Craftfair Season is Coming

Haven’t had much time to work on this since the wedding due to the upcoming craft season. Stephanie has really gotten some nice chalices together plus a couple of her regular popular items. She will also be putting a couple of new ideas.
I have been busy creating a line of exotic wood French Bread cutting boards and some sushi platter sets. I have also continued to develop my humidors and have added a series of music boxes in many woods such as oak, cherry, maple and purpleheart. Hope to see you all at the fairs.

Fairy Tales

Well the wedding has taken place. All things fell into place as if they were meant to turn out that way. The only hitch was the heat. We arrived in the middle of a record heat wave that continued until our departure.

In a land of the unique it seems we were the standouts. We had anticipated more couples tying the knot in a medieval fashion at the Excalibur, but we were the only ones in full armor. Many in the casino assumed that we were the stars of some unadvertised show.

After the ceremony in the Canterbury Chapel our party moved on to the Round Table for our reception supper. The manager of the Round Table stated that she had seen many try to do what we had done for our wedding. But we had done the best job she had ever seen. Most of our party were in costume fitting to the time period. We had in attendance-knights, ladies in waiting, fairies, monks, strong men and the King of Rock and Roll. It was a hoot and great fun.

After supper we retired to our suite for home made wine and red velvet cake with French cherries. There were fine cigars, bubbles, nuts and mints.

Our rooms were full of merry making, sharp things and happiness.

Wedding Items

Pictured left is a fairy basket created by Stephanie for Maddy to carry down the isle at our wedding. She began with a wire basket and added the many ribbons and flowers till she had what you see. Several have seen it since its' creation and have commented that they might like to have one of her creations. This may happen in the future.

These chalices are another of our cooperative ventures. Although these will be used at our wedding we will be selling similar items this craft fair season. If it strikes your fancy you might want to talk to us about getting one before the season begins. Hope you like them. By the way these are more of the spearmint glaze on a purple heart base.

A new Apprentice in the Shop

I have been joined in the shop by a new helper. Maddy has discovered the joys of creating things in wood. The spread of French bread cutting boards displays some of her work. She loves the idea of combining various colors of wood to create a new work of art. Maddy's board is the very colorful one in the center, she really likes those exotics. It's a lot of fun to have someone around the shop. She asks questions and most of them are very good for a new woodworker. Who knows she may get the chance to test out of a class next year. These boards measure 6" X 20" and are available for $20 each. No two of these are ever alike so the one you buy will be your work of art.

This project is another of the coop projects between myself and Steph. She threw the spearmint jar and I turned the lid. The lid is turned from black limba topped with ash and then polished to a high gloss.

These chalices are also cooperative. Steph turned and glazed these bowls in the same spearmint glaze as the tobacco jar. I then turned the bases. The base at far left is purple heart the lighter base is mahogany.

This oak humidor is another of my cases with dovetail joinery. I have given it an oil and varnish finish for a deep glossy look. The framed tile in the lid is a Raku tile created by Steph. I have framed it in cherry to set it off and add some interest. The case measures 9.5"X9.5"X6".

Swords and Reading

This oak bookcase is 5 feet tall and 37 inches wide. It is still in need of 2 additional shelves but will be a great place to display some of Steph's really fine pottery. I have finished this piece in danish oil and shellac. As you can see it already sports my small collection of steel helmets. I designed this to fit above the doors to the basement we call Spot's door.

These cases are cherry emblazoned with our chosen family coat of arms. I have flocked the interior with burgundy flocking. The case exterior has been finished with 7 coats of lacquer and hand rubbed wax.

Projects that opened up June

Pictured is a coffee table with a glass top. There is a display bin under the table top for showing off collectibles. Although the table itself was inspired by the Arts and Crafts style it was the result of bits and pieces that have collected in the shop. The base is mahogany stained maple finished in oil and shellac. The rim around the glass is a pine stair banister finished in the same way with the addition of two coats of polyurethane for durability.

The above cigar humidor is 10" X 10" X 6" and is made from black limba, red oak and mahogeny. You can see that the base is dovetailed on the corners and I have lined the case with spanish cedar. The outside is finished in hand rubbed oil and shellac followed up with hand rubbed wax.

Medieval in The Shop

The Shield at left is 24" X 26" and was made in the shop and hand painted by us. The stencil and fine tuning of the lions were executed by Stephanie. The shield represents what will become our family crest. The colors and shapes come from an old crest of my family and the numbers represent our family.

