Recently I was able to visit with the designer of the Montana Rocking Chair,  Scott Morrison in his shop in Columbus, Montana.  The Dvd’s and templates for this project were purchased through Scott’s website and were well put together.

It was a great experience to talk and spend time with Scott. Through his humble demeanor, enthusiasm,  openness to questions and the love for our craft,  Scott  made me feel like I had known him forever.  In addition, being able to actually see and touch the jigs and templates he uses was beyond anything I could ever have expected.

The short story is I learned much more than I expected.  Through our conversation  it seems like I am interpreting his plans pretty much like they were intended,  but I have a lot to learn.    Scott willingness to share his knowledge is a resource and bonus I had not expected.

It was more than worth the time spent, the drive there, the knowledge shared and the making of a new friend.  I am excited to get back in the shop and continue this project.
My deadline is moving right along,

Thanks Scott…..

Before I left for this trip I managed to get the following pieces cut out.

This photo shows the rear legs cut out of the dark walnut.

These will be the arms for this large rocker.

This is the beginning of the seat. It is roughly 21 x 22 inches and 1 3/4 inches thick.

The notches here will be where the rear legs will go.

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For more information about ordering your own custom board go to:
http://www.splinterswoodworks.com/

Please check out my updated in stock Cribbage Boards for sale page. Thanks Splinters

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For more information about ordering your own custom board go to:
http://www.splinterswoodworks.com/

This board is another special order and has specific guidelines for the layout.  It will measure 26 inches square and be made out of  hard walnut.

The client has been playing cribbage for over 60 years and has a group of folks that they play with on a regular basis, therefore the reason for the six person board.

The photo is based on the requests made by the client.  The board is broken down into 4 sections each one with it’s own label: 1st Street, 2nd Street, 3rd Street, and 4th Street totally the standard peg holes of 121.

Each track is assigned a number and will have gold colored engraved lines on both sides of tracks to ensure it is easy to enable the player to stay on their own track.  The pegs will be stored in the box on top.  The $Games$ counter is for them to keep track of the money being won or lost.

This photo is the layout I created based on input from my client.  I  used the computer software CorelDraw to do this drawing.

Once it is formatted I will use a ShopBot CNC router to drill the holes, router the guidelines and do the lettering on the board.

They liked the design so much on this board the client also wants me to work on a four person board with the lines all being inlayed.

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For more information about ordering your own custom board go to:
http://www.splinterswoodworks.com/

This Custom Cribbage Board will be made out of dark walnut and is being made for a specific request of a client in Wisconsin.  It is a re-creation of a board that has been played on in their family for years.

The board will be 26 inches long and 11 inches wide. It is a four person board and will have a slot on the back to hold the custom metal pegs when not in play.

This photo is the layout I created based on the input from my client.  Using CorelDraw to lay this drawing out and design gives me great freedom to basically create any board design I want to create or re-create.

Once it is formatted  a ShopBot CNC router will be used  to drill the holes, router the guidelines and do the lettering on the board. The edging and the slot on the back for pegs will be done with a basic router.  I will apply a hand rubbed polyurethane finish once the final sanding has been completed.

This board is different and actually is something I have heard a lot of comments about at shows,  markets and from web inquiries. Folks have trouble following their track around the board. This design will have engraved lines between each track and with the groups of five also separated.  In the future I will include this style as both a regular or custom item.  I think it would really add class to inlay a different color wood in as the guidelines.

In addition, the client has requested that triple S’s be placed between holes 30 and 35 for triple skunk, double S’s be placed between holes 60 and 65 for double skunk, and one S be placed between 90 and 95 for a standard skunk.  Start has been added after the home pegholes and Game at the pegout hole.

Final photos will be posted as this project nears and reaches completion.

Stay tuned for more updates soon……:-)
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For more information about ordering your own custom board go to:
http://www.splinterswoodworks.com/

Thank you for all of the orders and support provided in 2009.

May all your dreams and desires come true for you.

For more information about ordering your own custom project go to:

http://www.splinterswoodworks.com/

The actual physical creation begins.. here is the board being glued up.

The piece will be 14 inches wide and 20 inches long out of hard maple.

Along each edge I have glued a 1 inch strip accent of dark walnut to add some class to it.

Here is how the boards looked coming out of glue up. The dark walnut stripes set off the maple board quite well.

The tracks have now been drilled using a Shopbot CNC routing system.and the lasering of the family crest and the tournament years are next.

Here is the board as it is being lasered. This Epilog lasering machine is amazing, turning blanks pieces of wood into stunning displays…..

Here is the board after lasering has been completed using the Epilog lasering maching. The spaces below the years there will be a brass plate installed for each years winner.

This project is nearing the end. The edges have been rounded over. The key hole slot in the back to hang it on the wall for display has been routed, and the slot has been routered in the back to hold the custom metal pegs. In the peg out hole I inserted a nice walnut circle to highlight the hole. Now some hearty sanding and application of the finish…..

Poly coats has been applied….some fine sanding….. then this nice board will be packed up and headed towards Portland, Oregon before December 22, 2009. There it will become a part of this years family holiday tournament and others for years to come. Best of luck to the players and the ultimate winners….I have greatly enjoyed working on this project.

For more information about ordering your own custom board go to: http://www.splinterswoodworks.com/

It all began a few weeks ago with a phone call from my youngest daughter, and it went something like this:

She said “Dad…..would you build me a rocking chair?”

