Get excited, Veneer & Cabinetwork is almost here!

Veneer & Cabinetwork, our brand new third-level advanced course, launches it's very first run in November and we have been prepping like mad men (and woman)!

Using walnut that was cut and dried by yours truly, the Lohr Woodworking team, we have been hard at work to turn rough boards into pre-milled packs that students will to turn into beautiful cabinets. In order for our students to get the project complete in just 6 days, we take on some of the dirty work of milling and squaring up the basic parts ahead of time so students can focus their attentions on the finer details. In this case, they'll need their class days to construct cabinet carcase joinery, make doors and drawers, and veneer!

The cabinet is a complex project with many parts of similar dimensions so, Rob crafted a clever color-coding system to help us maintain some degree of organization throughout the process. With stiles, rails, and drawer parts galore, it would be all too easy to lose track of our count so the system worked well.

Our process starts with lots of rough walnut boards which are cut to rough lengths (an inch oversize) which are then working-faced on the jointer and milled to thickness via a [no exaggeration] 4 hour planer run. From there, we rip the pieces to their varied widths and, the last stage is to cut them to exact length. The ripping and cutting-to-length parts of the process are where my anxiety sets in because we have everything down to it's nearly finished size and the last thing an apprentice wants to do is cut 44 pieces of milled wood to the wrong length; Trust me when I say, it wouldn't have been the first time.

But, we made it through and the student packs are compiled and awaiting student hands! As we spend the coming weeks fine tuning the course structure and lessons, we are excited to embark on this new class adventure with a group of stellar Lohr Woodworking School alumni. Next week, we will be moving the Allen's Frontier live edge dining table onto some carts we've made so it can travel to it's new home in California. Look forward to a blog post documenting our surely-entertaining days moving and packing the massive slab for it's journey! Until next time kids, practice shop safety and enjoy the onset of the fall!

The Luckiest Chickens

This week, we are in the midst of an Advanced Joinery course and are joined by 8 strapping gentlemen already hard at work building their side tables! We are happy to have these Practical Woodworking alumni return to us for a second visit as we step it up a few notches in this course. There are floating shelves, Green & Greene bread board ends, dovetails, buttons, and drawers galore around these parts!

On another note, it's officially fall in the north east and the chilly weather has demanded that I break out my scarves and heavier coats. At the shop, we have had to fire up the coal stove and maintain a steady fire to keep warm in the mornings until the sun is kind enough to grace us with her presence.

As the only lady in the shop this week, I thought I would be most eager to sport my fall attire but as it turns out, I rank third best in that department. The gang of 22 chickens gather around the back door each afternoon to indulge in their daily "chicken noodle" dinner which is a potful of plain, boiled macaroni noodles (no chicken broth so no worries). Amongst the crew this fall, you'll find that two of the lovely ladies are rocking some awesome fall sweaters. Needless to say, the Janices (Janice & Janice Ian) have won the honor of Best Dressed this season at the Lohr School of Woodworking. Fashion forward fowl is just one of the many things you will find in the Lohr domain that you'd be hard-pressed to find anywhere else on the planet.

Because the photos do all the talking, I'll leave you with this final thought as you carry on the rest of your day with a chickens-in-sweaters induced smile: Linda, the lady of the Lohr domain and mother hen to all the birds/animals, was quoted in saying, "Janice Ian is wearing the more splashy argyle number, while Janice has the beige model with the logo 'I love Mom' and a dog bone. Hey, some chickens are luckier than others."

Check back later this week for an update about the events, procedures, and results of the advanced course that unfolds on the other side of the office wall as I write this. Until next time, cheers and Happy Halloween!