"Every man has a train of thought on which he travels when alone. The dignity and nobility of his life, as well as his happiness, depend on the direction that train is going, the baggage it is carries and the scenery through which it travels."— Joseph Fort Newton
Drivel Starved Nation;
Nothing quiets prejudice, hatred and biases more efficiently than travel. Only until one sees, smells, hears and learns from different cultures and their people can you intelligently grow as a citizen of planet Earth. Over the past 4 years, my 8-9 trips to China have been filled with wonderment, awe, disgust, dismay and joy. I thought this field trip idea would be an equally fun learning experience for Bridge City customers. And it was. Continue reading
“Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.” — Roy T. Bennett
Drivel Starved Nation, Got a headache yet? I would if I were you. Think about this, I’ve spent 7 months of my life figuring out how to become the laughing stock of the internet. This is my way of sharing the pain headed my way. Here’s clue #4, this component is 77mm in length. Milled from aluminum and it is known internally as “the rack”. 
-John
"Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all of one’s lifetime."— Mark Twain
Dear Drivel starved Nation!
As mentioned earlier in the year, I have to go to China in October and thought it would be fun to invite members of the Drivel Starved Nation to tag along for a couple of days to see China and meet China’s most famous woodworker. It will be a trip you will not soon forget.
Here are some important details for those who have never traveled abroad and are considering this trip; Continue reading
"All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity." — Gordie Howe
Drivel Starved Nation-
One of the cool aspects of teaching at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking are the fellow instructors you get to meet.
One year, years ago, my classroom was directly across the hall from the turning studio. The instructor? Michael Hosaluk. Continue reading
"I am not skipping school! I am just on a SELF-MOTIVATED field trip!"— Meghan Sherwood
Drivel Starved Nation!
I am thrilled to share that we have been receiving early interest in the Shanghai/Nanjing field trip this fall.
Here are the crucial dates you need to know to make a decision:
"If I ever go to China, I'm going to find a piano and play "Chopsticks"--only not with my fingers... I'll be using two forks."— Jarod Kintz
Drivel Starved Nation-
It looks like the BCTW field trip to China is resonating with the DSN. I will post complete details next week regarding the itinerary. I also think we may limit this to 30 or so for logistical reasons.
Hey! We received the first shipment of the CSMv2s at the end of December. This is such a fun tool to use!
Here is a real-time tutorial on how it is used — you can tell I had 4 cups of coffee the morning we shot this–oh well… Continue reading
“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow. Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”— Mark Twain
Drivel Starved Nation!
I got so fed up with the voluminous holiday email blasts in December, we spared you and kept our antsy fingers off our keyboards until today. How cool is that?
First, the Portland Weather Report: As some of you may know, I am an Iowa son, and no stranger to snow. In fact, it is one of the reasons I wanted to move to Portland. No snow shoveling here.
Continue reading
"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
"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
"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.