Gabe Lueders and Dave Selden have been friends since high school, and artists since birth. This is a new means of collaboration for both, separated by many miles; Gabe is in Iowa, Dave in Oregon.
I glued up a panel today with some really cool-looking book-matched Red Gum glued on top of a plywood substrate. Some people use vacuum presses for this kind of thing, but for better or worse, that’s not a tool I own. I had to laugh after I used literally every clamp in the shop. Hopefully it works!
Note to self: buy more clamps. I really want to try out some of these Bessey
Friend of Descending Ashtray Drew Anderson has a new show up at Portland’s Beulahland as of two days ago. With 27 framed and highly-intricate drawings on display, this show is certain to be a feast for the eyes (just don’t forget your glasses!). An artist’s reception will be held Monday, February 12th at 7:31 PM, which also happens to be the third birthday of his lovely daughter Lillian. See you there!
Beulahland
118 NE 28th Ave
Portland, OR
On the morning of my birthday, I woke up, made some coffee, and gathered up my tools. Sarah dropped me off at the door of 1002 SE 8th Street, home of the Northwest Woodworking Studio, where I had enrolled in a class on making brass handplanes. I hoped that by the end of the day, I’d be walking out the same door with a small brass handplane in my pocket, a birthday present I’d made for myself.
Class got off to a start quickly, with instructor Ken Altman showing off one of his beautifully handmade violin bows, then launching into the demo. He’d show one step in the process, and the students would then complete the same step on their own. It all began with solid brass stock. Here, I’ve got a large piece clamped in my vise from which I’m cutting the two pieces for the inside of the plane.
Next, I cut the side pieces, which sandwich the parts I just cut. These were cut using a jeweler’s saw, which I hadn’t used since high school, though I really enjoyed using it again. The blade is so delicate that many students broke blades, but having done it before, I managed without doing so.
Once the pieces were cut out, there was a lot of filing and fine shaping to be done. One of the students made a joke that the studio didn’t sound much like a woodworking shop with all the filing and metal sawing going on. It was pretty noisy at times. Finally, though, things took shape and the next step was putting all the pieces together, which was done by soldering.
By now it was about 2:00, and after letting the plane cool down, I set to work with some more finishing work, filing away like a madman. It was much more rewarding now, as the finished product became more and more visible. And by 3:30, I had a nice plane in my hands! And a real pain in my elbows! I’m not used to so much filing!
I was so busy with the steps, I didn’t take as many photos as I intended, but it was a very rewarding experience, and I plan on making several more planes, which hopefully I’ll do a better job of documenting!
