Im just payin da rent

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Thank the bus gods for wealthy people. These dam thing weren't a walk in the park. 2 door, 2 oval windows and 1 big diamond window. It helps to keep me in potroast

[Rudy]

Dennis, Is this stuff that you build?

[dburt]

Very nice woodwork DennisTBD! I learned back in the days when I was doing alot of sculpting and casting in bronze that you wanted to cater to the wealthy, because they are the ones with the money! I couldn't sell artwork to folks like myself, too poor! It would make a great economic stimulus plan to enourage the wealthy to give commissioned work to us poor artisans!

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Yah Rudy, I mess around in about 3 or 4 different trades and woodworking is 1 of the ones I do well. And dburt, It so happens that these are some pretty nice wealthy folks to. I did a bunch of other "really crazy" doors and 2 oval windows for them about 3 years ago. These are actually pretty docile compared to the first part of the house. Here are a few pics of the first ones I did for them. All of these are exterior doors and windows and the other oval windows were exterior so they are extreme custom insulated glass pieces. I have a great glass guy here that makes the insulated glass exactly to my templates so you never see the metal channel between the glass.





Now, here’s the strange thing about people with money. These windows were in perfect shape but they had me make all new diamond windows and the construction crew ripped the old ones out and in the dumpster they went, it’s so weird.

The old ones


The new ones

[dburt]

As is said, one man's junk is another man's treasure. I would love to have had the throw-aways, but when you have way too much money, you don't have to be careful and you can waste good stuff. Ah, but that is where us poor folks come in, it makes work for us!

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Yep, Well said dburt

[Sharkey]

The Native Americans of the PNW practiced a rite called the "Potlatch", which was the ritual destruction of property as a display of prosperity. Kind of a similar attitude.

[Rudy]

It has been 35 years since I have seen the word Potlatch. I never knew what it meant. It was the title of one of the records I had by the band Redbone. They were Native Americans.

[dburt]

How ironic that the large timber company Potlatch Corp has a huge mill in the heart of NezPerce Indian country over in Lewiston, Idaho.

[Sharkey]

Wikipedia has a lengthy description of the Potlatch

[Rudy]

Dennis, Do you use a router and a template or some kind of circle jig to make those curved wood portions of the window frames? I did some amazing things with routers where I used to work. I even made my own circle jigs, as well as an oblong jig. It would be cool if you told us your magic technique. I understand if you want to keep it a secret though. Rudy

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Hi rudy, I build a jig for each job then laminate give or take 6â€

[Truckingturtle]

Dennis... I usually just lurk on this site but your craftsmanship has gotten my attention! Wow...I am impressed. I too have made several doors but none as elaborate as these. I also have a door vice that looks very similar to the one in these pictures. I've never had a manual for mine and was curious if you have one? I have some parts to mine but I'm not sure how to use them.

It's likely I may inherit a very large sum of money one day and after seeing your work, I'd like to fly you out to Oregon and hire you to do some of the work on the house-trailer I want to build. Here are a couple pictures of my shop.




Also...thought I'd like to share a photo of an oval jig I made to build a conference table I did a while back. It cuts a 4 x 8 perfect oval with a router.



Take Care...Roger (truckingturtle)

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Well,well,well. The trucking turtle poked his head out How are you Roger? Thanks for the complement. I love your shop. I had a big place about 6 years ago but it was sucking the life out of me so I ended up having to close it up and back my life up a bit. I have a much smaller place now and im back to enjoying myself much more these days. Ya know, all those windows and doors are individually divided lights. I had to get away from woodworking for a few years and even now I don’t do it all the time. The last couple of years I've been doing PV solar installations. I get a big kick out of it. If one of my old costumers ask me really nice and pelts me with money I usually give in and do it. Especially when im hurtin for bucks. I'd really like to meet you and Sharkey some day. Your site and book is the reason I built my first school bus home. I couldn't really call it a housebus cuz it didn't have an old school gable roof or shingled walls but it was home for about 4 1/2 years or so. I put my daughter through 4 years of college cash by living in that one. It changed our lives forever I have a buffalo in the works now but bucks are tight and the kid is lookin at grad school so it's goin slow but it will get done in time. That big old case clamp belongs to the guy in the building next door but it’s a pretty striate forward old clamp. Just put all parts in glued up and step on the foot bar and it even squares the door or sash up at the same time. The fine oval stuff is not that big a deal except that on those really thin muntin bars you don’t have much material to work with so if you feed it to fast or try to take to much material at once even with a router it will explode in to splinter then you have to start all over. As far as coming out your way to help with your house trailer. Hmm, Marylhurst offers a master degree in art therapy and the kid bakes incredible pie’s so who knows she may want to pack up and head west Anyway, it was great hearing from you.

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

PS, The jigs are great