It's A Wrap

the big island is in its new home ... after a month or so of awaiting finish sample approvals and then actually doing the finishing, delivery and assembly, we're done ... it was nip and tuck getting it out the front door, but we got it, and, it looks great on site, perfectly proportioned to it's new room, which is, actually, quite a bit larger and at present, emptier than our shop ... it was a challenging and engaging project on a lot of levels and i look forward to seeing it with the appliances, sink and granite as well as the rest of the furnishings for the room in place ... onward ...

click the photos to enlarge them ...
from the dining room side ...
the piece is lightly distressed at the early stages of the finishing and we sanded the broken edges a little more aggressively than usual as the finishing progressed, creating highlights on the corners and a 'softness' than is often found on well used antiques.
carry it in ... set it down ... perfectly level over the entire 16', both ways ... we jacked the shop floor up to all level before we started because, having worked with this builder for almost ever, we knew it would be this way ... with the design as it was, there was no place for shimming anyway ... all good ....
here trevor is installing the steel granite overhang support. it's 1 x 3 x 1/4" rectangular tubing stiffened with the box beam cross pieces visible in the photo below.
the finish schedule was a variation of our typical finish process using lockwood dyes, minwax fast dry polys, gel stains and wiping polys. see more finishing posts here ...
we made a couple different sample boards before we got what we wanted ... i can't remember the last time we used stained quartered white oak for a piece and i'm pretty sure we haven't ever done a distressed, stained version of it before ... i'm happy with the results. on the sample we gel stained before the seal coat which, in my opinion, requires a longer dry time before the top coats and is slightly harder to manipulate on the unsealed wood ... next time i would do as we regularly do and seal the second coat of stain in before applying the gel layer. it was a big finishing project and took a long time but as in cooking, what step/ingredient would you leave out? in my 30+ years of experience and research, there are no shortcuts to a deep rich finish, only many, many steps ... ask the experts ...

there are a few earlier related posts for this project at the links below ...
turning the columns
getting it all together, attaching the columns and cornice support structure
finish process and delivery photos

Furniture Making and Interior Design

let us now talk about interior design and furniture making. they are related .... i have always thought them to be separate disciplines, but in looking through my 'on site photos' folder recently, i realized that making a piece of furniture, particularly a piece for a particular client, for a particular spot, with their design input, is more than furniture making. if you get it right, not only have you manifested their vision, but you have created for them a 'special place', a place where they too can see 'their vision'. powerful stuff, when you think about it .... so, that said, i will be adding a new category to my blog, interior design, where occasionally i will post a few photos of successful collaborations that i feel meet the criteria above. like the sideboard above, some are from my own home, where the realization began; others from my local clients' homes.

click the photos to enlarge them ...this is one of my favorite before and after rooms ... the challenge was to take a little used guest room/fly tying spot and turn it into a husband and wife home office/fly tying spot ... lots of conversations, lots of drawings, lots of changes ...  before above ...

after

we did, in the end, receive a couple of design awards for this one ...

 

catching up

i've been out of the writing thing for a bit here. i've been back playing some paddle tennis and pool in the evenings and things have picked up a bit in the office. aside from sending out drawings and estimates and shoveling snow, we've got a few new complex little 'new design' projects we're working on. plus, we received our approved finish sample last week and delivered the 'big island' yesterday. tomorrow trevor and i will do the final onsite assembly. it's nice to have our shop back after walking around a 16' object for a month or so ... it was a long way to the bandsaw for a long time ... click the photos to enlarge them ...
first coat of finish ...
as it says, before the seal coat
on site, but not assembled ..
i forgot the columns stuck out beyond the cornice and we had to take off the front door (twice), and a piece of weatherstripping to go straight out ... close one ..
back to normal ...
sam's latest bench project
the client has added a shelf under the seat for books, etc. it's a bedroom piece under the tv in the same room as the cylinder cabinets. (see the post below) ..
we started with a cross piece centered on every other rivet, but i'm guessing we'll fill them all in once the client checks it out tomorrow ...
and, my neighbor made an intriguing little sketch for some stools for her kitchen island ... she took one of our 'egypt' legs and added some footrests ... if you've ever tried it, you know it's not possible to go directly from a sketch to a 'real' chair or stool without a full size mockup. (see below) ... how comfortable is that drawing? is it the right size?
well, our first shot wasn't ... too big ... the second one was 'just right'
cool design and most comfortable if you sit across the seat as it makes the seat bigger without making the whole seat too big ... happy accident ..
and then, our friend mr. ruhlman sent us some inspiration from 1st dibs and france circa 1928 or so .... it looked sooooo simple in the picture ...
but wait, how do you fit that curved compound angled glued up veneered back piece to the rest of the thing ... cardboard helps,but patience and a good attitude is the sharpest tool in the box ... it's coming ... more later when we get out the Edelman 'snakeskin' leather. it's going to be something ...
some fumed spessart quartersawn oak (never heard of it) from Talarico Lumber for an upcoming fancy 'phases of the moon' bookcase project ... should be fun ..
and lastly, oh my aching back ... 2and a half feet or so of snow blown up against the house directly above the front entry ... it was easier to shovel it down than it would have been to shovel it up after it slides ... this was a once in eleven winter event ...
i only shoveled the half over the walk ... the far half slid off monday night ... one of the first days above freezing in 2011. all for now ... phew!

Beer Aps

i don't have an i phone at the moment, but i saw this article in the times wednesday and it made me think i might want to have one on hand next time i'm thirsty and in a strange town ... i was telling a friend about it last night and told him i'd send him a link ... then, i thought, well certainly inquiring minds like your own would want to know about this ... so ... pretty amazing ... who knew?

Deardorf Camera Repair

well, we have put our toes into what i would imagine to be an extremely teeny tiny niche market ... we have a friend, george bouret, who is a professional photographer and gallery owner in pawlet, vt. he bought a new lens for his antique deardorf view camera. it had a different focal length from most other lenses used on this type of camera so he needed a holder that would position the new lens one inch closer to the film. will whipped up the new one and after a little fine tuning ... (angling the bottom slightly as the holder had to 'swing' into the opening because the top metal holder was fixed) off he went ... i don't expect much repeat business on this one but george says even the normal replacement lens boards are hard to find and really expensive if you can find them .... who knows ... maybe we'll be retiring soon after all ... ahhhh, just kidding ... what would i have to write about then? click the photos to enlarge them ... original on the right ..
new one on the left, before modification ... good to go now ...

Geroge Walker ... Design Matters

Up to this point in my writing career, I have not spent a lot of time touting other bloggers. but, lately, as part of my mission of 'sharing information', I have been trying to reserve a little Sunday morning time for reading what other people find interesting enough to write about ... A couple of weeks ago I bumped into George Walker's blog, 'Design Matters', (a sentiment I certainly share), and it's a good one. Very professional, readable, and deep. Lots of information there. George's approach is centered on what he refers to as 'Traditional Design', how we should look at it ... what it means ... how to use it in your work ... all good stuff. He is also a contributor to Popular Woodworking Magazine and a frequent speaker on the woodworking lecture circuit. Enjoy ....

Ready !!!

well ... so much hype ... so little snow ... out of the wind, it looks like we got about 6 inches of new snow ... we did have some drifting but it wasn;t as badd as they said it would be ...
2/3/11 ... coulda been worse
OK, I'm ready ... My entire day has been spent listening to the TV, the radio and everyone I came in contact with telling me how much snow we are going to get tomorrow ... I'll let you know when it's over .... We've got a lot in the yard already ... The table to the left of the benches above is 19" tall as you can see by the yardstick ...

10:30 P.M. .... Not a flake yet ...