Well, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with this. I had to take a few days to ponder what Stewart did. It just made me want to come up with something entirely different that what we’ve seen. Stewart as well as quite a few other entries since, have really raised the bar, and in the words of a woodworker, whom I greatly admire, Neil Lamens , ”Challenge yourself!” Some coaching on this process has come from a grumpy old woodturner, too.
To go along with the intent of the challenge, I pulled this 2×4 out from behind my hockey sticks and and broken shovel handles in the corner of the garage. You know, the one that is where my door is blocked by the shop floor hoist to move steel around and take my hydraulic deck off my truck….sorry, I digress. Anyway, I found a 2×4. It’s straight, really dry, and sort of orange.
I started by cutting it in half as maneuvering anything that is 8 feet long, in my shop, can end up with broken light bulbs, smacked knuckles and a general poor attitude by the shop inhabitant.
After a few passes on the jointer, a run through the planer, and a taste of some carbide on the tablesaw, this seemingly forgotten hunk of spruce comes to life! To think, the lonely days and nights that led to months and years, that this piece of wood sat. Just waiting for the day where it could say, “Joint me, plane me, cut off my round overs. Let me show you what I have to give!”
I flipped it, and flopped it, then slathered it in Tite Bond II and glued it back together. Some of it’s long lost cousins, veterans of another time, another bench, another test of process, helped this fledgling piece of framing lumber. Helped it hold itself together on plane. Helped it on it’s journey to becoming more than just another 2×4!
Show me, Mr. 2×4! Show me what you have in store for me!
To be continued….
-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)






















27 comments so far
GaryK
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9496 posts in 866 days
posted 655 days ago
Hmmm!
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
David
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1982 posts in 1017 days
posted 655 days ago
Interesting teaser Tom . . .
What does that 2×4 have to offer?!
-- http://foldingrule.blogspot.com
rikkor
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11338 posts in 752 days
posted 654 days ago
Can’t wait to see progress…
YorkshireStewart
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779 posts in 779 days
posted 654 days ago
This is exactly what makes it all worth-while when we log in before breakfast – and after, and at lunchtime and…
LJ has got us hooked. Mrs YS says it’s eating into her knitting time!
So up to now we have a really neat piece of 8×2 lying up there in Alberta. Can’t wait for the next step.
-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business. http://www.folksy.com/shops/TreeGems
Russel
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2030 posts in 817 days
posted 654 days ago
A little bit of attention and a lowly 2×4 can become a rather attractive piece of wood. I must admit that the teasing nature of the entries is somewhat frustrating in an entertaining sort of way. While anticipation may be the most enjoyable part of any experience, I JUST WANT TO SEE IT DONE!! Oops, got carried away there for a minute. I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment.
-- When you give someone a chance it may well be their last.
MsDebbieP
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14089 posts in 1038 days
posted 654 days ago
tease
-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
furnitologist
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189 posts in 891 days
posted 654 days ago
Was it William Wallace the great 2×4 emancipator who said…....“Joint me, plane me, cut off my round overs. Let me show you what I have to give!” or was that Mel Gibson.
Thanks for the challenge thought Tom…...........as I walk to school with my little toolbox!!:)
toyguy
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698 posts in 715 days
posted 654 days ago
What evil lurks with-in?
-- Brian's Table Top Toys http://home.mountaincable.net/~bgraham/
Lee A. Jesberger
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3709 posts in 857 days
posted 654 days ago
H Tom;
To me it looks like a bunch of smaller 2” x 4” ’s.
That’s it. isn’t it Tom (hope I didn’t blow your secret).
Lee
-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com
Dick, & Barb Cain
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6989 posts in 1177 days
posted 654 days ago
WOW!
-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
Bob #2
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2987 posts in 899 days
posted 654 days ago
2×4 Challenge #1: Throwing My Hat in the Ring
Hat? Ring?
I know what it is!!
A cowboy hat – Right?
Bob
-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner
TomFran
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2501 posts in 872 days
posted 654 days ago
Go for it Tom!
-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28
Mario
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880 posts in 929 days
posted 654 days ago
Hockey sticks…Did I read Hockey Sticks in your post. You have by vote. I look forward to seeing what you produce.
-- Hope Never fails
Douglas Bordner
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3415 posts in 942 days
posted 654 days ago
I like a man who address the soul of a tree even if it is a 2×4. Of course I talk to myself a lot (too long a bachelor out on some farm property – drives the wife mad). Go get ‘em, Tom.
-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.
CharlieM1958
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7459 posts in 1096 days
posted 654 days ago
I think Stewart found the true answer… you are making a 4 ft. 2×8. Brilliant, Tom! Thr greatest ideas are usually the simplest ones! <g>
-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"
Grumpy
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14852 posts in 729 days
posted 654 days ago
Can’t wait till the end when it’s all “spruced” up.
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
mot
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4901 posts in 914 days
posted 654 days ago
I do love my petty torments! I wonder what tonight will bring? (Maniacal laugh!)
-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)
Zuki
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1218 posts in 955 days
posted 654 days ago
Ahhhh . . . I see another mystery unfolding.
-- The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them
Karson
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25271 posts in 1278 days
posted 654 days ago
Great teaser Tom. Your further along than me.
-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
john
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1160 posts in 1259 days
posted 654 days ago
I am anxious to see what you come up with, I am sitting this one out. lol
-- John in Belgrave http://www.extremebirdhouse.com ....http://community.webshots.com/user/cranbrook2
SPalm
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921 posts in 760 days
posted 654 days ago
Is it a clamp holder?
I am running out of time on mine.
-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon
Bob Babcock
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1808 posts in 964 days
posted 653 days ago
A 3 step clamp ladder! I never would have thought of that.
-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org
GaryK
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9496 posts in 866 days
posted 653 days ago
So….. What’s new?
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
mot
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4901 posts in 914 days
posted 653 days ago
Work continues, blogging continues, publishing is at a halt because it’s become more obvious what I’m up to. All will be revealed soon!
-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)
GaryK
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9496 posts in 866 days
posted 653 days ago
You’re evil!
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
DrSawdust
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230 posts in 976 days
posted 653 days ago
This is pure genius . . . . Mot, it looks like you have one clamp still sitting on the bench. What is it like to have so many clamps you have some left over when the clamping is done? :-)
-- Making sawdust is what I do best
mot
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4901 posts in 914 days
posted 652 days ago
Yes, Dust, but I had to use it as a caul on the end, so I did run out of clamps that were on the bench. Work continues on this piece…one set back of note, but I push forward.
-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)