tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-340114272024-03-18T09:24:23.811-05:00Wisdom of the HandsThis blog is dedicated to sharing the concept that our hands are essential to learning- that we engage the world and its wonders, sensing and creating primarily through the agency of our hands. We abandon our children to education in boredom and intellectual escapism by failing to engage their hands in learning and making.Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.comBlogger6467125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-34156092398925438522024-03-15T17:52:00.001-05:002024-03-18T09:23:50.621-05:00my ETSY shop<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffyAVnWX5MWEat0Pz55M-pCyiKGLNxUprWuTS-ay_jc7aZ_Ya5GE7s85_M3Cw_U1deHTxhF0UNMV3l8vLSD6KLMj5r_RS-TEkYkSipCJLR_OxGspQ5iGBxE4X3lbgCArSiymYMluOxRpYE-S8DVnOknodxgeCaes5PBSSXYZU8HZUXX9pfy2a/s3888/DSC01657.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="2905" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffyAVnWX5MWEat0Pz55M-pCyiKGLNxUprWuTS-ay_jc7aZ_Ya5GE7s85_M3Cw_U1deHTxhF0UNMV3l8vLSD6KLMj5r_RS-TEkYkSipCJLR_OxGspQ5iGBxE4X3lbgCArSiymYMluOxRpYE-S8DVnOknodxgeCaes5PBSSXYZU8HZUXX9pfy2a/s320/DSC01657.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>I've published some additional items for sale in my ETSY shop. You can find it here: https://dougstowe.etsy.com<p></p><p>By selling a few things, I make room to make more.</p><p>Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning likewise.</p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-4706825108280836872024-03-13T16:36:00.005-05:002024-03-13T18:02:59.838-05:00Torii tables<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ7Gxgp__TFnn_a_CUw6Wq0JBgCOiis8tMvf1D3XqBSdpFAjfKigCEnmH38t6iv6gXAyBotFe8gMdL8cLeq2gQSc9Bif9aQH5mzx2kSLPyWyk-oGYpGS9nurxfxJXOWCDHWAV4j8E7hYcZ2v5oQigUp8exSNWQLBmt7zi1Wq8nuoRarC5XKJlZ/s620/torii4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="620" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ7Gxgp__TFnn_a_CUw6Wq0JBgCOiis8tMvf1D3XqBSdpFAjfKigCEnmH38t6iv6gXAyBotFe8gMdL8cLeq2gQSc9Bif9aQH5mzx2kSLPyWyk-oGYpGS9nurxfxJXOWCDHWAV4j8E7hYcZ2v5oQigUp8exSNWQLBmt7zi1Wq8nuoRarC5XKJlZ/s320/torii4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I do some furniture that slips away without people in our local community seeing it so many folks are unacquainted with the range of my work.<p></p><p>The tables shown I call Tori tables as they are inspired by Japanese architecture, most particularly the shape of a Torii Temple gate.</p><p>I'm sharing my work here in the hopes of attracting folks to apply for my 2024 Woodworking Residency at ESSA. The details can be found on the ESSA website. <a href="https://essa-art.org/instructors/residency-program/">https://essa-art.org/instructors/residency-program/</a></p><p>Some of the aspects of the Torii Table are exposed mortise and tenon joints, the shape (of course) and the treatment of the wood, with each piece managed with a sense of reverence for the material and for the tree from which it came. In addition to the wedged through tenons the tops are floating with the expansion and contraction allowed to take place toward the middle of the table... A future I illustrated in my second Fine Woodworking article "A Fresh take on Table Tops," published in 2006.</p><p>Want to take your work to the next level? Perhaps I can help.</p><p>Make, fix and create...</p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-8766772989520428762024-03-10T11:20:00.004-05:002024-03-10T11:26:49.359-05:00C.P. Huntington<p><span face=""Corporate S", sans-serif" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">“</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">Let me say to you that all honest work is honorable work. If the labor is manual, and seems common, you will have all the more chance to be thinking of other things, or of work that is higher and brings better pay, and to work out in your minds better and higher duties and responsibilities for yourselves, and for thinking of ways by which you can help others as well as yourselves, and bring them up to your own higher level.</span></span><span face=""Corporate S", sans-serif" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">”</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> — C.P. Huntington (1821-1900)</span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">How many times have you been involved in manual work, and had your mind wander in ways that brought some form of gift to others or to yourself? It happens all the time. Never underestimate the value of mindless work. It offers unseen pleasures and surprises, when we invite the right spirit to attend.</span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">Make, fix and create...</span></p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-88754644150073762832024-03-08T17:52:00.001-06:002024-03-08T17:52:52.112-06:00adapted hand screw<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTMIpxmvsFjtyDSqfJ-Y0XwoFeMiJkTuJ29x2daIA1O0-IR4Ao3T-67xhNbAB9CItG32tRUWXFtKvURrKCcudH5UXgcZjnrtMz3KablVzUSUY6rV0e_VKIE9v2Xzw8-wvA_6Oz1Q1P7gW7n0NsaYyN597-7NCi0cbTMOfXMI3ZDndSSgTl7HLb/s2016/IMG_9280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTMIpxmvsFjtyDSqfJ-Y0XwoFeMiJkTuJ29x2daIA1O0-IR4Ao3T-67xhNbAB9CItG32tRUWXFtKvURrKCcudH5UXgcZjnrtMz3KablVzUSUY6rV0e_VKIE9v2Xzw8-wvA_6Oz1Q1P7gW7n0NsaYyN597-7NCi0cbTMOfXMI3ZDndSSgTl7HLb/s320/IMG_9280.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I've started a small oak stand for miscellaneous in our second bathroom and have been cutting and planing stock. In the meantime, I modified an old hand screw by cutting the handles off and replacing them with octagonal ones on each end of the threaded rods.<p></p><p>These will fit the wrench I made yesterday and will allow the hand screw to be used as a vise when clamped to a table, desk or bench. The wrench will enable young hands to get the hand screw tight. The shop made octagonal handles are white oak and are glued to the threaded rods with epoxy.</p><p>My simple point is that every classroom in America should be readied for hands-on learning.