The bowls for the cups at top where thrown and glazed by Stephanie and the turned wooden bottoms were made by me. The bowls have a dark blue glaze. The woods used on these cups are Black Limba and Padouk. Some of the other cups in prior posts have bases turned in walnut, alder and mahogany. If your interested in these and would like to have some for yourself just drop us a line at cmdr101@hotmail.com.

Beginning May projects

This has been a good beginning to May. I have the following projects started and should have them completed very soon.

1. The cake stand for the wedding. It is made to resemble platforms supported by castle towers. This project is turning out very well, better then I expected. I will have a picture posted here by the end of the weekend.

2. A pair of custom oak picture frames. These are payment on delivery projects. These too are nearly complete. These frames are inspired by frames by Greene & Greene from the Arts and Crafts period. Paying projects help the creative ones along.

3. More turned bases for chalices, I should complete the last 2 dozen in the next week. Hope to have all of these completed by mid month.

The First Chalice

Pictured are the first four of our drinking chalices which will be used at our wedding. Steph did the ceramic bowls in a Floating Blue that I think really turned out sharp. I then turned the bases from Alder. I will be making other bases from Mahogany and Walnut she plans to do bowls in a Spearmint color and I think a red but I don't know what shade yet. As we finish these I will put a few more pictures into this post. Leave me a comment, how do you like them?

Ok we have finished 19 chalices. The above left chalice is in the Spearmint color. Steph does not care for it so it will go up for sale. What do you think? We have about 20 more to go before we have reached our production goal. I have now turned bases in Alder and Mahogany and have a large block glued up for Walnut bases.

The First Cooperative Project

Pictured left is the first project out of the shop combining some of my work with my sweeties. She turned and fired the ceramic pot that you see. It is glazed in what she called a floating blue glaze that I think is just beautiful. It is glazed both inside and out and will hold about 1/2 lb of tobacco.

I have added the turned top made from Alder wood. The outside has been oiled and garnet shellaced. The inside of the lid is natural wood. A rubber gasket was added to retain the freshness of the stored material. This will be on my bar from now on and it is the first of a series of Tobacco vaults that we will be making. If you like it or have any suggestions please let us know what you think. Thanks for stopping and looking.

Why is Global Warming Bad?

I have been giving the global warming debate a little thought and a number of questions come to mind. None of these questions I have has yet been answered by those so afraid of this "theory". Lets begin with what is the normal temperature of the Earth? In our past the earth has been both warmer and colder then it is now. We have fossil records indicating that the earth was once much warmer and we have written records indicating that just a bare 1000 years ago it was also warmer. So warm in fact that England exported wine.

Why would global warming be a bad thing? Isn't one of our great advantages is that we as a species are adaptable? We have managed to outlive many other animals adapted to both warmer and cooler climates then we presently have. I know that 27" rise in ocean levels (that's the latest UN figure for the maximum rise) will make living in places like New Orleans and the Netherlands a bit tougher.

I read an article that pointed out that the Earth actually warmed more before 1950 then it has since, what caused it then and why did it slow down? There are more factories, cars and power plants now then there were then so again why the slow down? Maybe this change in temperatures is part of the normal cycle of life and we just happened to notice it this time and we are arrogant enough to think we can change or stop it.

Why do we except computer models of the climate projected out 40 years when the weather can't accurately be predicted for tomorrow? This lead me to wonder when and how did Mr. Gore become an expert on this theory? I checked his degree background and he does have several degrees in Government, Law and Divinity all from very prestigious universities. The problem though is that none of these programs of study have hard science any where in their catalog.

Oh and what happened to all of the folks who were predicting the coming ice age in the 70's? Those are just a few questions that really bother me.

What is self esteem?

It would appear from the training I received in my instruction on how to become a professional educator the primary focus today is how to build a students’ self esteem. We have become so concerned with the student winning we have forgotten that at some point we have to teach the student how to lose. Is it possible for both teams to win in a game? If it were would there be any point to playing the game?
Statistics show that regardless of effort any group of individuals working toward a measurable goal will fall out along a bell shaped curve. So many will earn A's and so many will earn F's. The operative word here is the students will “earn” a grade; the teacher does not give them one. If all students in a group regardless of effort earn an A what would be the point in the lesson? Did the students really learn anything? Yes they learned that regardless of the effort expended they will win. With this in mind what would be the point in putting out any effort?
If the student is not taught the value of effort how will that student learn anything or improve on any but the most basic of results? After all few great artists, inventors or writers produced great works without practice and requisite failures. We all learn from failure and one of the first things that we must all learn is that failure is possible. When we can accept the possibility of failure we can also accept the concept of improvement. No great work comes about without the proper foundation.

