Doug Marples Shop

Today’s Follow Friday is Doug Marples, who was featured several months ago in our Show Us Your Shop column in our February 2013 issue of Wood News. Doug’s primary focus is making violins and violas in his Marples Violins shop in Lawrence, Kansas, where he makes about 8-10 concert quality instruments per year.

From his website, we learned that Doug has not always been in the instrument business, and before calling his shop his everyday workspace, he was a Doctor for 23 years. He switched careers and graduated from the Violin Making School of America in Salt Lake City in 2007, and now works full-time in instrument making. His work is inspired by the many great Italian violin makers including the Amati family, Gasparo da Salo, Antonio Stradivari, Giuseppe Guarneri ‘del Gesu’ and JB Guadagnini.

To learn more about Doug Marples, you can visit his website HERE and Like his Facebook page HERE.

Front of violin before varnish.

Back of violin before varnish.

Finished products.

The post Follow Friday: Doug Marples appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

Two months ago we blogged about The Little Free Library, a nationwide community movement project that involves the creation of a birdhouse-sized structure that is placed in your front yard and then filled with books that can be shared with others in your neighborhood. Over the past few weeks Highland Woodworking owner, Chris Bagby, and his wife Sanne have been putting together their own Little Free Library for their front yard. Sanne has been keeping track of their progress and we wanted to share their process of building a Little Free Library.

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There are two Little Free Libraries in our neighborhood. I recall my delight when I “discovered” the first one. Just across the street from a little park, I spied a curious white box. I crossed the street to investigate, and much to my surprise, it was a “Little Free Library.” I selected a book and took it home with me. When I got home, I searched the internet to learn more. What a marvelous not-so-little movement! Weeks later, I discovered the second one – a bit further away but was no less delighted with it. Right then and there, I vowed to join the effort. Our block is filled with children and lots of adults who read, as well. We even have several authors!

The basis of our Little Free Library.

Prepping and Removing the Base

Base Removed.

Sanding all surfaces.

Removing the dust.

Applying the 1st coat of primer.

Painting.

Artwork design planning.

The post Project Update: Building a Little Free Library appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

Frank Allan

One of the greatest things we can do as woodworkers and hobbyists is to share our passions with others. There are many organizations throughout the world that provide the opportunity to get started in woodworking and are geared toward people who either don’t have the resources to be able to get started, or who may have never thought to give it a try.

Two of these organizations are The Work of Our Hands and The Mikell Folk School, both based in Georgia and founded by Frank Allan, a former bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta and longtime woodworker and customer of Highland Woodworking. A few weeks ago, Frank stopped by our store and I had the opportunity to chat with him and find out a little more information about his wonderful organizations dedicated to furthering the art and love of woodworking within the community. Below is Part 1 of our conversation, where Frank discusses his start in woodworking and his first organization, The Work of Our Hands:

Highland Woodworking: How long have you been in GA?

Frank Allan: I was born outside of Chicago and lived some in Miami. We came to GA when I was about 9 years old during World War II. My Father was stationed at Oak Ridge and we came here to be closer to him. When the war ended he came back to Atlanta and worked as the Director of Operations at Emory, and so we stayed here.

HW: When did you first become interested in woodworking and how did you get started?

FA: I have always been interested in woodworking. My father had an old Sears scroll-saw sitting down in the basement so I got it and started doing things with it, like making toys for my grandchildren. Later I went off to the John Campbell Folk School where I did wood turning  and then my office staff gave me a jet-lathe for Christmas. I have been doing that for about 15 years. I thought I was too old to do that and then I met Ed Moulthrop who was 80 years old and still wood turning. I asked him “how much of the day do you do this?” He said “well 8 hours a day.”  He has a son named Phillip, who is one of the really great wood turners. They have a lot of their wood turning in the Smithsonian and the Museum of Art in NY. They make things you can fit a human being into. For these projects he had to make his own lathe and own tools because what they were doing was too big for the normal size tools. They also have a secret finish that they use. It is very expensive stuff.

