The Woodshop
One of the great joys of living in New Hampshire is our seasons change. Winter comes, the farm goes to sleep and it’s time for woodworking!
Gayla’s dad, Bill, was my best friend and a craftsman woodworker. He could build anything and often tried to get me to join him in his shop. I was always too busy until one day it hit me...paying for expensive bee hives is ridiculous when it is so easy to make them! Over the next couple of years, I built and completely filled my shop with “toys” knowing I would someday retire and learn how to use them. Now, I'll need to make enough hive bodies for every beekeeper in New Hampshire to pay off the wood shop!
Woodworking challenges me in so many positive ways.
Various hues of the wood
Whether its turning green wood as the first step in roughing out bowls on the lathe, selecting wood combinations for a new cutting board, making Christmas ornaments, hand cutting dovetails, or being allowed the honor to make beautiful mirror and picture frames from wood that was salvaged from a carriage house built in Westmoreland in 1780, woodworking challenges the mind in so many ways. As when I am inspecting a hive, woodworking requires concentration that blocks out all other thoughts and makes time fly! And tho' I cannot recapture that time with Dad, our kids love joining me in the shop – giving us quality time together.
Of special note:
Chris made a ring box from a very special piece of apple wood that Dad gave me when I first started woodworking. That box held the ring the night Chris proposed to Heather. And, while he did the work, I was by his side.
Val framed a celestial poster of the night sky the evening of her first date with Asa using those 237-year-old boards. Together, we figured out the way. Those are times I will always remember, and to me, they are priceless!
Having great tools makes woodworking a lot of fun and safer. That is why I decided not to skimp when purchasing machinery or hand tools. An example is my Saw Stop table saw that uses advanced circuitry technology to completely shut down within 1/20th of a second when it senses skin touching the blade. When I was debating the purchase, Gayla's comment was, "How much is your thumb worth?" Great point, so I ordered it! I wish the same technology was incorporated into my band saw and jointer/planer. Luckily, I have not seen it fire in my shop, yet...
My latest joy is using Lie-Nielsen hand tools. No need for electricity or for hearing protection! They are so incredibly well made, my grandchildren will still be using them when they are my age.
The picture gallery below will show some images of the shop, tools and some of the pieces of wood that did not end up in the wood stove...
