Saturday, February 6, 2010

Updates

This Just In:

"We just received the table and it's beautiful!!!!!!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!
We absolutely LOVE it!!!!!
Thank you for all of your very hard work, attention to detail and overall for making our gorgeous dining room table that we will use to celebrate many holidays, meals and celebrations!!!
I can't believe it's here :)

Warmly,

Kristi & Jeff "

It was one of those weeks when things come together ... We almost finished the big mahogany table we've been working on.. All that remains is to reassemble and polish it up on Monday. Tuesday it will be on its way to Boston if all goes well.. Click the photos to enlarge them ...
The unfinished, 'finished' table
First coat of Lockwood aniline dye ... 50/50 water, light golden brown walnut
After the first coat of gloss poly
The finish schedule ... to understand this shorthand more see other posts in the 'finishing' category to the right ...
We also made a scale model for a claro walnut slab table with a 1.5" thick steel "shaker' inspired base that we recently took a deposit on ... We have found at least one suitable slab, but the final choice has yet to be made ... checking out some other possibilities first .. We often make scale models. There is actually a category over to the right where you can see other posts with models and mockups. I feel they are an extremely important part of the design/visualization process.
The CAD file from which the waterjet cutter contractors will estimate. The parts will be cut from a slab of 1.5" thick steel and Sam will weld them together, polish and finish them in a shiny finish ...
The two walnut, steel leg, tables we're working on. The walnut boards will have blackened steel insert inlaid in them to cover areas of the boards which were cut out to avoid sawing hardware that was embedded in the tree. Handy things those metal detectors ...
Close up of the holes in the boards that will be covered by the steel
We finished the single board coffee table ... one board of mahogany 39.5" wide and 64" wide
And, to end the week, we installed a tv surround that I first mentioned back in November .. Scroll down to the bottom of that one .... Time flies ...

4 comments:

kct3937 said...

Dan,
Am I reading things correctly...as we get older the eyes fool you? Is your third coat a thin coat of Lockwood dye over the sanded Poly? I see that you use a gel stain in your next steps; I presume like a glaze. Does the WB dye in step 3 really work and how does it penetrate the poly? Does your note indicate 8 parts water to 1 dye?

Ken T

Dorset Custom Furniture said...

you are correct ken .... the third coat of water stain is actually over the first coat of sanded poly. we sometimes find that, for whatever reason, at that point where we can 'see' the final color, we want to 'move' the base color slightly as we approach the final finish coat. and, yes, even though it sounds like a really diluted coat it does actually noticeably change the color even though the wood has been varnished. the first coat of gloss soaks almost completely into the wood and once sanded, accepts the dye .. try it. one last comment, we find (to our annoyance) the more coats and layers, the greater the depth and interest of the final finished piece.

kct3937 said...

As Arte Johnson used to say..."verrrry interesting". I would have looked at a glaze at that point, but I am willing to try anything. I suppose a dilute coat of Zinser Sealcote would work as well. As for the layers... I am old school and believe in many layers of thin coats to today's preference for 3mil wetcoats.

Ken T

Handi said...

I love the tv surround stand the whole wall there that's great.

I'm going to be doing something similar in my bedroom, the only difference is I'm doing a chest of drawers on either side for a him and her dresser with an armour on both dressers and the HDTV and surround in the middle of that and some display shelving probably on top for nic knacks

nice work

Handi