well, we got a big one here. its going to aspen when its finished. this is the widest slab of claro walnut we have ever had ... it clocks in at 63" at the wide point ... after we trim it up a bit, it will be about 60" wide at both ends and about 8 long. it will have one of our new trapezoid bases. click the photos to enlarge them....
couple close ups of the rough slab here ... were working on it in my garage as were a little jammed up at the shop at the moment.
couple close ups of the rough slab here ... were working on it in my garage as were a little jammed up at the shop at the moment.
heres the cad drawing
will and trevor wheeled it out to the shade by the woodshed yesterday to begin the flattening process. fire up the makitas ...
will and trevor wheeled it out to the shade by the woodshed yesterday to begin the flattening process. fire up the makitas ...
the slab was astonishingly flat for something so wide ... a tribute to skip and norman at good hope hardwoods and their ability to dry this stuff so we can work it up. its truly amazing. that really is a four foot level there on the right end. the winding sticks are about 45" i think.
time ran out before they could completely smooth the face, but the bottom side is pretty much ready to sand and they should be able to finish this side today ... more later as we progress.
today we finished the rough smoothing of the top of the slab, did some rough sanding and mocked up the base with some 2 x 4s we had from when we picked it up at our friends loading dock.
just like this only in natural finish steel .. all for now
Built from plans found in Fine Woodworking, this desk is constructed from solid white oak and finished with General Finishes Salaem Maple stain. This desk has full extension drawer slides and a door that looks like a bi-fold door, but swings out of the choice of the drawers. All the drawers we made using hand cut dovetails.
along with the 14 fumed, fsc, quartered, figured eucalyptus table, weve been working on a painted reception desk for a client in boston. its a crispy commercial project designed by the worldwirde architectural firm, gensler. the granite is from johnson granite and marble of proctor b=vermont. loyal readers may recall that they also did the granite for the large conference tables we made last year. click the photos to enlarge them ...
cad plan view and granite layout ..
no overhangs, everything flush and fitted ... though it looks easy, now that its done, there were a number of interesting and exacting challenges to solve along the choice ... timing was one, and we had to order the granite and the glass before we even started building the piece. the glass will actually not arrive until about a week after we deliver it this friday. fortunately, there is a commercial glazier working on site and he will install the glass when it arrives, saving us the trip.
the glass is mitered and back painted and will cover the low protruding, overhanging counter face, the short return, and the far end, and is bordered by 1/4" satin stainless edge pieces. not having the glass on hand, we cut mitered 1/4" mdf panels on the cnc to the exact sizes of the glass we ordered and hopefully, our tape measures are the same. there is not much room for error and few places for adjustment now that everything else is finished.
we made a slick jig for sanding the stainless steel edges and sent them on edge through our wide belt sander. probably not a recommended application, but it was the only choice we could come up with, and it worked perfectly ... the flat pieces were no problem and we sent them through with the exhaust off and used an old 80 grit belt. there were virtually no sparks or heat build up, and i would say it was a valid technique for surfacing them to create the industrial look required.
the miters were cut to rough length and adjusted and fitted using a 45/45/90 jig on the edge sander.
we framed the piece with timber strand, a stable flat stud material becoming more popular in high end housing projects around here. its not cheap, but it is flat, straight, square and stable. except for the weight, its a pleasure to use.
we also created a flip down door for the electricians, which i am sure they will approve of ...
and a sturdy 8/4 ash and steel frame to support the +/- 600 pounds of granite counters.
the blue line denotes the largest piece that had to fit in the freight elevator .. 44 x 42 x 80".
the granite was cut from one large slab so the grain matches over the entire counter surface.
lastly there is a little box of drawers that supports the frame end and ties everything together. below you can see the steps in the simple assembly. looks easy now that its done.
the corner piece will be set first over the wiring feed and the L shaped glass piece is attached from the inside of the desk.
here trevor is installing the screws to secure the two main pieces together.
the granite frame is next. it sits temporarily on two angle iron pieces, and then is securely bolted to the stud framing with 4" timberlock hex head lags.
the drawer box is slid in to complete the base assembly and the removable panel on the inside back wall is installed last.
the first piece of granite is slid into the corner, and the rest are added to complete the puzzle.
and while we were at it, we put some cardboard on the top of the eucalyptus table frame and took a quick snapshot ... all in, all done .. onto the truck for boston tomorrow.
crazy wood that eucalyptus ...
We dont dont often take on work like this, but we just did a refinish on this 19th century desk for a friend ... The story was intriguing ... It was supposedly made by the owner or son of the owner of the Estey Organ Company of Brattleboro, Vermont ... An amazing 100 plus year old Veront company that made over 520,000 !! reed organs and over 3200 full size pipe organs before it went out of business in 1960. The desk appears to be from about the right mid to late 19th century time frame judging from the look of it. It had a severely distressed, insulted and alligatory shellac finish that was beyond saving which Jim removed with a little (lot) of alcohol and a white Scotchbrite pad ... After some serious sanding, we put a couple coats of dye stain and our typical gloss/gelstain/satin finish ... It now looks like its ready for another hundred years ... Out the door Friday morning ... Click the photos to enlarge them ...
This is in the sanding stage, ready for the first coat of stain ...
The completed desk with the fall front open ...
Trevor made a quick replacement arch top ... the second from the left ... It had a neat detail. The shapes are cut from 1/4 thick lumber, but the back side of the profile is relieved to 1/8" thick which gives the appearance that the wood is half as thick as it is ... clever ....
closed.. 18.5 high x 21.5 long x 11" deep ... 10 drawers on the top behind the fall flap and 3 regulars in the lower case.
aside from refinishing the top and fall flap, and replacing the bras around the keyhole, the lock was the most troublesome thing .. it was in one of the drawers and had been for quite a while ... mainly, because there was no wood left to attach it to ...
first i routed the recess level, then added some prefitted new mahogany support pieces glued to the freshly routed surfaces ...
after and overnight dry, i remounted the lock to the new blocks with really small (1/2 x 3) brass screws ... cant wait to get my good camera back from the repair place ...
all in, all done ... good to go ... all the scalloped pieces on the top row have drawers attached
Well, the house is finally finished and the desk will be on its choice to its new home tomorrow. We finished it up a few weeks ago but we were waiting for the carpenters to finish, the hardware to arrive and the ok for delivery. All set now and ready to go except for a small adjustment that I see I need to make to the bottom file drawer face ... Its amazing what you 
Close up of the very nice handmade hardware by Richard Spreda, The Stowe Smith/
Drawers like this on both sides, 3/16ths by 1/2" brass hanging file supports in the bottom drawers. There is also a removable butterfly grommet (not shown in the file) for cord passage to the surge protector in the center below the kneehole ... The cord from that travels between the drawers and plugs into the wall that the desk will be placed up against ... More drawings, comments and construction photos from the original post here ...
well, what to make of four years of sporadic writing? im not famous, im not richer, except in the experience of writing, at which i have gotten vastly more comfortable as a process, and i still dont really understand 
and, people read the thing ... people i dont know ... (395,000 page views? hard to imagine)
from places ill never visit ... ( 168 countries? who knew? ) spreading the word ... make something .... wood, metal, pottery, art, jewelry ... the process is the same and the rewards are the same. a psychological bonus we dont often get from paying bills, shuffling papers or raking the yard. its been great ! thanks for reading; feel free to comment or question ... 500+ posts down (wow, if i do say so myself) more to come ... enjoy ... for other anniversary posts, visit this one from last year with links to the others ... check it out ..
