Deschutes Brewery Cribbage Boards....etc

The second Deschutes Cribbage Boards order has been completed and is on its way. They really turned out nice, and unfortunately I forgot to take photos as I was too focused to get them shipped.

Next pending orders of business are:

Six customized pizza peels for a client in Illinois,

This is the prototype of the first one glued and in clamp. It is being made out of birch and will be 18 inches x 18 inches with a 7 inch handle.





Three large cribbage boards for individual for a farmers market clients. This is the top and the bottom of one of them while being sanded and before the hinges are put on, and the finish applied.

Custom Blue Board cribbage board in shape of a bass for a farmers market client,
Custom walnut box,
Custom Walnut kitchen table.

I hope to post photos and progress of the pizza peel and large cribbage board later tonight. Oh and also during all that process I have to create more stock for upcoming markets/shows. Guess I better head back to the shop and get busy. Will be another long night...but I am having fun...

Whitefish Farmers Market

Tonight is the first night of the 2008 season at the Whitefish, Montana Farmer Market. This is always a fun good show with food, music, various venders and lots of people. Hopefully it will be a profitable sales generating evening..........Well...the Whitefish Market first night was cool and disappointing....hope it not a sign of the season to come...




Current orders are processing quite well. The Deschutes cribbage boards have all been cut out, lasered, sanded, and the first two coats of poly are currently drying. Once that is done we will put another coat on and drill the track. They are coming out very nice and should be ready to ship by the end of the week barring any surprises.


Worked on temporarily expanding the current shop..so now we have a separate area to apply finishs. Before when I did the finishing I had to stop in the creating area...because of the sawdust created. Now I can isolate the finishing and keep on producing in the shop area.. Once the new shop is completed,...{he says daydreaming}.... there will be a separate area for each function.....This is a short term fix

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

Very busy here all week on the shop front working on orders and stock.
Hope all of you has a nice Memorial Day weekend.

From one Vet to another:
I thank all the Veterans who have given their lives and time for all of us.

Deschutes Beer Bottles, Counter Cutting Boards, Cribbage Boards and other happenings

With the starting of the spring market season here in Northwest Montana it has become a very busy place around the workshop. That is the primary reason for the lack of regular posts here for a while. I will try and do better.
I am still receiving steady orders from my website and also maintaining stock items and creating custom work for folks at the local farmers markets. Being a one person shop with regular help from only my favorite little sanding and finishing elf keeps her and I very busy most all of the time. Please be patient if you are expecting a custom creation. We take our time and do the job right the first time.

Next week the Whitefish Farmers market begins and there are now plans to start a Farmers Market in the Village of West Glacier beginning on Friday June 27 of this year and continuing each friday from 4:30 to 6:30 PM throughout the summer season.

It is really great to have the freedom to do something you love, be your own boss, and make money doing it all at the same time. I will admit it is hard to stay focused here with spring breaking and the flowers and the woods coming alive, however I do try to make time to take the dogs and myself for walks a couple times a day for a break and to refresh the body.

In addition to all of this we have started clearing the land for the new shop. Although at this time I am not sure when or if that will happen(more to follow on that later).

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Deschutes Brewery Beer Bottle Cribbage Boards


My main project currently is a repeat order for the Deschutes Brewery in Bend Oregon. As I posted previously I created a cribbage board for them in the shape of their beer bottle with their logo. The first order came out very well and they have now reordered. The boards have all been cut out and they are in various stages of being lasered, drilled and finished. Because of the steps involved and planning I am able to work other projects in between the creating and the finishing. It will be extremely nice to get the new shop built and have more room to spread out and create even more projects. I love it!

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Custom Oak/Maple Cutting Board


This is a custom Oak/Maple Cutting Board counter top order I received at the Kalispell Farmers Market. It measured 2 1/4 inches thick x 15 1/2 inches wide x 25 1/2 inches long. The maple ends were biscuited and glued to the main oak center board. The board was finished using a food safe mineral oil. It is going into a new house kitchen and was very well received by the client.

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Oak RV Cribbage Board


This two person oak cribbage board in the shape of an RV was created for a client as a retirement gift for someone. The cutout was created by using a Shopbot CNC router system . The lettering was laser engraved by Blue Dragon LLC in Columbia Falls, Montana using an Epilog Laser. This process creates a very detailed sharp image. Using these processes we can create just about any shape you can image.

