The idea was to make a couple of things as keepsakes, that wove her heritage symbolically through wood into the projects. Both of her grandfathers were woodworkers and I had gathered some wood that had belonged to them but her maternal grandmother came from Northern France and I wanted to tie that in somehow. Thomas to the rescue: I contacted him and explained the objective and he was so nice to offer to send some pieces of French wood he had collected.

Enclosed was a piece of French boxwood, a spalted beech medallion he had made, a piece of plum burl, and some of his special green stained beech, along with some shavings for good measure.

It was getting late into the time I had to work on this so now came the problem of trying to work this in to what I was planning to make for her. You’ll have to stay tuned for further updates.

For now, I wanted to thank Thomas from the bottom of my heart for helping me with my crazy idea. I plan to return the favor soon.

When I took it apart, I realized that the blade was broken and originally went further into the handle. You could see the outline on the metal to show that the handle actually was set at an angle to the blade. Someone cut a little notch in the blade to catch the screw to help secure the blade, probably the same guy that did the handle repair. I drew a simple sketch to visualize what the handle might have looked like.

This 18” saw was something my Dad had around in his shop that I came across when we cleaned it out several years ago. I kept it, probably for the same reason he did, because it’s an interesting tool. I’ve always wondered what special purpose it was made for. I haven’t taken it apart or cleaned it up in any way yet, but I could find no maker’s mark anywhere on the blade or the handle.

The broken handle was repaired by someone in a very crude way and leaves to question what the handle might have looked like originally.

The blade has an interesting leading end design with two cutout patterns about 7 1/4” apart with a straight edge between them. Any leads or information anyone can give me would be very much appreciated.

It was a real pleasure to meet a fellow LJ, Troy (Horologist) and his wife Cathy, {taking this last minute thought photo), recently. They live in Melrose, which is more than a little trek from here. It was a New Years Eve party and we didn’t have too much chance to talk shop but we had a good time anyway.

It was great to meet you and I hope to catch up with you and your Dad soon.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I want to get an 18” saw. I have drooled over several. The Rikon sounds like a good value and I could spend more for a Powermatic or Laguna but it is hard to justify. In reading the reviews for the various saws, I hear good things and terrible things about all of them. I haven’t even considered the off brands in my opinion like Shopfox or Grizzley. I live very far away from any woodworking stores that would sell these things so checking them out there isn’t a very good option. Highland Hardware in Atlanta has the Rikon on sale for $1100 but I hear they have a lot of motor problems. Any advice to share, LJs?

I was given a piece of wood that was the end cut of a log that was recovered from the Suwanee River in Levy County Florida where I live. Probably cut down in the 1920s or 30s and brought to the river to float downstream to a sawmill. The piece was pretty checked but it was dry and had such a rich brown red color. I’m told it Sweet Gum, (Liquidambar Styraciflua), by some of my local woodworking friends. I studied the piece for a long time to consider how to cut it up to use in the best way I could.

Div’s greasebox came from a piece left from cutting out a couple of bowl blanks. I saved every little piece. They kept glaring at me on the cut-off cart for a long time and then I began to see a couple of little greaseboxes in one of them.

So I tried to work out the most I could get out of that chunk of wood as far as a box and create a way to place it in a chuck so I could turn the bowl on the lathe.

I planned it so I would machine the dovetail slot before resawing the piece to create two twin boxes. Just had to keep track of which lid went to which box to keep it perfect.

I failed to take photos of the boxes in the chuck but you might notice in the following photo that I trimmed the excess material in a way to keep the bowl in the center in the chuck. Being a bit of a turner I liked this touch, the round bottom would seem to make it easier to dip out the wax.

I then machined and fitted a piece of very hard Ohio walnut for the dovetail latch that came from my great-grandfather’s farm. Anothger heritage aspect to the piece. A couple of brass screws, some tung oil, wood burning the names and there you have it.
Div’s greasebox.

It was my German, farm raised, depression era parents who instilled the idea of fixing things rather than just throwing it away. Appreciating the little things and things well made that actually were useful as well as beautiful. They both understood a lot more about recycling, repurposing, and making do with what you have than most people today. The crazier the world gets the more I am glad to have lived with those sorts of values and ethics.

I begin with a board given to me recently by a friend named interestingly enough, Forrest. It’s a very clear 1” x 18” x 84” piece of Philippine Mahogany that he knew came here in 1944.

I now have the challenge of coming up with what to do with this 66 year old board and of course much older wood, from a tree I can only wonder how old. You’ll notice lots of boards in the background that are awaiting similar decisions. I first thought about this responsibility after I read a book by George Nakashima back in the early 1980’s called The Soul of a Tree. I gave my copy to a brother many years ago, so I haven’t read it in a long time. I was inspired then by both his work and philosophy regarding trees and wood and nature. Very spiritual, very Japanese, and a wonderful book, and the idea has stuck with me since.

I have the luxury of doing my woodworking for entirely personal reasons and do not make my living from it. For me this is a blessing because I do not have deadlines or cost considerations to make. I am in it for the love of working with wood and making things from it. At the same time, I take from my upbringing the idea that it honors God to be able to make things from his creation and I honor him by being a good steward of the material and what I do with it. To the best of your ability the ancestors would say, God expects nothing less. I’ve lived by that credo in my professsional life as well as my woodworking life and it has served me well. For me working with this heritage material means that you accept the responsibility of making good use of it and making something that the former owner would be delighted with. It honors the creator, the tree it came from and shows respect for the woodworker who might have owned it before. I like to think that they look down from heaven and smile.