</p><p>Am I crazy or what? I'm powerless to make the changes I have in mind, so that's where you and others can join in. </p><p>My book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Designing-Boxes-Douglas-Stowe/dp/1641552182/?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=dougstowe02-20&linkCode=ur2&linkId=a32d7441049edaf81615e9a4d1650fca&camp=1789&creative=9325" target="_blank">Designing Boxes</a> has had the publication date changed to June 25, 2024.</p><p>Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning likewise.</p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-86319354363227388272024-03-07T10:53:00.003-06:002024-03-07T10:53:47.645-06:00Mentored residency in wood.<p><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW3EG_U_EJSoMs_k_iGQ_cjc_7yVRbZE3w1MfHBHHGxemGD681ce8t_JQgOvjTMZv6-bYZAvKd7nHOsst3QWbPzWqOxO-LwO3O714qI57rfNBUTHS_4FH_73Q1dRrjX8Ou3-EXjLQknInvvizFLUtCAI1wLTdlXAWAjWVmdcqueYc-HsODp9So/s3264/sofatable1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW3EG_U_EJSoMs_k_iGQ_cjc_7yVRbZE3w1MfHBHHGxemGD681ce8t_JQgOvjTMZv6-bYZAvKd7nHOsst3QWbPzWqOxO-LwO3O714qI57rfNBUTHS_4FH_73Q1dRrjX8Ou3-EXjLQknInvvizFLUtCAI1wLTdlXAWAjWVmdcqueYc-HsODp9So/s320/sofatable1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>The deadline to apply for my mentored residency program at ESSA approaches. More information can be found on the ESSA website, including the application material. https://essa-art.org/instructors/residency-program/<p></p><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="9gh8v" data-offset-key="bcgt6-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="bcgt6-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="bcgt6-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="9gh8v" data-offset-key="3gbu-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3gbu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="3gbu-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">As leader of the program, I'm author of 15 woodworking books and over 100 articles in various woodworking magazines including Fine Woodworking. While I'm best known for box making, I've also done a lot of furniture design published in books and articles and for individual clients. For instance, the table shown was for a contractor in Little Rock and is assembled with mortise and tenon joints and sliding dovetails. The rocks embedded in the wood are a theme used in some of my furniture work and boxes.</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="9gh8v" data-offset-key="74eku-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="74eku-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="74eku-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="9gh8v" data-offset-key="bso96-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="bso96-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="bso96-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Residents in the workshop will have full use of the ESSA machine room, lathe room and bench room, my experience in helping to move to the next level in their work, and on campus lodging. Larry Copas, a local woodworker with profound experience in all kinds of machine use will also be available as a resource to residents. You may contact me directly with questions if you like.<br /></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="bso96-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="bso96-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="bso96-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="bso96-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Make, fix and create... </span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="9gh8v" data-offset-key="qodg-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-22085805229679182332024-03-06T19:04:00.001-06:002024-03-06T19:04:47.907-06:00hand screw<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTyvpq3YOPCrfWD91V5RXvKeK791W2wHNnXFUIQNBWVIDpSitTZRjnyXRXpKLtQOHbAZxQU7tJCS8x66isSwBL86KNbhJeCZawJhlVFTCNzNJUNKOqXR2jLY2Evq2jJy9kcqsAfeivBmmYJrTYllrnv4XzkXN8zogJHWSXz2hZnmhX43VPGJC/s2016/IMG_9277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTyvpq3YOPCrfWD91V5RXvKeK791W2wHNnXFUIQNBWVIDpSitTZRjnyXRXpKLtQOHbAZxQU7tJCS8x66isSwBL86KNbhJeCZawJhlVFTCNzNJUNKOqXR2jLY2Evq2jJy9kcqsAfeivBmmYJrTYllrnv4XzkXN8zogJHWSXz2hZnmhX43VPGJC/s320/IMG_9277.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Today I made a simple hand screw, but using common all thread and barrel nuts as the hardware. One of the things I discovered in the process is that all thread takes a lot more time to adjust than common hand screws. Those have threads going opposite directions and adjust twice as fast.<p></p><p>You'll note that in this that I put both handles on the same side so it can be adjusted while clamped to a table or bench.</p><p>It was fun making this, and working through the challenges involved. It would be easy to make a Moxon vise using the exact same technique.</p><p>Make, fix and create... assist others in learning likewise.</p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-10599689244755878722024-03-05T15:50:00.002-06:002024-03-05T15:50:18.291-06:00Adding legs to a box.<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWJ6BTRJhFP32EQLhSsPah7QYsO2P_2nyzT1b5-P2JMbwEKGPYfxgmuJcrE1XdTK4mjwktZhyphenhyphenReQLLYT0hqmCS6k6xiGqfxtX_RmugKOoRz6encB1s_NbXMAdVDfh3CtTBlfxbFX3LHt2y5wLg3ZA6pBUN6ocrNGasrGbB9L2Qvc4VSHsriuuAfpI5IID/s1672/IMG_9269.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1672" data-original-width="1284" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWJ6BTRJhFP32EQLhSsPah7QYsO2P_2nyzT1b5-P2JMbwEKGPYfxgmuJcrE1XdTK4mjwktZhyphenhyphenReQLLYT0hqmCS6k6xiGqfxtX_RmugKOoRz6encB1s_NbXMAdVDfh3CtTBlfxbFX3LHt2y5wLg3ZA6pBUN6ocrNGasrGbB9L2Qvc4VSHsriuuAfpI5IID/s320/IMG_9269.jpg" width="246" /></a>Adding legs to a box. The box is made of ash with walnut accents and veneered top.</p><p></p><p>Make, fix and create...<br /> </p><br />Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-33425453111741539872024-03-03T08:31:00.001-06:002024-03-03T08:34:45.195-06:00method or madness<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrv-M8Ffbhq9UdeCNAYkli7dUHxA9OK5sO-gaUwVkEpPJDDmZHQgHbPhIlNosTgeDks5EzIfuyhgWh3q-An0RsrKxExOaTvqRkjsfLzMKTpz_H_NJJ5kBVv4fbC4BiaoI585geIx02myA9zby-dBM58xSIonAixou9nsNVzkThij49jDY6af0W/s2016/IMG_9266.