First, with the help of Facebook, I met a fellow Lumber Jock named, Mark Gipson. He lives near Bangkok, and we had a great dinner together to get to know each other and talk about woodworking.

I also showed him the following amazing photos. I was in wood carvers heaven… These pics were taken at a location where more than 20 expert carvers make the most amazing pieces you could imagine. Also amazing furniture designs. The pics will speak for themselves.. enjoy!

I had a bit of a tragedy in my chair as you can see in this pic. The seat split. I am trying to figure out the best repair solution so that it is strong and the crack does not continue.

Anyhow, the following photos show my rough sculpting and joinery. I still have at least 40 hours of work left as I need to finish the back slats and chair back, install and sculpt the rails, and finish sand everything.

Enjoy the pics.

starting to fit the leg

leg is doweled into place and ready for sculpting

front is marked

back is marked

begin front sculpting

begin back sculpting

how far I got before I took it all apart and boxed it up for my trip home.

Bye for now

Today I glued the stand offs to the rails, created the dowel ends on all the back slats and started to refine them. I also got more grinding done to form the second arm and copied all the templates and jigs so that I will be able to make another chair after this one is done.

Bill has been such a help and a great teacher. I have taken my woodworking skills to a whole new level on this trip and I am so thankful for this chance. This was an intense week.

Enjoy the following photos.

runner out of the clamps

second view

gluing on the standoffs

second view

I don’t expect to be able to post tomorrows photos for a few days. I have to travel home first. I hope that you enjoyed all of this. I plan to post more as I finish the work in my shop.

head rest blank is fit to back legs

head rest first cuts

sculpting the head rest

finished shaping

holes drilled for back slats

testing first back slat

bending the rails

marked to sculpt

roughly sculpted

More tomorrow… only 1 and a half days to go.

The legs were formed and fitted. The biggest challenge was to mate the legs to the seat.

After hours of fiddling and using Bill’s method, all was fit perfectly. What a thrill to see the legs attached and fitting like a glove. After the legs were fit, Bill gave me another lesson in machine carving to form one back leg to the seat. Later we cur out both arms and carved the first to fit.

Enjoy the photos

front leg is marked

after band saw cut offs

a close up on the joint

back leg is cut out

creating a flat at an angle to the face. makes legs lean

finished angled surface

cutting the joint

a view of the joint

grinding a joint

leveling and sanding

legs dry fitted and one leg worked

arm blanks were doweled and dry fit

arm being marked

cutting away waste on the band saw

part two of many cuts

carved out arm

leveled and rough sanded arm

done for the day… tomorrow is more

The biggest challenge here is that I can’t actually finish the whole chair. I will UPS myself the components and when I arrive home do final gluing, shaping, sanding and finishing..

More tomorrow

I was fortunate to have Bill’s undivided attention and patience. He helped me get the angles right until I started to get my seat formed. Had I tried to learn this on my own, I guarantee that I would have wasted dome prime lumber until I got to this point.

Take a look at some of my pics from glue up to carving..

boards marked to be cut for glue up. angles create chair shape when all glued

clamped to make markings and planning joints prior to glue up

Horizontal boring for doweling the seat

glue up ready for carving

carving to shape seat begins

Carved

first sanding is done and front leg joints are started.

next comes the front and back legs.

This so far has been an extremely interesting and educational experience. I am sure it will continue this way.

More photos to come.

If I had a dollar for every time I have seen the TSA act like jerks to me or others, I could afford a new shop. I remember a few months after 911 being in the US and having the misfortune of having a beard. An airport security jerk said to me,”Hey Osama, we need to search you over there” while pointing to a screened area. Now I am not by any means an “Osama” … I am a white guy from Ohio.. and if I were of middle eastern descent I would have been even more offended. Well, since then I travel without a beard and nobody bothers me.

Anyhow, to leave Israel you need 3 hours. First you get in line to be asked 20 questions. I had been in Saudi prior to Israel so I got the 50 question version. The questions were a bit intrusive, but respectfully asked. Next, all of my luggage was x-rayed and my laptop was opened and scanned separately. After this, I was led to a counter where my luggage was opened. The guy had two computer screens showing the x-rays of my bags. They went through the bag using the photos as a guide and swiped all of my items with a special pad that later was put in a machine to look for explosive residue and who knows what else. More questions were asked and obviously compared to the results from the first questioning.

