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Blanchard Creative Woodworking, Wilton, NH (2026)

03/31/2024

As the third month draws to a close, I start my third project of the year. Starting completely from rough lumber. (Didn’t even know what beauty was inside these boards.) …

02/17/2024

24:01 (2024, project no. 1)

Hickory and Mesquite charcuterie board.

In my continued effort to (somehow, hopefully someday) combine humor and woodworking, I present this charcuterie board made from woods normally used to smoke meats. Fitting, no? ;)
(just a little witty? … or at least appropo?)

This project fulfills a request to donate an item to the church auction. Tonight! Some lucky person will get to add this beauty to their kitchen or dining table, raise their spirits, and feed their soul. ;)

I used the wooden bar clamps https://www.instagram.com/p/CoC709Or9Qc/ I made last year to glue this board together. I am still loving those. The sheer amount of force provided by a couple of wedges can be seen on the mahogany wedges in the last photo. It’s impressive.

02/06/2024

P52 wrap up:

52 projects in 52 weeks. This was meant to be a challenge. Aspirational.

The notion of a project a week appealed more than one a month, or some arbitrary time frame.
While this seemed (and sometimes felt) like it was about numbers, it really wasn’t. I’ve done enough challenges over the years to know that doing anything out of obligation would eventually make it less fun.

Year 1: 36 projects were made. Some things were easy, others needed more time. Sometimes I didn’t have the time. Life and all that. I noticed I was tending to focus on quick/small projects to try to stay on track.

Year 2. The universe gave us time. Pandemic. Lockdown. 100 projects completed. 3/4 of them were wooden mallets. And one amazingly cool Eddie Van Halen inspired Frankenstein of a cutting board. None of those things would have been made if we were living life as usual.

Two years down, WAY ahead of the numbers! This might be doable!
More projects followed, and life kept making its demands, each year saw fewer things getting made. Not that 41, 31 or even 21 projects in a years time was anything to scoff at.

My work was improving. I wasn’t rushing, just enjoying my time in the shop. Savoring it. I was making the sorts of things I wanted to. Craftsmanship was paramount and I’m proud that a significant percentage of these projects have happily found a place in other peoples homes.

When year 4 wrapped on this challenge, I had created 208 unique projects in 208 weeks. Challenge met.

But, this has never been about the numbers. This has always been about finding the pockets of time to do the things we really want to do, and not have the excuses about why we can’t.

Year five may have brought the average down. It was a challenging year where my time and attention were increasingly needed elsewhere. I also made the decision to stay out of the shop when my kiddo was home on school breaks. Plus, there was the desire to take advantage of the rare day without rain, and a significant uptick in overtime at work… In short, life happens.

What have we learned?

We can fit in the meaningful things, the things that fuel the creative soul. Don’t wait, create! Make art everyday.

02/02/2024

431 (another VERY belated post)….

Bent lamination Mahogany charcuterie board (gifted as an “add on” to the flight board)

Once I was done with the flight board - while I was waiting for the contest to “officially” end… I went ahead and created a matching charcuterie board to go with. Slightly narrower and shorter - but only just.

This glue up was also made in thirds, over three sessions. Too much force was required to overcome all of the strips in one go. working in smaller batches was easier - but had its challenges too.

I set aside the scraps from the first project, and eventually turned them into the mini brie board I posted last spring: https://www.instagram.com/p/CouyW9RO3lE/
and yes, they all have been put to use!

Apparently I never took (or can’t find) a close up photo of this finished project. I only had it hanging around the house for MONTHS! ;)

01/30/2024

430: Project a week no. 430 (year four, project no. 30 - the long overdue post)

Bent Lamination Mahogany Flight board

A couple years ago (or more) I was challenged to a “flight board” contest by a friend of mine. He bought the glasses,… and the loser would buy the beer.

What with it still being the pandemic and all, we immediately put our minds to it… and little, or no sawdust was made, until after the Holidays.

