Drivel Starved Nation;
Today I offer you some drivel with some “fresh off the bone” meat — we have a new tool!
New Tool from Bridge City Tool Works…
November, 16th, 2016
"Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything." — Wyatt Earp
Behind the Scenes
Behind the scenes at Bridge City Tool Works!
Bridge City Tool Works News – It’s Kind of a Big Deal…
November, 14th, 2016
"Life is like a dogsled team. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes." — Lewis Grizzard
Drivel Starved Nation-
I have much to share with this report, so drop whatever it is you are doing and feast on this delicious bowl of drivel!
Bridge City Tool Works: Commemorative Tool #19 Sneak Peek…
September, 20th, 2016
“Always do things right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.”— Mark Twain
Drivel Starved Nation;
Over the past three months, I have been working on Commemorative Tool #19. For those of you new to this Totally Awesome and Worthless Blog, we make one tool each year (well almost) that we will never duplicate. They are considered the finest series of tools in our almost 34 year history. (The first Commemorative Tool was introduced in 1991 or 1992, I am too old to remember.) Continue reading
Changing the World One Photograph at a Time…
August, 25th, 2016
"Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world." — John Milton
Drivel Starved Nation;
It was an exciting time to be a furniture designer/maker back in the 1970’s. I can still remember the excitement of my first commission —it’s such an honor when others want your work in their home. I was so lucky.
But this luck came with a caveat. All of the people who were ordering furniture from me had money. Lots of money. Continue reading
The Furniture of Seth Rolland
August, 23rd, 2016
Drivel Starved Nation!
Several weeks ago I had the pleasure of viewing Seth Rolland’s exhibition at the Bellevue Arts Museum which is 20 minutes east of Seattle. This field trip turned out to be incredibly interesting, first there was our train ride, then the fascinating work of Rolland, and a major surprise that will appear in my next post.
It’s always nice to follow the progression of a woodworker who sings with a unique voice in this world we call woodworking. This is a small sample of his exhibition — I hope you enjoy the pics… Continue reading
TWO Talented Woodworkers are Going to Win $500 BCTW Gift Certificates- TIME TO VOTE!
August, 18th, 2016
"While most are dreaming of success, winners wake-up and work hard to achieve it."— Unknown
Drivel Starved Nation;
You should be in your shop making stuff, but since your here, please take the time to vote!
When we introduced the CS-6v2, we opened a contest for those who wanted to infill our naked squares pictured below;
We are going to award two $500 Gift Certificates, one for the “Most Beautiful” Cs6v2 Combination Square and one $500 Gift Certificate for the “Most Original” idea. We need 2 votes from you, your thoughts, and you can do so by commenting to this post.We will announce the winners next Thursday, August 25th. (These awards are unbelievably generous because they equal our annual profit here.) Continue reading
New Accessories and Ideas for the Chopstick Master™
August, 16th, 2016
"Of all the possible utensils that could have been invented to eat rice with, how did TWO STICKS win out?"— Unknown
Drivel Starved Nation-
Today we have some cool things to share.
A while back, I shared how the grids for my sculpture “Fog of War” were made and you can see the pics here.
It is much harder to do accurate work in small scale but it can be made easier with an approach that yields consistent results. In the case of the grids mentioned above, the components all had to be the exact same thickness. This was surprisingly easy because all of our small planes accept depth skids which makes thickness planing thin stock a breeze. Without depth skids, there would be no Chopstick Master.
How to Turn Urine into Gold! It’s a Gun Story…
August, 14th, 2016
Drivel Starved Nation-
Why did you fall for that stupid headline? You should be ashamed.
But now that you are here, I have a story for you!
Several weeks ago my wife and I hopped on the train to Seattle to see an art show which is the subject of a future post. When we arrived at our seats, the window for our 3.5 hour trip had been the victim of some idiot with a gun. (See, I am headed somewhere with this metaphoric title!)
Woodshop Field Trip… John’s Excellent July 4th Weekend Revealed!
August, 8th, 2016
Drivel Starved Nation-
I should have known better than to try and seduce the DSN with misleading photos. What did I accomplish? A bunch of insulting comments about my advanced age and the cost of Depends… At least nobody brought up my addiction to stool softeners… (Did I just write that?)
But I digress, I did indeed take a field trip to the George Nakashima property in Bucks County, PA. What a beautiful setting! The facility is open for visitors on Saturdays but the shops are closed. If you have never been there, it is an hour drive or so from either the Philadelphia or Newark airports. I would love to go back in the fall, it just has to be incredibly beautiful. Continue reading
Woodshop Field Trip… John’s Excellent July 4th Weekend! Part 1
August, 4th, 2016
“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.”— Anonymous
Drivel Starved Nation-
Here are a bunch of photo clues for you. Guess where I went and you will win…. NOTHING!
-John