There are a variety of sizes and shapes from what is called mini through large. We expect to get wine stoppers, pens, knife handles, cane parts, bowls, vessels, and who knows whatever we can think of to spin, carve, or fabricate.

This is zippy – a burl chunk that looks like a warted burl slug. So I named him and put this one in the camilian tank my girlfriend slipped into the house last week for her vermin. So – we’re down to 72 burls that will become actual projects!

The first turning began – we took a chunk and smoothed out the back and mounted it on a faceplate. I decided to work on creating a natural shape with a bowl cutout. I’m planning to polish

I only sharpened the cutter once so far, it’s done quite a nice job tearing into this tough hard wood. Today I ordered 166lbs of manzanita burls – so yeah we have some work ahead of that little cutter.

I also ordered a bent bar and two round cutters. I also have the carbide cutter I need to try as well. Having fun with the new toys!

“The Hollow Roller™ System is a captive boring bar system for safely turning hollow forms and bowls. The boring bar has a flat on the bottom that allows it to be captured by the three rollers housed in the torque arrestor. This removes the worry from turning hollow forms and vessels.” ... http://www.packardwoodworks.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=packard&Category_Code=tools-carter

So far – it worked great! We turned a manzanita burl blank quickly from a lump of wood into a hollow form. The hollowing was efficient, smooth, and totally under control. Not a single jump or snag! The whole system was very simple to setup and just simply worked. Manzanita is tough stuff, and full of random changes in grain and voids. The tool held totally steady and strong and on track.

This is a very very simple machine, yet its invaluable in configuring a production operation for hand made bowls/vessels. I know that sounds contradictory – but we have to produce unique and original creations in a time frame that allows us to make a profit.

There will be a lot to come from this new toy; this should earn its keep and hit profit very quickly. Keep tabs, we’ll post more projects soon!

We have recently upgraded that significantly which will be posted in another blog entry as soon as I get a chance. So those who notice the lathe and model # and who are familiar with this old rig being a bit underpowered, don’t fear or get your hopes up. It now has a 3HP 3PH motor w/ VFD unit. We’re working on tuning it up, programming, and we’ll be probably changing the pulley setup as well.

Anyway – as I said that’s for another blog entry. We’ll include some details and suggestions for machine upgrades in that series.

For now – we got a new toy! A Oneway Easy Core setup! Itching to try it, we cut out a nice walnut blank from a recently storm salvaged tree and spun it round and flat. We were shooting to get three bowls out of the one blank.

It’s obvious we have a little learning curve to climb but we pulled off our goal on the first try. For once I’d have actually appreciated a manual, not a video. I took the DVD player out of my laptop in exchange for a second hard drive and it’s a PIA to swap them. I ended up watching some of the setup videos online. It gave me the gist and that’s enough for me to start making shavings.

So I assembled the rig – we have the base unit and three knives to go up to the max of the 16” swing on the lathe. I setup to do a small ring bowl and then a little candy type bowl inside the main blank which was later turned into a flower pot shape.

All it took was a little time, we got the setup adjusted quickly enough and everything tuned. The most confusing part is really how far to put the rig away from the blank. We were afraid of going through. We probably could have gone just a bit deeper on the first one.

Popped out clean and simple – that’s GREAT! We’re figuring around $50 or so for our little ring bowl setups. Keeping them very simple and fast tracked through if we are getting the material effectively free from what would have otherwise been shavings then we’re already ahead. The time taken to do this is less than hollowing the space it took up. Then when we go back and hollow the pop out, then so what we’re still ahead of the game by a $50 bowl.

Now the second blank popped out is a good size for a small candy dish.

This one is turning into a thin walled bowl – Mike is working on it. Photos to follow of the final profile. So thin walled bowls being worth a little extra for some reason, we figured we would go with that. I have no real idea how to value this one so for arguments sake let’s say it’s $100? ... we’re now $150 ahead of where we would be without the coring rig.