HW: What is your favorite piece that you have made?

FA: When I was younger I built a classic sailboat and I could not get it out of the basement. We had to tear out the storm shutter to get it out.

In terms of wood turning I made a chess set and turned all the pieces. I think my greatest accomplishment was the chessboard. There is a way to make it where everything fits together perfectly. My grandchildren all play with it whenever they come over. I have 9 grandchildren and will have to decide who gets it. We might have to draw straws for it. I have done some shaker projects too.

HW: How did The Work of Our Hands get started?

FA: After I retired, I thought about what I wanted to do with my woodworking hobby. I thought about my John Campbell experience and I wanted to build upon that experience. The folk school experience comes out of the Danish folk school from the 19th century. It transformed the countryside of Denmark, which was very poor at the time, and the concept brought the skills of these rural people together and they trained. And lots of people did it and people made money and so forth. So that was what I was interested in and I thought how can you translate that into an urban setting so we can deal with inner-city poor people? And so I helped start The Work of Our Hands, which consisted of two arts and craft centers. The first is The Friendship Center at Holy Comforter Episcopal Church in the Ormewood neighborhood of Atlanta and the other is at Emmaus House near Turner Field in Atlanta.

At Holy Comforter we work primarily with people with mental disabilities. People who have addictions and so forth. And then we have some neighborhood people who come as well.  And at Emmaus House we work primarily with inner-city families and children. To start the programs we raised money and then bought all of the lathes from Highland Woodworking and then equipped the centers with the lathes, band saws, and a lot of other tools.  The Georgia Wood Turners also gave the Work of Our Hands a lathe for our wood turning shop at Emmaus House, which was delivered by Harvey Henson who came back every Saturday to teach the young people in our Saturday program.

My goal has been to allow these people to gain skills that are marketable. Some of them get good enough to be able to make bowls and sell them. The Work of Our Hands used to run a gallery in Buckhead where we sold the pieces that people made on consignment, and the artists were able to make money when their pieces sold.

Later instead of the gallery, some of us figured there was a better way to get exposure and sell these pieces. We started a craft show/artist market at the Cathedral of St. Phillip, which runs the week before Thanksgiving. We make more money in four days than we ever made doing our gallery. Half of it goes to The Work of Our Hands and the other half goes to the artists who submitted their work.

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To make a tax-deductible donation to the Work of Our Hands, please visit the following link HERE.  And don’t forget to be on the look out for the continuation of our interview with Frank Allan next week, where we discuss the Mikell Folk School.

The post Woodworking in the Community Spotlight: Bishop Frank Allan and The Work Of Our Hands Part 1 appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

Denis Hermecz

On today’s Follow Friday we have the work of Denis Hermecz, a woodworker from Silverhill, AL, who we featured in our Show Us Your Woodcarving column in the May 2013 Issue of Wood News. Throughout his woodworking years, Denis has created a variety of pieces including cabinets, nightstands, and bookshelves, and lately he has been focusing on woodcarving.

In an interview he did with Woodworking Network, Denis discussed how he started his career in woodworking. In order to earn money for school, he worked as an apprentice boat builder, where he was able to find a passion for the craft. In college, he majored in English and like a lot of people do when they graduate, he focused in getting a career where he could use his major whether it be as a Writer or English Teacher.  He didn’t realize it right away, but once he figured out he could make woodworking into his career, he was set on his path.

Carved Mirror Frame

My favorite piece that Denis shared with us is the mirror frame that he custom made for a client who had already installed the mirror that she wanted the frame to fit. The process that Denis used to carve this piece is also very interesting:

“I drew the vines directly on the assembled rectangular frame. I cut out the shapes with a Bosch sabre saw and I carved most of the shapes with a Bosch 12000 rpm side grinder–an extremely versatile tool. There is some carving done with hand held chisels out of my mixed bag of old chisels, but I try to design a big piece like this one so that hand carving is minimized. I sand a lot of the pieces like this one with Festool random orbit sanders and some with a Fein multitool sander.”

