wood and metal furniture and summer in vermont

 not much blogging this month  .. it is summertime in vermont and there are lots and lots of 

distractions.  you've got your birthdays early in the month ... dan, sam, and will .. wow! 68 for me this year.  at my birthday dinner, i had a distinct and extremely lucky 'pop the champagne cork event'.  we were outside, and when i popped it. the cork went straight up about 8 feet and came, seriously, right back down into my outstretched hand .. didn't even have to move to catch it ... for other distractions you've got your golf, your tennis, your horseshoes and general beer drinking, your convertible rides, your live music here and there .... summer's short in vermont, so we try to make the most of it .. we have been working though .. below are some highlights ... 

click the photos to see them better ...

 here's the rundown

 

a reclaimed oak bethlehem steel coffee table .. left tuesday ..

ditto on the cherry and steel huntboard

leaving next week

and a couple of crotch walnut bedside tables coming along ...

a small claro walnut and steel coffee table out the door ..

some new belt buckles by sam

chalkin' up the states .. sam's just finished new jersey, michigan, virginia,and new york above,

and now the south carolina palmetto thing ...

and will has updated his website with his five latest banjo projects ... lots and lots happening in his shop.

check it out on his website or instagram feed

a steel base for a 3m acrylic table top .. can't wait to see that when it's finished

with the polish and clear coat

and a couple of steel and white oak nesting tables .. after

before

and a 'sap spout maple' bethlehem steel console

cool wood ...

parts and pieces

a couple of add on railings to get folks down the steps in north bennington ... 

 

and we have a nibbler for a conference table using the crotch mahogany 

slab we are trying to find a home for .. so we made a model ..

it'll be sharp .. hope it goes through ...

steel base in 3 x 3 square tubing and angle iron

finished the bar ... see the previous post ..

 and there's a cool project coming up involving a python snake skin ... a new one for us ..

and we've got a 10' walnut table going with self storing leaves..

should be ready for the finish process early next week

and we cut about 70 mdf stair balusters on the cnc for an architect friend who's building a house in florida

  and then you have your yard and garden ... crazy apples above ..

 the garlic is in .. bumper crop ...

and we're about to be buried by everything else that kit grows ...

the employees will be lockin their car doors once it all starts coming in ..

                                                   all for now .. i'm sure that's enough 

Bethlehem Steel .. Wood and Steel Tables

The finished table and chairs at the SVAC show in May 2010

If I remember my family history correctly, my grandfather worked for Bethlehem Steel as a riveter for 52 years, starting when he was 13 in 1915, retiring at 65 in 1967, dead a year later. He worked on all the great bridges of the 20th century that Bethlehem Steel was involved in, which was most of them it seems ... I've been thinking of him as the boys and I have been creating a series of pieces, not custom, around the theme of metal and wood. We've sold a couple to clients passing through and we hope to sell these in the near future. The goal of this series is tell a story, highlight the (unusual) wood, and to build things efficiently and economically.
This is the beginning stage of the table above that we finished this week. The boards (20") were from a log of walnut I purchased from IrionLumber to make a pool table, a project that was, shortly after the boards arrived, canceled.
Two of the matching boards had a square cut out at the sawmill that obviously was to avoid sawing into a spike in the tree. Click the pictures to enlarge them ....
I went back and forth on what to put there, burl, little wood patterned inlays, but in the end, decided a couple textured, blackened steel plates would do the job. I can always change them later if inspiration strikes or if a client wants something personalized there ...
The boards were 10' long and we chopped two cracked crotch sections off the ends. (Not many people have a space for a 10', one piece table) This side table is 28" long x 20" wide x 24" high ...
All the photos in this post were taken in the (currently crowded) finish room and cut from their busy backgrounds with photoshop.


And then, we fnished the one board coffee table. Blow this up and check out the wood. When we made the dining table with the other part of this board, it was stained dark, which masked the various colors that are present in the natural wood ... 39.5 wide, 64 long and 17" high ...

On all these items, the phrase "Buy It Now" from Ebay applies. Pass it on ... Thanks ...