Now the outside bowl is being turned into a traditional shape flower pot. Why? well why not, I just felt like it so I did it. Perhaps I’ll make the plate that goes under it too.

Debating exactly how to price this one. If I make the plate, probably $250? It’s not super exciting but it’s simple and the grain is very nice. Not a rare wood, but it will polish nicely if it works like the table display bowl I posted earlier in the week.

So – this is also a request for an opinion on pricing as we go. $50 ring bowl, $100 candy bowl, and $250 flower pot with plate (when the plate is done) ... is that reasonably priced??? I am soaking the candy and flower pot in epoxy so they will be waterproof if need be.

I need to find a blank for the plate. Also need to figure out how much time we have into projects like this. Then apply what material we used and what that cost. I paid $400 for the whole 28ft tree. It already gave the table display bowl IDK that’s gotta be a $200 bowl. If these pan out to sell the bowls alone covered the cost of the tree plus $200. We have another large blank that should yield at least three more bowls, and two end grain ones that will make one maybe two each.

If we play this right we easily have $1,500 worth of bowls out of the log. On top of that we have the lumber, which I’m hoping looks good and has some interesting grain/color. The tree I’m hoping has between 300 and 400 usable board feet in it. Average that depending on thickness and width at $10 a board food I have a tree worth at least $3,000 – cost of purchase at $400 plus some time to move it, plus milling/drying costs will likely be around $300-$350 … the bowls alone cover all the costs and I get free lumber!

I need some feed back on pricing these bowls as we progress with this. I really have to get a grasp on marketing these if anyone has suggestions let me know!

I’m trying to figure out what this cost, I got the logs on that trailer load from a local tree service along with some other material for $100 (firewood cost) ... Then some trades and such with the milling I’m estimating it cost around $150 to mill it and have it dried. So for about $250 plus our time and storage … we have six 16/4 walnut slabs.

At $10 a board foot for walnut, rounding down these are all 66” long ranging from 40” down to 21” wide. Say a 5’ x 3’ flitch at 16/4 thickness is 15×4 = 60 board feet or around $600. We have roughly $2500 worth of walnut from this log on hand.

We see some coffee tables in the mix here. Perhaps some with game boards inlaid as some are not particularly interesting grain patterns so they are perfect for a backdrop to add a chess or backgammon board. We could take the two center ones that are nicely mirrored and make a kitchen larger coffee table. Now of course we have to put the time into making the furniture, and hopefully someone buys it. With these slabs we could easily have $8,000 – $12,000 in furniture depending on what we build.

I think it’s worth it – but time will have to tell. There is TONS more wood is coming! We’re waiting on over 40 logs currently in various stages at the mill and probably another dozen or so we’d like to get our paws on and drag them too the mill. The first of the locust and a batch of cedar will be coming home soon.

SO – we’re starting a full force collection of materials to turn! We’ve picked up walnut, spalted maple, spalted beech, spalted cherry, osage orange, mulberry, looking for some cedar root balls.

Here’s a few images of local finds. These are mostly crotches, burls, and other cut outs from spalted logs. We’ll see what we get as time “turns” ... remember this is mostly found materials. We are buying a few logs here and there but the vast majority of this material is being picked up for FREE.

Scavenging and bartering is a woodworkers mainstay if you do it right. We gather supplies all over the place for unique projects. Wood turning can be done without sophisticated expensive milling equipment. All you need is a chainsaw, a bandsaw, and a lathe. Help a neighbor with a tree cleanup and you can end up with tons of great turning materials. Especially if you find trees that have spalt in them or unique mineral stains.

This is the root ball from our heirlom spalted copper beech – my grandmother’s tree. This was the final straw, I ordered the One-Way EZ Core setup today. I can’t waste this. I hope to get at least three bowls out of it.

