A Close Shave

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In this vale
Of toil and sin,
Your head grows bald
But not your chin!

     Burma Shave

I am sufficiently long-of-tooth that I can remember the Burma Shave signs on driving trips in the US when I was a kid.

Maybe I had them in mind a few years ago when I went on a razor-making tangent.  A few of the adult males in my long-suffering family were about to receive more clutter from my shop for Christmas.

The set at the top is made with African blackwood, the same wood bagpipes are made from.  It is dense and oily -- perfect for a bathroom counter.

Here are two more.

Red cedar burl

My favourite turning wood is yellow cedar burl.  It is really nice to work with and has a distinctive pleasant odour that quickly fills the shop. If you can find bird's-eye burl like this, the markings really 'pop' when the finish is applied.

A Root-Ball Bowl

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Many years ago, a neighbour was removing a dead arbutus tree from his back yard and noticed a big knot or burl in the center of the root ball, so he thoughtfully gave it to me.  As you might imagine, the whole mass was a mixture of wood, small stones, and dirt.  After much blasting with the garden hose and hours resharpening tools, this small bowl emerged -- approx 6" across at the top.

Smarter Than Your Average Dog!

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My brother's companion out in the shop is an old yellow Labrador retriever named Elliott.  Elliott, being smarter than your average bear, has learned that when he hears the thickness planer start up, there will soon be a soft comfortable place to sleep and a thick blanket to keep him warm.  He immediately runs to the machine and lies down under the chip discharge. 😊

December 16, 2020    Sad news...   My brother had to make an agonizing decision about Elliot earlier today.  He had a local vet visit their hobby farm, and after a good long life, Elliott's aches and pains were gone.  My brother and his family are mourning the loss of this wonderful old dog.

The Beetle-Kill Pen

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I started making wooden pens over 20 years ago and one of my favourites was made from beetle-killed Lodgepole Pine.

In BC, the infamous 'mountain pine beetle' would eventually infect over 18 million hectares of forest-lands.  In the dead trees, the beetles usually left a distinctive greyish-blue stain streaked through the cream-coloured heartwood, in addition to a brown pitch stain.  

This is a section of beetle-killed pine 2X4 from the local Home Depot.  Note the 3 distinct colours.

So I wanted to make a segmented pen, highlighting these colours.  Here it is with a matching case.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One person who looked at this photo, noticed there is an alien hiding in the grain.  Can you see him? 😉

 

Workshop Pics -- Before and After

 Back around 2005, I renovated an old garage in our basement.  Before we bought the house, the old entry door for cars was sealed up and a new room created.  It was pretty nasty in there.  The following are before and after pics, looking at all 4 corners.

The headroom in this area is only about 6' 6" so I'm envious of folks with large shops with plenty of height.

Now 15 years later, it is a bit rougher around the edges... 😂  I'll show some more recent pics in upcoming posts.

I wish it was still this neat and tidy... 😬😫