777 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
16 comments »
I’m in the midst of finishing up a project I have really enjoyed. Sure, it has taken me two times the hours I bid, but I am happy with the result. Actually, it has come out better than I expected, which is always a nice surprise.
This is a functional-art piece I wish I wasn’t selling, to be honest. But, I have already spent all of the down payment. So, giving the money back is not possible, so the customer will get her desk.
There have been a few pieces I wish I could ha...
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779 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
18 comments »
I hesitate to do this, that which I am about to do. I don’t fancy myself as a good carver, or a great picture drawer. Especially with so many lumberjocks that are great carvers here that will see this. On top of that, there are so many great carvers on the internet that will stumble onto this blog because they surf the net.
With that said, after Mark Mazzo asked about the process I go through to do a carved panel like this one, I thought about it for awhile, and decided to show th...
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807 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
24 comments »
I took most of the day of today and traveled to Hutchinson, KS to see the exhibits and check on my entries. This was the first time I have had anything entered in the Fair since my old 4-H days, which ended many years ago.
My 2007 Kansas State Fair Fine-Art entries are:Walnut Rocking Chair, in “Woodworking” http://lumberjocks.com/projects/84
Sculpted Walking Cane, in “Misc. Carving, walking canes, etc.” http://lumberjocks.com/projects/268
Kansa Indian-Inspire...
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820 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
8 comments »
Wow, it has been a couple of weeks since the Lumberjocks Picnic at my place on 8-10-2007. I wanted to share some of the photos that I have, and talk some about next year’s event.
Cleaning and Hardwork: Our place has never looked better (everything is relative), as Shelli and I rushed around for three full days cleaning up, mowing, weed-eating, and hauling off trash. This old farm we live on was a real junky place when we bought it 6 summers ago, and so we continue to clean it up, res...
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841 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
26 comments »
I was out in the yard planting two little maple trees and the “wife” called from the house, “Phone call, come in the house, it’s Joel Tille from Iowa.” Now, normally, when I am a hundred yards from the house, covered in dirt and sweat and planting trees, and the root ball is laying on the ground rapidly drying out, I would just say, “take a message.”
But, “wife” has learned a few things in 15 years of marriage, namely, because she told...
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890 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
2 comments »
The other day I posted a couple of projects where I used some reddish-white wood, that we around here call “Cedar.” I don’t know what the species name is, some say Western Red, some Say Eastern Red, so I don’t know for sure.
I received enough interest on the wood type from commenters to the project and emails,, that I did some checking around, and I found a local source for this red/white cedar wood with the aromatic smell if anyone is interested in it. It would c...
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898 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
13 comments »
After reading Martin’s blog yesterday about all of us having some lumberjock club meetings, I did one of those head slap moments and thought out loud, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
What a great idea, a nice way to tie us altogether….actual face, to face club meetings.
I was first visited by Joel Tille from Iowa. Then, it was Kevin Larcom from Wichita. Now, Karson tells me that he will honor me by a visit late this summer while he is in Kansas seeing famil...
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933 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
25 comments »
I am so excited this morning. Why you ask?
I’m complete with the St. Anthony Church Side Altar commission project. I have more work to do on other pieces for the church by the end of the month. So, there isn’t much time to take a breath yet, but the completion of the Side Altars is a huge milestone for me, and my woodworking career.
To be honest, there were some times that I wondered if I would ever get all of the details of these Altars complete. Total working time is a...
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1012 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
11 comments »
I wanted to tell a little more about my experience with crafting my own crown molding, and share a couple of lessons I learned along the way.
Previously, I showed how I formed and sanded the profile on the last blog of this topic, and so today I thought I would complete the task by showing the installation of the molding, and a few “gems” I discovered along the way.
First off, I made very sure that my cabinet that I am hanging this crown molding on was as perfectly square on...
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1021 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
7 comments »
My wife is gone for a few hours this Saturday morning, and the kids are busy watching a video, so I will update you on what I am working on now. I’m right in the middle of a “fun” project. It is “fun” on many levels, mostly because I have had to stop and scratch my head a lot.
For those of you with kids, or remember having kids, or know someone who has kids, Winnie the Pooh always says, “Think, think, think” while poking his temple when he is try...
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