This – this is found in our back yard a fallen cherry tree. We’ll be cutting up more of it ASAP! Probably this weekend! This unique blank became the turning below. We’re thin walling it out and we’ll finish sand it this weekend and let it sit and warp from there before finishing.

If you look at the ends, there is some burl or random grain apparent. We’re hoping it dives in deep.

Off to the mill with this one tomorrow … I have to do a full inventory. I think there’s something like 50+ logs we now have in various stages of waiting for pickup, storage, milling, drying, and dimensioning.

For those following you’ll see some progression shortly we are picking up walnut, locust, and cedar you previously saw off to the mill. That’s the first real take since the osage and mulberry we picked up from our 2011 scavenging. We will now begin to reap the ROI on the 2012 logs.

We will begin cataloging each slab this weekend as we pick them up and place them into inventory. We’ll also be going back through our storage and making sure we have detailed photos and measurements of each slab. We’re planning to begin a marketing program and also build some additional spec slab tables for a few gallerias. TBD on the details …

Anyway- yesterday I retrieved a load testing load of Osage, Walnut, and Cherry!

So here’s the ideas and that’s all it is now – the Cherry – thinking 3” (12/4) slabs that we will then use to make a few tables and matching benches. The legs will match at 12/4 to the tops. Depending on what we see when they are sliced open an assortment of butterflies and other inlay as required.

The walnut – there’s a large section of several branches coming into the trunk on the walnut – this was cut off the tip for bowls and other turnings. There is a 12ft section, a 6ft section, and an 8ft section. We’re debating just how to slice it up. The 6ft section will probably be thick sliced for coffee tables. The rest may not be all that interesting so we may just 8/4 it but I’m still tempted to go thicker.

The osage – well – here’s the crazy thought as it is a nice odd curve. We slice it flat along the curve to preserve the profile 12/4” thickness. We then take the two center pieces and flip them mirrored and joint the touching edges to bring them together to be a nice wide tabletop. The remaining two slices we then flip to match the profile of the outer edge of the table and turn those to benches. We’d I guess have to make two osage chairs for the ends. Really modern, who knows if it’s marketable but it would be fun to build!?

That’s one load from today – we also picked up a burly maple trunk. We’ll be getting more osage shortly as the trailer just wouldn’t hold any more when we had the mother load on there loaded last night.

Some of the last loads – the cherry is sliced to 10/4 … that’s going into the kiln I think shortly. We have about 12 other logs waiting in line including walnut, locust, maple, and not sure what one strange log was but it looked interesting I have to find out.

I have to go scavenging in a local park and some other places soon and see what they have. We are pending doing some cleanup at friends places for more walnut and some other exotics.

Stay tuned – this is going to get more and more interesting … AND we may just be putting some of this up on the market as we have no idea where we are going to keep all this wood!

This is all about custom furniture, antique restoration, artwork, wood turning, and all sorts of unique artists and artwork!

Artisans Quarterly Review is released four times a year, and we periodically send out special announcements to keep everyone up to date. Each issue features a unique variety of articles, images, and events. We enjoy interactions with our clients, affiliated artists, and our suppliers. We welcome ideas and submissions for content!

2013 Mayans be Damned!

2013, Hmmmm
Holiday Prepping … NOW
Our Yarder in Action
A Maple Monstrosity!
Take Your Log on a Mill Walk
Rocking Generations
The 2013 Special Olympics Plunge!
John Looser’s Extreme Birdhouses
Paper Mache Table Restoration
One Really Cool Redwood Burl
Common Threads Coverage
A Gathering of Spoons
A Copper Beech Bowl
Adopt a Round Thing
The Lathe Upgrade Progresses
Paper Mache Table Restoration
Company Background
Spinning Colors (Preview!)
2013 2nd Quadrant Preview

Link For Text Email Views: http://www.artisansofthevalley.com/docs/Artisans_Quarterly_Review_Vol6_Issue1_2013.pdf

This seems to contain burl, curl, and some misc other malformations. We have no idea yet what is inside – we will find out when we cut it open!

