Last Class of 2011

Some of you may have been wondering what has happened, since I have not written in a while.  The truth be told, I tend to get so busy and wrapped up in other projects that my writing just gets pushed to the back burner. But it’s certainly not because there is nothing to write about, in fact there is a ton to write about!

We are actually right at the end of finishing up a prototype workbench class. It seems that a workbench class has been one of the most requested new classes so I finally said, “OK, let’s just do a class!”

Two great students joined me earlier this month to embark on building 3 benches in a 12 day class. Carl, Rob and I started with a huge pile of rough lumber and began milling wood and cutting mortise and tenons. We have had an absolute wonderful time working together and putting our heads together to resurrect an ancient tail vise which dates back to the 16^th century. Please stay tuned as I promise I will be writing more about this exquisite vise in the near future.

There was one clause in the workbench class contract: if my wife went into labor we would stop the class and resume at a later date. Well, our new son decided to arrive just a few days prior to the completion date of the class! Needless to say, we had to resume the class after Christmas.

Each of us constructed a bench using primarily hard maple throughout. I designed the benches with the traditional European bench in mind. We used a quick release vise on the front and our lovely wagon vise for the tail vise. The size is 31” wide and over 7 feet long. These benches, when finished, will be worthy to be used as any piece of fine furniture in the home and they are sure heavy to boot!  I will be sending some pictures of the guys with their finished benches in the near future.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas Holiday and that the New Year is filled with many blessings. I look forward to all of you joining us for another year of great classes in 2012.

Happy New Year!

Frank Strazza