methodically.
A useful mistake is already halfway to a technique.
Open notebook · no fixed schedule
This isn't
a blog.
No editorial calendar or content to fill the silence. Just notes when an experiment deserves to be kept.
Open the notebookmethodically.
is public.
The recipe stays on the workbench.
Like almost everything here.
An archive doesn't go out of date. It waits for the next thing worth keeping.
Records in no particular order
Workbench notes
No “latest post”.
No pressure to write.
Record 01
photography · phone
The worse the camera, the better the engraving
The phone tries to correct everything that gives an engraving depth. A Yashica Digimate 100 apparently knows how to leave things alone.
Read the record
Record 02
manifesto · workbench
This isn't a blog
No editorial calendar, promised frequency or content for its own sake. Just records when something deserves recording.
Read the record
Record 03
photography · limewood
Two photographs and 12 W
Two photographs engraved in limewood for a colleague. One came dangerously close to going completely wrong.
Read the record
Record 04
PR
No photograph. It happens.
process · materials
Process: wood and finishing
Quick notes on choosing wood, grain direction and finishing.
Read the record
Record 05
behind the scenes · commissions
I'm no ninja at positioning plaques
Engraving twenty matching plaques is work. Aligning twenty precut toothpicks and promising they'll come out straight takes martial arts.
Read the record
Record 06
WO
No photograph. It happens.
wood · appearances
It's all wood
Some pieces look like metal, stone, printing or something else entirely. The answer is still wood.
Read the record
Record 07
MA
No photograph. It happens.
Madeira de Titanium · accidents
The wood that stalled the tools
It began with a silly mistake, made the laser sweat and ended up with a name that sounded exaggerated until someone tried cutting it.
Read the record
Record 08
PA
No photograph. It happens.
paint · cheap materials
The best paint is the one that works
Most of the paint on the workbench came from the local bargain shop. The finished quality wasn't told.
Read the record
Record 09
FI
No photograph. It happens.
finishes · philosophy
Varnish stabilises the mistake
A beautiful finish that stops the laser working isn't a LaserCrafts finish. It's just an expensive layer in the way.
Read the record
Record 10
CO
No photograph. It happens.
commissions · layers
The 65-euro motorcycle
Layers of wood, roughly A3 size and almost three days of cutting and gluing. Final price: 65 euros. Maths can be an experimental technique too.
Read the record
Record 11
PO
No photograph. It happens.
Portugal · chemistry
Why I invent the materials I can't find
When a product is hard to find and costs several times what it should, its label starts looking like an invitation to investigate.
Read the record
Record 12
paper · experiment
The paper you couldn't engrave
They said you couldn't laser engrave watercolour paper. The whale didn't get the memo.
Read the record
Record 13
EX
No photograph. It happens.
experiments · useful failures
Five versions later
The first version worked. Then it stopped working. The fifth finally understood what the previous four had been trying to teach.
Read the record
Proof that something worked
From workbench to wall
01
Anime, Cartoons, Art, Wood with Soul, Art that Breathes, Not Engraving but Forging
Attack on Titan – Levi
02
One Piece, Anime, Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Unique, Engraving, Laser, Manga, Anime, Leiria, Art, Anime, Otakus, Fan Art
One Piece – The Trio
03
Spectrum Engraving, Van, VW, Hippie, Psychedelic, Multicoloured, Unique, Leiria, Art
Spectrum Engraving – Psychedelic Van
04
Christmas, Nativity Scene, 3D, Gold, Paint, Hand Cutting, Gold, Laser
Christmas – Nativity Scene
Next entry
When there's something to say.
Until then, the laser doesn't need a content plan.