Next I was given back my luggage and allowed to go to the counter to check in. They took my checked bags and I was off… no wait, one more carry on check and I was able to stand in line to have my passport checked. Because I also go to Arab countries, I ask Israel not to stamp my passport. They agree since they know the reality of the region. An Israel stamp would make my future entries into Saudi and other nations complicated. I had only 20 minutes to wait at the gate and I was off to Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is a paradise. I love this city. I don’t drink alcohol, smoke dope, do drugs, and I am happily married so the hookers mean nothing to me. I do see that Amsterdam does in fact prove all of the right wing self declared moralists wrong though. This is a city were all of this is legal and they have an extremely low crime rate. They have low cocaine and heroin addictions, almost a non-existent murder rate, low burglary rate, and hospitals that provide real care without putting its citizens into the poor house.

I won’t go on a political rant since it will stir up too much fodder on the site. If you disagree with what I say, remember that I do have a first amendment right to free speech, and the greatest freedom in being an American is to be able to express yourself freely without fear of retribution. I am tired of being told that my opinions make me less patriotic than I truly am. I travel the world and know the true advantages of being American. I also know that there are other places that get many things better than we do.

That said, Holland is a paradise. Great people, great food, Great things to see and do. No need for a car or even a taxi. You can rent a bike to get anywhere or take public transportation that is clean, efficient and easy to use. One thing that I note is how people devour a newspaper there. Everywhere you look, you see people reading. People in Holland see the value of being aware of the world. When was the last time you had a meaningful conversation with a hotel clerk or convenient store worker?

An interesting new law went into play in Holland when I was there. I got to see the first day of their tobacco ban. I say tobacco ban since the smoke free law does not include marijuana. It is still fully legal in coffee houses. What I did not know is that outside the US, people who roll a joint put tobacco in to slow the burn. A coffee houses where they sell weed and people smoke it with their coffee and friends. It is like a bar in the states but no drunks looking for a fight or vomiting on my shoes. So in coffee houses now, people who mix tobacco with reefer need to go outside to smoke since it is illegal to smoke tobacco indoors. Kind of ironic…… Now the fun guys that work in those places have become the tobacco police.

Enough weed talk. I saw an actual saw mill that runs 100% on wind energy. It was really cool. Imagine gang ripping full logs with no electricity. It was slow, but the cost was low. They even use the wind energy to pull the logs from outside into the mill. I also traveled to the south of Holland where I saw an old wall the Romans build in the late 1200s. I didn’t have much time to screw around since I was there to work, but I can’t think of a better place to pass my time.

If you have never been to Europe for a vacation, this is the place. You can get around easily, get around with English, and have a great time.

I just returned from the Middle East and Europe. The trip included Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, Dubai in United Arab Emirates, Amman in Jordon, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in Israel, and several cities in Holland.

Where to begin? First, to go to Saudi, you have to get a visitors visa which was easier than I thought. For those who don’t travel with a passport, a visa is a special stamp you get from a country that requires it for you prior to entering their country. For Saudi, my client there had to send me a sponsor letter that included a complex application and some cash.

When I got my passport back from their embassy, the visa was all in Arabic so I had no idea what it actually said. I joked at the office that it said, arrest on entry to the country.. I had to take it to an Arab friend of mine to translate it for me and everything was in order. The flight was direct from Cleveland to Paris Airport where I had a 7 hour layover before my flight to Saudi on Air France.

I was surrounded by a mix of people but the flight was interesting. Next to me was Lebanese gentleman who was a guest worker in Saudi as most workers there seem to be. As it was explained to me, most Saudi nationals don’t work outside the government so each company there is sponsored by a Saudi who does not work but does get paid for his sponsorship and then the company is run by guest workers from other countries.

The other guy in my row was an effeminate young man who is from Saudi but studying in the US. He seemed fine to make comments about Saudi Arabia and its people that were at least unkind and at most dangerous to say if the wrong people heard it. He was sent to the states to study and this was his first trip home in more than 4 years. He was not the sharpest knife in the drawer and was asking questions that I did not want to answer for fear of being misunderstood by some other guy who could turn me in to authorities when I arrive.

He finally asked me the question, “so what are you going to Saudi Arabia for?” which to me seemed like a really dumb question… after all, why else would an American businessman go there… To do business…So I responded, “ What else would I be doing there?.. I am going to meet girls!” Everyone around us laughed loudly and he finally shut up. I went to use the bathroom and the guy who was sitting behind me told me that this was the funniest thing he had heard in a long time. Funny or not, he did finally shut up and I got a bit of shuteye.

