Merry Christmas!!!

The Spain family wishes all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
The video attached has a few photos from 2007 along with a familiar Christmas tune on the clawhammer banjo....played by yours truly of course!

Socks Comes to Visit!

Thanksgiving 2007 will be a memorable one. It was wonderful to have both boys home for the holiday and to travel to Bartlesville to celebrate with family. A new addition was welcomed...the center of attention actually. Brad has adopted a new puppy...mix of Australian shepherd and chocolate lab...Gorgeous dog and seemingly smart at 10 weeks old. A picture says more than a thousand words so here he is! Cute, huh! The name he came with is Socks but Brad is still trying to come up with another name. I like Socks but Todd thinks Thaddeus Cornelius Wellington the Seventh would be good...go figure. Poor dog doesn't know his name yet. For other Thanksgiving Day pics follow this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/John.S.Spain/Thanksgiving2007

A New Minstrel Banjo is Born!!!

The newest banjo has finally been completed! It is a minstrel type, typical of banjo construction before and after the Civil War. It has a 13" diameter pot and cherry neck with walnut fingerboard and peghead overlay. I started the project on the 4th of July weekend by steaming a 4 foot piece of 1/4" oak for the rim and bending it around a form. You have to be a little nuts to sit around a steam box on the 4th of July in Arkansas!

The banjo sounds similar to the gourd ones as it is tuned 2 1/2 steps lower than modern banjos and uses gut strings. These strings are actually Nylgut (made in Italy for banjos) which simulates real gut without all the stretching and weather related problems. Pegs are ebony violin pegs and tapered to fit the holes. A real violin reamer is essential for tapering that hole. The head is goatskin wetted and stretched with the hoops. Brackets were cut out of brass and the hooks are brass rod which I threaded on one end. The tension ring is steel (wanted brass but just couldn't find any!) but looks very authentic.

Here's a little video with pictures and the tune "Buffalo Gals" played on it. Hope you enjoy it!

Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier....

On September 8 the National Park Service sponsored a reenactment of the Union occupation of Fort Smith which occurred on September 1, 1863. I was asked by the park if I would bring and play my gourd banjo and they would provide a Union uniform. Of course I would! The event lasted until about 3:00 when it was cut short by a very heavy downpour. It sure was fun though. There were demonstrations of the camp laundry with soap making, cooking demonstrations with dutch ovens and a very nicely displayed look at what the soldiers might carry and eat. Also there were infantry and canoneers. Some other musicians played in the afternoon. They were The Crumbs Hawk and Buzzard Band and they were truly great....played a lot of old time music. It was nice to meet a fellow banjo player and this guy looked just like John McCuen of teh Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

People were really interested in the gourd banjo, asked a lot of good questions and liked the mellow sound. Two little girls just loved it and every time I played they danced!!!
Here are a few pics....

Ask Me About Wood Badge!

The illustrious Scoutmaster of Wood Badge course SR-890 (Boyd Darling) asked if I could come up with some pocket things for the staff to wear to help recruit participants for the course. Hmmmm.....not so sure...hard to scroll saw all those words on so many items. Then it hit me...you can transfer from a laser printer using a very hot iron....soldering iron hot... and there is just such an attachment for that purpose. Print them backwards and put them face down on the leather and iron quickly. After ruining several I finally got the hang of it and here is the result. These are on leather but the same technique can be used to transfer to cloth or wood too! ...opens up more possibilities!

Brad and Katy Come to Visit!

Brad and Katy came to Ft Smith to visit last night to visit and retrieve the truck that we borrowed from him to work on the rent house After playing dominoes last night and watching movies They packed up some of Brad's stuff in the truck and headed back this afternoon. They were going to visit friends in Altus including one guy whose family owns the Post winery. What a great day to drive in an un-airconditioned truck!!!....heat index to hit about 110!

Gale French Earns Wood Badge Beads!!!

Saturday, July 21st, wasn't just a big day for Harry Potter. It was also a big day for Gale French of the Buffalo Patrol, SR-789, when she was presented her Wood Badge beads by Scoutmaster Jamie Bowerman. The ceremony was held in the home of Jennifer and William Boyd (Bear, SR-374) and was also a birthday party for Gale. We had a great evening of food, fellowship and swimming!

Congratulations, Gale!!! We are very proud of your worthy accomplishment and your service to Scouting.

4th of July!!!---Betsy Ross Seen Sewing Flag!

Happy 4th of July!!!!
For a patriotic holiday flavor this Blog features Betsy Ross sewing a flag for the holiday....well, quilt maybe.

Also, on another happy event...the Chicken Hat has been found! I was afraid it was left at a campout but nope....here it is!

AND...here's a pic of my disc golf buddies...Todd and Andrew

How Can I Keep From Singing?

"How Can I Keep From Singing?" is a gorgeous old tune and a personal favorite. I recorded this some time ago on my classical guitar (sadly neglected in favor of the banjo much to my family's dismay!) The arrangement here is simple and a little different rhythm than the straight tune but I think you might enjoy it.

Pictures are mostly from Boy Scout Camp Orr...even the cave pictures which I did NOT take!
I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!!!