Stuff, Ready To Go Right Now

For the past several years, I have been sort of out of the show circuit for a number of reasons. Too busy being the main one ... This year, however, I got into it again a bit. As a result I have a number of 'show's over' pieces that I would like to move to new homes. My house is full. My office is to the brim ... I'm planning some more new pieces .... Stuff like that .... Anyway, the line up is below ... I'll post some prices but we'll consider reasonable offers too ... Check them out. If they're not for you, maybe you know someone ... Thanks ... Click the photos to enlarge them ...

The mahogany console above is part of a series of Empire inspired consoles we made from about 2003 to 2005. I must have sold 8 or 9 of them then. This one I made for one of the last shows I did and I still have it now .... Reduced from its original $3950. price to $2950. Champlain Black marble top .... It's 20 x 52 x 32 high and has a matching mirror too ....
The table and chairs here are part of our 'Bethlehem Steel' series and they are on display for the holidays at Long Ago and Far Away in Manchester Center, Vermont ... Stop in there this coming Thanksgiving weekend for the annual Denise and Dawn Wallace show/sale of Native American jewelry... The table is $3500., the chairs are $950. each and the set price is $8500. for everything .... Free delivery in 75 mile radius ...

'Bridges' Bench .... Made by Sam and Will and I for the 'State of Craft' show at the Bennington Museum this spring and summer ... celebrating 50 years of craft in Vermont ...
More info on this piece here +/- 52 x 15 x 18 $2450.
I've got several chairs like this one .. I've got one exactly like this one except it's a rocker ..
painted mdf with natural mahogany arms .... $1275.
I've also got a blue one in solid painted mahogany with blue canvas cushions ... (very comfy and substantial) $1750. And a red mdf rocker and a blue mdf straight ... photos available ... more info here ... l
And this is a prototype painted and carved bench ... It's got some blue leather on it now with a little flaw in the leather finish ... priced to move ... $750. as is or with new leather or fabric ... cool item.
SOLD !
An indoor/outdoor chestnut and painted steel bench ... a big one .. 15 x 72 x 17 high $1450. 'The skinny console' ... This was kind of a joke piece we did for the Woodstock show but I've almost sold it several times since ... Fun in person, and in the right narrow space it will be really effective as an accent piece ... English elm and natural finished forged steel .. $750.
And I have this big slab of beautiful claro walnut ... Just waiting to be a dining table, coffee table or desk ... +/- 48 -50 wide by about 9' long x 1.5" thick ... spectacular grain ... $2900. plus your base ... Looks like I;ve got another piece in the foreground there .. It's a piece of birch burl and I'm going to add a walnut shelf to it and make a wall hung piece ...

Jewelry ... As usual, Kit has a number of pieces of fine handmade jewelry in gold and silver, from the high end to the low .... lots of earrings too. Give her a call at 802 867 0139 ....
Beach stones ....
She also takes custom orders and does repairs and remodeling to antique jewelry ...

Sculptures ... I've been dabbling in sculpture as a 'hobby' for the last year or two and have been surprised to sell a few of them ... I've got a million designs and I'm always ready to start the next one ...
Animal Rhythms #1 .. We've made 4 versions of this sculpture, indoor, outdoor,small, wood, steel ... This is the original in painted mdf .. made for indoors, floor mount as shown or wall mount on 'hinge' brackets allowing for adjustable shadows ... $2450. as shown
Sunrise/Sunset ...painted wood and rusted steel ... indoor or outdoor ... $1500.
The redwood slabs ... I go back and forth between sell these/don't sell these ... The price is high, but the wood is spectacular !!!! they can also be mounted vertical .. indoors only
Right slab close up
Left slab ... click these pictures to see the wood details ... $3000. plus delivery and hanging .. Dancer #1 ... welded steel and locust ... indoors or out ... $1500. about 32 x 9'
'Revolving Doors' Photo above is the wood prototype ... Steel version is ready to hang in a new location ... painted as above (sort of) ... Revolves in the wind and at times, disappears ... Raw steel on the shop floor ... $1850. plus installation in your trees or house ...
'Double Discs' Two slices of a 105 year old silver maple branch ... from the one time largest silver maple in Vermont. lit with dimmable strip lights ... looks great at night .. indoors or covered porch ... very cool ... $850.
And these two curved pieces of thick ash are just aching to be a pair of benches or some kind of vertical 'wing' sculpture ...

Interested in any of this stuff? Give me a call at 802 867 5541 day ... 802 867 0139 .. night ... I'd love to load any of these pieces up for you tomorrow ....