Working Thoughts No. 1
Today I made the final detail to finish out my front porch renovation I’ve been trimming out for these past few weeks–delightfully simple sloped column caps. Part elegy to my home as the residence of a woodworker and part homage to the past: my home is a Prairie-style farmhouse from the late 1890s on once-Mattie-Caruth-farmland in Dallas, Texas. The old porch elements had rotted and required replacement, as the last remaining sloped column topper perched like a crusty mushroom cap on a dilapidated stalk and remorsefully I threw it away with a vow to replace it. Sure I could buy one or phone it in and build something simpler, but my porch deserves better from me.
The home is in the Prairie Style, a slim architectural moment between the Victorian and Craftsman eras. While my home is no shining example of either era, I can move it toward one or the other as I please. As such, I am replicating (some) of the Victorian elements with a nod toward the modern era as much as possible. What can I say - I prefer cleaner lines and straightforward American joinery to the lattices and ornamentations of the lacy Victorian days, which seem to decay like the layers of Mrs. Havisham’s wedding cake.
To accomplish the cuts easily (and safely), I needed to build a 90˚ pushing jig and over-tall fence for the table saw. Then, I made incremental cuts upward through the poplar squares, pushing the jig with my right hand and guiding with a push block in my left as I slowly made my way through the 15˚-mitered blade. It was a slightly sketchy affair, but the results speak for themselves. With a jack plane, I cleared up the points on the slopes, and voila, two semi-perfect pyramids. A touch of sanding and then waterproofing, and these are ready for the painters.
It felt good to stretch my woodworking legs with these small projects for my own home rather than client work. After being awash in my porch’s miters and edge trim and brad nails, I was satisfied to top things off with a truly challenging hand-made affair. I feel like my old house would be proud of me, if it could see me.
Onward!