Buckle of the Day

We were fortunate to have three guests from New Mexico come by and see us on their way to a family reunion in Tennessee. Margie Gale, a long-time buddy of Suzanne and her sister Caroline and her husband, Jim, stopped in Fort Smith both coming and going on their trip. To surprise them I made two buckles; one, another SAU Mulerider for Margie, an ASU graduate, and this New Mexico sun for Caroline and Jim.

Great to see you all and please do come again!!!

Brad's New Office

This is Bradford on the fourth day of his new job at Cromwell Architects and Engineers in Little Rock. He has a wonderful view as you can see with a window facing Markham Avenue and the Old State House right across the street.

Congratulations Bradford!!!!

Buckle of the Day

This buckle was made for Suzanne's dad, Barney G. Russell, of Magnolia, Arkansas.
It's of a Mulerider, mascot of Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia.
Happy Father's Day Barney!!!

Brad Flies the Coop!!!

Today, June 13, 2007 was a big day at the Spain house. After a couple of weeks vacation after graduation from the UA, Bradford moved to Little Rock to begin working for the Cromwell Firm, Architects and Engineers. (Cromwell's Website)

Brad, we love you and miss you already!!! Come home to visit often...and bring Katie with you!

Brad's Graduation

Bradford Spain's graduation from the University of Arkansas
(Click on the arrow to play a short video complete with sound!)

Custom Jigsaw Puzzles

The scroll saw is THE tool for making "jig saw" puzzles. These puzzles are cut out of the highest quality birch plywood and using the tiniest of blades. (I use 2/0 blades by the Flying Dutchman available from www.mikesworkshop.com) The photographs are by Arkansas' own Tim Ernst whose nature photography particularly of the Buffalo River region is known all over the country. I always cut special shapes or "figurals" that help enhance the theme of the picture and make the puzzle extra fun to put together. These have also been donated for Scout and school orchestra fund raising purposes and also given as gifts to friends and family.

When Tim and Pam Ernst came to Fort Smith last November I gave them a puzzle with one of his gorgeous fall photos of the Buffalo River. They loved it and you can read about it and see a photo of it in his on-line Cloudland Journal. I like to check on his journal often because he posts a lot of photos almost every day and they make you want to go camping and hiking. This puzzle is in his November, 2006 archive. Look for the 11/22/06 entry. Link is at www.cloudland.net

Inlayed Pocket Knives

Victorinox Swiss Army knives make great Scout gifts if you replace that red plastic with beautiful woods. They are inlayed with German silver or exotic woods. Some of the knives you see in the pictures were donated for auction fund raising purposes to a Wood Badge course. Others were made as gifts for friends. The Eagle Scout one was for my son.

Todd's Photostory For Eagle Scout Ceremony

This Photostory was shown at Todd's Eagle Scout ceremony --July, 2006
(Click on the arrow to play a short video complete with sound!)

Clocks and Plaques

These plaques make great little desk clocks. The Razorback District uses these as awards for Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, Venture leader and Scout Family of the Year.

I made the Eagle one for a young man's special Eagle ceremony.

The Bear was a gift for my wife, Suzanne, who is of course a "Bear".....Wood Badge Bear that is.

Miscellaneous Buckles

These are a few that couldn't really be categorized. The Girl Scout one is for a young lady who is receiving her Gold Award. The musical ones were for musician friends and the OSU one was for my nephew.

The Eagle ones with the Methodist Church logo were made as gifts from the church sponsor to their boys who earn Eagle.

Scout Logo Buckles

These buckles have the logos of Scouting on them...Cub Scouts, Webelos, Boy Scouts, Venturing, Order of the Arrow, etc.
Woods used are maple, walnut, cocobolo, padauk, purpleheart, yellowheart, canary wood and Peruvian walnut.

Scouting Wood Badge Buckles

Wooden Buckles

A few years ago I purchased a Dremel scroll saw with cash I received as a gift from my in-laws. That purchase began a hobby that I'm sure my family and friends would say I'm obsessed with but that little saw has made possible a huge variety of crafts. I have enjoyed giving them as gifts especially to deserving Scouters and boys who have attained the rank of Eagle Scout. As word has gotten around some of these buckles have become highly sought after and custom orders have sometimes been accepted.

Todd's Graduation ---2006

Todd's graduation from Southside High School--May 2006
Fort Smith, Arkansas

Gourd Banjos

This is my first gourd banjo! It was made in the summer of '06 from a locally grown gourd. The head is made of goatskin. It has a wonderful old-time, mellow "thumpy" sound.

To hear it played click the link! (The pictures that go with it are mostly Boy Scout Camp Orr and a few of my youngest son, some near Pinnacle Mountain State Park in Little Rock)
Gourd Banjo (Tune is Liza Jane)

Here is the second and much smaller gourd banjo next to the other one. The neck is a shorter "A" scale. It's fun to play but doesn't have the volume that the big one does. It makes a great backpacking/camping banjo though....weighs very little. .....AND it won't wake the neighbors!!!

You can hear another gourd banjo tune complete with pictures by clicking here.
(Tune is "Squirrel Heads and Gravy")

Gourd Banjo 2

If you would like to hear the smaller banjo, click here for a short audio: (Shortnin' Bread)

Small Gourd Banjo

Thanks for lookin' and listenin'