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrv-M8Ffbhq9UdeCNAYkli7dUHxA9OK5sO-gaUwVkEpPJDDmZHQgHbPhIlNosTgeDks5EzIfuyhgWh3q-An0RsrKxExOaTvqRkjsfLzMKTpz_H_NJJ5kBVv4fbC4BiaoI585geIx02myA9zby-dBM58xSIonAixou9nsNVzkThij49jDY6af0W/s320/IMG_9266.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>The photo shows two of my demonstration boxes from my classes for board and staff at ESSA. They are made of ash and have now received a first application of Danish oil made using the Sam Maloof mixture of boiled linseed oil, mineral spirits and polyurethane varnish. The oil finish darkens the wood and enhances the grain, bringing natural colors to life, while adding just a bit of sheen and protection to the wood.<p></p><p>The lids have their shape for specific purposes. Being resawn at a 4 degree angle leaves them thick enough at the back for applying surface mounted hinges, and thin enough at the front to not appear overly clunky and graceless. An additional advantage is that by careful resawing, two lids can be cut from the same piece of wood. </p><p>You may be curious how wood can be planed at an angle as was obviously done. First surface the wood on both sides. Then cut the one piece into two using the table saw set at the desired angle. The taping the outside faces together back into the original shape, run it through the planer again, surfacing the sawn sides. To further utilize the angle of the lid as a design feature in the box, the ends of the lid taper toward the front corners and the front corners of the box taper toward the front, providing a natural spot for the fingers to engage in opening the box. That subtle feature is more easily observed in the open box.</p><p>Is all this method or madness? Check the photo, and you decide. If you don't like it, tell us why.</p><p>Make, fix and create. Insist that all education become likewise.</p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-91100080931473284402024-03-02T10:44:00.001-06:002024-03-02T10:44:27.534-06:00Yesterday, and new clamps<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0OOTRiiouahy27qj3SQSJSpURzSl8F0XhoxVOTHiAEP-j-uu63MQXK3D-A5jB9_aWV9rycUZkX2NxH9ZsNfu_B7OzefRaW3FyPH0Xf9Cfn_8wP6lLro-iewv6IbGC_NgiWZE1Z5wRMLYqs-E40ucNnw3nTYK8ltgWjCqdE3CHJnU97yaFans/s2016/IMG_9261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0OOTRiiouahy27qj3SQSJSpURzSl8F0XhoxVOTHiAEP-j-uu63MQXK3D-A5jB9_aWV9rycUZkX2NxH9ZsNfu_B7OzefRaW3FyPH0Xf9Cfn_8wP6lLro-iewv6IbGC_NgiWZE1Z5wRMLYqs-E40ucNnw3nTYK8ltgWjCqdE3CHJnU97yaFans/s320/IMG_9261.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Yesterday I had a great day teaching box making to members of the board of the Eureka Springs School of the Arts. It was a wonderful team building exercise, and ought to serve as an example for corporate retreats. We had a great time and each was able to leave having finished a box.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNlXgb2f2IcdIFRJPz78Pbq8F0XX03UY7-7rLFB7BQB_JveeAhtIzMIvNFl0tatsIoDO9R9C1FxfqnqblyXEzXoxvC43HuFNeeLVBApCJY9efQS6-4P8ZdRjeL36Iq7d6psBpN3_-lx3jkGh5aUCeMfSvg5G7fdaI2IWlEaR69862nCq8cbH99/s2016/IMG_9263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNlXgb2f2IcdIFRJPz78Pbq8F0XX03UY7-7rLFB7BQB_JveeAhtIzMIvNFl0tatsIoDO9R9C1FxfqnqblyXEzXoxvC43HuFNeeLVBApCJY9efQS6-4P8ZdRjeL36Iq7d6psBpN3_-lx3jkGh5aUCeMfSvg5G7fdaI2IWlEaR69862nCq8cbH99/s320/IMG_9263.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>In the mail yesterday I received some wonderful clamps. One was made by Mike Taylor at Taylor Tool Co. taytools.com It is a reinvention of the ages old hand screw, but with holes that allow it to be clamped to a table or bench, giving it much greater flexability. Also, having both handles in the front allow it to perform more like a Moxon vise, and will likely be less confusing to young hands.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1N_AUc1jupOACGy6vU81zKadFtvf6kKWSzR0zMkCxWP7ZdMHmlHbthlpH9Orh5n8wLbmBGKV4Ie7WFIw-Cj29UhrWxUOwVvLRhLTapFaQSdj0ZhGWjtT5loVTWMhjH8F4Wtvm-_cr7Zt4ou63K1CowaitTegNv-d4-8ZM4dn2ALiykgCaLkoR/s2016/IMG_9264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1N_AUc1jupOACGy6vU81zKadFtvf6kKWSzR0zMkCxWP7ZdMHmlHbthlpH9Orh5n8wLbmBGKV4Ie7WFIw-Cj29UhrWxUOwVvLRhLTapFaQSdj0ZhGWjtT5loVTWMhjH8F4Wtvm-_cr7Zt4ou63K1CowaitTegNv-d4-8ZM4dn2ALiykgCaLkoR/s320/IMG_9264.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>The other clamps I received I had ordered from Amazon. They are <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09L7WFTL1?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=dougstowe02-20&linkCode=ur2&linkId=dac1cd38f09211597fa2a7889dfbbbb5&camp=1789&creative=9325" target="_blank">quick acting lever clamps</a>, and I bought them thinking of the challenge teachers might face in converting a common classroom into a wood working shop... a thing we must consider if schools are to become the places they must be. The clamps are well made, and have exceptional clamping strength. The lever would allow kids or teachers to tighten them with ease, or quickly take down at the end of class and tools must be put away. They are perfect to use with Mike Taylor's custom hand screw, or one converted for classroom use as I will demonstrate in the next issue of Fine Woodworking magazine. <p></p><p>Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning likewise.</p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-59772148122245301822024-03-01T07:21:00.002-06:002024-03-01T07:21:57.031-06:00today<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtU4UFbm88OAI5Mge8Tt7nupQ9LG_KmHs0M9axYgtXpm4AxjXjUcIymVMoAgSxfKyo55MR3I4jXsY39hpEyaH7vB8ApFEhsYWDNuJYuJbdSlwCsiP0W03hJhWIp2wt4Pkc2uYjhQ5NJtIqukP81CYOVg9KS0m-PWTpeLevTalL_T9LcnC6oZxP/s1515/IMG_9256.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1515" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtU4UFbm88OAI5Mge8Tt7nupQ9LG_KmHs0M9axYgtXpm4AxjXjUcIymVMoAgSxfKyo55MR3I4jXsY39hpEyaH7vB8ApFEhsYWDNuJYuJbdSlwCsiP0W03hJhWIp2wt4Pkc2uYjhQ5NJtIqukP81CYOVg9KS0m-PWTpeLevTalL_T9LcnC6oZxP/s320/IMG_9256.