The Project

Now for something a bit different. 

I am a dabbler in things that I find interesting.  Okay, maybe I get a bit extreme at times...my wife would call it an obsession. Once a friend asked me if I had ever made a saddle; I said, no, but it does sound interesting. I ended up making seven in an eighteen month period. 

Woodworking is an activity that I've enjoyed for many years.  Just learning about how to use the various tools that belonged to my father and grandfather, learning the character and attitude of various wood species, and, of course, making multiple mistakes (not keeping my tools sharp enough!); it's as fun as making a dining room-sized harvest trestle table for a neighbor (another one of those "have you ever made" kind of situations).  I'm always finding some project that looks...interesting.

Here's the latest...

I'm not sure I want to give it away with this post; it might be fun to see if someone can determine what it's going to be.  Clue one:  it's going to give me time to consider turning 50!

Nothing yet?  This image shows the product of a fun couple of afternoons.  These "pieces" of 5/4 oak have been steam bent.  I built a steam box and let them steam nicely for two and a half hours; they bent to nine degrees easily and are here "resting" for the next step.  (The date on the picture isn't meant to throw you; it's just inaccurate, and I can't figure out how to change it.)  Okay, one more.

Working wood is a love affair with patience.  These are thirty-six of the mortise and tenon joints that go into the final product.  It's not my favorite joint (that would be the dovetail), but once they're completed it's all a game of assembly!

I'll be interspersing some updates of the "project" over the next couple of weeks.  Can you figure it out?