Highland Woodworking

Denis Hermecz

On today’s Follow Friday we have the work of Denis Hermecz, a woodworker from Silverhill, AL, who we featured in our Show Us Your Woodcarving column in the May 2013 Issue of Wood News. Throughout his woodworking years, Denis has created a variety of pieces including cabinets, nightstands, and bookshelves, and lately he has been focusing on woodcarving.

In an interview he did with Woodworking Network, Denis discussed how he started his career in woodworking. In order to earn money for school, he worked as an apprentice boat builder, where he was able to find a passion for the craft. In college, he majored in English and like a lot of people do when they graduate, he focused in getting a career where he could use his major whether it be as a Writer or English Teacher.  He didn’t realize it right away, but once he figured out he could make woodworking into his career, he was set on his path.

Carved Mirror Frame

My favorite piece that Denis shared with us is the mirror frame that he custom made for a client who had already installed the mirror that she wanted the frame to fit. The process that Denis used to carve this piece is also very interesting:

“I drew the vines directly on the assembled rectangular frame. I cut out the shapes with a Bosch sabre saw and I carved most of the shapes with a Bosch 12000 rpm side grinder–an extremely versatile tool. There is some carving done with hand held chisels out of my mixed bag of old chisels, but I try to design a big piece like this one so that hand carving is minimized. I sand a lot of the pieces like this one with Festool random orbit sanders and some with a Fein multitool sander.”

The frame takes up an entire wall at 54″x103″, and a lot of the vine work that Denis put into this piece was freestyle form, which is what I think makes this piece stand out to me.

Below are a few more pieces that Denis has made. If you would like to see more of his work, you can visit his website HERE.

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Fridays on the Highland Woodworking Blog are dedicated to #Follow Friday, where we use this space to further highlight a woodworker or turner who we have featured in our monthly e-publications Wood News or The Highland Woodturner. Would you like for your shop to appear in our publications? We invite you to SEND US PHOTOS of your woodworking shop along with captions and a brief history and description of your woodworking. (Email photos at 800×600 resolution.) Receive a $50 store credit redeemable towards merchandise if we show your shop in a future issue.

The post Follow Friday: Denis Hermecz appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

ON A BRIGHT SPRING MORNING in the spring of 1978, Chris and Sharon Bagby opened the doors at Highland Hardware for the first time. Now 35 years later, they’re still in business operating the store that grew to become Highland Woodworking as we know it today. It’s been a long journey that could not have been accomplished without the support of countless thousands of loyal customers, many of whom have shopped here almost from the beginning.

Throughout these 35 years there have been many exciting additions and changes, but one thing has always remained the same and is our mission to deliver fine tools to your door.

Here is a timeline history of some milestone events that have happened over the past 35 years!

May 15th, 1978: Owners Chris and Sharon Bagby open Highland Hardware at 1034 North Highland Ave (across the street from its current location), an ordinary hardware store in Midtown Atlanta.

1980: The company begins to offer a weekend seminar program in their basement, bringing in woodworking masters like Tage Frid, Sam Maloof, and Roy Underhill.

1984: The store moves to a larger retail space across the street at 1045 North Highland Ave (and its current home today). The seminar program  moves to a warehouse located behind.

1992: Our product-oriented newsletter, Wood News, merges with our woodworking tool catalog, and comes out 2-3 times per year as a physical publication. Our catalog is still published to this day, which you can subscribe to receive by mail HERE.

1995: The building is renovated to add 8,000 square feet to the store, which includes a brand new seminar/classroom space, a larger shipping/receiving area including a loading dock, a larger back office space, and additional floor space for retail sales.

1996: Highland Hardware launches into the World Wide Web at www.highlandhardware.com.

2005: Wood News begins as a monthly email newsletter with tools, tips, and monthly features highlighting woodworkers from around the world. Subscribe to Wood News HERE.

2006: Highland Hardware becomes Highland Woodworking. Still under the same ownership and still offering the same great service, we wanted to present a truer reflection of the nature of our tool offering and our position in the woodworking industry.

