A Day in the Life of one Artist

Untitled Drawing, 29″ x 23″ (74cm x 58cm), charcoal pencil & black pastel on Strathmore 2 ply rag Bristol

Untitled Drawing, 29″ x 23″ (74cm x 58cm), charcoal pencil & black pastel on Strathmore 2 ply rag Bristol

Untitled Drawing, 29″ x 23″ (74cm x 58cm), charcoal pencil & black pastel on Strathmore 2 ply rag Bristol

Japanese Maple

Root Mass after Rinsing away Soil

Here it easy to see the distribution of the roots. The soil mix is easy to remove from the roots by sloshing it in a bucket of water. The bucket of water has a 1/4 teaspoon (1ml) of Superthrive per gallon of rainwater in which I soak the roots for several minutes.

The Bottom of the Tree with the Downward Growing Roots Removed

Root Distribution after Triming

I have trimmed the larger roots heavily, but have left the thinner ones. All the Japanese bonsai masters say, “Prune the roots fearlessly.” First, I wonder what the Japanese word for “fearlessly” is. Two, is that word really being translated correctly? My fearless trimming in Albuquerque has resulted in many bonsai fatalities.

In the Pot

I have a hard time finding pots in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe area. I buy them when I see them. Where possible I choose deeper bots because the of the dry summer heat. This one is too large for the tree, so I will be on the lookout for smaller one. I have spread a thin layer of decomposed granite sieved to 1/8″ (3mm) on the top of the coarser soil mix for appearance. The other problem I have is getting moss to grow on the soil. There is a moss that thrives on the boulders in my neighborhood during winter, but I can’t get that to flourish during the summer.

San Jose Juniper with Some of Branches Trimmed Away, about 3ft (1m) diameter

Root Mass

Cutting off Bottom Third of Root Mass

Root Mass Trimmed Back

After a couple of hours’ work I’ve cleaned out the root ball. There was no main tap root to the plant. In addition, the condition of the branching leads me to think that at one time, perhaps, someone had intended this plant to be a bonsai.

Juniper Replanted

I replant the tree in a 5 gallon container, which I’ve cut down. The planting mix, 50% decomposed granite and 50″ pine bark sieved to about 1/8″ (.3cm), is about 6″ (15cm) deep. I tilt up what will become the main trunk. This year I’ll let the plant rest. Next year I’ll begin aerial rooting some of the large branches to make some other bonsai.

Parts for One Side of Dresser

Here’s the layout of the parts of one side of dresser: the stiles, the top and bottom rails, the two panels and the mullion separating the panels. The next step is to locate and drill the holes for the pegs that secure the mortise and tenon joints.

1/4″ (.63cm) Diameter Hole for Peg

For all the joints I use a quater inch diameter hole (.63cm). I drill all the holes 1″ (2.5cm) deep, deep enough to pass into the far side of the mortise. A 5/16″ (.8cm) diameter hole and peg would have worked just as well. I do not drill the hole in the tenon at the same time.

Locating the Hole in the Tenon

To locate the peg hole in the tenon I clamp the two parts together to insure a tight fit. With the brad point drill I used to drill the holes, I mark the center of the hole on the tenon while it is clamped. (The tape on the drill bit is to insure the holes are the same depth, in this case one inch.)

Marked Center Location on Tenon

The circled dimples show the location of the hole, but I DO NOT drill at this location. I drill the peg holes in the tenon about 1/32″ (.8mm) toward the base of the tenon from the marked location.

Offset Holes for Mortis and Tenon Joint

The holes in the tenon are now slightly offset toward the base of the tenon. (This photo exaggerates the offset. If the offset is too great, the peg will break or deform too much to pass into the hole on the far side of the mortise.) When the peg is driven into the hole, it will pull the tenoned piece tight into the joint.

Peg with Grooves

I make the pegs from maple dowels. I cut them 1 1/4″ ( 3.2cm) long, 1/4″ (.6cm) longer than the depth of the hole. First I bevel the end of the pegs so that they will not get hung up on the offset hole in the tenon. Then with a pair of pliers I indent some glue relief grooves on the pegs to allow any extra glue to escape. I don’t make the grooves the whole length of the peg because I don’t want any indentations to show up when I cut the peg off even with the finished surface.

The next step is to glue and clamp the pieces together.  First I glue the top and bottom rails to the mullion and peg them.  Then I insert a panel into the grooves in the assembled rails and mullion.  Next I assemble one stile and the rails with its panel.  I tap in the pegs for those joints.  Finally, I assemble the second stile and the rails with its panel.  I peg those joints.  Even though the pegs are holding the mortise and tenon joints securely, I clamp the whole assembly until the glue dries. 

One of the Seven Web Frames and Its Dust Cover

Detail of Parts for Web Frame

Panel (right) Fits in Groove of Central Style (left) to Allow Movement

The panel must have room to expand laterally with changes in humidity. (Wherever this chest goes after having been built in the northern end of Sonoran Desert, it will expand.) At this point the only design change I would make in the chest would be to make the moulded edge of the panel extend more into the panel. The panel could have been thinner, but I didn’t make it thinner for two reasons: 1, I don’t have that capacity to resaw the panel, and, 2, the direction of the grain in the panel is at 90 degrees of what would be ideal.

Ripping Wood for the Web Frames

The web frames strengthens the carcass keeping it from moving out of square in the plane of the drawers. Here I’m using clear pine instead of poplar. It was available and is half the cost of poplar. Although I chose pine boards that were straight, as soon as I ripped one, each half bowed about an inch out of straight. I’ll cut that one for the shorter sides of the web frame.

Sled to Cut Long Boards

Once I’ve ripped the boards for the web frame to width, I use a sled with a stop to cut the lengths quickly and accurately.