Some feedback

[Dave Diaman]

Hey guys, I’m not sure if this is the best section to post this so the mods can feel free to move it if necessary. I am working on getting a blog up and running and wanted to get a little feedback on what kind of content everyone would like to see. The majority of it will be basic build along posts on some of the pieces I make along with some of my lessons learned. I will eventually have measured drawings with patterns and full 200-300 page build instructions available for a lot of the pieces. Some of the more complex pieces could easily end up being 300-400 pages. My goal is to make detailed guides that your average woodworker can follow using a combination of text photos and video. I am going to build using a mix of hand tools and power tools which I hope appeals to a larger crowd. My guess is some of the more experienced woodworkers will probably be able to build the pieces just from the information in the blog but there will also be the option for the drawings and step by step for anyone who wants it. What I want to get from you guys is some feedback on what types of pieces you would like to see. I am going to attach a few pictures of some of the pieces I will be building over the next few months but I will also try to include a few simpler pieces based on what everyone would like to see. I will obviously be limited a little by what I am building for customers but every once in awhile I may be able to sneak something special in. I am also working with a wood dealer and a hardware dealer to provide project specific packs for each of the pieces. I would like to eventually work with someone I know who is a much better draftsman than I am on including drawings on various museum pieces. So take a look at the photos and tell me which direction you would like to see this go.

My first one will be for this piece. I hope to have everything finished up for this by the end of the month.




Here are a few of the pieces I currently have commissions for that may be options for the blog

This basic piece with additional carving and slightly different proportions




This piece in curly cherry


A few different styles of these two pieces





I will also be doing a Bombe' chest. I could keep going on and on but without really knowing what you guys would like to see the additional work to create the detailed build instructions could just be a waste of time.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Dave, it is very gracious of you to even bother writing up such instructions for others' benefit. All of your work is so impressive, I enjoy learning your tricks regardless of the style or particular piece.

[gary Zimmel]

I also look forward to your new threads Dave. The pieces all have that wow factor and a step by step of the process would take most of our woodworkers skills to another level. I know they would help mine.
Doing pieces like these are what most dream about... I would love to tackle (and shamelessly copy) a couple of these commissions you have done. One downfall for a weekend warrior like me is the availability of highly figured wood as you use in your pieces. Your craftsmanship is superb, however the wood adds that final dimension to the piece. I for one would be interested in the costs to get packages for the different projects. Shipping may make it cost prohibited, but it would still be nice to have the option.
I hope you are going to charge for the drawings. it's a ton of work and you should get something out of it.
The project you have chosen to start with is great but a real in depth one on one of the high boys would be real sweet. You did a thread on one of them but a real expended version would be real interesting.
In the blogs will you get into the finishing process you use to make the grain pop? Again that is one of the details that give the projects the added wow factor.
One other piece that I really liked was the William and Mary Lowboy. (I think that is what it was called)

Looking forward to you getting this up and running Dave.

[Ben Arnott]

Dave, Your work is outstanding. I, for one, would definitely enjoy reading your blog. I've admired your work and would love to know how you did some of the things you did.

Best of luck,

Ben

[phil harold]

Dave, Your work is outstanding. I, for one, would definitely enjoy reading your blog. I've admired your work and would love to know how you did some of the things you did.

Best of luck,

Ben

+1
on what Ben said

[Mike Zilis]

Dave,

Thank you for sharing your work with us. I will look forward to reading your blog and getting the follow up materials. As for the projects, here's my take; it doesn't really matter to me what you build as I'm not likely to try reproducing the pieces. The real value to me is understanding the methods you employ and steps you take in creating these pieces. Good methods and "best practices" can be applied to any project I decide to build.

Thanks

Mike

[Jeff Monson]

Dave,

I'm also with the majority here. Having access to a blog or site that contains pictures, drawings, tutorials, etc. would be invaluable to a woodworker like myself. Like Gary, I have very limited access to the quality of wood you use on your projects, that would also be a huge bonus. I would be interested in copying a piece or two, but learning your techniques and tool choice for a given task would be more useful to me. I hope you follow through with this, and especially with the wood packages from a trustworthy source. Developing a good relationship with lumber supplier I can trust would be of great value to me. Having access to your projects and knowlege base would be of even more value. I'd be a subscriber in a heartbeat.

[Dave Diaman]

Well guys, it’s official. I just kicked off my blog. I don’t know if I am allowed to post a link to it here but here goes anyway. Here is a link to see my ranting. Hopefully I will be able to have some information up that is actually useful by the end of the weekend.

http://diamanwoodcrafters.com/blog/

[Don L Johnson]

Dave,

I too appreciate your dedication to passing on your passion for wood working. I've followed your past posts with an eye towards wanting to build an 1800's secretary some day. You provided a very good tutorial before, but drawings, etc would really make for a much more robust package. My concern is that I have absolutly no hand tool capabilities; my idea of dovetails is to use a dovetail jig. I know that is awful for a woodworker to say, but my ability to stand for long periords, to bend over, etc, is somewhat limited. At any rate, my interest is peaked, and your sharing spirit is a blessing to all of us.

[Cody Colston]

Dave, I'm really excited about your goal to provide detailed plans for those pieces shown, especially the block-front secretary. I don't have much opportunity to even view, much less inspect, period pieces like those and having access to period correct plans is a godsend.

I'll be following your blog and looking forward to purchasing some plans from you later. Thanks for the opportunity.

[Prashun Patel]

You're generous.
I'm interested in any of the pieces below, or on your website, or any techniques or other pieces you think will help the average woodworker approach yr level of skill.

Really wonderful stuff.

Bookmarked.