My first contribution for the Woodsmith 50 vessels in 50 weeks challenge took far longer than a week. I won't get into the procrastination issues that held up this project, but I do want to explain a few other aspects.
The backstory is that I've followed the work of history teacher and carver Dave Fisher for several years. I really like both the look of his approach as well as the tools and techniques he uses to get there. His bowls, vessels, and trays take inspiration from traditional Swedish forms.
For my working from home setup, I wanted an organizer for items that have cluttered up the desk top: pencils, notepads, phone, etc. Then I recently saw Dave's carved tray and thought it would be an ideal form to adapt to my situation.
A section of walnut seemed the ideal choice. And using a few of my supplies as a guide, I came up with a suitable arrangement. However, after sending the walnut through my planer, it turned out to be a crotch section that proved challenging for carving and even sawing on my band saw.
Plan B. Creative Director, Chris Fitch had given me some pine sections (red pine, maybe?) that he had taken down from his property. I had used some to make a bowl and the joy of carving pine can't be understated.
Some splitting and some resawing, and I had the blank ready.
After a co-worker had a keyboard + guacamole incident (cough, Logan, cough), I deleted the coffee cup recess ... plus it would block the monitor.
The organizer has a recess for 3x5 post-it notepads, a place for pencils and an eraser, and a slot for my phone either on its side or upright.
The two larger recesses were formed with a pair of bent gouges, giving the shapes a textured surface that I've been trying to incorporate into my projects.
I drilled out the end of the phone slot, sawed the sides, and used a router plane for shave to the correct depth.
While the bottom face will rarely be seen, I shaped it into feet and contoured edges with a round plane and the gouges. The finish is one coat of amber shellac and one coat of clear shellac.
In addition to the joy of making, my education in woodworking takes its turn here. Carved details like this make a person keenly aware of grain direction and the sharpness of tools. One growth area for me is handling the bottoms of the recesses. You end up cutting from both directions and ending up with a smooth surface in the transition isn't easy. Gives me something to practice on for the next piece.
