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“… lend your ears to music, open your eyes to painting, and … stop thinking! Just ask yourself whether the work has enabled you to “walk about” into a hitherto unknown world. If the answer is yes, what more do you want?” — Wassily Kandinsky
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In just a few short weeks, I head off to the Marc Adams School of Woodworking for my annual teaching fix. The “Creative Thinking” class has two openings left and my Tool Making class a couple more. It would be great if these spots were filled out by DSN members.

Now here is the cool part–if you know of a young, deserving and under-capitalized talent that is worthy and full of promise, there are a couple of tuition grants available for the Tool Making class. Contact marc@marcadams.com for your nominee.

One of the advantages of living in the world’s largest temperate rain forest is that I have plenty of time to read. Five months of continual rain, a fireplace, a glass of wine and the right music gives me the perfect excuse to avoid chores. (I like leaving work…at work–which likely explains why I have mice living in my walls–until tomorrow.) Living vicariously through the work of others not only motivates me to do better everyday, but some pieces are so flat-out exciting, they need to be shared. If you haven’t seen the work Wouter Scheublin, you have now.

I am hopelessly attracted to kinetic sculptures. Below is a functional, limited edition (20) spring car by Wouter.  What a fun piece.  Don’t you want to pick it up an play with it?


This next piece I have to see in person. This table literally has legs–push it to relocate and it walks with you. How cool is that? In the right environment, this would be an incredibly functional kinetic sculpture…I also really like the metal stretchers, wood would have been a poor choice from a monotony standpoint. (Don’t forget to check out his site to see the walking bookcase.)
Thanks to Robert’s comment below, entry updated with video–I love the ending where he sits and pulls the table to him–makes one wonder about moving a chair without wheels while sitting in it doesn’t it? I wish we had one of these at my house growing up–particularly at Thanksgiving…imagine the rough seas in the gravy boat with kids on each side of the table…


Knowing when to quit is one of the many secrets of great design. I really like the simple, geometric lines of this chair…(also note that the best view of a chair is most often the rear, three-quarter view–my experience is that if a chair looks good from this view, it is going to look good from all views)



I hope you enjoy these internet forays as much as I do sharing them!

–John

PS: TRIAL BALLOON HERE: I am thinking about putting a trip together next spring to visit the Milan Furniture Fair–the greatest annual display of furniture design on the planet. Anybody interested?

Rutager here, your cub reporter- Cub Cadet- space cadet fresh from this years American Craft Council Show. I brought my camera with, but didn’t get too many pictures because I started feeling like I was offending people by asking if I could take them. It was a bit weird, when I would ask, several said that they were on their web site and I could see them there, others reluctantly let me and others had no problem!

The show had something for most everyone, there were textiles, jewelry, furniture, and more furniture, boxes, metal sculptures, glass work, ceramics, painting and more. I ended up joining the organization since they had a reduced fee and it included admission, and the bi-monthly magazine looks very interesting. I found several things that interested me including some ceramic dish ware and wall hangings by Lori Katz, what I liked about her work was that she didn’t use actual black and white stoneware, but rather a light cream color and a very dark brown, which isn’t quite as stark as black and white. I also liked the framed art series called “relief circles” which kind of highlight the negative space rather than the positive. I can really see getting pieces from both of these artists once my many home remodeling projects are complete.

Here I am as a model for Ed Kidera’s rocket pack–this drew quite the crowd (but no autograph requests);


Here are some very colorful hanging animal sculptures;

Below is a bronze sculpture titled “Life in the Fast Lane” by Thomas Wargin. Thomas was very nice and explained that this sculpture is about business people who rush into things without concern for scruples and won’t slow down to live life. The little devil guy holding the one blindfold represents unethical and evil acts that the business person turns a blind eye to, and the death masked dude perched on the butt with the other blindfold signifies life passing them by.

Here is some of the blown glass;

Hollow turnings;

Some metal work and a rocking chair with a futuristic look;
\

These water fountains (mostly copper) were very quite because at each level the water was landing on copper mesh;


More cool work;


Well… that’s all I have. John, thanks again for bringing the show to my attention.

-Rutager

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“There is nothing in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and he who considers price only is that man’s lawful prey.” — John Ruskin
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Monday I headed north on Interstate 5 for a couple of hours (in a rental van with a bad radio) to share the Bridge City story with a captive audience also know as the Evergreen Woodworkers Guild. What a great group!