The frame takes up an entire wall at 54″x103″, and a lot of the vine work that Denis put into this piece was freestyle form, which is what I think makes this piece stand out to me.

Below are a few more pieces that Denis has made. If you would like to see more of his work, you can visit his website HERE.

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Fridays on the Highland Woodworking Blog are dedicated to #Follow Friday, where we use this space to further highlight a woodworker or turner who we have featured in our monthly e-publications Wood News or The Highland Woodturner. Would you like for your shop to appear in our publications? We invite you to SEND US PHOTOS of your woodworking shop along with captions and a brief history and description of your woodworking. (Email photos at 800×600 resolution.) Receive a $50 store credit redeemable towards merchandise if we show your shop in a future issue.

The post Follow Friday: Denis Hermecz appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

ON A BRIGHT SPRING MORNING in the spring of 1978, Chris and Sharon Bagby opened the doors at Highland Hardware for the first time. Now 35 years later, they’re still in business operating the store that grew to become Highland Woodworking as we know it today. It’s been a long journey that could not have been accomplished without the support of countless thousands of loyal customers, many of whom have shopped here almost from the beginning.

Throughout these 35 years there have been many exciting additions and changes, but one thing has always remained the same and is our mission to deliver fine tools to your door.

Here is a timeline history of some milestone events that have happened over the past 35 years!

May 15th, 1978: Owners Chris and Sharon Bagby open Highland Hardware at 1034 North Highland Ave (across the street from its current location), an ordinary hardware store in Midtown Atlanta.

1980: The company begins to offer a weekend seminar program in their basement, bringing in woodworking masters like Tage Frid, Sam Maloof, and Roy Underhill.

1984: The store moves to a larger retail space across the street at 1045 North Highland Ave (and its current home today). The seminar program  moves to a warehouse located behind.

1992: Our product-oriented newsletter, Wood News, merges with our woodworking tool catalog, and comes out 2-3 times per year as a physical publication. Our catalog is still published to this day, which you can subscribe to receive by mail HERE.

1995: The building is renovated to add 8,000 square feet to the store, which includes a brand new seminar/classroom space, a larger shipping/receiving area including a loading dock, a larger back office space, and additional floor space for retail sales.

1996: Highland Hardware launches into the World Wide Web at www.highlandhardware.com.

2005: Wood News begins as a monthly email newsletter with tools, tips, and monthly features highlighting woodworkers from around the world. Subscribe to Wood News HERE.

2006: Highland Hardware becomes Highland Woodworking. Still under the same ownership and still offering the same great service, we wanted to present a truer reflection of the nature of our tool offering and our position in the woodworking industry.

2013 (Present Day): Chris and Sharon are still involved in the everyday operation of our store and with a highly knowledgeable staff we are continuing to deliver fine, quality tools to your door.

As always, with passing years comes even more additions and  technology. We invite you to continue checking out all of our new and exciting offerings by continuing to follow our Blog, like us on Facebook, tweet us at Twitter, hang out with us on Google+, or pin your favorite tips and tools on Pinterest.

From the entire Highland Woodworking family, we thank you for your continued support!

Sincerely,

Chris Bagby, Owner

The post Happy 35th Birthday Highland Woodworking! appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

by J. Norman Reid
Delaplane, VA

In the May issue of Wood News, J. Norman Reid gave us a thorough rundown of the steps needed to get your hand planes to perform at their peak. So whether you’ve recently purchased a new plane that you’ve been drooling over for awhile, or you’ve spent some time restoring an older plane back to working condition, this article has the answers you’ll want to achieve those wispy shavings we all aspire to.

CLICK HERE to read the article.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the May issue of Wood News.

The post Seven Steps to Peak Handplane Performance appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

We’ve made it to Friday! Today’s #FollowFriday is WinterHawk, who was featured in our May 2013 Wood News Show Us Your Shop column. WinterHawk lives and has his shop in the country woods of Templeton, PA, about 40 miles north of Pittsburgh.

