Trooper York: Deep thoughts.....by Titus

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Deep thoughts.....by Titus

Titus said...: Robert Wood Johnson.

How do you know about these companies?

I would like to be in that company....or have it in me....or something....

Tits

39 comments:

Trooper York said...: Thanks to nd spinelli for lending us his drivers license photo.; August 11, 2012 at 10:40 PM
Chip S. said...: Wasn't there an old Beach Boys song that went something like

I've got a thirteen-inch dildo

and they call it a woody

?

I could be mistaken about that.

Maybe it was Steely Dan.; August 12, 2012 at 12:20 AM
MamaM said...: Thanks to nd spinelli for lending us his drivers license photo.

At least he has a nicely shaped head and a smooth finish...; August 12, 2012 at 1:14 AM
Chip S. said...: not glossy, but durable; August 12, 2012 at 1:23 AM
Chip S. said...: MamaM, I just realized that you compared spinelli to a glass of good beer.

Seems about right.; August 12, 2012 at 1:24 AM
Chip S. said...: OK, now I remember the Beach Boys song I was reminded of:

Wooden, it be nice!; August 12, 2012 at 1:32 AM
MamaM said...: Jan and Dean had a similar encounter with the little old lady and her super stock Dodge:

The guys come to race her from miles around
But she'll give 'em a length, then she'll shut 'em down; August 12, 2012 at 2:00 AM
ndspinelli said...: A Trooper, ChipS, Mama riff. Good to wake up to after getting my ass kicked @ Arlington Park yesterday. At least we had a great meal afterward.

Allie, I do have empathy for you. All most people in the US know about Wi. is Scott Walker and Paul Ryan.; August 12, 2012 at 10:26 AM
Anonymous said...: I don't mind Paul Ryan, I don't like his take on Medicare, I think costs need to be contained, his plan doesn't do it. He is a handsome devil, my daughter met him at a function at the Governor's residence, as a part of her job. Her fiancé was with her and Tommy Thompson was a bit drunk and spilled a bit of his drink on him, LOL!

Spinelli, you probably know what what my daughter does for a living, so I know you will believe me, that's comforting.; August 12, 2012 at 12:18 PM
ndspinelli said...: Thompson is a buffoon. Is your daughter still in the private sector or public, as an attorney.; August 12, 2012 at 12:22 PM
chickelit said...: @Allie: You have the right to remain silent...; August 12, 2012 at 12:59 PM
chickelit said...: Anyone seen Sixty? DBQ might be wondering if cherry can be turned like that on a lathe.

*ducks*; August 12, 2012 at 1:01 PM
Anonymous said...: I posted a picture of her once with Governor Doyle and several others, at a ground breaking for a power plant. That's all I'm saying.; August 12, 2012 at 1:03 PM
Anonymous said...: DBQ doesn't need one of those, she has a big strapping plumber, no I mean he's big and burly, I'm just guessing.; August 12, 2012 at 1:04 PM
Anonymous said...: I trust you Nick, I would feel comfortable telling you exactly what she does, but this is still a semi public blog.; August 12, 2012 at 1:07 PM
chickelit said...: DBQ doesn't need one of those, she has a big strapping plumber,

Didn't you have one of those too? Do they come with belts?; August 12, 2012 at 3:29 PM
chickelit said...: BTW, that's not even a phallus. It's part of an artificial limb. The rounded part on top fits into a special socket (not shown). It more like Long Dong Sliver's peg leg.; August 12, 2012 at 3:37 PM
Anonymous said...: Chickie!? Are you asking me if I own a strap on?!! Well!

Just kidding, my plumber was never mine, I don't want him to be mine, I like being his neighbor, he comes in handy once in a while, we both like it this way. It would take a VERY special man who could ever become more than a friend with benefits, so there it is, I'm a slut.; August 12, 2012 at 3:46 PM
chickelit said...: ...he comes in handy once in a while, we both like it this way

He tells you that stuff? Do you watch?; August 12, 2012 at 3:52 PM
Anonymous said...: OK Chickie, I'm being dense here, what do you mean exactly?

Ohhhh, wait......; August 12, 2012 at 4:10 PM
ndspinelli said...: Allie, I completely understand.; August 12, 2012 at 5:05 PM
The Dude said...: The object pictured appears to be made of Color Wood, a product made by Rutland Plywood. I am not making this up.

Cherry would be a good choice, once. Iron wood, another good choice. Dogwood for the esthetically challenged, pussy willow for those who swing that way. You can tell dogwood by the bark. Ash, well, you can make your own jokes with ash.

I turned a 22" diameter bowl out of pumpkin ash - when people ask, I tell them it is a big ash bowl.

I could keep going - African black wood would work, but instrument makers would not like to see that scarce resource used for so tawdry an object.

Pink ivory - very nice. Fossil ivory tusks - what could be harder, eh? In Alabama the Tuscaloosa.

