some carved scrolls for a mantle

we recently carved some butternut scrolls for a mantle that one of our clients was making.  we had sort of an internet fuzzy photo to use as an inspiration, but we did some google image research and came up with the drawing below.  click the photos to enlarge them ...

 

we were pretty happy with it, as was our client, but i did put  it up on the door for an hour or two to make just a few refinements before it went into our cad program.

draw over it ... copy what you need

the reason we decided to do that was that, as you can see from the first photo, the element had to be 13" thick (!!) to complete the design.  after a little thought, we realized we'd need a whole bunch of pieces (about 20, not counting a couple of miscuts and practice pieces) and that led us instantly to the cnc.

after we finished the first one, we checked it on site before we did the second one ... good to go.

 this is an onsite photo after the finish was applied

 

i have the actual cad drawing somewhere and i'll post that later ... all for now ...
on site 12/14

a gate leg walnut console

we finished this walnut gateleg console table today, and it is headed for vail, colorado on thursday with 3 other pieces heading off, respectively, to chicago, (the custom pool table),, florida, (the 53" wide claro walnut table... more on that one later), and houston, (a cherry console table).  power of the internet.  for the first time this year, more of our work is going to clients who we have never met and who have never been to our studio than to clients we know or who have ties to southern vermont.  for the first few years, 10 or 20 at least, it was all people who had at least visted my shop or directly  knew folks who had.  the last 2 or 3 years, that's all changed.  it's amazing to me, but i'm really thankful.

this table started as a concept based on another parsons table we had previously built for this client for their home in connecticut.  the main requirement was that the table was a console table 95% (or more) of the time, but that, in a pinch, could become a dining table for 4 or six additional guests

it's your basic form with a fold over, veneered walnut top and two sets of gatelegs that swing out on the back side.

 

 with the legs fully unfolded, there will be room for 6 good friends or

or with the legs partially unfolded as below, comfortable seating for four.  even though we punted on the wood hinges, we still used the traditional dovetailed wood box for the table frame.

in the past, we have gone with the traditional wooden hinge for the gateleg option, but no matter how hard i tried, (and i've had my employees try it too) with the double gateleg, there was always too much 'play' in the wooden hinge for comfort and stability.  this time we used some very tight 3" brass butt hinges, which, while untraditonal, i feel are a long lasting and slightly stiffer alternative.  there you have it, compact seating for six from an 18" x 60" console table.  a good combination.  click the photos to enlarge them ...

email note from a relative below ...

"p.s. we were in vail for xmas, and love the 'convertible' table in kevin's condo. it looks fabulous."

odds and ends

time for another 'what's up at dorset custom furniture lately' post.  i notice i haven't been writing much lately ... change of seasons from summer to fall, change of seasons from golf and tennis to paddle tennis, reading some good books, ('gone girl', 'sisters brothers', 'crossing to safety', and others), wash and wax the convertible and store that for the winter, subdivide our property so we can refinance and build a new metal shop, design the metal shop, help a friend build a workbench, get ready to do some pottery, and on top of that there are lots of small projects, repairs, office stuff, and new quotes going out at work.  phew!  is that all really happening?  yeah, it is.  above we have sam's railings for the new manchester-and- the- mountains chamber of commerce building on main street.  he and jim installed the railings for the handicap ramps today and i know he has a couple other things to do there too.  click the photos to enlarge them ...

 he also recently made us a nice welded base for a claro walnut table that is leaving for florida on tuesday.  the one piece claro walnut table top is 52" wide by 102" long and about 2.75" thick.

i've lost count of these, but now we have another slab in the shop, below, that will soon be a table, and will head out for houston when it is finished in a couple of weeks.

that one will have one of our steel 'shaker' bases.

and our friend, joe hart, a local antiques dealer, brought this Grand Army of the Republic sign by sam's metal shop for a tune up.  the star 'arms' are flapping.

after a quick cardboard test template, Will made Sam a jig and some patterns and he welded up this reinforcing 'star' that we will screw to the back side of the sign frame ... good as new, and ready for another 100 years  or so.

a little paint and some screws, we're good to go ...

 joe and sue find the coolest stuff.  this snake weathervane needs a wall mount.

