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.

updating shop handtool storage

after spending time in curtis buchanan's workshop for a full week and understanding how pleasant work can be when the tools are logically arranged and easy to reach, i set forth to rethink how i store mine.

Here is the plan, a chest of drawers that fits between the metal frame of an upcycled desk that i've had in the shop since the beginning.

Here you see the metal frame'ed desk with an improvised table top on the right. An old, quickly thrown together 3 drawer arrangement on the left used to occupy the space between the desk legs. It has always felt kind of janky.

what makes this desk successful in my shop is the sturdy caster enabled hooves on the base, abling one to tow the table with one hand to wherever it is needed in the shop. work flows much better when the tool you need is within arm's reach as opposed to hanging on the wall around the bench and out of reach.

the construction is mostly CasaDespair pine, and i spend a while picking through the stacks to find some nice enough material that I milled down to 5/8" and then jointed into panels that will divide the chest into 3 equidistant tiers.

I left the stretchers at 3/4" and cut dadoes on the interior walls, while applying dovetails to the outside joints. it feels pretty sturdy even though it's pretty light.

I am trying a drawer construction technique that is new to me. it's simply rabbets that are glued up and then pinned with wooden pegs. For the upper drawers, i milled a 3/4" wide and 1/4" deep groove on the sides with a dado stack. these will ride on rails that i will skrew into the interior sides of the chest. The drawer sides are made of offcuts of ash that my contractor friend let me have from a project. it's very tough wood but it mills nicely.

The bottom drawers will run on metal slides that i had 3 extras from an earlier project. this makes sense because the drawers will hold my heavier bench planes, etc.

I layed out the drawer heights based on my existing tools, and how they group naturally in my workflow. there's also room for more tools, but not much, and i really dont have much need for more tools right now.

I had originally thought to put glue storage in this chest as well, but i opted out since the jugs are too large a format to make space for in this place. best to store this somewhere else.

jonesborough afterword

well, here the finished sackback windsor from Curtis Buchanan's class sits with the final coat of varnish, scrubbed down using 0000 steel wool and then paste wax. this will be the ultimate writing chair in our guest room/library.

I was a bit worried about assembly after transit home, but i kept the spindles in a low oven for a few hours, and then used Titebond liquid hide glue. I love that glue now, it's not as grabby as yellow glue and has a bit more open time.

I also scabbed on a piece of the original oak to my little boo-boo on the outer perimeter of the handle. worked a treat.

here she stands with the base layer of barn-red milk paint. it's hard to see in the computer photos above how the red is expressed underneath a washcoat of black. but it's apparent. it i think is my favorite way of painting wood. it's hard to do and requires a lot of patience and also elbow grease.

i read this book on the airplane to/from Tennessee. It's a collection of 7 short stories, focusing on the hardscrabble family life of the Atlantic coast of Canada. i had to weep as discreetly as possible on the plane.

here is a very special spoon that i brought home from jonesborough. turns out it is fantastic at serving quinoa, just like the maker suggested. now onto building a shaving horse...and finding a proper riving froe...and maybe an axe...and putting that god damned table saw up for sale on craigslist...