The rewards of production.

Sometimes life is exciting and there is a lot to share and sometimes not. 

Production. It feels good to be in a production mode. I have a couple simple production runs under way. Kitchen cutting boards - seven of them at once - and a couple of small boxes (part of my personal box making challenge). Nice to do one after the other, each operation in sequence. Working towards a finished item, product, thing - brought into the world where nothing existed before. This is a far cry from “art”. So be it, It feels wonderful to be the guide in the loop of production. Without the actual work nothing would get done. In the work, in the doing is where the good stuff is. The feelings of flow.

A blast from the past

Visited by John and Maryann last night. Maryann was my study partner when I was in Medical Imaging School thirty (30) years ago. I remember fondly studying with her at their apartment with John sleeping on the couch. He worked in the woods as a timber faller and was either working or resting (sleeping on the couch) according to my memory. How faulty our memory. Maryann shared wonderful stories about our times in college, some of which I now remember, some completely new to me. Thirty years have passed and they are still the wonderful people I remember. Through and through, great people.

Box Challenge 1

Box One is on the left, Box Two in the right. Both have Curly Red Oak bodies. Box One has a Spalted Oregon Myrtle top and Box Two has a Wenge top. Dimensions are 3x3x2¼, ¼ wall thickness.

I have discovered that box making is fun, interesting, varied, rewarding, challenging. This is the results, so far, of my box making/design challenge. This is a way to use small, special pieces of wood that I've been saving and clutter the shop. These are the first two I’ve made with this new mind set. The mind set of exploration into design possibilities.

Review misses, what would I do differently next time (negative qualities):

  • The finish sucks on both boxes for different reasons. The box on the left was my first and it has a sprayed on clear shellac. No color or depth. The second box, the one on the right, has an Amber shellac applied with a cloth and 3 coats. I was hard to keep smooth so there are areas where the finish puddled. The top was oil finished and is a little splotchy. 
  • The fit of the lid on box one was cut to size then planed and became too small for my taste. A small piece of a corner broke of during the planeing so it lead to all the corners being slightly rounded. Box two so much better top fit as it was cut oversize then planed to fit.
  • Miters were not perfect. But surprisingly close. Perfection requires a miter shooting board.
  • The finial on box one is Curly Red Oak the same as both boxes sides. It looks like different wood as the finish was applied while finial was on the lathe and the shape is clunky. The finial on box two is Wenge the same as the top so it looks closer color wise but its shape is underwhelming. Next time I'll try something different.

Review hits, what I like (positive qualities):

  • I love the squareness of the boxes and how the lid fits no matter the orientation. The fit does not require any hunting for the correct position. The fit on box two is superb and box one okay and not too sloppy.
  • The way the base was made such that there is a 3/16” elevation off the table adds interest and a nice shadow line.
  • The small size of the boxes. They are 3”square by 2¼” tall. ¼” walls. I try making smaller ones in the future.
  • Inside floor of the box is lined with fancy paper. Next time fabric.
  • Box two was treated with Brix Wax and that really helped the finish.
     

Habits and Hugs

Habit have their strengths and weaknesses. They can help us with developing good behaviours and keep us stuck in behaviors that are not helpful. There are tricks, tips and various techniques that can help in developing new and desirable habits. Developing habits like meditating each morning, stretching, doing 60 pushups a day, keeping a gratitude journal, push one in a uplifting direction. Each habit success leads into the next. The weakness in developing new and desired habits is that the activity loses its uniqueness, the loss of novelty and surprise. It becomes rote and automatic. This is something that some people revolt against. Any automatic behaviour is looked at as a sort of surrender of 'free will'. What free will? I for one an willing to try and develop positive behaviours and have them as automatic as possible. I don't want to have to decide each morning to write in my gratitude journal, I just want it to happen. 

If I want my life to turn out differently than its current trajectory, then I need to think and act differently. I don’t want to fall into a sort of status quo. A limbo where my thinking and my actions are ‘good enough’. I don’t want to settle. Root out those things that hold me back. Find and nurture those that help me grow. 

Yesterday was a record tying day for hugs at the Moscow Farmers Market. Twenty one. 

Causes and conditions.

What am I afraid of? This is worth exploring. I don't maintain a level of excitement all through a project and so many of them languish incomplete. Taunting me from all corners of the shop. Is this some sort of fear? Fear of completion? It happens so frequently I suspect it has the same root cause. Causes and conditions.