At school the first term students and I fit our drawers, made and fit the frame and panel back to our cabinets, and began work on the sawhorses. In the time between lectures and assisting the students, I began work on the set of chairs in narra, I began a while back.
I finished roughing out the crest rail blanks, and finished the rear seat rail joinery. Over the next few days I will pick away at completing the shaping on the back legs. The narra is lovely and will make a fine chair, but not nearly as strong as the white oak the originals were made, so I have made all the parts a trifle larger than the originals. I can adjust the visual weight when I get to the edge treatment.
With less than two weeks left in the term, despite the diminishing daylight, the evenings are getting longer and the mornings earlier. Over the years I have come to enjoy this time. Sunday I will head into the school and prepare the millwork for next term.
In my own workshop this past week, I crosscut the supports to length, and dialled in the fit of the notch. I am heading out after I write to finish the shaping before turning my attention to the shoulders on the twin live tenons, which need a bit of work.
Life is busy but good. In the words of Eva Zeisel, “My hands have remembered something remembered. Not my mind but my hands.
Be well and enjoy your work,
Robert