Featured Project - Step Stool

This solid oak and mahogany stool was a Father's Day gift for my Dad.

It's through wedged mortise and tenon joints make it stronger than nails.

The grain patterns were carefully selected to showcase the difference between quartersawn and riftsawn wood on the top and the flatsawn stock on the legs and stretchers.

To avoid splitting the wood as the wedges are driven, the wedges were driven perpendicular to the grain direction.

The stretchers are joined to the legs with a twin tenon, reinforced again with wedges made form mahogany.

There are absolutely NO screws holding this piece together, yet I am confident that it will be standing for decades to come.

The rubbed oil finish of this piece emphasizes the beauty that lies within the solid wood. It is a feeling that cannot be conveyed with plywood or other engineered materials. The colors in this piece will become more variegated with time, since the finish also allows the wood to age naturally.

David J. Ulschmid
~ Wisp Woods ~

To order a reproduction of this piece for your home, contact me at wispwoods@gmail.com. You too can have an heirloom quality stool that will last generations. Call for prices and wood preferences.

Featured Project - Gift for Mom

We all love our Moms!
This small box was a gift for my most wonderful Mother.

It gives me pleasure to look back at this, one of my earliest projects, and see, not only how far I have come since then, but also the amount of enjoyment that has come from it. My hope for everything I create is that it will be used and enjoyed. I love to make things that bring a smile to one's face, just by looking at it. Objects that become part of ourselves, through their functions in our daily lives.

This box does not serve a grand purpose. It is not used daily. Its function could easily be performed by a box made from cardboard, or plastic, or tin. But it is my belief that it brings greater joy, being of wood. Wood is alive, it never dies, it continues to expand and contract with the changing of the seasons. The exact form it makes, with it's grain pattern, will never be repeated. It brings its life into the room and provides companionship. Being made by my own two hands, it's almost like a part of me is at home with my mom at all times, and that makes me smile.

The interior is lined with felt to give protection and warmth to its contents. The metal pull on the top adds heft to this box, which is made from a fairly light wood. The dark stain brings strength to the piece and adds drama to the finger jointed corners.

Now, I've got to get it back to her before she calls in the "robbery" (she unknowingly lent it to me for a photo shoot) in to the police.

I Love you Mom,

Your Awesome Son!

David J. Ulschmid

~ Wisp Woods ~

For those who wish to add a lovely little box to their own surroundings, email me at wispwoods@gmail.com to request one. The dimensions of the box are W 4.5" L 4.5" H 4.0", and the price is $25.00.

Featured Project - Latest Piece

Bob's Cabinet

Pine and Brass Hardware

If you will allow me, I would like to start by paraphrasing a quote from James Krenov out of his book A Cabinetmakers Notebook - A person who works this way will say “Look”, but he is more likely to add, “Closely please”.

Closeup of figured pine in side panels

It is my hope that, for people who view this, my latest cabinet, it will be easy, to appreciate the beauty in its simplistic design. I will say that with Pine, it is not easy to draw attention to design details. The gentle transitions of color within the grain patterns are easy for the eye to lose track of, and any embellishment would further distract from the intended experience. I also hope that you will agree with the subtle design decisions. The countless design decisions made along this cabinet’s path to completion do not arise in the mass production furniture world, and the consequences that result from their absence speak their own language. A language comprised not of words or symbols, but of sensitivities.

Raised Panel and Knob detail

Just as it is difficult to completely appreciate a musical score to which the lyrics are in a foreign language, it is extremely difficult to appreciate certain details of wooden objects when the work is done in a different language. From one piece to the next, so many of the same elements can be similar, such as similar proportions and/or functionality, but the results can be starkly different on a deeper level. To make the correct design decisions, you must be fluent in the language. This goes beyond the ability to read or write or speak in that language, scribing lifeless symbols and muttering away, to the deeper meaning of the message that is conveyed through the tone and emphasis with which the message is delivered. Therefore in order for authors and poets, and it this case, craftsmen, to convey their message accurately across these barriers, they must break the message down to into a form that is easily understood. That’s what I wish this cabinet to represent, a simple expression of complex concepts to be appreciated by all. It is easy to appreciate the beauty because of the harmony with which the elements interact.

Side view of Half-Blind Dovetailed drawer

Most people who have seen the work of James Krenov would see not similarities between his work and this cabinet. The most important thing, for him and for I, is not that the results bring the same level of joy, but the “doing” and the “method” and the “logic” should reflect the sensitivities of the craftsman. The work produced should be consistent with the individual doing the work. No compromises, be consistent. This is what lies deep within my heart and it is my goal to convey that through Wisp Woods. I understand that not all will agree, and projects could be produced faster by other methods, by making compromises, small at first and growing as they affect other decisions further down the road, but I need not the approval of all, only the inner satisfaction of a job done well, consistently guided by what lies within and what is uncovered when working one Wisp of Wood at a time.

