Ron_Messersmith

Hi Rod,
Your contribution is beautiful. I am also a retired submariner and have taken the same path as you. After retirement, I have taken up woodworking. While I have taken on Queen Anne pieces also, my main interest today is jewelry boxes and toys. I have about a dozen contributions to the gallery and enjoy browsing and discovering quality work. Yours falls well into that category. Keep up the great work.

Ron Messersmith
Messersmith Woodworks.com

Hi NJ,

Sorry I haven't answered you comment. I just returned to FW web site for the first time in 6 months. If you're still interested in building some of the boxes I have built, let me know and I would be happy to point you in the right direction.

Thanks,


Ron Messersmith
Messersmith Woodworks.com

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the comments. I build many toys and the American style 4-4-0 steam locomotive is my favorite. I have traveled to Promotory, Utah several times to vist and take photos of the Jupitor and I also obtained all the blueprints used by O'Connor Engineering to build the Jupitor. If you are still looking to build a similar project, let me know. I have written a 16 page article describing the process I used to construct this locomotive.

Thanks,
Ron Messersmith
Messersmith Woodworks.com

Hi Valleyman,

Thanks for the comment. No these were not my first cabriole legs. I have made many pieces with this style of leg. What I find to be the most difficult aspect in making a set of these is to get the correct proportions. I found one of the best training references has been several issues of Woodsmith magazine.

Thanks,

Ron Messersmith

Hi Hugh,

Thanks for your comment. The top of the trunk is made of poplar with the quilted maple vacuum pressed onto it. I filled the void with styrofome to prevent collasping the top and brought the vacuum only to 15" Hg. The curvature was obtained by using staves about 2 inches wide with their edges angled a few degrees. I then hand planed the curvature prior to veneering.

Thanks again,

Ron Messersmith

Hi Jason,

Was a little surprise by your profile comment that you thought your workshop experiences were a waste of time. I also have obtained most of my woodworking knowledge from books and trial and error. However, I have attended most all of Mike Dunbar's Windsor chair workshops and have loved all of them. I try to get to one workshop a year somewhere between Washington and Texas. I visit my mother in Quitman, Texas (100 miles east of Dallas) every year and try to write off some of my mileage by attending woodworking workshops. Your postings show some nice work. Keep up the good work. Nice looking boy!!

Ron Messersmith

Hi Jason,

Thanks for your comment. I make many toys that are suitable for a young child. However, the majority of my toys are really display pieces. Those toys I make from plans provided by Toys and Joys out of Lynden, Washington have too many detailed parts to be really considered as a toy for play. This particular piece was requested by a driver of the Hills Materials Company and the truck was a close replica of one of their trucks. A great toy for a 5 year old would be a Barney Olefield speedster that I also have featured in the Gallery

Thanks again,

Ron Messersmith