Month: August 2014

I needed a bigger, better hammer

/ Gary Tucker / Leave a comment

So I was watching a woodworking video sometime last year with Roy Underhill. He was ranting about the joiners mallets that are available in the stores these days and how inferior they are compared to a homemade one (sort of reminds me of the salad hands that I mentioned in an earlier post). He went on to show how to build one and even talked about good woods to use for a mallet. He mentioned Osage Orange for folks who live in the midwest. It’s also know as Bois d’arc or Hedge Apple. I remembered that I had seen that wood but could not remember where. This last Christmas, we went to my wife’s family farm and I noticed a broken branch that was in the west wind break. I went out to trim it up and it hit me. This was the famed Osage Orange complete with the “apples”. I used part of the branch to make a small Christmas tree and brought the rest home to dry out.061

A couple of weeks ago, I needed to chop out some deep mortices for a project. I had been using a round carving mallet but it just did not have enough mass. I needed bigger and better. I needed to hit something hard. So being a person of process, I took a couple of hours to stop the other project and build a proper joiners mallet.

It only took a couple of hours and I only messed up one handle. I repurposed some hickory for the handle that I saved from a cabinet. It ended up being a little small for my hand so I wrapped it with some leather lacing. I used it the next day and loved it. It weighs about 14 ounces after letting it soaked for a week in boiled linseed oil.IMAG0059

Osage Orange is a hard, hard wood even in its green state. But it is a joy to carve and to work with. I have enough left over for a couple of spoons. It’s a great day when I can use something that I made to make something else. Try and build something for yourself. I guarantee you will enjoy it.

Thanks for perusing,

Gary

Process

/ Gary Tucker / Leave a comment

This is he day that the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

 

We are born and eventually we die. The stuff in between is where and how we live. The time that we have and what to do with it is ours to use how we seem best. Some people are type “A” people who always seem to be in perpetual motion and cannot sit still. The goal (whatever it may be) is always in front of them. Do not get in their way. They cannot help themselves. That is how God wired them and they are of great benefit to the world. There are also people who do not have any focus and cannot spell it. They have a “when the Spirit moves me then I’ll act” mentality. Or we might say that they dance to different drummer. They also drive the type “A” people crazy, especially as employees. Then there are people like me who are what I would call process driven. When I am getting ready to, let’s say build something, I envision it in my head, draw it up and then build it. I enjoy every bit of the process. If I have to stop to sharpen a chisel or a saw, I enjoy that as well. To me, it is all part of the process of living, enjoying the journey all along the way or finishing the product that I may be building.

I cannot imagine hurrying through something just to mark it off my list. I know folks who have long bucket lists. They want to “get er dun” so that they can move on to the next thing. That may be their definition of living life on purpose but not mine. In my mind that never allows a person to master anything except marking off items. I would rather experience a few things in life and enjoy every part of it. One of the things that I am enjoying right now is the planning of our trip to Maine next month. KT (Kristin) and I went out and bought a travel book and have been pouring over it. We found out the best flight for our schedule. We’re researching the different parts of the state and what each has to offer. We are having fun doing the process.

I believe that when we slow down and enjoy the process, it makes the end be even more enjoyable. Just like building something, I enjoy planning it, building it and using it.

Thanks for perusing,

Gary