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9K views 57 replies 23 participants last post by  MsDebbieP 
#1 ·
Making the Commitment

Jan 4/10

I just finished writing about my 3 year anniversary and I remember my beginnings with members challenging me to try making something (and then to jump right in and participate in the Thorsen Table Challenge) .. right-from learning which end of a hammer is which, to "let's make a table"- ok!!

Anyway, here I am 3 years later, still not very efficient at woodworking but I can do what I need to do and I am once again jumping in to participate in the current Awards event.

I'm writing this blog to make the commitment to participate. I have so many projects on the go right now it would be really easy to say "I'll do something for the NEXT Awards"... but I also know that it is so rewarding to participate in the Awards, not only because of the group participation but also because it challenges me to get back into the shop and to try something new.

SO… the brain is clinking away as it thinks up a "Yin Yang" project.
 
#2 ·
I am sure that you will be able to come up with something. You always seem to be able to come up with an interesting idea that reflects your unique personality. It is going to be interesting to see what you can come up with.

How about something in white with a contrasting walnut element? :)
 
#5 ·
Debbie
As a Newbie here thanks again for welcomeing me earlier. But as an oldie, been carpentering and cabinetbuilding over35 years, you show by the body of work posted to have all the skills down and the makings of a good craftsman.

What has made me who I am today wasn't so much the ideas I came up with but taking on the challenges of what others wanted. Figuring out how to shuffle my skills into the set needed for a particular job.

I can say I've been lucky that many of my clients thought more of my abilities than I did at the time and thus they helped me ever improve.

These challenges don't always reveal the real challenge which is to overcome the inner voice of doubt. Once a person overcomes that the project is the easy part.

Looking forward to your entry while I ponder the same as you… Do I have the time for some fun.

Go Get 'em
A Fan
P.S. I like the hat. You should e-mail me where I could get one.
 
#9 ·
I was going to enter, but then I got a serious case of brainlock and I don't expect an early recovery. Besides, time is a problem because David and I are writing a book on woodworking mistakes or how not to do things. At least I think we are. Good luck with your submission Debbie!
 
#10 ·
for the foreword ,
i will attempt to write within these parameters ,

! - don't get out of bed .
2 - don't go into the shop .
3 - don't think about it .
4 - don't do it .

if you can achieve these things ,
you wont make any mistakes !
 
#11 ·
Before I join L J I remmember it was those times when some people came to me and ask me to jump aut of my comfort zone and try new thing´s that I realy learned and have some of the most fun periode´s of my life
so I said go get them by doing something in another material than wood or mixit :)

Dennis a newbee
 
#21 ·
The Plan

Jan 6/10

Well… I have the idea of what I am going to make.. now it is getting down to doing it.
I'm in the process of getting new glasses (since I've had difficulties seeing the fine details when making pens etc). It probably is a safety issue, really… so I've decided to wait until the glasses come in before I start the Yin Yang project.

I may not get the glasses until the 20th of January. That still leaves lots of time, really, to do the project but it's not my style-I like to get things done and then sit back and relax.

And so.. my Yin Yang is on "pause" for a couple of weeks.
 
#36 ·
It's all about the curl

Jan 26/10

"There was a little girl who had a little curl..
Right in the middle of her forehead…"

or.. for the macho guys out there
"wooo wooo wooo woo" (that's a Three Stooges sound.. Curly, get it?

--------------------------------------------
Now that my new safety glasses have arrived, it is time to get down to work and take the idea I had in my head and create it with wood. The deadline for the Awards entries is just around the corner and I don't like working to deadlines. Typically, I like to complete the project at the first of a time-line rather than at the end. But, alas, the Universe had different plans and timing brought me to today.

Although I had a general idea of what I wanted and what I needed to do to achieve it, the finer details were left to the "make it as you go" strategy. As I prepared the first step of the process, I changed my mind, oh, half a dozen times, as to how I should start-keeping in mind the size of wood I had and the different procedures that I wanted to include in the project.

I finally just took the plunge-if it didn't work then I'd be painting up some piece of walnut as my Yin Yang entry :)

I had a long sheet of walnut veneer that was 9" wide. I also had a sheet of maple that was 12" wide. First I considered the easy way out and just make it 9" but I knew that in the following steps, this reduced size would be causing me grief. So I took the plunge and started cutting the walnut to put together 12" pieces.

I wanted 3 layers of the walnut to create a sturdy base that wasn't very thick (thus the veneer rather than a piece of wood). I also needed the centre of the walnut pristine so I added the extra inches onto the sides of the top piece.
Now, other than the skateboards that I made for my son (from a kit), I haven't worked with veneer so again I just jumped in and did what I thought was right.

I taped the bottom and top layers and then just glued the centre pieces in place and hoped for the best.

I then placed them in-between a couple of boards and placed some heavy weight on top of it. Oh and I crossed my fingers.

Next, I had to work with my maple. Again, I knew what I wanted to achieve but didn't know how to do it so I just jumped in and started working.

I drilled a hole in the centre of the piece and, using the scrollsaw, cut a big "X" in the centre of the piece. So far so good. (The new glasses worked really well, by the way).


Next was the process I really wanted to try-this really is what the entire project was about! I got the idea from the video The Wood Whisperer posted showing a woodworking building a guitar. When I got the idea for my Awards project I remembered the video and thought, "Hmmm .. would it work?"

I should say that, while the walnut veneer was really thin, the maple was not. It would have worked much better with thin stuff but this was successful so I shouldn't complain.

I took the wood into the bathroom and got ready to play.. I mean create. Here's my set-up. Notice the ironing board? See? I DO use it! Ha. My family would get that joke. And the curling iron - well it hadn't been used for decades either. I'm so glad I'm a packrat! They both came in handy today.


I sprayed the wood with hot water.


Then I took a curling iron and started bending the wood.


Tada-2 sides down; 2 to go


Problem.
The two sides (that I started with thank goodness) were against the grain or with it, depending on how you want to look at it, and curled really well. The other two sides-no way. (I tried it on the thin walnut first and it worked well in both directions).

So.. plan B. hmmm now what.
Well, the only way it would work is to cut diagonal pieces so that I was working with the grain on all four pieces.
So I cut out four diamonds (not too well, I might add … "should have" been really careful on the corners to get the 45 degree angles. But I didn't.. I knew it.. and I was prepared to work with it.

This was much easier to work with than the full square



In the end I had 4 curly triangles.


... stay tuned for next step.
 
#55 ·
Putting the Yin with the Yang

Jan 28/10

With the pieces prepared, the next step was to try and put them together into a square and get all the four corners to match.
Yah… I had it once, moved the pieces and then couldn't get it to work again. That was frustrating!

I decided to glue one section onto the walnut and just go from there. Once the one piece was down it was easier for me to adjust the other three and eventually I got it close enough and glued and clamped them.

With the project almost done, I had to clean up the edges. (Originally it was to be round but I thought my wood was wider and would have given me more room to play with. As it was I had to cut the slits quite large in order to get a good curl to the pieces. So-square it is. I can live with that.

When it was glued up I then gave it a couple coats of polyurethane. Next I added a crystal to the centre and the corners with some shells, rocks, pine needles, and feathers.

To see the finished Yin Yang creation and to read about the meaning behind it, check out my project here.

 
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