At least they thought enough of it to remodel, I had a project that sat unattended for a while and they expressed their contempt for the design by peeing on it. I would have preferred a little remodeling.
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It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump. ~David Ormsby Gore
Replies
Winer,
their woodworking skills were a little on the crude side
Now that just seems to be poetic justice. After all you consigned that piece to a life of constant agony and those little buggers made it something useful to them.
Also, might you want to rethink your position and look upon this as a chance to inspire them to improve their craftsmanship. You have an opportunity to be the first woodworker with an army of four legged apprentices!
I can see it on the marquee of the Smithsonian, Featuring the Works of Wineman - The Pied Piper of Four Legged Furry Artists.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Yeah, Bob, kinda like the cobbler with the elves that would appear during the night and make all his shoes for him. Might be a winning idea! Imagine the productivity and the profit one would realize with the little buggers producing finely crafted furniture as you sleep. Heck, just get them to do all the sanding and you're golden.
Fortunately, I don't have that problem. I just poison the little turd factories -- have those little cheese wedge shaped boxes of rodent poison hidden here and there. The only downside -- about every 3-4 months some part of my shop or house will develop this ungodly stink for about a week.
Did you folks know that mice and fine furniture go back a very long time? In days of yore in England there lived Robert Thompson, the founder of a family owned business that still operates to this day.
http://www.robertthompsons.co.uk/index.php
His trademark was a handcarved mouse that adorned each and every piece that left his shop. That same tradition continues to this day. Mouseman¯ and Robert Thompson's¯ are registered trademarks of Robert Thompson's Craftsmen Ltd. Kilburn, York, UK
Now I'm not suggesting that one might want to ship the real thang.........
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I've made some furniture when I was in my twenties that I thought at the time was pretty nice. I look at it today and realize it's junk. Can't even sell them in a yard sale for $20.00. I actually can't wait to trash them and make their replacements.
mike
Wine,
I don't have any of those -- not because I've perfected my craft to such a high degree, but because I'm an anally retentive perfectionist -- if I can't fix it, or I'm dissatisfied with it, I'll try to deconstruct it and salvage the lumber, or.... well, it'll keep me warm.
Mr. Wineman,
If the plural of mouse is meese, then why isn't the plural of house - heese?
Wanna check out some meese!?
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Mice is the plural, as in; I saw many mice in my shop.
Mices would be a plural possessive, as in; "I took great glory in destroying the mices' wonderful new house."
Wine,
"I hate those meeses to pieces!" What cartoon cat used to say that? Jerry?
Ray
Mr. Jinks------------------------------------
It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump. ~David Ormsby Gore
don,
"Mr Jinks"
So you've only been back here for a day, and already, you start with the name-calling. ...oh, you meant the cat is Jinks...carry on.
Welcome back, hahha
Ray
Hi Ray;
I'ts good to be back,thanks!
I thinks the meeces were Pixie and Trixie, came on right after Tom Teriffic and his wonderdog Manfred.------------------------------------
It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump. ~David Ormsby Gore
All my furniture over 36 years is "junk". Does that discourage me? No.. I just build more junk. The trick is to carefully select friends that are or have run "junk-yards" or dealt in "junk" as a profession. I already have the "junk-yard dogs" to accompany.
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and "junk-men" or "dogs" aren't picky.. picky.. picky. If it looks anything like a chair.. sit on it. If is resembles a table.. eat off it.
You get the picture... ha.. ha... ha..ha..ha..
Sarge..
Edited 5/22/2008 1:33 pm ET by SARGEgrinder47
If you want to know what "junk" is, then go look in some of those cheepo furniture outlets (would not even call them stores!) now that's junk.
I took my wife and the baby to check out the local competition and if you take things at face value (most apparently do!) 4 or 5 months (when the humidity changes) you'll be in for some surprises!
They leave absolutely no allowance for movement, really sloppy finishing and No real joinery to speak of.
The sad truth is most folks wont know the difference! and trying to explain to them why your pieces are 2 3rds more is a moot point!
ChaimMake your own mistakes not someone elses, this is a good way to be original !
