Woodwork Update

November 20, 2022

Ocassionaly, I get asked what I've been working on in my shop. I received a call a couple weeks ago from a '78 classmate very closely involved (understatement) with the corps and band. He sent a photo of a very beat up stand the drum majors use to hold their batons when not in use and asked if I would be willing to make a new one. I accepted the challenge as a meaningful donation to those organizations. Like most jobs, I say yes and then have to figure out the details.

The most critical detail is selecting the correct wood species. The original stand looked to be a mix of pine and oak with joints coming apart and exposed nails. I selected ipe for the wood. It is a farmed wood out of Brazil that is very hard, dense, and full of natural oils that make it the wood of choice for outdoor applications like decks and furniture. Teak may be the only other wood in this category and it is even more expensive than ipe which is pricy enough. I had a couple of short boards hanging around in my shop from a previous purchase with no project in mind. After two trips to Houston, I have enough wood to make the stand and correct my mistakes (most anyway!).

The original stand was a base with two dowels supporting a top with holes for the batons. A similar assembly made with ipe would be much too heavy for just the two dowels. What better support than to add a block tee supporting the top with two birch dowels adding even more support to the top plus providing a little color contrast. The finished stand weighs in at 32 pounds.

I routed "Fightin' Texas Aggie Band" into the top and filled the words with clear epoxy resin. I added a plaque on the base noting the donation from the Corps of Cadets Association to the band. It was my choice to not have my name on this plaque though I did burn in "JDW '78" inside the base. The plaque is also recessed in its mount with resin over the top to help protect it. This was my first experience with ipe, routing letters, and using clear resin. I ended up making the top twice which worked out well as I had to test techniques (and still had small uncorrected errors). The resin in the letters beautifully highlight the dark maroon color of the wood. The entire stand was coated in a UV protection oil such that maintenance will only be refreshing the oil and applying a coat of hard furniture wax every year.

Should I mention that the project drew a bit of blood from me as I made a mistake (dumb one) on the table saw and an edge of the wood whacked my ring and pinky fingers on my left hand. Just short of stitches, I will have a hairline scar reminding me of the project. All is well and I'm just that much smarter regarding that saw.

The stand was presented to the band and drum majors after their morning practice yesterday. Everybody was pleased. The stand was used in the game yesterday and saw its first rain. I was told the water beaded off great and all is good after a towel-dry in the dorms. It was a fun project for a good cause and it could outlive me.