well, heres a fun project ... two large english elm slab tables with metal rebar bases for a restaurant in bethesda, maryland. weve been working with amy krol, a competent and responsive designer at aria group architects in oak park, illinois. her concept sketches are above and we have gone back and forth with her over the last two months, refining the construction and material selection details. were on the home stretch now and aside from a column location question (the column hasnt been built yet) were ready to wrap them up and ship them out. click the photos to enlarge them ...
we started at berkshire products in sheffield, massachusetts, a great source of amazing and unusual wood for woodworkers the world over. we picked these three slabs from their photos on the internet. the one above for the single long table ...
and this matchinig pair, which will be butted end to end and notched around the column as shown in the drawings below.
next came the model stage. i drew them in my cad program, but in the end, the random, this looks good placement was the choice to go ... some things you can overplan.
there was some concern that the skinny rebar (actually, its 5/8ths and not that skinny) would flex, as in theory, rebar gets its strength from the concrete surrounding it ...
sam said it would be no problem but just for fun, we loaded the unglued model and applied a little side pressure ... solid as a rock, even with 1.8th inch rubberwood dowels and no glue ...
we trimmed, smoothed and stiffened the single slab ...
cool top ... and started construction on the real bases in the metal shop.
sam came up with the great concept of temporary pipe and threaded rod through the corner holes where the table bases will be bolted to the floor and to the wood tops, which held the two 1/2 x 12 steel plates parallel, and, when the bolts were tightened, completely square. he tacked the rebars randomly and checked them out, then welded them securely ... very cool, but when we figured it out, the long base weighs +/- 450 pounds !! fortunately, we were prepared and actually constructed all the steel bases on dollies.
base #1, resting in the drivechoice ... this dolly was a touch under built...
the double table is wider at +/- 42" and we built those bases upside down, using 1/4 x 20" steel plates for the base tops to give the wider wood tops more support.
we bolted them to some timberstrand on the floor of the garage ...
and built a two piece mock column the appropriate size for the full effect.
view down the 17 footer
the column top is shown here moved off center to its approximate location. the final column location will be determined with cardboard templates by the job foreman on site and we will cut them to the templates before shipping ...
the single slab table ... 98" x +/- 30"loyal readers will note our upgraded garage extended workplace we thought we were done up here after the big tables last year, but noooo ... so, now we have a painted floor, full insulation and sheetrock, heat if we need it, and today, a commercial dehumidifier arrived for summer work ... were officially ready for the big ones ...
and last but not least, we have the bethlehem steel bureau below .. steel legs and pulls by sam .. wood by will .. nicely figured cherry ... 
this evening was the opening for a new show called dorset artists...then and now. an extraordinary selection of works by 22 artists living and working in the immediate dorset area, as well as an equally incredible assembly of works from private local collections that represent 26 artists from dorsets past. the works of the now folks were selected and curated by georgine macgarvey-holman, ( one of the nows ), while loans for the then works were arranged and assembled by barbara melhado. putting on a show like this is an incredible feat of organization and i would say this is easily the most impressive collection of works assembled and presented by unpaid volunteers that i have
an overview of the mission ...
some then folks ... cleade enders on the left... i think those are humphrys on the right
more thens ... remarkable stuff .. love the woman with the trumpet by lorenzo hatch ... also there, david parsons, john lillie and claude dern ...
a jay connachoice ... a local artist famous for his homer like seascapes, who was as good as they get
sam and jen, getting their history lesson
and sam and i on the bridges bench ... metalwork by sam, woodwork by will, inspiration by my grandfather ...
nancy howe russell on the left;
pam marron left, barbara rowles, right
penny viscusi
arthur jones
and, they were kind enough to include us furniture makers ... above, william laberge
and here, steve holman of holman studios .. also in this photo, john pitcher on the left and ace manley on the right. john and his wife sue westin are proprietors of the gallery on the marsh, just down the road on route 30.
and thats georgine, bursting on the scene, wrapping up the final details on friday. our table and chairs are in the foreground ...
and these are my woodburnings, out and about from the studio for maybe only the second time ever. im sitting the show sunday and ill try to capture a few more of the highlights then. come on by ...
