Columbus Woodworking Show--Part 2

Part of the reason cutting dovetails with Chuck was a great experience is because he removes all the neurotic crap that makes obsessive people crazy. Dividing your board in half and then figuring out the amount of tails and then half pins, blah blah blah, ad absurdum. And yet, for all the obsessing, the first time i tried to cut dovetails, i forgot some pretty simple steps, such as labelling the tails and pins (and not doing things when overtired and under-nourished). Which is how i ended up with the photo to the left. The omission of this crucial step also meant that i kept on trimming the joints until they fit, but since i didn't know pins from tails and inside from outside, a very snug fitting pair of joints ended up looking like this. Mortifying.

So, at the end of the woodworking shows, i accosted Chuck (who was too much of a gentleman to refuse me and even blogged a very gracious version of my stalking him, which you can read here), who gave me a mini-tutorial of how to cut dovetails by hand. Chuck's method took the headache out of the whole process. No math, no formulas. We eyeballed everything and just got on with it. Chuck's a great teacher in that he somehow (i am still trying to figure it out!) enables his student to accomplish the goal without hovering too much or doing the work for him/her.

Anyway, i think i mentioned before, we were running to get these dovetails done, so they're a bit split, but nonetheless i wanted to show off my infinitely better set of Bender-pins-first-dovetails that i made Chuck autograph (i told you i stalked him!) with the wenge pen that my mother turned. And Uri caught some of the magic on film, including his commentary.

Columbus Woodworking Show--Part 1

This past Sunday, my brother, mother, and i drove from Cleveland to Columbus for the Woodworking Show. I thought they were kidding when they said they would come (can you tell i'm used to being mocked for my middle-aged-man hobby?), but they happily accompanied me. Well, maybe not happily. I printed up a 'bring your spouse for free coupon' and made my brother Uri go as my husband. He was most unhappy with this, but he played along. I think they printed 'spouse' because it would have been a bit much to print 'bring your family member who would really rather not attend a woodworking show but is going to put a cap on your spending' or something to that effect. The woman taking tickets gave us a knowing wink as Uri squirmed and gave me a resentful look. And then...we were in! It was magnificent. And a bit overwhelming. It was in a sense too big. But once you narrow it down to stuff you want to see, it becomes more manageable. Not only did i get to see Lie Nielsen tools in person, but as my friend Dave Richards suggested, i got to use them (i thought he was teasing me)! It was phenomenal.

The highlight of the show for me was meeting my Lumberjocks buddy Chuck Bender. I'm aware how dodgy it sounds that i talk about how woodworkers are the nicest people and that i have made many friends online. Though my mother and brother were totally bitten with the woodworking bug (see video below) and had the best time turning pens, they still were quite weirded out when i mentioned 'meeting my friend from the internet'. This all dissipated when they met Chuck of course, and i told him that he proved the claim i always make about woodworkers being the nicest people ever. Chuck understood the concerns though and pointed out the difference between meeting internet friends wisely and foolishly: 'Well, we are meeting in a public place. It's not like I'm telling you to meet me in an alley where i will be waiting with a bludgeon and a garbage bag.' Hmm... good point.

Miep Gies 1909-2010

Miep Gies, holding her son Paul, Otto Frank (left), and her husband Jan, A'dam, January 1951, nicked from here

The famous protector of Anne Frank, and my hero whom i had the privilege to meet is remembered here and here. ברוך דיין האמת.

Some Chinese Woodworking

The woodworking community buzzes about Japanese woodworking (though not enough!), but what about Chinese woodworking? It's hard to find info, but this is close. In this Nova programme, Bashar Altabba, an an engineer from Boston, and Marcus Brandt, a timber framer from Pennsylvania, travel to China to help Professor Tang reconstruct the Rainbow Bridge, built in the Song dynasty. All they have to go on in a 900 year old painting. I feel compelled to warn you that there is a frustrating bit at the end. Brandt extolls the workmanship and joinery of the Chinese in the last 5 seconds of the programme, but you only see it for a minute, and of course you never see that part of the construction! Another side-point: Professor Tang explains that the aesthetic of the reverse curve is attractive because it resembles the body of a woman. I couldn't help but wonder how the group dynamics would have been effected by having women on the team...and I'll leave it at that.

Apartment Grey Water #5 חוסכים מים בירושלים

Here's my first video, shot on my Nano. Granted, it could do with editing, but here it is:

As you can see, the waste-pipe from the washing machine is directed into a black bin. Visible is a sieve stuck into the bin's lid. That's for dumping bucket loads of water into the bin to filter it a bit before the pump (one of those aquarium types) pumps the water into the holding tank above. The water then passes through a normal white tube into the toilet tank.

Because i don't know much (read anything) about physics, and i required a low-tech solution, i turned to the Romans:

This video made clear how pressure moves with gradients, which was helpful in adjusting the tube from the holding tank outside.

How cool is the inverted syphon?!

Even Old New York Was Once New Amsterdam

Previously, we spoke about Russell Shorto's book on New Netherland. The New York Times has just published a piece on Charles Ghering--the man who made available nearly 12,000 pages of colonial Dutch records--which can be read here. Also, check out the 3D virtual reconstruction of New Amsterdam.