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Members of the ESSA board of directors will join with me in making wooden boxes, and while the method is simple, the results are satisfying. I found an interesting article by Booker T. Washington inspired by my search for information about the opposition to manual arts training from parents of the poor. <a href="https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/industrial-education-for-the-negro/">https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/industrial-education-for-the-negro/</a></span><p></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: #202020; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;">Let me say to you that all honest work is honorable work. If the labor is manual, and seems common, you will have all the more chance to be thinking of other things, or of work that is higher and brings better pay, and to work out in your minds better and higher duties and responsibilities for yourselves, and for thinking of ways by which you can help others as well as yourselves, and bring them up to your own higher level.—Booker T. Washington</span></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Labor is made boring by being resentful of your part in it, and in it we can always find cause for joy. Washington noted the difference between "working," in which we find joy, and "being worked" in which there is cause for resentment and despair.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yesterday's staff class was a joy, just as I expect today's class for board members will be. The photo shows the box design we made yesterday and will be making today.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Make, fix and create... assist others in finding the joy in living and learning likewise.</span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span></span></blockquote><p></p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-56326565321666427102024-02-29T20:01:00.000-06:002024-02-29T20:01:37.574-06:00recipe boxes<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCAJZ9uf3s__t-UhbnBASUoOfgxut_jvH1O2RbIMTElTtuwm8RsNT-weneMWBlkwUakiYUaX69gM_pkfmVp0J5bPJK8lW2ur6PYF-0INdkz9pxlC87cwkVyaSZ6wC5ZqbtNhkjrZ9OnNwjQ91K5IoTrn5rZuoRmJfdb7kR2db98RnFAX4AAkL_/s1210/IMG_9257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="907" data-original-width="1210" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCAJZ9uf3s__t-UhbnBASUoOfgxut_jvH1O2RbIMTElTtuwm8RsNT-weneMWBlkwUakiYUaX69gM_pkfmVp0J5bPJK8lW2ur6PYF-0INdkz9pxlC87cwkVyaSZ6wC5ZqbtNhkjrZ9OnNwjQ91K5IoTrn5rZuoRmJfdb7kR2db98RnFAX4AAkL_/s320/IMG_9257.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I mentioned that I've been working on recipe boxes. Now they are complete. They are made with keyed miter joints from ash and cherry and the keys strengthening the corners and the lift tabs on the lids are made from walnut. They are veneered on top with variety of American hardwoods. The surface mounted hinges have a 90 degree stop.<p></p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-28975875982796102572024-02-29T17:23:00.002-06:002024-02-29T17:56:35.270-06:00staff box making class<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGwG8-zZsmvHz4B0bHWB2JGKAceTj0d0GP_0C2AxG0t2OhjSH9YcmWfEVe33l-I1SZblniDnmEDf4TjgrHUs2yEoFc98D0PEZ-IBSdjN0SrKKItMyZa4LFBlF9rFmZx-lPEPh8A36pUXcp5gbQOhmf5P8zlMRHNovc5mKbKMUtte7az2pJ5AI/s1475/IMG_9255.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1189" data-original-width="1475" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGwG8-zZsmvHz4B0bHWB2JGKAceTj0d0GP_0C2AxG0t2OhjSH9YcmWfEVe33l-I1SZblniDnmEDf4TjgrHUs2yEoFc98D0PEZ-IBSdjN0SrKKItMyZa4LFBlF9rFmZx-lPEPh8A36pUXcp5gbQOhmf5P8zlMRHNovc5mKbKMUtte7az2pJ5AI/s320/IMG_9255.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Today members of the ESSA staff and I made boxes. My demonstration box that I made during the class is shown. Its features are: Finger jointed corners, sloping solid wood lid (providing a thinner profile at the front) and surface mounted hinges with 90 degree stop.<p></p><p>It was a very fun class, and tomorrow I get to repeat the same class with members of the ESSA board.</p><p>A few years back when my daughter was at Columbia University and as a freshman was engaged in study of their famed Core Curriculum in which all were to become deeply engaged in the study of civilization and become more uniformly civil in consequence, I attempted to contact University president Lee Bollinger to suggest that with the unfinished cathedral St. John the Divine just across the street, freshmen would benefit more greatly by cutting and carving stone than by a study of Socrates. No doubt, that might have been difficult to explain to the trustees. But I hold deeply, the conviction of its truth. Students would better understand civilization by getting their hands involved in the creation of it.</p><p>If any of my readers are friends with the current administration of Columbia University, my offer still stands. I'd gladly help the university get back on the right track.</p><p>Make, fix, create and assist others in learning likewise.</p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-66231511202960392992024-02-29T06:37:00.002-06:002024-02-29T06:37:57.527-06:00making your child smart...<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUNW_YwWRpJTyoRj4eETECUxrWb5fM2VQOOeSOTx4y8DboAaNHT4TYLQknwEqTliBHLtnQPqHnMZFgbC0U9os9pWtL5e-4DQJGJ1K_7rjy9pmlXCrC880TU-7_UhHRw9nwDtSSXPu5zD4z3V2NA-kLYYEzDSTxQVwn2dW-0dxf4ks8qKgNCnSI/s1475/IMG_9243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1475" data-original-width="1174" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUNW_YwWRpJTyoRj4eETECUxrWb5fM2VQOOeSOTx4y8DboAaNHT4TYLQknwEqTliBHLtnQPqHnMZFgbC0U9os9pWtL5e-4DQJGJ1K_7rjy9pmlXCrC880TU-7_UhHRw9nwDtSSXPu5zD4z3V2NA-kLYYEzDSTxQVwn2dW-0dxf4ks8qKgNCnSI/s320/IMG_9243.JPG" width="255" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today I have a staff class at ESSA in which I'll be teaching and assisting staff members to make wooden boxes. We will go through tool safety and I'll lead my students through a series of operations all aimed toward leaving the class with finished boxes.