This lap joint is one of my favorites and it has an unusual story. In 1983, I started making lap joint Vees by gluing 4 pieces of 1/8 inch hardwood boards together with an overlap at the elbow. For more than a year, the only ones that I made were 4 boards of the same species of hardwood. The next variation was to laminate different species of hardwoods together to get contrasting colors. In 1985, I stumbled upon an antique miniature table saw at a garage sale and decided to try making lap joints out of more than 4 pieces of hardwoods with artistic designs on the blade tips. The first attempt was to use Maple and Ebony boards to get color contrast and to put triangular pieces on the tips to make an African art pattern. This boomerang was one of only two made with this African art design and they were my first attempt to add art to the blade tips.

I was very pleased with the pair. I gave one of these to Shelly Mack who was a collector in the 1980s. She eventually sold her copy to Gary Broadbent, so I know where that one is. I sent the other one to Ben Ruhe to put into the Smithsonian collection that he had started in the late 1970s.

In 1986, I visited Moleman at his home in Connecticut and he showed me a video of a competition that was recently held at the Yale(?) University. In the video, I could see Ben Ruhe selling boomerangs on the side to collectors and competitors. I saw Ben exchange my African art lap joint boomerang for a handful of cash and that did not make me very happy. I found out later that the Smithsonian stopped accepting boomerangs for their collection and Ben did not know what else do with it, so he put it into the hands of a collector for cash. I thought I would never see this boomerang again.

In 1992, Richard Harrison sent out a catalog sheet with collectible boomerangs that he had recently acquired and was trying to market. There were no photos, but the description was obviously my African Art lap joint passing through the collector circuit. I wanted that boomerang back, so I called Richard Harrison on the phone and reserved it. Then I sent him payment and put it back in my collection. That is where this boomerang has been for the past 30+ years.

The boomerang was obviously thrown often and there are a few light scratches on the surface and one very tiny edge ding that is hard to see, but you can feel it with your finger. Someone had printed the letter "N" inside my logo on the reverse side of the elbow. Overall, this boomerang is still in great condition considering its history. A real beauty and a bit heavy because of the Maple and Ebony woods used in the construction. Truly one of my best works and a favorite. I hope it finds a good home.