june

where does the time go?  it's almost the first day of summer !!

since my last blog post on may 22nd we have been ripping through

lots of projects including some that were in the works a month ago.

below is a sample of some of the more interesting ones

a nice walnut coffee table .. 40 x 60 x 18 with two drawers

a beautiful job on a king size cherry pencil post bed by trevor

first time running the pencil posts and mortises on the cnc

safe and perfect .. gold star for trevor

 and i got some time in on the lathe for the finials .. 

first time i turned anything in  quite a while ... 

kinda like riding a bicycle, but not quite ... i'm a little rusty ...

 and the metal shop has been particularly busy the last couple of weeks

sam installed this railing high above lake george today .. 16' 7" long ..

and he made some parts for another railing before this one .. 

same  builder, different house

lots of parts

lots of railing too

and tyler did 5 repairs the week before last ..

this chair was a family heirloom and needed some love

like some new front rail tenons

tah dah .. ready for another hundred years

and the cutest little chair about 18" high ... 

it needed a disassemble, reglue and polish 

and we installed vanities 3 and 4 on the vanity project

chris has become the resident vanity expert .. 

danby imperial on site now by bennington marble and granite

ready for plumbing by GSK climate control this week

and we picked up the 'thoreau cabin project' bed from sandy sherman chair caning yesterday

beautiful job by tyler and sandy

and today tyler and i finished the reproduction rocker for the cabin ..

though i have made a lot of windsors over the last 40 years, this one was

the first in this style and the first windsor in about 15 years

talk about rusty for sure .. 

quite the four weeks ...

curved stairway mockup

more on this curved stairway mockup later .. gotta run now ..

this is a half size mockup of a metal stair project .. curved layou; 56" rise .. can;t find the site photo

new metal shop open house

 

we're going to have a little celebration/open house tomorrow, on sunday, the 29th .. hours are from 2 to 5 .. come on by and check out sam's new space, and see some of the projects he's been working on.    

the actual address is 23 goodwood lane, which is one mile up danby mountain road from route 30 in dorset, vermont. goodwood lane is on the left and 23 is the first driveway on the left.

light refreshments and good company

the metal shop is almost done !!

sam is welding in the new metal shop and there are only a couple things left to do.
a tiny bit of wiring; a little more siding;

here's a link to the slideshow of the project, start to finish, on my dcf facebook page.
give our page a like while you are there, and enjoy your tour ...

 and here's a link to some of sam's metalwork online .. take the tour there too.

 

all for now ...

update on the metal shop

update, 8/3/13 ... except for the doors, we are weather tight

well ok ... i casually mentioned to our metal shop builder, scott thompson, that he didn't put the traditional pine bough on the ridge when he nailed up the last rafter yesterday.  so, today when sam and i came back from town, there it was.  it's a longstanding, worldwide, tradition, with a documented history going back to at least 700 AD.  it's been a tradition with all of our buildings, and i was glad to see it.  so, we're coming along now.  we should be in good shape and relatively watertight by this time next week ... here are a few pics of the progress.  click the photos to enlarge them ..

 walls

 the 30' TJI''s for the clear span .. long ones, and heavy ...

 makes for a nice open space though

 overview from goodwood lane

 with the daylillies

 concept

 gable walls with soffits and facias built on the ground

we needed to call in the neighbors to help stand those up as they are 30' long and over 12' tall.  our friends steve and kevin from holman studios and chris bowlen from bill laberge's shop came by, and we all played 'barn raising' for about a half hour.

 tah dah  !!

 home stretch ... plywood on the road side and some ply on the dormer roof ...

 

 all for now

discover dorset this weekend

we've got a new event in town this weekend called 'discover dorset' ... it's an attempt by the chamber of commerce and some of the businesses in town to enlighten the public as to what dorset has to offer ... there are many events, speakers, and open studios, and there is a full schedule here at the town's website. will and i and maybe sam at some point will be in the studio from 10-4 to welcome the public for tours of the shop and past and present projects. click the photos to enlarge them ...
our claro walnut and rebar table and ladderback chairs will be on sale this weekend with a special price ... there are other examples of these large slabs of wood, both finished an unfinished available for viewing.
and sam will have a couple of his recent 'california balconies' on display. they will be heading for grafton to be installed in a new house next week.
and will will be on hand, working on seeders banjo #12. walnut ebony and gold mother of pearl. he may even be doing a little engraving on the inlays ... a very cool process.
stop by and check it out and you can hear about his recent visit from WCAX in burlington ... he will be featured either this monday or next on the CAX segment 'made in vermont' .. i can't wait to check it out ...

and i'll be working on my drawings and model for an upcoming steel and claro walnut pool table (below), that will go in the same room as the 12 foot claro walnut table we sent to chicago back in july.
and we should have the custom curly maple kitchen we've been working on (see the previous post) all together in the shop, ready to deliver on monday morning ...
lots to see... come on by ...