More Banks!

I’ve been lazy over the past few weeks.  I finished two Stuart Woods novels and caught up on some movies.  I particularly enjoyed “The Help”.  My wife got me the new Barnes and Noble Color Nook which I have become infatuated with.   I am about halfway through the Steve Jobs biography on it right now and love this new method of reading.

There are a few banks on Etsy right now.  One already sold about an hour after I listed it.  There will be some more listed by the end of today.  I made a trip to Peach State Lumber yesterday to get more walnut and red oak so I can hit it hard next week and get my inventory back up.  More banks will be showing up over the next few weeks.

Temporarily Out

It’s official. All my Post Office door banks are temporarily sold out. I want to thank all my new and repeat customers for their continued support of handmade in America. The many kind comments I have received about the quality of my work is greatly appreciated.

For those who have sent emails over the past couple of days looking for banks, I have just started on a new batch that should be available after Christmas. After making over 300 banks this year, I decided to take a break for a few weeks after Thanksgiving to recharge my batteries. I had forgotten how good it felt to sit back for days on end and read Stuart Woods novels.

I’ll post an update when more banks are available, so check back here occasionally. I wish everyone a wonderful holiday and a Merry Christmas!

-Dennis-

Shifting Gears

The Foothills Fall Festival was once again a great show with three days of wonderful weather and lots of customers.  A few days after the show, the euphoria wore off and the reality that I had very little product left over set in. I now need to kick it into high gear to get ready for Christmas orders.

I recently got a hold of some interesting Post Office doors.  I’ve seen these style doors a few times over the years, but they are not easily found like the eagles.  I refer to one as a 1911 because it has three patent dates of 1896, 1903, and 1911.  It has a dial pointer, 2 letter combination lock.  The second one is an 1886 dual dial which also uses a two letter combination lock.  This door is a little larger than the standard #1 size door and requires a larger box to hold it.

The 1911 on the left and 1886 on the right.

Tennessee Here I Come!

There’s nothing like Tennessee in the fall and I will be heading to my favorite show in Maryville, Tennessee in a couple of days.  The Foothills Fall Festival sits in the shadow of the Smoky Mountains in downtown Maryville.  It’s also a homecoming for me because I grew up in this area.  The festival is three days and brings top name music performers.  Reba Entire will be headlining this year along with other country and rock groups.

I will be closing my online Etsy store for a little while until I get back.  I hope to have it opened again by the end of next week.  If you happen to be in the area this weekend, I will be set up on Broadway somewhere up close to the Capital Theater.

Like A Box of Chocolates

If you will pardon the cliché, wood is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you are going to get.   I buy most of my wood rough, as it comes from the saw mill, and plane it myself because it’s less expensive this way.  The downside is you can’t really see the grain patterns in rough wood.  It has heavy saw marks, fuzzy texture, and is usually very dirty.  It’s not until I run each board through my planer that I can see what I bought.  I push the board into one side of the planer and anxiously watch as it comes out the other side.  Sometimes it’s ugly, but most of the time I get a nice piece of wood.  Occasionally, I get a surprising exceptional piece.

I was running some 6/4 walnut through my planer today was pleasantly surprised to see beautifully figured patterns come out the other end.  It’s always great to get figured wood for the price of non-figured.  Now I can’t decide what project I want to use it for.

These are both from the same board.  The one on the right is what it looked like as it came from the lumber yard.  The one on the left is after I ran one of the boards through the planer.  The one on the right looked very much the same way as the other one once it was planed.