabinetmaker told me about a local door company that had gone out of business, and was auctioning off their shop. On one hand, I've been seeing a lot of that, and it makes me sad. But the other side of the coin is that it does make the market tighten up a bit, with less businesses competing for the few construction dollars that are out there. Whatever. All I know is that I scored a major amount of wood, for a very nice price.

If you've never been to an auction, or bid on something online, I'm here to tell you that some amazing bargains can be had. I know a fellow who bought a load of white oak for $25. Well, not just a load, two semi trailers full of white oak. His biggest problem was where to store everything, since it was in sixteen foot lengths. So bargains can be found at auctions, no doubt.

Back to the local company selling everything. Honestly, all I was looking for was a dust collector.


But I noticed that they had some lumber up for bidding. Since I opened my woodworking school about three weeks ago, I've been looking for a good assortment of wood.

Be careful what you wish for.

It started out with me winning four of the auctions for pallets of wood. Now when I looked at the pictures and read the descriptions, I didn't really have a clear picture of what each "lot" contained. It just said "hardwood" but didn't mention the amount of wood included.

It started off with a van full of it.


I started stacking it neatly, trying to sort it by specie.


But the shelves quickly filled and I had to start new piles on the floor.


Every new stack revealed some gorgeous boards. Notice the 16" wide boards of mahogany above. The pile below contains some 2x10s and 2x12s of mahogany, but there are some huge pieces that I can't identify. Bubinga? Teak? Rosewood?


Below is a very nice stack of red oak, which I used to love. But compared to some of the other gems in this lot, it's rather boring.


And I have no idea what I'm going to do with this stack of softwood, most of it is a gorgeous vertical grain douglas fir. This stuff is really pretty, but a little thin for my taste.


All this wood ended up filling my van three times, and my buddy Phil's truck (which is huge) took the balance I'm starting to run out of room, but at least it's somewhat sorted.


Now, I'm pretty good at wood identification, but even I was having trouble figuring out what some of the wood was. Luckily, some of it was labeled.


Even though they botched the spelling, I'm glad this board was labeled. There's no way I would have guessed this one.


Finally, all the wood is unloaded.


There are piles everywhere. Luckily, I have someone coming by over the weekend to help me get this organized.


About half of this load is longer pieces, so I'm sure I'll be building some very cool pieces in the coming years. But there are some incredible "shorts", perfect for using in the projects that we make at the school.

Now if I can just figure out what to make with that pile of softwood...

Furniture repair

Families with toddlers have my sympathy. Every bit of it. I remember a few years ago, I was at a client's home, measuring their dining room so that I could design a sideboard for them. They had a gorgeous home, modern and custom, and were filling it entirely with custom built pieces.

They were particularly proud of their kitchen table, a custom piece in fumed Cherry with stainless steel mesh accents. So they urged me to take a look at it, especially the aprons and underside, where the maker had included some very special details. As I crouched down to see the piece, I noticed a huge smear of peanut butter down one leg and all across the meshwork.

Kids!

I can relate. Well, not really with peanut butter. But you probably know we have a puppy around the house. Life with puppies isn't for for weak of heart. Oh, the housebreaking went fine; it's the chewing that bothers me.



This is a leg on one of the dining room chairs that I made. If you read reports of a small tremor in the Las Vegas desert last week, that was probably me losing my mind when I noticed this.



Of course, when you have a face like this, you tend to get away with a lot of things that normally wouldn't be tolerated.

Thank god I know how to repair and refinish furniture.

It takes a village

This has been an emotional week.

To start, we lost our beloved Lily on Saturday. Losing anyone is painful, but pets just wipe me out, emotionally. Lily was smart, yet sometimes crabby, demanding, but understanding. She was the perfect companion, and her 13 years went by way too swiftly.


I can't tell you how different our home feels without her. But the show must go on, so just 48 hours after her passing, the first woodworking class commenced in my new school.

Wow... it feels very odd to say "my school" but that's what it is. It's been a dream for a very long time of mine. See, I've taught in I-don't-know-how-many different woodshops over the last 15 years. In some cases. I've had to bring in my own tools, clamps and even a tablesaw, when the school's saw was broken. I've kept a running list in the back of my head - when I start my own school, I'll have this or that. Well, I finally have the opportunity to do that, and while it's still a work in progress, I'm finally setting up things the way I want them to be. It's WAY cool. But on top of doing things MY way, I've had to rely on the generosity of friends and aquaintences. And let me tell you, these people in my life have been absolutely amazing. AMAZING. I'm blown away at their generosity, and I'd like to give some thanks here to the many people who have been great in my time of need. In no particlar order, I'll just jump in. Oh, I take that back, I'll sort of run through the list chronologically. It might be the best way for me to not forget anyone.