Crab apple - well, who doesn't like lice, eh?

Naughty pine, anyone?

Okay, this has branched out far enough.; August 12, 2012 at 7:03 PM
Titus said...: Sixty's back!

Yeah!

And writing about WOOD.

Awesome.

tits.; August 12, 2012 at 8:26 PM
MamaM said...: Sixty skillfully carves out a niche with his top drawer collection of wood recommendations but neglects to mention the long time favorite...

Baaa-ass wood!; August 13, 2012 at 3:06 AM
MamaM said...: I turned a 22" diameter bowl out of pumpkin ash - when people ask, I tell them it is a big ash bowl.

A beautiful big ash 14" diameter bowl of turned cedar resides on my porch table. It was brought home this summer by sonM who purchased it at the wood show in Tannehill Park near Birmingham. I turned it over just now, half expecting to see "SixtyG on the bottom, but it is signed "TedB2012". According to the story, it was made from a tree in the park. The ring markings are unusually lovely, two side by side circles spreading outward.; August 13, 2012 at 3:22 AM
The Dude said...: I turn a lot of Eastern Redcedar, as it is now called, it is a true juniper, Juniperus virginiana, and a very aromatic wood. It usually has wonderful figure, sometimes caused by the propensity of the tree to have a lot of branches.

The city forester once allowed me to saw up a 4' diameter ERC log he had brought home from work. I turned a 24" diameter bowl out of that butt log, it was very unusual to find a solid piece of ERC that large with no bark inclusions or other major defects.

The only problem with working with that wood is that one's shop then smells like a giant hamster cage.

Today I will build a door for a cedar closet I built a few years back. The door will be cedar, too. The shop will be aromatic, at least until I sweep up.

I have only signed one or two bowls out of the more than 1,000 I have turned - they are utilitarian objects, not art. I don't like pretentiousness. I am very pretentious about my dislike of pretentiousness.

And, I have turned bass wood, or Linden as it is known in tree form. It is a prime wood for carving, just very bland when turned. Unterlindenstrasse is named for those trees. Makes me want to goose step into Poland just writing the street name.; August 13, 2012 at 4:45 AM
ndspinelli said...: SixtyGrit, My old man was a wood carver. He left me his tools but I don't have the skills. He loved basswood. There was an incredible basswood carving of the Last Supper in a church in Kansas City. My old man would go study it whenever he came to visit us in KC.; August 13, 2012 at 10:23 AM
ndspinelli said...: I would bust his balls by calling his craft, "whittling" and call him Jed Clampett. He would laugh his ass off.; August 13, 2012 at 10:25 AM
Anonymous said...: Sixty, when I used to bake my own bread I wanted a big bread rising wooden bowl, large enough to hold dough for at least four loaves. I never did get one, because I stopped eating bread, made from wheat. BUT if I ever go back to baking bread, I would plunk down the money for it. Yeast spores supposedly get in the wood and helps the dough rise. Supposed to be better than any other material for bread rising.; August 13, 2012 at 11:29 AM
The Dude said...: Get well, Oopie, and bring money - I double the normal price for commies.; August 13, 2012 at 11:33 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; August 13, 2012 at 12:01 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; August 13, 2012 at 12:13 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: LOL at both Chick and Allie. You guys funny.

Nope. Don't need my cherry tree turned into anything like that. Not that it isn't purty.

I like Sixty's inspired suggestion to turn the cherry tree into a bowl. I'm getting crap from friends right now about the tree. Bad feng shui to have a dead tree at the entrance to your property. BUT...I'm determined to give it another chance to live.

she has a big strapping plumber, no I mean he's big and burly, I'm just guessing.

Yep. I'm 5'6"...he's 6'1". Here is a photo of his back [shoulders are all scrunched forward to make the shirts more readable] big and burly and a real teddy bear most of the time. Hates to have his picture taken so a photo of the back is about the best I can do.

Hey....Sixty. Have you ever turned a manzanita burl. They make the most beautiful bowls. I've heard that the wood is very hard. The problem is the rocks that are included in the burls because it is mostly formed under the ground on the roots.

Reposted for the link to work.; August 13, 2012 at 12:38 PM
The Dude said...: When friends, usually commies, mention feng shui I usually say something like "What's the matter? Aren't American superstitions good enough for you? You have to go borrow ones from China?". They don't have a good answer for that question.

Trees usually die slowly, just as they live and grow slowly. Sometimes they will fool you, but usually they continue the trend they are on. I do hope it recovers.

One of my selling points is using local woods - and while we have 200 types of trees here in NC, manzanita is not among them. I used to occasionally buy Big Leaf Maple burls from a woman in Oregon on eBay, but since I got some giant chainsaws I tend to be cheap and saw my own wood. So, to answer your question, I have not turned manzanita, but I might consider it should I have the opportunity.

