What Makes a Woodworker Grumpy?

What is it that causes a woodworker to be grumpy?  Is it when your hands are full of slivers from working with wenge?  No.  What about when you cut a piece 1/4″ short?  No.  Ah…I know…it’s when your wife asks “Aren’t you done with that yet?”  No, not even that phases a woodworker.

Here’s a hint.  What’s wrong with this photo?  Sure…not enough tools, but that’s not what makes me grumpy.  Yeah, you’re right, the bench isn’t big or solid enough, but I’m good at overlooking the fact that it walks across the floor as I plane hard maple.

No, the problem with this photo, and the thing that makes this woodworker grumpy is that I’M NOT IN IT!!!!!  It’s been weeks since I’ve been able to get any shop time.  I went into the shop this morning to get an Xacto knife.  You know what I found?  DUST on my workbench.  Is that sad or what?

My blog sits, somewhat between versions.  My shop is accumulating dust.  Yep, the thing that makes woodworkers grumpy is when they’re not woodworking.  Gotta do something about that.

Cheers — Larry

larry@woodnbits.com

Pay No Attention To The Man Behind The Curtain

If you check here regularly you may find some, shall we say, odd goings on.  Weird colors, bizarre alignments, things moving from here to there, disappearing, and new things popping up now and again.

It’s just me.  I’m going to be installing some new software and reorganizing this site.  This is a Quebec tradition though I’m a bit late in getting started.  The city generally turns our town upside down every summer, putting orange barrels and detour signs on every street.  I’ve decided this must be a fun game given the amount they spend on it so I’m going to try it here.  I do hope you won’t get as frustrated by this as I do by a 15 minute drive in Quebec City.   Sorry for the inconvenience.

Cheers — Larry

larry@woodnbits.com

Oh Happy Day – Lee Valley Fall Catalog

Do you ever have a day that starts you grumbling?  That’s how my day began.  I was sitting next to my second cup of coffee trying to figure out why my CSS-defined menu wouldn’t work the way it should and why the graphic behind it was disappearing.  Grrrr….grumble…grumble.

But a savior arrived.  No, it wasn’t someone who knew what they were doing.  It was the mail man.  And guess what he brought?  A message to Garcia… err… nope… wrong story.  It was a message from Mecca – a new Lee Valley catalog.  Ahhhhh… the day is going to be a good one after all.

If you’re not aware of Lee Valley’s great catalogs, I fear, my brother, that you’ll never be a woodworker.  Sending checks to Lee Valley is a woodworking tradition and one can never be part of the fraternity without taking part.  So, if you haven’t gotten yours in the mail, head to Lee Valley and order one of their great catalogs.  Did I mention that it’s FREE?  It isn’t, really, but they give you the catalog knowing that the checks will start arriving soon (grin).

I apologize for the quick snapshot.  Their catalog, of course, looks much better than this photo suggests.  They always do.  But who has time for setting up for photos whe you’ve just gotten a new LV catalog?  I’m sitting down with my third cup of coffee and I’m going to do some browsing.  That CSS problem can wait.

Cheers — Larry

larry@woodnbits.com