Project wrap ups

  My six year old grand daughter and her four year old sister are visiting for a few days and this morning it was work shop time.  The six year old is mostly a painter and idea machine. She painted two fish and inspired a treasure box.

  The treasure box is clamped and drying while the kids are off for the day.

  I began a knife project some time ago but have moved closer to completion this morning.

  The blade is wrapped in tape to protect my clumsy fingers while I work.  The antler, finger guard and blade are glued together and will be ready for final polish and buffing tomorrow.

  

  I burned a flower pattern into each side of my previous box and painted the pattern.  Each side is similar but intentionally individual.  Once the sides are done I will attach the bottom and top.

  The rose trellis is done and set up too.

   It is time for a bit of a holiday to enjoy this warm weather that we've been waiting for for so long.

 cheers Ian W

Finished Scoop and Almost Finished Box.

  There is the scoop in the ice salt.  I finished the scoop with two coats of shellac and then laid a heavy coat of house paint on it.  Since it is in salt there is no fear that it will rot in the wet. 

  

  I wood burned and painted this plywood slab and finally got around to making it into a box. 

  The box is about three inches deep and will be used to hold various loose drawings, painting  and sketches. I began art lessons about six years ago and have collected a small pile of pictures that I want to keep for posterity. 

  I cut the lid off free hand, usually I cut lids off on the table saw.  I like the result and being able to have a face hinge.  Cutting the lid free hand made for some challenges, mostly in the clamping.  I used a thin blade Japanese style hand saw and next time I will go with a back saw with a much stiffer blade, the thin blade wanted to wander and so this cut isn't really good.

  What remains to be done is varnish and some sort of latch. 

  Since the box is cedar it should be a really good place to store paper for the long run.

in the garden beside our hotel, last week.

the view out our window today.

 should have stayed in Ponta Delgada.

Back in the Shop - a box!

  If you are a follower you'll have noticed that I took a month off from blogging.  Actually my wife and I took a month off from Canada. We traveled to Sweden for a break from winter and a visit with family. After Sweden we took a real break from winter and went to Portugal. In the past I have taken a camera and  computer and tried to keep up the flow of blog entries, this year I just took the month off.

  So this morning I returned to my shop to gesso some canvasses and found this forgotten work table mess.

These are great low weight clamps.
 Clamping pressure doesn't always need to be huge.

  Clearly, before leaving I was making a box. For the life of me I could remember the particular purpose for this box. Until I turned it over....

  This is a wood burned and painted panel that is not showing in the other photo.  It will be the top of this box. I did this panel  three years ago and it has wished to be useful all that time, now it will be.  The finished box will be used to store completed paintings and drawings on paper.  The cedar box will help protect the contents and enable me gather up and organize my stuff.

  While I was away I spent lots of time drinking coffee and thinking, about projects to come.  I am curious to see what will happen and what will drift away in the fog of reality.

cheers, ianw