Stringed Amazingness

These are the best 1/12 scale instruments I've come across (after much diligent searching). They are made by Canadian woodworker John Ottewill. The pics are from an article he wrote for Canadian Woodworking Magazine, which I assume you all read, but in case you missed it, here's the link.

The artist:

A Horse and A Woman

This is an image I like. Unfortunately, I don't know the source or where I found it. Anyone know?  B  What's going on here?

Furniture, glorious furniture!

 Some of you may have noticed that the banner for this blog shows a model I've been working on, over the years, of my apartment. In that particular photo, I allowed myself some artistic license, such as the bamboo looking walls, which do not really exist.  The model, along with my apartment, has  changed over time. Here are some pieces I made in a recent round of building.

Dresser

This is made from primarily from black walnut, but mahogany was used for the back piece and the draw bottoms. This 1/12 replica is made of better material than the real piece, which is veneer over some kind of pressed wood.

The replica (above) and the original (below) on which it is based. The real sized piece is the 6-drawer Villas Dresser, from Overstock.com. The picture is from Overstock's site.

Here are some shots of the finished piece and the process in case you are curious about how this was built.

Desk, file cabinet, ottoman, book shelf

There are many ways to make the sliding draws. I went for the simple method. A more elegant solution might have been to  cut grooves in the inner walls or the draw piece.

The desk with one simple drawer.

Yes, those are some of my actual books (Dracula, a classic everyone must own, a look on pirates, and a boxed, double volume of  Leslie Klinger's Annotated Sherlock Holmes).

Revolutionaries

W. Britains Signing of the Declaration of Independence

7 Pieces, Set # 17230

Sherman, Hancock, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin

OK Travellers, can you tell what cities these are by their artist rendered map? How many did you get?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Answers:

1. London

2. Brooklyn (NY) 

3.Paris

4. Los Angeles

5. Rome

6. Boston

7. Brussels

8. Jerusalem

9. St. Louis

10. Melbourne

11.  Sydney

12. Madrid

See more here:  Society 6

Hank's Car

                                                                                                                       Photos of model: Tom Casesa

Charles Carr died in July of 2013.  He was the 17 year old boy who was driving Hank Williams when he died in the back seat of his 1952 baby blue Cadillac convertible, on route to a concert in Canton Ohio.   He died at some point in the night, but the specifics are still a little mysterious.  Carr has said very little over the years since, and there is a feeling that we never  quite got the full story of what happened that night.  The event has been mythologized a fair bit, in books, films and art work.   Sometimes the event is  called his "Last Ride" or referred to as "The Show He Never Gave". There's a 1980 movie by that title, and last year another movie, The Last Ride was released.

 I met Carr in the late 90s at a Hank fest in Alabama.  A friend of mine tracked Carr down and brought him to the museum in Montgomery.  The museum was selling replicas of Hank's car. I bought one and  Carr signed it across the hood.  Amazing to have this. 

On the same trip I met two of the then surviving Drifting Cowboys, steel guitarist Don Helms and fiddle player Jerry Rivers and saw them perform.  Their signatures are on my acoustic guitar. I had the chance to interview Don in 1997.  He is credited with giving Hank' band it's distinct sound.  You can see a video slide show I  made of the interview here:  Don Helms interview.  When he passed in 2008 he was the last remaining member of the core Drifting Cowboy Band.  

Wikipedia entry on Hank

]

                                                                                                                                 Photos by Tom Casesa

Hank Williams

Finally, I overdubbed one of Hank's demo songs with my piano.   You can see/hear it here:

Tom and Hank

Tom, around 15 yo, with Ole Hank photoshopped in.