Happy Holidays 2011

It's been a roller coaster year! Christmas sales have been pretty good and we thank all of our wonderful customers for that. There some lucky carvers out there and Santa was thinking about you.

Stay tuned for the new year as we have some new products and accessories coming out.

We will be at the Coastal Carvers Show in Lincoln City on the Oregon Coast the second weekend in January.

And special thanks to Shawn Cipa for the nice article in the Winter 2011 Woodcarving Illustrated.

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Solctice - however and whatever you and your family clebrate - we wish you all the best from GRIP-ALL JAWS!

An Astoria Suprise

My wife and I were wandering the wilds of downtown Astoria, Oregon on the 3rd of December. The old Lovell Auto Dealership has been turned into a local artist's market in the showroom and the shop area is now the Fort George Brewery... but I digress.

We went down a block and strolled Commercial Street which was alive with folks a-shopping and strolling. We chanced upon the RiverSea Gallery - it's right on the main drag. This shot was later in the evening with the lights on.

The RiverSea has always been a world-class gallery in a beautiful old building but what did we notice but a display of the exciting works of  carver and Grip-All Jaws user Rob Artman.

This is the piece by the door that caught my eye.



...And another fine mask. That machine on the floor is a programmable, self-propelled, ion powered, reticulating...oh, I have no idea what the heck it is. But it was really cool and I liked it!

The style is called "Steampunk" and it puts old things to new use.

You may have seen this Asian-looking mask before if you are regular visitor to the blog and it's still stunning in person.

It was wonderful to see Rob's pieces in that beautiful, up-scale setting. And if you are in Astoria, stop and see the RiverSea. 

The Northwest Wood Carvers Assn. Show and Sale

Grip All Jaws went to the Puyallup Show. That's what everybody calls it around here. The good news is that is was held in the restaurant building of the Washington State Fairgrounds. The bad news is none of the eateries were open!

This was a juried show as well as a having vendors of tools, supplies, and accessories. For example:

Drake Knives had a booth next to ours and they always do pretty well at these events. Gil makes really exquisite knives and palm chisels.

In the second picture, he has just reshaped and sharpened a tool for a customer. Gil and Bonnie are great people deal with and have a great product. If you carve, you can't do better than a Drake Knife.

Pat McCune and Cecily Bishop were carving Northwest Native works with traditional-style tools. Pat is carving a Thunderbird mask from a large piece of Red Cedar with a traditional hook knife.

One of the Best in Show winners was this Orca Moon Mask by Shannon Finch of Fife, Wa. The circle was about 24 inches across and the white pegboard doesn't do it any justice but it was a beautiful piece. 

John Nickerson of Graham, Wa. glued actual walnuts in between the top and bottom layers and made them the feature ring of this turned bowl.

Bob Harkness was the featured artist this year. That stage coach diorama was amazingly detailed!

R.P. Myers demonstrates the Orbital Holding System to a young couple at our booth. As evident by these two folks, people really enjoy talking to R.P. and he enjoys talking to people. As it turned out, she was the carver and bought an Orbital. Thanks, you guys and happy carving!

The weather for the weekend was not the best - it rained. But, of course we realize this is the Pacific Northwest. Look for us at the Coastal Carvers Show in Lincoln City on the beautiful Oregon coast. That's coming up in January.

Come by and say hi!

Wine - A Gentle Balance

You have seen these things all over the place. They won't stand up on their own but put a bottle of wine in the hole and - like magic - it stands up.

These are easy to make and you can make all kinds of shapes and use woods that are beautiful but too small for other things.

The important dimension is the distance from the edge point to center of the hole and the 36 degree angle. The 1 1/4 inch thickness is not mandatory but sort of a minimum.  

There is some real math involved here in calculating the force vectors and weights. The idea is to get the center of gravity just right with a bottle in place. So you could change the angle but that would mean you have to change the distance to the center hole.

Experiment with some scraps and see what you can come up with. 

The Artists' Easel Debuts at the All Oregon Calligrapher's Conference

We showed off the Artist's Easel at AOCC and it was way cool. We'll have more on this new product soon.

A Dust Free Dust Mask

A dust mask is a good thing for woodworkers and is really essential for some woods like Cocobolo, Kingwood, and many of the tropical woods. We are told that it is especially necessary for working gourds.