I can share that the guild was full of engaged, intelligent folks who were actually paying attention to me (so unlike raising teenagers…) It was really fun to watch the expression on member faces as they took turns cutting on the Jointmaker Pro I hauled along for the ride.

Yes Drivel Starved Nation, now is the time for blog post embellishment and some flat out lies…

I knew my talk was getting long when someone hollered, “HEY–WHEN IS THE RAFFLE?” (It’s moments like these that make me crave the four layer, three-cheese nacho tower at Waffle House.)

And while packing the van…

“John, thanks for coming up to Seattle–I bought my first Bridge City square 40 or 50 years ago and I still use it!” (Don’t you just love it when you can use a decade as a rounding error?)

Well…this gentleman was as sure about his purchase date as I am recalling the mayhem at Ford’s Theater a century or so ago… talk about feeling old–yikes!

Carbon dating aside, I enjoy explaining that tools are the way we express ourselves here. Maybe a “tool” is not what most would consider a canvas, but it is our canvas, and thankfully, there are those that allow us to continue to express ourselves by purchasing our tools… and this almost always segues to my favorite analogy;

“You are a woodworker–why bother making a bookcase when cinder blocks and 2×12’s hold books upright perfectly?”

But what does this really mean?  Check this out:

In a completely thorough, exhaustive and definitive 2 minute search, I learned I could buy cinder blocks AND 2×12’s at Home Depot! How cool is that?

Here is my shopping list for a five foot wide, four shelf, cinder block and 2 x 12 bookcase:

• Concrete Cinder Block (Model 8816) @ $1.43 ea x 12 = $17.16
• 2 in. x 12 in. x 16 ft. #2 & Better Premium Home Center Douglas Fir Green S4S Lumber (Model # 603740) @$16.23 ea x 2 = $32.46

Total material cost = $49.62

In comparison, bookshelves (not made of green wood) start at $34.95 at IKEA.

So DSN, the next time somebody asks you why you don’t have a cinder block and 2 x 12 book shelve system, don’t bother explaining that it is a primitive solution that requires zero skill, or that cinder blocks are really hard to dust–simply state that it costs too much.

–John

PS: While I was away, Michael spent the day slacking and discovered this amazing video;

 

For those of you new to the Drivel Starved Nation (DSN), and this totally awesome and worthless blog, this is the time of year when we award our highly coveted Sh!t Bunny Award. Last year’s winner was Fred West; his prize is pictured below.


How do you win this fresh stuffed wonder? By submitting pics of a project that you wish you never would have built in the first place. It takes guts, but this prize is so freakin’ valuable, you should have no problem finding something that makes the world wonder about your nascent design skills.

(Here is the part where I must get serious. Our woodworking culture, fueled primarily by magazines, videos, TV shows, and the internet, is almost exclusively focused on the “how” of woodworking and almost nothing on the “what”. It is likely never going to change (for lots of reasons), but “design” is such a squishy subject that nobody dares talk about it. That said, we can broach the subject from the backside by recognizing work that we all know is BAD!. This is an inroad to the thought processes that are required to make good work. You know, like KNOWING what your piece is going to look like before you begin… Besides, looking back at our mistakes and laughing is healthy.)

While sifting through the 16,211.5 Sh!t Bunny Award applications (rubber gloves are required) it occurred to us to contact Fred West to see if he followed-up on his promise to get rid of his Entertainment Center (all Sh!t Bunny Award projects become proper nouns). The following discussion may be of interest to you…

“Fred, Economaki here, did you get rid of your Entertainment Center as promised?” Long awkward pause of silence…
“Fred?”
“Well, I hauled it out to the curb last August knowing that any number of my neighbors would take it in the night. But…”
“But what?”
“Within an hour, the Pennsylvania HazMat Team showed up, in full gear mind you, and spent ten minutes looking at it–then their leader threw a rock with a note attached through my living room window!”
“YOU’RE KIDDING? What did the note say?”
“You need to get this piece of $%#@ off the curb by sundown or we are going to burn your house down with you in it!”
“What did you do?”
“I hauled it back inside and that is that.”
“WHY?”
“I bought so many woodworking tools last year I had to cancel my fire insurance.”

(Rest of conversation truncated for brevity…)

Like you, we are so thoroughly disgusted with Fred that we were going to award him a Sh!t Bunny Award again–but the Bunny By-Laws stipulate one can only win this award once.