I arrived, had dinner and got some sleep. The next day was interesting. The streets are filled with Saudi men and floating black sheets that I assume have women under them. My client pointed to a mosque that was next door to my hotel and told me that it was of great importance since the plaza next door is where they behead drug traffickers. 2000+ people show up to cheer the public event. I commented that if it were me, I would fight all the way to the stage and they would have to kill me before the beheading. He told me that I could not do that since they medicate the person to be beheaded first so that they can’t fight. Yes, you heard this right.. Traffic drugs, get drugged, lose head. Don’t guffaw too loudly, George Carlin used to talk about how we have lethal injection to execute our worst criminals and we wipe the arm with alcohol before we inject and kill the bum. You don’t want to sell the guy to hell with an injection site infection.

Anyhow, business went well and I was off to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai is the Arab version of Las Vegas without the gambling and strippers… well at least that I could see. Who knows what happens behind closed doors. Dubai is the construction place of the world. They are finishing the tallest building in the year although they won’t yet say how tall it will be. They have a hotel that looks like a giant sail, an indoor ski hill (yes I did say that), and I saw a drawing for the first modular skyscraper that they plan to build. Each floor is independent from each other and will use the wind to turn them to create a different looking building every day.

Now, next time you fill your tank with overpriced petroleum, remember that the end effect of that purchase makes spinning buildings in the Arab world. They even built Islands in the ocean that resemble palm trees and even a map of the earth. Don’t believe me, Google Dubai and Palm tree Island or Earth Islands.

Jordon was next. Similar stories to tell with one great one. I was in the Airport waiting for my flight to Israel when a guy flicked his cigarette butt into a trash can. He went to board his flight as smoke began to rise from the can. I told a security guy who checks passports and boarding passes and pointed to the can that was smoking. He informed me that he was not a fireman. I asked if he could call someone and got the same answer.

Next to me was a Starbucks.. yes.. they have grown overseas too. I asked the guy at Starbucks for water to put out the fire and he responded that he could sell me a bottle. I was not going to buy it so I asked if he had a bucket and rag that he used to wipe the table and he said yes but he could not let me use it. He also could not go put the firs out since he was on duty selling coffee. With some coaxing and flames peaking out over the top edge of the can, I grabbed the bucket and put the fire out.

Not a single person commented on what I did or that it needed to be done. So eventually I boarded my flight and left my 2 minute career in firefighting behind me. I will leave this to the pros.. when I can find one.

Next was Israel. What an amazing place. There is too much to tell, but imagine seeing where all Jewish, Christian, and Muslim tradition began. In the US, we marvel at things as old as 300 years.. in Jerusalem, you see things that are thousands of years old. And many have pieces missing here bullets have hit it. The only way to discuss this place is to get into political and religious discussions that don’t belong in a blog on Lumberjocks.

I am posting this part now and later will continue with what happened when I left Israel and my days in Europe. Thanks for reading.

For those of you who don’t know of Bill Kappel, he is also known as the rocking chair guy. He makes his own take on the Maloof style rocking chair and does it with style and class. Not only does he make chairs and other amazing wood pieces, but he also offers classes ranging from one on one to small groups. He is a great guy, and I feel fortunate to be working with him this week. You can tell he is good since unlike some hacks I know, Bill laughs at the concept of being called a master woodworker. (even though he just might be one)

For me it was a cross country trek since his workshop is a bit more than 2 hours South of Salt Lake City Utah in a place called Ephraim. I am not sure how to pronounce it, but here I am in my hotel room writing this blog entry. I live in Cleveland, Ohio when I am not traveling so Utah is a big change of environment for me.

Enough fluff.. lets talk about the build. Today was day one and we started making the seat. I chose Mesquite lumber for my chair, and I have to say the figure is amazing. Bill has an amazingly organized and intelligent method of building his chairs that can be broken down into specific and orderly steps. The advice he offers at each step helps understand how the choices are made for each step in the process. He follows a similar procedure to the one I have seen on the Maloof DVD I have, but obviously hands on is the way for me to learn it.

I will take pictures and post them as the days go on. I am also making some video recordings of technique so that I can refer to them when I need to make my next chair. Today was day one and I have several to go. I am confident that when I am done, I will be taking home the best looking chair in my house.

I will keep you posted.

Please take a look at these photos and see how cool the legs attach tot he desk. Also, the center is a hollow cavity covered by glass to display some traditional carvings. I like this desk and hope to have time this year to make something similar with my own influences. My intent is to make something even more interesting and less rustic.!http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh280/motthunter/128.jpg!!http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh280/motthunter/130.jpg!!http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh280/motthunter/133.jpg!

carved and frames from China.

also from China

2 from India

front and back of same piece from India.

