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 quartered oak coffee table

finished up a new quartered oak coffee table last week

the client requested a 'driftwood gray' finish which was a bit of a struggle,

but we got it in the end ... 42 x 64 x 17, and about 250 pounds with the steel on it.

cad drawing

the steel detail ...

and another shot ... we should have an 'onsite' view soon

new spalted maple coffee table for sale

we've got a new spalted maple coffee for sale in the local

art manchester gallery

along with our other stuff there.  the show runs through columbus day weekend and you can see the
work of over 30 talented vermont artists ... friday,saturday and sunday through 10/8 ..

i will be sitting in the gallery on sunday the 8th.  stop in and 'say hi if you are in town

this is the third one of three from that log cut by my friend porter brown

back in the 90s .. he gave me several pieces from it, and after he died, 

i was able to purchase some of the pieces he left behind from his daughter last year

this one was almost 4" thick when we started, but ...

the flattening process took almost an inch off it .. that hardmaple

sure likes to move around when it's drying

anyway, i'm pretty please with how it came out, and it is completely

au naturel, no fill in the cracks, just a scraped, sanded and finished 

piece of beautiful spalted maple

r.i.p. porter brown .... one of the greats ..

art manchester!  across from the equinox hotel, manchester  village

lots to see there ...

new 'stuff for sale' page

on june 30th, the guild of vermont furnituremakers and several other artists from the metawee valley

will be opening a temporary gallery in the former covey & nye store across from the equinox hotel.  it's a beautiful space, and we'll be open friday, saturday and sunday through september 9th.
this 'pop up gallery' is sponsored by the southern vermont arts center, and will be promoted
by stratton magazine.  there will be lots to see, and while i will have a number of items'there, i have will have other items for sale, both in my shop in dorset,
and in another local art gallery, helmholz fine art about a mile away.

the slab at the top of this post is a piece of claro wlanut, about 36" wide at the 'hump' and
about 80" long ... the blue tape is at 60" ... can be trimmed to be more 'regular' ...
desk, small dining table, coffee table, headboard?  your choice ..
this slab has been sold
below is just a partial listing of other items ... stop in at either of the galleries, or call to visit my studio at 802-867-5541 most times, or
    802-867-0139 on nights and weekends ..
call or email for prices, and click the photos to enlarge them ...

this photo shows both sides of a pair of 12' live edge walnut boards

they are aboout 1.25" thick in the rough and can be cut to make a great

dining table, desk top, headboard, or coffee table .. 

your choice determines the price
these planks are your book cases

this stunning piece of claro walnut is about 36" wide by 42" long .. 

it could be trimmed to suit, or finished as is into a coffee table or

center table .. temporary, mockup up base in the photo above.

this one will probably make it into the art manchester gallery, 

but maybe not in time for the opening ..

we've got several slabs of mildly spalted maple available for coffee

tables or to be glued up into desk or kitchen island tops.

for kiln dried live edge slabs with a little character, these are reasonably priced ..

they are finished in the photo with just a wash coat of shellac for color 

and will be more dramatic with a final sanding and finishing ..

 i also have this random piece of verde antique marble ... needs a little edge work, or can

be cut to suit first for whatever you need .. right now it is 20 x 66 x 1.125 thick ..

sweet little crotch walnut coffee table about 32 x 44 with four

'compass point' brass inlays .. nice grain, with a reclaimed chestnut base.

and then there is this 'david smith inspired' coffee table. 

view through the base

david smith sculptures at the clark art center blog post

these two planks of red oak, along with a few walnut or cherry

butterflies will make a dramatic small dining table, 

any width up to 45" by any length up to 75"
the oak planks are sold

 

these two pieces are available at helmholz fine art in manchester.

the table above is /- 34-37 wide by 90 long

 close up of one end here

 and this claro walnut desk is there too ..

 +/- 44 x 70

this piece of reclaimed chestnut and steel was available until it sold at open studio.

it is now it is in its new home, under the bear painting .. couldn't have made it a better size 

even if i had know where it was going ...

more to come soon ...

stuff we like to build

hmmm .. i have been thinking a bit about the future as i approach my 70th birthday in july.
how would i like to focus my business for the next few years?
i just wrote a blog post about repairs and restoration work, which we all enjoy,
but i would say that tables are probably our favorite thing to build ..
big ones, little ones, ones with live edge slabs of a log for a top,
federal style or traditional style with interesting inlays.
'mid century modern', farmhouse style, art deco, antique inspired, reclaimed wood ...
i think we have covered a good share of the possibilities.
click the photos to enlarge them if you are at your desktop ... 

for instance, above is page 02 of  07 from the 'dining table' section of my (ancient) website,

which implies that there are about 60 other different ones there if you scroll through all 7 pages.

here's a link ..

and then we have our 'small tables', page 2 of 4 pages ... only about 36 of those ..

here's a link to that website section here ..

 and don't forget 'desks' ... essentially more table like objects ..

so, what am i trying to say ??? maybe it's that we have always enjoyed
creating the flat, useful surface, supported by an infinite variety of pedestal and leg systems.
tables are functional.  they are straightforward.
everyone, (including thoreau), needs at least couple of them.
there is something just eminently satisfying about walking into a friend or client's house and
having a meal at a table you made for them ...
some of those pictured on my (ancient) website i made over 30 years ago,
 and they are still going strong.

the most popular styles in the last few years have definitely been the live edge tables

at the top of this post, and the various round with pedestal variations shown 

in this glimpse of an online slide show of 

'ABOUT 100 DIFFERENT DINING TABLES WE HAVE MADE'

available as a slide show, along with a lot of other slideshows of our work at this link

many, many, many, many pictures there .. 

certainly far from all of them, but a lot for sure ... 

thousands in fact ...

this post was prompted by the 4, count em', potential clients i spoke to today about a new table

angela, she's a designer, and had 3 different tables to discuss, jori and david, sevda in london, and lauren in sanfrancisco

i've got some drawing to do ...
802-867-5541

a live edge walnut coffee table

we had a request for a 4' x 4' live edge walnut coffee table
with a metal base recently ..the final cuts above were laid out with tape,
 and photoshopped for the client's approval ...

 i was lucky to find these two crotch walnut slabs

online at alderfer lumber in pensylvania.  the 

price was good to and they delivered them in their own truck
for a nominal fee ..

while we were waiting for the slabs to arrive, the width was changed to +/- 36" x 48 long ...

i changed the drawing, and we had to trim the slabs back a bit  ore

than we originally anticipated, but it all worked out ... we mocked up the metal base with
a couple scraps of plywood, and gave the 

client the option  to fill or leave the cracks.  we'll be filling them

with some tinted epoxy tomorrow ...

the defects were actually surprisingly modest, and they will be relatively easy to fill ..

i have this other american walnut slab i got from a different supplier,
and the wood in this table will look similar to the photo below when it is finished
beautiful grain !!