Episode #60 - Boston Vaction

The Folding Rule . . . Away on Vacation . . . in Boston!

A folding rule on the museum workbench display at the
USS CONSTITUTION "Old Ironsides"

Well, our family has been away on vacation last week. We surprised the kids and took them to Boston. I used to live in Scituate, 45 minutes south of Boston, many years ago. Since we all love history and the East Coast, Beth and I thought it would be a great idea to spend some time in the Boston area. We were not disappointed! The weather was a wonderful and refreshing break from the gray overcast rainy skies of Portland. Everyone in the family got a chance to explore special areas of interest, including yours truly.

Now, I did not plan to incorporate woodworking into this vacation, but I did know I would get to see some wonderful furniture, as this is truly one of the great centers of early American furniture. I did see some great furniture, however, most of the places we visited did not allow photography. Some of the most amazing pieces were on display at the Adams Old House.

Enjoying bread, cheese & dark chocolate from
Salumeria Italiana
“The Best Italian Grocery”

I also had a chance to visit a very special woodworking icon. One day we were exploring the North End and sampling some wonderful Italian cuisine. We had made a short stop on The Freedom Trail to visit Salumeria Italiana “Boston's Best Italian Grocery” for some bread, cheese and chocolate which we ate while basking in the sun of Paul Revere’s Square behind the Old North Church. We had a wonderful Mother’s Day dinner at Lucia on the opposite side of the square.


Now, what does this have to do with woodworking? Well right around the corner of The Old North Church is The North Bennet Street School. I had an opportunity to explore the NBSS Gallery and examine some truly amazing work.


The store and gallery manager, Ken Craggs (CFM-07), was kind enough to spend some time discussing his “Chinese Inspired Collector’s Chest” made of curly cherry, redwood burl and wenge. I was amazed at the finely fitting drawers, especially considering the multiple compound angles. I really liked the finely crafted lock mechanism, a thin brass rod with a delicate flared curve. Interestingly, Ken utilized the skill of a fellow craftsman in the jewelry making department of NBSS.

Ken Craggs - NBSS CFM 2007 and his
“Chinese Inspired Collector’s Chest”

We are traveling home today refreshed, relaxed and inspired.

Episode #59 – Cherry Pedestal – Finished!

Cherry Pedestal Photo UPDATE – Finish(ed)!

It was with mixed feelings that I lifted the pedestal off my bench with the help of my daughter. We carried it inside for a few photos and to wait safely until delivery tomorrow. By the time the finish schedule is completed, your hand has become intimately familiar with every grain, nook & granny of the project. Interestingly, this phase is almost as time consuming as the building phase requiring the same level of patience and attention to detail.


As I was buffing the final coat of wax, I thought of a quote by Glen Huey from the most recent issue of Woodworking Magazine.

“While finishing already takes nearly as much time as building the project, why would you want to add another step to the process?”

- Glen D. Huey, Senior Editor
Glazing for the Ages (pp. 30-31)
Woodworking Magazine • Spring 2008

He of course was referring to adding glaze to the finish process. While I did not glaze this project, I did add a layer of Victorian Mahogany Wax to the finish schedule. I think the result was worth the extra couple of hours needed to apply and then buff out the colored wax layer. All in all it took well over a week to apply the layers of oil and wax.

I always put one of my brass makers marks in a discrete location on each major project. This time I also added a small label giving credit to those that provided inspiration.

The building process is interesting and at times an all-consuming endeavor. I would add to Glen’s commentary that the design process can take as long as the building process, which can take as much time as the finishing process! This evening I was reviewing my project notebook and realized this project started November 2007 when a commission bid request arrived on our FAX machine. Sketches, emails, SketchUp renderings and a full sized drawing lead the way to the building phase.

I learned a lot from this project which I will review in a future episode. For now, I am relaxing and happy knowing that tomorrow I will deliver the pedestal to its future owner.

finis for now . . .