Woodworker's Journal 1985-9-6, страница 63

in Step 1. Next, cut the inside profile (Step 2). Now, using ihe router equipped with a wing cutter that makes a '/•» in. deep by '/x in. wide groove, establish the groove for the sliding lid (Step 3). Glue the back and bottom in place (Step 4). cut the outside profile of the stable (Step 5), final sand, then make the lid (Step 6). Cut and glue the decorative star in place.

Finishing Up

Gunther uses only an oil finish on his creche, which brings oul the natural beauty and grain of the wood. When setting up the Nativity Scene, be creative. Some sprigs of dried grass, straw or moss and maybe a few small stones w ill help to create a pleasant scene. You could even take a piece of cardboard, paint a starry night sky on it, and place it behind the creche for added ambiance. Although it should go without saying, the Nativity Scene is not a toy. and so should be kept well away from infants or little ones, whose well documented curiosity could be a hazard given the many small parts.

LLL

About the Builder

Gunther Keil immigrated to the U.S. from Berlin. Germany, as a professor of German Literature, and today lives with his family "on 55 acres in Trumansburg. on the west side of Cayuga Lake in central New York, where 1 raise sheep, bees, and utilize the trees that grow on my land."

Gunther tells us "my designs arc known in both the Old and New World. The> are in the permanent collection of the Toy Museum in Nuremberg. Germany, and in the Hartsville Museum in Hartsville. New York. They are also displayed at the "Toys For All Ages" show at the Smithsonian and in the American Crafts Museum. Gunther's work has been published in Fine Woodworking Design Hooks and in The Woodworker's Journal, and is sold in craft stores, galleries and catalogs throughout the United States and Canada.

About his work, Gunther explains, "I have always worked with animal shapes, homo sapiens included. I prefer to use the natural colors of wood lo match natural forms, but occasionally add wood dyes for color or accent. Recently, I have developed a concept of habitats, which portrav animals in their regional environments. All my work, especially the miniature habitats and my ark. express the fragility and exquisiteness of life, which is too easily forgotten in our technical world."

We'll be bringing you more of Gunther's excellent work in future

issues. GEw

Nov ember/December 1992

63