First, I really have to thank my family - mom and Jill, who have been there since the beginning, listening to my mania and whining, until I decided to take the plunge and actually get this thing going. They endured more discussions and played devils advocate better than anyone else, answering me honestly, and giving me a few "snap out of it!" Cher moments. I thank them from the bottom of my heart for putting up with me during this time.

Sharon Gainsburg has been a mentor, a friend, and a peer, offering her wisdom and encouragement in ways that only another artist and teacher could do. Sharon runs her own school here in town - a marble carving studio - and you can feel the love in her classroom. She's been invaluable for educating me about the ins and outs of the Las Vegas licensing system, not to mention giving me amazing support when I hit a few bumps in the road.

Dan Layman and his office manager Rick L'Esperance of Exotic Millworks used to occupy the space that I moved into. They were so helpful with tips and trivia about the space, names of people to call, and general support for what I was attempting. They said they felt like there was a good vibe in their shop, and hoped it would stay in the room for me and my tools. I think it has. Along the way, Dan loaned me everything from scaffolding to tools, shared misceallaneous remodeling tips, and even pitched in on a couple of tool repairs when he could see I was exhausted. These two run an amazing local cabinet shop that is growing by leaps and bounds. I wish them nothing but smooth sailing and continued growth in that endeavor, they're great guys.

My good friends Charles and Adrienne couldn't have been more helpful, or more supportive, and for that, I am so very thankful. Charles is a master electrician, and let's get this straight - you know that line about "diamonds are a girl's best friend?" Not true... electricians are. He was kind and patient, helpful and generous with his time. Adrienne was a constant source of encouragement from the very beginning, and kept us fed while Charles and I worked together. I don't want to think about how much harder the woodshop set-up would have been without these two in my life.

Larry Yule, of AG Yule & Sons Custom Woodworking, has been incredibly kind, helpful, and freely offered the depth of his experience to me, to which I am completely indebted. Larry is a great woodworker, he's a straight shooter and such a nice guy, I wish he was my brother. When I couldn't get my jointer adjusted correctly after knocking it around during my move, Larry was johnny-on-the-spot for me, stopping by and helping me out. Even sweeter, Larry presented me with a "studio warming" gift of an awesome H. O. Schumacher & Sohn Saw Blade. I'd never used one before, but now I'm a big fan. I've only known him about six months, but he's really one of those great no-BS kind of people that your rarely come across in life. I'm lucky to have met him.

I'd be forgetting a big part of my success if I forgot to mention my buddy, Dave Tome, back in Ohio. He's an electrical genious, and more geeky about tools than I am. I can't count the number of times I called Dave for advice, with an electrical question, or just to generally complain about life. Dave gets me, and I get him. Life would be a just a little more dull without hearing Dave's stories or speaking to him during our weekly bitch sessions.

I mentioned in a recent blog post that I'm especially grateful to Stacey Campbell, whose amazing artwork now adorns my walls. After our four day painting marathon, we were both exhausted but so invigorated by what she'd accomplished. Stacey's work is a treasure waiting to be discovered, and I know a gallery or two are going to snatch up her work and spring her headfirst into the LA art scene. She deserves every bit of that attention, her work is that good. While Stacey was in town, her family including Janet, Helen and Terry kept us fed, and gave us much love and support. Once again, I'm so blown away by people's generosity.

Speaking of generosity, sometimes out of the blue, someone comes along and just does something sweet "just because". One of my current students, Larry M. unexpectedly stopped in while Stacey and I were painting, with pizza and sodas in hand. I get a warm feeling just writing that, it was just such a sweet (and unexpected!) gesture.

And finally, I'd like to thank the students both past and present, that have enrolled in my classes. Without these current students, all of these efforts would have been for naught. It takes a lot of trust and a leap of faith to enroll in a woodworking class with a perfect stranger. I'm humbled by their trust, and pledge to make every class a great experience for every single person. I miss my old group of students, and it's testament to our bond that I still correspond and visit many of them when I return to Ohio. I can only hope to work with such a diverse, friendly group of people here, in Las Vegas.

