Inspiring Artist

Tonight, while watching 'Antiques Roadshow' on PBS, I decided to try to locate some of the furniture makers that I most am drawn to, on the web. On the first try, I was successful!

Peter Turner lives in Maine, and creates amazing furniture pieces that are truly form-functional. I have included Peter's blog address as a link among my blog list. I hope that each of you will take a moment to view Peter's blog- additionally, by selecting and viewing his profile, you can find a link to his website, which features many photos in his portfolio.

Mirror Image Demilune Tables

This past Fall, just after I completed my 'Hops' demilune table, I began design and construction of two more of the same type of table. These two, however, are to be exact mirror-images of each other, and stylistically will be Federal Period furniture... without any contemporary flair to them at all.

The wood I chose was African Cherry, or Makore- not a species commonly used for Federal Period furniture, but I had some excellent, flitch-matched and very wide boards that I wanted to use, so I decided they would work. Accent woods that I used include Ebony, European Holly, and Tiger Maple, and I may still throw in some African Bloodwood for some aspect of the inlay.

One difficulty I've run in to is that early-on I decided to use as little machinery as possible in the construction of these tables. That has lead to many, many hours of tedious hand-work, that I am just not certain is 'worth' it. I fashioned the tools I used according to time-tested methods, but the work is insanely monotonous, and the toll the work takes on the tools is apparent. Another issue is the fabrication of the banding to be used on the tables... this is a process that takes time, patience, and attention to detail in order to fabricate a quality banding.

Currently, I'm working to complete the grooves for the inlay in the eight legs, to complete the final stage of the banding in preparation for inlaying into the lower portion of the apron, and deciding on the best layout for the table tops themselves. One wouldn't think that these items would cause so much consternation, but getting it 'right' is a one-shot deal... no take-backs are afforded here!

Here are some photos of what's been happening so far: FYI, if you 'double-click' the image, a larger set of photos appears in a new window; Close the window to return to the main page.

Spring already?

Okay gang, sorry for the LONG delay. But, when Winter hits, and one has a ski pass... what else is one to do but ski? My season was fantastic, and included many epic days of great snow, awesome turns, and great fun! My wife, Mindi, did remarkably well for her first season of effort at telemark skiing, but slightly injured her knee in the process. That's not unexpected, and most telemark skiers have some degree of soreness or strain in their knees...

My friend Kellie has grown her telemark skiing ability by leaps and bounds this season- only her second true full-length season. That girl in the link in the previous post?... Kellie skis like that, is that confident, and has no inhibitions about attacking any slope! Great job Kellie! We had many days covered in deep powder, just like the other photo in my previous post... the guy in the Wasatch Range, taking a body-shot and powering through it!

I also worked on a project a little bit this Winter- twin projects actually. More on that, including photos, in the next post.

Happy Spring to you! Don't plant your garden too early!

It's been a long time...

Hi everyone- it's been a long time since I've written anything. So, I thought I'd let you in on what I've been up to. Hint: it's one of my favorite things to do!

Check out this link first:

Isn't that fun!?! There are 3 really great things about this ski season that make it especially exciting; 1- my wife is learning to telemark ski! And she's doing very well at it! 2- I have an awesome daily ski partner, Kellie, and she is a rippin' telemark skier herself, in just her second year! 3- our local ski hill has received over 240" of snow so far this season!

The week of Christmas was amazing, but stormy. Last week was mediocre, but still snowed. And Saturday was absolutely EPIC! The snow was perfect; light, deep but not too deep, and very cold (10 degrees). I skied over 15,000 vertical feet on that day, and then went back for 10,000 more feet the next day!

Telemark skiing developed in Norway, one of my favorite places on Earth. The first link was a photo of a skier in Norway. This photo is from the Wasatch Range in Utah... another fantastic place to telemark ski!

Any of you not familiar with the telemark 'style' of skiing should click this link to see just how different telemark skiing is from standard Alpine skiing.