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Paws


This is Paws during a evening picnic trip to Lake McDonald last weekend. She is growing up to be quite a lady and a great guard dog. As some of you may remember we rescued Paws and her sister after they were abandoned in the park two years ago. It has been quite an experience raising these two. Callie was not being photogenic when I took this photo, I will keep trying.

May 15, 2008

Sorry for the lack of posts here. I am busily working on projects in the shop trying to fill orders and prepare stock for upcoming shows and markets. My plans is to do a post soon with photos of what I have been doing. Temperatures are forecast to reach into the 70's with sunshine today and through the weekend. However I will behave and remain in the shop. : - } Have a great day!!

Kalispell Farmer's Market

Yesterday was the first farmer's market this year for me in Kalispell, Montana. It was rather cool at times, except when the wind would stop and the sun was out, then it was comfortable. It was a very good day business wise for us. Here are a couple photos of my booth. I will be very busy for a while working on orders and more different stock items. Next Saturday the weather forecast is for temps 70-80 degrees with sunshine......

May 4, 2008

It has been an incredibly busy week since I returned. Trying finish up a couple of orders and getting ready for upcoming markets. I will try and post a update blog tonite about all the activities. Now it is off to the races once again...

Beautiful Northwest Montana

It is great to be back home once again....The big city is a nice place to visit..but not convinced I would want to live there again...
I am in the process of unpacking and sorting and getting the shop orders rolling once again...will post a longer blog tonite about the trip and experiences therein...Hope your day is good to you...

Wet and Wild Seattle,Washington

Well this entry is coming to you from WET and Green Seattle Washington.. The flowers are begining to bloom...the Rhubarb is ready to cut and the trees are starting to leaf out(pollen...yuk)
We made the trip over the mountain peaks to help out a family member who is going through cancer treatment. Hopefully things will go well...but only time will tell...It has been a hectic week so far, with a doctor appointment today.
I guess I forgot why it is so green here...hmmmmm it has rained most of the time we have been here....
I am quickly reminded how spoiled I am to live in Northwest Montana in the middle of no where...The traffic here is non-stop...well actually that is not true....sometimes it comes to a complete stop and you sit there on a major interstate....guess I forgot...gas is $3.41 (Costco) upward with $3.75 the highest I have seen.....I am not sure I could live in this type of environment....lots of people everywhere.....I know I would adjust...but....give me fresh air and non chorinated water......Hard to understand how people survive here because of the cost of living...The number of street folks is heart wrenching to see....very sad.....Lots of "haves" and lots of "have nots" with not a lot of in between...SAD

Other than seeing family members the one great thing about coming here is multiple opportunities to visit large woodworking stores.....that is dangerous...I am like a kid in a candy store.......!!!!! Walking into a Woodcraft store is unbelievable....anything and everything one could possibliy need/want is right there for you to touch...very dangerous...but I will try and behave......

will try and post some photos later on if there is enough light and I dry out...

Custom Finger- Jointed Walnut Box

Creating a box that is simple, but unique, and also beautiful, as well as protective, has been a challenging and rewarding experience. I am thrilled to have taken on this project.


To be a part of this creation, which will be used to display and protect an antique family heirloom is special.
Life is a journey and this has been an enjoyable part of that process.

In planning out this project I decided to use finger joint construction on the corners because I felt it would add to the look and feel of the box. Not to mention it would also provide exceptional strength in the corner joints and additional protection. (The color difference between the first two photos is because the finger-joint photo is still the raw wood and the other photo is after I have began applying the finish coats.) I am very pleased in the end result.
The size of the box was determined using the measurements of the platter that would be stored inside.(1 1/2" x 13" x 15")

The top proved to be the most challenging. Hand selecting the right grain pattern and coloring caused me to look through a lot of boards before I found ones that I thought worked well together.


Matching the grains and colors I think worked out well. The color will only get richer looking as time passes.
The top of the box has been laser engraved with a customized celtic cross and the words "Ardara, County Donegal" below it.

The laser engraving was done by Blue Dragon LLC in Columbia Falls, Montana using an Epilog Laser. As you can see this process creates a very detailed sharp image.




For the inside of the box I wanted to create a foundation which would display the platter as well as protect it. Using a high density foam padding I created a pocket to hold the platter and then covered the foam with a nice material.

I suppose the real test will come when the client places the platter in the box for the first time. Hopefully all the measurements I worked with will perfectly cradle it and protect it for many years to come.