· The walnut cat bed is finished
The walnut cat bed is done. Sherpa nest on top, cardboard scratch ramp underneath, legs angled like mid-century furniture. Second finished piece out of the shop after The Izzy.
Journal
Notes on builds, development progress, and workshop decisions.
· Drive Estonia is in the App Store
Drive Estonia is live. $1.99, one-time. The listing is up if you want to look it over before a trip.
· Drive Estonia submitted for App Store review
After TestFlight, Drive Estonia v1 is now in Apple’s App Store review. I’ll post here when it is live. There is no public listing yet.
· The Izzy is finished
The Izzy is done. Neck’s on, hardware’s on, paint is where I wanted it. First guitar out of the shop as a finished instrument.
· Drive Estonia is Officially Submitted to Test Flight
Submitted for Beta review about 45 minutes ago. A major step toward getting it to the App Store.
· Admin is a Challenge
Filing paperwork, transferring assets, and opening bank accounts. So many hurdles in the path toward being a creator. Knowledge plus experience is wisdom. And wisdom has taught me how important the basics are to being a successful creator. So, for now, it’s a focus on the basics. Project update: Drive Estonia: 95% complete. MetricizeMe: 75% complete. Formation of Green Man Customs LLC: 50%. Meditation stool prototype: 50%. Izzy Guitar: 25%. It’s enough for the bandwidth I have.
· Drive Estonia research trip
I've just returned from a research trip to Estonia where I tested the concept for Drive Estonia: Download it before you fly and land in Estonia able to drive confidently and safely as an American. I'm thrilled to say it worked almost perfectly. Just some final polish and to the App Store we go!
· Site launched
Green Man Customs, LLC is now online. More updates will be posted as new work takes shape.
· The walnut console and shoe rack is finished
Kids were kicking shoes off in front of one closet until the door wouldn’t open and the hallway looked like a lost-and-found. Built a live-edge walnut console with two shoe shelves underneath for Mother’s Day — same corner, usable closet, and something worth looking at.
· The small walnut end table is finished
About a month after the mid-century chair, made a tiny organic walnut end table from scraps — free shapes against the chair’s sharp lines. Top is only about 10″ wide: big enough for coffee, too small for clutter. It worked.
· The mid-century walnut chair is finished
Built a mid-century walnut lounge chair in June — wide arms, low recline, cream cushions. The frame is all angles; the cushions make it actually sit like furniture, not a sculpture.
· The golden ratio gentleman’s box is finished
Mid-2023: wenge and mahogany gentleman’s box, golden-ratio layout, splined miters, sliding front drawer. Meant for the end-of-day pocket empty; ended up living on the desk too. Still one of the builds I like most.
· The triangle reading table is finished
April 2023: triangular poplar side table for a reading corner. Chair in the corner meant a weird leftover footprint; the top followed the space. Milk-paint top, cabinet-paint legs. Book and cocoa, sorted.
· The ebonized oak desk is finished
March 2023: red oak desk with an ebonized top (steel wool + vinegar). First big build, lots of compromise, wood I don’t love. Still the desk I work at.
· The Mistake is finished
March 2023: The Mistake — first original guitar. You go to school on the first one. Tele bridge on a Gibson-scale neck; unplayable above the 5th fret. The body didn’t survive the repair. Parts that mattered went into The Izzy.
· The X-frame end table is finished
Early 2023: an X-frame end table for the other daughter in the same room as the triangle table. Same plum and black, different feel.
· The poplar kids desk is finished
Early 2023: built a small poplar desk for the kids to learn wedged tenons. Walnut wedges, poplar everywhere else. Not the prettiest wood unpainted, and it dents — but it’s still the homework desk.
· The makeup box is finished
Christmas 2022: makeup box for one of my daughters. Clear white pine, solid figured walnut on top, little tiger maple trays inside, and a rechargeable lighted mirror built in.
· Caden’s memorial box is finished
November 2022: Caden’s memorial box for my brother. Thai teak and American white oak, lignum vitae floor, purpleheart in the lid. Photo ledge and a tiny beeswax candle inside. Wood choice was the whole point.
· The white oak leaf board is finished
Valentine’s Day 2022: white oak leaf board for my wife, with a matching acorn tray. Leaf shape, stem handle, ray fleck — and a little acorn for the nuts.
· Goldie is finished
2018: Goldie. Gibson Les Paul Tribute neck and body, Seymour Duncan Slash pickups, ’59 harness — and most of the rest from The Pig. Sounds and feels great; still chase the G string like every other LP.
· Penny is finished
2014: Penny. Candy apple red ’60s Strat, MIM Fender body and neck, built for tuning stability after The Pig. Still the most stable guitar I own — a little hot, a little heavy, and still the one I trust.
· The Pig is finished
2012: The Pig. Lipstick on an Epiphone Les Paul starter — parts upgrades, first fret job, carbon fiber over the scratches. Came out better than it had any right to. Later gave its parts to Goldie.