Getting off the ground (being grounded)

Well, this week has been a good one. After the hair raising task of trying to glue up 9 ten foot long planks to create the bottom panel, and race to get the excess glue off before the heat and lack of humidity set up the glue, I was able to get the bottom cut to rough size and sand out any uneven edges. Now I am getting excited! For the first time I can start to see the outline of the board and imagine myself padeling out.

The sanding of the inside edge was O.K. but it made me realize that it was probably time to invest in some hand planes. I will need them eventually, and there is no time like the present. While those are on order I went ahead and glued up the top planks so that I could reuse a lot of the wood from the laminating table to create my rocker table. Once that was done it was time to remove the tape that helped to hold the joints together. Call me wierd, but this was very satisfying. Not that it revieled anything new, just the process of pealing off the tape itself. I think it is kind of kin to when you get a sunburn or a scraped knee, you just can't help it.

Now I can turn to the rocker table and the keel and frame construction. I am finding this process very calming, a real step away from all of the hustle bustle of everyday stress. This is good for me, I need something to slow me down and ground me.

Don't you just love the way the knots and grain give such character to the board?