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Some place I'd read that parents of the poor had objections to manual arts training as it was a way to prevent the advancement of their children into more lucrative studies, and to keep them in their proposed place. Woodrow Wilson had stated as president of Princeton University that: </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;">"We want one class of persons to have a liberal education, and we want another class of persons, a very much larger class, of necessity, in every society, to forgo the privileges of a liberal education and fit themselves to perform specific difficult manual tasks."</span></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">You can see where the idea came from... that an advanced social class resulting from academic education would be served by a lower class drawn from the poor.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The point that too many have missed, is that you don't teach carpentry in schools to turn students into carpenters. You teach it to help all students become smart, and even the children from the upper classes deserve to become smart. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The image shown is a simple way to shape a lift tab for the front of a box lid, using the table saw to get consistent results. A pencil holds the stock in its nest cut in a piece of 1/8 in. thick MDF.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning and living likewise. </span></p><p></p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-78309144753498857572024-02-28T09:39:00.001-06:002024-02-28T09:39:40.165-06:00new tables in commons<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjop5_s7aaupPy3DelrJ4dIKTVCIlEVkhz6fgVVp2XYaXhdxkIVpDCHJNfHNjPk8Avrozw2N1uRCwg1LKHZtYhe_W6XYDqdq1tGCQgOknqXa-ojHHGZSYHHLnnDWOVJasO4Gktjti5fOoGlDtWrvT-HgHt63KKfB34e26Bi1kuL-ytqCP5rEB0I/s2016/IMG_9249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjop5_s7aaupPy3DelrJ4dIKTVCIlEVkhz6fgVVp2XYaXhdxkIVpDCHJNfHNjPk8Avrozw2N1uRCwg1LKHZtYhe_W6XYDqdq1tGCQgOknqXa-ojHHGZSYHHLnnDWOVJasO4Gktjti5fOoGlDtWrvT-HgHt63KKfB34e26Bi1kuL-ytqCP5rEB0I/s320/IMG_9249.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Yesterday we assembled 4 tables at ESSA for the Commons House where our teaching staff can share meals and social time and where we can have corporate retreats and meetings. They are intended to be used separately or arranged as in the photo shown. These were made by volunteers from locally sourced white oak, much of which was quarter sawn to reveal the lovely ray patterns,<p></p><p>Today I begin preparing for staff and board classes in the ESSA woodshop.</p><p>Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning likewise.</p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-52404888664595948082024-02-24T15:01:00.003-06:002024-02-24T15:01:54.055-06:00recipe boxes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjlnPqCBzMmiygU_UcoKhqaSjdEkpVU1r5GvfPMZGFsOY1-rk8euwhGsvrG6P7mI12DXIk9JE7JX8NmYeHhhBlrHPzM-jyvlKdlRogJ0KnF__1tCOhcexYafekoh2qkzKtAdoeuf-EholNdKvYGUDckOJTpAryl5x5EENNflUcEX3cNnwsKEi3/s2016/IMG_9244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjlnPqCBzMmiygU_UcoKhqaSjdEkpVU1r5GvfPMZGFsOY1-rk8euwhGsvrG6P7mI12DXIk9JE7JX8NmYeHhhBlrHPzM-jyvlKdlRogJ0KnF__1tCOhcexYafekoh2qkzKtAdoeuf-EholNdKvYGUDckOJTpAryl5x5EENNflUcEX3cNnwsKEi3/s320/IMG_9244.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>In my woodshop I'm working on recipe boxes at the request of the Historic Arkansas Museum Gift Store. They are made to hold 4 x 6 in. recipe cards and are made from Arkansas hardwoods. They are now nearly complete but for the application of finish.<p>I used surface mounted hinges that open to a 90 degree stop.</p><p>Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning likewise.</p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-32680762666498853592024-02-22T13:26:00.000-06:002024-02-22T13:26:08.205-06:00Woodcarving Illustrated and sled runners<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4lsy12asOSShOnGUh9VYpFN37dIhb-XP06ltNgTcN4kOtK2woA3OtSw8qjjRKIqf6Wi0KM4CEZ2PNDzNPoa9hiJdDWhPxoxxSRRHxKJLDN7ARj578Rk8T_5iqxkArZf19I_9piTYIkx2gp3PyN210Fnw0NpjgNN4j46hLp2SdPgfa04J-Q02/s2016/IMG_9241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4lsy12asOSShOnGUh9VYpFN37dIhb-XP06ltNgTcN4kOtK2woA3OtSw8qjjRKIqf6Wi0KM4CEZ2PNDzNPoa9hiJdDWhPxoxxSRRHxKJLDN7ARj578Rk8T_5iqxkArZf19I_9piTYIkx2gp3PyN210Fnw0NpjgNN4j46hLp2SdPgfa04J-Q02/s320/IMG_9241.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today I received copies of the latest edition of </span>Woodcarving<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Illustrated, containing my article about making hook knives. </span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">Beyond that, there is a great deal of information that points to the significant role of the hands in learning. Anyone who has paid a modicum of attention to observing his or her own learning experience, would know that “hands-on” is the key and won't need experts to tell what you can see for yourself. But for those who don’t know their hands from a hole in the ground, there are some important things happening that tell us that we have it ALL wrong in most modern classrooms. Some of the research being done in a variety of areas tells us that we have grossly misunderstood the role of the hands in thinking and the development of intelligence.</span></p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">One significant item I’ll point to is the research that concludes that the playing of instrumental music in school has a significant effect on the development of math proficiency. I think it is particularly interesting to consider the role of the hands in the playing of music. It was </span><a href="http://handoc.com/" style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;">Frank Wilson’s</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"> involvement in music that lead to his book,</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0679740473/dougstoweA/?