Very cheap furniture has been around for many years, Chaim. I played pony league baseball for a team sponsored by Rice Furniture which was a local firm that found very cheap somewhere. At that time which was the early 60's, I doubt seriously it was made in Asia.
As a kid I got a peek of the trend coming when you would see oak (which was actually cheap at that time) kitchen tables with carved claw feet being put on the curb for pick-up by the trash-man. The hot boom trend was for one of those "dinette sets" with a Formica top that could be washed with a wet cloth. The top has a big shiny band of chrome before you got to the tubular chrome or brushed aluminum legs. The chair were trimmed in chrome coated plating where there wasn't washable vinyl covering for visual effect. :>)
Most of the gullible and trendy would love to have their carved claw feet back at this stage.. but the trend is to buy cheap today and not worry about tomorrow. Cheap will be available tomorrow to replace the cheap we bought today that fell apart pre-maturely. Sad... but reality.
Regards...
Sarge..
Yeah Sarge, but hotwheels really ran fast on those formica tables, and you didn't get in trouble when you pealed out on those tables.Children are our future, unless we stop them now -- Homer Simpson
Thank you for positive identification that my Mom (God rest her soul) wasn't the only one who was on the wrong end of a sucker-punch. I realize there were many more as I saw the good stuff sitting on the curb.
For that matter.. torn down the throw away made good fodder for tree-houses.. ground level club-houses (I was leader of the Lucky Street Alley Rat's which appears on all my resumes).. river rafts.. etc. etc...
Re-cycling may not be as new as we currently think especially if you grew up in a former alley with a name change. ha.. ha... ha..ha..ha..
Regards...
Sarge..
Chaim,
and trying to explain to them why your pieces are 2 3rds more is a moot point!
You know, this thang about cheap vs quality keeps coming up with no solutions comng forth. It makes me wonder how do all the quality woodworkers survive? It seems that we live in a throw away society of cheap stuff virtually permeating our lives at all levels.
Also it seems that the media focuses on the negative and when you see some good news it's almost a revelation! Are we taking the wrong approach trying to sell quality against cheap? It would be interesting to hear how quality woodworkers market their wares; a refreshing positive approach. With all the negatives in our world a positive a[[rpach would stand out!
Oh, and Sarge - you make junk!? HAH, you a keen man with your reverse psychology. We all know different and anyone with any questions only needs to take a look at your woodshop. You know, the more I think about it mebbe you just might have the answer!
Hi, my name is Munkwort and I sell environmentally friendly junk furniture! When it falls apart you can just put it out on the sidewalk and someone will come along and take it! No need to haul it to the landfill - it'll be recycled for you automatically. See, I'm helping the environment too!
:-)
Marketing magician for woodworkers the world over; just call me M&M,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Well Bob... a man for all seasons must know what to say when he's right and when's he wrong. Pretty soon.. you have everyone confused enough to think you're right more often than wrong regardless if you are or not. ha.. ha... ha..ha..ha..
Your marketing approach might just be more successful than you might have actually imagined when you cleverly thought it up to jest. As my grand-father told me... "There's an *ss for every seat and the world doesn't appear to be short of seats"... :>)
Regards...
Sarge..
Sarge,
There was a bit of serious in that post.
You ARE QUALITY, and your work is definately NOT junk. For someone to go through all the pains and work that is reflected in your woodshop it is also reflected in the quality of your pieces.
It's this thang about folks trying to compete with the Ikeas. To me there's no competition but rather I totally different market. Not really sure if that's correct but I think so.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Hear hear!!!
I second that sentiment and go along with what you said about sarges work! A real feast to the eyes it is! Your absolutely right, it's in a whole different ball game! That's a very healthy attitude.
Thank you for bringing the point home!
I also agree that hot wheels ran really fast on that Formica, but boy did my a$$ hurt when I scratched it!
ChaimMake your own mistakes not someone elses, this is a good way to be original !
I thought it was beauty is in the eye of the BEERholder. Hopefiully everybody has improved over the years, I look back on some of my pieces and think jeez that looks bad, but hey have you ever seen a bad Picaso?Children are our future, unless we stop them now -- Homer Simpson
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