An element of that foundation is an appreciation for well done hard work. In today’s society though we have become fixated on making sure that all work is “safe” and that all workers are “secure”. A product of that drive has been to push young workers out of the entry level market. As a boy growing up on a farm in the 50’s and 60’s I learned from my father how to do hard work well. With that lesson I could hire myself out to neighbors when he did not need me on our farm. I was in competition with all of my friends so it was incumbent upon me to do a good honest days work.
Today though federal regulations have made it all but impossible for kids to learn to work and be proud of the accomplishment of that work. Because of that we now hear about the invasion of workers from the south willing to do work that Americans will not do, but I believe its not that they are unwilling to do the work, they are forbidden to do the work. We have allowed our government to intrude into the entry level training grounds that used to teach us how to work.

A job well done provides self esteem. The realization of truly winning provides self esteem. Learning that we don’t always win provides self esteem. Practicing at anything till we become good and striving toward excellence is its own reward. Like many worthwhile things in life, self esteem cannot be given, it must be earned.

Other projects revisited.

I have returned to several projects that I will finish in the next few days and as they are completed I will post their pictures here.

First a vanity for the master bath. In my favorite Arts and Crafts style I have made a small vanity in Purple heart and ceder. The top is a tile with an above the counter basin in multi-colored glass. It has brushed Nickle hardware. I don't like the faucet I bought for this project so it will be replaced in the near future.

Second is the cabinet that en-closes my wet bar. This project is mostly oak stained to match turn of the century Craftsman style. The top is covered in marble tile with brushed Nickle hardware. To make sure my liquor is safe from the under aged I will also be installing cylinder locks on all doors that house consumables. Here it is, what do you think?

Third I will complete all of the trim work in the master bedroom. It has been cut and shaped and is now only in need of paint. Once the paint is dry the air tools will make the work very quick.

Planning stages have now begun on a matched pair of tall chests for the master bedroom. These will be a combination of natural ash and mahogany to match the bed. I will be doing a frame and panel style on the sides and the drawers will be extra deep. I have also considered some inlay work on the drawer fronts to match the foot board of the bed. Most of the chests I look at down town aren't deep enough to be really useful and the upper thin drawers are totally useless to most people.

Spring Time in the Shop

The time of year when I can really open things up and do some cleaning. Get rid of all the dust built up over the winter when I had to keep things buttoned up to keep it warm. It allows me to work on larger projects that can move outside the bounds of the shop. Major projects now will center on a new couch and molding for a bedroom I have yet to finish.

My sweety has started creating some very cool looking raku tiles that will be used in upcoming projects. Ideas that I have at present are a tile top night stand or end table and inserts into jewel chests.

I have a new couch going that I will post a picture of very soon. The primary woods are alder and maple in an Arts and Crafts style. I plan to do some high lighting in mahogany and a few little touches in exotics woods. It is constructed with deep and through tenons with cross pegs on all of the major joints that have been wedged.

I will be constructing it so that the back will fold to the deck and that the seat deck can be removed. I am doing this because many of the couches that I have helped move in the past are so heavy that it takes a team to move them. This couch will easily disassemble to the point that most of the parts can be managed by one person.

I bought some upholstery material some time back with this project in mind. It has now reached the point that I take it to the local upholstery shop to determine cost of that part of the project. This is the couch with the new upholstery nearly complete. The customs and pillows are in paprika and leather and the workman ship of Timberline Upholstery 719-447-9876 was just outstanding I could not have asked for a better job and the turn around from choosing my material to completed project was really quick. You really should visit these folks over on north Stone Street.

Need Zen for Motorcycle Maintenance

I have been trying to trouble shoot my own bike and I am in need of some zen. I thought after all how hard could it be, no computers and an engine that's a giant lawnmower motor. I have a fuel problem. I have been checking the fuel system one step at a time and taking the bike apart as I go. Disconnect the fuel line into the pump (gas all over the place) so that's not the problem. Disconnected the out feed line and turn on the bike and it pumps. Put the line back on and it don't pump. Guess I will sleep on this one its a puzzle I do not understand.

This will be a post of ongoing notes. Maybe I will see the problem in the notes I have taken. Maybe some kind soul who knows more then I do will stop bye and tell me the solution.

Well the solution was fouled spark plugs. Of course to get to them I had to remove the seats, the gas tank, the purge tank, some covers and other things. According to my shop book the carb needed to come off but that was not necessary. It took much longer to get all of the parts off then it did to get them all back on and I had no left over parts. It has been a dandy day. Now the weather will get nasty and I still won't be able to ride. Ain't life grand sometimes?

