Welcome New Readers !

sometime around the end or beginning of the month

i often look at my 'stats', a feature of blogger that tracks your

traffic and shows some of the sources of it ... 

recently i have noticed some surprising trends ...

currently over 2,500,000 page views !

and already on the 13th of this month we have had

more traffic than all of last month, which was likely

my biggest month ever ...

so, thanks for reading, and since there are almost a thousand

posts, below i give you links to some of my favorites  ...

leave a comment or drop me an email if you like .
 

below is a post from January, 2023 

titled a 'few of my favorites'.

 

 conveniently listed on the home page of my blog

are, according to blogger, my 'popular posts' ...

 the one at the top of that list has been viewed 

more than 35,000 times, which does make it 'popular',

at least in my book.

below i list not my 'popular posts', but some of my 'favorite posts'.

ones that feature projects that i enjoyed writing about,

and/or feature projects that i am proud of.

here we go .... lots to read here ...

'all the pretty pool tables'

at the time i was writing this post i was also reading

a cormac mccarthy book titled 'all the pretty horses'.

hence the post title, which explains what that post is about ..

the duck bed

i could go on and on about this one, 

and in the duck bed link above, i do ...

 

'chance to be a hero'

this was a rather miraculous repair if i do say so myself ...

we were able to get all the veneer pieces back to flat 

without disturbing the original finish ..

 

some libraries we have built

at least 6 of them there ... one of them took

nearly a year from cutting the trees to installing it

on the upper east side in new york city ...

some big projects there ...

 

all claro, all the time

about a dozen live edge tables in the blog post at that link

and about 45 more at this link

 

algebra and geometry in the workplace

 
a real, deep, head scratcher here ..

create the supports for a conical ceiling ... 

here are the 'plans' from the architect

Ensure Slope Matches Side Wall Angle for Conical Ceiling'

at 2 and 1/16th x 12

and there is always the onsite variable where

the concrete wall on the right is maybe on 2 and 3/16ths x 12

instead of the required 2 and 1/16th x 12, which in

7' adds up!  crazy stuff !

 
a 1/8th" to the foot scale model ...

and your basic algebra here ...

and in 2010 we collaborated with a 

friend to build two rather large conference tables

at 20' x 8', this is the 'small one'

'small' because this one is 26' x 9'

about 2' of granite hangs out over the base pieces
we cnc'd and joined the knockdown parts, 

we did the steel that supports the granite

 and did the wood borders around the granite pieces ...

our friend steve did the finishing and onsite assembly.

                                                                             the crow bar  ... below

i think this will do it for today ... 

more 'favorites' to come sometime ...

and a few more favorites at this link

 

and there are literally thousands of photos in the 'slide shows' 

black friday sale!

 i hope you all had a good turkey day!

 it is now black friday so i have a few things to post here,

some pristine, some 'lightly used' and with negotiable price tags ...

this one just in the door on monday this week ...

this is a claro walnut slab desk i made for a show a few years back ...

it didn't sell and went to the local arts center where they used it as a reception desk,

with a price tag .. no luck there, and next it went to a local art gallery, also with a price tag,

but no luck there either .. the 40 or 50% commission for the galleries 

i think just made it too tough a sale.  so, i am currently offering it at a

'negotiable, commission free price'

 which due to its light use and my current reluctance to 

totally refinish the slab top i feel is quite reasonable ..

please call me at 802-379-1478 to discuss this piece.

here are a few more shots ..

it has a nice 24" pencil drawer and a secret compartment ...

a generous +/- 42" x 66" with a steel base by Sam.

available for viewing by appointment at the shop most any time now.

 click the photos to enlarge them

other items like the one below, ready to go at this link

+/- 42 x 42 x 16 high

coffee tables

i was working with a client recently who was looking for a spalted maple 

coffee table ... i had three pieces left from a log i bought from 

a local guy about 5 years ago.  we did a quick sand on them and

met with the client, who decided they were a little large for her ...

 i had these walnut legs from a previous table,  below,

bought by a client who had me change that table's legs to metal

 so when the current client selected another smaller slab, i finished up 

one of the three above and it is in the top two photos, ready to go ... about 23 x 64 x 16 high.

for a price on that one, please call or email 

802-379-1478, or dan@dorsetcustomfurniture.com

and these other two slabs are still available

and then, as i cruise the shop, other possibilities appear, like the one above,

one of three irregular pieces of claro walnut, drops from recent tables we have made

the one above can go as is, or be made into an oval +/- 28 x 45, maybe a little larger ..

or this one could be a round coffee or center table, maybe 32" in diameter

and then a live edge table about 48" long by 30 to 34" wide

small dining or coffee table ..

also available is this 'and now for something completely different' white oak coffee table ..

the slab had some non removeable sticker burns which i had to paint somehow to hide.  

inspired by a david smith show at the clark art museum

it's been around for a while 

and can be seen, along with the one below at the ellenbogen gallery

in manchester, vermont, next to the price chopper ...

nice grain in this one

and the one above is in my office, but i'd be willing to part with it 

in order to make something new

and last, but not least, this is a piece of very highly figured claro

that would make an interesting console table with a metal base

and the grain running the short way, which is atypical ...

i remember this slab as having really spectacular figure.

that about wraps it up for today ... call to chat about any of these ...

no reasonable offer refused ...

my apologies about the formatting in this post ..
blogger seems to have changed something and i am out of the loop

A triangular coffee table

well ok ... here's one from back in the fall.  thanksgiving to be more precise.

the clients had a table that had been made for them, but

over time it had acquired some structural concerns, like about an inch

and a half warp across across the middle, and they we looking

for something with a 'live edge on three sides', kind of a tall order.

