Tuesday, April 15, 2014

metal shop stuff

 sam is humming in the metal shop ...
we're adding some railings to a tansu cabinet stairway we built in the late 80s, 25 years ago now .. i still have the original drawing!  the clients now have grandchildren and we all know what that means .. safety first! .. chris and i installed the tapered posts and made some full size templates, which we later cut as assembly jigs on the cnc for sam to weld up the actual railings
some pre-job photoshop work
the railings are all welded and finished now, and i'm making the wood handrail tops.  
we hope to get this all installed later this week.  click the photos to enlarge them.
and this is an interesting mockup tapered leg for a possible steel and marble coffee table commission.
the client is concerned about the total weight, and we are still waiting to hear from them, one way or the other.  it's an interesting prototype though, and i'm sure we will use the concept in the future.
easy to do in wood .. a little more work to do it in steel.
marble top .. patinated steel base
and we got a deposit check yesterday for a new version of the 'skinny console' base.  the top on this new one will be 15" wide though, which required some base redesign ..
splayed it out a little at the floor
 almost done!

and sam has finished welding on a steel support for a 560 pound safe that will be installed soon.  the safe will take a few more weeks to get to the client's home as it is being custom fabricated in california.  luckily, the manufacturers will be in charge of the installation ..

we are in the process of adding a storage cabinet with drawers or trays under the safe. 
 another handrail .. the upstairs part is finished
and we'll install the final piece on the main floor also probably later this week
 it just needs a little clear coat and it will be ready to go .. tricky shape .
fits in the space up top there ...
a couple more trout buckles out the door ..
bunch of these lately too.. this one is unfinished here..
and a mockup bar stool that will get some revisions soon.  
and then we'll make at least 8 of them for a local client.
another 'nakashima style' table base for a massachusetts client ..
and last, but not least, a custom free standing fireplace spark screen.  the are a million different mesh you can buy to weld in there.  this is just one of them .. all for now ..
 and it's finally spring and fishing season is open .. sam with a nice 17" brown.

3 comments:

Schwartz the Younger said...

I've been following you're blog for 6 months now, and love seeing the stuff ya'll create. I didn't realize this cabinet stairway was one of your masterpieces. A picture of it has been making rounds on Facebook lately, and has pretty much gone viral. It didn't have a name attached to it though. It's cool to know the the genius behind.

Was it difficult to make the steps structurally sound? I imagine that even with a little bit of sag in the steps the drawers and cabinets would bind up. I can't imagine what had to be done to prevent that.

Unknown said...

These are really cool when you have a metal table with the combination of wood it looks like beautiful when you use it with complete interior of a building, Home Office Furniture or any public place furniture must have something different and attractive.

Dorset Custom Furniture said...

for schwartz the younger and his question above... the stairs are 34" wide. the drawers are 22" deep, and so we set a piece of 3/4" plywood there, making it about a foot from the wall, about where people would walk if they were using the railing attached to the wall. the first two steps have steel angle iron behind the face frame, under the treads. it all works fine. almost 25 years and counting. dan