Okay, so, “keel dancing oak timber” – sounds kinda poetic, right? Well, it all started with this old, weathered piece of oak I found lying around in my backyard. I’d been meaning to do something with it for ages, and this phrase just popped into my head. I figured, why not try to make something that embodies that idea?

First things first, I hauled that chunk of oak into my workshop. It was heavy! I mean, really heavy. I’m pretty sure I pulled a muscle. Anyway, after I caught my breath, I started by cleaning it up. Years of dirt and grime were caked on, so I grabbed a wire brush and went to town. It took a while, and my arms were definitely feeling it, but eventually, I got down to the bare wood.

Next, I needed to figure out the “keel” part. I decided to shape the bottom of the oak into a sort of rounded, boat-like form. I’m no expert woodworker, mind you, so this was all pretty experimental. I used a drawknife – carefully, I might add, after almost slicing my thumb off last time – to shave away the wood. It was slow going, lots of little shavings piling up, but I gradually started to see the shape I wanted emerge.

The Dancing Part

• Then came the “dancing” aspect. My initial thought was to create, carve some flowing lines into the wood, kinda like waves or wind currents.
• I sketched a few ideas on paper first, trying to get a feel for what would look good.
• I marked the lines out and go to carving with some gouges and chisels.
• The oak was tough, and I had to sharpen my tools like a zillion times.
• I poked myself with the chisel more than once, let me tell you.
• There was a lot of, uh, “creative cursing” involved.

I sanded with rough and then finer grits of sandpaper until the piece is as smooth as a baby’s bottom. After that, I applied a couple of coats of a clear, natural oil finish. I didn’t want to hide the grain of the oak; I wanted it to shine through.

Finally, I stood back and looked at what I’d made. It wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot. There were some wobbly lines, and a few places where I’d dug in a little too deep with the chisel. But, you know what? It kinda looked like a “keel dancing oak timber.” It had this rough, organic feel to it, and the way the light caught the curves I’d carved, it did seem to have a sense of movement. So, yeah, mission accomplished, I guess! It’s now sitting on my bookshelf, a reminder of a fun, if slightly chaotic, project.