Okay, so today I messed around with some wood. Yeah, that sounds about right. I had this idea to make… well, I’m not even sure what to call it. A “keel dancing maple timber” thingy. Basically, I wanted to see if I could take a piece of maple and make it look like it was, you know, dancing.

First, I grabbed a chunk of maple from my scrap pile. It was pretty rough, all jagged edges and whatnot. I spent a good hour just cleaning it up with my plane and some sandpaper. Gotta get that surface smooth, you know? My hands were covered in sawdust by the end, but it was worth it.

The Shaping Begins

Next, I started thinking about the “keel” part. I wanted it to have this curved, almost boat-like bottom. So, I sketched out some lines on the wood, just eyeballing it, really. Then I took my saw – a handsaw, mind you, no fancy power tools here – and started cutting along the lines. Slow and steady, that’s the key. I didn’t want to mess it up and have to start over.

After the sawing, I used my chisels. Lots and lots of chiseling. Chipping away at the wood, little by little, to get that curved shape I was after. This part took forever. My arms were aching, but I kept going. I put on some music, which helped.

• Cut the basic shape with a handsaw.
• Refined the curves with chisels.
• Sanded everything down to make it smooth.

Making it “Dance”

Now for the “dancing” part. I wanted the top part of the timber to have these wavy, flowing lines. Like it was moving in the wind, or something. I grabbed my carving tools – some gouges and V-tools – and started experimenting. I had no real plan here, just letting my hands do the work.

I carved out some grooves, then rounded the edges, then added some more grooves. It was all very… intuitive. I kept stepping back, looking at it from different angles, trying to see what it needed. Sometimes I’d add something, sometimes I’d take something away. It was a back-and-forth kind of thing.

The Finish Line (Almost)

Finally, after hours of work, I had something that looked… pretty cool, actually. It wasn’t perfect, but it had that “dancing” vibe I was going for. The wood felt smooth and warm in my hands. I spent some more time sanding, getting rid of any rough spots. And then, I applied a coat of oil. Just a simple oil finish, to bring out the natural beauty of the maple.

So, there you have it. My “keel dancing maple timber” project. It was a lot of work, but it was also a lot of fun. And now I have this unique… thing… sitting on my shelf. I still don’t know what to do with it!