2013 (Present Day): Chris and Sharon are still involved in the everyday operation of our store and with a highly knowledgeable staff we are continuing to deliver fine, quality tools to your door.

As always, with passing years comes even more additions and  technology. We invite you to continue checking out all of our new and exciting offerings by continuing to follow our Blog, like us on Facebook, tweet us at Twitter, hang out with us on Google+, or pin your favorite tips and tools on Pinterest.

From the entire Highland Woodworking family, we thank you for your continued support!

Sincerely,

Chris Bagby, Owner

The post Happy 35th Birthday Highland Woodworking! appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

by J. Norman Reid
Delaplane, VA

In the May issue of Wood News, J. Norman Reid gave us a thorough rundown of the steps needed to get your hand planes to perform at their peak. So whether you’ve recently purchased a new plane that you’ve been drooling over for awhile, or you’ve spent some time restoring an older plane back to working condition, this article has the answers you’ll want to achieve those wispy shavings we all aspire to.

CLICK HERE to read the article.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the May issue of Wood News.

The post Seven Steps to Peak Handplane Performance appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

We’ve made it to Friday! Today’s #FollowFriday is WinterHawk, who was featured in our May 2013 Wood News Show Us Your Shop column. WinterHawk lives and has his shop in the country woods of Templeton, PA, about 40 miles north of Pittsburgh.

WinterHawk’s woodsy shop exterior

WinterHawk specializes in creating Native American Style Flutes. He became inspired to start making the flutes after spending many years of teaching Lakota drumming and holding Native American Gatherings, where the flutes and drums would often be played, along with rattles and shells.

Flute Montage

To find out more about WinterHawk’s woodworking methods and to view more pictures of his work, please visit his website HERE.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Friday’s on the Highland Woodworking Blog are dedicated to #Follow Friday, where we use this space to further highlight a woodworker or turner who we have featured in our monthly e-publications Wood News or The Highland Woodturner. Would you like for your shop to appear in our publications? We invite you to SEND US PHOTOS of your woodworking shop along with captions and a brief history and description of your woodworking. (Email photos at 800×600 resolution.) Receive a $50 store credit redeemable towards merchandise if we show your shop in a future issue.

The post Follow Friday: WinterHawk appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

The dining room table is complete, delivered and installed. It was great to finally see it setup at the client’s house! Before it was packed up, I had a good friend take photos. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. Many long hours poured into the whole project and it was worth the effort!

[You can click any photo for a larger version.  Click it again for full-page.]

The post Morton’s Shop: Dining Room Table Complete – Final Pictures! appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

We try to keep up with a lot of woodworking blogs here at Highland, and one of our favorites is Chris Schwartz’s blog over on the Popular Woodworking website, where he recently discussed the use of toothbrushes in Canadian woodworking and how they are used a bit differently than in the US. To sum it up, you want to be sure that you know where your toothbrush has been before using it for its normal purpose of keeping your teeth clean.

This technique was demonstrated at one of Chris’s classes at Rosewood Studio in Ontario, Canada, where Chris recently taught his Anarchist’s Toolchest class this past April. Check out the looks of concentration that Hans, one of the students, demonstrates while completing the glue-up of his carcass.

The post Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush! appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

Chris Adkins

Today’s Follow Friday is Chris Adkins, someone you may already be familiar with, who has recently become a large presence in today’s woodworking community. Along with Dyami Plotke and Tom Iovino, Chris has helped bring a new following to woodworking as a founder of the Modern Woodworkers Association, an online community founded in 2010. The MWA was started “as a way to organize woodworkers participating in online communities, help spread the word about the network of woodworkers and the knowledge they share, help connect people, who share a love of the craft both online and off, and build a framework for growing the craft for the future.”-MWA Website.

In our April Wood News, we featured Chris in our popular Show Us Your Wood Carving column. Chris is a third generation woodworker based in Atlanta, GA, whose “day job” is a general contractor. Although he doesn’t call himself a wood carver, his beautiful Tree Box (seen below) begs to differ. This project started out as just a 1 day box project that he was making to practice his dovetail cutting, and then he decided to add the tree carving at the very end. The tree design was cutout with a scroll saw and then carved through a combination of hand carving and a Dremel Tool with a carving bit attachment.

