Claro Walnut Table Progress

Were on the home stretch on the big claro walnut table now and I think the next time you see it, it will be completely finished... Below you can see we have gone over the surface with a sidelight and a curved scraper to get the biggest rough spots all smoothed out ... The grain in the area of the photo below was incredibly tough to smooth without chipping it out and we didnt/couldnt get every chipout. It still had a nice shine, even before the first seal coat of shellac ... Click the photos to enlarge them ...
Unbelievable figure and color
Looking from the end after the shellac ..
We used a sidelight to find any big chipouts that needed final scraping and sanding
Even without the finish, sanded to 320, it had a good shine
Heres Sam polishing the 1.5" thick steel legs... Tough stuff ...
All done ...
A close up in process, before the final, final polish ... We went for a shiny but not mirror finish and the sealing oil in the photo above really brought it up nicely.

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The Ducks Are Back

(Almost) Like the swallows returning to Capistrano, the ducks are back ... They arrived last Friday, as usual, almost to the day that the stream first cuts a channel across the ice. They were tired from their trip and were napping when we got to work on Friday, but Monday, whoa, below, we had an intruder ... a single female and they did not like here. We watched off and on for the morning while they chased her back and forth across the pond, and finally, she left ... Things were back to normal today but it was fun while it lasted ... Kits got the redwing blackbirds at the feeder too ... Big Tom turkey yesterday morning and the she also saw the bobcat briefly one morning last week, probably stalking the squirrels. Spring is coming ... Click the pictures to enlarge them ...
Back and forth ... when she got to the edge, she would fly back over their heads and the chase would continue, til finally she left ... havent seen her since ...
A little earlier than usual ... but Sam said this afternoon the leeks are up ... global warming I guess ...

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Chain Saw Fine Furniture

3/2/10 Were moving relatively slowly on this project to allow the 2.25" thick slab to acclimate to our heated shop ... It had been stored in a concrete floored, unheated barn until it arrived here last week .. We took a little off both sides last week and we flip it pretty much every day. It has stayed remarkably flat and now were working to assemble the base ....click the pictures to enlarge them .
The figured are at the crotch end of the slab
looking down from the crotch end
from the stump end
Last week, ready to cut ....
I started my woodworking career in 1974 as a logger for a local timber contractor ... I lasted about 6 months ... After that, I spent the next 23 years cutting and splitting firewood to heat my house and shop in Arlington .... I got back into the wood heat thing last year and Ive become pretty good friends with my chain saw again. When we had to cut this slab to size, I thought that my Stihl might be the best tool for the job as the log had already been chain sawn to rough shape before it was milled into slabs .. Ta Dah ... The edges actually will look like before we cut it .... Dont try this at home ....
Click the photos to enlarge them .... Previous post on this table ...
It was a bit of a reach
This was actually really fun .....
Cutting to 10
All done ... ready to smooth ....

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