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=dougstowe02-20&linkCode=ur2&linkId=558032f86203e7f195668c3c38725f4c&camp=1789&creative=9325" style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;"> The Hand: How its use shapes the brain, language and human culture</a><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">, and while this particular research doesn’t specifically address the hand’s role in learning, instrumental music is clearly hands-on. Was it the music that made the difference, or the use of the hands in playing the music? It would take more extensive research to prove one way or the other. I strongly suspect that both have effect, the music and the hands that play it. The book describing the research can be found for download </span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">at the</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ERIC-ED466413/pdf/ERIC-ED466413.pdf" target="_blank">Government Information website</a></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ERIC-ED466413/pdf/ERIC-ED466413.pdf" target="_blank"> </a>"Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Social and Academic Development," was sponsored by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the United States Department of Education and was written by </span><a href="http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/pages/catterall" style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;">James Catterall,</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"> Karen Bradley, Larry Scripp, Terry Baker and Rob Horowitz. It is truly astounding how rarely the United States Government is able to take its own advice. It is a clear case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.</span><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCOoIIxGj0EhPqzQk1vSv1O4-H7KBoJdtTYwV7VRVSzPLwFrqFEfkFWesMPIYoMuvdN8G7JwpIXKs8Idf_Ftv3XCmnZtn4VDLilpGz6yVHNG2EKramiORQCyNPCtMegoKAFvSS9ydzT-cwklDHuzz_6JhvPffoO5GR3loC7x5ZCf9Mxtf7rxP7/s2016/IMG_9242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCOoIIxGj0EhPqzQk1vSv1O4-H7KBoJdtTYwV7VRVSzPLwFrqFEfkFWesMPIYoMuvdN8G7JwpIXKs8Idf_Ftv3XCmnZtn4VDLilpGz6yVHNG2EKramiORQCyNPCtMegoKAFvSS9ydzT-cwklDHuzz_6JhvPffoO5GR3loC7x5ZCf9Mxtf7rxP7/s320/IMG_9242.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>In the meantime, I enjoy making jigs and sleds and for the table saw, </span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">most</span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> of my sleds have </span>involved<span style="font-family: inherit;"> wooden runners. Because I make them myself, they're cheap and because they are wood, it is easy to mount them with screws. But I'm always open to new things. The plastic runner shown is high density </span></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">polyethylene that is cut from a common plastic cutting board I purchased on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001D3LQVA?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=dougstowe02-20&linkCode=ur2&linkId=98453e180215cb154627d9a4dec5cec2&camp=1789&creative=9325" target="_blank">Amazon here.</a> The advantage is that it is stable material, can be machined with common woodworking tools, and mounted with screws just as I would one made of wood.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Make, fix and create. Help others get the point.</span></span></div>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-15348016201554872472024-02-20T07:38:00.002-06:002024-02-20T07:38:42.303-06:00April 17 delivery of Designing Boxes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvjVIKOLLNOC4mh5vfRlnpEErKYimcDMoe0NxNffENjcRJocPpxkT42ECP-1tWXL5dgNvG__dvcZnjCFKL3K_XY6i0agkC3yoIKDwstOlY6zYEnY98GXdb8mBqmSWRdfxIBhaob_SnewYqbvqkTVNNP4QvARSGTvrmEEWt5HMTE0smtboPPO-T/s1650/Taunton_Stowe_DesigningBoxes_FinalCover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1650" data-original-width="1275" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvjVIKOLLNOC4mh5vfRlnpEErKYimcDMoe0NxNffENjcRJocPpxkT42ECP-1tWXL5dgNvG__dvcZnjCFKL3K_XY6i0agkC3yoIKDwstOlY6zYEnY98GXdb8mBqmSWRdfxIBhaob_SnewYqbvqkTVNNP4QvARSGTvrmEEWt5HMTE0smtboPPO-T/s320/Taunton_Stowe_DesigningBoxes_FinalCover.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>My new book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Designing-Boxes-Douglas-Stowe/dp/1641552182/?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=dougstowe02-20&linkCode=ur2&linkId=b5a3ac0864db9c0535d55ff55790ad83&camp=1789&creative=9325" target="_blank"><i>Designing Boxe</i>s</a> is now listed on Amazon for delivery on April 17.<p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-18727682852214385832024-02-19T05:55:00.000-06:002024-02-19T05:55:29.798-06:00A pen and ink box<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ZJZTAgZl3ua8tp2RZVzvT2oGeZ2C_-ndy1qPHB1qA6iYp7fryOGzQz_1r2Z3VGId_5OXjkyDDPK9EXYBiIy5nmHzk21HDJYWaOXaoVm0fwUqXVL_XFubkZ6_K6LV3umCUl9zIaX698FRoc6Btc6eHVXoj7HhjGqMY-kiyS_zAjygzJBVqqV4/s2016/IMG_9233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ZJZTAgZl3ua8tp2RZVzvT2oGeZ2C_-ndy1qPHB1qA6iYp7fryOGzQz_1r2Z3VGId_5OXjkyDDPK9EXYBiIy5nmHzk21HDJYWaOXaoVm0fwUqXVL_XFubkZ6_K6LV3umCUl9zIaX698FRoc6Btc6eHVXoj7HhjGqMY-kiyS_zAjygzJBVqqV4/s320/IMG_9233.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>A pen and ink box I made for a lawyer in Massachusetts is featured in the current issue of <i>Popular Woodworking.</i><p></p><p>It is made of ash and walnut, and also serves as an example of interior design in my new book, <i>Designing Boxes. </i>The lift out tray is to hold pens and the space under is useful for accessories.</p><p>I was listening to a report on how the rich play a disproportionate role in climate change. Over 900 private jets converged in Las Vegas for the Super Bowl, and that's just the tip of the melting iceberg. </p><p>If more folks were involved in crafting beautiful and useful things within their own communities, they'd find greater satisfaction in the use of their own hands and would not have to go rushing off toward the destruction of life for the rest of us.</p><p>Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning likewise.