Woodworking, Adirondack Chairs

My chair obsession.

When we began to be aware of our son's using and how bad it became I seriously retreated into my shop. I'd do anything just to keep from being around him. Mom ask me to make her a couple of Adirondack chairs. I was on it in a flash.

I don't like just buying a plan and cutting boards to a material list so I have a need to make it my own. I studied several plans and along time ago I had some education in human ergonomics. I wanted a chair that contacted the body in the maximum amount of points to lessen the pounds per square inch on any possible contact spot. It may sound crazy but I got into it so much I was doing mock ups and measuring my own body curves and just being obsessive. I figured I was an ideal typical specimen, slightly overweight old guy.

But it worked. When people first see the chairs I am often ask about cushions for the seats. I make them sit in them and everyone has said these don't need cushions. The seat is at an angle that it contacts you all the way from the butt to the calves of your legs. The seat's form matches the typical curvature of your thigh to leg. The back is curved to match the back curvature at your shoulders and lower back. So without holding a straight stiff back, just relaxing normally the back or the chair contacts your back at the maximum amount of contact points. The angle of the chair back and seat is 17 degrees which puts you body in a naturally relaxing position without being too reclined as to not being comfortable.

The first picture is the original chair. It has no finish on it because Mom was still deciding what she wanted it to look like. The 2 white chairs were a couple I made for my brother. After that was when I found out I had a problem with saying no. The next picture was 8 more of them along with a baby one and tables just cobbled together out of scraps. To date I have made 26 of these chairs. Good thing I made pattern boards.

If any of you watch The New Yankee Workshop with Norm Abrams it is one of those woodworking shows that we wood nuts record. I sent in a picture of my original chair and he has it posted on his website along with a lot of other New Yankee projects. http://www.newyankee.com/nyw_yankees.php?do=name&dest=ksrongrover.jpg

ps.: In the background you can see what my kids call another of my obsessions, my koi pond.

Woodworking, Occasional Table

I guess no news about our son is good news. He still seems to be staying the course. Holding my breath all the time but I feel much better now than I have for a long time. It is his cousins birthday parties this Saturday and we are all going. He is anxious to go and I know he will do better. At social events you can actually see progress now.



Woodworking, Occasional Table


This is a table that Mom requested to go at the end of the couch next to the wall. She wanted something to replace a popcorn can that I used to pile my wood magazines.

The wood is Jatoba, or commonly refered to as Brazilain Cherry. This is a common wood in South America like what you would consider oak here in the US. So I am not destroying the rain forest using these woods. As you can see the wood is slightly orangy brown in color. There is no stain on this piece. As it ages and is exposed to UV light it will slightly darken. Construction techiques involve half lap joints at the center of the stretchers. The stretchers are attached to the legs using mortise and tenon jointery. The round top is perfectly round, I made a jig for the band saw to ensure that there were no flat sides or it was oblong. I really like the old time finishes, in my opinion the new polyurethanes provide tremendous protection if it is needed. But the plastic look of these finishes turn me off. Due to the hardness of this wood I used a hand rubbed oil with multiple coats. On top of that I finished with a wax finish.

Jatoba is a very heavy and hard wood. Here is a comparison if you are not familiar with this wood. On the Janka Wood Hardness Chart, jatoba is ranked 2350, hard maple 1450, red oak 1290 and walnut 1010. Higher numbers are harder and usually heavier. Hit somebody with this table and it will not be breaking like you see in the movies. LOL This wood is nearly twice as hard as what wood baseball bats are made from here in US.

Woodworking, Cutting Boards

End Grain Cutting Boards

These are end grain cutting boards I made for Christmas presents one year for daughters, friends and sister-in-law. They are all made from different woods. My daughter loves the color red so hers is predominately bloodwood, which is naturally red. Other woods include purpleheart, maple, walnut, and jatoba (Brazilian cherry). I know cutting boards are 8th grade shop stuff but if you add a little creativity and design they become a little more decorative and not so utilitarian. The boards are end grain so they should last longer than the user. End grain boards are how butcher blocks were made for the butchers over 100 years ago and you can still find them in antique stores.

The demand has been high. I have since made 12 of these. I like doing woodworking as a hobby, didn't know I was going to be a production shop. LOL Doesn't matter, I make them for the enjoyment.

Mom uses hers for a serving tray more than a cutting board.

Woodworking, Pens

Wooden Pens

These are wooden pens that I turn on the lathe. There is a variety of wood used such as cocobolo, jatoba, maple, cherry, redheart, walnut, even osage orange or hedge as it is called in KS. I'll use just about any scrap wood that looks to have nice grain pattern just to see how it turns out. The hedge actually came out of the firewood pile. I also used trimmings from a peach tree that grows in my backyard. The wooden parts begin as 3/4" square blanks and then are drilled and turned to a cylinder. After that the parts are assembled into a writing pen.

I have made over 50 of these pens for family and friends.

Woodworking, Cradle

This is one of the hobbies that help with my sanity.

This is the cradle I built for our grandaughter. It is made from walnut that was cut over 50 years ago and left to air dry in a barn. It began as rough sawn wood and was covered with dust, dirt and straw. I milled all the wood and brought it to life as a cradle. The finish is a hand rubbed teak oil with multiple coats beginning using 320 grit paper working my way up to 600 grit and finishing with a soft cloth polish. The swing is smooth due to the use of roller bearings inlaid in the uprights. If you do not wish it to swing a block was made to fit over the stretcher underneath that rests against the bottom of the bed. I made a custom mattress covered with vinyl to fit the bottom.