while were on the subject and we only have a couple more outs to go in the world series, here are some photos of the other walnut pedestal table that trevors working on.  final sanding and staining start tomorrow ...
update 11/10

good to go .. its headed to the islands via miami .. wouldnt mind delivering it myself ...

loyal readers might recognize the larger version below from a blog post back in 2010.

that one was quite a bit larger at 60 x 86, but the concept and the execution is pretty much the same.

make the base and top and top of the base ..

determine the height of the pedestal parts and make the patterns.  use the scale model to determine if the patterns are correct.  note that to make the miters meet, we had to add a small straight section to the curve as the top is a different proportionat 40 x 60 .. 2/3, rather than 3/4

trevor made the scale model base parts from 13/16ths poplar and painted them and once they were fitted up, enlarged the design on the cnc and made the full size patterns ...

were going with the dark finish ..

 TWO OUTS IN THE 9TH!  looking good for the sox ... tables looking good too, ready for final sanding and the first coats of stain tomorrow.

seats six good friends .. paper is 11 x 17 .. saw blades are 10"

2 and 2 with two outs.  i think the red sox are gonna win it ... and they just did ... i think ill go jump up and down a  bit ..

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website problems

3/6/2012 ... thanks to my website designers, my site is back up! severals readers offered their input on the problem, and i thank them for that. from reading their suggestions and some of the links that they sent, i realized that the problem was a server update problem, the solution to which was kind of technical, and without doing this every day, not easy to comprehend. back in business now ... if i can just get some of our new stuff up there, ill be all set ... soon ...
my apologies folks ... my host, 1 and 1, sent us an email informing us that they were doing some maintenance work and it appears they have created a problem with our website ... we are in touch with them and they are working on it. please contact me at by email at dan@com or call me at 802 867 5541 if you need information about our work .. hopefully this will be straightened out soon ... dan
ok now ... will says we have inherited this problem due to a a server update at one and one ... havent a clue ... any of you coders out there care to comment? thanks ..

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 so, im getting a lot of whered you get those doors? questions as people check out the new metal shop.  like slate on the roofs, wide recycled doors are kind of my thing.  the one above started out as half of a pair of 8 x 8 garage doors that i bought about 5 years ago from a guy up the road in pawlet, as he was tearing down an old garage on his property.  as i recall, i paid a hundred bucks for the pair. click the photos to enlarge them ...

 

on the inside view, you can see how we cut and mitered the stiles and panels to shorten them.

 the first one of that pair i used was on my garage at the house just after i bought them and i shortened that one to 7 feet too before i made the frame and hung it.  in the photo below, i used the mason miter technique on the stile and rail intersections, but on the new metal shop, i decided to keep the cope and stick joints by shortening the stiles themselves and gluing them back together.  in reality, either choice is fine.

 mason miter joinery  at the red arrow

 

the first pair i  bought at a tag sale in the 80s for $20. for the pair.  they were already only 7 high and 4 wide.  i used one on the front of the shop above, and one on the side door on the shop porch, below.

 

   i think they came from the same manufacturer as the new pair, as all the joinery techniques and moldings appear to be the same ...

the joinery on the doors originally was 4, 1/2" dowels, about 6 inches long at each horizontal
and vertical intersection.   invariably, the joints loosen and the dowels can be cut with a hand saw or fein tool and the rails removed.

i rejoined the stiles and the bottom rail with 8" timberlock screws as i couldnt spread the stiles enough to insert loose tenons or dowels ... worked fine, and im sure its at least as strong or stronger than the original dowel joinery.

i added a couple of dominos for alignment ...

and made a jig for gluing them up straight

mitering and regluing the panels and stiles was a cinch

and then we glued up the whole door and made some jambs .. love the antique wavy glass.  and, ive also made new doors like this for new construction.  i have some photos somewhere ... nothing like a generous entrance to add elegance to a building ... 

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Upcoming Shows Under Control

Well, we got er done ... Three new pieces this week, in time for the show tomorrow. This Skinny Console started out as a shop joke. The top is made from two bookmatched edge scraps from the English Elm oval table that we made earlier in the summer. They were too nice to cut up for kindling and I waved them around for a while until I finally glued them up ... I mocked up a plywood prototype base and the rest, as they say, was history ...
We can see many places where a table similar to this could be just the right accent piece ... use your imagination ...
Ahhhh ... Dancer #1 ... welded steel by Sam ... locust by Dan and Trevor ... Artfully arranged pieces that were also too good to throw achoice. the concept on the board ...
the critical eye ... the base is a rough cut locust slab and the steel is unfinished so this sculpture is good to go, inside or out ..
The finished bench ... I kept trying to add stuff to the base, but, in the end, less is more as Meis, I think said. Hand hewn chestnut from a sleeper log, also good to go inside or out ...
red was the wrong color for this one
nixed the bridge like elements
too fussy for a rough thing ... all for now ... fun stuff in person, all of it ....