I hope that you enjoy this work.

I spent my last day with friends who I do business with in the most beautiful part of Mumbai. The hospitality was like being a king for a day. The further south you go in the city, the nicer the city becomes. The southern most tip is a peninsula surrounded by water and the view is amazing. After lunch I did some shopping for gifts including a few hand-carved wooden figures that I will post soon. They are images of Hindu gods.

I had one last wonderful meal and I was off to the airport for my flight home.. My 2 hour terror ride through the busy streets where anarchy rules was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. I arrived with time to spare, and began my check in process. Next time you complain about the US system, remember that other places have real security.

From the time you get in line until you arrive at the gate is around one and a half to two hours. Without going into detail, lets just say that the number of check points, document checks, frisking stations, and more are extreme. It requires patience and a sense of humor to make it through.

Now all that said, we boarded an hour late and sat for 3 hours before they cancelled our flight due to an engine breakage. So off the plain at 2am immigration exit stamp canceled, and we got our bags back. Through massive confusion we were sent to hotels to sleep and we were told that we would have a bus back to the airport at 11:00am.

At 11:00am we had to return to go through all of the above customs and immigration exit procedures again and re-board… Of course, the plane wasn’t ready and without too many details it was wheels up at 5:00pm.

As I write this to post later I am at the 3 hour point in a 16+ hour flight knowing that when I land in the states I will again miss my connection and have to spend the night in a hotel in Newark.

Now, all the whining aside, the part that makes the whole mess a little easier to swallow….. When these things happen, you get to see humanity in action. There is always one jerk who has to scream and rant, but we won’t talk about this disgraceful jackass. He is not worth my time to write about. Instead, lets talk about the ad-hock community that forms in these situations. Before long, I had a whole group of new friends that were dealing with this situation as it happened.

Many of us business travelers are alone on the road and when these things happen, an interesting bond gets created. I met an engineer who designs special air compressors, a retired engineer who used to design planes, a food scientist who travels the world buying spices for his company, and many others. Sometimes I forget that the people that are around us all have their own stories to tell, and most are fascinating.

I learned a bit about Hinduism and discussed politics, education, and so much more. Even a crappy situation like this has a good side. Of course I would rather be home with my wife and kids, but at least I learned something new from so many new friends.

BREAK

I finally made it home a full day late and after a second hotel stay that was paid for by our friends at the airline. I am so tired that I can’t really even see straight so I am off to bed. Home sweet home..

Unfortunately the stores would not allow me to take pictures of the intricate carvings and amazing pieces. I will try to get a friend to get some for later to show. The craftsmanship of the Indian carvers rivals any in the world. Most of the pieces I saw were of figures from their Hindu faith. I like to believe that their devotion to their faith adds to their creativity and helps them make even finer work.

I go into a store like this and want to take everything home with me. It is hard to fit a 6 foot tall statue of something in my suitcase so maybe next time I will get one and ship it home.

Many think that India is too far from their reality and budget to visit on a vacation, but in the end many exotic locations like this are well within reach to most travelers. I think that including the ticket, a person can take a vacation here for close to the same amount as some tacky resort beach vacation. The difference is that in a place like India, you can work on your mind rather than just the perfect tan. After all, tans fade and knowledge grows.

I will write more after returning to the states.

My only short way of explaining India is “COMPLETE SENSORY OVERLOAD”. The air is thick with pollution and in many places indescribable smells of food, people, and who knows what else. There is never a moment that a horn is not honking, and the traffic is like none you have ever seen. It is almost anarchy. There seems to be no rules at all. Just cars, bicycles, motorcycles, tuc tucs everywhere. (a tuc tuc is a three wheeled taxi made from motorcycle parts) Everyone is going in opposite directions and I wonder where it is that they are going. It is aggressive and my recommendation is to trust the cab driver and look straight ahead. After all the driver does this every day and has lived this long without incident.

Anyhow, I arrived in Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) and took a cab to the southernmost part of the city where I stayed at my friend’s house. It was like an oasis from the madness in the street, and I had a good night’s sleep since the next day I had to fly again to another city.

