A Quick Windsor Repair

We do this repair pretty often ... Broken bow .... We set it up so we can rout accurately with a small laminate trimmer, first the fromt usually, then the back, which is a little more complicated. we glue the repair pieces on as we rout. This bow was hickory and we had some ... Rout, glue, rout, glue, file trim, sand, color ... Will did this one and it went by so fast I didn't even get pictures of the intermediate steps... The chair was a worthy example though and it looked good when it was done ...
Broken
Front view finished ... A good save ..
Repair zones ... one side is usually longer than the other to (hopefully) eliminate new weak spots
Close up .... can't hardly tell ...

Waterjetting

Ahhh .. Waterjetting .... Another highpoint in technological innovation for me .... Here's a short excerpt below from the fascinating Wikipedia entry describing their history and applications ... Cutting food? Hmmm... wonder what that's about ... Click the pictures to enlarge them.

'Materials commonly cut with a water jet include rubber, foam, plastics, composites, stone, tile, metals, food, paper and much more. Materials that cannot be cut with a water jet are tempered glass, diamonds and certain ceramics.^[4]

Water jet cuts are not typically limited by the thickness of the material, and are capable of cutting materials over eighteen inches (45 cm) thick. The penetrating power of these tools has led to the exploration of their use as anti-tank weapons but, due to their short range and the advent of composite armour, research was discontinued.' Anti tank weapon ... Who'd a thunk it?Matt Santwire of A L Melanson in Rutland at the controls. Importing the files that we created in Dorset, emailed to him, which he then toolpathed at the computer in his office and then sent to the computer you see here that controls the cutting ... That's a lot of computing, trust me ... The machine's surface is actually flooded and the material is under water when it is cut. Since there is no 'force' the material is held in place usually just by gravity on the supporting bars you see in the top photo.Findng 'home', the starting point for the computer file ...

These are the parts of the ducks which will be inlaid in the finished kingsize bed we are working on a couple posts below. Looks like it was easy when it's done ... Wasn't ... All the little bridges were drilled out and the tabs sanded or filed off on the edge sander...
Other products we have made with the waterjet ... our aluminum 'windsors' ... the back is springy like an old lawn chair ...
The base for the claro walnut table we just finished ...
1.5" thick cold rolled plate steel ... Tough stuff ... Took an incredibly long time to polish it ... can't imagine cutting it any other way ...
This is the first sample center inlay we made on our first trip to Maelanson's. We discovered that the cuts are ever so slightly tapered as the jet spreads out slightly once it penetrates the surface, so we cut all the inlays upside down. That was a handy feature when we fitted them into the routed pockets on the headboard as they tightened up as they went in.
First sample of the center ducks in aluminum, back side ... You can see from the cad drawing that the image has been flipped ... good trick ...
Into the finished headboard sometime next week .... The polishing and fitting of the individual inlays and metal parts was done by Trevor, Will and Sam, coloring of the finished inlays was by Sam. Jim lent a hand in the early stages ... A total team effort for sure ...
Trevor cut the pockets for the inlays using our cnc, using a 1/16th" bit and a 1/32nd" bit for the final pass on the outline ... Amazing .... Stain color looks a little funky here because of the light .. It's going to be real nice I think when it's all done ...

A New Railing Project

I'm cleaning up my back list of unfinished blog posts tonight. Here's another one I started back in March and never quite completed ... It's about a railing Sam made for a house in Peru. I never saw the house, but he said it was a very tasteful 'modern' house with nice architecture. The stair rise and runs were all a little different, and, because of the design, the execution required some extra care to be sure things were centered and spaced correctly before welding welding commenced. It was a big one and it came out well, but I know he was glad when it was over .... On to something a little looser like the doors below ... Click the photos to enlarge them ...
Rough layout to check angles, rise and run
Assembly jig by Sam and Trevor on the CNC
Various modifications were required as each of the three flights of stairs were different ..
A welded and ground corner ... The railing was finished with a clear coat of penetrol.
The builder finished it off with a wood top cap .... Looks great !

