Archive for September 2014
Holly 435, with both her adopted yearling and her own cub. Photo courtesy of Tina Crowe, from the Park’s website.
When I first wrote about the Katmai National Park, some readers discovered bearcams for the first time. Katmai is well known for its bears … and you can watch them LIVE on the bearcams. Interested? Check them out, here.
In addition to the bearcams, the rangers keep up a commentary about the bears. Biologists have designated numbers, and even named some of the bears. There’s a book about the bears tracing their personalities and progress through the seasons.
Which brings us to 402’s yearling, who 402 abandoned when a male bear became amorous with her earlier this summer. Bear cubs typically stay with their mothers for 2 years, and the yearling would probably not survive the winter after 402 abandoned it.
Good news: the yearling found a foster family. This very unusual (but not unprecedented) arrangement is explained here. Enjoy this up close and personal look at one of nature’s wonders!
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Katmai National Park & Preserve
National Park Service: Katmai National Park & Preserve
National Parks Traveler: The Bears of Katmai
Yellowstone National Park, Uncle Tom’s Trail. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 9/8/14.
This is an image that will surely make any person pause that lives in a pyrrhic ecosystem like most of us in the western US. This is the view of the fire burning in Yosemite National Park, as seen from Washburn Point on Sunday evening, 9/7. Half Dome is clearly visible on the left side of the photograph. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 9/8/14.
St Mary Falls, Glacier National Park. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 9/5/14.
A rainy sunset at Yellowstone National Park. Photo by Manish Mamtani. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 8/20/14.
A pastel sunset at the Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuge. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 8/17/14.
Sunset over Glacier National Park, 8/30/14. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 8/31/14.
Yosemite National Park. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 9/2/14.
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The Perfect Sunset
My latest cycle of woodworking passion resulted in 13 cutting boards and cheese boards … and some that are whatever you think they are.
Small cutting boards are perfect for slicing a tomato or an onion … or for serving cheese & crackers. Therefore, I’m not going to define them. That will be up to their owners!
With that disclaimer, here are the new boards.
# 12 Cheese Board, $35. Black Walnut edge grain with Yellowheart and Hard Maple inlays.
Hard Maple end grain cutting board. 16″ x 20″ x 1-1/2″. Commissioned piece.
Hickory end grain board. 14″ diameter x 1-1/4″ thick. 20 degree cant on the edge.
# 31 Cutting Board, $40. Hard Maple and Black Walnut end grain board. 11-3/4″ x 8″ x 1″.
# 29 Cutting Board, $40. Hard Maple and Black Walnut end grain board. 7″ x 10-1/2″ x 1″.
# 30 Cutting Board, $40. Hard Maple and Black Walnut End Grain Board. 12-7/8″ x 8-3/8″ x 1″.
# 70 Cutting Board, $125. Hard Maple end grain cutting board. 12″ x 14″ x 1-1/2″.
Here are the new cheese & cracker servers just finished. Each have a cherry frame, with a cutting board insert made out of either hard maple or black walnut. Most of the cutting board inserts are end grain boards; one of the walnut boards is edge grain.
The servers are 10-1/2″ x 17-1/2″. The inserts are 6-3/4″ x 9-1/2″.
All will be at the SCV Junction this weekend. Come and see Mrs M’s Handmade at Heritage Junction, next to Hart Park. Or, if you don’t find your self in Santa Clarita, please check out the ladies’ site, MrsMsHandmade.com, or use this site’s Contact Us form. We will get back to you!
Cherry server, Hard Maple end grain cutting board insert.
Cherry server, Black Walnut end grain cutting board insert.
Cherry server, Hard Maple end grain cutting board insert.
Cherry server, Black Walnut end grain cutting board insert.
Cheese & Cracker Server # 91. Cherry with a Walnut insert. This design is one I won’t make again … I am going to tweak the design in 2015.
Cherry server, Black Walnut end grain cutting board insert.
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From The Shop: Cheese & Cracker Server
The design for this Cheese & Cracker Serving Tray published in Woodsmith issue # 214. Great design, I thought … but that’s a story for another day.
I made 6 of these servers. All have cherry frames, with the cutting board insert being either end grain hard maple, end grain walnut, or edge grain walnut. All will be for sale this weekend at the SCV Junction, which is the first fall event for Mrs Ms Handmade. See you there!
Here is the progression through 11 days in the shop.
First step: figure out the right angle for a table saw cove cut to get the right cove cut width.
With the temporary fence set up on the saw at the right angle …
… cutting the cove cut begins.
Multiple passes required to make the proper cove cut.
I’m making 6x of these servers in one cycle.
Sanding a cove cut requires a few tools.
This flap sander is great for sanding round cuts like this cove cut.
The two ends of the servers can now be cut apart.
Mark the positions of the end piece coves onto the side pieces so the holes drilled for the dowels will not intersect.
Each side piece gets drilled through in 4 places.
The end pieces are cut to a 30 degree angle on each side.
The side pieces are then cut to a matching 30 degree angle to fit against the end pieces.
The glue up of the server has to be done with pressure from 4 directions at once.
The side pieces were drilled for the dowels on the drill press; it’s now time to extend those holes into the end pieces.
The dowel holes are deep (up to the masking tape marker) so the cross-grain, glued-in dowel will add strength to the end/side glue joint.
Time to smooth the cutting board insert glue ups.
The ends of the sides and ends have to be cut away to reveal the handles.
A tall auxilary fence on the table saw makes this vertical cut a snap.
The outside of the frame is also cut to 30 degrees.
Round the handles on the bandsaw.
Shape the cutting board inserts to fit.
Sanding begins.
Nothing beats a sharp chisel for cleaning up hardened glue in a complex shape.
The hold down on the bench (the black thing holding down the edge of the server) is the best tool to hold the piece in place while the underside curves of the handle get cleaned up.
Sanding is never a snap. Dust collection helps, but I’m still covered in dust after sanding with seven different machines, working up through 5 different grits.
Mineral oil is always the finish of choice for a serving piece.
This photographic image by Erik Stensland was posted on the Rocky Mountain National Park Facebook page without his permission, and with copyright information stripped from the photo. It has been removed from this site at his request.
Please view his excellent photography on his website: Images of RMNP.
This weekend is Mrs M’s Handmade’s first event in a couple of months. The ladies have been working to develop some new formulations and new products … and I’ve been busy in the garage workshop, too.
One of today’s assignments: make business card holders for our new, uh, business cards.
Which brings us to today’s conversation.
He: I think the business card holders turned out well.
She: I really like them. I think you can sell them. How many did you make?
He: I made three. (editor’s note: there are 2 Mrs M’s and one Mr M, so there are three of us. Three.)
She: Three? You should have made more. I wanted one for my office.
He: You should have said something. I only made three.
She: You can make more. I want one for my office.
Sometimes, Labor Day is the gift that keeps giving.
