A Custom Walnut Vanity

I put a few pictures of this project up in a 'what we are working on post' last week. It's finished now and while it was pretty straight forward, there were a couple of interesting wrinkles ... Our client liked the onyx top and the way that the sink was carved out of the solid block .. The metal base that came with it though didn't go with her decor though so we got to make a new one, and a matching mirror. The vanity had to have an interrupted back rail to accommodate the holes that were already drilled for the faucets. Sam rolled us a couple of pieces of steel and he also made a couple of curved brass pieces to line the opening of the mirror frame ... Click the photos to enlarge them ...
The finished vanity base with an mdf mockup top/full size drawing in place.
With the top removed to show the two custom steel pieces.
better view ...
The onyx top and the base that came with it ... I haven't seen it in person, but the onyx started out as a block 6" + thick and they milled the sink from the solid ... Very cool, but hmmm ... seems like there would be a lot of waste ...
Ahhh, the mirror ... Everyone likes the mirror. The light sconces are antique brass and Joan asked if we could 'add some brass details' to the mirror frame .. We tapered the frame like the legs and added some curves and small round headed brass pins to hold the brass in place.
Close up of the brass detail ...
Will, fitting the brass prior to antiquing it ...
Ready to apply. The steel parts were painted black ...

mr. oriole feeds the kids

I was having my coffee yesterday morning when Kit said that the baby orioles were on the feeder. I didn't have my tripod at home, but managed to get a couple of decent hand held pictures anyway. This is something I have never seen before and I don't know how long it will go on, but it is a really cool thing to watch. This morning I was prepared, and the light was a little better. They didn't stay long, but I did get a short video that you can see at the link below. Click the pictures to enlarge them ....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89oXq5AjUqY
Scene of the action ... I usually have my coffee while sitting on the couch in the foreground with the wide purple arm. To take the pictures yesterday, I rested the camera on the green couch arm and the feeder is about 8 feet from the window in the orange circle ...

An English Elm Slab Table

We're working on a new table project with a client in Connecticut. We went back and forth on the design a bit and explored various shaped tops and base options ... Yesterday we finalized the shape and size of the top and we glued up the planks today .... The grain matched nicely, and it's going to be an interesting looking table ... It's our first time for English elm, but it won't be the last I'm sure .... Berkshire Products in Sheffield, Mass. has a good supply of wide, interesting and reasonably priced slabs .... Check them out on the internet, or check them out in person ... Very cool wood source ....
The English elm has a really nice natural brown color, quite different from any of our domestic hardwoods... The table will have a polished steel base similar to a table we finished recently ....
I actually made the trip to Sheffield to meet the client and select the wood ... I thought I might find some other interesting slabs, and they had plenty to choose from. I came home only with the two for this project, an unusual display of restraint for me ...
The client has a built in banquette and we explored various shapes for the top ... Here we were thinking about trying to use the natural edge of the bookmatched slabs
and various shapes for the steel base. Below is an inspiration sketch from the client from which we made a quick model on the cnc ...
It was cool, and I may revisit it later on, but for now, we have moved on ...
We also explored several oval variations, but in the end settled on a 'regular' 42 x 78 oval ...
This was a photoshopped 'fatted' oval, a shape we sometimes use to add width to the ends ... In the end, the 'real' oval shape was the most pleasing ...
Glued up now, ready to cut to shape ...

Update .. Trevor cut the oval shape on the cnc and routed the cut piece to receive the base ...
We had some cracks that we filled with eboxy tinted with aniline dye ...
All together now
The client decided the natural elm was a little too light so we made a board with various color/dye strength options ...

what we're working on now

I did a talk last evening with Marc Spagnolo, aka "The Wood Whisperer". Mark has created an amazing social networking site for woodworkers, designers and craftsmen of all skill levels ... Check it out here if you aren't familiar with his site .... Anyway, I thought I might talk about what was happening in the shop this week, but mainly, we covered more of the history and general background of the business. Tools, design processes, shop size, relationships with clients ... Most challenging project ... It was fun and when I get a link, I'll post it here.
Sam has completed four 'tuteurs'. Tomato cages for those of you unfamiliar with the French .,.. We're doing some design work with a potential client who is interested in an 'Arts and Crafts" style screen, 'sort of like the one below' that he saw on my website. We made that for a client who was a world traveler and had a large collection of Oceanic objects ....
We also got underway on an 18' wall of bookshelves and fireplace mantle ... It's a paint project, but it will have a great refined look when it gets to its home ... We're really just getting started ... more on that project later
We're also getting underway on an English elm oval shaped table which will also deserve a post of its own before long.And Will is finishing up a vanity and mirror for a longtime client
The sink is actually routed from a 6" thick slab of onyx and the top edge that's left is 2" ... more on that later too ...
The mirror has some brass details

A Tall Case Clock Restoration

We had a nice tall case clock repair come through the shop recently ... Looks to be (except for the missing brass moldings) pretty much original ... There was some loose stuff that we glued and tacked back on and there are a couple of painted wood/brass molding replacements that we left in place ... We weren't after an all out restoration but when we finished, it looked ran and looked just fine ... Click the pictures to enlarge them ....
all together in the shop ...
one of the missing brass moldings, which Trevor duplicated in short order using the cnc ..
After
Will did most of the work on the case and he also replaced a couple simpler missing brass pieces ...
There was no key and the case was locked ... With a little flashlight work and some trial and error, Sam not only got the lock to open, but made us a new key which worked better after we added the wood shim inside the lock ...
Trevor had to unstring and rewind both cables before we hung the weights to get the cable to track right, but as soon as he did, things started to tick tock and gong way .... We hung the pendulum onsite, set the date, time and phase of the moon and tomorrow we'll go back and check and adjust before installing the bonnet ... An interesting project ....
All in, all done ... ticking away and keeping great time .... It seems that it's older than I first thought. My client sent me a link and some information below, on the maker, whose name is inscribed on the dial ...

A late 17th or early 18th century bracket or table clock signed "Markwick, London". The Markwick family is known as one of the earliest of London’s clockmakers, with James Markwick being succeeded by James, presumably his son. The second James Markwick ascended into the Clockmakers Company of London in 1692, becoming a master in 1720, and it was he who sometimes signed his work as simply ”Markwick” http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/7421270.