a barnboard vanity

we installed this barnboard vanity last week.  challenging project in that you have to go with the wood as it is.  if you joint and plane it flat, there goes the patina.  and what a patina it was.  some light hand sanding, and a little very diluted aniline dye on the 'fresh' surfaces made it look like a pretty thing.  no finish, as it's been outside for a hundred years just fine ..click the photos to enlarge them.

in the second photo down, i have moved the sink to be centered on the space from the corner to the window trim.  we had originally thought to center it on the door, but no longer think that's the best place for it.

  i had just enough stock

we had originally planned to include some molded details around the panels per the designer's request, but they would have exposed more fresh wood and most likely been a distraction from the patina itself.

there was another complication as the whole thing had to be installed in pieces since it went wall to wall in a small room ... it broke down into base, left half, right half and then the face frame and doors last.  

fun project!

it's just nuts here ... but really, i'm not complaining

 well .. what can i say?  it's nuts here.  almost out of control ... but things are getting done.  two coffee tables left for new york city monday, and arrived yesterday.  the bookmatched cherry plank and steel table above, and the large (54 x 84) steel frame below. 

this one looks right at home

and this is a big one .. probably just under 300 pounds.  the stone (another +/- 500 pounds), will be cut and fitted in new york ...

 

specifications included :  " must support dancers" .. sounds like fun.

 

 it had a nice dark bronze patina and some decorative screw details in the top frame ..

 and we've got a pair of stools waiting for the final stain color approval.  they'll be upholstered by the designer's workroom in massachusetts .. tougher than they look ...

 and we're coming down the home stretch on the kitchen project.  it's starting to look like the model.  we're awaiting appliances and counter tops, which should be arriving sometime in the next few weeks.

 and there are other parts to that project too, like the +/- 8' x 8' painted vanity below.  we turned it over to the painters on site and will be reassembling it as it appears in the shop, as the counter tops and stone backsplashes arrive.

 

 there will be a mirror and some sconces in the big open space.  the horizontal shelf over the sink area is just for our convenience as we built it.

 and upstairs, there's a quartered oak vanity/shelf unit .. steel pipe supports on the end later.

 

 and downstairs, a barnboard vanity for the half bath.

the curved moldings in barn board are gonna be a trick  .. working on that tomorrow.

coming up, some living room shelves involving a barn beam from the renovation and a bunch of 3" thick torsion box shelves ... should be interesting.

 

 and a baby gate !! i haven't made one for about 30 years now ...

 and i never made one that wasn't a piece of painted plywood with a poster on it ... this one is gonna look official!

and will, for the time being at least, has officially moved on to full time custom banjos and stringed instrument repairs.  he's been at it for a while now, and while i miss his input and production in the shop, i'm wishing him the very best of luck following his heart.  why wait .. start now.  see where it goes. 

and sam's busy ... along with the railings he finished recently, above and below, he is coming down the home stretch on a major project at the local church downtown.  more on that later ...

jig for building the railings

 3 floors on this project ... fussy figuring ...

 

 and the metal shop doors and stairs are here, as is the slate,, below ...more progress soon.

and our friend rachel turned 70 last week.  big party last sunday.  people we haven't seen in a long time.  we made her one of our garolite and zebra wood 'life event' coasters.  kit said i should have made 'a dozen of them' .  we're gettin' up there.

all for now

a claro walnut slab table

add another one to the list ... we sent this one to shelter island last week.  and jim, who made the delivery, says that this table has 'the best view of any we've made'.  that's quite a tall statement, but he was there, and i wasn't, so i'll have to take his word for it.  anyway, we started with the slab above, and ended with the table below.

 

with a bit of back and forth in between.

do we cut of the 'swell'?  no .. it's got some really cool grain going on there.

do we fill the cracks?  yes, no, maybe, no ... we used this one as an inspiration.  we made it in 2011 and didn't fill the cracks.  never had a complaint.   i'm glad we left them.  in the end, they were really cool and kind of sculptural..  but how do we stabilize them?  how about some butterflies on the bottom of the table, like below.  that worked ..

below with the legs still in the 'bright polished' phase ..

and now with the bronze patina ...

 the polished cracks ... no crumbs will stick in there .

 and with the reinforcing 1" tubing structure to bolster the thin  slab and give it some rigidity ... that worked great . this, below, from the client

"Hi Dan, We loooooove the table. I will call you  tomorrow. Just got back from beach and am wiped out. Thanks and best regards, Joanne"

all for now ...