BUT!, Goodhope hardwoods had the exact slab i needed for the project!!

cad drawing to measurement specs ..

then i photoshopped the planned cuts

and we did the initial surfacing down the road at a friend's factory ...

a little scraping and we moved it to the shop

after Sam fashioned the steel parts, we decided that the initial

bracing concept was unnecessary and we went with just the three legs

i cut the legs from a dead tree that had fallen in the woods behind the garage ..

beautiful double crotch figure!

home in time for turkey day ..

hot off the press .. claro walnut slab for sale

i've got a new claro walnut slab looking for a home .. it is sort of an unusaul size,
 +/- 30 x 105 .. could be a desk, a librry table, a couple of coffee tables,
a des and a table ... whatever ..

it's got  nice satin finish, and the reflections you see are
because i didn't take the time at the end of a friday to get a good  reflection free shot...
 also, i am willing to cut it for the right person

nice figure and color variation .. the 'whites', in my experience,

become 'less white' over time .. 

kinda fun while it lasts though

for more claro walnut and live edge pieces,

(181 photos), click this link to a slide show

you have to be logged in to a google account to view them .

a burst of activity

hmmmm .. busy time here in the designing and pricing and proposing department.  plus it's spring, which always cuts into the free time i usually have available for blogging.  this post will be more or less a continuation of one from the end of last month, where again, i didn't take the time to write in depth about specific projects.  i think, maybe too, the 'writing' is taking sort of a backseat to the enjoyment of 'living', for the moment at least.  getting out for five rounds of golf in april is pretty good for me. 

here's a quick april 'projects in the works' lineup, and some hints of what's to come in may ... click the photos to enlarge them ..

a claro walnut coffee table from the offcut of a previous dining table ... we keep 'em, and sometimes we get lucky, and someone needs one exactly the right size ...

this one's heading to chicago this week.  'industrial look' welded steel base by sam.

speaking of sam, the metal shop is humming, and he's cranking it out.  these are parts for some large turnbuckles that will hold a building together, where the second floor floor was removed.  there are four of them total ..

 that's 1" solid round stock bent into those graceful hooks .. turnbuckles from peak supply ...

and he fabricated and installed some new custom railing projects ...

i think this one was installed a couple of weeks ago ...

and these unusual objects will support wooden poles which a local message artist will hold on to while she walks on your back ... sounds interesting, but i haven't tried it yet ... a niche market for sure.

and next up we have the new design department.  this'll be a new kitchen, hopefully by this time next month ...

i finished the shop drawings using some uninterrupted time this weekend ... during the week, i often work from one interruption to the next, and drawings like these just don't flow for me unless i can concentrate.

and after a few sketches and cad iterations of this wall, we have a confirmed design for a long bedroom wall ... coming up in june sometime ...

another claro walnut coffee table ... waiting for it's base that will hopefully happen this week.  the 'ant attack' area is fascinating ..

and the pine sideboard is finished and gone, and now in its new home in stowe, vt ...

here we have another upcoming project that took some time to design and figure out.  it will be a credenza in a north carolina law office, along with the 'ant attack' table above.

 using claro slab cutoffs, we'll cut the short cut offs into veneers, and lay up the door and drawer face panels like a puzzle.  it will have a welded and polished steel base by sam.  i am looking forward to seeing this one get umderway.  it should be a fun one.

and this one, will whipped up week before last.  it's finished now, and i hope we can deliver and set it up in the client's home early this week.  shaker influenced design, simple detailing,

and will is currently, along with a couple of new banjos, working on this slightly smaller version of a lutyens style desk he built back in 2009.  luckily, in a couple of blog posts, we documented the process as we figured out the first time so he's got a little leg up on this one.  also, four additional years of practice doesn't hurt either ...

 

march, 2009 .. +/- 26 x 72

the new onw was starting to take shape by last friday ... still a long way to go though .. lots of detail.

and trevor whipped up this little 'rustic' coffee table last week.  it may not look so rustic in this photo, but now the base is distressed and pickled, the top has its breadboards, and the culry maple top will be distressed, stained and finished later this week.

and jim and sam made a couple of reclaimed oak tables in the 'bethlehem steel' style .. burned, and lightly distressed reclaimed white oak from west virginia ...

and, actually one of the larger projects we wrapped up this month has been ongoing since last september.  it will start to take shape, hopefully, by early july ... we have one more approval to go, and sam's new metal shop will start happening.  it's been a long slog, with lots of challenging permit related details, but i think we have cleared almost the final hurdle. we have received the loan commitment, and the last detail, which i will not mention for fear of jinxing it, will be approved by the 15th of may ... and then, my 'free' time will be gone.   'life is uncertain, golf now.'

ok, work on your pottery too