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Experiences

Amazing lobby woodwork

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So, I have been in Atlanta at the National Hurricane Conference this week, and as always, the conference has been a great learning experience. I’ve moderated a number of panels and taught a few classes about public information and getting ready for the upcoming hurricane season.

But, no, that wasn’t the most surprising attraction.

Well, maybe it was the other tourist-based venues I had a chance to take in. The World of Coca Cola was a huge hit, and I enjoyed the nostalgic look back at one of the world’s most popular beverages.

But, no, that wasn’t the most surprising attraction in town, either.

No, I experienced that when I checked in.  This year’s conference is being held at the Hyatt Regency here on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta. The hotel, opened in 1967 was designed by John Portman.  It was the first in the world to be designed around a massive inner atrium, and features high-speed glass elevators rising to the 22 floors of rooms.  While is massive scale and architecture was impressive, it paled in comparison to the major improvements being undertaken in the lobby – including the lowly furniture.

The bell and concierge desks as well as the valet stand – at first glance – looked like some interesting thick wooden laminate.  That was until I walked up to them and felt the live edges. It turns out that the folks planning the renovation of the lobby turned to woodworker John Houshmand to craft all of the desks out of large, live-edged slabs of black walnut.

Each is crafted of slabs nearly two inches thick and up to two feet wide.  They are mitered at the corners, eliminating the need to look at edge grain. The figure and grain pattern in these boards is awesome, and I have spent plenty of time in the open lobby standing at the check in desks snapping pictures like a fool.

While searching around on the internet, I came across a pair of videos about the project.

On the first video, Houshmand is interviewed about how he sourced the wood and how he built the projects.

This second video shows a representative of the Hyatt hotel chain talking about the renovations and what work is being done.

Here I was thinking that there would be no woodworking this weekend.. and look what I found!

 

Projects

Flowers again? No way!

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Albert Einstein was pretty darned smart. No. Seriously. His work in physics has helped unlock many of the mysteries of the universe – that mass could be converted to energy and energy could be converted back to mass. The whole space-time dealio. And, my favorite, the theory of relativity.

Relativity is something my feeble mind can wrap itself around because Einstein gave a really good example to describe how it works:

Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity!

Einstein was spot on. When I’m sitting in a meeting at work, the time seems to drag on forever. But, when a holiday is approaching, and you realize you haven’t done anything to get ready for it, the days quickly slip by, leaving you in full-blown panic mode.

You don’t have to be an Einstein to know that Mother’s Day is on the way. It’s just one of those holidays that creeps up on you, leaving you scrambling at the last minute to find the appropriate gift. “It’s happened to all of us,” said Tim Walter of Eagle America. “Your mom, mother in law, wife, daughter… whoever is a mom in your life is expecting you to remember the big day is coming. While they may not be expecting you to break the bank and buy them something lavish, the fact that you noticed and thought to remember the occasion is expected – and greatly appreciated.”

That’s why Eagle America is helping make it easy for woodworkers to come up with ideas to show a little extra appreciation for that special someone in their lives. “Sure, you can go the whole flower route, but that could be a little impersonal. Besides, cut flowers last only a few days in the vase. A wooden gift – that will be treasured for a lifetime!”

Let’s start with the basics. Picture frames are great gifts for moms to showcase pictures of their moms, their kids and the entire family. “Whether you want to build something elaborate or simple, the handcrafted touch really helps those special photos stand out.”

Small ‘treasure’ boxes are also a great place for the mom in your life to stash some of her more special and memorable items. “With digital photography, we don’t always get prints of those memorable shots. But, for those pictures sitting in plain storage boxes, a beautifully crafted box makes an awesome place for her to stash some of her favorites.” Tim continued, “Heck, go crazy and build your box, but make the top a picture frame! This way, it will serve a dual purpose.

For turners, it’s difficult to go wrong when turning an elegant pen. There are dozens of styles of pen works out there, and with some imagination and a few wood scraps, you could make a unique creation she will love. “Go all out. Turn a pen out of the best looking pieces of wood you have, then invest in a little personalized stationery for her. You will be a hero!”

If you really want to go out there with a different twist on things, why not plan a family project? “We have plans for easy woodworking projects that are perfect starting places for kids to build. Plus, we also offer a number of simple woodworking kits the whole family can enjoy. That quality time will be remembered forever.”

Just be smart about the time you have to work. “Even Einstein would tell you – get started now so you won’t be rushed trying to beat the deadline!”

 

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Picnic tables. Arbors. Flower boxes. Play sets. That relaxing Adirondack chair.

If you haven’t realized it by now, there’s a great big world of woodworking projects you can tackle for use in the great outdoors.

And, if you have built for the outdoors, you will no doubt know of the challenges that face you. The beating sun. Rain and other precipitation. Fasteners rusting and glues failing. Building something to stand the test of time is a far more daunting task when the piece isn’t protected from the elements.

This week, let us know if you have ever built an outdoor project, and be sure to tell us about the experience!

 

Link of the week

Link of the week

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The Cool Hammer Company

Artist. Craftsman. Teacher.

There are a lot of things you can call woodworker Ron Brown, but one of the most appropriate thing might be woodworking wizard.

Known for his how-to videos, plans and pen blanks, perhaps his most notable project plans are to make some crazy personalized hammers.

