So, she ended up following in the footsteps of family members like cousins who had attended RISD, where she first encountered woodworking. “They started with the basics and then kind of advanced into things like steam bending, things like that. We did also learn metal and plastic and upholstery and stuff, but I always wanted to go back to wood,” Vivian said.

“I always say that wood is the most accurate material that I like working with,” Vivian explained. “I can get 90 degrees on a cut, an exact measurement, versus when you work in metal, you have to Sharpie it, and that Sharpie line is kind of thick, so it’s not as accurate as I would like. I don’t like things that would explode on me or melt in my hands or anything that turns from liquid to solid; it’s a bit too out of my control.”

Control and accuracy is important to Vivian as she incorporates simple math and geometry rules into her projects. “So everything is increasing by 100 percent, or all prime numbers – something mathematical – and then I can kind of create these geometrical sculptures that I can cut up and reform.” The grooves in INCRA rules, she mentions, help make her marking and math easier.

Vivian’s focus on sculptural work came about after her graduation from RISD and can be traced to an undergraduate furniture project that, in some ways, was more of a success than she wanted it to be. As a senior in college, she was assigned a chair project and was having a difficult time coming up with a concept. “So I started doodling these squares, like a square within a square, then a square that’s a little bit bigger, then a square that’s a little bit bigger. And I turned to my friend next to me and said, “What if I make a chair within a chair, kind of like the movie Inception, how it’s a dream within a dream?’ And she was basically like, ‘Yeah, cool,try it.’”

Vivian says she never made any full drawings of the project that became “Inception Chair,” just orthographic drawings for the measurements. To retain the proportions of the grooves, she cut everything by hand.

“And then it came out; I had no idea it was going to look like that, and it was one of those ‘You’ve got something on your hands, something special here,’ kind of moments.”

She got quite a few people interested in buying the chair – until they realized that, due to the fragility of the smallest chair, you couldn’t sit on it. “And so I realized that I don’t want to make furniture, because I don’t want to make things that people can break, or that relies on its function for its appeal.”

So, post-graduation, Vivian has focused her efforts on sculpture – currently, she’s a student in the Columbia MFA program in sculpture and, in fact, will be having her first-year show of her work at New York’s Lenfest Center this spring (opening is on March 23; exhibit on display until April 9).

She worked for a while for sculptor Ursula von Rydingsvard while also participating in several residencies, including Anderson Ranch, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Penland School of Crafts, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts and Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. This summer, she’ll be at the Center for Art in Wood in Philadelphia.

“I’m always basically just trying to look for somewhere that has a table saw and has a chop saw, and just continue making,” Vivian said. “That’s really the most important thing to me, is to make. I can’t be away from my studio for too many days because I kind of get itchy hands, itchy fingers.”

The woodshop space is the most important aspect to her when applying for residencies, Vivian said, because, “That’s the most expensive part of being a woodworker, is having all the tools.”

She has made do at times, however, when she didn’t necessarily have the tools she wanted: “I always carry a mini band saw around with me, because it’s so cheap,” she said. Some of her works, like small busts and some in the “Relief” series, were created with that mini band saw. And, when she wanted to scale up for “Sphere” and “Pillar,” she mounted a jigsaw upside down on a table and attached a foot pedal. “So when I pulled the pedal, it would kind of cut upward.”

She originally planned to use wood for that project, “But there was too much bounce when the jigsaw was cutting it, so I ended up using foam.”

The wood she’s working with the most right now is Baltic birch plywood – in part, for financial reasons. (“Probably, if I had unlimited money, I’d be working with walnut,” she said.) But the quarter inch Baltic birch plywood also plays into her design aesthetics when she laminates separate layers together. “It has to be equal layers, so when I stack them together, all the lines are equal spacing apart,” she said. “I’m interested in how many layers that are just a tiny bit different can change an entire form of a piece. “

Currently, Vivian is working on a series of “staircases.” “I’m dissecting them, I’m cutting them up, shifting them, putting them back together, chopping them up again, shifting them and moving them. It sort of creates a lot of physical layers, but also conceptual layers of the process in the work.”

She has also recently begun experimenting with painting her wood – but only in black and white. In the past, Vivian said, she has often picked her woods based on the lightness or darkness of the species, and left the wood raw. As for the reasoning behind painting in black and white? “I just say it’s the same reason why people photograph in black and white: it’s just kind of easier to separate two things when color’s not involved.”

She also notes that she’s working optical illusions-based sculptures, “Where I’m painting one side, and not the other, so when you move around it, you kind of get different colors and shapes.”

Vivian does, at times, incorporate materials other than wood into her work, including metal or clay, sometimes due to the weight of a larger scale work, or sometimes to “play around doing things that I think might look interesting or feel interesting – but it always starts with wood.”

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Tim Inman: That top you are referencing could indeed actually be linoleum. It could also be a number of other man-made materials that look, act and sometimes feel like leather. Some are “tar” based and others are closer akin to cardboard. If the top is in good condition now, just clean it with the mildest of cleaners that will work. If not, then my best advice is to replace it with something better.

