Aly Gulamhusein

Tag: Woodworking

  • September 17, 2023

    I got wood today. An ad on the internet turned me on to it. The first one I tried didn’t work out but the second one did. I got so excited about it that I couldn’t think of anything else until I dealt with it. Incidentally, I saw the wood yesterday and didn’t do anything about it. Apparently, it’s hardwood.

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  • Pen Turning | Bloodwood with Chrome Hardware Sedona Rollerball

    Pen Turning | Bloodwood with Chrome Hardware Sedona Rollerball

    In this video, I turn a Sedona rollerball pen with bloodwood and chrome hardware. This has to be one of my favourite-looking woods with its rich red colour and highlight accents. The CA finish just makes it shine. I like the lines of this pen, in the grain, shape, and pen grip. It seems to point forward. What do you think?

    Shopify: https://www.sanastationerygifts.com
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanastationerygifts

  • September 9, 2023

    September 9, 2023

    I bought HSS chisels and a bench grinder today. Using them scared the shit right out of me.

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  • September 8, 2023

    It’s been over a week since I’ve been to the workshop. I was reminded that I’d been away when I got my box of new materials in the mail. The package has some weight to it.

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  • Pen Turning | Ebony and Birdseye Maple with Gold Hardware Baron Fountain Pen

    In today’s video, I use Ebony and Birdseye Maple wood with gold hardware to turn a Baron fountain pen. The profile for this pen looks simple enough but it tested the steadiness of my hand. I like the contrast of the woods on the pen – it’s a satisfying imbalance. The finish is Shellawax, allowing for the Ebony to really come through.

    Shopify: https://www.sanastationerygifts.com
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanastationerygifts

  • September 2, 2023

    I was up until 3 am this morning, taking photos of pens. I wanted to make sure to get some pictures before delivering them. This afternoon, we made our way over to Bill Miles for Men to deliver 18 pens.

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  • August 31, 2023

    I’m not ready for the new school year to begin. I went to school today for a few hours but didn’t get enough done. Going in tomorrow is going to be a pain. After work, I went to the workshop, where I managed to finish an order that I’ve been working on.

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  • August 30, 2023

    Having a workshop in a storage facility is an interesting experience. Overhearing conversations is all right, but what I find most fascinating is how everyone seems to avoid acknowledging each other. It’s strange.

    When I get to my workshop, I open the door – it’s like a garage door – and then I step inside and close the door behind me. I hang the lock in the slot on the rails where the bolt fits so that I can’t get accidentally locked in. Once inside, I turn on all the lights. There’s one ceiling light but it’s really only bright enough to help me find the lamps I brought in, of which there are four. That’s still not quite enough lighting.

    After that, I change my clothes. I brought in an old area rug to stand on while I change. I like that the door is closed for this. Once changed, I put some music on. I keep the volume quite low, much lower than I would like.

    While working away today, I couldn’t help but notice how many conversations were taking place outside of my allotted space. There was a constant stream of vehicles coming in and out, too. I did hear one person introduce himself, there was another couple of guys who were inquiring about renting a space, and some guy was on the phone every few minutes. His ringtone is a foghorn.

    When I leave to go to the washroom, I lock the door behind me. Along the way, I pass by a guy who’s been there every time I have. I keep an eye out, looking for an opportunity to say hi. He continued on as if completely alone. Near the washroom, there was a guy – I’ve not seen one woman at this place – who was pulling tools out of his truck. I walked by him, three feet away, and he went about his business as if I wasn’t there. Another guy had to navigate around me as we were walking toward each other in a hallway. He didn’t look up from his phone. While leaving, those two dudes who rented the space, I’m assuming, were unloading their truck. They seemed to actively avoid looking up and in my direction. They even stopped their conversation as I was passing.

    I don’t quite understand it. For my part, I try to keep the noise down while working. Of course, I do make some noise, but I keep my music low and try to avoid making too much of a racket while working away. I don’t want to be “found out,” I think, in that, I don’t want people to become curious about what I’m doing. I simply want to be left well enough alone in my space.

    In the common areas, however, I feel compelled to acknowledge the presence of someone else if I see them. I’m not going to say anything, but I will most certainly nod a hello. I’m curious about what other people are doing, but only because I think people do interesting things.

    It must be that people go to the storage warehouse to be alone. Maybe we’re aware that we can be heard and don’t want to be seen making noises to avoid confirmations of assumptions. It could also be that we’re all just puckered-up assholes, trying not to let our shit out.

  • Pen Turning | Ebony Wood with Chrome Hardware Cigar Pen

    In this week’s video, I turn a cigar pen with Ebony wood and chrome hardware. This pen is part of a custom order for a men’s clothing store in Toronto. Ebony is a dusty wood to work with, especially when using carbide chisels, but it finishes beautifully. I used a simple friction finish, Shellawax, to help preserve the feeling of the wood. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

    Pens, and other things, are available through the Shopify store. If you want something custom, please connect!

    Shopify: https://www.sanastationerygifts.com
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanastationerygifts

  • August 27, 2023

    “I have to give this a go,” I keep telling myself. My parents reiterate the same to me when I speak with them. “If I don’t try this, I’ll always wonder what could’ve come of it.” So, I’m doing it. Most of the time, it’s pretty good. Sometimes, I get nervous.

