I expect to be able to make a number of pieces of fine furniture from this wood harvested in my own woods.
One of my blog readers reminded me of one of my earlier blog posts from March 14, 2016. It is about poet William Carlos Williams and his line, "no ideas but in things." You may find it to be a useful read.
https://wisdomofhands.blogspot.com/2016/03/no-ideas-but-in-things.html
Make, fix and create... Assist others in living likewise.
Make, fix and create...
Today I completed a 5 day class at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking. I had 15 students in the class with each having made between six to eight boxes. I suspect the total number would be a record. We all had fun.
I'll be headed home in the morning, grateful for a very nice week.
Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning likewise.
One of my students mentioned his need to make a wooden box for the ashes of a friend. This link is to a blog post I placed on the Fine Woodworking website in 2012 that describes the making of just such a box.
https://www.finewoodworking.com/2012/05/09/making-a-crematory-urn-box-part-i
The photo is from yesterday's class.
Make, fix and create...
This morning I'm headed for Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Indiana, for my annual weeklong class in box making. Weeks have gone into planning for this year's class. I'll attempt to post photos during the week, but blog posts from previous classes can be found on my blog: http://wisdomofhands.blogspot.com Use the search block at upper left on the page and the search term, Marc Adams.
Make, fix and create.
I and others have become increasingly concerned about what's called AI or artificial intelligence. Through programs like Chatbot GPT, AI can spew language, writing Shakespearian sonnets faster than you can spell Jackie Robinson. But what you get from the programs is BS. In fact, the more BS that's out there, the easier it becomes to fictionalize reality, and fool the pubic. AI gets even worse when it's creating videos and images intended to distort our understanding of reality.
When how-to writers write, our success is based not on being able to convince others to think what we think but to empower others to succeed in what we do, and we dare not lead others astray, as they will test what we've demonstrated in their own hands and haunt us for our failures.
This is one of the reasons that kids of all ages need to be doing real things in schools and that schools need as much as possible to be (not merely resemble) real life. The artificiality of the typical classroom environment leaves children untrained in the discernment of truth. It leaves them vulnerable to manipulation by despots, whether those despots are petty ones in our own families and communities, or are those who shape political opinions and rule nations.
When I spoke to the Holiday Island Rotary Club this last week, one member in the audience mentioned that she had visited Clear Spring School and that in her observations it was different from what she had observed in other schools. She had noted greater student participation and less teacher control, and she asked me if her observations and how she was describing things were correct.
I was reminded of a story local artist Zeek Taylor told of his first year of teaching high school art. The principal stepped into his classroom as he was preparing for the first day of school, and pronounced sternly as a warning, "Your kids must remain quiet." You'll not find that rule to be in force at the Clear Spring School, where teachers and students are responsive to each other, as must be the case for effective learning to take place.
I've had a few things running through my head of late. One is the Erikson-Anders 10,000 hour rule that suggests that to get world class at something, 10,000 hours of deliberate practice are required. Compare that to the roughly 16,000 hours kids spend at schools sitting passively at desks while teachers follow scripts devised by others and devoid of their own passion.
I've also been thinking about depression and boredom (not my own) that are imposed within the typical classroom environment. And I've been thinking about a revolution in which we empower teachers to do and create, and respect impassioned learning.
If we each observe and reflect on our own learning experiences and build from there we see a few things that were noted by Diesterweg in the mid 1800's. These observations presented by Otto Salomon in his book, the Principles of Educational Sloyd are: Start with the interests of the child, move from the known to the unknown, from the easy to the more difficult, from the simple to the complex and from the concrete to the abstract. In this I repeat myself, but if we were to design American education based on how we learn, and with an eye toward engaging students in the quest for truth, we'd be less at risk with regard to Artificial Intelligence, as each student would have real intelligences of their own and their 16,000 hours spent in schooling would not have been squandered. Better mental health would arise also.
Make, fix and create...
Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning likewise.
This new jig allows the woodworker to clamp the box part in place so it is carefully carried through the cut. The results are shown in a practice box.
Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning lifewise.
With finger access to the bottom drawer by simply touching underneath, the fourth pull would have been unnecessary.
You are welcome to comment if you think I'm wrong (or right for that matter). The pulls will be glued in place after sanding is complete.
Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning lifewise.
By reshaping the underside of the bottom drawer, I've taken a boring, straight line and made the whole chest more interesting. Also, I've created a finger space for opening the drawer so that only the top three drawers will require pulls.
This morning I'll be making a presentation to the Holiday Island Rotary about the Wisdom of Our Hands. Nine to 10 AM at Grace Lutheran Church.
Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning likewise.
Subscribers of Popular Woodworking will find an article I wrote for the magazine in the current issued, illustrating how to make a coopered leg hall table.