The next morning we left together for the domestic airport and had a nice flight north 300 kilometers to a city called Vadodara (formerly known as Boroda). We visited a factory there and even though this city is much smaller than Mumbai, it is still like a hornets nest of movement. Imagine having to stop every few miles so that the cows can get out of your way on the roads or because a street market started in the middle of the street that you want to rive down. Every glance you have is a new image that you may have never imagined existed before. I also visited a Hindu temple with my friend to see how they pray. I admit that i know little about their faith, but it is fascinating to watch. I will have to read a little to understand better. There is a lot of bell ringing, chanting, and flower placing.

After a good nights sleep I had a driver drive me for 5 hours to a city called Rajkot where I have meetings today and a return drive. The long drives on the highway are amazingly eventful. The roads are OK in most places, but the mix of vehicles, cows, and even the occasional camel make it so surreal. Many scenes of these old trucks make me think of scenes from the post holocausts images of movies like Mad Max. Imagine an overloaded truck with passengers seated on the roof as it hurdles down the highway or a small farm tractor on the highway pulling a trailer with 30 people sitting inside to go who knows where. India is not a place for the faint of heart, but if you can get past the inconveniences, it is a rich place to see with wonderful people. You also need a box of Imodium if your stomach is not used to exotic cuisine.

I am on my way to a meeting then it is off to the highway again. I am glad to be arriving home on Friday.

I started this trip in Hong Kong after a 16 hour flight directly over the North pole from a connecting flight in Newark. I had a meeting there and wandered the city a bit. I love this city. It is a real paradise for the traveler. Great people, great food, great things to see. Best Chinese food you could imagine.. but they don’t call it Chinese food in China… they just call it food.

Anyhow from there I had a meeting in a city in China called Nanjing to close a major sale. Nanjing used to be called Nanking by us many years ago but like Peking is now Beijing. Anyhow it is an old city where you can see some of old china still. It was an interesting place. The problem was leaving. I had an 8:00am flight back to Hong Kong to connect with a flight to Mumbai (formerly called Bombay) India. Well, my taxi which should have taken 50 minutes to go to the airport arrived at my hotel and told me that it would cost double for the ride. Since my Chinese is almost non-existent, I was lucky that one woman at the hotel could translate for me.

I asked why to discover that it has snowed the night before. This city gets snow sometimes, but never this much. Also, they have no snow plows. So he wanted double the taxi fare because of the risk involved. I offered to show him how to drive safely in the snow. I told him that I would drive if he would tell me where to turn. He did not go for that idea. So anyhow it took us almost one and a half hours arriving only 25 minutes before my flight. I was sure that if the planes were going to take off, I was too late to get on. On the way there I saw no less than 12 cars spin out like a fat guy at the ice rink.

Anyhow, I arrived at the check in counter after passing initial security at the airport to find that the flights would all be delayed. Surprise surprise. So they told me to just stick around and see what happens but most likely I would not fly. I had to wait since I did have a connection to make and really, what else did I have to do? At least I was at the airport and there was no other place to be.

So the wait began. An amazing part of travel like this is how quickly you can make new friends. In line I struck up a conversation with 2 men. Each were the agriculture ministers from their countries Malaysia and Brunei. We had breakfast together and I learned about these two places. After breakfast I saw another guy that looked American and we struck up a chat. He was installing machinery in a factory in China and before long a nice woman from Norway joined us. She was there buying camping tents for a company she worked for back in her country. Next came an IT guy from Australia who works for Ford Motors in Singapore. Wow this world is amazing.

Well, as hours passed, the snow continues to fall and more accumulated on the wings of the planes outside as we became content that this would be our new home for as long as it takes. The airline treated us to both breakfast and lunch as hours continued to pass. The amazing thing was that nobody was getting upset. The usual jerk in the airport who takes out his anger on the airline employees who somehow were responsible for the snow must have stayed home. We were all kind of in this together.

Finally after 10 hours of hanging out, we heard a loud noise like a jet taking off.. It was weird since nobody had boarded. We went to the window to see in one direction 12 guys with shovels clearing the taxi way and int he other a large pair of trucks with jet engines on the back that were being used to blow off the runways. It was amazing to see how strong the thrust of the engines could blow the snow. An hour later we barded the planes but the planes were completely covered with snow. While still on the ground we had drinks and dinner and finally a crew arrived to de-ice the plane. After twelve and a half hours of waiting we were off to Hong Kong. Of course I missed my flight to India and made it the next day. I will tell you about my adventures in India next. When I arrived in India, I read on the CNN web site that the snow had gotten worse in China and many were now dead and homeless as the snow crushed homes and buildings that could not hold the weight on the roof and cars and buses slid into each other and off of cliffs. This is the worst snow in China’s history.