OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

165322 Dan Miller <drgonfly@n...> 2006‑12‑01 Bio update - Dan Miller
Just went to the bio archive to check out my recipient's bio, and  
decided to look in on my own. Wow, a lot has changed over the last  
couple years! Back then I was knee deep in restoring my old house,  
blacksmithing at Hancock Village, and doing lots of timberframing.  
Well, I'm still knee deep in restoring my old house (but lots of  
progress has been made!), I haven't blacksmithed in a couple of years  
now, and I'm wrapping up the last timberframing project scheduled to  
take place at my own property (I'm open to projects occurring  
elsewhere...).

The aforementioned last timber frame project is my long-awaited  
woodworking shop. It is a Dutch-style story and a half building 20x24  
in dimension, sitting on a stone foundation. The main section is  
20x14 and will be set up primarily for hand tool working. The lean-to  
is 10x20, and will be separated from the main shop by a partition.  
That is where the neanderbuddies will reside (the neanderbuddies are  
usually last resort, I prefer to listen to music than screaming  
tools). I'm looking forward to setting up shop and discovering what  
I've got stashed away and long forgotten.

Once I finish the shop, the main activities that will occur there are  
the making of Windsor chairs and small traditionally built wooden  
canoes. I recently got the Windsor chair bug and have taken three  
classes at Mike Dunbar's school. There's almost a thousand board feet  
of seat stock air drying in the yard as we speak, so I've got to get  
busy! I've managed to get some antique WIndsors that I'd like to  
replicate. I've still got to hone my turning skills, and have my eye  
out for a treadle lathe.

In addition to the chairmaking, I'm also planning to get back into  
the wooden canoe business. I had a shop in Wisconsin where I  
primarily restored old wood and canvas canoes. That was put on hiatus  
on our return to New York while I worked on the house. Gettting back  
into it, I'm planning to build small lapstrake paddling canoes and  
decked sailing canoes of the style that was popular 1880-1910.

Cheers,
Dan
---------
Dan Miller
Dragonfly Canoe Works
http://dragonflycanoe.com

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Recent Bios FAQ