    I’m an anxious person, that I know. It’s hard for me to let things go, whether that’s a mistake I made or a new tool that I want. I fixate on what might be or could’ve been instead of what’s all in front of me. I know, truly, that I have everything I could need and more. If moving all that shit over the workshop hasn’t given me any insight into just how much I have…my optometry benefits renew in September.

    Diving into this project, that of making and selling handcrafted wooden (mostly) goods, as I’ve done this summer, has been really good for me. It’s given me a focus. My mom keeps reminding me that it’s a passion of mine and it also happens to be something I’m good at. Her gentle encouragement is a result of my complete inability to accept a compliment or praise from my parents. Before now, the closest that I’d gotten to woodworking was holding the flashlight for my dad. Occasionally, I’d swing a hammer — the rusty one.

    What’s really been bothering me these last few days is the cost. It’s cost a lot to get this project off the ground. While I do feel like I’m making gains, I’m the one financing all of it. Nothing is selling right now. There is no money coming in.

    Yet. This is a tortoise and hare tale.

    To be fair, my advertising and marketing strategy is piss poor. I’ve been spending more time trying to get myself in a position to make things. I’ve been making things, too, just not enough. There are a few pens that I need to photograph and post pictures of, though. I don’t read all the emails that I get sent about how to grow your small business. Who’s got the time for that?

    It feels like I’m having trouble situating myself. Where, in all of this, do I belong? Squarely in the centre. I’m the bubble in the middle of the mind map, the one that looks like a cloud and has bold letters in it. From this position, you can only see out in front of you, not what’s beside or behind. Everything is drawn out from here and remains connected.

    Right now, it’s hard for me to identify the gains that I’ve made. I’m seeing the forest, not the trees. Wood is crucial to the success of this enterprise.

  • August 25, 2023

    I woke up today with a lot on my mind. Well, a lot of ideas about what to do with the workshop. I’m having trouble keeping things straight so I had to start a list. I managed to write down two items before forgetting about it, as well. To help me move forward, I decided that the only thing I needed to accomplish today was to move stuff over to the workshop. That’s it.

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  • August 24, 2023

    August 24, 2023

    We’re reintroducing the cats. The plan is to get them comfortable with each other before the school year so that we’re not as worried while writing lesson plans, marking assignments, rearranging seating plans, drafting long-range plans, and preparing for the fall open house. Earlier in the summer, we had our first go at it and it went rather well.

    I have a bad habit of falling asleep on the couch. It’s almost become involuntary. Just as soon as I stretch out down the length of the couch, put my head down on the pillow, and pull the blanket over me, I’m asleep. I barely have time to find something to watch. It’s been a struggle to change.

    We went to sleep around midnight last night. We were tired, because it had been a long-enough day. By 2 a.m., I was up and moving to the couch. I couldn’t sleep for all the scratching at the bedroom door. Hannah woke up, too, and she decided to tape aluminum foil to the door. She went back to bed. It worked earlier this summer. This time, Eloise was unperturbed. Somehow, she overcame her distaste for the feeling of aluminum foil on her paws as she scratches at the door. Clever girl, she found the small gaps and pulled them open.

    By 5 a.m., we had slept for about an hour in total. Maybe two. It’s hard to know. Every ten minutes, that girl would be at the door, digging her way through like Andy Dufresne. I’d bring her to the couch, pet her, she’d struggle free and make her way back to the door.

    At 9 a.m., Ouli, Hannah’s cat, knocked over the glass of juice that was sitting on her nightstand.

    At 10 a.m., I got a call to let me know that the workshop space was ready for me to move in to. That perked me up a bit. I took a shower, made waffles for breakfast, and then took a quick nap on the couch.

    I wish I had the energy to be more excited about it. I’m thrilled to have the space. We went, signed the papers, and then picked up my new lathe. It was a bit of a struggle to get into the car. A kind woman stopped to help us, offering up a third pair of hands. She didn’t realize just how heavy it was until she tried to lift it. She was kind to offer.

    With a little more excitement in me, we drove back to the workshop and up to the garage doors. Hannah jumped out and punched in the code to open the door. Nothing. She tried again — still, nothing. I got out and tried. Nothing. We went to speak to someone at reception. No one was there, not even after I rang the bell.

    Unable to suffer any more struggle, we went to Starbucks for a quick break.

    We went back, because I was determined to get things started, drove up to the door, punched in the code, and nothing. I phoned my contact. She told me to speak with the guy at reception. I went over and he was there.

    After telling him the story, he told me that the code doesn’t open the garage door, but the side door to get into the bay so that I can open the garage door from inside the bay. The side door to the bay my workshop is in isn’t working, though, so I had to go to the next door over, cross through the building, and then open the garage door so that I can drive my car up to my unit.

    We did all that.

    We managed to get the lathe stand put together and the lathe set up. Tomorrow, I need to pick up some hardware to attach the lathe to the lathe stand, and I need a 40 W light bulb. There’s still so much to do before the shop will be ready.

    Before leaving for the workshop today, we ordered anti-scratch tape from Amazon. It was delivered this evening. There’s now double-sided tape on the lower half of the bedroom door. I hope it sticks.