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StephenKocsis
St.Johns, Floridamember
Formal education and applications: Architecture, City Planning, Regional Development Planning
Mid-life crisis change to custom picture framing and art gallery. Noted for projects that no one else can or would do and that require both higher woodworking skills and expert 3-D design ability as well as the ability to translate design sketches into more formal drawings, especially when thinking outside the box (pun intended). A few very basic carving skills needed at first but you need the higher level skills as you progress. It is like a forever learning curve...and actually, it is really satisfying: it combines most human learning knowledge and techniques (well, maybe not quantum physics and bio-chemistry but certainly art and architectural history and some chemistry) and the ability to deal with human nature in an honest, direct way.
I assume that you realize that I am describing a level of "skill" that deals with, for example, "Workmanship of Risk" (Pye), "Flow", "Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work" (new book by M. Crawford), plus many, many others.
What it comes right down to are ideas, a #2 lead pencil, and paper. I don't have CAD experience but I suspect that there is a slight difference in design work mental processes between these two approaches.
Mid-life crisis change to custom picture framing and art gallery. Noted for projects that no one else can or would do and that require both higher woodworking skills and expert 3-D design ability as well as the ability to translate design sketches into more formal drawings, especially when thinking outside the box (pun intended). A few very basic carving skills needed at first but you need the higher level skills as you progress. It is like a forever learning curve...and actually, it is really satisfying: it combines most human learning knowledge and techniques (well, maybe not quantum physics and bio-chemistry but certainly art and architectural history and some chemistry) and the ability to deal with human nature in an honest, direct way.
I assume that you realize that I am describing a level of "skill" that deals with, for example, "Workmanship of Risk" (Pye), "Flow", "Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work" (new book by M. Crawford), plus many, many others.
What it comes right down to are ideas, a #2 lead pencil, and paper. I don't have CAD experience but I suspect that there is a slight difference in design work mental processes between these two approaches.
Birthday: 08/12/1942
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Recent comments
Re: UPDATED: Giveaway and Poll: The Most Requested Woodworking Gifts of 2009
Why would anyone over the age of 65 NOT want a SAW STOP cabinet table saw ?? Come on, guys, you can and do get distracted, right? Don't lie!
posted: 4:47 pm on December 16thBeing on blood thinner medication, probably for the rest of my life, a cut can be a disaster. So, I have just spent months "sharp proofing" my shop and tool storage. Just reaching into a tool cabinet and hitting the edge of a chisel is enough to ruin your day. If you can think about it, all the edges can be "safed", (for example, the chisels and saws can easily have their edges covered.....everything in that tool chest can be made into a "decision" tool: you reach for that ONE tool and you are not going to get cut by another!)
I also have made plexiglas guards for many of the other tools and machines. Try to buy scraps or "cut offs" from a wholesale dealer (I use the bright red-orange tint: the only problem is that it is expensive as all-get-out. Try to get the dealer to sell you half a sheet.
If you are recovering from an illness, stay the heck out of the shop......except it is a great time to clean and sort !
If you and your doctor agree to try working, I have another good tip: have your spouse and/or your partner with you for the first few days. I am lucky, in that my wife also knows tools and methods of work. Before starting I tell her exactly what I am going to do and walk both of us through the procedure. It works, don't be a macho twit. It took me over a year a year to recover and about another 5-6 months to feel good about using the machines on my own. I would like to keep using them for another 20-25 years (I've got a lot of wood!).
You are perfectly free to call me a "spineless jerk" or whatever but the methods do work and when I am in the "zone" I feel comfortable and fortunate. Thanks for listening to an aging "preacher).
Again, a SAW STOP !
Re: Keepsake Box
Beautiful and quietly elegant.
posted: 3:37 pm on December 16thOf course, my wife, low these forty years, saw it and has that look of "And mine will be ready when?"
Re: Dollhouse
Did you use any "special" joining techniques? And do you have the modified plans ? SERIOUSLY, GREAT JOB! Milk paint for the finish? You are so fortunate to have a daughter and/or granddaughter to do this for.
posted: 3:33 pm on December 16thHave you tried any historic houses? And, if so, do you,( or anyone else out there ) know a source for plans, elevationsion, sections houses like: Jefferson's Monticello or any of the Shaker buildings.? Books exist on Jefferson's home with plans and elevations, sections, and details. As for Wright's Robie house but you still have to draw the final construction drawings (by the way, it seems to me that it is easter and more direct to do the drawings in 10's of an inch, or, metric for buildings in the rest of the world. A very good quality pair of dividers (regular)is an absolute must and, if you can find them, a good set of proportional dividers.