The frame for this net made out of laminated Walnut and White Ash. The inlaid fish is also made out of Walnut. The plan called for 3/32″ thick strips, but mine were closer [...]]]> This is a fishing net I made several years ago.  I made it from plans out of the June 2001 issue of Wood Magazine.

The frame for this net made out of laminated Walnut and White Ash. The inlaid fish is also made out of Walnut. The plan called for 3/32″ thick strips, but mine were closer to 1/8″.

I made an MDF form to use as a clamping fixture.  This was my first attempt at bentwood lamination, and I made a few mistakes in the planning of it all.  First, my clamping fixture could have been designed a little better.  I didn’t have enough room for the number of clamps that I ended up using.  I also should have done a “dry” glue up to see how everything was going work.  It was definitely one of those chaotic mad dash glue ups.

I also used too much glue and it ran everywhere.  Everything was slipping and sliding all over the place.  After it dried I had a LOT of dried glue to remove and uneven strips to sand down. It was a lot of work, but well worth the effort.

To attach the net I drilled small holes all around the frame and then pushed a loop of the net through each one. Then I took a piece of leather shoe string and put it through one hole in the frame and tied it off. Then wrapped the leather around the outside of the frame going through each loop of the net as I went around. At the other end I push the leather through the last hole and tied it off.

The frame has a small groove around the outside, but the leather string I used was thicker than the grooove was deep. A soft cotton net is what I really wanted to use but I couldn’t find one, so I settled for a nylon net.

I have made a couple of these now, and have given them away at Christmas to family members.

These are question that I pondered this weekend as I attended [...]]]> Sometimes woodworking and art become one.  Sometimes they are two very separate things.  Woodworking, I think, is always a skill or craft.  But how often does it actually become art?  Where is the line that a wood project crosses in order for it to become art?

These are question that I pondered this weekend as I attended Artprize 2009 in Grand Rapids Michigan.  Artprize is a 2 1/2 week art competition that boasts a $250,000 prize for first place.  According to the Artprize.org website there were 1262 entries showing at 159 different venues around the downtown area of Grand Rapids.  The contest was pretty much open to anyone who had something artistic to show.  Entries ranged from small paintings to performance artists, to sculptures that needed a crane to install.

I suppose that whether something is art or not is truly in the eye of the beholder.  One mans trash is another mans art, so to speak.  Traditional woodworking has, at least in my mind, always been a trade skill or at most a craft.  I guess there has always been a very blurry line between “arts” and “crafts” which cannot be defined easily.  When I think of “art”, I think of something that cannot be done by someone without the talent to do so.

However, I certainly saw some “art” at Artprize that I don’t think would take much talent at all.   I am pretty sure that my 8 year old son could have done just as well.  I have also seen some things in the past that I cannot even fathom how it was made that are just beautiful works of art.  I consider many of the things that David Marks has made to be art.

So, I guess the answer to my questions is “I have no idea”.  Oh well.  I think that I am going to make something that I think is beautiful and enter it into next years Artprize.  Maybe I’ll win, and maybe I won’t, but either way I think it will be fun.

I really enjoyed myself as a spectator this year at Artprize.  I certainly was unable to see all of the entries, but I saw quite a few, including several woodworking projects.  One of my favorite pieces was a wooden boat made by John Hamelink.    It contains over 300 inlay pieces and took over 1500 hours to build.  Not only is this boat art, but it is usable.  He had pictures of other boats that he has built in the water.

This was an interesting piece by Thomas Verstraete.    Basically, it is a bench made out of small scrap wood.

I thought this was a cool piece of sculpture from Mike Moy.    He actually finished the piece at during the contest.  I didn’t get a chance to see him work on it, but I heard he starts out using a chainsaw to sculpt it.

This hand held mirror was one of my first attempts at marquetry. I saw the plan in the June 2000 issue of Wood Magazine and immediately decided I wanted to try my hand at it. It was challenging to say the least.  I made 2 or three attempts at the marquetry before I had [...]]]>

Marquetry Mirror

This hand held mirror was one of my first attempts at marquetry. I saw the plan in the June 2000 issue of Wood Magazine and immediately decided I wanted to try my hand at it. It was challenging to say the least.  I made 2 or three attempts at the marquetry before I had results that I was satisfied with.

The outer part of the frame is made of black Walnut, and the back panel is made of Curly Maple. The rose petals are made of Purple Heart, while the stem is made of Cherry.  These are all woods that I had worked with before, and they compliment each other beautifully.

Mirror Inlay

I made the marquetry inlay’s using a Double Bevel technique where the inlay and the hole for the inlay are cut at the same time.  This is done using a scroll-saw and tipping the table of the scroll-saw on an angle.  The angle depends on the thickness of the inlay stock and the thickness of the blade being used.  If done properly, the inlay piece fits perfectly into the hole.

The black band you see around the back panel is actually a black epoxy, which holds the mirror and back panel in place. Once the frame and the inlay in the back panel is done, then everything is assembled centering the back panel in the opening of the frame. Then I mix up some epoxy with some black colorant and pour it into the groove between the frame and the back panel.

Once the epoxy is dry I sand it and the rest of the piece down to 320. What you end up with is what looks like a very smooth looking inlay.  The finish is a clear oil based product called Seal-a-Cell with its companion topcoat called Arm-R-Seal.

Mirror

I have made several of these mirrors now for family and friends.  I have begun coming up with my own designs for the inlays, and have started using the technique on other projects as well.