Enjoy!

And look closely, please.

David J. Ulschmid
Designer / Craftsman
~ Wisp Woods ~
Arlington, SD 57212

wispwoods@gmail.com

The happy craftsman!

Featured Project - Tall Table

This table has recently been honored with the highest form of admiration, a request for a new table to be made in its image. At the left there is a poll that gives you a chance to, in a way provide me with feedback about my work, and, more importantly, to help me set a price for my work. I appreciate your help and value your opinion.

Pine and Mahogany Tall Table

Detail of Table Top with Mahogany strips

A look from below, notice the apron beading.

Truly special coloring for Pine to have.

Another view of the coloring.

Now this is what I want you to ponder, are these bits of color flaws or do they enhance the beauty of the piece? When I ponder this, something I heard on the radio comes to mind. The quote was something like "The only difference between poison and medicine is the dosage". I personally really enjoy the bits of color in this wood, but I wouldn't as much if they were darker or more prevalent. They are just enough to be pleasing but not enough to be annoying, or poison for the eye.

I, of course, can take no credit for the beauty of this wood, only the capturing of it. You see, this project didn't start out on a presumptuous foot, with me going to a lumber supplier and asking for the nicest wood they had because, “I think I'm a great woodworker and therefore should only use the best stock“. No. This project had much more humble beginnings.

Those legs that I have been boasting about, with their unique inclusions of random bits of color, in a destiny kinda way, those legs sought me out. I was not the person to purchase the lumber from which they came and becoming table legs was not the original purpose. They came from a piece of 2x10 construction lumber, which a friend of mine was using for storage shelving. When he moved, he asked me if I wanted them, and I am a sucker for free wood.

The wood came to my shop and awaited a purpose, until the day my wife requested a tall table for her art booth at an upcoming show. The show was two days away! A couple longs nights in the shop filled with discovery and excitement upon finding this coloring, and the table was complete.

The joinery, quickly but not hastily done, has held up to being thrown into the trunk of a car and bounced down the road while being squeezed by the trunk lid. The beads cut in the aprons with my custom scratch stock have drawn the interest of may people at my wife's art exhibits. I am proud of the work and excited to show, to anyone who will listen, the parts of it that make it special to me. Thanks for reading.

God Bless.

David J. Ulschmid
~ Wisp Woods ~

Featured Project - Jodi's Favorites

Here are some pictures of my wife's favorite projects that I built for her.

This is the finished changing table with hardware.

A side view of the changing table showing the adjustable shelf.

The solid Oak and Mahogany cross shelf has no fasteners.

It is held together by wood on wood joinery.

It makes me smile everytime I look at it. :0)

This wall shelf was a Valentines day gift for her.

I built it shortly after she bought me a 9" Bandsaw.

Just had the desire to cut some curves.

Thanks for looking!

David J. Ulschmid
~ Wisp Woods ~

Shop Talk - Sharpening System

As I listed in a previous blog, I have 17 blades in my shop to keep sharp. This isn't even counting the 5 turning tools and 15 carving tools that are quite possibly the most often sharpened tools during the course of working with them.


Below are a few images of my sharpening system. I feel that sharpening has been covered ad nausium all over the internet, I will go into little detial with the confidence that if you desire to learn more, you will google terms such as "scary sharp", "hollow grind", "honing jig", and others.

My system is a hybrid of the scary sharp and hollow ground system. I do like the results of sandpaper sharpening, but I would not pass up the chance to try a waterstone, should the opportunity arrise. I am really happy with the hollow grind method, due to its simpliciy and speed.

As you will see below, I do not work on a "standard" grinder. The grinder I uses is a concoction of motor, pulleys, bushings, and a wooden dowel (hey, I am a WOOD worker afterall). I was really happy with the way this shop made system worked out and wish I could take credit for the idea, but it is based on an idea from James Krenov's Book 'The Fine Art of Cabinetmaking'. The main exception is that this mine is a motor driven system.






This honing guide really sped up the sharpening process for me. It is also a much more reliable way to make a micro-bevel. I use a simple board with lines marked at the correct distance to set the blade protrusion and therefore the sharpening angles.






Here is the row of sandpaper and strops I work my way through after the grinding is done. They are all glued to marple tiles with spray adhesive. The sheets I use are 250, 400, 600, 800, and 1500. I just purchased some 2500 grit that I cant wait to try out. The strops are loaded with two different grits of rouge. They are awesome for putting on that mirror finish. A quick 15 swipes on each, and anything goes from dull to scary sharp.





Thanks for looking!

David J. Ulschmid
~ Wisp Woods ~