and then there's the other stuff that is happening in the wood shop.

trevor just finished 4 of our 'transitional' chairs to go with the cherry tables we finished recently

and now he's well on his way to 8 more, only in bubinga.  hard heavy stuff, but no match for trevor and his cnc work

16 legs ... couple three hours, max.  we're all going to help him sand these ones.  he says 'thank you'.
they will be heading to england shortly with this table and a few other pieces we made a few years ago for some english clients in Connecticut, who are moving back home after many years in the states.

one of our favorite forms.  we've made about a dozen of these in various sizes, detailing and wood combinations.  this one opens to about 10' as i remember.

and will finished a long, skinny cherry console in the 'studio style' that will be leaving for houston, as soon as our long island based shipper ply con, recovers from hurricane sandy.  they are scheduled to be here next tuesday for the pool table, the table to florida, and this one.  will had his plane sharp in this photo.  that's an ebony and maple end grain inlay he's planing off there, with his block plane no less.  sharp, i guess.

nice figured cherry.

and he's also in the finishing stage of this 18-36 x 60" double gate leg console/'dining table for overflow dinner parties'.  that one is off to vail, colorado, next week.seats four with the legs opened a little, it could seat six i you open the legs until they touch in the center. 

what else? aahhhh, the friend's workbench ...

mike has been a contractor for 30 years, and now has a serious interest in upgrading his woodworking/furniture building skills.  i like doing stuff like this.  passin it on, and give me a chance to feel like i've learned something over the last 40 years.   i've talked him through roughing out, mortising and tenoning the legs, and we roughed out the 2.5" thick cherry top last weekend ... he'll be back when he's got that all fitted up and ready to glue. vises and dogs next.

here's the new metal shop/photoshop mockup, hopefully to be built in the parking lot at the woodshop in the spring.  30 x 28.

floor plans

oh yeah, repairs.  we've had a run of them.
let's start with randall's little plant stand.  it is a family piece she's passing on to another family member,  but first, it needed a tune up.  polish the marble, replace the missing moldings, polish the finish ... love the legs with their elegant shape and corner carvings.  the sliding top/drawer was neat too.  cool object.

i think it's called a 'dutch' foot, and the bottom of it is turned on the lathe on two different centers.  i made some myself for a client about 20 years ago.  good luck finding that picture.  hmmm, i do go on ... and on ... it is a busy time though.

in the top photo, we had to carefully rout out the damaged wood and fill it in with new pieces.  than we routed that again and added another new piece on top.  then, below, since the tenon was sheardce off at the leg face, i carefully add two trim head stainless steel screws in place of the tenon and then inlaid a square flush patch over them ...

this chair was fixed a million times before we got it, but this time, it was fixed more correctly, sort of.  not a museum job, but i'll guarantee it for my and my client's lifeitme.   a little paint and it was out the door ...

and then there was that custom brass strike plate on the cnc for another friend ...

and now yesterday and today, will and i are on to the next pool table, in reclaimed hemlock to match the post and beam frame of the client's home in stowe ... forward ...

the beginnings of the rails, cushions, and the slate support frame ... if you can believe it, that's all for now.

will's banjos hit the tv news

WCAX burlington recently featured will in their 'made in vermont' last monday on the six o'clock news.
here's a link to the tape.  it was great!.  check it out if you have a minute.  they filmed and talked for about an hour and boiled it all down to about 3 minutes.  a lot of work goes into this stuff.

 

he's currently working on banjo #13 and i'll post more photos tomorrow ..

6/22/2014 .. for photos of 20 more banjos visit will's website at seedersinstruments.com

cool inlays .. should have the finish on it soon ...

banjo 010

will's banjo #010 was picked up last week, and it was a beauty. it had a long neck like pete seeger's, his first engraved pearl inlays, and a cool black finish ... click the photos to enlarge them ...

looooong neck

i didn't get many in process photos

close up of the engraved and dyed inlays

ebony veneered peghead

the back, with the black finish

no videos yet, but i see will has put pictures of banjo #009, aka the 'daffodil' banjo, up on his website, seeders instruments.

you can see the length of the neck in the rough here, compared to the picolo banjo next to it.#009 .. the daffodil banjo