Let's reshape American education so that its first priority will be to provide students of all ages means to support better mental health. Crafts and the arts are the means through which students will develop coping skills that must come before all else.
Make, fix and create.
Then after class I joined them in the new Clear Spring School teepee for a quick story time. The teepee is amazingly large on the inside, spacious enough for a class to gather. If you live in Eureka Springs, stop by and look inside. It's lovely.
Make, fix and create...
In the meantime, I'm working on a new box design as shown.
Make, fix and create...
In the meantime, this lovely state has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the US with a death rate of young mothers 10 times that of California. What an unbelievable shame that is!
Our governor is more concerned about drag shows, the ease of getting guns and positioning herself for higher office than about the death of mothers. Go figure, please. Gun violence has become the highest cause of the death of children in the US. So between the death of mothers and of kids, we have a great deal of work to do and it appears that typical Republicans are not interested.
Can crafts play a role in bringing needed change? It is widely known that participation in the arts is healing of mind, body and spirit.
The photo shows a piece of sculpture by noted artist and philanthropist Robyn Horn at the entry of the Windgate Center for Art and Design. It is made of wood. I am grateful to be here.
Make, fix and create...
I had a very nice time last night making a presentation to an audience of hand enthusiasts at the Windgate Center for Art and Design in Little Rock. I think there may have been as many as fifty in the audience... not bad on a Friday night when there are thousands of other things to do.
At one point, I asked the audience whether they thought that providing means of maintaining mental health should be a primary mission of American education. And of course that should be the case, and the audience agreed. We know there's a significant link between the development of hand skills, and a sense of well being. Woodworkers may call what we do, "sawdust therapy" knowing that what we do with wood make us feel better. And all other craftsmen in every other field of creative endeavor, regardless of the material involved will assert the same.
And so I ask you all a simple question. If schools have a primary purpose of providing means through which students attain and maintain better mental health, why are schools and curricula designed to alienate us from each other along a trades vs. academic divide? Why are the hands not made central to all learning? Perhaps it is easier to simply go through the motions of teaching and providing content than to become concerned about students learning and living healthy lives.
When I was in Portland we drove past a small homeless encampment and my guides mentioned the relationship between homelessness and drug use. Our first home is that which we establish in our own beings in the relationship between our heads, hands and hearts. I propose a simple idea. If we are preoccupied with discovering our own joy of creativity will we have an interest in destroying our own capacity to create? To create a proper environment for human creativity we start by empowering parents and grandparents to know this important relationship of hand/brain/heart and then we insist that education become empowered to sustain that balance.
Make, fix and create.
I'll be in little Rock for the next three days at UA Little Rock’s School of Art and Design leading a lecture and a workshop as part of the artWORKs series.
Made possible through the Windgate Foundation, the UA Little Rock artWORKs Series brings renowned artists to the UA Little Rock campus where they can collaborate and craft a community that values learning and the visual arts.
Details, times and locations can be found in this link: https://ualr.edu/news/2023/04/06/stowe-artworks-artist/
Make, fix and create...
This week I'll go to Little Rock where as a guest at UALR I'll make a Friday night presentation on the Wisdom of Our Hands, and then follow up on Saturday and Sunday with classes in box making. The details can be found in this link: https://ualr.edu/news/2023/04/06/stowe-artworks-artist/
Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning lifewise.
This is volume 2 of a series from LeeValley.com
Make, fix and create...
The walnut stretcher near the bottom of the box is intended to do the job of holding the sides and top square, while also being hidden from view by the bottom drawer.
Make, fix, forgive and create.
Put April 17-19 on your calendars. April 17 I'll do an evening presentation on the Wisdom of our hands, a subject that affects us all, whether celebrants of National Woodworking Month or not. On Saturday I'll teach a box making class open to drop-ins or full day participants. It will be demonstration only. On Sunday, a few students will join me for a hands-on class. For that, registration is required.
The photo shows a walnut jewelry box in the making. It also shows that hand cut dovetails can be messy in the making. There are simpler ways to cut this joint than cutting by hand, but this is National Woodworking Month, and woodworking is not just about stuff. It's also about training the hand and mind for other things.
Yesterday we attended Hands-On ESSA, an annual event at the Eureka Springs School of the Arts. Money was raised through an on-site/online auction and folks of all ages got introductions to various crafts.
Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning lifewise.
These are mitered dovetails so that on the front and back edges of the chests, the joints will appear cleaner. To accentuate the dovetails, they'll stand proud of the surfaces by 1/8 in. to offer a decorative effect.
It's been a couple years or more since I last made hand cut dovetail joints. But the skills come back.
Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning lifewise.
This marking gauge is unlike the other marking gauges on the market in several ways. It has a scale allowing the dovetails to be scaled up or down from a central mark. That mark can be seen rather than hidden by the body of the jig. So instead of measuring this side and then that side, measuring for each pin or tail is reduced to one mark.
