Sh*t Craft Show Shoppers Say!... and the 2014 Cowboy Christmas Show Recap

You have no idea how happy I am that my craft show days are behind me. In the 80s, I did a bunch of them. The hours are long and exhausting, you have to be "on" for everyone who visits your booth, and the stuff that you thought would sell doesn't. And the crappy stuff does. 

What the hell?

This video spoofs everything bad about craft shows.

I went to the Cowboy Christmas show this year, it's an annual event tied to the National Finals Rodeo, or NFR, as we call it. It's an insanely awesome craft show, with a cowboy theme. You can go back here and here to read some of my past posts about it. 


Just walking in the door and glancing up to the ceiling gives you a glimmer of what's coming.

And then - BAM! 

Let the shopping begin!

You get hit with a wave a cowboy bling. 

Jewelry 

Knives

Belts

Saddles.

Rows and rows of saddles. 

And then every cowboy themed chotchkie you can imagine. 

 Zeller trunks never fails to wow me - they make amazing steamer trucks, designed to last generations. They're not cheap, but I think they're worth every penny.

 Damn, they even design and make their own hardware. And the inside of their trunks are just as gorgeous as the outside, 

 with internal storage areas,

 and secret hidden compartments.

 I want one of these trunks! And I don't say that very often about other people's woodworking. 

 There is no shortage of imagery and kitschy artwork, 

or funky home accessories. Or clothes. 

This pig grill always gets a lot of attention.

I'm not sure of they meant this, but this giant sculpture of two cowboys had that Brokeback Mountain feel to it. Probably unintended.

This booth featured some terrific sculptures made of motorcycle chain and miscellaneous scrap metal.

I'd rather see a bison made of chain, than a real one like this. These always seem kind of creepy to me. 

Of course, you know I go for the woodworking, and this show had a few pieces that grabbed my attention. We're making clipboards this week in class, and I thought this herringbone'd board was nice. Expensive, but nice. 

This slab dining table design wasn't necessarily that interesting, but damn - where does a walnut tree THAT big grow?

 There were some amazing segmented turnings, like this vessel 

and this platter. 

When I saw this piece, it reminded me of why I love this show. The first year I attended, I saw a four poster bed, with giant carved cowboy boots for the posts. 

This armoire had a similar design.

There were some terrific one of a kind pieces, like this bench 

and this tall chest.

 I absolutely love these drawer fronts. 

And the mirror above is so organic and cool - it's just inspiring to see what other woodworkers dream up. 

Here's a bar stool that tips and bobs, almost like riding a bronco. 

My buddy Denny noticed this - how did I miss this?!

 It's a Prostitution License for this babe, Tea Cup Sally. 

WTH?

 All in all, it was a pretty good show.  There were a few of my favorite artists who weren't in attendance this year, but my favorite booth - Treestump Woodcrafts once again wowed me with their wonderful wooden treen. Of course, I started talking with the owner and completely forgot to take some shots. So I pulled these off their website - I don't think they would mind. 

 I did splurge and bought this AMAZING walnut ladle of theirs.

Holidays are usually hectic and really busy for me, but I always try to carve out a few hours and attend this show every year. 

If you're in the area, you should really try to make it to the convention center for this event. 

Try to deny this!

When I was a very young child in elementary school, my folks were called in to speak with my teacher about something I'd done at school. This might have been my very first attempt at woodworking, as I had carved my name in the top of a brand new school desk. 

Apparently I didn't think it would be traced back to me... which I suppose made perfect sense to a seven year old! 

So this video made me laugh.... this is totally something I would have done as a kid!

Just checking in....

Damn, I can't believe it's been a week since I posted something here! The month of December is turning into a busy one; I guess that shouldn't be a surprise. It seems like every December is crazy for me at the shop. 

I'm working on a new helmet case right now, for Thunderbird pilot here in town. I love making those cases, they combine a lot of different techniques, and they're pretty demanding. 

Here's an old one I made for general, a few years ago.  It looks kind of plain, but once the helmet went in it, as well as coins placed in the coin holder around the base, it was pretty smart looking.

This one will be a little different, as I'm including a head rest behind the helmet, so it will be taller. This isn't the helmet that's going in the case, but I'm using it for measurements. 

One thing is for sure– when you're working with glass, and very tight tolerances - there's absolutely no room for error. Everything has to be dead on square. That's where my digital gauges come in handy - I swear, I don't know how I built anything without them. Here's a link to the one I use everyday.

Anyway, I just wanted to check in and say I haven't disappeared. I've got private classes going on, several commissions I am juggling all at once, very cool Christmas class running twice a week. Only 20 more days of this craziness, I hope!

