Spring Harvest Fine Woodworking
|
Spring Harvest Fine Woodworking
|
|
|
Spring Harvest Blog January 27, 2005 Work continues on an order for two chest of drawers. Staining the case and drawer fronts today. Purchased matching putty to fill nail holes. I can't shoot the lacquer until the humidity goes down. Planning to film making of prototype sitting stool using drawknife and shaving horse in preparation for designing the sitting stool class. I'll need better weather than this for that. Fine Woodworking magazine editor traveling to the school on February 10th to take photographs for upcoming article. I've got to get ready for that. February 9th is the carving class at SW School of arts and crafts so I better get ready for that as well. Need to work on procedure for the step stool class. I have gotten several leads on green wood sources from Joel Jackson of Texas Windsor Chairs. I need to call those people. February 11, 2005 Fine Woodworking magazine editor left this morning. He is a very nice person. I need to write some additional proposals for future articles. All in all I think the photo shoot was a success. Preparation for the shoot was a mad dash to the finish line for me but I believe it was well worth the work. I need to now focus on some engineering side jobs that I have taken and that chest of drawers. I am very pleased with the way that chest of drawers is looking. I must take some good photos of the finished piece to use for promotional purposes. The shop and the school both require cleaning and I'll do that this weekend (its always good therapy). Working on the procedure for the step stool and for the sitting stool will have to wait. Representatives for the Northeast School District met with me at the school Wednesday and I will be offering two classes for the summer in their catalog. It is a win-win promotional campaign in my mind. They offer interesting hand tool woodworking classes for a very, very reasonable price and I get exposure using their catalog mail out. I will just buy an add in the Northside catalog in order to reach their readership. I am trying to line up demonstrations in March, April and May. I have the Texas Mesquite Association demonstration on March 12th and 13th. I am trying to get into the Windale show and the State Arts and Crafts Fair as a demonstrator but we will see how that goes. I also need to get tax returns on the radar screen. February 18, 2005 Completed the chest of drawers and photographed it for promotional purposes. I have plenty to learn about lighting and photography but it is an interesting journey. I spoke to Steve Duffit and will be demonstrating at Woodcraft Supply next week and sometime in June so I am happy about that. I am looking forward to doing some more video probably this upcoming week. The subject will be shaving horse work on a sitting stool. I have to work out the details of the drawknife class (fun and work at the same time). I am changing the class schedule to allow for the basic class only two or three times per week so that I can fit in some more advanced classes during the weekend. I am looking forward on working on a second chest of drawers. I have already built the carcass and the base. I now need to build the drawers and the top and then sand and finish. I need to video tape the wall shelves class and create an instructional and promotional video. The lighting that I purchased works well but I think it needs some diffusers because the light in the chest of drawers pictures looks a little harsh. February 25, 2005 Demonstration at Woodcraft supply went well. I can always stand to improve on my speaking skills and so the practice was a good thing. I have a class on Monday and so I have to get the school cleaned up. I have been shooting video there and its a mess. I need to complete the video shooting and then get into the editing. I am excited about creating video but there is plenty to learn. I would rather outsource the video editing but that can get expensive. I may edit the first video myself and then I'll see about outsourcing the second video for editing. I will be working today to get some engineering contract work to subsidize the income of the school until the school gets its feet under it. The guys at Woodcraft were very helpful and they suggested that I would have fun demonstrating at the Texas Mesquite Association Festival in March. March 26, 2005 Demonstrating at the Texas Mesquite Association Festival was fun and I met some very nice people. I recently also demonstrated for 15 students of Architecture from UTSA. The pictures for the candle box article that I am writing are not good and so I will have to plan a reshoot. The article is too long and so I need to edit it with a very critical eye. I can use the pictures to help create a story board for the video. I shot a video for cutting a tenon to fit a mortise and I am reasonable happy with the results. I will be making drawers for a chest of drawers today. I will be also working on some other little jobs and then an accent table