</p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-63225896191757210802024-02-13T12:51:00.000-06:002024-02-13T12:51:13.327-06:00John Amos Comenius<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3LhLUt0FFpkDZoBpmOwd7M_InusCGLwhDtOngJ97X6TFn3nAKnhfVN3CfI-TzblZ3iqZADCFDMOb89HNnLtkztQOBrP1ELBbEA-8lz1uDtCKoWV6u64hqfEini2v0rieM7T-VDS448qnz4_9CM3zNbeVvIoAqNBrhayHFR60AK75S1bz-mhn/s587/440px-John_Amos_Comenius_portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3LhLUt0FFpkDZoBpmOwd7M_InusCGLwhDtOngJ97X6TFn3nAKnhfVN3CfI-TzblZ3iqZADCFDMOb89HNnLtkztQOBrP1ELBbEA-8lz1uDtCKoWV6u64hqfEini2v0rieM7T-VDS448qnz4_9CM3zNbeVvIoAqNBrhayHFR60AK75S1bz-mhn/s320/440px-John_Amos_Comenius_portrait.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">John Amos Comenius was born March 28, 1592, and as father of modern pedagogy (the science of learning and teaching) said the following.</span><p></p><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">"The ground of this business (education) is, that sensual objects be rightly presented to the senses for fear that they not be received. I say, and say it again aloud, that this is the foundation of all the rest; because we can neither act nor speak wisely, unless we first rightly understand all the things which are to be done and whereof we have to speak. Now there is nothing in the understanding which was not before in the senses. And therefore to exercise the senses well about the right perceiving of the differences of things will be to lay the grounds for wisdom and all wise discourse, and all discreet actions in one's course of life, which, because it is commonly neglected in schools, and the things that are to be learned are offered to scholars without their being understood or being rightly presented to the senses, it cometh to pass that the work of teaching and learning goeth heavily onward and offereth little benefit.” </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">"Theory," says </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Luis_Vives" style="color: #660000;">Vives,</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">"is easy and short, but has no result other than the gratification that it affords. Practice on the other hand, is difficult and prolix, but is of immense utility." Since this is so, we should diligently seek out a method by which the young may be easily led to the practical application of natural forces, which is to be found in the arts."</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">"Boys ever delight in being occupied in something for the youthful blood does not allow them to be at rest. Now as this is very useful, it ought not to be restrained, but provision made that they may always have something to do. Let them be like ants, continually occupied in doing something, carrying, drawing, construction and transporting, provided always that whatever they do be done prudently. They ought to be assisted by showing them the forms of all things, even of playthings; for they cannot yet be occupied in real work, and we should play with them.</span><span style="color: #333333;">”</span> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Is it not time that we learned from an expert observer and changed the foundation of America education? More doing and less reading would be a good start, so that when kids are reading or writing they have a firm foundation for it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning likewise.</span></div>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-33727549121498460772024-02-11T09:56:00.002-06:002024-02-11T09:56:55.335-06:00A torsion table.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjK8830bLdjUCFHWMHnN5pHhjWFSaHA71Op9cexKKpXRx87tXE-FYT_86PMjD5We2Na3_1Qt7tvyGxOiQm80dVPAZj5rb-oOpZsrYVvh014FWI5s2HPdyQ3UU6jmM372LEuPs_7BjLBN7CkSEvGlTdw_m9omw1MA2hpkhJ8jJfgrfr3yi6xDlo/s2708/IMG_9232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2161" data-original-width="2708" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjK8830bLdjUCFHWMHnN5pHhjWFSaHA71Op9cexKKpXRx87tXE-FYT_86PMjD5We2Na3_1Qt7tvyGxOiQm80dVPAZj5rb-oOpZsrYVvh014FWI5s2HPdyQ3UU6jmM372LEuPs_7BjLBN7CkSEvGlTdw_m9omw1MA2hpkhJ8jJfgrfr3yi6xDlo/s320/IMG_9232.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Over the last five days a team of volunteers and I built 5 tables for ESSA. Four are yet to be assembled and all require finish. The table shown in the photo is a torsion table similar in structure to one I have coming out in an article in Popular Woodworking.<p></p><p>I was interviewed last week for an article in the New Republic on the subject of education. I was asked about the problem of cell phones in school. I noted that when kids (and adults) are busy doing real things, cell phones (and their distraction) are of little interest. If we get kids busy in schools doing real things instead of the usual BS, the boredom that drives kids to their phones will be decreased.</p><p>My own cell phone use fell dramatically during the last week (over 40%). </p><p>Yes, it can be demanding. Planning for kids to do real things instead of sitting at desks while teachers drone on and on is not an easy thing. But well worth it, as it allows students to have real outcomes to demonstrate and measure their success. When things are real, no standardized tests are required to prove evidence of learning.</p><p>On Friday I had a good zoom conversation with Dale Dougherty from Make Magazine about the state of American education and how to turn things around. The torsion table shown in the photo is made from white oak and spalted sycamore. It will serve as the reception table for the Windgate Building, greeting students to the wood and metals studios.<br /> </p><p>Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning lifewise.</p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-31483162398219601732024-02-08T17:34:00.000-06:002024-02-08T17:34:04.108-06:00cutting dovetails at ESSA!