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Rick Schuman
Hartly, Delaware, United States
For Woodness Sake
I have a lifelong interest in wood and woodworking and have in recent years focused on green woodworking methods and products including the use of a spring-pole lathe, a shave horse, and a number of vintage hand tools. I’m relearning the qualities and foibles of local woods in their “green” state which I acquire from wind-falls (trees that have been knocked down in storms) and from a local sawmill.
My back yard has become my “shop” with a small shed and a rough tent to store tools and projects. I’ve been making rustic wood furniture and accessories, mostly practical if not useful stuff, although I make a lot of hobo flowers in the evening and an occasional egg from the waste ends of spindles and such. One of the things I like to do involves making practical/useful things from shapes I find in nature. The most obvious example is a walking cane with a handle that grew at a sharp angle to a branch. I also make stools out of three branch tree forks. Although I put a clear sealer on things I make, I rarely use stain as I would like to show off the natural beauty of the wood.
To me, this is all about exploring the wonder of wood, for woodness sake.
