march

well, i realized yesterday a whole month has passed without a new blog post.

first time in over 10 years ... sign of the times, i suppose.  70 is not the new 50.

we have been busy though .. actually busier than usual, which in some ways is nice .

below is a parade of projects from this month and a little bit of february .. 

cherry vanity and mirror #1

cherry vanity #2 .. had to replumb from 1 sink to two

and we also had to decide how tall the mirror should be

we had to assemble it onsite because it wouldn't make the turn on the stairs

tahdah, in place ...

next was a built in reading bench

a ply case with dovetailed drawers

testing the function

built in ... awaiting cushions

also, a couple of items for a client's pool room .. above a plaque to mount the lights on

sam made brackets to hold the 15' counter up

the 15' walnut counter

driving south in the snow

installed

the walnut game table with the edge inlay

and with the center inlay

your basic old fashioned veneer press

glued in an leveled with some alcohol on it

the base has a tapered hexagonal center column
it's all finished now, but i missed the pacture and it's wrapped now.

 and sam made some steel brackets and we made some barnboard shelves

 and a 12' bench for a local client

with a fine slab of curly maple

3/16/18 ... down to 16 projects that week

 an oak table using the client's antique legs earlier in the month

40" x 7'

back up to 23 projects in the works this week ...

and currently we are wrapping up this custom kitchen island in natural cherry

counted them today ... 67 pieces

it is disassembled and in the finish room now ...

hope to ship that out one on tuesday ... verde antique top coming 42 x 60

and somewhere there we squeezed in a butternut cremation urn

and we repaired this beautiful old oval table this week.

i dropped it off today.  it was sloped about 2" due to the broken leg when i picked it up

we reglued the cracked leg

rebuilt the dovetail and shimmed it

reinforced the glue joint under the new ebony veneer

added a new copper spider

good to go

and sam made this cute little stand for a friends glass panel

black powder coat finish

 and next week i'll be taking a little trip to boston to drop off these steel

benches, visit some friends and play a little indoor badminton. 

something i haven't done for 50 years now ...

i am looking forward to that

 

original equipment, 1968

and i will be totally glad when this snow goes .. this is from last thursday

when we got about 12 inches on top of a foot already on the ground.

we are just starting to see some grass now ... crocuses before too long ...

i am ready for spring.

Concertina Hinge Game Table Update

We have recently added a quick amateur video of the opening and closing of the table, showing the action of the concertina hinge .... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWhu2KOcNXg
Close up of the inlaid leather checkerboard

12/20/08 ... Long process, but the top finally arrived yesterday and we're all done. It has been a challenging and mentally rewarding project on a lot of different levels ... Click the photos to enlarge them ... Happy Holidays ...

Open .... I plan to make a short video of the opening and closing process for my clients and will eventually post a link here. It's simple, but there is a certain order to the smooth open/close process. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWhu2KOcNXg


Closed, awaiting players

Showing the bottom view with the sliding stiffener and the little spring loaded clip that keeps the table base shut when the top is folded ..

Update 11 30 08 ... Just waiting for the folding top with the leather checkerboard inside to return ... We should be all finished by the end of the week. Looking good ...

Finish is on ... brass is in .. waiting for polish

Waiting for the top
10/23/08 We're moving along on the game table posted below on 10/17, This week, Will turned the legs and is working on the inlays and the joinery, Trevor made a jig for the shaper and fluted the legs and tomorrow, Jim will be fitting up the brass moldings . Next, we'll turn the brass feet, sand and hinge the top, rout the top for the leather, apply the stain and finish to it and then send it off to Connecticut for Russ to inlay the chess board. In the meantime, Will will complete the hinging mechanisms and the brass feet. Progress .... Click photos to enarge ...

Sample board of finishes, leather and brass samples .. the client has selected the burl and the darker red for the checkerboard

The cad drawing of the table, dimensioned and not

Fluting the legs on the shaper

The legs, plus another view of the fluting jig

Fitting the top brass break molding. The brass will be antiqued later and the stain and finish will be complete before the brass is installed for final. There will be burl and quarter inch, quarter round brass in the pockets at the top of the legs ...