I decided I would try to attempt something I’d never done at home, and pondered many iterations of a bent piece, (some iterations were needlessly complicated) before eventually settling on this gentle S curve. I wanted a simple, elegant design that would let the wood sing and look great on the kitchen island or wherever is was being used.

Mahogany was an easy choice for reasons of ability to withstand wetness, plus I learned it was one of his favorites. Mine too.

Two years ago I finally put the idea into motion, started and finished my piece: and teased some of the early behind the scenes here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYcKmJJFB0J/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYekM6bL5pQ/

Created with 40 something thin mahogany strips, glued up in three sessions, 1/3rd at a time. I had fun with, and learned a lot from this project. I broke the form in the first use - but was able to work with it, and carry on.

Once I had mine done, I waited until life and the universe allowed him the time and space to make his - without the any influence from seeing mine. We did *finally* get to the exchanging of the flight boards this past summer. Both done in a completely different style, both so appropriate for each recipient and from each person giving. In the end there were no losers, only two winners - who poured out several mini beers to properly test our handiwork.

01/28/2024

Project a week no. 513 (year five, project no 13) Ghosts of Christmas Present

Quarto

I had the notion this year (way too late for Christmas, but lets try anyway!) about making upgraded versions of games to gift.

I made this set with Maple and Mahogany. I designed the board with continuous grain - so the thin lines are all long grain in one orientation, and short grain in the other.

While the board was being glued up (a multi-stage process) I got to work on the pieces. I had bought an Oak Dowel to simplify things, but really wanted to use maple - So I got to the lathe, and turned out the pieces I needed to... make the pieces. There are two of every piece, in both species, half with holes drilled on both ends. I used a drill bit to start, then a router bit on the drill press to clean it up

The object of the game is to get 4 pieces in a row with ANY common attribute (color, height, shape, solid v hollow) first. Gameplay is simple, just select any piece for them to play, and hope they don’t see a common link you missed. There are LOTS of ways to get 4 in a row, and its hard to prevent it. A great, quick strategy game.

01/23/2024

Project a week no. 512 (year five, project no 12)

Large Charcuterie Board

So I teased this project, and since it’s finally been delivered and gifted, (and presumably used for a housewarming, Christmas and New Years,) I can finally post.

As I said when this was still being glued up: In years past I kept telling myself if I can’t get something done by Thanksgiving, it’s not going to happen for Christmas. And this year I finally listened to myself.

What? This thing?… it’s not for Christmas. It’s needed earlier than that.
;)

But, you see when I leave my schedule open like that, and a friend casually asks If I have any big cutting boards available... (As luck would have it, I was down to my last couple. And small ones at that.) BUT, I was itching to get back into the shop - I hadn’t made the trip to bring the kiddo back home for winter break… yet... So I figured I could knock this out before she got home - (AND I DID!) And, really, closing the shop for that time, so we could play games, watch Christmas stuff and all that, was really my M.O.

SO YES, lets.

This one was sized to just about max out my planer, and is proportionately long (per the golden ratio give or take a smidge.) I think it’s just over 12 x 19.25, and 1.125 thick. I beveled the underside to make it easier to lift off the counter. And speaking of the golden ratio - The diminishing lines of Maple and Walnut coming in from either side, are roughly (eyeballed) laid out to pay homage to that idea. (I made one that I was a lot more fussy with (mathematically) a few years back.) And I added a couple stripes of Cherry for good measure.

01/22/2024

Project 52, year five update:

Things began really pulling my attention away from the shop this year. Shame. As it was a particularly rainy year. A perfect excuse to stay inside. I wasn’t too far behind, count wise, in the spring. Then, life, and other commitments.

Years 1-4 were a good learning experience. On average I achieved an average of 1 project a week for that time period. Thanks in large part to all those mallets I made during the first fall of the pandemic. I also turned a lot of offcuts into cutting boards. But despite thinking that’s all I ever make, those two items were only about half of what I’ve been able to create.

