Pocket Sized Wood Working

6 3/4 by 2 3/8 by 1 3/4

  In the summertime there is lots of travelling about, lots of sitting around with friends and family on the deck and lots of out of the shop time.  Part of the reason I make things is that I have always needed to be doing stuff. I have tried nearly every crafts that you can imagine to keep me busy.  I even used to knit mitts and scarves while sitting in lectures at university. Polite folks call me a fidget, when I was little kids like me were called 'High Strung' or brats and people tried to keep our troubled little hands busy. 

  Little has changed, and so I still need to try and keep my hands busy. Keeping my hands busy keeps my feet out of my mouth, too. 

6 3/4 by 2 3/8 by  1 3/4

  This box, which once held a wrist watch maybe my woodworking salvation for this summer. It contains enough stuff to keep my hands busy and my mouth shut, and the out put is useful too.

  Full credit goes to my daughter-in-law Jen.  I did not think of this craft myself though I did turn it into a travelling woodworking system

  

Beads in various stages of completion,
 from bark still on to ready for paint.

  In this box is all a simple fellow like me needs to keep himself amused, because it has all the ingredients of a wood working shop.  There is wood, in this case short bits cut from shrubs in the yard, mulberry and cherry. A sharp blade, with which no wood working shop can exist. And two grits of sandpaper for finishing.

  I do one part of work in the shop at the end of the process.  I drill through the pith of the sticks so that the bits of wood becomes a hand shaped bead.  If you have Granddaughters you know that there can never be too many beads. I will make them and they can paint them and everyone is a winner.  Since I am a slightly obsessive Opa I will seal the beads with a water based product before giving them to the kids to paint.

  As a wood carver I have several very good knives and as a general knife lover I also have several really nice folding knives.  I opted for the utility knife because I doesn't need sharpening once dull.  I can carry a couple of extra blades in a much smaller space than a strop or fine stone. I have taken carving with me on holiday in the past but this set up is even smaller and lighter.  

  The trick is to not get too serious about the carving project, it is not art, it is a way to quietly pass the time while hanging out with folks.  The art is in the painting, isn't everyone's grand children great artists?  Our's are.

when a penguin likes rock n' roll.

cheers, Ian W