Burnside Bridge Bench

Evocative Burnside Bridge spans Antietam Creek, site of the September 1862 Battle of Antietam.

Taking pen, and colored pencil in hand, I've rendered this historic bridge on one of my period five-board benches, a commemorative piece for the upcoming 150th anniversary of the battle.

(click on image to enlarge)

As with all of my pieces, each drawing is an original work, rendered in ink and colored pencil...

signed and dated.

My benches are based upon the classic five-board design so much a fixture in Civil War encampments.  The basic design is hard to improve upon, nonetheless mine are much more durable as I use steel screws to assemble them.  The screw-heads are countersunk and hidden with hardwood pegs that I glue and drive in with a wooden mallet.

A light stain brings out the grain, and simple details like circular or valentine heart relief cuts complete the design.   Simpler is better.

 Each bench gets three coats of durable spar varnish to keep it looking beautiful in your garden...

or your library.

Get your sesquicentennial on!

Mannie

Transforming a garage into a woodshop (video!)

And it gets better with each passing day!

Making a Civil War Candle Lantern (video!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeUrceSTpas

Art Deco tool stand

I took delivery on a new mortising machine two weeks ago.  This may be the last major piece of machinery that will come through the front door of Victory Wood Working.  With this powerful tool I can drill square holes.

How 'bout them apples?  The magic is done by driving a hollow square chisel containing a rotating auger into a piece of wood.  It's pretty cool and will allow me to quickly and accurately make mortise and tenon joinery in my furniture projects.

Every large tool such as this needs a bench or stand to anchor it on for stability.  What I've been using are these machinery stands which I get from Sears:

They work just fine, though they aren't particularly attractive and certainly add nothing to the 1942 theme of my shop.  So I decided to use this opportunity to start making my own machinery stands with a period look.

Two-by-fours, sheet MDF, and 5/8" plywood, mostly on-hand, were dragooned to get the project underway.  For stability I filled the base with several pounds of ceramic tile that I've had lying around waiting for something to do.

Here's the stand carcass with the  mortiser in place.  Generally, I make wooden tool lockers for all of my major machines, this time, however, I used the opportunity to build one right into the pedestal itself.  The pedestal is also the same size as my shop trolleys which can act as "wings" for this stand.

So, here comes the "design-ey" part...

Chevrons and stacked vertical buttresses provide classic art deco lines.  Here, primed and ready to paint in a two-tone green scheme (like the rest of the shop).

I installed the door with classic (and simple) kitchen cabinet hinges with a little wooden ball as an elegant little pull.

The chisels, attachments, and tools have plenty of breathing room.  This is also a perfect place to store the operating manual.

All I need now is a little King Kong clutching a diminutive Fay Wray scrambling to the top.

Making the chips fly,

Mannie

January Commission

What's the perfect thing to make for an old Navy Chief Petty Officer...other than a cup of coffee?


This custom bench will provide a perch for that retired CPO come this Fathers Day, thanks to his devoted wife (and my valued customer).

She requested a custom design drawn on the seat as well as a shelf below for incidentals, 

and I was happy to oblige.

The "fouled anchor" is the hat and collar insignia of the Navy Chief, I rendered it in color pencil.

The shelf is a variation that's both utilitarian and pleasing to the eye.

Three coats of spar-varnish has it shipshape and ready for any weather, though I do recommend that folks bring their benches inside during the winter time.

Delivery was today, with all hands quite delighted with the result.

Anchors aweigh!

Mannie

Maple + Cherry = flaky crust

Here's a humbling reminder from the shop that wood does, in fact, grow on trees.

Early this spring my brother gave me an assortment of two-inch limbs he'd trimmed from a maple tree.  I cut them into usable lengths, waxed the ends (to prevent checking), stored them in a dry place to wait until the moisture  left them.

Along comes my friend Alann who asked me to make a rolling pin for his mother's birthday, and out came the maple, off came the wax, and into the lathe went this nice 18-incher.

This piece locked up really nicely.  It was a really clean piece that turned like a dream.

Maple has a distinctively sweet smell as you turn it.

Starting at a 60 grit and ending up at a 220 grit, it sanded up nicely.

Dowels await the turning of a pair of cherry handles.

Finished, with an "old school" tattoo design, this rolling pin is destined for a collection rather than a kitchen drawer.  I'm still hoping though, for a slice of apple pie.