September 28th, 2013

Eggs, ducklings and the art of woodworking

On the last day of the Furniture Society 2010 conference at MIT, I met Randy Johnson for breakfast. This I think was the first time (I am almost sure about this) that I ate Eggs Benedict, and it was at that meeting that Randy, who is the Chief Editor of Woodwork and American Woodworker magazines, encouraged me to start blogging here. You see, I do blogging alright – but so far only in Hebrew. And though I am a proud contributor to American Woodworker and Woodworker magazines, I must admit that blogging in the language of Shakespeare or even Lady Ga Ga, is not cake walking for me.
Anyway, I will do my best to interest you guys and girls with the things I have in mind, that I want to show, and that I care about. ...I will talk about my woodworking mentors, friends and students, and of course about the things I do: Find stuff, change, morph and reincarnate old objects into new creations. What I will also talk about is my love for tools, furniture design and probably more.
As the saying goes “If you want to make an omelet, you must be willing to break a few eggs” which brings us back to the beginning of this blog entry..  so without further adieu, let me start by showing you some of my work.
In this picture (taken by Mike Canfield) I'm cross-cutting an old growth heart-pine beam into more manageable – and lighter pieces. I saved this beam from a pile of debris near a mill building in Worcester MA. The old mill building was taken down to make way for a new highway. Most of the post and beams were salvaged by a reclaming company, but few broken and “ugly looking duckling” posts and beams where left on the ground. I sifted through that pile and managed to collect some great heart pine, chestnut and oak timber. Some time you just have to give these old timers a second chance....

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Re-sawing these behemoths open revealed terrific looking lumber inside.