Tree Box

Paul Sellers, lifestyle woodworker and Founder of the New Legacy School of Woodworking, mentioned Chris and the MWA in one of his blog posts about a recent visit he made to Atlanta. Click HERE to read the blog and more about Paul Sellers. While he was in town, Paul even participated in one of the popular Modern Woodworkers Association’s Podcasts, where he and Chris discussed his work, his background, and how to get younger people involved in woodworking.

To find out more information about Chris Adkins, you can visit his High Rock Woodworking website HERE. His website features lots of great links to articles, videos, and projects on all things woodworking.

Follow Chris’s individual Twitter HERE, and the Modern Woodworkers Association HERE.

ABC Cube made of Maple, Oak, and Chestnut, that also acts as a rattle.

The post Follow Friday: Chris Adkins of High Rock Woodworking and Modern Woodworkers Association appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

Killing Me Slowly
By Steve Johnson

This is Woodworking Safety Day (formerly Woodworking Safety Week). It is also National Nurse Appreciation Week (I really hope that was pure coincidence!), Senior Corps Week, National Teacher Appreciation Week, International Compost Awareness Week (really?), and National Travel and Tourism Week. Regardless the competition, if the heightened awareness brought about by Woodworking Safety Day saves one finger or one eye it is worth all the ink and every keystroke on every blog, in every magazine, and on every woodworking club agenda.

The coverage of accidents and how to avoid them will likely be intense this week. But I have lately become equally interested in accidents that occur not with a shriek, a bang, or a buzz, but those that occur over a protracted period of time… the injuries that sneak up, like a thief in the night, and can rob us of health and vitality. I am talking about long-term exposure. In this column I have previously addressed noise and dust, two primary long-term exposure culprits. For this particular week of focus on safety, I want to address skin exposure.

Figure 1 – Skin absorption occurs 3 ways: Intercellular lipid pathway, or between the cells

Figure 2 – Transcellular permeation, or through the cells

Figure 3 – Through the appendages (hair follicles, glands)

Somewhere along the way the skin’s ability to absorb pharmaceuticals and chemicals entered the collective consciousness. It was something we really did not think much about before, but an onslaught of advertisements for stop-smoking patches, birth control patches, localized pain relief patches, testosterone-boosting patches, and even those miracle footpads that were touted as able to remove toxins from our body, all contributed to our collective realization that our skin, our largest organ, is capable of, and in fact very efficient at, pulling chemicals (both good and bad) into our bodies and into our bloodstream.

As this awareness has grown, some obvious marketing opportunities have been seized. Makers of lotions, potions and makeup have begun touting their more-natural or all-natural ingredients. Magazines warned us of parabens in our deodorant, lead in lipstick, sulfates in our toothpaste, and petroleum-based products in our hand cream. Fluoride, frequently the subject of grand conspiracy theories, hit the headlines again and the use of artificial colorings and sweeteners is being questioned; all-natural alternatives have begun to crowd the store shelves. But this is not merely marketing hype, and we woodworkers would be well advised to pay attention to the things that might be killing us slowly in addition to those things that could hurt us quickly.

The late great comedian George Carlin once said, “Scientists have announced that saliva causes cancer… but only when swallowed in small amounts over long periods of time.”

Funny, but like most of Carlin’s comedy, it is funny because there is a hint of truth. Our body is a complicated machine that burns fuel, expels waste, filters impurities, sifts between the necessary and unnecessary compounds, and occasionally does a little woodworking.

When we woodworkers dip a rag in solvent to wipe something, use our bare fingers to spread some oil, grease, putty, or solvent-based wood filler, or when we use harsh cleaners to scrub pitch from a saw blade, we do not get an immediate warning signal of pending danger. Instead, we may get a long-term cumulative impact that, like the thief in the night, sneaks up on us and intends us harm.

So, while others address the slam-bang-crash side of safety, please give some thought to the long-term impact of dermal contact exposure. Wear gloves when handling chemicals and cleaners, read the label on that cream you slather on your chapped hands, and watch out for the fluoride… it really is a subversive plot!

