Descending Ashtray

I just finished a new batch of flowers, so if anybody is interested I have some available!

I received an e-mail from my friend and fellow woodworking artist Josh Carlson yesterday. After reading your posts on clamp situations, he sent me these pictures of a wedge clamp that he was working on. I thought I would invite him on as a guest artist since it was pretty fitting with recent topics.

Guest Artist Josh Carlson wrote:

“Basically it is a jig for gluing up lots of rips into larger planks or countertops. It is based on the sliding wedge method of clamping pressure to glue boards tightly together as well as hold them down to a flat surface. The large moveable rail part has many wedges attached going in one direction, it is the loose wedge that is driven into place that pushes the board together. The moveable rail allows you to reposition and clamp various sizes and combinations of wood into counter top quality flats. Then just a little work with the jack plane and there it is.”

I have watched the film The Wild Blue Yonder by Werner Herzog and was once again impressed. The plot (if you could call it one) touched on some interesting points about the impossibility of space travel but for the most part was pretty superficial. The real fascination for this film comes from the man himself, Werner Herzog. In my opinion he is a great artist. His medium is film and his passion for creating is very inspiring.

It is hard to sit down and watch one of his films and expect to simply be entertained, nor are they 100% factual documentaries. But somewhere between fact and fiction he shows us his unique perspective on the world. He has a way of portraying the subtler beauty in humanity, nature and even the anomaly of our very existence.

Realizing this I find it much more rewarding to prepare myself to experience a two hour work of art full of music, poetry and visual imagery when I watch his films. Then they seem to come to life through the subtle details and not the big screen effects like most other movies.

While Brandy was out and about for a mental break, Ethan and I had our first Lego night together!

Although this is a very rough version of the idea, the Technic Legos helped me work out some of the mechanical problems of a larger wood sculpture that I have been working on. The basics of it are that by turning the small wheel (bottom right) the four blades will open simultaneously. Thus creating an adjustable opening (at the top) to allow light to enter into the center of the piece, similar to an aperture in a camera.

Okay, being a little silly. Taking the photo was a good excuse to make some delicious biscuits, though.

For my birthday, I received several gifts in the form of personal checks, which I used to purchase myself a new DeWalt Biscuit Joiner. I’d never used one before, but I have been gluing up a lot of panels for various projects. Now that I have one, I can’t believe I waited so long. Biscuit joinery makes gluing up wide panels a complete snap, with absolutely no baking involved (these biscuits come in jars). Here’s how it works.

After planing the stock you wish to glue up, lay it out as you would like the finished product to appear. I like to try to match grain patterns as best I can. So you don’t get confused while gluing, draw a triangle on the stock with pencil so you remember each board’s orientation. If you’re gluing up two panels, as I was, draw two triangles on the second set of boards.

Next, mark the boards for biscuits. I just draw a line across two boards, which will indicate the center of the slot the biscuit cutter will cut. Make sure you leave plenty of room for trimming the edges square later.

Then it’s as simple as aligning the tool with the pencil marks. There’s quite a bit of play in the slot that’s cut, so being dead-on isn’t critical, but it’s a good practice to strive for accuracy.

Finally, it’s just a matter of adding glue to each joint, adding a bit extra to the slots (they even make a special tool for this, but I don’t think it’s really neccessary), and putting in the biscuits. It’s so fast, you can barely see my hand moving.

Before you know it, the panel is in clamps. I generally try to clean up the squeeze-out with a wet rag or paper towel, which is I think what I’ve got in that speedy hand of mine.

Thanks to my lovely wife Sarah for braving the sawdust to help me with these photos. In case you’re wondering, the panels are for a project I’m making for my sister and her husband as a late wedding gift. More details to come …

We went to the Botanical Center today. I was nice to go somewhere green on cold day.