A Tale of Two Tops

The latest project at COR woodworks was a Pipe Box for Zach Lysdahl. This was the last project for the 2008 season in Grand Teton National Park. The shop is all packed away and ready to rest in Denver for the winter while Aimee and I explore south of the equator. The wood that I constructed the box with was Black Cherry and Curly Maple. The carcass was assembled with mitered through dovetails and the lid is a sliding lid allowing the contents to be easily accessed. I originally used curly maple as the top with a finder pull bored out and holly inlay set into the bottom of the pull. When fitting the top the resulting fit was disappointing. Needless to say I created a second top, this time out of cherry. I also decided to change up the look and design of the second lid. I accented the cherry with a strip of holly and ebony inlay and used a maple dovetail key as the finger pull. The fit on the second lid was spot on and I was very pleased with its piston fit. The over all dimensions of the box are 6X9X3. I would have to say that the color contrast of maple and cherry with a coat of Danish oil is one of my favorite wood combos.

COR Woodworks

“The highest reward for a man’s toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it.” -John Ruskin
In 2006 I started COR Woodworking to use my passion, woodworking, to better peoples lives. My hope is to bless people that I have come in contact with. Through certain pieces I desire to meet a need and use my work to sharpen a fellow individual.
The symbol of the Hand Plane is a metaphor of Proverbs 27:19 “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another”. Iron will only take a sharp, long lasting edge if it has been properly tempered. This tempering process is fulfilled by supporting each other, allowing the iron to be prepared to receive an edge thus enabling the plane to do its job successfully. The word cor is Latin for more at heart. The word courage was derived from the Latin cor. I try in every piece I construct to present not just a piece of furniture but an element of encouragement. -Cheers

You Know This!

Living the transient lifestyle has its perks, but it also comes with its challenges. Loving to woodwork but never having a "Shop" can be one of those challenges. I can be seen in the picture above working last week in a random snow squall in the Beaver Creek Housing area. Fervently trying to finish a box for a friend here before we move everything we own and become homeless for the next six months. (Note the sheet used to block the winds!) Am I crazy? As Mark Lobsinger would say "You know this". I enjoy woodworking because it is a constant challenge, a test of skill. There is always a new way to accomplish a task and a new skill set to be learned. I am fascinated with working by means of my hands and building something I can be proud of. Woodworking is a life long education. I hope I can only afford the tuition. "The woodworker is slow, but the wood is patient." –Chinese Proverb

The Pencil is Mightier than the Sword

During a snowy day last week I decided to turn to my list of backlogged projects to fine something to build. I decided to create a modified pencil gauge that David Charlesworth describes in his book Furniture Making Techniques- A Guide to Hand Tools and Methods. David describes the modification of a pin marking gauge by pulling out the pin and drilling an angled hole to place a pencil in. This pleasant angle of the pencil allows you to see the pencil and where it is marking at all times. This is hard to see if the pencil tip is directly under the gauge bar. The other important feature of this design is the channel in the face of the gauge. This allows the body of the pencil to be recessed into the head, allowing a line to be drawn very close to the face. After using this gauge for a week I wonder how I ever worked without it!

Chopping Dovetails or Carrots?

In 2005, while in Grand Teton National Park, I took my woodworking to the next level and built a portable workbench. I designed and built this bench blindly, without ever seeing one of its kind. Needless to say over the past three years the bench has seen many a project slide over its top. As I used the bench more and more I learned of its shortfalls and begain to design an updated version of the portable workbench. The new workbench is close to completion and I will write about that in a later blog. That being said I decided to recycle the 8/4 hard maple from the old bench and create a butcher block for a friend. In its reencarnated state I hope it will carry on the spirit of creativeness that it bestowed on me over the years.