Japanese joinery

I tend to get geeked at times. I am super geeked on japanese woodworking. My feelings tend to be fanatical about music, but I have gone way back in the time machine and have begun to work with wood again. Chris Owen, would surely be pleased.

I spent my high school hidden in the wood shop at Nevada Union, making the required projects( and sucking) I moved on to advanced wood shop and progressed enough to build a guitar with the help of luthier Ken Donnell and then a double neck in the new class guitar making, the only one in the U.S.!!!!!! Anyhow I would run off to LA as soon as I left high school then I met Mike Tobias and worked on a trial basis for a week sanding basses for him. I sucked at sanding and it probably did not help that I really needed glasses.   The shop was supposed to have increased in size, but the landlord did not clear out the space.  Due to this ( and likely the hope Mike could find someone else in the next months) I was told that there was not enough room for me at Tobias Yet.  After Mike called again, I started as a polisher ( trained part of the day then the guy training me just quit)  then went to woodwork, as I had experience in this department and was not too scared of wood machines.  Tobias' machines were all smaller than any I had ever used anyhow. Although I loved the work, I made more money elsewhere ultimately this is why i left.   Mike did ask if I wanted to go to Nashville when they were going to move there.  Life sure would have been different if I had gone.

Until now I had not worked with wood in a long long time.  Now taking a class in Oakland at Laney College with Jay Van Arsdale on Japanese woodworking,  I am both amazed and thrilled that I am trying this great art.

Ill write more about Japanese joinery as surely this will influence my future house projects.