Spring!

Ahh the beauty of Spring whe the air is sweet and the outdoors welcomes in the new season. As a Tree Hugger, It is the sweet smell of the maples, the grape hyacinth and tulips that draws me outside. My heart belongs to the woods of my younger days. They were full of maple and pine and beaver dams and quiet. You could sit and wait for the beavers to glide noiselessly through the ponds they created. Spring came slowly to the stream deep in the woods. Ice sheets and burms dripped, dripped, dripped into a raging stream only to wash themselves away to a trickle or oatmeal mud as the summer marched in. So, welcome Spring and the memories of springs long ago lived. Hello, the sap is running and the old wood lilacs are in bloom.

Maple Spalt Filled and Sanded

Here's the patch after being sanded.  And yes, it is lighter than the surrounding lines once the shellac is added as the first layer of finish it will darken as you will see in the next posting.  I sand with 300 grit sand paper at this stage.

In sand paper the higher number, the finer the sand paper.  So, 60 grit is extremely course and 600 grit is super fine.  For large scrapes a lower number is fine.  For finishing, I believe the finer the better.  After this I will sand in 600 grit.  After the first layer of finish 600 again.  One of the contingencies is once the first layer of finish is applied, the grain will robably be raised and feel like a course peach fuzz.  Not appealing in something you are going to hold in your hand for the next 10 years.  Once the first layer is sanded and the second layer is placed, 600 may be too course and I will either go to a 1400 grit or to steel wool.  The steel wool is called "4 Aught" which means "OOOO" (four zeros) of steel wool.  You can get this unsoapy steel wool at any hardware or home improvement store.      

Yup; Un-soapy steel wool.  You can't use the kitchen kind.  It isn't pretty.  Of course I have tried it thinking it wouldn't really make a difference.  It does.  It is course and now particles of siap smashed into the finish.  Don't do it.  Well, I wouldn't advise you to do it.  You can see if you want.  But you will probably have to sand off the finish you've put on and loose hours if not a whole day.    

Wood From the Beginning

Woodworking:  The First Steps

How do you start in woodworking?  The easy answer is you start with wood.  Or you can start with loving trees.  I started with trees years ago when my bedroom window looked out on to a large sugar maple in the hinterlands of New York State.  It turned the most amazing colors in the fall and was an excellent place to climb for me and my friends.

I also love of the smell freshly cut wood.  Whether it is intended for building or burning; wood is still important. It smells like all things fresh and new.  It also holds the promise of newly crafted objects.  It was a staple of life in the country.  My Dad, Eric, was always building something, a new deck, rustic clapboards for the house, or hand cut dovetails for a drawer.  He cut trees to create firewood which kept our house warm and toasty in the winter.  All was good when you could smell the first wood fire of the Fall.  The house would be warm and cozy after running around all day in the chilly air and damp leaves.

I think I am one of the few people who can fall asleep to the “comforting” sound of a circular saw.   

Every project we do starts with the wood, the color, the grain, its quirks and secrets.  I will write more on the different types, applications, and species of trees in the following posts.  Glad to have you stop by!  Do you have a have a favorite tree?  Type of tree? Type of wood?  Let’s discuss!