How Green Becomes Wood

"I have seen them. But I find cutting boards boring. I will not go so far as to say there is no art to them, and some can be quite clever, but I do not generally enjoy making them, or spoons, or most things of that sort." He lifted up one of the blocks and then set it back down almost dismissively, "All these pieces are cast-offs from past projects. I do sometimes enjoy making bowls, mostly for how they make the chatoyancy shine."
 
"Oh. Looks cool," Xander nodded in approval. He held up a very dark piece of wood and squinted at it speculatively. "How about a black - or almost black - unicorn? Alec would flip. And it's finiky with the horn and all that."
 
Dark took the block and turned it carefully over in his hands, "First, I need to find reference pictures. Horses have complicated musculature, I have some level of experience because of my carousel horses, but I still like to double check myself. Then I draw on it. For something like this, I will use my band saw a bit, but it will need a lot of hand tools."
 
"Okay." Xander pulled out his phone and took a moment to scroll through the pictures. Finally, he found one of an impressive black unicorn that did not look tameable or like it would even consider putting its head in some lady's lap. "How about this one?"
 
Dark held Xander's phone in his hand for a few moments and then nodded, "Sure, that is fine enough." Setting it back down, went into one of his drawers for a notebook so he could quickly do a sketch of the unicorn from all angles, adjusting it so its tail looked less like a horse's and more like a lion's. It wasn't a perfect sketch, but it was enough for what he needed. Then he took out a thin piece of white chalk and began to sketch those angles onto the wood block itself so he knew what to cut away, "We work in opposites," he mused as he wiped away one of his lines and redrew it, and then did so a few more times.
 
"I carve away pieces, you stitch them together," Dark replied, holding up the block and holding it at a distance, carefully turning it over to check all the sides before setting it down, "We work in opposite directions."
 
"Sometimes, but not often," Dark said, "Really only fabric or lights, unless I am making a ride. At least when I work in miniature. It is different when I am making something large." He set the block down and put on his safety glasses. Then he went into a different drawer and tossed Xander a dust mask before putting one on himself. Then he put in earplugs and went to his bandsaw. It was a bit much for how briefly he was going to use it, there weren't many areas which required the big cuts, and if he were alone he probably would've skipped the dust mask, but his kid was there and he had to model good habits.
 
Xander followed the rules without question, never once wondering if Dark ever skipped putting on a mask or anything else. He bent over to watch the cuts, absolutely fascinated by the process. It was really cool! Not something he wanted to do, but he enjoyed seeing it done.
 
Dark was slow and methodical as he made the cuts, occasionally pausing to take a closer look at what he had done before finishing the large cuts. With such a small piece of wood, it didn't take very long. Then he brushed off the remnant sawdust and headed back to his desk, taking off all the protective equipment he had put on purely for the use of his machinery. The shape of the unicorn still wasn't quite there, but it was closer, and sitting back down he looked over his tool rack before selecting the right one for the next step of revealing the shape it was meant to be, "What made you decide on the unicorns? Just because Alec would like it?"
 
Xander took off his mask and shook it off briefly before putting it away properly. "Sure. It's so him, and it's small and fiddly. Seemed like something that might take you more than two seconds to make." He added something under his breath as he turned away, but it was unintelligible.
 
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