Happy holidays.

Finally. All done.

The end of term 1 has mysteriously crept up on us, going simultaneously fast and slow like a weird Twilight Zone time warp and I'm glad to be going home for the holidays. There's an overall sense of relief that I managed to finish my project in time, mixed with a dash of pride, although it all feels slightly anti-climatic really.

Reflecting on the last 10 weeks, I'm surprised at how much woodworking is not only a physical exercise but also quite a cerebral one. To be really good at it, one needs an active imagination and the ability to innovate. Whether its thinking up a jig to make the final piece more accurate or to save time, or puzzling out how to get a particular piece to fit when the wood just isn't behaving itself (shouting "that just won't do Stumpy" doesn't quite achieve the same effect). I have found that I am scarcely able to clamp up without the blessing of one of the tutors, whilst the others on the course seem have to entered into problem solving mode a little more readily. Perhaps its a lack of imagination, or the fact my brain seems only to work in straight lines, exacerbated by a lack of confidence, but I'm hoping that next term I will be able to do most (if not all) of my thinking on my own.

Anyways, I hope you've had a lovely 2012, here's to a merry and restful Christmas. See you all in the new year.
Ta

Stumpy.

Stumpy on a dry run.

Against all odds, I managed to glue up my project this week. Stumpy, as it is now known, started life a couple of inches shorter then he was meant to be and also a lot fatter. I've been unable to make it any skinnier, but at least on the final run I've made it a wee bit taller (although the graft in the middle is sadly a little obvious).

This week has been a comedy of errors in a lot of ways, highlighting the worst of my incompetence (including fitting shelves without checking that they are at right angles, sanding a bit off the cabinet door by mistake, gluing the back panel on to the cabinet without having fitted and measured the front door, etc etc etc).

Stumpy (post-op). Shame it can't also go on a diet.  

I am amazed at what I've managed to achieve in the space of 9 weeks, but I also know that I really wouldn't have been able to get this far without the help of Sandy and Graham, our tutors. They've helped me tremendously on the particularly tricky bits, like scary saw cuts (the potentially cut your finger off kind) and drilling hinges in at weird angles. There's a part of me that's a bit disappointed that I can't say that I've done this completely on my own, but I'm more relieved than anything else that I've just about got there in the end.   Some concessions have been made on the design aspect, as a lack of time and materials has meant that I couldn't quite accommodate everything that I set out to do. Perhaps I will feel better about it by the end of next week when all the inconsistencies have been sanded down and the gaps filled in, but at the moment, if I was truly honest with myself I'd have to say that I have mixed feelings about Stumpy.

The butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker.

All things considered, I am really looking forward to the Christmas break, and not just because I have an excuse wear fat pants and jim jams for a week solid. 

Ps: How terrible would it be if I tried to fob off the candlestick we made during bench skills this week as a Christmas present to someone? I am after all a poor student. 

Cold.

Eight weeks and this is all I've got to show for it folks.

The first of the snow has hit Scotland, and whilst its been very pretty, it hasn't been particularly warm, resulting in yours truly catching a spectacular cold. The workshop has been a frantic hive of activity in the last week, with everyone desperately trying to get their projects over the line before term ends in two weeks. The sight of me snivelling and hacking my way through the workshop has probably done nothing for the atmosphere, and I do feel quite sorry for my fellow course mates for having to put up with it all week! If I wasn't so worried that I might not finish on time, I would have spent the week in bed (and felt all the better for it), so its certainly made for a taxing week. One difficult week now over though and the base of the cabinet is now pretty much done (minor details like doors and back notwithstanding).

Look at the pretty patterns made by a shoulder plane.

The last two weeks of planing, gluing and sanding have resulted in the final curve needed for the top of the cabinet being finished this week - I probably would have gotten it done much quicker if it hadn't been for (a) the lack of wood and (b) my fear of the router. In an effort to avoid the blasted thing, the last curve was made entirely on the disc and bobbing sanders (even though I knew it probably wouldn't all fit), joined together with some more herculean sanding and with Graham's and Sandy's magic touch (I take no credit, but then again I have been sick). As much as I hate that blasted router and the amount of sanding I had to do in making the other curves, it was several times worse with this new method as none of these things were like the others or even consistent in the same block.  If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't!