But there is little point in paying 20, 30, 50 dollars or more for a good filter mask and leave it out in the open air - even in a cabinet.

Here is one idea from a fan. He keeps his in a CD/DVD box made by Sterilite. It costs around $6.00 and has a lid that fits tightly and has latches on either side.

And as he put it, "You can drill a couple of holes in the bottom, and screw it to the wall next to where you use it so it will always be there."

Good idea! What good is a dust mask that's full of dust?

Seattle Woodcraft Woodworkers' Show

Mark your calendar - unless, like me you can't remember where you put the calendar!! October 7th, 8th, and 9th will be the Really Big Show at Seattle Woodcraft in South Seattle.

The Seattle Woodcraft store is one of the most successful in the country. Ron and Michele put on a big ol' swa-ree every year and this is the 9th.

Grip-All Jaws will be there showing our whole line of work holding apparatuses, apparati, apperatae, uh...holding devices.

Come on by and say hi if you are in the Seattle area that weekend. It's easy to find. Seattle Woodcraft is at the north end of Boeing Field. Go along I-5, north or south, and take the Corson Ave. exit from either direction. It's in the shopping center just before the Michigan St. signal.

You just might get to try to try to talk over the roar of a landing jet. That's pretty cool!

Finishing with Super Glue

If you are looking for a really great, hard, durable, shiny finish for turning projects,  try cyanoacrylate glue - that's super glue to you and me. It's quick and suprisingly easy. I sort of just started doing this as a way to finish pens. No other finish lasts as long or stays as bright and clean. It is, after all an acrylic plastic.

So here is how I do it.

Adjustable Bench

I don't like going to the dentist and really, does anybody? But you have to admit that dentist's chairs are pretty cool when it comes to "adjust"-ability. In this example, this heavy work bench is made out of a piece of laminated beam with a shelf underneath. The whole thing is bolted to a dentist's chair mechanism. It swivels and goes up and down. There is also a brake that locks it in place as you swivel it.

Of course barber's chairs work remarkably well as bench bases, too. Luthier Michael Sanden from Sweden made this one from a barber chair he had in his own barber shop. It too, swivels and the lever pumps it up and down.

You can find these old chair mechanisms online for a few hundred bucks but the proliferation of tattoo parlors has driven the price up. You still find them at flea markets and even in old barber shops. But it's a neat way of getting the ultimate adjustable stand for the ultimate adjustable workholding tool - Grip-All Jaws.

Lining Gourds with Paper

We asked Stacy if she would demonstate her lining technique and she very nicely consented. So here is what she does.

Make Your Own Measuring Guage

As a machinist, I often used a measuring gauge or surface gauge for comparing and layout work. It's just a base, and a riser that holds a pointer and slides up and down on a shaft.

Mine was a Starrett and cost about 200 clams - though I seemed to remember they actually preferred money to mollusks. But they are designed for a scriber since you are etching on metal after first coating it with Prussian Blue dye. I had to make an adapter to use a common pencil on my expensive surface gauge.

Well here is an easy way to do that and costs a couple of bucks - maybe.

This one is made from plywood, hardwood, HDPE, heck you could use pretty much any stable scrap material. And as a seasoned, expert craftsperson we know you keep good scrap for just such occasions.

We won't show how to make one here, but click on the link to go to the Documents section of our web site and get a pdf copy.

Note: You may need to turn off your popup blocker to download the file.

Happy marking!

Quick, I Need a Pattern for an Oval!

One situation was making an oval shaped pattern for a mirror frame. Another was an oval that would be the background for a relief carving.

Circles are easy - find the center, jab the compass point in and have at it. But ovals, you get close and then hope the artist or draftsman in you can make it look even.

You can plot them and I remember doing that in trig class but how about a simple solution?

Remember making paper snowflakes - you fold the paper, make a few cuts...? It's like that.

In this case, you figure out how big you want your oval, take a piece of paper that is a bit bigger, fold it in half on the short axis, fold it in half on the long axis, draw 1/4 of the oval, cut it out, unfold, and Voila! There is your template.

For an explanation with pictures click here.

As they say, it works every time!



The Washington State Gourd Festival 2011

For the weekend of July 16 and 17 we went to the gourd festival put on by the Washington State Gourd Society. This was only their second show and was held in the central Washington city of Moses Lake. The economy had an effect on attendance as there were fewer vendors and attendees than last year but we enjoyed it.