The biggest win for me is making shop time a habit. But, I always had to keep reminding myself its not about the numbers. I used to track all the hours I spent there. All the start/stop dates, all the productivity and step by step. I no longer feel the need to track this. I’ve always been creative in one media or another. Always a creator, and I know I’ll always be working on something, because I always have been.

The other win is knowing how much I can accomplish in small blocks of time. 15 minutes here and an hour there can be WAY more productive than setting aside an entire weekend. And lets face it, even when I have a “free day” all the other life stuff that creeps in can eat it all up if I’m not careful. It’s best to do what we can, while we can, where we are, with what we have. We can’t wait for that perfect opportunity that may never come.

As I look back through all these projects and catalog them into a list, I’m also capturing the names of all the folks who have bought, commissioned, or have been gifted these projects. It makes me happy to know now widely my work has spread, and has been incorporated in folks homes and lives. These items have a purpose and a story. And I’m glad I’ve got to share these projects and stories with you.

The projects will continue. The posts will continue. The productivity will continue, but the implied need to chase the numbers, that will be resigned to the past. I’ve got some bigger projects in mind this year, and am looking forward to making even more sawdust.

Onward!

12/08/2023

In years past I kept telling myself if I can’t get something done by Thanksgiving, it’s not going to happen for Christmas. And this year I finally listened to myself.
What? This thing I just glued up today?… it’s not for Christmas. It’s needed earlier than that.
;)

11/27/2023

So before the next slew of project posts… a quick look at the past 6 or so months.
We found LOVE in Philly and Montreal (and saw so much more)

11/26/2023

Saying this again - and a little louder for the voices in the back (of my head). This 'project a week' project was never about the numbers. it was always about the intent of making things, and carving out the little pockets of time in defiance of the reflexive “I don’t have time to X, Y or Z”

After 5 years I have made spending weekly time in the shop a habit, and despite knowing that this year was going to be busier than most, I still thought I could still fit it all in.
As things got busier, I kept thinking “next week", "next month", or "just as soon as… I’ll get back on track no problem.”

In the past I have made 30 projects in 30 days (twice) - typically a bunch of “easy" lathe projects - but still a challenge. This is what made me think I could get caught up, you know, "Just as soon as…”

But here we are. I’ve had a crazy busy year at home, at work, and with a couple of organizations I volunteer A LOT of time. So, I am giving myself the gift of grace to not worry about the numbers regardless of how this year shakes out. Sure, I could spend a marathon Nov/Dec down there away from my family, to see how close I can get! (And in the past, I might have tried.) But, I’m not going to do that. I’ve said it’s not about the numbers. (If I keep saying it, maybe I’ll believe myself.)

Next year, I’ll (likely) not be continuing with the p52 hashtag, Not giving myself the self imposed deadline of making something new all the time. BUT, I will keep spending time down in the shop on the regular, making great things big and small. And I fully intend to keep sharing that journey here.

What I have accomplished, and this is the win for me, is fully adopting the habit of spending regular time down in the shop. Whether a Saturday afternoon, or 30 minutes after work, it’s been enough to keep me motivated and keep things moving forward. I’ve always liked making things. I’ve always NEEDED to be doing creative pursuits, and I always will. I also need to spend time with my family, go out on adventures, and fit in all the other things that pull at my imagination.

Onward!

10/31/2023

Project a week no. 511 (year five, project no 11)

Dead Blow Mallet

I had this project idea in the works in plenty of time for last Halloween. But with the coffin shape of the head, I was having trouble figuring out the math to get the handle placed at the center of mass. Visual center was easy, I tried, (and tried and tried) but as halloween was approaching, I felt the timeliness of making a coffin shaped dead blow mallet wouldn’t get done in time, so I set it aside.