So…what to do…CREATE A NEW AWARD!

Fred, on behalf of the DSN, we are pleased to announce that by continuing to live with your Entertainment Center you have won the 2011 Bridge City E.Coli Award!



This wonderful E. Coli Award is approx. 24″ tall and will be arriving on your doorstep within the next couple of weeks. Congratulations Fred.

Oh, and you won something else too–give Natasha a call, you are $100 better off than you were yesterday.

–John

PS: Want your own E. Coli, or other super stuffed micro organism, say something fun like Syphilis? Visit the fine folks at GiantMicrobes, this site is a hoot!

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“Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.” — Leonardo da Vinci

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If you live near a large metropolitan area, chances are you are not that far from an IKEA store.

And if you don’t, IKEA is the world’s largest furniture retailer–to say their offerings are popular is an understatement. Where else can a young couple go to buy a room full of furniture for under $500?

The purpose of this post is not a plug for IKEA, not meant as a vehicle to spleen vent about quality, the changing tastes/values of youth, or lack thereof, world resource management, political/ethical/trade balance issues… I just happen to believe IKEA might be one of the best furniture design classrooms you will encounter–and the lessons are free.

Regardless of what you think about the quality, Scandinavian minimalism, the materials, durability, etc, what you won’t see at an IKEA store is bad proportions.

In preparation for a talk I am giving in a couple of months, I recently spent a day in our local IKEA store with a couple of simple tools that you can make yourself to help you avoid what is likely the biggest deadly sin of furniture design–poor, or bad proportions.

In the image below (FYI; 1:1.618 ratio) is a standard 3″ x 5″ note card. For those of you who believe the Golden Mean, is well, golden, all you have to do is trim 9/64’s of an inch off a standard note card to have a Golden Mean proportion template.

Above the note card are five 1″ square pieces taped together. Here is how you use them;

Whenever you want to determine the overall proportions of the designer’s intent, hold the card(s) out far enough from your eyes until it obscures the piece perfectly. Maybe it is the Golden Mean card, maybe it is two to one, or 3:1…you get the idea. The nice thing about the foldaway 5:1 card is that it will fit in your wallet. I use one in my wallet to cover up the the strung out drug dealer pictured on my driver’s license…

What you will quickly learn about the fascinating topic of proportion is that there is a small range of proportions that seem to pop up all the time–these are the proportions that resonate with us, and we derive comfort from them. In other words, these frequent proportions happen for a reason. Mind you, there are no rules, but it cannot hurt to have a baseline understanding of what is considered aesthetically pleasing proportions by a significant percentage of world furniture buyers. It is an aspect of furniture design that should never be ignored.

You will also notice in an IKEA an abundance of mixed materials and color. In my design classes I like to suggest that 100% wood, 100% of the time, risks being 100% boring. (It is also fair to say that this falls on deaf ears too often). Regardless, it is important to entertain new ideas and then reject them than to not consider any alternatives at all.

Maybe young people think IKEA furniture is cool not only because it is affordable, but because the proportions seem to never offend.

–John

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“My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch.” — Jack Nicholson
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It has taken longer than planned, but our new website is about 90% complete–it is up and running and being refined as I type. Please let us know if there are things you would like to see changed or improved–your feedback carries a surprising amount of weight with this Tool Potentate.

Over the past couple of months we have been in dialog with Jack Campbell at Gerstner USA regarding storage ideas for the growing family of HP-6 profiles.

Now is the time for users to chime in directly. Should it be wall mounted? Free standing? Ideas for expansion? These are but a few of the considerations that Jack needs to hear from our user community. Gerstner cases are indeed finely crafted, heirloom products. If you have an idea or two to share, it will help Jack narrow the design options. Ponder this for a while and drop Jack an email; jack@gerstnerusa.com

I love not being very bright (everything is new and fun this way) so imagine my surprise when I learned of “lock bumping”. Geez, I don’t know if I have ever seen something so ridiculously easy be so disturbing.



If you choose to research this further, keep in mind that this information has been circulating on the internet for a half-dozen years or so. In addition, the concept of lock bumping has been around for decades. An annoying voice inside my Forrest Gump brain tells me this is something that the fine folks of he Drivel Starved Nation would find interesting.