At the Grip-All Jaws booth current State Gourd Society president Stacy Annon demonstrates how she makes marbled linings for her gourd purses and bags. They are made of tissue paper and we will have a video on this. BTW she is using the new Orbital Artist's Easel.

When we introduced the Grip-All Jaws Orbital Holding System we had never heard of gourd art. All of Grip-All Jaws products are, or originally were, designed for carvers and sculptors. But we always tell people that literally anyone who needs to hold an irregular shape would find the Grip-All Jaws a great help for that.

But we sell more Orbitals to gourd artists than any other market. Here are some examples from the show.

   

A Three-Point Perspective

Sometimes you have a piece of nice wood that is art in itself. This is a slice of burl that wasn’t good for much so I sanded it smooth and finished it with wipe-on polyurethane. It will make a nice display platform for a future piece – a bowl or carving or something. But I didn’t particularly want to make legs or feet because…well, I just didn’t feel like making them.

You don’t need to be a mathematician to know that three legs are more stable than two or four. Three points of contact will not wobble. It's more practicality than Pythagoras.

But while looking for something else in the house one day, I came across these little glass things. They are round-ish – sort of – and have a flat side. Three of these babies and we have our feet and they’re only about a 1/4” high.

I glued them on with clear silicone adhesive. I used Liquid Nails brand but there are others. Put a small dab in the center of each one and press it into place. Place them as far as is practical each from the others. You have lots of room to move around here but, generally spread them wide.

And there you go. BTW I got these glass things at the Dollar Tree and for a buck I got enough to do 32 projects. That's pretty cost effective.

Marking on Dark Materials

I often use dark woods like Walnut and Cocobolo. When laying out and marking on dark woods you can sometimes get away with using a pencil. But I often have to go back and find the mark.

What really drove the problem home was trying to mark a pattern on an Ebony fingerboard. Forget it. I had a white grease pencil but it was too soft and wide. My wife is an artist and often works in colored pencil so I tried that. It worked for a little while but that, too was too soft.

While cruising through the art store I found white charcoal pencils.

That did it! The "lead" is harder than colored pencil and holds a point for a lot longer. Mine set me back under $3.00 and included two pencils PLUS a sharpener. One pencil runs about a buck. Solid, fine, white, opaque, and made in the good ol' USA - General's Charcoal White - give it a try.

R/C Flyers like the Grip-All Jaws System

Grip-All Jaws took a really beautiful summer day and went to a R/C fly-in in Winlock, Washington. We took a few units just so folks could see them.

This fellow had this beautiful electric Albatross and it flew very well but got shot down - fortunately over friendly territory. We invited him over to use the Orbital and he was sold. He appreciated that he could the hold the model hands-free and reattach the wings without moving it in the jaws. In this shot he is working out the best way to hold it but he got it turned around in short order.

Once back together it was able to slip the surly bonds of the Orbital and go back to slipping the surly bonds of earth.

A fun day out and we found yet another new use for Grip-All Jaws.

Dowel and Rod Stock Storage

This isn't just Grip-All Jaws related but it can apply to any shop where you have bits of material left over. One class of material is particularly challenging to store and that is doweling, rod stock, all-thread rod, angle, "T" slot, tubing, brass or other metal rods, narrow strips of accent wood and any other narrow lengthy materials. The problem of storing these materials is that the length can vary from a few inches to several feet.

I found that heavy duty cardboard tubes can be had from reprographics stores. These are places where you would get blueprints or large format copies. Their paper comes on strong cardboard tubes and they usually have to haul these tubes to the landfill. I have always found these business to be more than glad to give you as many as you would like to take off their hands; FREE.

Below are pictures of ways I have used these tubes to hold my rod stock. These tubes come in different lengths, but the most common sizes I have found are: 11", 21", 30" and 36". They are very easily cut with a miter saw to meet your needs.

The picture above has the tubes of different lengths stacked on 20" wide shelves. The one below utilizes a section of concrete form tube (available at any building supply) cut at an angle for access to shorter items. Concrete form tubes are available in a variety of diameters and you can create your own version to meet your needs.

Here are ways to hold stock from 25" to 6’ and the most used in my shop is the picture to the right that holds items in common 3’, 4’ and 5’ stock lengths.