Yes, these are hickory handled hammers with the letters scroll sawn through the handles.  Ron sells DVDs that show the procedure step-by-step so you can build your own.  Needless to say, you aren’t going to be using these for driving nails after they are done.

Definitely a site you want to check out.

Spotlight

Species Spotlight: snakewood

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If you have been following the news in recent months, perhaps you noticed the story of the Egyptian cobra that escaped from its enclosure in the reptile house at the Bronx Zoo. For a week, the venomous snake slithered around, closing the facility until it was captured.

If I had followed my career ambitions in second grade, I might have been the guy who went in to catch him.  Yup, I had been on a field trip to the same reptile house that year, and I became totally fascinated with all things herpetology. I’m not sure what it was that caught my imagination.  Maybe it was the the way they moved so fluidly on their bellies, with no apparent way to move themselves. Maybe it was how menacing they could look  if they were threatened.

But, I’m sure it was the stunning appearance of their scales. The rattlesnakes, coral snakes and cobras I saw back then had exotic looking scales in a bewildering array of patterns, colors and textures.

While my days of wanting to play with snakes are way behind me, I am still fascinated by stunning patterns in natural products. That’s why I was so excited when Eric Poirier of Bell Forest Products brought snakewood to my attention.  “It’s a very rare and exotic wood that’s tough to work with, but once you get it into shape, it’s something to see.”

Snakewood comes from small trees found in Central and South America.  Initially deep red in color, snakewood changes color to a rich reddish brown upon exposure to air. “The color change is pretty dramatic, but nothing like the figure you will find in the wood.  It is comprised of dark and lighter specs that resemble the scales on a snake.  It’s some wild looking stuff.”

An extremely dense hardwood, snakewood can be somewhat challenging to work with. It splits fairly easily and tends to be splintery. It’s also hard to cut and drill. “This stuff can be a challenge even to the most experienced woodworker. The key is to use very sharp tools and take your time.  Believe me, your patience will be rewarded.”

And, yes it will be. Snakewood turns well and polishes beautifully, showing its dramatic color and figure.  “Any project with snakewood in it is going to attract attention in a big way. You will want to put those  accents in a prominent place.”

While it can be a bit spendy (actually, one of the more expensive woods out there), a little bit goes a long way. “It’s generally sold in small blanks and is best used in making items such as bowls, vases, knife handles, pool-cue butts, and the like. Some times, you have a splurge a little bit, but the pieces are so small, it won’t break the bank.”

Don’t be surprised if you find snakewood slithering its way onto your list of favorite woods.

 

Tools

I wish I used you more

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A few weeks ago, I waxed poetically about the first four tools I reach for when I head out to the shop. But, I got to thinking after I posted that article, “Ya know, there have to be tools that I bought but I never really used as much as I thought I would.”

Sure enough, I headed out to the shop and took a quick scan around the tool storage areas.  Oh, yes, there have been tools I can remember that made my pulse race when I first saw them.  How the glistened and gleamed and called to me! For each of these tools, I have invested money – serious money, in some cases – into that have not served me nearly as well I had wished.

In no particular order, here are the four tools I have identified in my shop that have left me scratching my head as to why I was so crazy to buy them.

My lock miter router bit.  ‘Nuff said.

My 12″ Ridgid compound miter saw.  The one good thing about this baby was that I got it for a song on one of those Black Friday post-Thanksgiving sales over at Home Depot.  I can’t knock the saw… it’s a great performer. It makes nice sweet cuts. But, I had envisioned so much more.  I have still to get the laser perfectly aligned with the blade. I store it under my workbench, which may be another reason I don’t use it nearly as much as I should. I have used it for some box building chores, and perhaps one day I’ll build a dedicated roll around table for it. It’s just too easy to break out my crosscutting sled and make the cuts on my table saw.

My benchtop drill press.  Again, another ‘MUST HAVE’ tool I had bought because I really, really, REALLY needed it. Well, I have used it in the past, and I have built a roll-around table for it.  The problem is that I built such a great little lower shelf for it, and the drill is a back breaker to drag out.  I will bring it out from time to time to cut plugs or make big holes, but I have found my hand-held drill does such a good job when I need to drill the quick hole.

My corner-cutting spring loaded chisel.  I admit, Norm talked me into this one. For a while, he was using one of these babies for nearly every project to square up a rounded corner mortise he had cut with the router.  But, I have discovered that using just a plain old regular bench chisel is a little faster (I don’t have to dig it out of the drawer) and gives results just as good at what I can get with this unitasking gizmo.

Don’t count on sending me an e-mail to see if I want to sell these babies (I may have already thrown out the lock miter bit by the time you read this) – I may just need to sit down and look at my shop organization to see if there’s any way I can turn these zeroes into heroes!

 

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Power sanding. Hand sanding. Planing. If you want a board to be  ultra smooth and begging to be touched, you have to prepare it properly before the finish. While these three options give very good results on many boards, for very trick pieces with swirling, interlocking or other wacky grain, sometimes the tool you need is exceptionally simple.

A card scraper is such a deceptively simple tool – a piece of spring steel with a burr turned on the edges.  While it’s simple, the work it does smoothing difficult to control woods leaves many woodworkers speechless.

This week – do you use card scrapers on your woodworking projects? Every time or just occasionally?