Eventually I got some help with the plans, and my graph paper sketch was sent out, it took a quick detour through solid works, and landed back in my inbox. Perfect. Sides, angles, all the measurements I needed to make this project at any scale!

The sides and center are all brazillian cherry flooring I had left over. This piece is heavy and dense! The handle is maple, and ther are two cavities inside partially filled with BBs to deliver a nice solid blow with no bounce-back. I took my time to fit the handle in just right, two brazillian cherry wedges and glue hold it in permanently just like all the other mallets I made a few years back. Approx 6.5” x 13.5” x 1.875"

I’ve long (Long long long) wanted to combine humor with woodworking, and finally think I’ve done it! Sure maybe it’s only a dad joke… but it’s still a super helpful tool in the shop, and a gorgeous one at that.

10/14/2023

I grabbed a stack of these beautiful boards, and a batch of wood butter, and brought it all down to the farm. To sell.

A much more beautiful and vibrant market place than my living room. Someday I’ll get the Etsy site updated… until then, Local folks please
Check out in Wilton. Gorgeous produce, wonderful people, and quite the assortment of locally made pottery, honey, coffee, breads and cheeses!

08/06/2023

Locker room build ( in progress) for Giant Slalom written by set design by

08/06/2023

Work in progress. Actual tables for musicals. turning 2x4s and lumber from old sets into fine furniture for the stage. Hashtag: do it for the kids. Hashtag: The Arrival becomes Waffle House.

07/24/2023

Today’s efforts- more work in progress - a small team build at - just a “small set” for the touring teen show. (For scale - the Walls are all 8 feet tall) More photos as the set evolves - tickets still available (but selling fast!)

07/23/2023

Faces sanded, edges beveled, handle wedged and glued in. Angled rabbets fit nice and tight. Moved this project forward a couple steps today,… now just waiting for the glue to dry.

07/09/2023

Work in progress.

Carving out little pockets of time to keep things progressing.

Took a few minutes to clean up some glue squeeze out, and fit the handle. This one needs a custom fit with all the diagonal lines.
Very happy with the progress I’m making, especially on a day that "I don’t have any shop time.”

One step at a time… keep moving forward.

07/05/2023

Project a week no. 510 (year five, project no 10)

Maple “L shaped” table saw fence

I had a few small pieces to cut particular angles on, not quite the safest thing (but possible) to do on the chop saw - but maybe not with perfect accuracy and repeatability. And the pieces were too small to use my tablesaw sled - at least not without some modifications.

Enter this fence attachment, two perpendicular pieces of maple that will allow me to use that as the edge guide while the waste slides underneath - provided I affix a guide block onto my workpiece, right on my cut line. This leaves me with a perfect (and much safer) cut. (Well… so long as I don’t accidentally bump the fence over.)

Making things to help make things. This is the way.

07/03/2023

The spring conspired to keep me out of the shop. Luckily the coming of the summer, and this long weekend finally granted me the time and space to reacquaint myself with the long abandoned piles of sawdust and shavings and attempt to remember what I was even working on.

I did a little cleaning, found these works in progress… and…. promptly started in on something else. ;)
Another long abandoned project I’ve been eager to get out of my way.

Here is a glimpse of what is to come… and a clean(ish) shop ready for a LOT more sawdust.

It can rain all weekend, I’ve got a place to hide out.

06/12/2023

Project a week no. 509 (year five, project no 9)

Rock Maple Cooking Spoon

We said goodbye to our retiring minister today, and I presented her with this spoon I carved from a tree taken down on our church property last fall. A beautiful, functional keepsake that will remind her of us, and continue to serve her in the years to come. What was even more poignant to me, were these words she offered during service, by poet Bernadette Noll:

I want to age like sea glass. Smoothed by tides, not broken. I want the currents of life to toss me around, shake me up and leave me feeling washed clean. I want my hard edges to soften as the years pass—made not weak but supple. I want to ride the waves, go with the flow, feel the impact of the surging tides rolling in and out.

