Today, I brought my laptop to the studio, in hopes of getting a longer blog post. First thing in the morning, Bill put a large-ish piece of wood (12”X12”X18”-ish) on the lathe, describing to me his vision of a turned cone, with an ‘s’ shape surrounding it. I’m a bit baffled at the moment as to what he could possibly mean by this, but I am certain that the results will become clear shortly. Bill usually has some neat ideas.

            My own task this morning is pretty simple; I’ll be researching some issues of Fine Woodworking I have stashed on my laptop, and later I’ll do some practice carving with the tools I’ve brought from home. I’ve been doing a LOT of practice carving in this Senior Project, along with learning how to sharpen some interesting carving tools. Carving and reading have made up much of the work I have done for this Senior Project, along with plenty of good conversation with Bill.

            At this exact moment of writing, Bill is throwing a pretty impressive volume of chips across the shop, some of which are flipping onto my laptop. Did I ever mention that Woodturning could be exciting? Also, the woodstove that heats the studio is getting a bit warm. I might just shift myself somewhere else in the shop at some point. Right now, Bill has switched the tools he is using to make the square wood ‘blank’ round. The wood he is using for this new project is bone dry, which not only makes the roughing out process harder, but much, much LOUDER as well.

            Occasionally, I’ll talk with Bill while he is working on a piece. The audio clip I posted recently (which you should certainly listen to) is a good example of what goes on. I’m learning a lot, and it is fascinating watching the patience with which Bill works. He’ll listen to the ideas I have, and will always have an idea or two, maybe a critique to help me out. When one has 30+ years of teaching experience, one begins to know a thing or two about passing on wisdom.

            A good example of this idea give and take just happened. When Bill stopped the lathe to check on how round the piece he was working on had gotten, I noticed that an interesting pattern had developed with the uncut portions of wood. I am having a bit of difficulty describing this effect, but I will attempt to make my idea clear. When a square piece of wood has its corners cut off, there is a small strip of wood in between corners that the tool does not cut off immediately. My idea, which is most definitely not a novel idea, was to create a piece that gains its form from the uncut area of wood, rather than shaping out the form of an entire vase. Suffice to say (and I am leaving out a few details, as to not bore the few readers who have gotten this far in this blog post), Bill had some fascinating insights into my idea. Turns out, he had noticed the same thing I was noticing, and it reminded him of the work of some German wood turners. We talked this over for a while, and I learned something new about German woodturning.

            Yesterday I sharpened an antique in-cannel gouge (Douglas Mfg. Co., probably from around 1850~90) that I picked up from Rummage a few years back. It cuts like a charm now, and still has a LOT of usable blade left. Today I’ll probably experiment with how it cuts. Since coming to this Studio at the beginning of May, my output of work has increased tenfold. If I did something other than simply practicing carving, I might actually release a finished work. However, practice is very important, and it is through my own choice that I practice carving. Bill is pretty relaxed about what I do during the day.

            I’ve just found a particularly humorous tip from a man named Wallace Nutting, a strict fellow whom you are probably better off having not met. Mr. Nutting owned a very successful shop in the early portion of the 20th century, and tip number eight in “The Ten Construction Commandments (To ensure individuality and make men while making furniture)” is “The hand and mouth do not work effectively at the same time.” I dispute this rule. This from a man who game a portrait of himself as a birthday present to a 17-year-old great nephew! (All of this was sourced from Fine Woodworking; issue No. 39, pgs. 70-71)

            Among the many topics of conversation that have occurred so far, one that interests me is the topic of Gary Knox-Bennett’s “Nail Cabinet”. Long story short, Knox-Bennett built a really, really nice cabinet, then put a big, nasty nail into one of the cabinet doors. This upset many people. Many similar works have followed, where something precious is defiled in some obvious way, and many such works preceded the cabinet. I’ve spent a good amount of time discussing this with Bill so far, and he had some interesting insights. Of course, I won’t type any of them up here, lest they bore you to tears, but I do recommend you go check up on the history of the aforementioned cabinet. Interesting stuff.

            At around 11:30, we head into Bill’s house for lunch. I marvel at my own ingenuity in packing ice cream as part of my lunch. After a nice, leisurely lunch, we head back out to the studio. I find that a lunch break gives a nice respite from the sometimes-stressful work of woodturning and carving. If I learned one thing from this project, it is that one should perform the most delicate operations on an art piece right before lunch. That way, you can go have a nice relaxing lunch, and if you have screwed up, you’ll be nice and relaxed from eating lunch, and will come back to your work with a fresh perspective and a good attitude. Nothing better!

            Also, as a short aside, I managed to get a few pictures of Bill’s woodturnings collection. I’ll make sure to try and post those.

            After lunch, work continues as usual. Bill is still working on his new piece, and I’ve decided to practice carving a bit. I had to leave a bit early today, so my blog ends here.