Another 2012 Super Storm Sandy Salvage!

Loaded for us by DPD Contractors
http://www.dpdcontractors.com/

Salvaged from GeoMatrix Construction
http://www.geomatrixconstruction.com/

Milled by Willard Brothers Woodcutters
http://www.willardbrothers.net/

We’ve ramped up our efforts to scavenge and are making some great contacts with area parks, tree services, townships, and other institutions and venues as well as private homes. We’ll be picking up wood where ever and whenever we can obviously looking for the premium hardwoods and a few evergreens.

Main targets, cherry, walnut, white oak, maple (splated mainly), cedar/spruce for boat materials, apple, pear, osage orange, mulberry, and perhaps a few poplars for carving fun.

Given the volume we rigged up to handle up to about a 24” log depending on the type with our own winching gear. The rest we’ll be partnering up with friends who own tree services, excavating, or landscape businesses who have heavy equipment. – Pending a 30” + 30’ walnut tree for example we’ll be requesting some assistance in loading. We also have a 6ft diameter maple tree with an assortment of intertwined burls we will be working to pickup ASAP.

The rig is now setup on a 7700lb trailer – light duty for the project, but for now it’s what we have on hand. We’re planning to take some of the profits from this venture and buy a heavy duty dump trailer.

Meanwhile we designed a simple yarder and mounted it on the trailer. This setup is powered by a 12,000lb winch which is mounted on a secondary receiver on our truck. The yarder mounts as a drop in and bolt together accessory to the trailer. No permanent welds or even any bolts hold it on the trailer. It slides into the stake mounts. The wench cable is rigged through a pulley mounted on the yarder as a high point and will drag logs up onto the trailer. The high point helps lift the front of the log to reduce drag as it moves.

The winch is mounted high enough to clear the spare tire and jack assembly. I just welded up the winch riser this morning, it “works” but we need some improvement. The idea was to avoid any permanent modifications to the trailer as we are borrowing it. I will probably have to rig up a tripod on the front of the trailer to guide the winch cable and put it back lower directly in the second receiver. The leverage is too great with a heavy log.

We also picked up a skidder for the 4wheeler which seems to be able to handle a pretty good size log (up to 22”) as well. The goal is get the material up to street or trail level so we can pick it up onto the trailer deck. This is a rear load setup for the trailer – not the best as we’d love to have a side load. Well – love would be an articulated loader but again – for now this is the rig!

Now setup w/ a side ramp, its easy to get the 4wheeler up on the trailer crossways. This leaves us plenty of room for 12ft+ logs over the axle. The 4 wheeler balances out some of the weight over the tung. We unload it and use it to move the logs around and to clear a path for the winch cable. The skidder is actually pretty light so we just toss that on board on top of the pile.

Stay tuned if you like to see logs turned into projects! Of course this will take a while … the process generally will take a least a year from log to lumber. Some logs will take a few years to mill then air dry, then kiln dry, and plane down and edge or just leave as slabs. Then it will take us some time to figure out projects, get commissions, etc.

https://www.facebook.com/events/146204015533099/?ref=22&suggestsessionid=1876878881471357264748

On February 2nd 1pm – 5pm Common Threads will be coming to Hopewell Valley Vineyard (www.hopewellvalleyvineyards.com). Common Threads will feature four distinctly different artists from Trenton NJ, as well as some works from two upcoming artists with ties to New Jersey’s capitol city.

Craig Shofed, Kate Graves, Vanity Sabelnik, Jeff Stewart, Burgess Ekman and George Chevalier will present their art. Each one brings a very different style and uses a different medium, whether photography, sculpture, mixed media, or film. All six artists have shown their work at various venues in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and further afield, and have been staunch supporters of Trenton’s highly successful annual Art of Night 24-hour art festival.

