Prodigal Ponderings — DIY RSS



"Where Do You Get Your Wood"

  One of the common questions that came out of our first festival participation was “Where do you get your wood?” (usually posed by another woodworker or weekend hobbyist) This question sparked several conversations  that led to an  exchange of valuable information.   It's human nature.............we enjoy sharing things we've discovered with others who share our interest. As far as wood sources go, for convenience there are the Big Box stores, but without offending anyone,they're primarily good for plywood and structure based wood (2 x 4’s, etc). Then there are lumber yards; however many of them are also focused on building materials.  The places where you get prime hardwoods are specialty lumber businesses, generally to be found via online searches...

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Post Festival Musings

This past weekend was The Prodigal Carpenter's first experience participating in a Festival or Artisan Fair.  For anyone who has undertaken one of these, we don't have to tell you the amount of hard work that goes into preparation, facilitating, and post event handling.  We learned a lot from our "initiation" into the outdoor market world.   1  Nothing replaces personal interaction with potential customers.  The feedback was invaluable.  It was affirming to have so many folks express admiration for the quality and craftsmanship of our products and admire what we do.   2. Know your Target Market.  Handcrafted items of high quality are not produced inexpensively They take time, craftsmanship and quality materials. Consequently they're not what everyone is looking...

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Carpenter Tips: Avoiding Cutting Board Router "Tear out"

As I develop my skills as a carpenter I like to share  “little discoveries” that have made a difference in my projects.  Much of what I have learned is from watching videos and then putting that knowledge into action, so I thought I’d first give a nod to some helpful sources. When it comes to making end grain cutting boards I have primarily used 3 sources. The “Wood Whisperer” (http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/videos/) is very informative and entertaining; Mtmwood (http://mtmwood.com/) has exceptional Youtube videos and The Boardsmith (www.theboardsmith.com/).  Although the boardsmith doesn’t include videos he has some great information on “why” we do endgrain boards.   These artisans have been gracious enough to share their expertise with the world, so I try to...

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Beauty in the Details....... Blessings Best Not Missed

My wife and I took a ride the other day to purchase a load of wood.  Our journey took us eastward through the "foothills" area of the north Georgia mountains.  Once past the multi-lane congestion of Atlanta, we wound our way through the picturesque countryside on the way to our destination. It was a beautiful early Fall day. The destination turned out to be a workshop full of some prime hardwood which was being sold in preparation for closing out the shop.  The owner, a very pleasant and industrious young man was preparing to pursue missionary work in Africa in a few months.  He patiently took the time to let us look through his wood supply and make our selections....

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Best Burgers You Ever Tasted ( In our humble opinion:)

You know what you’re eating when you grind your own beef and the cost is better than what you pay for the grocery store mystery grind,  but be careful, the guests you invite over once are going to want to be invited back.   In a recent post we shared the "how" of grinding your own beef mixture. Here’s a cost breakdown of our most recent meat purchase for creating our own “grind”:                                                      Chuck roast: 8.86 lbs  @    $2.98                        London broil: 8.11 lbs @    $2.98        ...

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