I now know more about my bike and won't be spending the ridiculous prices the shops have been hitting me with to tune and change the oil every year. Life is sometimes a wonderful teacher and necessity is a great helper.

Finally got a chance to go out and test the job I did on the bike. It runs better now then any time I ever took it in to the shop. I am not sure what I may have done different but you can be sure I will be doing this work myself from now on. I will also be looking for a copy of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance. I spoke with someone who knew the author and now that I know the point of the book I really must read it.

March and St David's Day

Today marks the first day of the old Roman calender. This month is named for the Roman god of war, Mars. It is two weeks to the Ides of March made famous by William Shakespeare in his play about Julius Caesar. It is also St David's day the patron saint of Wales so today is a holiday for the Welsh.

The dibbles pictured below will soon be useful in the garden. I make them out of many exotic hardwoods and they should last the average gardener a lifetime of use or display.

I am often asked "What else do you make"? The answer to that is pretty much what ever it is that you might want, if it is interesting and possible. Sometimes people want things made that are only possible in plastic. They get the idea from going to Walmart that everything should be cheap. So few have any concept of what is involved with a custom item made from exotic real wood. They are more content with cheap that lasts a couple of months when for a little more they could have something to pass to thier children.

Left & Right

I have been doing some blog surfing to see what subjects others find interesting. One item came to my attention in my wanderings through the net. Although not scientific by any means it appears that most times when I encounter an obvious Liberal Blogger there is no way to comment on the post, although there is a link allowing you to forward the bloggers thoughts to anyone that you might wish.

I have yet to find a Conservative Blogger who does not provide a venue for comments concerning the thoughts expressed. It makes me wonder if Liberals are really as open minded as they would have the unaffiliated population believe. Why don't these people want to hear the voices of the opposition? I have found the only way to learn in some cases is to question or be questioned. If you are not willing to be questioned it would appear that you already know the truth, much as Christians of old or Muslims of the present.

Both Left and Right claim that Thomas Jefferson would have supported their sides were he alive to day. I think he would not support either. The Left is to unwilling to see any point but their own. The Right is often times to strict in how they see what the founding fathers meant. The Left is quick to point out how Mr. Jefferson supported the separation of church and state forgetting where they found the idea and the Right points out his support of a foreign war without paying attention to the cause. He would have been appalled at both sides lack of fiscal responsibility.

Alters and other things

I received my daily dose of zen this morning. The article spoke of home alters and what they might embody. It got me to thinking that I used to have customers show up wanting items such as those made for them. But then I had to move and I lost track of those customers. I have returned to this area and am in the position to make new much more elaborate and custom items. I guess I will have to remember how I first made contact with those folks. I enjoyed them as customers and generally what they wanted they were very clear about. They liked the fact that I could create something for them that had many natural elements that had meaning to them incorporated into the final design.

Alters need not be large nor ornate they can be small when the space is limited. The individuals taste dictates the style and ornamentation. They may hang on the wall or sit on a shelf. The little cabinet above left has a maple case with parrot wood door panels. The doors are deep to provide additional storage. The chest to the right is meant to sit on a shelf. It has black limba sides with dovetailed corners. The top is maple and padauk joined and planed in my shop. Both were finished with danish oil and natural shellac. This is then followed by a hand wax with a mixture I have created with a bees wax base.

Saturn In Opposition

I spent some time in the shop today working on a Raku Kiln among other small projects. Most of the time was spent in cleaning though. The lead up to Christmas always turns the shop upside down and the major cold weather since then hasn't helped much either. I have a few small things in my head that I want to work on but nothing major yet.

I would like to get back to work and finish the vanity for the master bath. When I complete it I will post a picture of it here. It is purple heart and cedar with a tile top and brushed nickel hardware. The bowl is a raised glass multicolored bowl that really sets off the colors of the woods involved.

Following that project I will finish the build in of the hydro tub. It too will be purple heart and cedar with nickel hardware.

The early evening witnessed the rising of Saturn the brightest star in the nights sky tonight. It was quite impressive as I puffed a fragerent cigar and enjoyed a glass of deep red Merlot. It would have been a better night had it been much more silent.

Work in the shop on Sunday-Finished off the Kiln I just need the regulator and hose to fire it up. Lots of cleanup and trashed hauled out today. I did finish off a small project, a snak tray in Maple and Purpleheard with some mother of pearl inlay. It was a quick small thing made of collected bits of other projects gone wrong.

