Would you like to learn how to turn a beautiful wooden bowl, but don’t have access to a lathe or the skills to do so? Would you also like to help feed some underprivileged people while you learn?
The Empty Bowls project in Florida is the local chapter of an international effort for craftspeople to build decorative bowls, which are then auctioned off. The proceeds are donated to local food pantries for the purpose of keeping the shelves stocked.
The Florida chapter holds bi-annual fundraising events at a local restaurant where participants turn bowls in the parking lot, and then enjoy a simple meal of soup and bread. This reminds participants about why they are taking part in this worthwhile effort.
One of the things Canada is known for is its beautiful timber from the boundless forests found across the country. Surrounded by all of that prime lumber, you knew someone was going to be building sweet guitars.
Enter John Kingma from Apollo Guitars. In his modest 625 square foot shop, he crafts custom solid body guitars from many species you wouldn’t expect to see used for bodies – things like Kauri and Pine. While each guitar starts from a general sketch, the bodies, necks and other wooden parts are crafted by hand, and his finishes are as close to natural as possible. And, John makes no bones about it – his guitars are not showpieces to be viewed – they are designed to be played… hard…
Most of his orders are commissions, but he does have one guitar for sale right now – a beautiful hackberry and ambrosia maple beauty that he built for himself, but hasn’t found the time to play it. It’s the one featured in the photo in this post… just in case you knew someone who was interested.
One of the first woodworking tools ever created was the axe. And, for tens of thousands of years, stone, copper, bronze, iron and steel axes have felled trees, cut beams and even put decorative carvings on woodwork.
One of the companies still making awesome axes is Gränsfors Bruk. This Swedish firm has been making these tools since 1902 out of high-quality steel and flexible yet tough hickory handles. Based on classic models, they offer sizes from small hatchets to large double-bitted models.
If you are looking to get your hands on a quality axe, this may be a good site to check out.
When you think about the lives of religious men and women, you will notice many common traits. A strong devotion to their faith, a peaceful outlook on life – and an appreciation for the beauty of nature.
So, when you swing by a site called MonkWorks, run by a Benedictine monk, well, you have to take a look. This is the blog run by Fr. Thomas Bailey, a Benedictine monk living in Missouri.
Fr. Bailey initially learned about woodworking by watching his father, and later went on to develop his skills as many of us did – by learning online and working in his shop. His work is exquisite, and his sense of humor… well… swing on by to give his site a read!
Sure, Steve Ramsey of Woodworking for Mere Mortals made these for the 2012 London summer games, but the rings are identical to the ones being used in the Sochi 2014 winter games.
At first glance, they seem very easy to build. But, look closer at how the rings are interlocked, and you will want to know how Steve managed to pull these off. Fortunately, he did a how-to video filled with the techniques and tricks to pull off this complicated project.
There was once a time when Craftsman tools – the line carried by Sears – was the gold standard in workshops. As the years passed, some of the brand’s luster was allowed to wear off. However, recently the brand has made huge steps to improve its offerings, and now they are working to improve their education as well.
Sears recently asked nearly 40 woodworkers from many different disciplines (they also asked me) about the most important tools they have in their arsenals. The results are on this interactive page, which can provide a little guidance on which tools might be the best place to start.
For the past few years, I have been building hope chests for my nieces when they get to their sweet 16th birthdays. The story was so interesting, that the folks at Popular Woodworking asked for me to write a series of articles about the effort.
It’s going to be a four-part series that can be found at their woodworking daily blog page. So far, there is a post about the introduction and about my niece Carolina’s hope chest, with two more parts coming next week.
The Florida chapter holds bi-annual fundraising events at a local restaurant where participants turn bowls in the parking lot, and then enjoy a simple meal of soup and bread. This reminds participants about why they are taking part in this worthwhile effort.
