spring in step, even if it's not spring...

This day is absolutely lovely here in Arkansas. The snow is melting, and I woke up in the night thinking of woodworking. In particular, I received a new tank for boiling box sides for making Shaker, and Scandinavian boxes, and I am excited about making boxes. As I lay awake in bed, I imagined cutting wood into thin sides, and making some new forms to use for bending wood to shape. It would be a lovely thing to do with my kids at school.

Yesterday I went through my files to double check and make sure that I've provided my editor all that he needs to begin designing and editing my book on Making Froebel's Gifts. We have grown uncertain of the title. Froebel is too nearly forgotten in American education. There will be a small group of dedicated Froebel enthusiasts who will be interested in the book, but our hope is that this book will awaken a much broader interest in Froebel's methods. Kindergarten itself is so poorly understood these days with regard to what Froebel had intended of it. So making the gifts of Kindergarten would be misunderstood as well. Like the contents, a title can be the start of a change in mental state and awareness. And it must be that in this as well.

A reader asked how to build a stop into the operation of a pin hinged lid. It is a simple matter of geometry. If the pin is slightly offset in its position, as it moves through its rotation, the back of the lid comes in contact with the back of the box. The image above may help to illustrate the concept.

Make, fix and create...