Skin pathway illustrations from the Center for Disease Control. For more information, or to research the potential toxicity of chemicals in the products you use, consult the web sites of OSHA, the CDC, and download this document prepared by North Carolina Statue University. These are good starting points.

The post The Down to Earth Woodworker: Some Thoughts for Woodworking Safety Day appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

Standing Desk with Roy Underhill

In addition to doing demonstrations for the Highland Woodworking 35th Anniversary One-Day Sale this past Saturday, Roy Underhill stuck around on Sunday to teach a day-long demonstration workshop on building a standing desk (pictured left). While the actual process of creating this desk from start to finish would take much longer than the allotted time for the class, Roy demonstrated the different techniques needed to create the different parts of the desk, as well as the joints needed to piece them together. Although we didn’t take a finished product home with us, we all got to learn the skills needed to build our own and have Roy help us with our techniques.

Using his Marking Gauge to mark out his cuts

More marking with acute precision

Sawing dovetails with his one-of-a-kind Lie-Nielsen Saw created just for him

Maybe the Lie-Nielsen was a bit too long for these cuts

I have taken a few classes from Roy before this one, most notably during Woodworking In America a few years ago. Not only is Roy a great teacher, but he is also very entertaining and definitely knows how to keep his audience. From using audience participation to create a “human workbench”, to the cool and smooth maneuvers of “Spoffer”, Roy had plenty of one-liners and musings to keep this demo class on its toes.

Never a dull moment with Roy

The post A Lesson from the Woodright himself, Roy Underhill appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

Roy working with his chisels.

Highland Woodworking had a wonderful turnout for our 35th Anniversary Celebration and One-Day Sale this weekend. We were excited to have our special guest, Roy Underhill, in the store on Saturday doing demonstrations of a variety of hand-tools, both old and new.

In addition, we had representatives from Carter Products and Festool doing demonstrations throughout the day, while visitors were able to stop by and checkout their latest products.

Be sure to checkout our Facebook page in the coming week for more photos and videos of the celebration and Roy’s visit!

Alex from Carter Products

Just did some smooth planingRoy entertaining the crowd

Later in the day, Roy moved outside to demonstrate sharpening to passersby

The post 35th Anniversary Celebration Wrap-Up appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

I’m not sure how many readers were in attendance at Woodworking In America 2010, but whenever Roy Underhill is mentioned in any sort of conversation these days, I always think back to this picture of one of his classes that weekend and how entertaining he was in his demonstrations.

Roy doing a demo during one of his classes at WIA 2010

Roy has been well-known in the woodworking community for several decades now, and his influence is still going strong. Roy is still producing new episodes of his popular PBS show, The Woodwright’s Shop, every year, and that combined with Roy’s opening of the Woodwright’s School in 2009 allow him to have quite an impact in all facets of the woodworking world.

During his visit captured in the above video, Charles Brock got to explore Roy’s beautiful North Carolina mill property, in addition to checking out The Woodright’s School located in Pittsboro, NC. As someone who enjoys both woodworking and the outdoors, I am quite envious of Charles’ visit and one day hope to have my own opportunity to make it out there.

In the meantime, I am excited to see Roy this weekend when he comes down to Atlanta for the Highland Woodworking 35th Anniversary Celebration and One-Day Sale. In addition to his vast knowledge of woodworking, I’m excited to experience his humorous antics and jokes firsthand. Though I’m not sure if anything can ever beat the combination of Roy and Christopher Schwartz together in the same room for Roy’s keynote speech at the 2010 WIA Dinner. The speech ended up becoming more of a roast between Roy and Chris, and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house after it was over. I wasn’t the only one who laughed until they cried!

The post Roy Underhill: Moment With A Master appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

Previous submissions for the Show Us Your columns from L-R: Lance Chase, (Show Us Your Stuff), Gary Porter (Show Us Your Shop), Bill Cosentini (Show Us Your Wood Carving), Jim Marx (Show Us Your Woodturning)

ATTENTION WOODWORKERS! We are currently seeking submissions for our Show Us Your columns that appear in our monthly publications Wood News and The Highland Woodturner. We have four different columns dedicated to YOUR woodworking, 3 of which appear in Wood News, and 1 of which appears in The Highland Woodturner.