This girl really rips... I can tell by how relaxed she is while making this perfect telemark turn. So, telemark skiing requires a binding that only fixes the boot to the ski at the toe, leaving the heel free to rise during each turn. It's quite a thigh workout to say the least! I'm getting excited just thinking about it!

But don't think I'm a total slacker... I am working hard on two tables that I'll describe in another post! Until then, make shavings or make turns!

The authenticity of the process...

Ebony knobs held in a pin vise for final sanding - not lathe turned



Haunched stub-tenons help strengthen the joint



Complex joinery strengthens the cabinet and allows panels
to move seasonally



Carved wooden 'knuckles' allow a hinge
to operate smoothly



Hide glue - a strong, reversible, and natural way
to construct furniture


I have no formal training in woodworking. As a wedding gift, my wife Mindi sent me to Patrick Edwards' American School of French Marquetry, in San Diego, where I learned the basics of Boulle marquetry (as seen on the left leg of my 'Hops' table). Next to this, my best 'education' comes from reading every issue of Fine Woodworking Magazine, which I've done since about Spring of 2000. Needless to say, outside conversation about process, design, construction, and finishing are hard to come by.

I've included these photos to illustrate what I consider to be 'authentic' processes. Opinion about what is 'authentic' is wide ranging, and my point here is not to continue that conversation. I merely want to show potential clients, friends who don't live near me, and other woodworkers how I build furniture. My methods of construction are in line with the other Furniture and Cabinetmakers I feature on the title page of my site... not surprising.

My goal is beautiful furniture that will last a lifetime. My hope is that these processes will help ensure this.

Where, oh where are the photos I need...

I am working on bringing photos to my blog... other than the single photo of the 'Hops' Demilune cardtable on the main page. If you look at the bottom of this page you will see a new photo that is sure to make you smile... but this one has nothing to do with woodworking.

Now that I've succeeded at organizing my digital photos, I'm ready to create a slideshow to view the progress of some of my pieces. The thing is, to do this apparently I need a site called 'Flikr' or 'Picasa Web Albums' or 'Photobucket' to house the photos to run the slideshow! I am just barely getting the hang of 'Blogger', and now I have to learn one of these sites too?!? How will I ever have time for woodworking? Also, most of my photos were taken on film, my prefered medium, so now I have to scan these photos in to digital format... something I think our printer can do, but that, again, I'll have to learn how to do!

Thankfully the weekend is here, it's cold and snowy (like 2 degrees, and 6 inches on the ground with more falling!), and I should be able to spend some time adding to my site. But then again, with all that snow and cold... the telemark skiing should be fantastic, so I can't promise too much progress!

Blogging is not at all like making sawdust...

I know wood. And I know how to take big pieces of wood, cut them up into little pieces of wood, and then re-assemble them again into a piece of furniture that has shape, style, function, and beauty.

I don't know about blogging, web-pages, digital photo transfers, and iPods. I'm just old enough not to have needed these things to get through college, and haven't employed them in my life... up until now.

Funny thing is, I met my wife... on the Internet! I drove to the community college every day to use their computers so I could email her, until we decided to share phone numbers... and no, mine was not a cell phone!

Luckily, Mindi does know computers! Hers is one of the blogs listed on my title page... ms-in-between.blogspot.com. She will have to work as my technical advisor for some time yet, while I learn the ins and outs of this device.

Actually, I intend to utilize this blog not so much as a daily or weekly portal into the goings on of Wytanaho Woodworking, but more as a showcase of my furniture and a way to view the processes involved in the creation of each piece. As an example, check out the link shown at the bottom of my title page... Sauer and Steiner Toolworks. This page is run by an amazing craftsman and maker of handplanes, Conrad Sauer. I hope the look of my page is not too plagaristic of Conrad's, but there are only a few templates available, and I chose the one I liked the very best!

I'll try to get my 'Gallery' up and running shortly, and make as many photos available as possible. I intend to focus on each piece of furniture within the Gallery, including photos showing how each piece was made.

Feel free to post a comment if you like...