While these artists differ in the themes that they present, the city provides a common thread through the inspiration provided by the expanding artistic culture. Come out and see the diversity in this sampling of city artists.

You can find more information about the show and the artists at the following link.

http://shofedart.squarespace.com/common/

http://www.artisansofthevalley.com/docs/ArtisansQuarterlyReviewVol5Issue4_2012.pdf

Artisans Quarterly Review is released four times a year, and we periodically send out special announcements to keep everyone up to date. Each issue features a unique variety of articles, images, and events. We enjoy interactions with our clients, affiliated artists, and our suppliers. We welcome ideas and submissions for content!

Table of Contents
The End of Days – 2012

Still Standing After Sandy
Don’t Throw it Out!
Ashley & Connor’s Drive
More of Mike’s Maki’s
Artisans Goes Log Scavenging
Princeton Refractory Tables Finished
Hand Turned Ornaments
Artist Thomas Whistance
A Trailer Incident
So You’ve Found Mold
Artist C.A. Shofed
“Common Thread” – Art Show!
Repurpose for Display
Wood Inventory Show Off
The Mistletoe 5K Race
WWII Statue Restoration
There Are Zombies Among Us
Dinner Dates
The World Lives On
Looking Ahead at 2013

Original Project Link: http://lumberjocks.com/projects/21649

This is the blurb I’m posting up on our blog with the new photos:

Here’s your traditional Christmas scene bellowing with the warmth of custom woodworking. This oak fireplace surround includes hand carved moldings, raised panel doors, a mantle, and a hand carved “Live Free or Die” eagle.

Colorful leather bound books, shiny brass, momentum, keepsakes, and awards and photos. Bookcases offer storage and display for your family treasures as well as your library. A comfortable recliner and obviously gifts at the ready for this scene to turn to utter wrapping paper carnage.

Now you may notice a fellow hanging out, not so much hiding out he’s obvious! His name is Smirnoff – the radioactive reindeer.

See it’s a much kept secret that the reindeer like many super heroes were forged in a nuclear accident. In his case, Smirnoff was a bit closer to the blast as compared to say Rudolf … only Rudolf’s nose glows so bright.

Now Smirnoff on the other hand is bright orange with glowing green eyes. He’s just too bright to pull/guide a sleigh or Santa would have to be wearing a welding mask and the other deer would get a sunburn.

So Smirnoff hangs out w/ his four ducky friends – all of which are always wearing sunglasses. Now Smirnoff’s job to be part of the radioactive reindeer brigade, and apparently it is their job, along with the yellow ducks, to drop off these crazy deviant elves that keep appearing all over the world.

Elves are apparently immune to radiation and are not impacted by his orange glow. So the whole plan seems to play out quite well, as Santa has his army of intelligence gathering elves and the means to transport them.

If you’re looking for this kind of warmth in your home, a comfort in your office, or an accent to a cabin … let us know we can design and build an assortment of custom installations which will enhance the appeal and value of your home.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year!

Artisans Quarterly Review is released four times a year, and we periodically send out special announcements to keep everyone up to date. Each issue features a unique variety of articles, images, and events. We enjoy interactions with our clients, affiliated artists, and our suppliers. We welcome ideas and submissions for content!

Link For Text Email Views: http://www.artisansofthevalley.com/docs/ArtisansQuarterlyReviewVol5Issue3_2012.pdf

3/4 Of 2012 – Table of Contents

Opening by the Editor
What’s Turning?
The Art All Night Experience
Our Part in Art All Night
Art All Night Artwork
Crowded Around Art at Night
Creative Yard Nooks
ARTSandFASHIONINSTITUTE
Sands of Light – Randy Mardrus
Restoration – Music Box
Restoration – Decanter
Butterfly Tales
The First 375 Year Old Slab Table
The New Jersey Barn Company
Cap & Gown Club Dining Part I
Historic Wood Projects

Join Aritsans of the Valley’s FaceBook Page!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYHqs7QS_Sg&feature=youtu.be

Those of you familiar my game room bar have seen the centerpiece glass carving. The bar was designed and built by Eric & Stanley Saperstein. The glass carving is by Randy Mardrus, and the stained glass frame was done by Robert Saperstein. The custom solid brass bar top was done by Trenton Sheet Metal.

