Today my wife, daughter and I drove to the Hillsborough to get the FREE cherry generously offered by member Doug Joyce. The drive was quick, about 1 hour, but I have a lead foot. Once we arrive we were warmly greeted by Doug and his wife, and their beautiful dog Zoe. Doug and I proceeded to attend to the required shop tour, while the ladies chatted about the things to be done in the area for later in the day. Doug has a very nice shop set-up, complete with a Unisaw, finishing area and ample wood and supply storage areas (very well organized, I must add). Once that concluded, Gator, timely showed up, and we procceeded to go through the wood that Doug was giving to us. I consider it a nice score, many small pieces that will be perfect for boxes and such and a few good size pieces that will make something more substantial. We loaded up the wood in our truck and Gators car. Gator had to run, so he departed with many thanks to Doug. Gator, it was great to meet you and put a face to the name. Then Doug offered a tour of his home. This no ordinary Centex type home. No, it was designed by Doug who also had a hand in most of the construction. The home is designed like the three spoke wheel system of high-tech racing bike wheels (Doug and his wife are avid bike riders). The center is a great room with lofty ceilings, and sweet A/V system, and beautiful hardwood floors. One of the coolest things about the room IMO, was the center of the floor. The hardwood flooring was laid in a triangular pattern, and when it got to the center triangle, that was composed of an inlay of walnut and ambrosia maple. The Ambrosia marks in the maple were aligned to radiate out from the flats of the center triangle...very cool. The rest of the house is composed of the three wings (spokes) with a very well thought out traffic flow pattern to them and very nice handcrafted touches throughout. Of course the views out all windows were of beautifully wood land, and nice landscaping. I also saw the cabinets that were made out of the cherry, that we got the off-cuts from. Doug definitely took the best wood for them. The color was beautiful, very warm and rich. The construction was simple but very well done, somewhat Shaker style. Definitely something to be proud of. After the house tour we had to hit the road. I had promised Ava, my daughter, Happy Meals at McDonald and she was ready to collect her prize. After eating we walked around Hillsborough a bit, then wandered on home, stopping at a local park for a little playtime. A wonderful day had by all. I want to thank Doug and his wife for their hospitality and the generous donation of wood to The DaveO wood butchery fund. If any of ya'll see any pieces that you could use in your projects let me know we'll hook up somehow. Thanks for enduring my narrative, now for the pics!!!
Cloudancer and Red Sonja, sorry we missed you, you left just shortly before we arrived, it would have been nice to meet ya'll. If you are interested in any of this cherry for Cloudancer's mini aquarium project, I would love to trade for a turning blank out of the logs you got from Doug. I just received my new bowl gouge (stealth gloat) and am dying to spin me a new bowl. Thanks for looking ya'll come back now, ya hear! Dave
Cloudancer and Red Sonja, sorry we missed you, you left just shortly before we arrived, it would have been nice to meet ya'll. If you are interested in any of this cherry for Cloudancer's mini aquarium project, I would love to trade for a turning blank out of the logs you got from Doug. I just received my new bowl gouge (stealth gloat) and am dying to spin me a new bowl. Thanks for looking ya'll come back now, ya hear! Dave