Thursday, November 29, 2012

Join me in Joinery!



I've mentioned this before, but here it is again: I'll be in Port Townsend, WA this winter/spring for the Woodworking Foundation Course. While this should nicely complement my experience of working through the Joiner and Cabinet Maker, it is indeed pushing that chest of drawers project out a bit, but for a good reason. Being able to spend such a concentrated amount of time focusing on the craft and practice of woodworking is going to hugely benefit my mastery of the tools and techniques themselves. Additionally, I have been working 99% alone up to this point; having not only gifted instructors but other peers to work alongside is going to be a welcome change.

I've heard from Tim Lawson that there are still a couple spaces available in the course. So if you have wanted to dive head-first into the deep end of the pool, now is your chance! Enthusiastic Beginners are welcome but seasoned pros will also have much to learn. All tools are provided, so all you have to do is show up each day and pay attention. I am really looking forward to being able to spend some more time with Tim Lawson and Jim Tolpin, both of whom have worked quite hard to create this amazing school, and both of whom have personally been very helpful to me in my attempt to bootstrap my journey towards understanding traditional woodworking.

I'll be blogging my experience in the course as I can, although the more intense the course becomes, the less time and energy I may have for writing.

I am in the process now of packing up my shop and this is why there has not been much to post about woodworking itself on this blog recently. However, the blog is not going anywhere, and if the occasional silences bother you, I strongly suggest using a rss reader such as Google Reader, which allows you to "subscribe" to this blog and automatically receive the updates.

I hope to see some of you in the course, I am pretty stoked for it!

Friday, November 23, 2012

Thank You!

A fellow woodworker found some of my images on flickr and we started a conversation. Eventually, I saw he made a mallet from a St Louis Cardinal's baseball bat. I mentioned being a native St Louisian, and so he felt I should have it (the tool on the left is a burnisher):


Also, this was a gift from Mom Apprentice:


Thank you for your continuing support, everyone!

Actual woodworking is on its way, promise.