A wood shop ghost town

Not a bit of woodworking accomplished today. I'm kind of thinking about a Valentines Day project. I did see the most awesome wood shop today, though. And it is completely unused. See video below.

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I want to apologize for the random pre-roll ads YouTube is now running on my videos. Apparently, this is something new the YouTube is testing. They call them "skippable" ads: after a few seconds you can click the ad off. I suppose it's similar to the little overlay ads that we had to click off before, only more annoying. They don't seem to run each time on every video, only randomly.

I don't make an enormous income off the video ads that I have always had,  but it's enough to help defray a lot of my expenses. So it appears I have no choice but to either accept the "skippable" pre-rolls or opt out of monetizing my videos. I'll keep an eye on this and see what develops. I hope you will bear with a few seconds of these ads. At least they are skippable.

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Mere Minutes

Tricked-out BBQ caddy

Over a month ago, Warren and I started brainstorming ideas for an Australia Day project. I learned a lot about the customs and traditions associated with the holiday. Ever heard of a Pavlova? It's a dessert commonly served on Australia Day. I thought about making a special cake box for one, but the thought of making an actual Pavlova to put in it seemed daunting.

But really Australia Day sounds a lot like the 4th of July here in the U.S. Lots of backyard activities, but mainly barbecue and beer. So I came across the idea of combining the two into one BBQ caddy. But not just a serving tray: a totally pimped-out, over-the-top caddy.

Naturally, a campy extravaganza of a video was in order.

Happy Australia Day!

Hope you folks down under are enjoying your holiday. Tune in tomorrow for the Mere Mortals Australia Day Extravaganza. Make it a four-day weekend!

For those of you elsewhere, here are a couple of informative videos to watch before the Mere Mortals Australia Day Extravaganza. Think of it as your homework.




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Australia updates

Bob Wiseman from Ulverstone, Tasmania just completed his first box, all made with Aussie wood! It consists of  Huon Pine mitred sides, with a  Blackwood  veneered lid and River Red Gum keys and removable divider. Beautiful wood. Nice work Bob!

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Now, Paul Homes  in Perth, Western Australia tells me it is not a very comfortable time to be working in the shop. Check out these temps. (38 C is the same as 100 F.) Yep, there are guys in Minnesota right now having the same problem with their shops being too uncomfortable to work in!

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Mere Minutes

Handy Australian table saw jig from Warren

More woodworking from Down Under

How 'bout those championship games yesterday? Good games: I really thought San Francisco could pull it off right up to a fumbled punt return at the worst possible time ever.

In Australia, cricket is very popular. I don't know much about the game, other than it employs the use of a flat bat. And when I see a cricket bat, I think of Shawn of the Dead.

Brenton Rawlings describes cricket this way: "A sport that most Australians will play in the backyard pretending to be good at it with only a select few who make a career from turning professional."


Here's a set of cricket "Stump Shelves" he made.

And look: a picture frame with Brenton's family pictured. It's made of Oak with a Jarrah inlay.

Finally, he sent over a picture of an awesome looking go-cart he made with his nephew for Christmas. I so want to ride this!

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John Steele works in the tech wing of a local school and tells me that my iWood video is compulsory viewing for all new wood working classes. Uh-oh! 

John describes his gorgeous turnings: 

"The motif is a gum leaf - inlaid into some random eucalypt hardwood. Commonly called Victorian Ash (gum trees from Victoria). The inlay is redgum burl. 

The last one American Ash- Fraxinus americana, and an Australian redgum burl shaped again as a gum leaf.  This could be seen as a symbol of the connection between our two countries (or it could be that I was given a few offcuts of American ash.)"