The Continuation of Off The Saw

It's been more than two years since I've graduated from College of the Redwood's Fine Woodworking program. What have I been up to since then, you ask? Well, I moved back to Los Angeles and took a job with The Climate Registry. Day-to-day I help businesses and governments measure and report their annual carbon footprint. Evenings and weekends I spend my time in the shop. I encourage you to check out the continuation of Off The Saw at www.offthesaw.com. I'm lucky to have more work than I can keep up with. In the line-up are a floating curved shelf, a small entryway table, a king sized bed and a round dining table. You can also follow what I'm up to on Instagram. Just click the icon, then stop by and drop me a line.

Graduation

Yesterday was graduation. (Actually, graduation was weeks ago. I'm now back in LA, but it took me a while to get around to publishing this post.) After the pomp and circumstance, the class headed back to the firepit for our final get-together. Ejler provided bloody marys and the Elephant  award was bestowed upon Dechen, a deserving recipient. The elephant award is passed down from a second year to a student that shows exceptional talent and character among a group of immensely talented characters. A good time was had by all. And then the good-byes began. I for one don't believe in good-byes, especially at this place. I feel that the school has a gravity all its own, and that most all of us will stay within its orbit. I look forward to seeing what we make of the experiences we had at College of the Redwoods Fine Furniture program.

Best Burger in Town

The last couple months have led me on a quest to find the best burger in the Fort Bragg area. I ate heaps of burgers, but two easily rose to the top of the pile. 

Fort Bragg Steakhouse is located in a dumpy building and has unremarkable decor, but the service is quick and friendly and the burgers are tasty. I recommend you go at lunch for the burger special. For $7 you get a tasty patty with bacon and cheese, and fries, onion rings or a salad. This is by far the best value.  

Mendo Burgers in neighboring Mendocino has the best burger with the loveliest ambiance, hands down. You can choose regular beef or organic beef, and the toppings are fresh and delicious. Fries are handcut and the banana milkshake has chunks of real banana. You can eat your meal in the adjoining dining room or outside in the garden. The owners' friendly dogs may be on-site to greet you. 

North Coast Brewing Company deserves special mention for their delicious fries. The burger isn't bad either.

Evelyn's First Birthday!

Evelyn, my classmate's daughter, turned one yesterday. Family and friends celebrated her first year with good food and drink at a cabin on the bluffs. There's nothing quite like watching a baby grow and develop to drive home how much can happen in nine months. Happy birthday, Evelyn!

Scholarships

Scholarships make it possible for students to pursue their education. It's wonderful to receive them (I know! I was fortunate to receive the Susan Detjens Memorial Award.), and even more wonderful to give to them. If you'd like to support the work that students do here at CR Fine Woodworking, please contact Marcia Williams at marcia-williams@redwoods.edu. You'd make a difference in the lives of woodworkers, like the ones below!

Scholarship Awards Luncheon
Photo by David Welter

The Quickening

I cannot believe it, but the school year has come and gone. My classmates and I cleaned out the shop yesterday and then headed to Jim Budlong's place for a year-end party and camp-out. Ejler made mention a few weeks ago of "the quickening"--the time of year when almost everything goes into warp speed--and before I knew it, it was over with. 

Jim's party was the perfect way to go out. He and his wife Sue homestead on 40 acres between Mendocino and Ukiah. They have a beautiful home, a bountiful garden, and many animals, including dogs,  chickens, a pig for part of the year, and, until recently, ducks. They've built many of the structures on their property out of lumber they pulled from the property. This includes Jim's shop (a shop to envy!), which is made primarily out of redwood. And they do all of this entirely off the grid!

I still have a few more posts on backlog, so check back for updates at least a few more times, but in the meantime, enjoy these photos from the party.

Calligrapher's Box

Michael made a beautiful calligrapher's box out of afzelia and london plane. I believe it's a traditional chinese design, which has storage space for brushes and a flat, hard surface for calligraphy. The original box had a stone in the center of the top, but Michael chose to use london plane, a wood that looks like stone. The two drawers open with a push-release--you push one drawer in and the other one opens. Michael used a plastic piece to get the right amount of tension and spring-back. It's an elegant box. It's currently at our spring show in the Highlight Gallery, and rumor has it that there are three interested parties!

The drawers run along each compartment, and the back of the drawer makes contact with the curved wooden piece. The plastic piece flexes in either direction, accommodating movement and springing the wooden piece back into position.

Table for Two (or Four)

Well, here's my table. Thanks to David Welter for the beautiful photos. 

As I worked to complete this project, I reflected on my time at CR. Mostly I think I learned just enough to know how much I don't know. But as I was chopping the bracket mortises to attach the tabletop to the base, I had a moment where I moved seamlessly through the motions without too much contemplation. In that moment I realized that I have learned a lot. 

I've learned lots individually and the class has learned even more collectively. This point was driven home to me when I drilled through my tabletop (argh!). My first thought was, well at least Molly's here, she's done a louse. Dechen was in the finishing room with me when it happened, and he helped me to stay calm and come up with a good solution to the problem. One of the best parts of the program has been sharing the learning experience with my classmates. I look forward to seeing where we go with our new and improved skills and knowledge. I certainly expect great things.

  

Brass Brackets (Say that Five Times Fast)

The past couple days I've been working on the finish of my table. I also made brackets to attach the table top to the base. I started by taking brass stock and rough-cutting it to the desired size on the bandsaw. I squared the corners using a block placed 90 degrees to the disc-sander. I set-up a jig on the drill press to bore screw holes through both sides of the bracket and counter-sink the holes. Lastly, I filed the brackets for a clean surface. Voila! Brass brackets. Check back soon for pictures of the table.
 

Abalone!

It's abalone season. For those of you who aren't familiar with this delectable treat, it's an edible sea snail. A few of my classmates went out diving for the snails, and they came back with abalone to spare. We fried some up in butter with lemon juice, salt and pepper. The key is to pound the tough meat to tenderize it.

On the Importance of Friends

My good friend Molly visited me last week. She returned recently from New Zealand where she's been adventuring for the past 1/2 year or so, and then drove up the coast from Los Angeles for a visit. We spent the time walking along North Coast beaches, soaking in the pools at Orr Hot Springs, and chatting over meals we cooked. In other words, we didn't do anything special outside of enjoying one another's company. Seeing Molly reminded me how important it is to have close friends around. This is something I've missed over the last nine months.

I feel I've made a number of new friends who are near and dear to me, but it's not the same as having old friends around. Especially because we spend 8-10 hours a day together in the shop, which doesn't leave much energy or time for the purely social. That being said, I already know that I'll miss these new friends immensely once school comes to a close and we all move on to our futures. It's sad that human nature lends itself to missing what we don't have and taking for advantage the things we have while we have them. I'm working to better appreciate the present--what I have when I have it.

Molly brought me this poppy from Sebastopol. Funny enough I have these very poppies growing in my yard. Both are a reminder to truly be in the present.