The four columns are:

1) Show Us Your Stuff: Whether it is a boat, chair, desk, or whathaveyou, show us what you are making!

2) Show Us Your Shop: Depending on your organization style, you will probably have a different shop layout from your neighbor next door. Show us pictures of your shop and its shop layout and tell us how its organization helps to benefit your woodworking.

3) Show Us Your Wood Carving: From the block of wood you start out with to the end result, we want to see your carving process.

4) Show Us Your Woodturning: From bowls to pens and everything in between, show us what you’ve been turning.

We invite you to EMAIL us photos (800×600 resolution) of your woodworking projects, shops, wood carvings, or woodturnings, along with captions and a brief history and description of your submission to woodnews@highlandwoodworking.com.  If we feature your submission in a future issue of Wood News or The Highland Woodturner, you will receive a $50 store credit and several mentions of your work or shop throughout our blog and social media outlets.

The post Entries Wanted for our “Show Us Your” Monthly Columns appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

On to the final step: applying and rubbing out the finish.  Whew, it’s been a long process getting here, but I’m thrilled with the construction.  The base has already been finished, so it’s just the top now.  I’m using Waterlox (the original version).  The underside will get 2-4 coats and the top somewhere around 6 or so – we’ll see how it goes.

I take the leaves off to be finished separately.  I start with the underside of the middle section and apply finish liberally, but not enough to run.  I stay just shy of the edges because I’ll reach under from the top and do that along with the top+edges.

I first apply Waterlox to the underside, fairly liberally

Once the finish is on, I flip it over and apply finish to the top.  I do this all at once – then allow the whole coat to dry.

Right after a coat of Waterlox has been applied

When the coat is dry, I lightly sand with 320 grit paper and inspect for any blemishes. I definitely get some dirt in the finish but a low raking light reveals them and I can easily scuff them out with 220/320/400 grit paper.

A small piece of dirt got into the finish while drying

I easily remove the blemish in the finish with some fine sandpaper

I’m also working on the leaves at the same time as the main table, using the same process. Here you can see a leaf next to the table before I put on the first coat. What a difference in color!

Waterlox applied to the main table next to an unfinished leaf

After about 6 coats of finish on top, I let it all dry for a week. The final step is to “rub out” the finish with some fine steel wool. In this case I’m using Liberon 0000 Steel Wool and take steady strokes back and forth with the grain.

Using 0000 steel wool to rub out the table top finish

This process simply cuts down the fast-drying shiny spots in the finish – giving the whole top a consistent dullness. I wipe that down and then do another set of passes with the same steel wool but this time adding some wool lube – which makes even finer scratches. That leaves me with a low satin sheen which is good for this table. Some wax, buffing, and I’m done!

Stay tuned for final pictures…

The post Morton’s Shop: Finish The Table appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

Bookstand

Each month we feature several different woodworkers in both our Wood News Newsletter as well as The Highland Woodturner,  our monthly publication devoted to wood turning. In this month’s issue of The Highland Woodturner, we are featuring Diane Davison, a woodturner from North Olmstead, Ohio.

Diane comes from a long line of male woodworkers and was first exposed to woodturning after watching her uncle turn when she was younger. She began doing her own woodworking over 20 years ago when she wanted to build a desk and later became a self-taught woodturner.

Her woodworking tool collection began with a handheld scrolling jig saw and she later added  a table top scroll saw. Once she decided she wanted to learn turning, her husband bought her a lathe for Christmas and she has been turning ever since. For inspiration she often goes to the Lumberjocks Forum and finds pieces that interest her, which she then tries to duplicate.

Basswood Canister with Banksia Pod Handle and Toothpick Holders

In addition to creating turned pieces, she also enjoys creating band saw boxes and intarsia, a form of wood inlaying, which you can see below in her aromatic cedar, cherry and poplar rose box.

Intarsia Rose Box

You can view more of Diane’s pieces at her Lumberjock website HERE.