Grip-All Jaws Holds a Carving Class

The Grays Harbor Fine Woodworkers Guild held a beginning woodcarving class Saturday June 4th. Local carver and teacher John Templar came down to the shop at the Grip-All Jaws world headquarters in McCleary Washington. This turned out to be a really fun and informative get together.

The first thing John talked about was safety and he provided the kevlar gloves and the rubber bandage tape to protect your thumb. BY THE WAY he said that the tape - it's that thick non sticky, stretchy stuff that clings to itself - comes from medical supply places and is really expensive. But he gets the very same material at feed and farm supply stores for less than half the price. They use it for wrapping horses legs. Pretty clever. We all carved Scotties.

A great time was had by all and we learned a lot. Thanks John.

Some of Michael Keller's Works

We thought we should show you some of Michael Keller's divers work. So without further adieu...

A visit with master carver Michael Keller

My wife, Linda and I, recently took a few days to relax, get away from the constant rain and to explore a part of our state Linda had not seen.  We ended up at beautiful Lake Chelan.  As luck would have it, the day we arrived was one of the very few days of the year that Lake Chelan received its minuscule rain fall.  Lucky though, the rest of our trip was dry and partly sunny until we crossed the mountains to home.

While in Chelan, I visited with Michael Keller, an extremely talented and prolific carver.  Check out his web site: www.whiteeaglestudios.com and you can see small glimpse Michael’s exquisite carvings.  I have included other carvings in this blog to further reflect Michael’s talent.  Most carvers I have met keep with a particular style of carving, but the diversity of Michael’s carvings is amazing.   His home and studio are filled with masterpieces and nearly every genre.  From small medallions and sea shells to larger sculptures; from detailed relief carvings to humorous and amusing caricatures.  Michael has also had several of his pieces produced in bronze.

Michael’s studio is very organized and set up for one thing; carving.  His workstations and tools are organized for efficiency and comfort.  The layout of Michael’s shop reflects a solid understanding of the task he has set out to accomplish.  The ability to move from one function to another, without stopping to set-up, allows his creative vision to flow.  Large windows provide lots of natural light for his work and a view for inspiration.  Michael’s home/studio sets on a mountain six miles north of the city of Chelan.  It is only six miles from Chelan to Michael’s, but in that six miles, you climb over 2,000 feet in elevation.

Linda and I originally planned this trip to help her recover from foot surgery, but my visit to Michael’s studio turned out to be very inspiring for me.  Visit Michael’s web site and check out his blog.  There is a lot of informative and interesting information for carvers of any skill level.  If you are ever in the beautiful Lake Chelan area, call Michael ahead of time and he might be available for a visit.  Michael told me he was getting ready for shows he will be doing this year and I hope he posts them on his site so we can all see his newest creations.

Imagine, create and inspire,

RP Myers

Making a Crank Handle for your Vise

At Grip-All Jaws, we put a crank handle on the vise that comes on the Tilt-Top Portable. It faster and more convenient than the sliding handle on most vises.

So here's a video on how to make one for your own vise.

If you would like written instructions click here for a PDF.

The Internet is Broken!

We had a problem with Qwest and we're not afraid to say it. Qwest took down our internet connection for nearly a week and it's just now up and running.

Gourd Show at the Leiser Farm

There is a gourd show and sale and all manner of things coming up at The Greg Leiser Farm in Knights Landing, California. It'll be on May 14th and 15th. Check it out here.

We won't be there but Grip-All Jaws will be. Swing by Lisa Toth's booth and see the Orbital in action and she will be happy to show you how it works. She can sell one to you as well.

We want to extend to Lisa a laurel and hardy handshake to go along with a big ol' thank you for helping us out. Thanks Lisa!

Artman Show in Oregon City

Winestock Wine Bar in Oregon City appears to have been an old service station at one time. Well, now it's a trendy, happening place to explore and buy wine.  You can sit and have a good time talking to friends, meet new ones, write pages for your book, watch the world go by, or see fine art. It was the latter that drew we Grip-All Jaws folks on Friday the 6th of May. Rob Artman had a showing and reception of his carved masks and other pieces.
Your humble scribe did not go but the inventor did and said it was a great experience. I can imagine sitting on the black leather couch with a fine Pinot Gris discussing the nuances of the Wicked Messinger. Well, see for yourself:

Inside Winestock

Check out Rob Artman's Website.