The new month and the Wolf Moon

This month begins with very cold temps and more new snow. My new toys could come in very handy this weekend if the cold isn't to harsh. The cold has been to sharp to be in the shop this week so no upgrades were made to the sleds. Maybe this weekend depending on the cold. Next week has already been covered by other jobs. I should consider putting one of my winter poems in this instalment, I will keep that idea in mind. Well this one came to me on the porch its a new one that will go into my file.

A FINE EVENING

The new moon sharp and cold
A good pipe smooth and bold
The gold of fine whiskey
The night is calm

Neighbors noisy but unobtrusive
Neighbors friendly a fine hello
Brings to mind the solitude of the country
The solitude of the mountain side

Fine whiskey, good wine and dark ale
A good pipe and thoughts of the future
Where will it go, how will I follow
Life an adventure and the cold

Adventure is where you find it
Follow those feelings that thread
Friends and loved ones
The new moon cold and calm

The wolf of the moon that I can not see
The finer things in life
The loved ones close
Adventure found in the snow and cold

A good pipe, fine gold liquor
Dark velvet night
The noises of the lonely hound
But gold and warmth, a fine pipe
And loved ones close.

Sleds and Snow

Took one of my newest projects out to play with it yesterday and they worked pretty well. I am building custom sleds on top of old skis and for sleds they are pretty fast. We all have sore muscles and some bruises today from our crashes yesterday but the sledding was fun anyway. The kids got a real charge out them. In fact the sledding was so good it wore the kids out. I also have improvements over these models to work up over the next few days to make them more controllable. Here a couple of pictures of the sleds after the fun.

Eagles nest Woodcrafts

Eagles nest woodcrafts is a custom woodshop specializing in Arts and Crafts era furniture and accessories. We will soon be adding a handmade line of raku pottery to the items that we already produce. If you want something but just can't find exactly what you want in the size or wood that you prefer maybe we can help you out.

This little table is mahogany with a green slate top. It could be used as an end table or a night stand.

The neat little item at right is one example of the ceramic items we will have available. The wine glass carrier pictured will be available in the many different colors that raku can produce and pictures of them will appear here as they become available.

Morning Thoughts

I don't remember for sure what caused this poem. But I do remmeber I was warming myself by a fire I had made with flint and steel before the sun came up. When I began to write this I was enjoying a cup of warm tea and listening to the birds. I was close to the fire but I could still feel the chill of the night air in the mountains.

Morning Thoughts

By the low fire warmth,

A cool morns dew.

My cup of tea,

and thoughts of you.

The birds, my morning greets.

The tea and memories,

A fine day this promise is

the sky like an exploding rose.

I shall in this memory be,

and thoughts of you my love.

So peace and rest the night did bring,

Today as on I travel.

Till this night I hope,

to home and heartland fire be.

With thee my love.

Steph's Jewel case. It's Purpleheart (her new favorite) with door panels of zebrawood and kingwood knobs. It has 4 drawers that are flocked in wine and two rows of necklace hooks. The doors also have mirror fronts. It is 2'X1'X6".

Maddie's shadow box. It's 2' X 2' of stained and oiled oak. That is a mirror in the middle of the large square.

I made these urn cases for Stephanie and her family. They contain the ashes of her mother who past away after a long illness this summer. These are made of Honduran Mahogany in an Arts and Crafts style. They have music movements in the base.

A bar that I was paid to make. It is purpleheart and bluepine. It is 78" long 28" wide and 41/2" thick and weighs a ton.

Gray---The old dog knows

A poem I wrote while sitting on the front porch during a thunder storm. The brandy was good, the lightening and rain made for fresh air and the cigar matched the brandy well.

Gray--The old Dog Knows

The color of the sky as the rain comes down
I sit in wonder with golden brandy
This is joy I would not have seen in my younger form
The gray shot with golden lightening
Am I old or just more in tune?

The brandy strong across my tongue
A gold
The old white dog across the way
Enjoys the rain, it reminds him of
Younger times

The rain from steel gray sky
So fresh, so joyous – am I old?
But the air so fresh so new joy
Hard at first and the so calm
Like youth moving in to age

The green of grass so new
My senses all in tune
My eyes take in natures colors crisp
So sensual…..
Brandy and a good cigar---

Age adds experience
That youth cannot know
Green of life, gold shot through
The old dog knows
Youth misses so much
Colors gray green and gold

Fine gold Brandy
Grass so new and fresh rain
Good cigar mixed with fresh clean air
Lightening gold across the gray
The old dog knows…
Joy is all around
And the storm is gone

Random thoughts

What is most important to you should be what defines you regardless of the crowd. Follow your own star, think for yourself and ignore the bullies that would push you into their concept of the world. Why even consider the round peg or the square hole.