Moving into the shop...Finally

It's been over a month since we first got the house we are moving in to. We got everything signed yesterday and started the process of moving. I have one load now out to the shop and hopefully if everything goes good I'll get the rest out there today and tomorrow. This shop is huge, I was walking around yesterday once I had my trailer unloaded and I still have so much room, it's going to take a while to get used to that. I'm going from a 20x20 shop to a 30x50. I'll be able to have two workbenches, one for students and my main bench. I have 2 lathes that can now be set up the way I want. It's a dream shop for me. I'm sure I'll fill it up with stuff eventually but man is it nice to have so much room.

Joplin, MO Tornando May 22, 2011

 Here are pictures of the devastation left behind in last nights tornado in Joplin. Joplin is about an hour away from me in Springfield. My cousin just moved in yesterday to a new house there and was unpacking and all that stuff when the tornado hit. My dad, brother, aunt and I, all went down today to help him patch up his roof with tarps and plastic the best we could.

 Until you have either been through a tornado or gone thru it in the aftermath pictures don't even begin to give you the magnitude of how much damage is really there. My cousin was extremely fortunate in that his house just lost shingles, broke windows and lost a couple trees. One street further south of him its completely a different story. Houses totally destroyed, trees laying through homes, cars and trucks flipped over and piled on top of one another. Its a very hard thing to look at, much less live thru.

As of this post there are 116 confirmed deaths. And so much destruction you can't believe it. My brother and I drove by what used to be Home Depot and theres nothing but rubble and twisted metal and over turned cars. You can see in the photo above what looks like a Ford Explorer is totally smashed.



Here is a picture of the same Ford Explorer and another Truck just like they were in a demolition derby.

 The Walgreens here has been completely gutted. As we drove by it you could see that there was nothing but collapsed trusses and bent metal inside.

This is a local lumber yard sign folded in half. The picture isn't real clear but the side you are seeing actually belonged on the other side. It just whipped around and bent. Unbelievable how strong this kind of thing is.

This car is down a street where every home was leveled. Imagine being in this kind of storm and how horrifying it would be to go thru it. Winds are said to have been 198 MPH and this picture proves that. A mid sized car tossed around and destroyed. I looked in the inside and the floor board was ripped up and setting half way on the seat.

This is the hospital where a ton of damage happened. If you look at the cars they are piled on top of each other. Just Unbelievable stuff.

As I was leaving this area I happened to look over and see this house. At least these people are ok. Man it's a hard thing to think about so many didn't get out.

Real Milk Paint

Since beginning to build furniture and mainly painted furniture, I have used a quite a few products to paint the pieces. I've done the latex paint with lacquer in between each coat, I've tried oil based paints and stain mixes but none have given me the quality and durability as Milk Paint. Milk Paint is a product used for thousands of years and is said to have been used by the Egyptians. It's a non-toxic and environmetally safe paint and as "Green" as you can get in the paint world.  I have used a few different brands of Milk Paint but one has really taken the top of the cake for me. Real Milk Paint brand is in my opinion, the best out there. It's tough as nails and really has an endless aray of colors (if you mix them).  I've tried it on an outdoor gate at my house and after a year outside in the elements I can't see any sign of chalkiness or streaking. I've used it on Windsor Chair for the last 2 years straight and had no issues whatsoever. The Real Milk Paint Co. has terrific customer service and are very helpful if you need info on a certain product  This is the stuff you want to use if you want a durable long lasting paint on just about any project. For more info on it go to http://www.realmilkpaint.com/

Upholstered Frame work

Here is how I make the frames for my upholstered chairs. It's mortised and tenoned at the critical joints, the seat and arm rails to the legs and the crest rail to the back legs, these joints take the most abuse so I think they need added strength, but I also use pocket screws to lock in the wings and pull thru areas ( the areas not taking such a beating over time). I have tested the strength of this method and have been very convinced it will hold up for more years than I will be around. I paint the legs with Milk Paint before the chair gets any fabric. If anyone is looking to make an upholstered chair there's alot of things an upholster needs for him to cover the piece. Once I finally figured out how to make everything for this chair (which by the way, was off of a photo with the chair covered in fabric, not easy to do), I made my patterns and came up with what I thought was a pretty good proportioned looking chair. Of course when it's covered, the cotton batting and all the fluff makes it seem a bit smaller but you still have plenty of room and I do have to say these chairs are extremely comfy.

Early American Life Magazine 2011

I recently found out I was chosen for the 2011 Top 200 Directory of American Craftsmen by Early American Life Magazine. I was chosen in 2010 for Windsor Chairs alone and this year, in the Painted and Formal Furniture as well as Windsor Chair categories again. I am also going to have my Thomas Jefferson Swivel Windsor shown in the Directory issue in August. I am so excited about that, the fine folks at EAL were kind enough to ask me and I couldn't be happier. The Directory is in it's 26th year and it is a honor to be accepted. Out of the no telling how many people they have send in work, only 200 get chosen and that's not only furniture, that includes Basket Makers, Needle Work, Pottery, Paintings, just to name a few. You can check out more by going to http://www.ealonline.com/ be sure to look for a copy on newsstands in August and support local artisans in your area.