Round and Round we go!

I am sure you have imagined we continue to process of making corners rounded. 

Just like before, the vertical cuts are made to make the excess wood easier to remove without the chance of it cracking or splitting off in unwanted ways.

This is the blank after the second corner.

As the excess is cut away, the grain and color patterns begin to appear.

The third corner is trimmed up.

The Fourth Corner is exactly the same process.  Once the rough circle has taken shape, we have to take it to the lathe for mounting and final rounding out.  More in the next post! 

From Block to Bowl

Or from square peg to round holder

I thought it would be nice to include you all in "the process".  Of course, wood starts out as a tree.  We're not going back that far.  We have an awesome source for turning blanks (fancy phrase for blocks of wood).  If you are in the market for blanks Gary at NC Woods is the best.  Great guy, great wood.  The website is http://www.ncwood.biz/.  They also have an ebay store.  I can recommend them without hesitation.  And no, I'm not shilling for them.

So, your blank starts out life as a block of wood.  In this case it is an Ambrosia Maple (Ambrosia explaination in previous posts) Maple, a nice tree.

Am = Ambrosia Green= lots of water

Curly = pattern in the grain possibly curly

The blank is marked with a circle to provide a guide for getting the edges off.  We then use the band saw to saw into the wood on the horizontal plane.  Cutting off the corners could be tricky.  The wood has the potential of cracking and splitting in unwanted places.  Thus resulting in sad faces.  Sure one could think that it would be nice to smoke meat on the grill with a nice maple, but well we fall in love with each piece as it takes shape. 

More tomorrow.  It is too much fun for one day :)  Thanks for checking in.  I would love to hear from you.

How to bring your Treasure Home

Some thing I haven't mentioned yet is how to bring home a Wooden Treasure. 

Etsy is where we  have our shop.  It's called Lovgren & Daughter.  This may not be breaking news.

Etsy's About Statement is: "Our mission is to empower people to change the way the global economy works. We see a world in which very-very small businesses have much-much more sway in shaping the economy, local living economies are thriving everywhere, and people value authorship and provenance as much as price and convenience. We are bringing heart to commerce and making the world more fair, more sustainable, and more fun."

Etsy provides a platform by which sellers can put their work, their art, the special pieces of yourself out into the web.  It is economical and a vibrant, supportive community of artists. 

In my personal experience, Etsians ROCK!  Fellow creaters can lift you up when your spirits are down, give advice, share another view, make suggestions when you are stuck creatively and share a cup of coffee. 

There are amazing artists and crafters.  One of my favorite woodworkers is: 

Jerry's Wood Works
He makes amazing beer tap handles.  This one is in purpleheart.  He does custom orders and you won't believe what he can do.

His shop is also on Etsy.  He also makes personalized drum sticks.

If you would like to find Lovgren & Daughter on Etsy follow this link:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LovgrenandDaughter.  We also have a FB page if you would like to "Like" us.  We will be your friend.  Really.  Oh and we won't post 85 times a day.  It's annoying to receive them - I think so too.  Maybe once a week.  Just to say Hi :)

All the Colors of the Rainbow

Pigments and Dyes

In coloring wood there are two striking differences.  Above is the turquoise dyed pen. 

PIGMENTS are large flat particles.  They lay together on the surface of wood (or the wall) and completely cover whatever is underneath them.  The best way to think about pigments is that they are scales on a fish or shingles on the roof.  They cover.  Paint uses pigments to re-color something.  If the original "bleeds through" or the new color streaks this is considered poor quality.

DYES are much different than pigments.  They are most often used in Stains to color without losing the variations in grain.  Dyes are teeny tiny, itsy, bitsy and  are translucent.  You can see the grain and other differences in the wood and still have the color.

The RED block underneath the pen is an example of a dye applied to the surface.  We can also use a DYE based in alcohol to permeate the wood under intense pressure.  That looks very similar but we can turn the piece of wood that has been dyed and the color goes all the way through.

Exempalary pictures in tomorrow as they are on a different computer.

Wish Book has arrived! Cataloge heaven!

Holiday Wish List ensues...

IT came earlier this week.  "It" is the Dictum, GmbH catalog.  It is beautiful to behold. 

Here we have a conprehensive catalog of every knife, tool and accessory for your woodworking or serious craft want. 

Where else can you find for purchase an OBSIDIAN KNIFE?

Okay, it's 450Euro.  That's a lot in this economy but

it is just about the coolest thing I have seen.  And to those nay sayers, why go back to the stone edge?  Cuz it's as sharp as a scalpel.  And it's a ROCK!
I did mention that I was a geek, right?  Ok, just checking.

 These elegant Bonsai shears.  That work and look so amazing.  The beauty in functional design.  Sigh.

Bow parts.  Cello, violin, bow parts.  Seriously.  

Now, I don't need or make anything with these things.  I don't need a scalpel sharp knife.  I don't have any Bonsai trees.  I don't pay a stringed instrument.

But I do look for a good price on Olive wood, and other exotic woods.  Keep in mind that you need to deduct the VAT tax (which is approx 15%) and shipping is easily twice what it is for US shipping and it does take more time to ship from Germany.  But this catalog is too cool.  They have also have a great website:   http://www.mehr-als-werkzeug.de/page/homepage.htm .  The website is in English too.  I am not an affiliate of theirs, nor do I recieve any compensation from them, in any way. 

