technique and process

Der Aufbau des Champion-Tisches, Teil 2: Rand

surface preparation with a Stanley #80 scraper

the swirly walnut grain is difficult to plane but the scraper is able to deal with it efficiently

beginning to fit the side rails and bread-board ends

marking the end cuts with a sharp knife

then creating a shoulder along that line with a chisel assures a clean cut without tearing the grain

cutting along the shoulder with a sharp crosscut saw

a small array of saws to do this job

cutting the central breadboard tenon

coming up to the other side with a pull-saw

both ends of the table are now cut

cutting the base of the tenon “cheeks”

really no other position to accurately make this cut

cutting away the “cheeks”

the finished tenon, and a groove has been cut to receive a floating tongue to align the breadboard

laying out the positions of the mortise and tenons on the side rails and breadboards

cutting the tenon on the side rails

checking for a tight fit. the side rails are attached with glued tongue and groove joints, while the breadboards are “floating”, held in place by a tongue and groove joint and two “draw-bored” mortise and tenon joints, which will allow for expansion and contraction where the grain intersects perpendicular rather than parallel, yet holding the boards tight to the edge of the table. Two opposing corners are pinned miters and the other two are mortised. imagine the table being able to expand in width along the length of the two boards left long to see the allowance for seasonal cross grain movement.

treating the edges before the final assembly

drilling for the dowels for the pinned miter joints where the live edges come together

a brad point drill marks the center of the tenon inside

re-marking the tenon with an offset so that the dowel pin will “draw” it tight to the edge of the table. the holes will be elongated laterally to allow for joint movement.

altering geometry with violence

shaping the dowel pins by pounding the straight oak through a succession of smaller holes drilled in a steel plate until they are round and the size I need

nearly there

a batch of pins

planing a taper

the taper will allow the pin to engage the offset hole in the tenon and slowly pull it tight

pounding the pins home for the final assembly

a little help form a ratchet strap to pull the center tight

cutting away the exposed ends with a saw

a tightly pinned joint

the top all joined. there will be a considerable amount of detail work on the top yet, but first the base

The Champion Table Build, Part 1: Compose, Scribe and Fit

the beauty of God’s edge

composing pieces

flattening black walnut with a router and jig

more looking, more composing

smoothing and shaping edges

smoothing and joining white oak

assembling white oak panels

white oak and black walnut adjusted and clamped for scribing

knife scribing every curve

the white oak panel marked and ready to cut

rough cutting on the bandsaw, staying about 1/16th to 1/8th away from the scribed line

cutting the line deeper

paring away the waste to establish a shoulder along the scribe-line

making the shoulders broad and deep

chopping and paring right up to the line

the shoulder becomes a jig to cut the rest of the piece right to the line using a pattern bit and router

after cutting a slot for a floating tenon, dry-fitting pieces

the floating tenons cut and laid out

tenons glued in

glued and clamped

joining and smoothing the new edges

on to the next step…

Bodark Obed Edom

Print of Obed Edom framed in a re-purposed osage-orange (hedge, bodark, or bois d’arc) fence post

Through Winter

An Interview With Elizabeth Duffy

detail of Go On, John the Baptist, oil on panel, 2008

Elizabeth Duffy has been posting parts of an interview she began with me last spring and summer. To date, this interview consistutes the clearest and really, only articulation of the beliefs and values behind my work. I hope that you will take the time to read it. The interview will ultimately be posted in it entirety on this site, but for now, here is part 1, part ll, part lll, and the final bit part lV. Please take the time to read some of Elizabeth’s writing as well. She is authentic, humorous, and insightful. Her wit and self-effacing style reveal a woman on a significant journey with valuable things to say.

Provision

I have been printing an edition of Flying Fish, a copper-plate engraving about the miracle of provision experienced by Thor Heyerdahl and his crew in the Pacific Ocean on their balsa log raft, the Kon Tiki. This print is for sale at the Baumwerk Etsy store.

…a Walking Man drawing for my friend Steven.

Place

“Rootrill” I hope that you will forgive me for posting an eleven minute song in the twenty first century. Mostly, I hope that you enjoy it.

arc contain glow

seen through scene

bois d arc meteorite

slanting even evening light

ancient bone star dust

deere ghost sheep goat add straw and mix well

cross turn

years unfurl in the eternal present

young hands dextrous

core sample of stored solar energy

made vacant for gold

quince roots herbs leg

reamed tapered tapped turned twisted sunk fitted formed around

concentrate earth line essence

absorb the sun and use it for life

pull transfer motion

dividing even unto cambium and xylem

layers and layers

learn purpose practicing discipline

stop motion

frozen movement osage root as it once reached

three forms of light

hand in hand you who once swayed

ancient releasing story

the turning of light upon the solar bank countless voices scratch and turn

golden hands once full wait for wisdom

new moon forest window

tall down cut stack turn stack down

erth-maker here we bend here we grow

establish converge into order dust scratcher

welcome the new bird and fare thee well

Wood Fire

Lift Earth Rise , compositional sketch on guitar

small eyes wonder

A five year old little girl with a pension for the aesthetics of random objects

while carving walnut to look like earth

of the golden dust of osage

he discovers eggs make lovely lanterns

walk out to find these things from my Goldsworthy protégée

the horse rolls out, making its provision and fuel

Quercus rubra holds Quercus alba for a shave

showing how much learning is found when a draw knife pulls through the grain

and much beauty in the life of trees

yielding four legs from the rugged giant of civilization (that is Mr. Q. Alba)

back to the door. routing tongues and tenons, applying coiled energy to transferred pattern

every fit feels like a miracle

and the two become one

“Onforan” becoming a door, framing a passage

embers stirring embers

into the incense of fearless youth

a seed within a seed, life and healing travel in a mysterious shell

later, the arrangement has changed, she’s at it again

meanwhile, nature imitates nature

round violently became flat, then eases its way into concavity

green tips taken by the hoof-shod

the edges wound-up by the steel-shod

summits of pollen-yellow splendor arise from the dust

in a moment, history and beauty merge and glow

while the broad axe composes its song

as it was written in fire

as it was written in wood

Saint Thomas Grisaille

Grisaille underpainting of the remaining disciples of Jesus gathered together in a locked room as Thomas touches the wound in Jesus’ side.

Onforan

Prairie Creek Dining Table in white oak and black walnut.

Red Elm window sill and shelf moving from rough to smooth.

and being joined longways.

Obed Edom is getting his finishing touches.

A test print is pulled to see what needs adjusting.

John Beartrist Laceroot is stirring.

Jonas is free from his box and wondering if it could be time to tell his story again.

Clive Hicks Jenkins has posted the second part of an interview with me about The School of the Transfer of Energy Puppet Theater here. Thank you Clive.