rough out season

It has been since last Spring since I have roughed out any bowls. I am definitely out of shape. My arms are screaming. The gouge was literally bouncing off the wood by the end of the day. I thought it was the grind on my tool. This is a younger mans game. Must take more breaks. I'll try that today.

new product

Here is my version of the Sierra cup. Believe it or not these are turned. I have the sore knuckles to prove it. Turn the interior with the handle connected, sand, and carve. I got the idea from a cup I bought in Norway years ago. My cups are very similar to the one I got there except mine are partially turned. The shape is very organic. Looking forward to making more and varying the design to make them more personal.

Christmas presents

Got most of my Christmas gallery orders finished, freeing up some time. This is a good time of year to make prototypes of products I want to develop; not that these products don't already exist. These pepper mills are my versions of how I would like them to look and function. Plus I have to be able to tool up and make them efficiently so they will sell. Pepper Mills have never interested me much. I have tried to make production runs on them but always had trouble selling them for what time I had in them. Plus, as a fresh pepper lover I never used a mill that didn't need refilling way too often. My new mills are hollow. They will hold 5 to 7 times the volume of a mill the same height. Anyway, I got a couple of designs I can live with. These will be Christmas presents in the end. I will show you my turned drinking cups next entry.

I'm Back

I have found it very hard to blog lately with some heavy projects on my plate. First of all, Jenni and I are rebuilding our dream house in California. We have a very rural property in Northern California's Shenandoah Valley. Traveling back and forth frequently from Utah to California. Plus the farm here, keeping up with orders, responding to emails, and good weather prevents me from keeping friends and family up to date with projects in the shop. The weather turned south here this week. I got caught up on my gallery orders and had time to do a special project for a collector. I shot some remedial video for this collector who's name is Rich. He has been a great supporter of me and my work for years. He had sent me some small branches of wood from his property so I could make something from them. Here are some video clips from my correspondence with him.

new canister

Here is my latest canister. It is made from Mormon Poplar (cottonwood). The lid is African Blackwood. The dimensions are 11" tall and 10" wide. The other picture shows how the knob is assembled to the lid. They are a hand threaded screw, nut and washer.

Friends

Thanks to all my friends who retrieved some firewood from my firewood pile to sign a piece of mine that got a bit too thin. Now I have to keep it!

Spring Bowlbque

Had my annual bowl-b-que to get rid of the cracked ones. There is nothing worse than a crack in a utility bowl. Happy bowl-b-que!