I said “Ummmmmm……Ok…….but this is the person who has been supposed to make you a pepper grinder for the last four years and you still don’t have it”

she then says “well I think you will have a bit more incentive with this request.”

then I said “Hmmmm oh really! Is there something you are not telling me?”

she then says ” Well…….yeah I am due in the spring so you have 9 months(now 5 months)”

then I said “cool, congratulations or something like that, after excitedly hollering in her ear and doing the happy dance”

After searching on the internet and asking around, a LumberJocks friend said to me, you need to check out my buddies website. He said this guy is great and if you need help with his plans, he will be more than happy to help.

Once I started going through his site I knew I was in the right spot. As luck would have it, as we were talking, he said he had just completed plans, DVD and a template set on the very chair I was asking about. He said however, they won’t be ready for several weeks. This was alright with me because of an upcoming trip to the Midwest and a list of pending project orders once I returned. I told him my plans and asked how much wood I would need for this project. He gave me my answer and then said being we would be passing right by his place near I-90, to stop by and check out one of his works in progress. Unfortunately weather took over and we were unable to stop on the way home, but a visit is in my future.

During the trip scheduled to the Midwest to visit family and considering the cost of hardwood lumber here in Montana compared to the price where it is grown and harvested in the Midwest. I decided to check out what there was to choose from.

During a conversation with another woodworking buddy from LumberJocks who happens to live in the Midwest near where I was headed, made this comment. “You have to go check out these guys. They are great and I really like them and their setup”. He provided me with directions, but was unfortunately unable to go with me because of previous plans.

With my brother driving (whom we were visiting) and my wife, we were off to find the sawmill. Not really knowing what to expect, but trusting my woodworking buddy, I was excited.

As we pulled into the drive the first thing we saw was this sign. I knew then everything was going to be great.

Simpson & Son is a small family run business in Northwest Missouri and as soon as we started talking with the folks there I knew we were in the right spot.  They took the time on this cool crispy morning to chat with us and hear our stories, and tell us a few of their own. They obviously were very knowledgeable about the wood they worked with and were very patient with me as I went about selecting just the right pieces of wood for this project.

Eyeing all the lumber stacked in sheds, and this was just one of them, I knew it would be a tough job, but one I was willing to take on.

Now the fun began, trying to pick the right pieces of walnut, which is the wood chose by my daughter and I.

I had been told I needed to get 8/4 lumber (2 inch thick) and that I would need about 50 bdft. Hopefully I picked up enough extra pieces just in case the saws make some miscuts.

My next problem was to not try and load up all the wood that I had to chose from. Putting me in this place was like putting a kid in a candy store. Oh my!!!!

I did behave for the most part and only got the wood that I needed along with a few other pieces of various other types of wood.

Well….they were using them as fuel for their burn barrel to keep warm while working outside. How could I possibly let those nice pieces of Oak, Maple, Sycamore, Cherry, Elm, etc etc etc…..end up as ashes..when I could picture the nice cribbage boards and other unknown projects they would make..

This is the pile of Walnut that I chose for this project. It is now acclimating to the inside of my shop and waiting for the project to begin.

I am trying to catch up on pending project orders and stock for up coming shows, while I wait for the plans and templates for this project.

Once I begin the building of this project, I plan on doing a blog as to this whole process and the trials and tests I go through. Scott the designer of these plans said, “no problem, you should be able to get it done in 1-2 weeks”

I just smiled to myself and thought….hmmm  …… Yeah Right…… OK, we will see!

Stay tuned!!!

For more information about ordering your own custom project go to:

http://www.splinterswoodworks.com/

This is the provided photo we started with…Taken by Bob Chinn while hiking in Glacier National Park. We will use this photos to create two boards for this client.

Bob has graciously allowed me to use his photos on other boards I have created. (see example) and future boards I will create for display for sale at art shows and on my website.

If you have that special photo you really like, let us turn it into a custom item, which will last for generations. (Click on photos for enhanced view)

This photo has special memories to him and the person who will receive the cribbage boards as a gift.  It will be a learning experience for all because they will be learning how to play the game of cribbage, while having memories of meeting this guy in Glacier National Park.

The lasering machine will only do black and white images, so we had to convert and crop the photo for use. This is the image shape we will use on the cribbage boards,

These boards are being made out of hard maple and will have a four person track drilled on each board. The photo will be lasered in the upper left hand side of the board.

This is a closeup shot of just the lasering of the bear.  The details of the Grizzly are incredible. You almost feel like you are meeting him face to face on the trail like Bob did.

The lasering has been completed and as you can see it came out really well.  I have to lightly sand the photo and add some finish which with other boards has enhanced the photo. We will see what happens with this one.

This is a photo of the whole board.  The dark circle around the finish hole is a piece of inlaid walnut.  I think it really adds a nice touch. Now the edge will be routed and the slot on the back to hold the pegs will be created, then final sanding and these boards will be ready to be on their way.

Here is the finished two cribbage boards which will be on their way to Illinois on Monday morning. The photo really popped out nice when the finish was applied.  These boards will be treasured for many years to come.

For more information about ordering your own custom board go to:
http://www.splinterswoodworks.com/

Welcome to my blog and please feel free to leave comments.

Splinters

www.pacificcoastmarble.com