Rocks happen, that's for sure. My turning teacher likes tell the story of turning a large blank and having his gouge go dull way too quickly. He was also hearing a click every revolution. He stopped the lathe - sure enough, there was a rock inclusion in the wood.

I have turned bullet slugs - brave hunters managed to shoot a tree - good shootin' there, bubba! I have found embedded beer bottles, big pieces of fencing, light fixtures, railroad spikes, 16d nails, and almost without fail I find those objects with a freshly sharpened chain. I carry a metal detector, but if a log is 3 or 4 feet in diameter even the best detector is not going to find buried tramp metal.

I once went to the effort to clean up and saw a walnut root ball - not really worth it - crotch wood is much easier to work with and much better looking in the finished product.; August 13, 2012 at 5:32 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: I have found embedded beer bottles, big pieces of fencing, light fixtures, railroad spikes, 16d nails, and almost without fail I find those objects with a freshly sharpened chain.

Lumber story. My husbands father had a rather large logging operation in the Humboldt area of California, back in the late 50's early 60's. When his crew would be bringing the logs in for scaling at the mill where they had a contract to deliver, quite often the scaler would reject some of the logs as being inadequate, to small, punky, or for some other reason. Not to mention cheating on the math and scaling the logs smaller and paying less than they should have. The logging truck drivers had no way to argue about it and had to accept the scalers results so they could go back and pick up another load.

As a result, a good portion of each load was rejected and since it wasn't feasible to do anything else the rejects were just offloaded.

He suspected that the robber baron/asshole owner of the mill(and still a giant dickhead) was cheating him out of thousand and thousands of dollars by rejecting and then going ahead and milling the reject logs that he got for free.

My father in law decide to spike some of those that he knew would be rejected {based on previous experience}. Sure enough....when the mill owner ran those 'rejects' through the mill the saws hit the spikes and put the mill out of operation for months costing the owner hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The owner could do nothing about it, since he didn't know whose logs those were because he was cheating owners of many other operations. Any of about 10 companies could have been the culprit.; August 13, 2012 at 5:51 PM
chickelit said...: When friends, usually commies, mention feng shui I usually say something like "What's the matter? Aren't American superstitions good enough for you? You have to go borrow ones from China?". They don't have a good answer for that question.

I just adopt terms but turn them a bit. For example, I will ask someone: "Does that arrangement feng your shui?"; August 13, 2012 at 7:01 PM
chickelit said...: I have turned bullet slugs - brave hunters managed to shoot a tree - good shootin' there, bubba!

Are you vegetarian, Sixty?; August 13, 2012 at 7:02 PM
The Dude said...: I was bein' a smart ass - I know, right? Scary thing is one slug was in a tree I got from a neighbor's yard. Too close for comfort.; August 13, 2012 at 7:29 PM
MamaM said...: I have only signed one or two bowls out of the more than 1,000 I have turned - they are utilitarian objects, not art. I don't like pretentiousness. I am very pretentious about my dislike of pretentiousness.

While I consider it SixtyG's right to sign, not sign or be pretentious about whatever he wishes to be pretentious about; with 1000 pieces under his belt, I'm inclined to believe he most likely qualifies as a skilled craftsman. One with considerable experience in producing a unique product that I'm guessing might go beyond "utilitarian" to reveal an additional measure of beauty and excellence. If so, such work would, in my opinion, be worthy of carrying the "maker's mark", a small sign identifying the one-of-a-kind nature of the item crafted. Different than an artist's bold or showy signature. Similar in style and intent to the stamps blacksmiths and sword makers use. I like finding and seeing this kind a mark on hand crafted pieces.

That said, I have on my shelf two unusual wooden spoons carved by Dan Dustin a woodworker out of NH. Neither carry a mark but his style is distinctive. While his spoons are intended to be utilitarian, those who pick them up to feel their shape and texture appreciate not only the craft involved but enjoy them as something more, closer to art.

I originally bought three in the early 90's before the internet made his work more popular, and ended up giving one to a psychologist friend who keeps it in his office as a reminder of what the phrase "raise up a child in the way he/she should go", means and looks like to him. Not cookie cutter sameness or rigid perfection, but a shape honoring and revealing the unique nature of the material present.

Woodworking runs in my family. My older brother repairs and restores pipe organs. My dad, a dentist, carved wood to relax. When I turn over the Wild Goose he made, I like seeing his initials because like Kilroy, they remind me he was here. I inherited his chip/whittling knives 5 years ago and just completed my second nativity (basswood) while watching the Olympics. Even though the same initial drawing/templates were used for both, they each turned out different. I'm in the final sanding stage now. I started with 180 G (because anything lower chews up the wood) and am up to 600 grit, which makes the figures silky smooth. When they're done and I learn how to post a pic, I'll do so.

@Sixty...I figure your name alone serves as caution for anyone with soft wood!

DBQ, I enjoyed your story. I read it to MrM who doesn't read blogs but likes a good story. Especially one where justice was served!; August 14, 2012 at 3:13 AM

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