Joel's Blog

What It's All About

12/23/2008 When furntiure becomes part of the furniture

At the end of the year it's kind of typical to reflect on stuff. With the economy in it's current state I am trying not to focus on the here and now but more why we all buy tools in the first place.
The picture is of a 8' walnut settle I built 15 years ago. I made it 8' long (which is not typical) because I wanted it long enough so that two people could lie at opposite ends and read the paper comfortably. What It's All About 5

I'm a big walnut fan and the eight foot run of the front rail with its wonderful grain still does it for me every time I look at the settle. You can't see the wide boards that make up the back and sides, although you can see them on the shorter six foot settle. The big challenge with the settle was milling all that wood so thin and then I used floating tenons only 1/8" thick to mortise the panels to the upper and lower rails on the back and sides.

There is no chance then or now I could ever afford to buy a custom made 8' solid walnut settle and at the time I built a lot of my furniture. I still have it. Several relationships, apartments, parties, spills, children, the furniture I built is one of the few constants in my life. In the very early days of Tools for Working Wood, before we had a warehouse, I would store sharpening stones under It's still comfy. Along with a six foot companion it is still a focus of the living room, it still gets sat daily. The upholstery is a little worn out but we are waiting for my son to grow up a little more before we replace it.

One problem with my job is I spend far too much time experimenting with tools and far to little actually building furniture. I do get a little thrill when one of our customers tells us about the great things they are building with out tools, but it is not the same as building stuff myself. So my resolution for the new year is to build something for myself. What It's All About 6

With that thought I and everyone here at Tools for Working Wood wish you and your family a happy and healthy holiday season and a happy and healthy New Year!!

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12/22/2008 K

Nice couch. Reminds me of something I saw once. Happy Holidays

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The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the blog's author and guests and in no way reflect the views of Tools for Working Wood.

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