–John

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“The average pencil is seven inches long, with just a half-inch eraser – in case you thought optimism was dead.” — Robert Brault
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Geez–took a couple of days off to visit my son in Dallas, TX and the Drivel Starved Nation goes into withdrawal–“The Beast” of course is my fond reference to this totally awesome and worthless blog, so chomp on this DSN…

DSN INSIDER TIP #1:
The TM-1 Tenonmakers have all shipped and there are a couple of dozen available for immediate delivery. The reason they may not show up on our website is that we are transitioning to a new website in the next few days. That is the plan anyway.

FYI, most of the changes to our website are under the hood. One will impact a big percentage of our customers; we are no longer going to store credit cards. This means that you will need to have your card handy when you order via phone or online. The one exception is for our Auto-Order customers, your information is kept in a separate secure system.

DSN INSIDER TIP #2:
In a week or so, we are going to ship the latest run of the DJ-1 Drilling Jig. I mention this because there are 7-10 in the overrun. Remember, you heard it here first. 800-253-3332.

ANGLEMASTER PROv2 REVIEW
Because of the website update, we have extended the window for ordering the AMPv2. One of your own, DSN member Steve Schafer has posted his comprehensive, independent and transparent review; you can read it here.

COOL PERSON TO KNOW: Elia Freedman
Elia is the brains behind Infinity Softworks and we became acquainted during my search for an app programmer for the AMPv2. Little did I know I would become the programmer but not without the help of Elia and his app called powerOne FE.  Here is his blog post on the AMPv2

Coincidentally, Elia resides in the Portland area and we had a fun lunch a few weeks back. He’s a math guy in a big way and has grand ideas on how to revamp math education in this country.

For those of you who would like this app NOW, go to the Apple App Store and purchase powerOne FE. This is one of the most popular financial calculators available–the AngleMaster Pro template can be found amongst all the other goodies in this app. If you have an AMPv2 on order, don’t fret, your $4.95 to Apple and Elia pays a $10 dividend when your AMP arrives–a gift certificate will be enclosed. If you have the original AMP, this works like a champ. When the new website goes up, we will have the info for free.

AND NOW FOR THE GOOD PART…
Do you own a JMP? We are looking for a few good folks who would like airfare and two nights lodging for the upcoming Woodworking in America Conference (Cincinnati area, Sept 30-Oct 1).  We are supplying the JMP’s, you just need to show up and play on them… until I issue the directive to tag team the fence sitters, turn them upside down, relieve them of their wallets and write orders. Sound like fun?  john@bridgecitytools.com to explain why you are the right person for the weekend. Oh, Megan Fox might show up too.

IS THIS COOL OR WHAT?
Anybody up for making one of these and reporting back? Watch the movie, then explore the site–fascinating. To me anyway, and methinks you too.

–John

PS: Do I recommend the iPad? Absolutely…probably the most interesting and fun electronic device you can own with the lights on. Did I just say that?

Works with the lights off too.

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“Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us…” — Calvin and Hobbes
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BCTW PRODUCTION UPDATE

For those of you who ordered the TM-1 Tenonmaker, they are done and will be shipping next week. For those of you who did not, we have about 50 orphans at the moment. The next run will likely be late this year. Next item to ship is the CT-17 and we are still on target for a March ship date. Then the Universal Jaws.

We are going to open up the pre-order window for the third run of the Jointmaker Pro v2 next week. In addition we will make more conversion kits for those who passed last year (updated image is coming too). And then we are going to announce a bunch of new tools you cannot live without. How cool is that? Oh, almost forgot, the order window for the AngleMaster Prov2 will close next week as well.

MY DAY YESTERDAY

Yesterday I spent the entire day in a nice, downtown Portland hotel. No, it is not what you are thinking–I was in a seminar regarding web marketing. Did I mention I was there all day? Did you know that there are 15 salient points I am supposed to consider every time I post to this totally awesome and worthless blog? That is what the guru said and I agree. Here they are;

1. Megan Fox
2. Get dog food on way home
3. Bravest human that ever lived was the first guy who smelled blue cheese and thought it was food.
4. Why do seminars last an hour and a half and the chairs get uncomfortable after 20 minutes?
5. Who invented the noodle loaf?
6. The most common male search in Google: “how to tie a tie”
7. I wonder if anybody has gotten a barcode tattoo…
8. Why do wives talk so much?
9. Real helicopters cannot fly upside down.
10. BING means, “Bing Is Not Google”
11. Rip cutting by hand is hard work. Maybe not for long…
12. It cost, on average, $3.77 for a review farm to post fake, positive reviews on a site.
13. 77% of Americans believe online reviews. Only 24% have ever written one.
14. I think I need a new helicopter.
15. Why are hummingbirds so aggressive?