The post Follow Friday: Woodturner Diane Davison appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

Turning a Door Stopper

By Curtis Turner
Round Rock, TX

One day recently, I decided to open up my shop door to let in some Texas spring air. I realized as I placed my turned door stop under the door that this would be a good project to share.

This month’s project is as simple as it is useful. If you follow these tips, you will end up with two separate door stops; give one as a gift, or use both to hold open your front and back doors with style at the same time.

CLICK HERE to learn how to turn your own door stopper:

CLICK HERE to read the rest of this month’s issue of The Highland Woodturner:

The post Curtis Turner: Turning a Door Stopper appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

A NEW issue of The Highland Woodturner is now available for you to read.

This month we’ve got a timely column from Curtis Turner on how to turn a door stopper – just the thing you will be wanting to hold your shop door open to enjoy the warm weather! We’ve also got a new Turning Tip from Phil Colson on how to clean up a ragged chuck hole, as well as a great gallery of turned pieces from Diane Davison, a self-taught woodturner.

Add to that a new woodturning article by Terry Chapman from the Highland blog and a couple great deals on turning products, and you’ve got the April issue of The Highland Woodturner! Enjoy!

The post Take a look at the April Issue of The Highland Woodturner! appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

The other day I was looking at all the turning tools I have. Over the years, I have tried a lot of turning tools and I don’t care for most of them.

Woodturning Tools

Look at the picture and you will see around 22 tools and I had to wipe a lot of dust off some of them to make the picture.  There are all kind of tools from old Craftsman tools to some really modern stuff to the Elbo Hollowing Tool lying on the stool. In fact, I do about 90% of my work with one tool and that is the one on the far end of the lathe bed. I really like the 5/8” bowl gouge set in a changeable handle. I use Oneway’s Sure Grip Hosaluk 17-1/2″ Tool Handle from the High and I love the thing. I put the Oneway Mastercut 5/8” Bowl Gouge in the Handle and the whole rig weighs close to three pounds.  That solid weight makes it very easy to hold steady and almost all vibration from the cut is eliminated. I can knock out a bowl in short order with this tool and I recently bought a new gouge since I have about ground the length off my old one.

5/8″ Gouge with Handle

A few years ago when I went to the Master Class on bowl turning with Mike Mahoney at the High, I took some of my turning tools to the class. Mike scoffed at the cutting edge I had on my bowl gouge. I had learned to make that “fingernail grind” shape from the instructions that came with the Oneway Wolverine sharpening jig. Mike has a way of sharpening which uses the grinder platform set at the angle he likes and which I have adopted. He adjusts the platform to about 15 degrees and then sharpens freehand from the platform. Once you learn how, the process is quick and easy and I have gotten where I can do it in less than a minute. What I see many beginners do is buy all the sharpening jigs and fixtures they can get their hands on. That collecting process is good for Highland, but makes your sharpening life more difficult in the long run. How much simpler to start the grinder, put the gouge on the grinder table freehand and in a short time be done. For you beginners, if you have never turned with a sharp tool you have no idea what you are missing. Find somebody who has a sharp gouge you can borrow so you can see what it feels like. Come on down to the shop and I will be happy to loan you one of my gouges for a bit. Here’s a hint: If all you see are small chips and sawdust coming off the gouge, you need to sharpen. If you are turning green wood, you should be seeing a continuous stream of beautiful long curls flying up into the air. In fact, look back at the top picture and note the long shavings on top of the box behind the lathe. That is the joy of turning and what turners live for.

How many turning tools do you have and which is your favorite?

The post My Pile of Woodturning Tools appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

We are excited to announce the release of episode 6 of our new Woodworking TV Show, The Highland Woodworker! Click the play button to watch it below!

