An update

Well, I obviously haven't updated this blog in a while. The truth is life happens, and I found that while I like writing, I'd rather be out in the midst of the things happening around me then documenting them for a blog or social media (also the reason I'm not great at social media for still being in my twenties). But I've also decided to leave this blog page up so that those of you who care to see the things I have shared still have the opportunity to, and so those of you who don't know me get a little better sense of who I am. I love what I do, and I think that boyish enthusiasm comes through a little bit in my writings.

So I hope you enjoy the things I've written here, and the progress I post to Facebook and Instagram. And, of course, thanks for visiting my website!

Teaching and Work Space

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The last few months have been slow, as I've been trying to settle into new routines and keep in the shop. The last few weeks, however, have been a non-stop ride and I've enjoyed every moment. Two weeks ago I was working up in Warren, ME at the Lie-Nielsen Open House with my good friends whom I've traveled around doing the Hand Tool Events with. 5 Days in Coastal Maine is pleasant enough, but good company makes it even better. This past weekend was spent teaching my mother to make her first piece of furniture—a garden bench! I had plans to go with her to a class for Christmas, but when they cancelled the class we both thought, "hey, why not do it ourselves?" So we did. And she should be proud of the work she did. She was enthusiastic and hard working.

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These next two weeks I have the pleasure of being back at my alma mater, CFC, to teach Basic Woodworking with Peter Korn. I was there all last summer as an assistant, and I'm very glad to spend some more time up here in Rockport for another go. I'm excited!

When I return in two weeks I'll be moving into a new space and setting up shop there. I'm anxious to get in there and start work anew, but I'll enjoy the ride excitement and the small vacation up here in Maine for now.

I can't wait to get started tomorrow!

A New piece, A New space, & a little Lie-NielseN

After finishing a Settee for a client in the beginning of February, my wife and I relocated to Wayne, PA, just outside of Philadelphia. The move was for a number of personal reasons, but it has been a wonderful thing so far and I'm hoping it will continue to be. We went to college down here, and it's nice to be back.

I hope to get back into the shop within the next month or so. Having a little less time on my hands now I may take a bit longer to finish pieces, but I'm hoping to have a bit more fun with my work. I've gone back to coaching gymnastics and teaching pre-school music, and the problem, you see, is that I enjoy all three of my occupations very much. There's not one thing I want to stop doing. I mean, come on, I get paid to tell jokes to little kids and run around jumping on trampolines and playing guitar. Can you really beat that? 

As I said, I hope to be back in the shop in the coming weeks. Keep an eye out!

Some recent work and a Happy New Year!

As of late I've had some fun slabbing trees along side my furniture work. It's a thoroughly enjoyable experience to me, though I can't imagine it is for everyone. There's always been something about slinging around heavy objects and what other's consider to be heavy manual labor that I enjoy; it's the smells and the textures of materials, it's working outside and enjoying the weather, even if it is 20 degrees outside. The experience of work has always been more enjoyable to me than sitting in a classroom, and it's all the better when your laboring over a material you have an affection for. Cutting into a tree and finding something you didn't expect is a supremely fun thing to me. But hey, that's why I do what I do. This specific log of Red Oak I pictured had an interesting pattern to the grain I thought might interest some. I don't usually care all that much for Red Oak, but this is going to make a really neat table top one day.

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I also delivered a table to a client this past week, just in time for Christmas. The base was of Cherry, then was ebonized using quebracho bark powder to add tannins and a ebonizing solution. Cherry has a relatively high tannin content already, so for a lot of ebonizing situations you don't need the bark powder mix. This base, however, needed to be jet black, and the solution I used succeeded wonderfully. You can see the base before staining was done, and the final product is simply two coats of tannin powder mix and two coats of iron solution, with three coats of danish oil on top. 

The top is a bookmatched fiddleback sycamore flitch trimmed with a Wenge and Maple border. The slight curve on the underside of the edging gives the table a lightness as well as a soft feel, and brings it into the curvature of the bottom. When I delivered it I got a glimpse of it from about 15ft away perpendicular to the top and in the light they had it was even more mesmerizing than I had seen it to be. Really a nice flitch. The table is 60"x36"x30"—a standard size table for a family of 6.