WinterHawk’s woodsy shop exterior

WinterHawk specializes in creating Native American Style Flutes. He became inspired to start making the flutes after spending many years of teaching Lakota drumming and holding Native American Gatherings, where the flutes and drums would often be played, along with rattles and shells.

Flute Montage

To find out more about WinterHawk’s woodworking methods and to view more pictures of his work, please visit his website HERE.

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Friday’s on the Highland Woodworking Blog are dedicated to #Follow Friday, where we use this space to further highlight a woodworker or turner who we have featured in our monthly e-publications Wood News or The Highland Woodturner. Would you like for your shop to appear in our publications? We invite you to SEND US PHOTOS of your woodworking shop along with captions and a brief history and description of your woodworking. (Email photos at 800×600 resolution.) Receive a $50 store credit redeemable towards merchandise if we show your shop in a future issue.

The post Follow Friday: WinterHawk appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

The dining room table is complete, delivered and installed. It was great to finally see it setup at the client’s house! Before it was packed up, I had a good friend take photos. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. Many long hours poured into the whole project and it was worth the effort!

[You can click any photo for a larger version.  Click it again for full-page.]

The post Morton’s Shop: Dining Room Table Complete – Final Pictures! appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

We try to keep up with a lot of woodworking blogs here at Highland, and one of our favorites is Chris Schwartz’s blog over on the Popular Woodworking website, where he recently discussed the use of toothbrushes in Canadian woodworking and how they are used a bit differently than in the US. To sum it up, you want to be sure that you know where your toothbrush has been before using it for its normal purpose of keeping your teeth clean.

This technique was demonstrated at one of Chris’s classes at Rosewood Studio in Ontario, Canada, where Chris recently taught his Anarchist’s Toolchest class this past April. Check out the looks of concentration that Hans, one of the students, demonstrates while completing the glue-up of his carcass.

The post Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush! appeared first on Woodworking Blog.

Chris Adkins

Today’s Follow Friday is Chris Adkins, someone you may already be familiar with, who has recently become a large presence in today’s woodworking community. Along with Dyami Plotke and Tom Iovino, Chris has helped bring a new following to woodworking as a founder of the Modern Woodworkers Association, an online community founded in 2010. The MWA was started “as a way to organize woodworkers participating in online communities, help spread the word about the network of woodworkers and the knowledge they share, help connect people, who share a love of the craft both online and off, and build a framework for growing the craft for the future.”-MWA Website.

In our April Wood News, we featured Chris in our popular Show Us Your Wood Carving column. Chris is a third generation woodworker based in Atlanta, GA, whose “day job” is a general contractor. Although he doesn’t call himself a wood carver, his beautiful Tree Box (seen below) begs to differ. This project started out as just a 1 day box project that he was making to practice his dovetail cutting, and then he decided to add the tree carving at the very end. The tree design was cutout with a scroll saw and then carved through a combination of hand carving and a Dremel Tool with a carving bit attachment.

Tree Box

Paul Sellers, lifestyle woodworker and Founder of the New Legacy School of Woodworking, mentioned Chris and the MWA in one of his blog posts about a recent visit he made to Atlanta. Click HERE to read the blog and more about Paul Sellers. While he was in town, Paul even participated in one of the popular Modern Woodworkers Association’s Podcasts, where he and Chris discussed his work, his background, and how to get younger people involved in woodworking.

To find out more information about Chris Adkins, you can visit his High Rock Woodworking website HERE. His website features lots of great links to articles, videos, and projects on all things woodworking.

Follow Chris’s individual Twitter HERE, and the Modern Woodworkers Association HERE.

ABC Cube made of Maple, Oak, and Chestnut, that also acts as a rattle.

The post Follow Friday: Chris Adkins of High Rock Woodworking and Modern Woodworkers Association appeared first on Woodworking Blog.