You can also read a little more about the subject of this episode’s ‘Moment with a Master’ segment, Jeff Miller, in Charles Brock’s blog post. Here’s a quick excerpt:

Jeff Miller is just a wonderful engaging person to be around. he is thoughtful, authentic and very much a problem solver. He loves what he does and he enjoys sharing his passion for woodworking with others. His shop is full of great equipment and hand tools. He has several bandsaws including one huge old saw he rebuilt. A SawStop table saw and a big 12 inch combo machine give him great flexibility for cutting fine and accurate joinery. But what you really notice are the workbenches everywhere, especially in the Roubo style with Benchcrafted vises. He has them in various lengths for hand tool woodworking. He loves hand tools and has a huge working collection.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the blog post.

The post The Highland Woodworker – Episode 6! appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

In our monthly newsletter, Wood News, we have several columns that feature different woodworker’s Workshop Setups, Wood Carvings, and Woodworking Projects. In April’s newsletter, we featured Ramon Gibbs in our Show Us Your Stuff column. We wanted to share a little more information about Ramon and his projects, specifically his methods for creating his amazing scaled furniture.

From his website, Ramon describes his artistic method in the following way: “Before each creation I sit in meditation and envision the emotion of only one personality, that of the recipient or perhaps a place.  I try to embrace that passion in an effort to take you to a place you have been longing to return, or enchanted by yearning fantasies.”

Ramon uses the passion that he describes in many of his pieces, some examples of which you can see below:

Jewelry Box Desk and Swivel Chair

Vanity

Baby Grand Piano

The Gatekeeper

Ramon has a specific method of creating the scale for his furniture. He creates it in 1/5 or 1/6 of the actual size by rounding up the actual dimensions of the piece he is reproducing and then dividing that number by 5 or 6 depending on the scale. He then mostly uses butt joints and glue versus more complicated joints and screws in order to put the pieces together.

If you are interested in seeing more of Ramon’s works you can visit his website HERE.

The post Follow Friday: Spotlight on Ramon Gibbs appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

Pinterest Pin It Button

With all of the new forms of social media coming out these days, it seems like there is always a new ‘next big thing’. Well in this case, we really do believe that Pinterest will be the ‘Next Big Thing’ for the woodworking community, as it does a great job highlighting the often amazingly detailed visuals of woodworking that can be hard to get across in a medium like Twitter or Facebook. With that in mind, we are proud to unveil the new Highland Woodworking Pinterest page!

Our page features many different boards, including those dedicated to tools and products that can help you DIY, as well as boards that feature work(s) that have been submitted by our customers and readers.

Our current boards include:

Projects for the Kids: Whether it is one of our Woodman Concept Kits or one of our Red Toolbox Project Kits, we’ve got lots of ideas for the kids and the kids-at-heart to get started in woodworking.

Show Us Your Workshop: A popular column in our Wood News monthly newsletter, these pins will give you inspiration for your own workshop with different designs and organization techniques.

Tools to DIY: A collection of our favorite tools you can use to “Do-It-Yourself” and create your own woodworking project.

2013 Jig Design Contest: Occasionally, we have contests where readers and customers submit their own designs, and the most creative/useful win a Highland Woodworking Gift Certificate. Our most recent contest was our Shop Jig Design Contest, and this board includes details of every single submission!

Woodworkers You Might Know: From Roy Underhill to Chris Schwarz, these pins will give you some great links to interviews and project ideas from the best of the best.

DIY Project Ideas: We’ve got lots of ideas for you with our different Downloadable Plans, as well as other interesting and inspiring projects that you can create.

Show Us Your Carving: Another popular section in our monthly Wood News, here you will find different carvings by our customers and readers.

Show Us Your Stuff: Our most recent submission section, these pins will give you inspiration with projects made by our customers and readers, that vary from miniature furniture to John-Deere inspired chisel chests, and everything in between.

You can also use Pinterest to Pin your own ideas from various websites you may be browsing like Highland Woodworking. On our webpage, you will now see a small icon with a P (like the first image in this blog entry), which you can click and then pick the picture you want to pin from the webpage on to one of your own boards. This is a great tool for making wish-lists or a list of tools and methods you might need to create your project.

Let us know if you have any suggestions or ideas for Pinterest boards you would like to see, and feel free to visit and follow our Pinterest page by CLICKING HERE and get inspired!

The post We’re on Pinterest, are you? appeared first on Woodworking Blog.