Watcha Makin'?

[Crusarius]

SQUIRREL!!!

[aigheadish]

May not have to wait that long... 

[Wlmedley]

Back deck on my son and daughter in law’s house had a rickety gate and I was afraid my two year old grandson would run through it.Built new one out of white oak.I bet it weighs 50 pounds 😀.Ordered heavy duty hinges.I hope they hold up.

 

  

[caveman]

One of my former students used some oak slabs one of our customers purchased to build this table using Ritelegs.  The customers seem to be very pleased with it.  I thought he did a great job.

 

 

 

[Magicman]

I also like the "half" benches on each side. 

[WDH]

The wood is beautiful.  And so are the Deb legs. 

[Old Greenhorn]

That's pretty much what I am quoting for this new client, but in Red Oak. Same legs and just 2 of the half benches. That one came out beautiful. What wood is that?

[caveman]

Thank you for the kind comments.  The top was from a laurel or water oak (red oaks) from my neighbor's place.  It was damaged in a storm and I helped him take it down.  I was going to burn the log until I saw the bacterial stain and the color when I was cutting it into lengths my tractor could handle.  The 49" benches should make it less cumbersome for folks to get to and away from the table.

[aigheadish]

@Old Greenhorn I forgot to take a picture of the mystery project when it was complete... If you care to solve the mystery that's cool, but no big deal if you don't, it sounds like you are busy.

To solve the mystery for other readers- I lasered Tom's "Woodsman Forest Products" logo on a board. It is similar to one @doc henderson made for him, I realized a bit late.

It was interesting to compare the work of the 2 very different quality lasers. Doc's does some really neat detail work that I don't think mine is capable of, and I'm assuming it does it much, much faster than mine. While I can't justify the cost of a better laser it was pretty neat to see why I might consider it if I were making money with one. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Will do! My bad, I forgot to do the same , sorry. Right after you guys departed I got right back into the swing with long days and several projects and it slipped my mind entirely. I'll fix that today.
 As they say "No pictures, it didn't happen'. 

[Old Greenhorn]

OK,  lets get that oversite fixed here and now. This is the mystery project that Aigheadish started a few weeks ago:



 

It came out beautiful and I am blessed to have it. Between the ones that Doc made for me and this I now have tow contrast schemes. Austin wasn't sure of the wood species and neither am I, but I am thinking poplar.
 At any rate, it's pretty and I am happy to have it. So thank you Austin!

[aigheadish]

Yes sir! I'm wondering if it's just some pine/fir, Tom? It seemed pretty soft but I don't know.

My laser, an Ortur, has a few common, but strange, issues. As seen in the "W" there were two spots the laser just didn't fire upon. Looking at the preview, prior to starting, everything looked fine and full but when the project started it just skipped that spot, several times. I've seen others have similar problems but hadn't experienced them myself until now. 

The difference in wood and grain structure is very interesting. Some stuff, presumably harder woods seem to burn away nicely and leave a consistent depth and texture to the burn. Then some other stuff, like the above, doesn't burn through the rings of the grain the same, giving the wavy texture as seen. Doc's, however, had, in the "Woodsman" part had almost a leathery texture to it that is really neat.

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, Doc has a nice Epilog. I used to run one in a previous life. They work nice. As for the little nit that bothers you so much, I was thinking of trying to locate my wood burning pencil (which I have not used since I was 12) and just touching up those two lines. I don't think a soldering gun will do it.
 That will have to wait for a bit though. Lots of stuff to get done in the coming days.

[thecfarm]

That looks nice!!!

[aigheadish]

I wanted to the do the same Tom, but I was running out of time and afraid to mess it up further. Beware there is some spray poly on there if you go that route.

Thanks thecfarm!

[gspren]

It looks good to my eyes so I'd leave it alone but then I'm not seeing it in person. If you want an excuse for leaving it alone it is rumored that the Amish women always make a minor "mistake" on their quilts because only God is perfect and they aren't competing with God. I don't know if that is true but I've used that logic a time or so when someone points out an imperfection in my handiwork.

[Old Greenhorn]

I know the shakers would do that in their furniture, same reason. I always have something I wish my eyes would not see in my work.
As far as that sign goes, it's just fine! But Austin pointed it out when he gave to me and it's a lot like pointing out a pimple on a pretty girl. After somebody says something, you can't stop noticing it. It has been a hard lesson for me not to point out the flaws in my work, but I am getting there. Let the client decide if they like it.
That picnic table i a case in point, I said nothing when Bill ad his wife looked it over for a while (with lots of "WOWS"). After a bit Bill noticed a spot and I just said 'you want me to fix it?' "Nope" he said real quick, "leave it as is, it's a dang picnic table not the last supper table".

 When I was doing design work with integrated systems sometimes a tech or a customer would call up and say "There's a bug, it does that when I want it to do that." I would just say, "That's not a bug, it's a feature and we designed that in special." Shut them up, almost every time.

[doc henderson]

It looks great.  That is the trouble with high standards.  As we refine our craft, our standards go up as well.  At some point you have to be satisfied.  It is also how we get better.  We are ALL getting better.  we know where every little defect or ding is.  Perfect never gets finished.  God bless rustic!  

[aigheadish]

Haha! I contemplated not mentioning it but I couldn't not see it! I'll say I went the Amish route, I certainly have the beard for it. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   I had not heard about the Amish or Shakers deliberately leaving a minor mistake on their quilts or other work  but the Muslims do the same thing on their rugs and such for the same reason from what I hear.