TREND or FUTURE?

In our 28 years, we have seen a dramatic shift in the woodworking world. Back in 1983 there was no IKEA in the states, no World Wide Web, and the bitch of the day was the outrage over plastic portable drill housings. So if you were one of the porch dogs in 1983 upset at drill manufacturers, look around, nobody heard you.

Today, the dynamics are equally interesting and I discovered a video that interests me on several levels. First, I am helplessly attracted to kinetics, I love clever, and when I look at the wasted space in my house, it is no wonder I can’t afford to buy Hawaii.  Now I am afraid Greenland may be out of my reach.

Seriously, we are becoming more aware of the constraints of space when downsizing. I think the furniture concepts presented below open up some incredible design possibilities…maybe it is because I am a guy and still want to live in a tree house…


Your thoughts?

–John

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“Method is much, technique is much, but inspiration is even more.” — Benjamin Cardozo
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This may come as a small surprise, but at one time, Shaker furniture, Mission Style Furniture, Colonial, Queen Anne, etc., were contemporary in their time.

One of the tenants of my Design/Creativity workshops is that design always reflects the values of “our time”. Contemporary work, because it is new/exciting/threatening/different/logical/illogical/serious/whimsical, etc., tends to polarize those who are uncomfortable leaving the known of the bygone.

The work from past designers/movements is important and valuable as support to foundation arguments, but largely these styles do not reflect the always emerging values of “our time”.

The two designers below may raise an eyebrow or two (I’ve noticed that eyebrows kinda merge as nose hairs lengthen) but I hope you enjoy the work of these folks.

The video below, from the French design house Bernhardt design, gave me a serious bout of melancholy as I reminisced about my days as a furniture designer/craftsman. I like the corvo chair, but I really do miss the romance and joy of being a designer/woodworker.



Tomoko Azumi recently had a retrospective at the Rocket Gallery in London that is worth sharing.

The picture below illustrates the value of prototyping before committing–these study models are made of cardboard and paper. You can see his recent exhibit here.


We like to share the work of others because, well, we think it is fun.

–John

As many of you know, we are wrapping up the best sale we have ever had on the HP6v2 Mini Multi Plane. This has precipitated many questions about sharpening profiled irons. Hopefully this totally awesome and worthless blog will set the record straight.

It has been suggested that the Bridge City profiled hones are not necessary, that one can make their own hone simply by planing a profile in a hardwood, and hone using diamond paste.

True or False?

Let’s start by assuming that however the iron is sharpened, the intent is to maintain the decorative, factory profile over time.

The illustration below is a front view of the same profiled iron. On the left, you can see the relationship of the iron to our custom hone when held in an invisible honing guide at 30 degrees to the hone surface (which is identical to the factory grind).

On the far right, you see the iron pitched at 55 degrees (in the same invisible honing guide). Because the iron was used to create the profile of the wooden hone, the edge of the iron and the surface of the hone are an exact match.

The center image illustrates the difference of the iron pitched at 55 degrees and the hone which was designed for the iron to be pitched at 30 degrees for sharpening. Quite a difference.



Take a look at the illustration below. The green iron has an attack angle of 55 degrees and the iron is sharpened to 30 degrees. The red iron is also pitched at 55 degrees. Look what happens to the factory edge after sharpening on a homemade hone that used the iron for the hone profile. This iron has been “dulled” 25 degrees. A 55 degree edge is not very sharp.



But what does this really mean?

First, the good news: the red iron will cut the exact same profile as the green iron.

But consider this; you will immediately notice the added force required to cut, your cuts will need to be more shallow and you will need to make more of them–obviously.

Now imagine the edge of the red iron over time. At some point (after enough sharpening) the factory grind will completely disappear leaving zero clearance between the cutting edge and the metal that follows (which occurred after the very first sharpening using this method). Zero clearance is rarely good but ignoring that, drag increases (again) and burnishing will occur (burnishing can really mess with some penetrating finishes) but–it will cut the identical ogee profile. It might be reasonable to expect that the edge will last longer because it is not as sharp…but when you factor in the added passes due to the added resistance–I don’t know if that claim is logical.

So–true or false?

I say tr….

Hope this helps.

–John