thoughts from the wrong side of the brain

Rikon Bandsaw Model 10-345: Big Problems

2010-11-09T07:20:00.000-08:00

Woodworkers spend a lot of time figuring out what to buy. This post is for those considering a bandsaw. I have never been more disappointed in a tool purchase than with my Rikon bandsaw. Nor can I...

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A Tale of Two Cabinets

2009-10-30T10:18:00.001-07:00

James Krenov, who just passed away in October (2009), taught an entire generation of woodworkers to converse with wood; to listen and respond with a thoughtful approach; the dialog informing the very...

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A Thousand Measureless Minutes

2009-05-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

Tim slid down the chute feet first. Now, there was no going back, no return. The lip was four feet above the black pool and there was no way to reach it once plunged into the darkness. The sides were...

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Yin and Yang Vase

2009-03-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

For the last several days the trees at the office have been getting trimmed. Wood is scarce here on the high plains and I couldn't let good hardwood be turned into mulch so I snagged a nice piece of...

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The New President - An Historical Perspective

2009-01-22T07:07:00.000-08:00

Regardless of your politics, ideology, religious beliefs, or affiliation there is a element of this election that reaches beyond simple history. This event is one of those foundational movements in...

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The Cabinet - Failures and Illusions

2009-01-09T18:52:00.000-08:00

"As a perfectionist, you exist only so long as you are tying to make that perfect piece: on second thought, "perfect" is perhaps not quite what I mean, since the very word implies something beyond...

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Shop - design and a cabinet

2008-11-26T10:01:00.000-08:00

Producing interesting new work is generally accomplished by pushing one's boundaries, experimenting, and focusing on the creative process; however, the goal is seldom attained on each new project....

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Shop - oak and leather headboard- post two

2008-10-30T16:41:00.001-07:00

With the two rails of the headboard complete I also needed make the stiles, which also held the leather panels. This connection requires little strength so a lap joint is sufficient. I milled these...

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Shop - oak and leather headboard - post one

2008-10-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

Design, it seems, never comes easy. It's difficult to just sit down and create; to bring an the feel of an idea into reality. In addition, when money and so much time and effort go into the final...

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Shop - a simple box

2008-10-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

I had some scrap maple taking up space and had been thinking about making a small box with it. Those thoughts turned into this. This design is superb, but I can't claim the idea of this simple box....

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Shop Made Picture Frames - MDF - post three

2008-10-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

By far the easiest, cheapest, and most numerous frames that I make are made out of MDF. Medium-density fiberboard is an engineered wood product made by breaking down softwood into wood fibers and...

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Shop made picture frames - post two

2008-10-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

I thought that I would do a series on picture frames having done the previous post. I get a fair number of hits on the blog for woodworking. Oddly enough wood movement seems to be the most popular....

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Shop made picture frame

2008-09-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

Tammi painted a landscape for me from our Yellowstone vacation of which I'm very fond. This picture does not do it justice, but you'll get the idea. Early one morning near the end of our vacation we...

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Beef Basin and the Anasazi

2008-07-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

In June the grass grows tall and straight in Beef Basin. It rises from the red clay and the white sand and on strong heads and bares its fruit; lush and green in great waves it bows to the wind as it...

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David Lavender...a Connection

2008-06-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

When I first walked into Lavender Canyon and began to find out who it was named for (and later found differently) I certainly didn't know I would discover that David Lavender and I had a connection...

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The Desert and the Anasazi - Lavender Canyon

2008-05-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

The cliffs and mesas on the Colorado Plateau are a unique place with unique qualities. The red walls peel away memory – the memory of other places, of other times, and even the memory of self until...

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Ishi

2008-02-02T07:56:00.000-08:00

I was in a used bookstore in Gunnison not too long ago and found a book I've been interested in reading for a while. Published in 1961, the book is a fascinating account that terminates a part of...

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The Department of State and Me

2007-10-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

On October 13th, just after lunch, someone from Reston VA did a Google Search for "artis brazee". They found, among other things, my Blog. They spent about 8 minutes on "thoughts from the wrong side...

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Sign of the times (at a college!)

2007-10-20T08:44:00.001-07:00

We went down to Gunnison to see Erin this weekend. It was parents weekend. Western is a small school - about 2000 or so and it has a small town feel. At the football game the half-time "event" was...

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Water - part two

2007-10-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

The sand and tall reed grass broke my fall. I rolled down the bank, the dry sand mingling with the sweat. I could smell the earthy scent of the water; a forgotten smell, a smell foreign to these...

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Water - part one

2007-09-29T09:26:00.000-07:00

I had been walking in the desert among the mesas and canyons for five days. This was the last day. As I set off my shirt rubbed coarsely against my flesh. The water that cooled me throughout each day...

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Comb Ridge - Post Six, recent and recomended

2007-09-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

If you're interested in Comb Ridge this book; Sandstone Spine, by David Roberts is a good introduction. This is the book that led me to Comb Ridge. It is the story of Climber David Roberts, climber...

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Comb Ridge - Post Five, Butler Wash

2007-09-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

Butler Wash parallels Comb Wash like two wild-eyed stallions bent on some distant finish line; neither fast enough to pass the other. Nostrils flared, both rush toward the San Juan River to the...

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Comb Ridge - Post Four, Comb Wash Thoughts

2007-09-09T18:53:00.000-07:00

Link to satellite map I woke up in the shadow of the ancient ones, their leaves still in the dark early morning air. Orion to the east stood on the back of Comb Ridge. I wondered by what name the...

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Comb Ridge - Post Three, Fish Creek

2007-09-09T08:00:00.001-07:00

The name Fish Creek implies water and indeed the creek does have water, but it does not flow in the traditional sense. However, there is enough water that most of the pools aren't stagnant, but are...

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