This weekend, I began work on the legs for the china/curio cabinet I am making for Brooklynne. We picked this piece because 1) it is simple and good for learning, 2) it is small and thus less expensive to make and easier to have in our matchbox apartment, and 3) once we move into a bigger place, we can upgrade to a hutch for the china and still find a good use for the curio.

I love woodworking. It's like sculpting but you end up with something that is both asthetic and functional. I love the idea of taking a raw stack of lumber and producing something tangible. Another exciting aspect of this project is that I get to play with some of the new tools I've been given during the past few years. I'm borrowing a table saw and a chop saw, but I own a router table, drill press, and sander that I've not been able to use nearly as much as I would like.

Speaking of drill presses, I've been waiting for the chance to blog about Kruger, my east european (chinese) drill press, for a couple of weeks now. Brooklynne won a last minute bid for Kruger on Ebay shortly before Christmas, and we received the press in the mail when we returned from Durham. As you can tell from the photo, Kruger looks like a relic from some WWII factory in Germany (thus the name Kruger), but Bill took it upon himself to google the model number and he found a reference at www.made-in-china.com. If you want to read about the company we think probably gave birth to Kruger-sun, click here. Compare the picture on this site with the image of my press. Any difference? So far, Kruger has preformed well despite its "manual transmission" (see picture) and its "quick change" chuck (tending to fall off without notice; Bill might have fixed this feature with a hammer Monday). We'll see how this all works out.

Bill also invested in an antique power tool I have named Roscoe. Roscoe's claim to fame is that a review cited a higher likelihood of loosing an arm than a finger while operating. Be careful Bill!!! Click "continue reading" to see pictures of Roscoe, my lovely shop assistant, and the fate of the cabinet formerly known as Sandy's hutch....