Multimodal Monitor Tree Prototype

I wanted a mobile base for my monitors so that they could be positioned at various work levels, from couch to desk, to countertop. Casters and legs splayed in a squashed "X" to fit into awkward spots better. The hardware consists of an articulating dual arm wall mount monitor stand. I purchased it off amazon for 75 bucks and it can handle my 32" monitors.

Proof of concept in pine ensues

in 'ketchup

the legs are 60" in length, offset-lap-jointed at 24", leaving 36" long ends. It's not square, but 96deg or so. the longer arms of the X aim forward because the monitors shift the center of mass forward. I wanted an increased splay angle facing forwards because they will be reaching under my desk and i figured that'd interfere less with my feet.

the legs are then bridled into the base of the post using careful scribing and sawing

I cut some teeth into the beam that a crude wooden pawl in the collar could engage with

1x4 pine is a little whippy with this setup, but it's holding up pretty good

Here you see the aft end, where the laptop fits into a wooden sleeve. USB ports are exposed. speakers are just sitting on a shelf on the legs. They could tuck in behind the laptop sleeve pretty easily i think. Gotta tidy up all that wiring fo sure

Well this is all kind of strange, but the rig more or less works. I like the availability of these monitors to multiple locations in my house. there are times I want to work while standing, or just watch a movie from the couch. or just have some nice photos cycling through my album while i make dinner.

Addendum

Added some webbing to the feet and a ratcheted lifting system like so:

Mora #106 knives' scabbards

inspired by other sloyd knife makers, like Reid Schwarz, i made some scabbards for my freshly handled Mora 106 knives. wood on hand for this kind of scabbard was ash, very springy but prone to splitting. wood is a good material to remember as a spring!

the operation involves relieving 1/2 of the knife using whatever means necessary on two pieces of wood, gluing together and then shaping the end result to your fancy. for me, i'm not interested in wearing these scabbards off my hip, but more to protect the blades.

you then glue the two sides together and then shape them to your fancy. the

fresh Mora #106 knife blades with shop made handles!

this is the knife blank you get from morakniv. i ground up a little bit of the blade edge so that it was separated from the hilt of the handles on my bench grinder.

I forgot to take action shots of the handles getting glued up. it's a "clam shell" construction, where you have two halves of the handle, and route out the knife bolt into one side. I traced with a pencil and used a chisel and a small router plane to get the blade to fit snug on one side. i dont think it has to fit super perfect because i used epoxy with glass fibers mixed into it. in my experience this bonds metal to wood pretty well. I did abrade the knife bolt and clean it up with mineral spirits before assembly.

I used two woods here: padouk, and afromosia. i had some random offcuts in the bits box and these both have interlocked grain which would do well as knife handles i think

my patternmaker's vice was so wonderful. it held the work beautifully and i was able to use stop cuts and chisels, and saw rasps to refine the profiles.

I ended up using my small japanese block plane to achieve the bevel on the handle edges, along with a spoke shave. the padouk was more well behaved, the afromosia was quite wild and so i had to resort to sandpaper/scrapers to refine the facets.

I finally used an old beater chisel to clean up the epoxy squeeze-out at the hilt.

can't wait to put these babies to use. next weekend's project is to build wooden scabbards for them...

updating shop handtool storage ii

my new hand tool storage, a chest of drawers that perches on the caster rails of this improvised cart/desk. there are shell pulls on the front edge of the top which makes it a breeze to reposition this chest wherever the task is. it's very usable, and i'm looking forward to putting it through its paces for oncoming projects. I already have one small project under the belt which gave me some assurance.

I made loop drawer pulls from pine offcuts that i roughed out on the machines in batch, but then applied my sloyd knife to give them a hand friendly faceted surface. I then painted them a dark grayish purple. they will be attached with 1" #8 brass skrews, going right through the front. it's okay, i'm okay with that.

the color choices are a little different. i'm very much colorblind, and from an early age i would mix any colors with gray/black/white to mute them. didn't even know why i was doing it but i think the process was a way to bridge the gap with the color perceiving world. i've always liked this effect because it tends to quiet the colors. here, i decided to start with a light band of white and progress green towards the bottom, and purple to the top. i can only imagine it looks kind of odd to folks who see color in a more subjective way.

JB Blunk, last day of exhibit.

I wanted to take another pass at the Jb Blunk exhibit today and was surprised to hear that this was the last day of the show. i was sad and thankful at the same time. i guess knowing that this was the last day allowed me to linger over his work longer than one normally would.

today i was struck by how he chose what parts to be pure "tree" and then parts hewn, expressing toolmarks, and then other parts, refined and smooth with no sure indicator of what formed them.

JB Blunk: an inspiring visit to Oakland Museum of CA

i had a serendipitous walk to OMCA week before last to see some of my old favorites. There's a beautiful settee in mahogany and leather by Maloof and a very special green and green sidebar that i look over every time. But this summer, there's a review of James Blain Blunk (JB Blunk). It's wonderfully lit display of his sculptures that i'm showing below. They're i think all carved from monolythic cleavings/rounds of old growth redwood. I say monolythic: i mean that they originate from a continuous section of tree, as opposed to a laminate of smaller pieces. They cry out to be touched for sure and it took a lot of self control to not "SEE THEM WITH MY HANDS".

If you have the time, go see it at the Oakland Museum

Here's a review of some of the pieces inspiring me to share here:

On permanent display on the first floor is a 14 foot dia burl/trunk section that JB Blunk carved. What is so gratifying and generous is that visitors are welcome to sit on, and touch this beauty. couldnt' get enough of this one.

hook knife and carving axe arrived today from Wood Tools!

Oh, joy! my hook knife and carving axe arrived today from Wood Tools. I got a right handed decreasing radius hook knife and their carving axe. Both came carefully wrapped with edge protection shown (and for the axe a generous few turns of plastic wrap to hold the edge guard in place.

They arrived sharp, and ready to rock. I will have to wait before i can test these out due to life circumstances, but putting them to use keeps me looking forward to them

Here are some closeups. the handles are very comfortable, without a finish which is my preference with wood handles. The octagonal cross section of the spoon knife feels perfect in my hands.

Also coming with the shipment is a delightful little brochure revealing the characters behind this small business and a background sketch of the proud traditions embodied in Sheffield steel working.