Chris Marshall: I wrote many of my first assignments for Woodworker’s Journal sitting at a behemoth of an old wooden desk like you’re describing. Only mine had a cracked and peeling wood veneer top — nothing remotely leather-like. Those old desks can be welcomed keepsakes; I hope you didn’t have to lug your wife’s down too many flights of stairs to get it to your refinishing area! My battleship of a desk never made it out of the basement when we sold our previous home (it was just too heavy to rationalize the move), but the new owners found good use for it. Best of luck with your refinishing project.

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Instead of sanding the edges flush, which I do later, I build up the “low” edge with layers of tape to shim it even with the other part before forming the groove.

The tape “shim” slides along the saw fence and holds the piece in perfect alignment as I cut the groove.

– John Pettus
Westminster, California

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– Glenn Willis Jr.
Redondo Beach, California

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Its Snap-Lock feature enables the bit insert ring to be removed by simply pushing a button to unlock it from Pro Lift’s top plate. Pushing the ring back down again locks it in place without tools. One insert ring with a 1-1/2-in.-dia. opening is included with Pro Lift.

This lift’s undercarriage, made of heavy-duty steel with bronze bushings and an aluminum router motor housing, includes an anti-backlash mechanism to prevent the router from creeping down during use. For added insurance, you can engage a lock knob on the threaded post when performing heavy-duty router operations with large bits.

The 3/8-in.-thick machined aluminum plate on Pro Lift model 52429 measures 8-1/4 in. x 11-3/4 in. to fit Rockler and Bench Dog router table openings. There will be a second plate size offered on Pro Lift model 55803: 9-1/4 in. x 11-3/4 in., to fit most other router table openings from manufacturers such as JessEm, Kreg® and Woodpeckers®. This second Pro Lift version is coming soon.

Pro Lift accepts router motors that measure 4.2 in. in diameter (13.85-in.-circumference), such as Porter-Cable’s 7518 and 7519 models. A 3-1/4-in. Pro Lift Adapter Collar (item 50098, $9.99) is sold separately and fits the following mid-size routers with 3-1/4-in.-dia. (10.21-in.-circumference) motors: Bosch 1617, Porter-Cable 690 and 890 series, DeWALT 616 and 618 and others. There’s also a 3-1/2-in. Pro Lift Adapter Collar (item 57022; $9.99) to suit Makita’s RF1101 and similar machines with 3-1/2-in.-dia. (11-in.-circumference) motors. Both adapters have an expansion gap that allows them to accept motor diameters measuring 1/8 in. larger or smaller than the listed spec.

Currently, Rockler’s new Pro Lift Router Lift (model 52429) is available for pre-order, with an expected ship date of March 30, 2018. It sells for $369.99 and includes the height adjustment wrench, insert ring, a set of hex keys on a ring and a threaded starter pin. More insert rings in various bit-opening sizes will be offered in the future and sold as accessories.

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The wireless speaker kit is available from Rockler Woodworking

We provided two guitar-shaped templates that you can download for free, or you can design your own shape.

To Download the Guitar Templates Click Here.

Learn more about resawing lumber.

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“I’m no stranger to this issue. It got to the point that I made the mistake every time I went for the extra accuracy. My solution was to disregard my middle school shop teacher’s advice; this sometimes made my measurements almost one inch more accurate. I usually had a bigwig observing my moment of realization, too. Fortunately for me, she is extremely compassionate and coddled me through each repair.” – Jeff Dropp

“Been there. Done that. Have regrets. I’m building a sideboard for my dining room. The structure that holds the cabinets and drawers is built like a pair of goalposts. The cabinet carcass was ¼-inch too wide to fit. I cut the crossbars on the goalposts, inserted pieces of ebony which were used to accent the accompanying dining room table, and added interior supports screwed to the crosspieces.” – Alan Gesler

“I liked the 1-inch-off cabinet story. I once marked a 20-foot piece of oak molding to 11-foot-something using the only ruler I had at the time, a 6-ft. folding stick ruler. So I measured 6 feet and then the 5 feet-something. When I went to cut it (you can guess), I cut it at the 6-foot mark by mistake. After giving vent to my emotions, I bought another piece and repeated the process. Before I could cut it, the doorbell rang, and I bought some Girl Scout cookies. I then proceeded to cut it at the 6-foot mark again. Finally, I bought a tape measure at the same time as I bought my third piece. And had to bear the lumberyard telling me that they were really cheaper if I bought in bulk! (And I still won’t buy Girl Scout cookies.)” – Richard Palluzi

Some also offered the requisite unsolicited advice. – Editor

“What’s life without a little aww-sh-oot now and then? It’s what keeps us on our toes and makes us better woodworkers. That said, when you want a more accurate measurement, it is often better to start at the one-inch mark and avoid any problems that may be caused by the sliding tab at the end of the tape measure. But you do have to remember you did that! Just sit back and have another beer, or whatever your beverage of choice is, and move on. It’s life!” – Bob Hoyle

“I understand the tendency toward anal-retentiveness and have had similar experiences. Next time, just use the full length of the tape; if there is a small gap at installation, some suitably chosen trim (such as quarter-round) can be used to cover it. Or you could go old-school and use a folding rule with a sliding extension for inside measurements. Or use a really old-school story stick. Oh, and did you measure twice? LOL…” – Brian Leavy

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