Meanwhile - check out these Flavor Flav watches we're making. 

Hope your holidays are going smoothly! By the way, I just heard that one of my students is moving back east, and is selling off all of his woodworking stuff. Lumber, and hand tools, power tools, workbenches – you name it, he just doesn't want to truck it to his new home. 

If anyone is looking for some odds and ends, they will be for sale at my shop. Stop on by.

Start saving your scrap wood.....

Holy crap, there are a couple of woodworkers in London who have formed a company called "Yard Sale Project" and their work is just incredible. Taking scraps to a whole new level, they produce sculptural pieces like the chair below.

Their work is mildly reminiscent of Wendell Castle's old laminated furniture of the 70's and 80's, like this popular piece. 

But on steroids. And better. 

I think I just found a use for all those cutting board scraps I've been saving....

Need a good Thanksgiving laugh?

They say laughing aids in digestion... so after you stuff yourself with your turkey dinner...

Click here for some of the most awkward Thanksgiving photos ever!

A terrific piece of equipment for your shop

Having a good out-feed table is essential of working safely. 

Here's a terrific design - it won't take up a lot of room, and seems fairly easy to build. Plus - you can customize it to your saw. 

I used a commercial version of this saw (made by HTC) for many years on my old Unisaw. It was one of the best features in my old woodshop. 

Here's Your 2015 Photo Challenge

Almost a year ago, I started a photo diary, initiated by a friend who mentioned it on Facebook. She framed it a little differently - it was her daily gratitude journal, depicting something each day of the year in which she was particularly grateful to have experienced. (Thanks, Louise!)

I loved the idea of that, so this past year - starting on January 1, 2014  - started my own collection of shots commemorating each day. Honestly - most of them wouldn't make much sense to anyone - maybe just an image of somewhere I visited - like this one, when I bought some shoes at REI. (I thought their tree sculptures were cool.) 

Or this - after an afternoon of playing. 

Or this one, when I discovered a family of burrowing owls on the trails where I ride. 

 The photos are random and odd and interesting, at least to me!  In fact, it's great to scroll through the photos, remembering what made each day special.

I'm not sure why I always find golf balls in the desert, but I collect them - and I have a TON!

This was a message from a dear friend, who had passed away - a double rainbow to tell me that she was thinking of me, from wherever she was in the universe. 

 So - here's your challenge - there are about six weeks left in this year. Time to think about starting your your own photo diary. 

Honestly - it's been terrific - here are some tips for taking great photos. I hope you join me in making your own journal in 2015.

If I had to venture a guess, I honestly couldn't tell you how many cutting boards I've made in my lifetime. 

Easily - hundreds.  

Possibly - thousands.

 It's quite possible that my family and friends are sick of getting them as gifts, although they're way too polite to say so. 

There has long been speculation that wooden cutting boards harbor bacteria, so for a while, there was a huge rush to use plastic cutting boards. Damn, those are ugly AND boring!

So - finally - an answer to the question - 

Wood Or Plastic Cutting Boards: Which Is Better?

Check out this article.

Practice makes perfect

Almost every Saturday at the shop, you'll find Ann fooling around on the lathe. 

She's takens some lessons from Jimmy Clewes, but more importantly - she practices. A lot. At any given time, you might find her wearing her Lee Valley turning jacket and making bowls, spindles, salt cellars, lidded containers - whatever. She's constantly experimenting. 

Check out these small bowls that she made from eucalyptus logs that someone donated. 

She was trying to understand the appearance of the bowl in relation to the tree's annual rings, so she turned two samples, with the grain "smiling" and "frowning" in different directions.

In addition to her lathe work - she's mastered sharpening her lathe tools on the grinder. It wasn't easy to learn, but she can now sharpen a bowl gouge like a MASTER. That's been a huge help in making her turnings so successful. 

She's now incorporating her spindle work into the furniture she's building. 

And damn proud of it, I'd say!

Which brings this point to my mind... the holidays are now on the horizon, and there will be some past students wandering into the shop, hoping to make some holiday gifts. So much of woodworking is about practice. Practicing cuts on the saw, practicing gluing things together, practicing assembling pieces of wood - without practice, these skills get rusty.  So if you're thinking about swinging by to make a few things, I'd recommend brushing up on some skills - the end result of your projects will definitely reflect the extra work you've put into it. 

Here's an absolutely fascinating bowl video that one reader sent to me - wow! Call me boring, but this video had me captivated from start to finish!

Woodshop GIFS

If you've wondered where the regular blogposts have been....

Damn! I think I just figured out how to make GIFs!