What i started out with was a full size drawing of the handrail profile. I then decided i was going to do the rough hogging out of material by using a core box bit in my formica router. So if you look at the drawing you can see how i drew in the actual router bit size and its depth location to tell me how far from the edge of the rail to go, and how deep to go.

I then fashioned a fence to clamp onto my router base. This fence allowed me to reference off of the 90 degree side edge of the handrail. Also i made it a tall base so i could simply let my router ride on top of the handrail, but the edge being held at 90 degrees is what reall kept the setup user friendly. Of course, with such a small (but easy to hold) router i had to take all this wood out in about 1/8” increments.

I then took away my referencing edge on both side using the coping saw. Refering to my full size drawing i was able to get a line to cut on i knew would get me close to the actual shape.

Next i used my scraper or chisel to get most of the high ridges off. Then i fashioned a scaper to the profile to help me stay as true to the correct shape as i could.

Finally i got to do a lot of 80 grit hand sanding to clean the piece up and make it start looking presentable.

I could go on as to how i got the lower profile area but i suck at this getting photos into my blog. I just hope i’ve given you a pretty good idea of how i went about this project.

We shouldn’t confuse expertise in precision with the pinnacle of success. I could spend four months on a kick ass table, seeking out praise from my peers. I just probably couldn’t sell it for enough to be “successful”.

Woodworking, like life, is about tradeoffs and applied good judgement.

I did hear that the drought has produced a bumper crop of Pecans this year. Plus a guy up the street with a yard full of cactus seems to be weathering the drought just fine. I suppose how bad something is really depends on which perspective you choose to look at it from.

A hundred years from now, i figure this drought will mean a neat little area of tight grain wood on some unsuspecting guys coffee table. I think i’ll now pay a little more attention to the wood projects im surrounded with. Just to gain perspective of how climate fluctuations produced the beauty i’m looking at.

To see a project you like and wish to have exact blueprints for it seems foreign to me. Sure i get ideas from what others have made. I just don’t want to make an exact copy of it. I would almost feel disrespectful toward the person that created it in the first place. Plus i don’t get the fun of adding my own unique perceptions and personality into the thing i’m making.

Maybe its that “different strokes for different folks” deal. I’ll just go out on a limb and say you don’t know half the joy of woodworking until you find a way to express YOURSELF with it!

Not that i don’t enjoy making things for the family (and friends), i just can’t charge them enough. When i do, i’m likely to get that look that says “Hey, i thought we was family”. Oh well, i guess i should just be glad to have sought after skills and chalk it up as a price to be paid.

Maybe i’ll move my shop back into some deep hidden woods, and start passing out fake business cards at this years Christmas party to inform everyone i now work for a mobile colonoscopy clinic headquartered out of Somalia.