The Sawdust Chronicles

Recently, Tara sent me a photo of the wooden gift I made for her back in High School over 40 years ago.  I think we were sort of boyfriend/ girlfriend back then.  I was 17 1/2, she was a sophomore at 15 y/o.  But for sure, I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of my teenage self. A painted red pair of hearts cut out of wood? And did you notice, it was NOT my note on the backside.  I didn't even sign it, or put anything on the back.  Yeah, uncouth and an amateur at "love". But as I was looking at the hearts... man, I had a steady hand!  Most likely done on the HS shop bandsaw. Maybe lacking a bit of creativity, but a solid cut! :-) But that burn line!!! Barf-o-matic! Seriously? A teen's attempt at "love"? Really? Was that the best I could come up with for Valentine's Day? I mean, I was no Michelangelo, but surely I could have done better. Not even my handwriting on the back... Man was I a dummy back then. But then, as I looked at the photo, another...

 As a grandparent, there's nothing quite like creating something special for your grandchild. For me, that special item was a wooden toy car for my 8-week-old grandson. I chose to use a scroll saw for its precision and ease of use. I wanted the toy car to be safe and easy to hold for my young grandson, so I made sure to sand it down until it was smooth to the touch. The end result was a handcrafted wooden toy car that I hope he will cherish for years to come. Creating something with your own hands is a wonderful way to show your love and affection, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to create something special for my grandson.

My wife has been focusing on buying toys for our grandson.  She has been getting a lot of "Lovevery" products as well as  Montessori toys.  Since she is in the know, I have been trying to model the toys I create after them, yet not copy them.   Most of my work thus far has been finished in "natural" colors, I have held on to a couple of my puzzles, thinking I want to go BRIGHT. This weekend, I completed another dinosaur puzzle, this one VERY bright. I have researched a bit, and although I still prefer natural wood finish, I am going to pump up the color volume on a few more projects. I later decided to cut out a backer frame to hold the puzzle as a quick finish project today. I made it from 1/4-inch Alder. I scrolled the perimeter of the puzzle for the top, then glued a 1/4-inch backer board.  Stained and viola... Below is an earlier puzzle I created for my daughter's friend who is about to have a baby... Named Noah! Bright colors are an important aspect of...

I have been experimenting a bit more, trying to expand my artistic skills with wood.  With scroll saws, there are two methods that can be used to create artwork.  Segmentation and Intarsia.  It is the latter I will discuss today, as this is my focus at the moment. Below is the first stage of my current Intarsia project. I am using a c ombination of scroll sawing and hand carving. Next comes rotary tool and then barrel sanding, this is my  rough cut and profiling stage. Next comes the rotary tool shaping and sanding to give a 3D effect, then the glue up. When I drill the eyes, I may use marbles for them. I need to make the basket look like wicker and rope. Sadly, the darker wood I have on hand was not thick enough, so I am going to have to stain a couple pieces medium pieces darker to get the coloring I want. As you can see, Intarsia is a woodworking technique that involves creating a mosaic-like image by piecing together different species and colors of...

Ariel, listen to me The human world, it's a mess Life under the sea Is better than anything they got up there... This is the most recent piece I finished.  This was done 95% on the laser, I had some struggles but learned a lot. It will be a gift to a friend of the family.  It was a little tricky making it out of 3mm baltic birch plywood.  I think I am done with plywood, with the exception perhaps of just using it for backer boards. It is inconsistent, fragile, chips and cracks easily, and to me just a bit ugly. But enough of that, let's talk about handmade wooden art piece gifts. One of the great things about making wooden art pieces is that it doesn't require much experience or special equipment. All you need is a piece of wood, some basic tools like a saw and sandpaper, and a little bit of creativity. The more tools you have, the great range of what you can do. There are plenty of tutorials and resources available online that can guide you through the process of making ...