When I am thrown against the shore and caught between the rocks and a hard place, I want to rest there until I can find the strength to do what is next. Not stuck—just waiting, pondering, feeling what it feels like to pause. And when I am ready, I will catch a wave and let it carry me along to the next place that I am supposed to be.

I want to be picked up on occasion by an unsuspected soul and carried along—just for the connection, just for the sake of appreciation and wonder. And with each encounter, new possibilities of collaboration are presented, and new ideas are born.

I want to age like sea glass so that when people see the old woman I’ll become, they’ll embrace all that I am. They’ll marvel at my exquisite nature, hold me gently in their hands and be awed by my well-earned patina. Neither flashy nor dull, just a perfect luster. And they’ll wonder, if just for a second, what it is exactly I am made of and how I got to this very here and now. And we’ll both feel lucky to be in that perfectly right place at that profoundly right time.

I want to age like sea glass. I want to enjoy the journey and let my preciousness be, not in spite of the impacts of life, but because of them.

This spoon was carved, sanded, and burnished to a fine smooth surface. The bowl bears the marks of the hook knife - a surface akin to the waves on the sand. It too will patina with use, may it age like sea glass.

02/22/2023

Project a week no. 505 (year five, project no. 5)

Maple Cutting board with Walnut stripes

I had started out making a Maple (only) board from this one unique strip of (probably soft or sugar) maple, that, with its unique coloring, just didn’t seem to pair well with anything else I had at the time. I bookmatched the strips and isolated the color differences to opposite sides. It was nice, but there was an issue with the glue-up, (out of square cut, uneven clamping pressure?…) and a couple of the seams didn’t quite close up snugly, so I set it aside. Sooner or later, I would take the time to recut and glue it back together. Sooner became much later… (years, if I’m being honest)

I FINALLY got tired of just leaving it there, and in no time at all, I recut the board, added in these walnut racing stripes, and now its finally out of the shop, and ready for use! (If we call them racing stripes, that means it’ll work much faster than your standard cutting board!)

This board is just over 11.75" x 6.35" x 1.25 inches thick. as with all my kitchen ware - finished with my own blend of wood butter.

The lesson here, is to remind myself that the things worth keeping (that just need a little more attention) are only worth keeping if we actually get around to fixing them… otherwise, they just remain clutter. This is not the first (second or third) of many things in progress down in the shop, in a similar state, and hopefully a good impetus to finally MOVE through them. It’s not actually a bad thing to have multiple projects going in various stages of completion. This is what helps me feel like I’m making progress when I only have a little bit of time to move something forward. The problem is leaving them languishing, and in the way - Physically, AND mentally.

02/16/2023

Project a week no. 504 (year five, project no. 4)

Mahogany Mini Brie Board
(things you never knew you needed, but made anyway)

Created from the offcuts of another project, this 5 piece glue up, (crafted from what was initially dozens of thin pieces), was then turned down into this form on the lathe. Just under 5” in diameter, .5” thick, finished with wood butter.

A tiny plate or large coaster for your tankard? or maybe a nice spot for a small wheel of brie next to your charcuterie board?

This project was made from the 3rd or 4th generation of gorgeous mahogany scraps I kept keeping because they were too nice to toss. I’m really trying to cull out the waste - but sometimes the offcuts just scream to be turned into something else. This year, I’ll cull through all that clutter and see what comes of it. Hopefully.

I mean, I will.

Try.

(hashtag: from trash-to-treasure, with a little less trash... to treasure, ad infinitum..)

02/05/2023

Project a week no. 503 (year five, project no. 3)

Rock Maple Cooking Spoon

I lucked upon a small supply of this gorgeous hard maple, recently felled, and just begging to become spoons. Beautiful figure in the bowl, inside and out. I left the slight washboard texture from the hook knife in the bowl, but in the end decided to rasp, file, and sand the outside of the bowl smooth - to further show off the figure as it plays in the light, and not seem to be a result of the carved surface. I’m still bouncing between the instinct to make everything smooth, and keeping the tell-tale signs showing that these are handmade. Finished with my own blend of woodbutter to make the figure pop even more!

