Wood Working and Design

Stories about my life and career as a designer craftsman

Who Says an Old Dog Can’t Learn a New Trick

Earlier I wrote about borrowing a small wood lathe and making a high chair for my daughter, Kirsten, in 1966. Following that, I didn’t turn anything until about 1975 or 1976, when I turned a 24” diameter “Pill” as a joke gift for my sister, Karrie. Unfortunately, she didn’t like it and thought it (or maybe me) was gross. Last month I finally took the plunge and purchased a mid-size bench-top lathe and a set of turning gouges. [Read full article]

Continuing a Family Tradition

I have already written about my start in woodworking in grade school and my making a thin-walled cedar kayak, but now that I think about my lifelong love of this hobby/profession I realize I am just continuing a family tradition. [Read full article]

Even at a Young Age Kirsten Outsmarted Me

One project I have to laugh about today is a 4′ round table with a 2-21/2’ round drum base that I made. I also made five round drum stools. We used that table and stools for several years until I received my grandparents’ dining room set. Looking back, I can see my interior-designer wife, and probably the kids, didn’t like it much. However, one feature proved to be beneficial to my daughter Kirsten, and maybe my other two kids too. [Read full article]

Fascination with Letter Fonts and Calligraphy Styles

Years ago I became fascinated with written letters used to convey thoughts. I enjoyed just looking at all the different styles and how they were used to enhance copy for extra emphasis, how they were attention grabbing, or simply how they displayed artistic beauty. I really liked Japanese and Middle Eastern calligraphy, even though I had no idea what the words meant. [Read full article]

Another Completed Project

One of the large landscape projects that The Design Factory completed in the 1980s was a 20’ octagonal gazebo with a bell-shaped roof. It was for the Seventh-day Adventist assisted living facility in Lewiston, Idaho. Because the job site was about 110 miles away from my shop, I decided to cut all the clear cedar parts for the structure in my small shop and dry assemble one section of the roof to make sure everything would go together as planned. [Read full article]

What Defines Something as ‘Handmade’?

The past few weeks I have set up an online store on Etsy and last week my new web site was launched. For this process I researched several other websites and some on Etsy for custom woodwork, wood signs, and furniture. All these sites claim their products for sale are handmade, but so many are obviously produced by CNC routers, which are computer numerically controlled. So, what does ‘handmade’ mean? [Read full article]

My Adventure into Wood Carving

In 1967, while living in Portland, I decided I wanted to try my hand at wood carving. So I went downtown to the art department at the J. K. Gill department store and purchased six or seven Marples brand carving tools and a mallet. [Read full article]

The Start of My Wood Working Career

As far back as I can remember I have been interested in how things are made and I wanted to make stuff myself. I had fun with an erector set I got for Christmas when I was 7 or 8 years old, although I had to wait while my dad and uncle Max played with it. [Read full article]

Two of My Early Hobby Projects

In 1965-66, Patti and I rented a house in North Portland. I have been trying to remember the address, but can only place it one or two blocks south of Lombard Street and east of Portsmouth Ave. It was a nice older place with a basement, a large back yard, and a single-car dirt-floor garage on the alley south of the house. In that garage I completed two pretty major projects. [Read full article]

I Wonder What Happened to That Old High Chair

Shortly after making the kayak, I decided to make a highchair to use to feed our new daughter, Kirsten. I guess that may have been a bit of over-confidence since I had never even tried to build a chair before, but hey, I had never let a little lack of knowledge get in the way before. [Read full article]

Computers Are Great But Nothing Beats Pencil and Paper

I am a product of that time before computer design became a necessity for most efficient businesses to thrive today. I suppose I’m an anachronism, but I still like the feel of a pencil sliding across drawing paper when more than a sketch is necessary. [Read full article]