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all the pretty pool tables

ive been making pool tables now since about 1989 .... hmmm almost 25 years?  seems like a blink.  i was first captivated by pool in high school, at the bowling alley, at Frys, the luncheonette with two pool tables in the back, one for an open 9 ball game (50 cents and a dollar) and one for the old men to play one pocket on.  high chairs to watch too.  there was also another 8 table room on the second floor above woolworths where we hung out and played games to 25 or 50 for time.  loser paid for the table time.  i got hooked by the geometry, the skill building, the camaraderie and pool hall culture.  and, in one of my fondest high school memories, my father, who was also good with a stick, took me into the city to play at Allingers, the famous philly pool room where they still had girls come around and rack your balls up and a pretty fair sized gallery section to watch the action on the hot tables.  it was something.  but i digress ... the table above was a redo of an old brunswick table i bought with peeling veneer and a broken leg.  i was making it for my boys, but a client (for the second time) bought the table as i was working on it.  click the photos to enlarge them.

the table above, with claro walnut rails by will and a steel frame by sam is one of our latest.  finished last fall and shipped to chicago.  more pictures and info here. 

side view, in the shop

this one was for a special client, back in 2003.  they were building a large barn/party/entertainment building and we got to make the pool table and a large kas style tv cabinet.  im doing some work there now and its great to revisit this stunning space.  we received a design award from custom woodworking business magazine for it in 2005.  there is a video of how this table plays at this link.  i hope to get better at this video thing as time goes on, but it gives you an idea of how the table plays.

and here we have our first attempt at acquiring a pool table in about 1989.  this one was in rough shape when i bought it for $500. and i had to make new curly maple rails, new legs, and strip the peeling veneer off the body and paint it,  but it was worth the effort, though that one sold too before i finished it.

the mark of zorro, table a version of my original beidermeier inspired table

then we got into our arts and crafts era.  this ones mahogany with burl accents and i wish i had a better picture of it ... it also had a nice wood frame light above it inspired by the brothers green and i know i have a picture of it somewhere.  also 2003.

and this one, yet again the same year (it was a VERY good year), a little fancier with some baseball inspired motifs on the legs and some fabulous quilted maple panels ... im planning a visit to as many of these tables as possible to take videos of them in action.  they all play great.

simpler version of the same style ... 2012 ... more photos here

and then in the 2004/2005 ea, we had a short 3 edition run of these vertical grain fir tables.  simple, direct, effective, and they all went in spectacular rooms with lots of windows.  stratton mountain, vermont above ...

weston, vermont ...

and finally, greenwich, ct

and then our next diversion/trend was for some post and beam style tables.   this one was for a builder friend who made the base and leveled it up, we just did the slate work and built the rails and the did the cushions and felt work ... 

 

 this one came next in 2009 and it went to marthas vineyard.  will and i took it down one crystal clear january weekend ... i never saw the vineyard quiet like that.  we felt like we owned the place.  the blog post about this one is in my list of  popular posts off to the right there.  that post can get you started if you are interested in building your own pool table. 

and this is our latest version of the post and beam style.  we delivered that one to sugarbush, vt just last december and here is a link to a video of it in action ... more video links to follow soon i hope.

now were looking forward to our next commission, which is in manchester.  that project will be an older table that has lost its slate (somehow).  weve ordered some new slate and when it comes, well set up the base, refelt the rails and cushions and set that one up in a spectacular recently remodeled home.  more on that later.
pool .. i love it.  i think ill go to my man cave and shoot a few racks right now ...

man cave with my modestly restored 1915 brunswick balke-collender pool table.  after selling the first two attempts to get a pool table for myself, i decided to not make this one too fancy so no one would buy it.  it almost sold once, but i talked the clients into a new table, and i still have the one above in my cellar today.

sam and will, (now 30 and 28), on the day of the original set up in our previous home.  this was in the very early 90s i think. no date on the photo and that period of our lives was pretty much a blur.

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