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7rCdB_2gJWu1P5vh3tQgkp3WtLEZ9aYF_N_6XCHVIdf-sWTheoHYjpIudR0dZh0JTZi6ezxX74KZTKvvut1oNj07gJIqyf4pTY439iRkt8t1kfmm9WZeIH3P0h5odzN6Qd60bLMbzDkvee5NAClfUkgBbUMR0CGP5asiDfBlN0TSCYM_0f7m/s2016/IMG_9228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7rCdB_2gJWu1P5vh3tQgkp3WtLEZ9aYF_N_6XCHVIdf-sWTheoHYjpIudR0dZh0JTZi6ezxX74KZTKvvut1oNj07gJIqyf4pTY439iRkt8t1kfmm9WZeIH3P0h5odzN6Qd60bLMbzDkvee5NAClfUkgBbUMR0CGP5asiDfBlN0TSCYM_0f7m/s320/IMG_9228.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Volunteers have been building a display cabinet for the wood shop at ESSA. Practicing dovetails is a notable and noble adventure, sure to grab interest. <p></p><p>In the meantime, I've been sent the pdf's of my new book, Designing Boxes, to review and got a nice note from a craft collector in Little Rock to tell me that one of my reliquaries of wood will be on display at the Windgate Center for Art and Design at UALR until March 3. The opening reception will be held Thursday, February 15, 2024 from 5 to 7 PM.</p><p>Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning likewise.</p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-57352160871985537892024-02-06T16:34:00.004-06:002024-02-06T19:43:44.339-06:00volunteer days<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJyHOoBVZ3bFmhfsU3Bk_TX8_u5jh9daetZXJhMqsehlfW-2dzIxYegLsEuekdbmGTOXWVLF9wVjbL0sMijTX427Wxz9lHf4I4taeXQGtEVwY7Gx2eGsGZMzulOFBtxp2cwUs061nFIvbB95X3JCer68VeG7b197k_q7dHvX9pKGG24CA8ODsf/s2016/IMG_9222.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJyHOoBVZ3bFmhfsU3Bk_TX8_u5jh9daetZXJhMqsehlfW-2dzIxYegLsEuekdbmGTOXWVLF9wVjbL0sMijTX427Wxz9lHf4I4taeXQGtEVwY7Gx2eGsGZMzulOFBtxp2cwUs061nFIvbB95X3JCer68VeG7b197k_q7dHvX9pKGG24CA8ODsf/s320/IMG_9222.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>At ESSA this week, a team of volunteers is helping me to make 5 tables. Four are for our commons house where we will hold board meetings and receptions, and one is to go in the lobby that connects the wood and metals studios.<p></p><p>In the photo folks are using cabinet scrapers to finish columns that will become parts of pedestal style bases on white oak tables.</p><p>Make, fix and create... assist others in learning likewise. </p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-2068278775486743612024-01-31T06:19:00.007-06:002024-01-31T14:19:59.013-06:00Designing Boxes Cover<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizd5XB5IFDAo8hq-wl9KiovV5u6xKb9wCEznehjAriysnswzbSvzAyuLCnE5XEYGN6Ciih2pK9cZ0D-OnhmxuKIMhu3wEvZpPrpQDy-fbMhz9PfP-kMdujSN5SrJbrTiClKRTbNRe2t4UUQvUy2sUdV4_6VMPwfivS860_0wCJo40x-ahrC1Jd/s1650/Taunton_Stowe_DesigningBoxes_FinalCover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1650" data-original-width="1275" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizd5XB5IFDAo8hq-wl9KiovV5u6xKb9wCEznehjAriysnswzbSvzAyuLCnE5XEYGN6Ciih2pK9cZ0D-OnhmxuKIMhu3wEvZpPrpQDy-fbMhz9PfP-kMdujSN5SrJbrTiClKRTbNRe2t4UUQvUy2sUdV4_6VMPwfivS860_0wCJo40x-ahrC1Jd/s320/Taunton_Stowe_DesigningBoxes_FinalCover.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>Taunton Press has finalized the cover of my new book that's scheduled to come out in April.<div><br /></div><div>This is my 15th book, not counting 3 translated and published in German.<br /> <p></p></div>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-88671586642070739632024-01-30T18:35:00.002-06:002024-01-30T18:35:21.018-06:00A discussion of the need for hands-on learning <p>Dale Dougherty publisher of Make Magazine asked me what direct steps we can take to improve American education, and he printed my response in <a href="https://makered.substack.com/?r=tccpa&utm_campaign=referrals-subscribe-page-share-screen&utm_medium=web" target="_blank">this link</a>.</p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34011427.post-33318293037379556192024-01-27T16:30:00.000-06:002024-01-27T16:30:27.234-06:00router mortise jig<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK9I_9D_7yw2xRNFtwNpAfMGqVb_S8J3BAj3xQtB21cidqfw8a8u65N85d6JYLvs7Dbh3E1Mk9s7Ug79-4pAsJEcHkUgNKIa5NMyVHMoqAErElnp1lVdny0yi3pOB1GNEE3f0l_r3uS2cf_rlqEc6oLz1X1ABhdzEJGMC0nwr0iMW2a23M4lMc/s2016/IMG_9209.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK9I_9D_7yw2xRNFtwNpAfMGqVb_S8J3BAj3xQtB21cidqfw8a8u65N85d6JYLvs7Dbh3E1Mk9s7Ug79-4pAsJEcHkUgNKIa5NMyVHMoqAErElnp1lVdny0yi3pOB1GNEE3f0l_r3uS2cf_rlqEc6oLz1X1ABhdzEJGMC0nwr0iMW2a23M4lMc/s320/IMG_9209.JPG" width="240" /></a><p></p><p>I've made this relatively simple new jig for routing mortises using the plunge router and guide bushings. The first step is to cut a piece from the middle of a board equal in size to the selected guide bushing.</p><p>Then the base must be glued with an opening to allow for the guide bushing to move a distance equal to the length of the planned mortise, plus an allowance for the different sizse of the router bit and guide bushing.</p><p>A guide is added to the underside to position the jig in the right place so that the cut will be centered in the stock. In my jig, I used spacers to adjust the position so I can use the same jig for different thicknesses of wood. The jig can either be clamped in a vise or can be clamped directly to the stock.</p><p>Make, fix and create.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikgtNUJsjPQtlsqP_IdM5Qadvoi2yh_jzgcjNb3KaAmEnqLW1ATtQQmP6e2ZYqtT0skkyhdafnTdSC9_r7FJM_LXFeF7Gz31u2MqOHAZTQd5G8ecJp4pRXvDqCFHiSdA8Ch9kbGqo_pf4YGgYSDcahT974u2xz_WG-RjJsHmzBrHEMyHkntGl0/s2016/IMG_9207.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikgtNUJsjPQtlsqP_IdM5Qadvoi2yh_jzgcjNb3KaAmEnqLW1ATtQQmP6e2ZYqtT0skkyhdafnTdSC9_r7FJM_LXFeF7Gz31u2MqOHAZTQd5G8ecJp4pRXvDqCFHiSdA8Ch9kbGqo_pf4YGgYSDcahT974u2xz_WG-RjJsHmzBrHEMyHkntGl0/s320/IMG_9207.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7nL1QuEAh20lmBPnZoD8_n-sbXdzpOL7cMdI0tbqwI2Mz-GAdHSlbEBle-zskLXO8obnU_F2U4lwKTBHPEFkQWV7Ya6o3CdHZwPB7novuf0qlX1Imd0jXRlgfcxUEyUfbeHSViVN44Vldfei9uJOImK405230td75Z8-Jq4R7WejpRXGFiQ6r/s2016/IMG_9187.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7nL1QuEAh20lmBPnZoD8_n-sbXdzpOL7cMdI0tbqwI2Mz-GAdHSlbEBle-zskLXO8obnU_F2U4lwKTBHPEFkQWV7Ya6o3CdHZwPB7novuf0qlX1Imd0jXRlgfcxUEyUfbeHSViVN44Vldfei9uJOImK405230td75Z8-Jq4R7WejpRXGFiQ6r/s320/IMG_9187.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>Doug Stowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003845322415622289noreply@blogger.com0