So I’ve been away from here for a while – this week I’m going to post some of the things I’ve made over the past two years. I got myself a sewing machine, and the first thing I made was a woodwork apron, complete with pencil pockets and somewhere for a tape measure and hammer. There’s an old belt to close it with, and it still does the job well.
I’ve generally moved away from actively seeking out illustration work for now (although if you’d like a piece made, get in touch!) as while there was a big surge in demand at the start of lockdown, nobody seems to have money for private commissions any more, and chat gpt came along and just knocked all those nails into the coffin. So instead, I’ve been working on mending and making, and I’ll show you what else I’ve made soon.
I started a new woodwork project last month – an oak sidetable, straight from the tree. Here’s the first leg, right before I took the bark off and planed it to shape. Once they’re finished, I need to cut some flat boards for the top and cut some dovetails – I’m aiming to get that done in the next month or so.*
So far this year I’ve managed a whole rack of woodwork projects, including a chessboard and pieces, a bike shed, a hefty big workbench, and some storage for all my paper, so I decided to take it easy for a bit.
No I didn’t! I realised the paper storage needed a friend. My drawing board is just too big for the room it’s in, and my art supplies are taking over the place, so I reckon a storage box with a smaller tilting desk on top will do the trick. So, I’ve got the plans, and I’ve got a big stack of timber. Step one: cut everything to size. Step two: realise the standard timber measurement is 2.4 metres. This includes my 2.4 metre shed, giving me immediate storage issues:
You might have noticed the footprints there – I have exactly enough space for myself there, which means the plywood there is going to have to bunk up in the bike shed while I build the frame because Scottish October says everything needs to stay under cover at all times. More updates soon!
So I seem to be scaling up my woodwork projects, and last year I was pruning a big branch out of our apple tree when I thought it would be nice to save the bigger pieces, let them dry out and see what I could make. Eventually I figured, why not give a chess board a try? With just hand tools? And a titchy workmate-style thing for a bench? That I have to set up in the back garden because my next project really needs to be Clearing the Shed… that’ll all work really well, right?
Four months later: February me was an idiot. But I did get there.
Did I mention I carved the pieces as well? Yeah I did that too, and hopefully without any further bloodshed here they are:
And I’m going to show off the inside because I’m nice and pleased with that too:
The hinges and spine of the ‘book’ are from an old bedside cabinet, and the rest of the frame and the black squares are oak from the shop. I didn’t have any dark stain, and can’t go out to buy any, so I ended up using shoe polish – I’ll have to see how that stands up to repeated handling. The pieces are all chiselled from apple branches, which I formed in an old worn benchhook and finished in a £5 bench vise from the supermarket. And the rest of the wood, including the white squares and pieces, were rubbed down with beeswax for a really nice finish before I finally got to break out the power tools to, uh, drill the screwholes.
Next time I will try and get time with some kind of table saw and powered sander, because hand-cutting 64 individual squares and then sanding every single one was the particular step that came nearest to breaking me. Unseasonal warmth to the rescue! February and March were dry, April was dry enough, and early May I was doing the finishing touches inside so that was fine.