Another advantage is that with the outside edges being square, it serves also as a square in laying out the other marks required.
Veritas chose not to put this jig into production, but at least I have one for my own use. I can understand why they chose not to produce this marking gauge as there are many competitors on the market and to see the value of this one requires some fresh thinking and for me to teach its value.
Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning lifewise.
Yesterday I finished a two day box making class with the Guild of Oregon Woodworkers, a total of 36 boxes having been made. Students were pleased, as was I, not only by the numbers and quality of boxes having been made but by the learning that took place.
Last night I was the presenter at the monthly Guild meeting and had a great, attentive audience. There are some very important things that the hands do. They support wisdom and health within families. They support the development of community. They sustain and advance human culture. They support mental health. They assist as we learn to care for each other. They help us to distinguish between that which is real and that which is made to deceive us.
Make, fix and create... Today I begin a two day class making more boxes.
I'm in Portland, Oregon with the Guild of Oregon Woodworkers, making boxes. We have twelve students and studio assistants. We're making lift lid boxes, hinged boxes, and today will begin making sliding lid boxes.
I'm having a great time. They have a new teaching classroom equipped with benches and power tools, allowing them to hold classes without interrupting other guild activities. The Guild is a wonderful resource for anyone of any skill level with a desire to learn and grow. If you are in the Portland area and feel a need to connect with others, you'll find the Guild welcoming you. I noticed that they are also preparing for a visit with Mary May, my favorite American woodcarver.
Tonight I'll make a presentation at the monthly guild meeting, and you need not be a member to attend.
Make, fix, and create. . . Assist others in learning lifewise.
This gift article from the New York Times is about the manipulation of the American electorate through enlisting foreign participation in the defeat of Jimmy Carter. That may seem like a long time ago. It was not.
In the meantime, school districts in California and Seattle are filing suit against social media companies in defense of children's mental health. The social media companies know the societal impact of their product and make billions of dollars by destroying mental health, as they pass though unscathed, even as the executives from the companies limit their own children's screen time, knowing the damage their products cause. It has been said that the problem with socialism is socialism, and the problem with capitalism s capitalists. We need a fresh stock of entrepreneurs who care much more for people than for profits.
Today I'm with the Guild of Oregon Woodworkers teaching a class in box making. Woodworking imparts a sense of values, as we attempt to create useful beauty, and develop our skills at the same time.
Make, fix and create...
On the way to the airport today my wife Jean and I listened to Nick Offerman's interview on the podcast, On Being with Krista Tippett. Anyone interested in woodworking would find pleasure in it. Anyone who enjoys working with their hands will find it of value. Please enjoy, as did I.
https://onbeing.org/programs/nick-offerman-working-with-wood-and-the-meaning-of-life/
The creation of useful beauty is essential to the human spirit, whether that beauty is found in the raising and preparation of food, the compassionate nursing of each other, or the making of boxes.
I'm in the airport in Northwest Arkansas waiting for my flights to the Pacific Northwest.
Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning lifewise.
Clear Spring School has launched a new podcast and I am their first guest, answering questions about my "hobby". You can listen here:
I leave this morning for Portland, Oregon where I'll spend 5 days with the Guild of Oregon Woodworkers.
Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning lifewise.
To cut the grooves for the hidden splines, I use the jig shown.
This is a letter I received from former president Jimmy Carter. He is a man of courage and conviction. He's also shared my own passion for woodworking.
A good friend of mine passed away. Hank Kaminski was one of my early friends when I moved to Eureka Springs, and his wife JoAnn was the person I met who told me about this place and suggested I consider Eureka Springs as a place to work as I was ready to move on from doing pottery at Memphis State.
Hank's life and achievements are discussed at the Arkansas Department of Heritage website. https://www.arkansasheritage.com/blog/dah/2020/07/23/sculptor-hank-kaminsky-named-2018-arkansas-living-treasure
I was honored to have been a panel member selecting Hank as an Arkansas Living Treasure.
I explained to the panel that I would recuse myself from voting because Hank was like a brother to me, but the panel voted unanimously and at the age of 79 he was named the Arkansas Living Treasure of 2018.
I’ll be in Portland for the coming week so will have to miss the celebration of his life to be held on Saturday. Hank and JoAnn were such important persons in my early days in Eureka Springs and played such important roles in our development as an arts community. I always felt that Hank was my big brother in the arts… he always being a bit ahead of things. He gave me confidence for my own growth.
I was looking up at the moon this morning against a clear blue sky and wondered that the moon had no eyes to look back. Its movements around our planet have such profound effect, and yet we do not know whether it has the wondrousness of consciousness that life provides. Can it know love?