So - here's a sincere thanks to all of you, you've truly made a difference in my life.

If I've forgotten anyone here, shame on me.

Sam Maloof

Sam Maloof passed away at his home in California last Thursday, May 28. He was 93. If you're a woodworker, you almost certainly know his work. If you're a fan of hand crafted furniture, you probably have seen his pieces.




Not sure why, but this last picture just really captures the essence of many woodworkers that I know.

A painting marathon

If you Google "famous quotes about friends", you'll find a variety of wise words about friendship. I'm still woozy from the long weekend spent in my studio, where my friend Stacey and I spent about 45 hours over four days there painting.

Well, painting makes it sound like we were rolling the walls with boring white paint.

Not.

We... no, SHE transformed the place into an actual art studio, where just walking in the room makes someone feel just a little more creative than before. It's amazing. So I was struggling to come up with words to explain how the weekend went. But I'd be missing the point if I just spoke about painting, and neglected all the other fine points about what occurred.

First and foremost, Stacey is an artist and a friend. Who else would show up armed with sketches, tools, paints, brushes and inspiration? And energy! On the first night, we prioritized and decided which paintings we couldn't do without. Here she is, starting the big wall, a huge square "canvas" on which to paint a massive tape measure.

Just to give you an idea of the size, this wall is 18' tall and 18' wide, hence the need for the scaffolding.

One of the coolest parts is how the tape continues across the floor.

For many years, I've used handprints in my logo, and we decided those might be a nice addition in the tool room.


I have a crooked, arthritic index finger and Stacey managed to capture that in the painting.

Any long time reader of this blog will know that nearly two years ago, I lost my beloved Aunt Dena. She was an amazing artist and art teacher, and collected crayon memorabilia. In fact, her license plate was "CRAYONS", so what a fitting tribute to include some crayon artwork in my space.

I actually worked on this painting, and ...trust me... I am NOT a painter. Perhaps I was channeling Dena's spirit, this painting over the door is just perfect.

The outlines.


My helper.



And then the color...


The weekend was wrapping up and we still hadn't even started the last huge wall, the one we were both looking forward to the most. Stacey changed her travel plans and arranged to stay an extra day to complete this.




Did you figure it out yet?




Stacey's final detail - her signature.





This screw is 24' long, I'm not sure if this picture can really give you an idea of how great it looks in this space.

What a great weekend, thanks to Stacey's talents and determination.

I'd like to take a moment here to thank everyone who contributed during this painting frenzy - from Danny and Rick from Exotic Millworks, who loaned us their scaffolding, to Larry M. for bringing us lunch that first day, to Jill for picking up a paintbrush and lending a hand. And let's not forget Terry, Helen and Janet for lunch the next day, and ... well, the list goes on and on. I will do a proper acknowledgment in the next few weeks, as I write more about the completion of this school. It's been an amazing process, thanks to the MANY people who have helped out, offered a kind word, and have been so supportive along this journey. I'm really humbled by the outpouring of kindness.

Thanks to everyone, I couldnt' have done this without them.

The Corpus Clock

What an amazing clock. I'm not sure I'd want one in my bedroom, the noise might be a little much.



(Thanks to my cousin in California for sending me this link.)

Third meeting of the Sin City Woodworkers

The third meeting of Sin City Woodworkers was special for a couple of reasons - it was our first get together in a while, since we'd skipped an April meeting, due to a lack of venue. Since my new studio is close to being operational, we held it there. And had the swamp cooler been working properly in both rooms, all would have been perfect. Alas, we were only 50% cooled.

Still, it was a very nice get together.

John Eugster gave a very informative demo on making custom profile cutters and making scratch stock. John is a consummate professional, with efficient and graceful movement while performing his craft. He's a joy to watch.




We discussed a few things important to maintaining a group - including setting our dues ($20 a year) and choosing a permanent night for our meetings. We chose the third Wednesday of each month for our meetings, which means our next one will be held on June 17.

Other topics includes a future "garage sale" of woodworking tools and accessories, as well as formally adopting the name "Sin City Woodworkers". See, someone had raised an objection about the name, and wanted to discuss it further.



Here's my tip when you raise an objection - be there to discuss it. As it turned out, it was a non issue because everyone seemed pretty happy with the moniker, and chose to blow off the one dissenting opinion.

