Carving detail on drawer front by Dan Reahard
It doesn’t matter whether you use hand tools or machines, work in modern style or rococo. We all get a flood of satisfaction when the last coat of finish dries and recall that raw pile of lumber we started with. Even if we were lucky enough to start with some incredible wood, it took our hands and skill to unlock the inner beauty locked within. Almost as good, is that sense of appreciation we feel when we see someone else’s work. As woodworkers we bring a unique perspective. We see the careful selection of grain, tight joinery and crisp carving as a mark of excellence. Best of all seeing good work inspires our imagination and challenges us to do better work.
I’ve been thinking about ways to make this blog more useful. One of my thoughts is to create a forum where we can share images of our completed projects. Some of my thoughts are:
- Regularly post images of completed projects from readers with links to connect anyone interested in follow-up.
- Create a gallery page and assemble a collection of reader created furniture pieces. The gallery may have many rooms or categories to cover a wide variety of work.
- Gallery links to hook up with other outstanding collections on the Web.
I’d appreciate your thoughts on this and any other ideas you may have about making this site as useful as possible.
George R. Walker
Design Matters 
I like the idea George! If you wanted to keep the focus on design, you could also ask those who submit pictures to also provide a brief description (sentence or two) of how they came up with their design and include the writeup with the pictures on the site.
George, how about design critiques, constructive criticism only, on completed projects that readers post. Or perhaps even SketchUp models or other drawings before something is built?
Kris
I have to agree with Kris. With all of the new blogs coming about, I thought it would be cool if someone had a site wherbyyou could submit photos of your project and a expert would provide a critique of the project. When you submit to other sites such as lumberjocks, you get lots of kind praise but I’m looking for someone to offer more constructive criticism on proportions, grain selection, finish etc. Like many hobbyist woodworkers, i’ve learned by reading, internet etc. and have never taken a class. I may be blissfully ignorant of making some mistake over and over again when an expert could point out a better way to do something.
I have to agree with the two above posts. I as well would love some design critique for the projects that I have done. It is hard to get a truely honest opinion and in the anonimity of the internet it may be possible.
Here’s a thought, if someone wanted feedback I could leave the comments activated. If anyone wanted to forego critiscism I could post with comments turned off. There may be a bit of a learning curve on our part as a whole. We may have to police ourselves to make sure this is a place to get help not bloodied. For my part when I’m asked to give some input I tend to ask questions i.e. Are you happy with that contrast between that light maple and dark walnut?
Would anyone like to submit something and give it a whirl?
George
I have a work in process that I could use input on. Instead of after the fact, let me know what you think from the start?
We all are at different levels and I am stretching myself on this project. Let me know if you are interested.
Tom,
I’ll contact you via e-mail and see if we can get it posted next week.
George
George,
The Boston Globe website (boston dot com) does critiques as part of their RAW photo section. A photographer has to ask for the critique and be accepted. A professional does the critique. Perhaps you might find some ideas on how to set up a system for this great idea.
Thanks Paul, I’ll check it out.
George
I’d like to submit a photo of a work in progress. I fitted the doors into the piece last night and I’m not sure if I have proportions right. Admittedly, I didn’t use any ratios etc to proportion them, just my eyes and what “felt” right in the sketchup model.