Artists are trained to look at both positive and negative space. The positive space is occupied by that which falls between the lines. The space beyond is not empty space, but is filled with all else... the relationships that bind us, each to each other.
Physicists tell us that once two particles are entangled with each other they can be thrust to the furthest ends of the universe and what happens to one is known to the other. It may feel as though Hank has been cast beyond reach. But the truth is that even when we are apart, our lives have been entangled and that entanglement is a thing that gives meaning. We are larger in each other than grief allows us to comprehend.
As I was watching the moon, a jet plane flew across its path. It was much too high to be landing at XNA, but I knew from having flown that it was full of beings, each having a consciousness that the moon might envy, connected not only with each other but beyond, each having personal connections at each end of their flight. What a wondrous thing it is that we live this life and that our lives cross.
The photo shows Hank with his Peace Globe in Fayetteville, AR.
Make, fix and create...
The table is designed using torsion rods to hold all the parts in relationship and to provide structural stability. Despite being relatively light and airy, the table is very rigid and strong.
As far as I know the design and the use of torsion rods in this way is original from my own work. When I was a kid, I wanted to be an inventor. I guess I am one.
Make, fix and create. Learn while you're at it.
To make the cats, students traced from a template I'd prepared and used Vaughan Bear Saws to make the angle cuts forming the ears and legs. The arms are made from 1/4 in. dowels inserted in holes drilled with a cordless drill.
Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning lifewise.
I had a dream last night in which I had a conversation with Jimmy Carter, our former American President who is now in hospice care. I touched his arm and felt such strength in it, a hardness like my own. I mentioned how different the world would be if Ronald Reagan had not won. He knew exactly what I meant and rose up to his full height.
Carter, after all, was a true conservative. He championed American energy independence, knowing our dependence on foreign oil was a hazard to our world's future. He put solar panels on the White House as a suggestion of what what our future would best become... one in which we preserved the planet and delayed the terrible effects of global warming.
Ask a conservative what they are preserving, and they'll likely not have much to say. A true conservative acts as a conservator. True conservatives should by measured by acts of conservation... caring for the planet's people and all planetary life. False conservatives these days talk about the dangers of being "woke." A true conservative would be preserving, conserving and building communities in which each participant is lifted. Those are things we can each do. And those are things Jimmy Carter has done his whole life.
Make, fix and create...
Make, fix and create...
Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning lifewise.
An advantage of this method is that all four sides of a box can be clamped together on the sliding portion of the jig to be cut at the same time. Two cuts (and some additional fiddling about) and you've got a box.
Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning lifewise.
Make, fix and create.
This table will be featured in an upcoming issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine, and you can make a relatively small investment to have it in your own home.
Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning likewise.
You will also note the darker lines of grain provide an invitation to using walnut or cherry in making the table base. I chose cherry in this case.
Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning lifewise.
Having allowed them to sit for a few months I found that the thick maple tops had warped and needed to be flattened and re-planed. I had to place wedges on the underside at opposite corners on each end of the tops to pass them through the planer to get them flat. By lifting the corners at opposite ends with the wedges allowed one side to be made flat. Flipping the boards over then allowed them to planed smooth and flat on the side that had been supported by the wedges. The boards were reduced in thickness by 5/8 in. But that's a fine thing as it leaves the tops appearing much lighter, as though they can actually float above the base as I intended.
The tops are sugar maple and the legs cherry. They will be made available for sale.
This technique of table building is one I'll illustrate in an article in Popular Woodworking and one that I first introduced in my book, Making Elegant Custom Tables.
I call these "torsion tables" as they rely on torsion rods similar to those in a VW bug suspension. The resistance provided by the rods in mortises and the triangulation between legs provides an airy, lightweight and solid frame to support the table top.
Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning likewise.
To make the Valentines hearts I made a template of a half heart. The kids were able to draw a whole heart by drawing one side, and flipping it over to draw the other. It was a great way to demonstrate the use of symmetrical geometric design, a thing that will come to greater importance later as our students develop higher math skills. After tracing their hearts, I helped the students cut them out on the bandsaw. Then they sanded the parts as I drilled holes for each to assemble the hearts and stands using 3/16 in. bamboo skewers as sticks.
Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning lifewise.
Make, fix and create... assist others in learning lifewise.
An article in the New York Times introduces us to the Luddite Club. Its motto is "Stop using your phone, start using your brain."
Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning lifewise.
I think the appeal of this project may be three fold. One, the wood was free. Two, it involves an introduction to the use of hand tools. And three, I hope it conveys an understanding to those who want to design boxes, that it's OK to take risks.
It and the step-by-step story of making it will likely become a part of my new book, Designing Boxes.
The finish applied and waiting to be rubbed out is Tung oil. The blotchy finish may even out in time, and as pine does, it will age to a darker honey tone on its own.
Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning lifewise.