They ROCK.  Check it out.  At very least, it's facinating.

Badger, Badger, Badger

Badger Brush

"So, is the Badger brush, like, Badger-Badger or is it something like Badger?"

I was asked this question this week when I was talking to a customer.  At first I was surprised.  What on Earth?  Of course it's <<real>> badger.  But it got me to thinking. 

Why are our brushes so much cheaper than very large brand names?  The large name spends a lot of money on their marketing blitz.  They have been doing it for years.  The have stand alone brick and mortar stores in New York City  (the most expensive real estate in the country).  Bless their hearts.  They have CEO, CFO all the way down to the sales staff on the floor; the barbers in the shops.  Everyone needs to get paid.  I hope they do.  I hope they have great benefits and awesome pensions.  To finance these things drives the cost of each item up. 

Here's what we do without: salaries, benefits, making enough money to cover the costs of manufacture, and profits - we get a lot of satisfaction.  We love them,  we love the wood.  I love the finishes that bring out the beauty of the wood.  Eric loves the tool and learning new and better ways to use them.

Name something you love to do.  Name something you do that doesn't make you money.  Scrapbooking? Shiny antique cars?  Retro cookie har collecting?  Excellent!  And you do it now even though you aren't paid for it.  It's the same thing and once you've made something for friends and family...where do you go but outside your circle. In our case, we started a shop on Etsy.

Then we found an amazing resource from China.  99% of all badger brushes are made in China.  They still have a large badger population.  Badgers interfere with a farmer's fields.  Farmers who need their crops to survive.  Now they can earn money by killing pests. And having found a resource we can buy directly from China.  Directly from tiny business to tiny tiny business.  Across the world.  Across the world!  That is cool enough to do it by itself!

So we get our brushes at a good price and since we do not have expensive expenses, we don't charge as much as the big names.  This is where I am not good at capitalism.  I wouldn't feel right charging a zillion percent mark-up.  I also am not worried about funding pensions and shareholder return on investment.  Frankly, the big business idea could not be more unappealing.  I went to business school.  It was painful.  Not my thing. 

So, are our Badger Brushes are Badger-Badger.  I think this explains why they are cheaper than the large company's similar brushes.  Pure Badger Hair Shave Brushes, Really.

And ps have nothing to do with the meme.  

Ambrosia the little beetle that creates beauty

Ambrosia

(Not the fluffy dessert) - Not at all

If a tree falls in the woods and there is no one there to harvest it - do the bugs make a sound? 

I would imagine that there is a at least a crunching as the beetles dig their way in to make a home.  In our case, she is an Ambrosia Beetle and she carries with her a fungi that dissolves the wood and makes it extra yummy fungi to eat.  Now if it gets too crowded a bunch grab some fungi and off they go to a new tree.

This log shows a lot of beetle and fungi action.  Normally, you don't see this much.  More often than not, it's streaks. 



It's a visual double entendre having the mushroom on top.  These things make the geek in me very happy.

The dessert with whipped cream and madarian oranges is very tasty but different. 

Woodworkers who have allergies should take care in working with these woods as fungi spores may still be present and they should follow good shop practice and wear a respirator. 

Shave Bowl

Here is a Shave Bowl in Spalted Maple.  Spalting is a biological process that effects wood.  But what does that mean?  It means that the wood is felled and sits around.  For furniture making and use of structural wood it is not a good idea.  It changes the density and strength of the wood.  For small objects and decorative purposes it is fine to use.

To get down to the nitty gritty, spalting is created from fungi that start to decompose the wood.  The particular species of fungi create different effects.  One type will set up boundary lines and others in conjunction will change the colors within the lines. 

This log has several types of fungi and insects working on the wood.  Before finding uses for these woods they were considered waste wood. Not even good for burning. Such incredible beauty lies within a log or branch, you just need to know where to look for it.

 
This shaving bowl has dramatic lines and beautiful coloring.  It is one of a kind.  Each bowl is one of a kind. Each piece of wood has a different set of lines, areas of dramatic color and natural rarity.  This particular bowl went to his new home today.  I will miss him.

As crazy as it sounds, I am in love with these woods.  They are extraordinary gifts.  

Shave Brushes

Shave Brushes - Men, Men Men, Manly Men

Shave Brushes are Brushes with which one applies a lathering soap to enhance the shave.


Yeah Yeah Yeah.  It makes a difference HOW you get the soap on?!  Couldn't be THAT different. 


IT IS,THAT Different.  REALLY.


A good shave brush starts out in life as a piece of wood for the handle and a brush knot.  The TYPE of brush knot also makes a difference.  There are Boar Bristle Brushes you can buy in a drug store.  They are vaguely better than using regular Shave Foam. 


BADGER BRUSHES are the instruments of a fine shave.  We offer two types Best (or Mixed Badger) and Silvertip.  Silvertip is the Rolls Royce of Badger Brushes.


With a brush one creates circles in the shave bowl in circular motions.  These circular motions create air inside the soap which makes a lather.  As you apply the lather to your face in gentle circular motions again, it softens your beard and helps each hair stand up to be ready for shaving.


We offer the two types so that even within a budget you can get an excellent shave.

The Silvertip with a Walnut Handle

 The Best Badger with a Walnut Handle

Shave brushes have been recently seen on the AMC show "Mad Men" and A&E show "Longmire".