Yes. I know. I feel it deeply, the SHAME of an untended blog. It may be the internet's last actual sin. It’s been well over a year since I last posted any content, and I am sorry to write that truth, but I am back now, ready for more. I’ve got a small collection of pieces that were accomplished in the gap from then to now and plans for more. So stay tuned, I hope that it will be less than a year before there’s an update…
Framed and Hung
So I received this lovely print of Nick Offerman drinking Lagavulin as a gift back in late 2016. The print came with the artist’s card, who I would very much like to credit, but I’ve lost the card and can’t find the print online… but whoever you are, well done. The frame is upcycled cedar with a stain and shellac finish.
One more work bench.
Since I work in a limited space, most things have wheels. It’s not uncommon for my main work bench to be pushed to every corner of the shop while spinning 360 degrees for the hell of it. Now it has this dance partner, built from sturdy materials to spin this wonderful saw around for me. Since this image was taken, this bench also carries the bulk of my longer scraps on the bottom. So it’s heavy. Hard to dance with, but certainly more stable.
A Natural 20
When I’m not working the day job or in the woodshop I am gaming. I love video games and tabletop games alike and all things involved are AOK with me. For my latest birthday I received the tabletop D&D game Castle Ravenloft. I had only seen pictures of the game online so when I unboxed it I immediately blown away by the detail of the game pieces. I knew I had to paint them. It took some time and as I did so I realized that I didn’t want to put the painted figures back in a jumble in the box. So, I made this instead. Built from cedar, pine, and plywood, it’s finished with polyurethane and a hand-burned 20—sided die on the front.
How I Roll
You’v played board games, right? Most of them involve rolling at least one die, sometimes more. Here’s a dice tray (or Dice Arena if you ask the mrs), made of UFW — unidentified found wood. Two logs were brought to me that at first was ID’d by the giver as possibly hickory. It’s not pine, oak or, cherry — other than that, your guess works, too. Under the black felt is a piece of mdf which does a great job muffling the dice. Making dice quieter wasn’t really the goal, it was keeping the dice from flying all over the table, but once you’ve rolled onto this, hearing the dice on the hardwood of my actual table is surprisingly loud and jarring. So yay for unintended consequences (for a change).
How I Roll, part 2
I saw these at my parent's house, oversized dice, presumably for playing Farkle in the front yard. I thought the same thought that usually gets me into trouble: “I could do that.” Using a scrap 4x4, which may explain why these have cracks and such, I made six of these. They currently serve as large knickknacks but stand ready when an outside game needs a bit of chance thrown in. BTW, if anybody knows how to build a d20, let me know.
Knowing when to Surrender
This piece started out as custom board for the game Stratego, one of my favorites. Made of alternating walnut and red cedar it has sat in the shop for well over three years in different states of completion transitioning into dereliction. It had appendages at one time, strips of walnut on the sides to give the play surface a raised quality. It suffered from chips and scratches and dents and finally I found it underneath some other forgotten items and said—it’s time to surrender. So I stripped all unnecessary bits away,replaned and sanded and finished by wet-sanding with 600 grit paper and Dutch oil. What it is? Not sure. A real fancy looking trivit, I guess.
The Library Stand
Every household needs a dictionary. If not for learning, for proving to your Scrabble or Quiddler opponent that they’re wrong. And while there are plenty of online sources for this information, I still prefer the feel, and outright limitation, of the printed page. Made of oak, stained and finished in a way that — to me — evokes a dark and hushed hall of books, this library stand has a ball-bearing base that allows it to turn and face the reader, supporting any tome, and any argument that Kwigybo is, in fact, not a word.
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