Hello all,
I am a math and science teacher for D.O.D. schools at W.T. Sampson Unit School on Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Also a retired USMC pilot since 1993.
Six years ago, working at the American Chemical Society,I was writing high school chemistry textbooks, coordinating teacher workshops and traveling all over the country. My wife, who also was working long weeks, and I decided to change our life styles to spend more time with our children and hobbies. So I took this teaching job and we have loved it since.
So, in the last five years I have been able to get more into woodworking. Lately, I have been doing a lot of turning, making a few bowls and pepper mills, but really putting a lot of effort into pen making.
One story. Two years ago, I decided to make a shoe rack, actually two shoe racks. One out of pressure treated wood to set outside for our active family, and one inside for the better shoes. Wood is not easy to get here, but I had been able to round some thicker pallets of beech and oak. I carefully took them apart, took out all nails, planed, and cut enough for my design. I had looked at some commercial shoe racks to glean some ideas and noticed that on the top notch ones, the shelves were slanted/tilted. So I asked the school shop teacher what he thought and he recommended a 15 degree angle. Well, everything went together well. The painstaking finish was wiped on in 5 coats over a sanding sealer, and then two coats of wax buffed in. What a beautiful project. When my wife set where she wanted it and placed some shoes on it, they slid right off. When I refused to decrease the beauty of it by roughing the surface, she turned it around so that the wall behind would stop the shoes from sliding off, and it still sits there today, with a lot of shoes on it.
I have uploaded a photo. I will go back and try to figure out this URL address to show the shoe rack.
Good to be aboard, Guy Belleman
I am a math and science teacher for D.O.D. schools at W.T. Sampson Unit School on Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Also a retired USMC pilot since 1993.
Six years ago, working at the American Chemical Society,I was writing high school chemistry textbooks, coordinating teacher workshops and traveling all over the country. My wife, who also was working long weeks, and I decided to change our life styles to spend more time with our children and hobbies. So I took this teaching job and we have loved it since.
So, in the last five years I have been able to get more into woodworking. Lately, I have been doing a lot of turning, making a few bowls and pepper mills, but really putting a lot of effort into pen making.
One story. Two years ago, I decided to make a shoe rack, actually two shoe racks. One out of pressure treated wood to set outside for our active family, and one inside for the better shoes. Wood is not easy to get here, but I had been able to round some thicker pallets of beech and oak. I carefully took them apart, took out all nails, planed, and cut enough for my design. I had looked at some commercial shoe racks to glean some ideas and noticed that on the top notch ones, the shelves were slanted/tilted. So I asked the school shop teacher what he thought and he recommended a 15 degree angle. Well, everything went together well. The painstaking finish was wiped on in 5 coats over a sanding sealer, and then two coats of wax buffed in. What a beautiful project. When my wife set where she wanted it and placed some shoes on it, they slid right off. When I refused to decrease the beauty of it by roughing the surface, she turned it around so that the wall behind would stop the shoes from sliding off, and it still sits there today, with a lot of shoes on it.
I have uploaded a photo. I will go back and try to figure out this URL address to show the shoe rack.
Good to be aboard, Guy Belleman