I'll be posting something shortly about the classes that I announced - I've started registering people for classes starting in just two weeks. Stay tuned...

At the Red House...

The (final) demise of Woodwork Magazine

In October of 2008, I blogged about Woodwork Magazine, mentioning that I'd gotten a letter saying they were "re-organizing".

Imagine my surprise when I received this a couple of days ago..





So much for reorganizing, they have disappeared.

I'm sad to see it go; I enjoyed their magazine. Perhaps there's a correlation between the fact that they didn't have page after page of advertising, and the fact that they're gone.

Remember this - it's all about the Benjamins.

Unpacking the beast

I owe my buddy Larry a nice lunch.

He and a friend stopped by just as the new tablesaw was being delivered. Just the crate and all of it's stickers got my heart pumping.

After opening the main crate, we slid the beast into the mobile base, thus making it easier to assemble. Of course, I'd like to say I remembered to bring my camera and documented the whole assembly, but...



About that lunch bet - here's a tip. If you ever have an opportunity to make a bet on whether or not a power cord comes with a $4500 saw, bet that it doesn't.

If you're lucky enough to live in a great place like Las Vegas, there are some fantastic places you've always wanted to try, but probably couldn't afford. This bet could be a great way to win a free lunch in the restaurant of your choice.

Way to go, Larry.



My next question is - why the hell do manufacturers do that? Oh, I know, they want the machine to be hardwired into the wall. I understand that, but even so - where's the cord to do so?

Now I have to run all over town trying to find an appropriate molded cord. Note to the SawStop company - just because you make one of the coolest saws in the world doesn't give you the right to flake out on this issue.

Be it ever so humble...

If you wrote out a list of all the things you'd really want in a woodworking studio, you might include high ceilings, lots of natural light, a good assortment of electrical outlets, and nice neighbors. For once, I just might have what I really want.



One of the reasons I've haven't been blogging much is that moving my shop has been taking up a lot of my time. Well, packing and moving, paperwork, licensing BS and much, much more.

And even though the shop is not anywhere near being finished, the third meeting of the Sin City Woodworkers will be held on Tuesday, May 19 at 7:00 PM in the new digs - 2267 West Gowan, Suites 106 & 107. It's pretty easy to find. The zip is 89032, in case you want to MapQuest it. Gowan runs just north of Cheyenne, and the nearest cross-street is Simmons.

When you pull into the main driveway, drive straight in; my shop will be about halfway back, on the right. I'm still moving in, and don't know how organized the place will be, but at least we'll have a roof over our head and no one chasing us out. My seating is limited.... well, OK, I have exactly two chairs in the whole place. So I suggest you bring a lawn chair with you.

Local woodworker John Eugster, of Woodworks by John, will give a presentation on making scratch stocks, favored by well known woodworker Garrett Hack. He'll show how simple they are to make, and will demonstrate how to use them in your next woodworking project. For anyone looking to add a touch of personalization to an upcoming piece, this demo is a must-see.

I was thinking it might be kind of interesting to hold a woodworking garage sale sometime in the future, and let some of us bring tools/wood/supplies that we'd like to sell or trade with other woodworkers. During the last meeting, I mentioned that at some point, we'll need to discuss dues or some sort of cash flow, so that we can cover the expenses for this group. Maybe we can discuss dues and figure out what everyone thinks is fair.

Another thing - I love the way the woodturners in town raffle off wood blanks and other goodies. If anyone has something they'd like to donate that we can raffle off to the group, I'd love to hear from you. I have a few items I'm willing to give up, and hope others will pitch in, too.



I've commissioned an LA artist to spice things up a bit. In the coming weeks, she'll be coming to town and adding some much needed color and character to the walls. Stacey Campbell is not only talented and creative, she's not afraid of climbing up scaffolding like this and painting for hours.

And finally, anyone wishing to enroll is a woodworking class with me is invited to contact me for more information. Enrollment is starting soon, and I'll have more details about classes, prices, and schedules in the next couple of weeks. If anyone has any preferences about times or days of the week, please feel free to contact me with your suggestions.

Oh - and I'm offering private lessons, too... for those with performance anxiety or a general aversion for sharing tools. If you're interested, let me know.

By the way, the SawStop gets delivered tomorrow. Let the games begin!