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 ...

a claro walnut slab desk (with a secret compartment)

well, here they come ... first project in a group of six claro walnut slab pieces that will be finished in the next two weeks ... we have this desk, a 12' table, a 10' table, a coffee table and a small bench, all with steel bases of one form or another ... this desk is about 42 x 66 and is sporting a new dan/sam welded steel base with our natural finish ... the slab wasn't big enough to be a dining table, though now it could seat 6, even with the bases close to the ends .. the metal at the floor is actually kind of cool when you are sitting at the end. click the photos to enlarge them ...

the base is a pair of 1.5 x 3" rectangular tube trapezoids with vertical aprons. it was sam's brainstorm to weld the long aprons vertically rather than on the 10 degree angle, which allowed us to more easily construct the drawer box.
without the desk attached

top view .. this desk is one of the walnut slabs from back in february. we can't wait for customers to come along forever ... actually, this piece is for a show we're in that is opening in housatonic, massachusetts on the 24th. more on that later.

one 24" drawer centered on the 45" apron.

and, one of our favorite things, the secret compartment ... push down on one end of the pencil tray and lift it out ...

to expose the folding brass 'tool' sam made to hook onto the small drawer at the back of the case.

the tool unfolded ...

hooking onto the compartment ...

ta dahhhh ... 6.5 x 23 by 2" deep ... room for lots of stuff ...
here are some of the other projects. some of which will get their own blog post as they are finished. this is a small bench we used to get the color and finish right on the 12' 'expresso' finish slab above it.this is a 10' with a 'rainbow' finish base that will be in stowe on the 31st.
and this is another one for the upcoming show ... a coffee table 45 x 55 x 18 ..
and this 10' table is waiting for the apartment in nyc to be finished ... it's got a blackened steel base and incredible curl ... best slab ever .... all for now

the art et industries show

ok, showtime again ... i sort of gave up doing stuff like this about 10 years ago, but after i reluctantly did one at our local art center, i was reinvigorated.   that was back in february, and we sold a dining table, 6 chairs, a mirror, 2 lounge chairs, two woodburnings, and later on, the chestnut console table .... needless to say, that got my attention. click the photos below to enlarge them ...

so, when jordan schlanger, a well know jeweler contacted me about doing a show at his renovated mill building in housatonic, mass., i thought, why not. we had three pieces left from the february show and i had those small claro walnut slabs i was itching to do something with, so i agreed to participate. first up was the desk above, with a steel faced drawer and secret compartment.

and then, i couldn't resist doing a coffee table like the one we did last month. simple, straightforward, dramatic, good piece for a show.

jordan gave us a good spot, right as you come in the door, and almost the whole gallery was reflected in the bullseye mirror, which was cool.

we have 9 pieces there total: the desk, the little bench/table, the bullseye reclaimed chestnut mirror on stand, two benches, the claro coffee table, the small chestnut table, the 'dancer' sculpture, and a reclaimed oak console.

the opening was last night and it was extremely well attended with a nice 'berkshires' crowd. tanglewood, stockbridge, and the norman rockwell museum are all right nearby and the area is known for it's new york city and boston weekend residents.

sam's sculpture, welcoming people as they entered the show ..

what a space !! i'm guessing it's about 60 x 100 with 12' ceilings .. there is something here for everyone ...

the brace work you can see in this photo above the cool maple sculpture allowed the floor above to be completely clear of structural supports so they could line up the looms close together ...

big pine table ... probably almost 6 ' wide by 14' long

loved the sculpture

another shot, looking back from the other end ..

some sculptural pieces by pete from holyoke ... i have his card somewhere ...

and some very cool sculptural pieces, arranged in a large hackeysack circle ... great show; 15 or so different, yet related artists with a wide variety of work .... all for now ... check it out if you are anywhere near stockbridge or great barrington ...