It is amazing how little woodturning I have done recently. After a show, I typically step away from the lathe, regroup and have some “me” time. After this year’s Momiji Show, I have taken this time to meet new people (who have nothing to do with woodturning or kid-soccer), be social, to share and learn from others. I suppose this is called being human and living.
My friend Wil has needed some help with a couple of woodworking projects and while he would never ask for any help, I forced my assistance upon him. Now, come closer. Lean into the screen a bit. The secret and scandal of this? -whispering voice- These projects are in the realm of FLAT woodworking!
Yikes!!!
Let me be clear about my stance of flat woodworking… People who do it well can create work of immense beauty and functionality, and I am insanely jealous of their skill and execution. I possess a wealth of knowledge regarding tool usage, and wood selection. The problem for me lies in the process. The are so many steps involved and if you miss one or fail to execute a step well, every following step/process is going to fail in some way, leading to a failed project. The biggest step that I tended to mess up revolved around measuring things accurately, dimensionally and in terms of angles. Joinery gets messed up and sloppy, and things lean and slope in bizarre ways.
Measuring sucks and I am bad at it.
In the woodturning I do, I don’t measure very much at all. I measure the relative thickness of a bowls sides and bottom so I don’t make it too thick or thin and I measure a piece before putting it on the lathe so I know it will fit. That’s about it and I’m ok with this. If you want to involve actual numbers that are dependent on other numbers…yeah, I many not be your guy.
Having said all of that, I have been convinced of my need to make a wooden chair for an event I’m attending late next week. Seriously, I won’t be permitted a spot around the campfire in a modern, mundane lawn chair. Now don’t get your knickers in a twist. The event is a medieval rennasaince fair and they want the fire to maintain a period feel to it. I didn’t create this event and I don’t make the rules, but I am happy to try to comply with them.
Oh yeah, this event is called the Pennsic War. It is a yearly event of massive proportions. Attendees come from around the world for it and I am going for the first time. At last check, there were 11,600 people registered for Pennsic and just so you know, that is waaaay outside my comfort zone. I will be sure to update things as I can once I’m there. I will be taking a couple of classes in medieval craft which I think I’ll be able to incorporate into my woodturning.
Socially!