We are giving the bench away!

Today’s bench build for giveaway

The call went out for help a few days ago and it‘s looking good that we will build the bench and conclude it on Sunday afternoon. Over the years i have made about a hundred of these workbenches and taught people to make many hundreds more I suppose. It is rock solid to work from as has been seen by so many during my demonstrations and of course we use these in the schools in different configurations. On Sunday I plan to give the workbench away to anyone at the show under the age of 25.

We will have a draw to make it fair and will pull out the name from a box. Some of the guys responded to my blog to bring planes and tools to smooth up surfaces for gluing up the laminated legs and benchtop and we get started today. This evening we will be meeting with some of you for dinner somewhere in Duluth so I am looking forward to that too.

 

An ongoing investment
My reasons for being here in the US and touring from state to state over the last three months are to solidify the friendships and associations we have made and enjoyed over last two decades of training US woodworkers.Without you we could never have achieved what we have and it’s not over yet. You are all instrumental in the future of woodworking and one thing I have always admired about beyond the dedication of woodworkers is their willing spirit of generosity and help.

As you know, later this year New Legacy will undertake the training of 8 young people over 18 under 30 years old over a three month program we have put together as our social enterprise. So far we have five people who will be grappling with their future to become crafting artisans and so far this includes people from England, USA, Argentina, Slovakia and possibly Nigeria. This is where we take three months out  to work solely with them to guide them on a highly compressed apprenticeship training program designed for them to work individually and as a team to become woodworkers in general but fine furniture makers too. They will build everything from chests of drawers to writing desks, office conference tables, some different beds, a dining suite for eight and much more. The end result will be about 40 pieces ranging from floor lamps to wall cabinets, but the important ingredient will be their fulfillment to become crafting artisans.

We will be relying on you for different input to give them this opportunity to grow in their woodworking skills. The outcome of what they make will be a portfolio not so much only of the pieces we will be building (that will be the case too) but of skill, determination, team working and sharing life. The appeal for help on the workbench above was well met as have been other appeals in the past. Our goal is to expand the ethos of generosity throughout the world of woodworking to create new spheres of creativity in young people.

Unbeknown to many of you, you have already been contributing for many many years as we have given away classes on a ratio of 1-10 to people who might not otherwise be unable to take the steps to becoming craftsmen and craftswomen of the future. Our goal is ambitious and so too those who will be embarking on this extreme effort to work with me for three rock-solid months of woodworking and furniture making. I have much more to tell you on this as our plans unfold, but we will need help from our woodworking friends and supporters to bring this to pass.

The Woodworking Shows’ show – Final venue of the season

Yes, this weekend we bring the shows to an end of season right here in Georgia and what better a place to do that I cannot imagine. I have been to Atlanta several times in the past but these past two days have been wonderful for me. Visiting Highland Hardware was really great and I can imagine a few out there saying, “Visiting a woodworking store on your day off as a full-time, year-round woodworker! Get a life! Anyway, the venue setting is just lovely too and we look forward to seeing as many of you as we can fit into the facility. There is so much to see and so many demonstrators that Bryce Beerman, the show owner and promoter, has brought together you cannot spend less than a day at the show to see everything. Many people stay for the three days because of demonstrator crossover. It is best to look at the schedule and plan the day so you can take in the non-ongoing demonstrations. Sawstop has a fascinating demonstration on how the Sawstop actually works and I have already bragged on some of the other presenters giving it their all. Don’t pass up this last show if you are here in Georgia. I look forward to seeing you and we will announce the winner of the workbench here on my blog Sunday evening.