Off To The Marble Mill

Our client for the black vanity sent us the specs for the sink she had chosen and in looking it over, I noticed the highlighted sentence below ... After talking it over with my marble cutter, Johnson Marble, in Proctor, Vermont, we decided it would be safest if we got the actual sink and faucet since the top was going to New York City ... We have time to do it right, but not time to do it twice .... Click the pictures to enlarge them ... We started by cutting a section out of the cardboard so we could trace the inside outline of the sink bowl.
Cut some holes for the faucets ... Interestingly, the pipe for the faucet was not in the center of the fixture and was a different size .... glad we checked
looking from underneath
Set it up right side up and then we had our finished template ...
Off to the marble mill, a fantastic old facility adjacent to the Vermont Marble Museum in Proctor.
Coming in the front door .. Its a great old industrial space ....
Looking back the other choice from the far end...
Showing the honed finish
A rough slab of Danby Montclair, with nice black/brown markings ...
showing the layout .... I forgot to take a photo of the building from outside, but its very cool the choice it relates to the rest of the site ...

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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 .... Im 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 ...

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A collection of shop photos

I realized recently that I have never done a post of just shop photos, where you can see the layout of the various work spaces throughout the buildings on the property. We have been working on it all since 1998 and its grown over time to accommodate a lot of flexible spaces. There is also a stand up attic over the shop that accommodates lumber and veneer up to 12 long and a concrete floor crawlspace with wheelchairs for mobility, where the boiler, air compressor and additional lumber, pattern and jig storage live. Stuff expands to fill it all of course, and we dream about a better/bigger metal shop, but not this week for sure ... maybe sometime though ... Click the photos to enlarge them and enjoy your tour ...
Summer view
Winter view with the finish room on the right
Side porch with a Safety Speed Cut panel saw, lumber and ply storage shed with the blower at the far end, and a separate, free standing shed for sawdust ...
Summer porch use ...typically on Friday afternoons
The interior of the 16 x 22 finish room ... the tv cabinets (scroll down on that post) are still lurking under the big green drop cloth
standing on a stool, looking from east to west ... note dueling table saws with foot operated off switches, nested placement of jointer and planer, and dust collection under the strip oak, radiant heated floor.
looking from east to south showing the sanders (on wheels and the 16 of counters and drawers at workspace one.
radial and chop saw for rough and finish cuts on the same fence system
looking toward workspace #4, on wheels, 42 x 60 with the lathe tools on the back side, and at the outfeed of the sander with a light for defect spotting. The gray table in the foreground has a removable top over a router table on wheels.
workspace two, also on wheels, (behind the headboard), 43 x 84, with a pattern vise, sink and additional 8 bench with a vise.
workspace #1, 44 x 96 x 30 high with power on the four corners, also on wheels. Actually, everything that can be is on wheels.
workspace #3, where I work when Im in the shop.
The cnc upstairs ... best place to see what we do with this is at this link here ... And, if youre wondering how we got all 1400 pounds and 11 feet of it to the second floor here are some photos of that operation .... unbelievable in hindsight ....
workspace upstairs with mortiser, drill press, sander and bandsaw, adjacent to the cnc so Trevor can do two jobs at once.
library in a small hallchoice between the cnc and the office
my main workspace with computer, phone, fax, scanner, printer and music
southeast end of the office with another computer for Will or Sam to do their CAD drawings and email
a small collection of models in the bathroom
my board of finish samples and hardware for clients when they come ..this photo also works as an email to clients out of the area ...
looking out the office window and door to the pond
with the ducks recently back in town....
The metal shop is at the house, attached to the end of the garage ... More photos here
Looking into the shop with the double doors open ..
I hope to soon add plan view drawings of the shop for my own records but Ill have to do them first ... The woodshop was planned as a workshop, but built as a 3 bedroom two bath house where we lived for two years while we were waiting to sell our former house in Arlington ... I have some good pictures of the shop as a house that Ill post later too ... All for now ... If you made it all the choice to here, you might also enjoy these photos HERE showing how we got our 1400 pound cnc machine installed on the second floor. (Through the second story window)

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