Redwood

Sometimes you have stuff around that you knew was extraordinary when you first discovered it, and then, somehow, it becomes part of the scenery and well, it's just there. Like these two pieces of redwood burl hanging on the wall of the shop. They caught my eye at Berkshire Products in Massachusetts, maybe 5 years ago and I had them on a shelf for a year or two, waiting for a worthy project ... One day, we sanded them up and oiled them thinking someone would come along and be inspired and they looked so great, that I was inspired. I made a couple of french cleats and hung them on the wall ... Time passed and they got attention every once in a while. A few people tried to buy them and I answered that I would 'think about the price', but really, I think, they just belong there. We dusted them off and oiled them up about a month ago and they looked great ... Good for another couple years... Click the pictures to enlarge them ... Amazing wood ... Who knows how old ?
A couple of black mahogany bedside tables we delivered to Boston last week on Will's bench
Another close up
Right side
Left side .... Kind of humbling actually .... Can't paint like that ...

The Claro Walnut Slab Table Is Done

OK.... We finally finished it ... In the end, it turns out we can't deliver it until the carpenters will be finished in another month, so there was no rush to complete it, except, the client was going to be in town this weekend, and, #2, I need the money. So ... all together now and looking good. It is somewhat surprising, #1, how heavy it is now that it's all together, and #2, how completely rigid the steel support structure ended up being ... Grab the end with both hands and try to shake it; you almost can't even wiggle it a little. I'm very pleased with our engineering department. Click these pictures to enlarge them and visit these other posts for the full story ...
Post #1
Post #2
Post 33

This was a challenging photograph. My camera is not quite good enough to keep the whole 10 feet of it in focus and also the reflections from windows and lights in the somewhat shiny finish were really tough to eliminate .. Best I can do I think ...
A view from below ... The base is bolted together and will completely disassemble for delivery to CT
The picture below is a close up of this section of the table
Close up of the crotch end of the slab ... Amazing variety of figure and color
With (coincidentally) ten almost finished ladder back chairs for another client. I first wrote about these chairs in a post last November.

Mr. Lucky ....

Towards the end of the day today, the boys cleaned up for the weekend and Jim and Sam did their usual dumpster run. Lo and behold, ... jackpot ... A good week for Lucky Jim .... Today he found this coat and claimed it all for himself ... I mean, what can a person possibly say about this .... I'm speechless ... I pay people to work here?
Click the pictures for the full effect ...
Earlier in the week he came with a winning lottery ticket. He swears he has NEVER bought a $10. ticket before but 'just felt lucky'. He won $20. on the first ticket, put 10 back in his pocket, bought another and instantly became a $500. winner. Had to go to the bank to cash it in and had to buy muffins for all this morning ... He called it his 'share the wealth' program.
The president of good attitude strikes again ...

2nd Floor CNC

First time visitors to the second floor of my shop often ask 'How did you get that thing up here?' Invariably, I can't find the book with the pictures from the installation so I'm putting them here so I can find them ... Open Studio is coming in May and I know I'll need them then ... Click the photos to enlarge them ... About 25 more shop photos in the post below.
The completed installation.
Beginning of the installation process .. That's Jim with one of his favorite weapons.
Ready to go .. +/- 2;30 in the afternoon.
The next morning ... Noel Dydo, my main excavating man at the wheel. It was a borrowed Lull and his last comment before he got on board was 'I haven't ever driven one this old before' . Comforting.
Anyway ... In it went at about 11:00.
Buttoned back up by the end of the day ... That was five years ago in November and I think my last payment will be in July ... Mortgage burning party coming up .... To see what we do with this tool, check the category to the right called 'Trevor's CNC Projects' ... It's amazing. We do custom cnc work for other furniture makers both locally and not so locally ...