And so, a Happy New Year from all of us here at E N Curtis Woodworks (that is, me and my St. Bernard)! Let's hope that I don't have to put my nephew back into my snow boots for a while!

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It's been a busy while...

Admittedly so. But such is life sometimes. It's been busy, tying up loose ends with old personal projects, starting new ones, and continuing on the journey. I'll make this short—though I promise to be back sooner then last time—and let you see some photos of what I've been doing rather than spell it out for you. Some carvings I finished up from the summer, some turnings I've been delving into, some model work, a box, etc. Small stuff. Perhaps next time I'll discuss refurbing my old rockwell lathe to workable form. Til next time!

Shows, Mirrors, and Veneers

The world is full of things to make from wood—you simply have to choose what you want to make yourself. It can be small or simple; it doesn't have to be a masterwork that people will revere in generations to come. Making a mirror for an entryway wasn't exactly small, but the process is sometimes more enjoyable because of its straightforward nature. Four corners, a piece of glass, and a little oil goes a long way. 

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A good friend of mine did some work that was a bit more involved over the summer. While I was up in Maine, Isabelle Moore, a fantastic maker from Scotland, was doing a fellowship at CFC. She was knocking out chairs left and right, and she culminated a long summer of work with a show at SUNY Purchase recently. I had the fortune to stop by and check out the event. 

Her work shows the breadth of her skill as a designer and a woodworker. She has the ability to think and work in different mediums, and varying shapes and line. Chairs of welded steel rod; maple rockers with sharp, chiseled features; hanging chairs with continuous curves and not a sharp edge to be found; some tall and wirey, others a more classical style. I was impressed with her range of thought, and already knew her skill as a craftsman.

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Now I sally forth into veneer work. Veneer work, you say? Like fake wood and press board? I thought you were a hand tool guy? First, let me assure you, my friends, that I am not hanging up the saw for the CNC. Veneer work, despite what some may think, can be a great deal of handwork, and in the way I work, it is. The four tools most used in doing this are a shooting plane, a veneer saw, a knife, and tape. No roaring engines there.

Second, some of us have some prejudices against veneer because of its overuse in the manufacturing world. Allow me to help you shelf those prejudices. Veneer is in fact real wood—it's simply wood that is sliced very thin. Even two or three hundred years ago they were cutting and using veneers. Indeed, some of the most intricate and cherished masterworks in the history of the craft are veneered pieces. By cutting the wood very thin, you can do things with veneers that you would never be able to accomplish with thicker pieces of wood because the thin nature of veneers negates wood movement. Designs are limited only by your imagination, rather than the limits of the natural material you work. Veneers, consequently, can be a lot of fun to work with.

Now I'm off to that silent serenity wherein I hear the whisper of the plane and the tearing of the... veneer tape. Onward!

A show this weekend and the goings on

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It's nice to make some smaller things. Something that takes from only a few minutes to just an hour or so, like a small turning. It's nice to break up the incredible difficulty and mental energy that goes into making such large pieces as what I usually make. There's the building of it, sure, but there's also the design, the planning, the purchasing, the fixing mistakes, the finishing, the photography, and the storage. There's a lot. This week I've been making a mirror frame for a client on Long Island for his entry way. Quartered oak is always lovely to work with.

This weekend will celebrate more of the small things. Sure, it's a huge amount of work to do a show, but that only bookends the weekend. At the New Paltz Arts and Crafts Show, there will be loads of makers selling all kinds of neat things of all mediums—pottery, molded christmas ornaments, soaps, jewelry, etc. Last year, I picked up a set of ceramic mushrooms for my garden. They were strange, but I also thought they were pretty sweet. If you're around the hudson valley, you should check it out, and be sure to stop by my booth.

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After this show weekend, I will be diving head first into a rather large job of 3 commercial desks and a small conference table. The mostly veneered pieces will be really lovely as I already have the curly maple, maple burls, and holly veneers I will use. 

Oh, and I thought you might enjoy this last picture. A good friend of mine sent it to me the other day from when we were in school together. This is me working on the demilune—ah, the awkward positions we put our bodies in for the love of our craft. And I still lie on my bench, too!