with drawers for a new article. I need to schedule some demo time at the Woodcraft in Austin in April after tax season is over. The first attempt at making a video around the candle box was a learning experience. I learned that I need better planning that identifies camera and lighting positions as well as zooms and camera angles for each shot in order to keep from making a boring video. Panning, fade ins and fade outs would also be nice but since I may be shooting all this myself, I have to be careful not to make the execution impossible. I watched some Taunton video that has won awards in order to learn what makes it interesting. It is interesting to watch these videos with an eye toward film production versus woodworking. April 19, 2005 I completed the taxes and now can take my bookkeeping hat off and put my business manager hat back on. The article I wrote for Woodcraft Magazine has been accepted. The editor-in-chief is very friendly. I need to propose another article to keep the momentum going. I completed the prototype sitting stool based on one published by FWW and designed by Brian Boggs. This class will have logistical hurdles to accomplish. The wood will have to be wet in order to work with a drawknife but storing wet wood can lead to moldy, stinky wood. ROT delivery could be difficult. Seat weaving material could also be a challenge. I think the class is worth it though. It is very enjoyable and is a popular type of class in other schools around the country. Back to that chest of drawers now. May 20, 2005 I met the Austin woodworking club and went to the Woodcraft in Austin and met some of the employees (nice people). I hope to demonstrate for that club in June. I received several copies of the Woodcraft Magazine with my article in it. I am very happy with the way it looks. I need to get to work on the next article. Teaching has been keeping me hopping lately. The salt box class is a tough one to complete in one day but two students did a great job this week. I taught a chip carving class this week as well and found it very challenging to teach. The student has since contacted me and let me know that with practice their carving has vastly improved. I have to begin preparing for a class taught through NEISD in June. I also have to deliver a bench next week (or possibly this weekend) to a student. I am working out the details of a spoon (and possibly a bowl) carving class. I am gluing together the last drawers for the second chest of drawers that I am working on (they look great). June 3, 2005 I did a demonstration for the Austin Fine Woodworking Club yesterday and it was well received. The club members voiced interest in a sharpening class or a sharpening video. I was going to work on a project level video first but I think that perhaps a sharpening video would make for a good first step. Slicing though end grain of rock maple like it was a block of cheddar is certainly an eyebrow raiser. I have to prepare some wood for a full class (candle box) tomorrow for NEISD. July 24, 2005 Turned in the draft of the article on the trestle table to Woodcraft Magazine. I can't wait to hear from him. I hope he likes it. A story on the school in the Express News was published and created some good customer contact. I did a demonstration for the San Antonio Woodworking Guild and it was well received. I have met several potential customers. I need to get back to work on the chest of drawers and I need to get to work on some video. Some small woodworking jobs came through and helped to keep the cash flow moving but it's going to get darker before it gets brighter.
Demo at the Woodcraft Supply in San Antonio October 25, 2005 The second chest of drawers is completed (I still have to deliver it though). I just received a commission on an elliptical, walnut tabletop expandable with table leaves. The top will have an inlayed band around its circumference and beaded moldings as well. The classes taught through NEISD are going well (selling out). I am teaching the spoon carving class for the first time this weekend (always a little nervous when teaching a new class). The article for Woodcraft Magazine was accepted and will be published soon. I also wrote a short article about carving a spatula and submitted that to Woodcraft Magazine. I am working as an engineer during the week to keep the cash flow steady but that was not totally unexpected. I hope to reorganize the school so that I can use the back room for more than storage. January 21, 2006 I delivered the chest of drawers and the customer was happy. I am working on the walnut table but it is difficult now that I have a full time day job and can only work on furniture and at the school on weekends. I am not complaining though, I am blessed to have all the work that I can handle. I have invested in video editing equipment and so I soon will need to work on a script for my first instructional video. I am very excited about that! |
|
Send mail to
GHuron@springharvestfww.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
|
