7 28 2012 ... action!

well, what's happening here this past week you ask? where to even start? it's a busy time and there is a lot going on. click the photos to enlarge them ...

our main project for the past two weeks has been the pool table above, in walnut and blistered maple, with some burl and mother of pearl accents. it's a standard 8 footer, and the drawing below is a modified version of a table we built about 10 years ago for a local client.
that one had tapered legs but this client requested straight onesthere are a lot of parts and steps and assembling and disassembling that go into making a pool table and the selection above shows most of them in the rough. the 3 piece slate, the 16 pieces for the legs, the rails, the panels, on and on ..
we started with a plywood leg mockup for size and colors and moved on, a step at a time to the photo at the top of the page ... even after 14 other tables, we still follow the steps outlined in a very excellent fine woodworking article by paul bowman from fine woodworking issue #75.we're on the home stretch. will will finish the mother of pearl inlays tomorrow and start on the blinds, and trevor will glue the inlays into the legs once the frame is disassembled. actually, trevor will do that after he returns from delivering the 10' claro walnut table above to stowe with jim tomorrow.classic design, with our shaker inspired blackened 1.5" thick steel legs ...
and terrific grain and figure in the top ... this slab is from the same log as the expresso finish table we recently shipped to chicago.
and will finished up banjo #11.

it was a surprise birthday present to sarah from her husband john and it was REALLY a surprise.

they are nusician friends of will's and john said they were going to 'stop by' to see will and tour the shop. at the end of the tour, will showed them the new banjo he had just finished. when she asked who it was for and told him how 'perfect' the inlays were, john told her it was for her and she said 'yeah, right'. perfect. she was surprised.
and next saturday, the 2nd annual 'vermont artists show' opens in town. last year it was a great show and this year i'm sure will be equal to it or even better. we've got a small claro coffee table
with a rainbow finish steel base that we will wrap up in time for the delivery later this week coming up.
and we've got a kitchen commission in the design stage. next up are the full size cardboard plan views to be checked on site before we begin. the wood arrived this week and we will start cutting it up as soon as the pool table goes to the finish room ... we've got about 6 weeks to finish it and install it with its friend the kitchen island we wrapped up back in may.
and will finished the reclaimed oak bench/settle that's been in the works for a couple weeks. looks great and it will be off to the upholsterer's shop to be measured for cushions shortly. and this past week, a first, the 'owner built table'. paul kelly, a teacher at our local high school, commissioned a table with wood that he had bought locally and then asked if 'he could help' with its construction. well, i knew he was a clever guy and a friend, and thought, why not ... it turned out to be a pleasure for everyone in the shop and we especially enjoyed having connor and ryan around to help with the heavy lifting. great kids, and it took me back to my early days in the shop with sam and will occasionally 'helping out'. paul dubbed it the 'father and son' table and even caught a shot of me and will doing the final inspection before it left for the finish room.
it's a classic 'bethlehem steel' design with two book matched planks that we swapped end for end to make a less tapered top. we put a small bevel on the planks before we glued them up and the sap wood made a pleasing design in the center.
and trevor figured out how to make a 5" thick slice of white oak 4" thick for an upcoming boston project that sam will make a metal base for ...
as soon as he adds the arms to these metal porch chairs for a client in peru.  not that peru, peru, vermont. i liked the design so much, i commissioned sam to make a one armed version for our own porch. the cushions will be finished this week ...
i was thinking of adding a wood arm over the steel, but i kind of like the negative space and the fact that it isn't connected to the back structure. maybe just a small wood arm with room for a beer holder .. we'll see ....
and we had some rain and the local (end of the driveway) chanterelle patch is producing again ... these wild mushrooms go great with most anything, from salmon, to eggs, to meat loaf ... can't beat 'em.
summer's great in vermont ... all for now ...