Missing in Action

It has been several months since I've posted anything. There are lots of reasons, many of which I would have written about here had there been time enough. I'll say just a few words now.

First, I attended the second Woodworking in America conference in St. Charles, Illinois, in August. That was a great conference and I learned a lot about furniture design. I had intended to write about individual sessions and speakers, but the time for that has long since passed, so for the most part I will have to be content with saying that it was a great conference and I am glad I attended. I did purchase several tools while there, the most important of which was the Veritas bevel-up smoothing plane. I've had just a little time to use it and it is a fine tool. I was also very impressed with Jeff Headley's Winchester desk, which he brought disassembled and put together during his presentation. I was so impressed, in fact, that I will be taking a class with Jeff next June and July to build one, along with three other friends from the Washington Woodworker's Guild.

Second, I took a part-time job with the Woodcraft store in Springfield, Virginia. I had never before done retail sales until I helped out with a Lie-Nielsen event last June. I discovered that I love working with customers (and tools, of course). I love this new job, despite the fact that it takes me away from woodworking and cuts into my free time for things like blogging. And I also like the employee discounts, which so far have greatly exceeded my meager wages.

Third, I bought a lathe two weeks ago, the Nova 1624-44. It is large enough to do bowls, which I hope to do eventually. But in the short term I will be making pens. I've always had a passion for pens (fountain pens, that is). Now I can combine that passion with my passion for wood and working with it. I'll be writing more about that in future entries.

Finally, I'm very involved with a men's organization called The Mankind Project, also known as New Warriors, which helps men get in touch with authentic masculinity. I'm an officer, trainer and newsletter editor for the Greater Washington group, which takes up a good deal of my time.

So there you have it, some of the reasons I have been absent from this space lately. I hope to be more regular in the future.

Norm