01/24/2023

2022 wrap up number 2

Project a week no. 429 (year four, project no. 29)

Greenwood Maple Coffee Scoop #2

Not much different to say about this one that wasn’t already said for the first one I posted back in the summer. This maple coffee scoop, 2 tablespoon measure, (carved from greenwood, felled last fall on our property, and had been residing in the basement freezer ever since) was commissioned as a Christmas gift and by now, is hopefully getting a lot of use.

After waiting until Christmas to post this, it seems I totally forgot to post it at all. Bringing up the yearly count a tad more than I realized, but still lower than I hoped. (I have at least 2 more to post for 2022. and will share those sooner or later. And work out the year in review numbers, and reflect on this ongoing project.)

01/09/2023

2022 wrap up number 1

Project a week nos. 427 and 428 (year four, projects no. 27 and 28)

Two butternut spoons. I started carving spoons with butternut as it was the easiest to carve hardwood I had available to me at the time.
Dry Walnut was okay, maple was tough, Apple - no chance. Butternut was nice, but going green in 2023!

I’d started these and set them aside when I started playing around with some freshly cut maple. Recently, I finished them up, and can appreciate the differences that working wet and dry wood offer.
These were sized, and loosely based on a spoon I grabbed from the kitchen, then just let the carving go where it led.

No sandpaper, just knife work, then burnished with my osage burnisher. (and burnished again last night with this stone I just found in the shop. I thought I still needed to look for one next time we went to the beach, but this one is perfect. It’s a New Years miracle!)

These spoons are very light, but feel stronger than some of the other butternut spoons I’ve made. (these feel pretty stout, others I was able to snap easily - all part of the learning process. Pay attention to the wood grain. Listen to the wood.) I don’t know if they’d hold up to some hard ice cream - but would be fine for granola, soups…

I’m going to start incorporating these (and more) into the kitchen and see how I like them, keep making/tweaking them from there. Build up a set, build up my skills… eventually build up a stash and see where they go from there.

01/07/2023

Shop reset, 2023. Horizontal surfaces ready for projects! And clutter.

01/01/2023

I still have a few more projects from 2022 left to post, but I didn’t want to wait to get started on the new year.

Project a week no. 501 (year five, project no. 1)

Black Walnut Eating Spoon

My nephew came by last night with some freshly cut black walnut, and I wasted no time this morning chopping it down into suitable carving blanks and popping them in the freezer to keep them green and easier to carve.
I didn’t have room for much, as there is still quite a lot of maple (and for some reason, actual food) in there, but I squeezed in what I could.

This one piece, split with a bit of a bowl already forming in the grain, so I figured it was a good place to start. I split it in two (without destroying either of the halves) - giving myself much less to carve away, and potentially two spoons. I set aside one of the pieces, and began carving. And, without meaning too, I didn’t stop until I was done. Not a long time from a log sitting outside, to a finished (and nicely figured) spoon ready for ice cream!

So far, with just an axe, a hatchet and a couple of knives, I’ve made a good start on this years batch of potential projects.

12/30/2022

Cafe illusion board, a quick peek behind the curtain.

12/30/2022

Project a week nos. 426 (year four, project no. 26)

Ghosts of Christmas Present.
Maple, Walnut and Cherry “Cafe Wall Illusion” cutting board.

all the horizontal lines are parallel, yet seem to to converge on the diagonal.

This years gift for my sister. appx 9.5 x 16 x 1 inches. And yes, even the grain of “vertical” pieces of cherry go in the same direction as the rest of the pieces. Probably not important at this scale as far as wood movement is concerned, But an important design detail to me.

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