Monday 17 November 2014

Watching paint dry, xmas shopping and getting new clients

Watching paint dry seems to have become my new pastime....


Creating some shelving for a drinks cabinet, I route out the lettering with a v groove bit. 
This is the first time lettering with the router and I'm pretty pleased with the result! 


With the shelves cut to size, I apply a red mahogany stain and leave it to dry. 


I head over to the guitar and give it another coat of primer, as it dries I head over to the cabinet to apply another coat of poly, as it dries I head over to the shelves.... 
This is such a boring aspect of making things for me. The actual work time is minimal, wipe or spray on the finish, sit back and wait for it to dry, before doing another quick coat and watching it dry again! 
I like to keep my hands busy, so this is so frustrating, and my small workspace restricts me from doing any other work during the drying process as it will kick dust up, onto the finish. 

The final coats go onto the projects and I head out to do some Christmas shopping.
Yes it's coming round fast, and I've learnt from my youthful days, that being lazy, and putting it off until Christmas Eve, is a really dumb and stressful thing to do!

Despite only being November, people are still rushing through torrential rain to get to the shopping centres, and I see the result of a minor collision on my left as we drive by. They're both out of their cars giving statements to the police thankfully, but as I turn my head to the right, I see yet another accident! This ones not looking so good as a car is facing the wrong way and in amongst some trees with 2 ambulances.
Be safe out there people!

Shopping complete, and feeling a sense of relief that the majority of the present buying is out the way, I begin painting in the letters to the shelves to make them pop...


Then I check my emails.
A new client! Nice guy, he wants a jewelry box made for his other half, obviously sporting some carving work.
Now I don't normally do the standard woodwork projects. 
I would call myself more of a sculptor, as, aside from my carving work, I have also played around with clay and 3d computer imagery in the past and I strongly dislike having to work to squares, set shapes and set measurements. 
If something goes wrong or doesn't look right, I enjoy the freedom of re modelling the shape, taking things off here and there and finessing it. A world away from making a perfectly measured and put together box!
But I take on the challenge and have found a ready made, but unfinished jewelry box. 
Yes I know that's cheating, but my work really doesn't involve the box, it's what I can make the box into!
Obviously the client is well aware that I am not creating the box from scratch and if all goes well I may make some more of these boxes if people are interested.

Well hopefully this week I can get on with some more 'hands on' work and create some things for you to actually see! 

That's if I ever get over this cold! 

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Thank you 
Dean Marks
(CutMarks)

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