Bell Tower- The bookend of the Christmas rush.

The hardest part of an idea is thinking it through far enough to avoid disaster- and the second hardest thing is knowing when enough thinking has been done. This week I finally started on a project for two wonderful, and wonderfully patient, clients. The commission was for a bell tower, a very unique piece for me, and definitely the largest project to date, but I like a challenge.

Going back in time a second, as I warmed up initially to do this project the Christmas rush started early and hard. We fulfilled over twice as many orders as I expected, and I was working at it about 80 hours a week up until Christmas. Then, in the final week before Christmas, I got a cold. No that it stopped me, of course, but it did make it less fun. Anyways, the point in that being that everything got put on hold that wasn’t an order, and I had a near online-blackout with my communication and posts, simply trying to keep up in the slightest. Now, those orders are *mostly* filled, and I’m looking forward to getting to my que of commissions!

With a little room to breathe, I jumped into the first commission on my list, this tower. I had already gotten far enough into it to have a lot of the creative decisions out of the way, though some were definitely improved upon with more time to marinate. So, I decided to jump in and start cutting what I had marked out. A fresh blade on the bandsaw adn a lot of nerve, and I made some of my most expensive cuts to date.

A few things I discovered are as follows.

1) Using a precise drill on the mainframe, or vertical legs, and then a looser drill on the supports, seriously helps with alignment.

2) Carbide hole saws are incredible.

3) A template for drilling the holes is a life saver.

This is a good cold day, with the first real-ish snow in quite a while, and it makes a picturesque, if cold, day for cutting and drilling. I have a good feeling about this, and most orders will be delayed to ensure that this piece isn’t put off any longer than absolutely necessary. I think this project will go well from here. Try, fail, learn, and try again. Each point is essential for anything. Thanks for keeping me so busy!