Charley's School Of Woodworking: Lesson #1-Straight Up Jigga

Google me this: What came first, the jig or the right angle?  You really need one to make the other and it had to start somewhere.  Find me a right angle in nature and I will send you a free t shirt. I don't care who you are.  They are out there but it took me a long time to find one.  You want a shirt? Show me the natural 90. It is the quintessential man made object.  It is what most separates us from nature.

First thing to do is build a jig.  I build jigs to build jigs. I have built mini jiglettes for jigs that I have made to make real jigs.  It's a good thing because if your jigs are tight, everything else falls into place.  And that is an especially good thing when you are routing in the dark.  It gets dark early in these parts, this time of year. Below is a picture of me routing this evening at the main or "upper" manufacturing facility.  I can only plug three things in at once.  Two routers and a radio.  Even though I can't hear the radio over the R rated scream of the router, it is comforting knowing some NPR bozo is yammering away somewhere. I don't need light, thanks to jigs.  I hardly need anything at all!

I set up the camera to give you a better idea of what it is really like.

rout

²    [rout]  Show IPA–verb (used with object)1. to hollow out or furrow, as with a scoop, gouge, or machine

 The benches I am making in the dark, cold rain are going to be boss.  Honkin' dovetails, tight, tight grain, and a weighty girth.   A real bench's bench. 

It ain't easy being interested in everything.  The diameter of my focus is manipulated by a flood of opportunities that each hold their own significant importance.  Actually, "diameter of focus" implies a foolish consistency that is not accurate.  The profile of my focus is more nebulous, morphing to accommodate the ebb and flow of priorities.  Oh, the list I could write!  My old buddy James, from college used to keep a credit card sized piece of paper in his wallet with tiny key words for jokes scratched into it so he could remember them.  It was funnier than the jokes.
Well, that is how my "to do" list reads right now.


Below are a few random images from a project I have been working on.

Color sample for the Three bench.  Milk paint on bamboo, shellac and wax.

Rude drawing of Three Bench.  I drew it after the bench was finished to make a show submission more interesting. Faking history. Fabricating a story. Its all a big lie. I saw a kid at Pratt scribbling on a cocktail napkin right before he had a presentation.  He tacked it to the board and the teachers were intrigued.  Suckers.  

Spooky photo of the almost finished Three Bench

Flip side of the color sample.  This is a blotch of milk paint.  A controlled spill.  We went with the stenciled circle.  It was prettier.  Less of a statement.  I do love this sample though.