Collaboration between artists of various mediums, backgrounds, and skill levels often results in some of the most interesting and creative results.

Eric and Randy met through the commission for the Rocky Mountain elk scene that anchors the bar – this was back in the Y2K era. The two began to realize they were up against each other in terms of the level of artistry that this home bar could reach. The creativity grew and the joint effort quickly turned from a project into a long term friendship.

Randy recently completed an artist profile video – check this out for a great insight into the creative mind. Randy discusses himself, and how he began his journey from a teenage rebel to a professional artist.

His work decorates the homes of royalty around the world, mega yachts. exclusive hotels, exotic car dealers, the US Senate building. ... The work speaks for itself, in this video the artist gets a chance to share a window into himself.

Randy’s website: http://www.permanentreflections.com/

Enjoy! ... Nicely done Randy!

Projected completion – probably September at this point we have a LOT going on. We’ll post the project when it’s done!

Mike is the butterfly genius on these projects!

Mike is the butterfly genius on these projects!

Hopefully this project will complete by month end!

Welcome to Artisans of the Valley’s Artisans Quarterly Review Vol 5 Issue 2 2012

Artisans Quarterly Review is released four times a year, and we periodically send out special announcements to keep everyone up to date. Each issue features a unique variety of articles, images, and events. We enjoy interactions with our clients, affiliated artists, and our suppliers. We welcome ideas and submissions for content!

Newsletter Link For Text Email Views: http://www.artisansofthevalley.com/docs/Artisans_Quarterly_Review_Vol5_Issue2_2012.pdf

2012 Continues
• Migrating to New Markets
• Tanked Revealed Again
• Preparing to Blend Art & Wine
• Wine & Spine!?
• Let’s Make the World Sharper
• Lineup for Purchase
• Artisans Art All Night 2012
• Mixing Pallets
• Slabs of Game
• Drunken Chess
• Solid American Walnut Chest
• Culture & Heritage Feature
• Plaques & Signs
• Slabs in Progress
• Introducing Pheasant Wood
• Stopping Oak Barrels
• Rosewood Table Restoration
• Chopsticks & Maki Boards
• A Little Sharper World
• Standing Pens
• Iron & Wood Tapping Beer
• Bedding in White
• Like us on FaceBook!
• What’s Coming – In Q3

Join Aritsans of the Valley's FaceBook Page!

Artisans will be on the grounds of Hopewell Valley Vineyards on June 2nd & 3rd from 12pm – 5pm each day.

We’ll be showing off our Bubinga over Concrete Table, a concrete dovetail bench, two unique cedar slab gaming tables with concrete bases, a modern four post bed, a walnut block front chest, a “druken chess set”, and a variety of other unique pieces. June us for a glass of wine and a preview of our new portfolio!

Also an important reminder to artists – the CALL FOR ARTISTS remains open for
The Blending of Art & Wine on June 2/3rd.
Please contact us for more information on displaying your work!

Click Here to Download Artisans Booklet “Mini-Portfolio” a Printable PDF Cross Section of our Entire Portfolio:
http://www.artisansofthevalley.com/docs/Artisans_of_the_Valley_Mini-Portfolio.pdf

Thank you for your time, your business, and your support!

Eric M. Saperstein
Master Craftsman
Artisans of the Valley
www.artisansofthevalley.com
609-658-2955

Thinking we dye the edges black and we’ll be casting a nice concrete base of some form of interesting shape or another for it. Epoxy and tung oil finish is likely in order. Gotta put the epoxy on redwood to strengthen it, too soft otherwise to be durable!

More on this project soon …