woodworking tools tips

this week and last, we moved the curly maple kitchen we have been working on from the shop to its new home. it was trickier than it looks. typically, templates for the counter tops are made after the counters are installed, but because of the timing, and, in particular, the long lead time on the sink, we had to make the templates and the sample sink as we started the cabinets. click the photos to enlarge them ..

before we left the shop though, we had to finish up the plate rack cabinet. since we actually hadnt built one of these, we made a prototype section with a tablesaw cove to keep the plates in place, (run the board on an angle over the blade raising it a little at a time). BE CAREFUL !!

then, we got to the site, which is a 1920s era large colonial that our client has been working to restore for several years. we used the slate templates to locate the cabinets and then brought in the slate, which was cut and milled at sheldon slate in granville, just across the line in new york state ... i posted photos of their facility when we first started this project a while back. there are more early pictures of this project at that link.

the slate was delivered and installed by tom mullan, (seated here), and his crew, sheldons installation subcontractor, who was the epitome of professionalism, and maintained complete calm as the ineveitable little problems we encountered were overcome.

they had a slick little four wheeled dolly that enabled them, and us, to move the +/- 450 pounds pieces into place.

ta dah on the corner piece ... it fit perfectly against the wall even though there were some old house, out of square corners that we had dealt with when we made the templates.

next came the sink cabinet below. we had a one dollar pool in the shop where we all guessed the weight of the 42" x 21" x 13" deep slate sink. trevor took the loot with his guess of 425 pounds ... it said "430 pounds" on the crate.

complicating this operation was the fact that the sink was wider than the opening for the doors. we made the corner section removable so that we could slide the sink into place and locate it (using the mdf template) and installing the doors and returns after the counter was in place. we only had to slide the counter back once to relocate the sink about an 1/8th of an inch so that the 1/4" counter overhangs were consistent. i was some glad when that process was finished. there was no margin for error.

we returned a couple days later with the long, glass doored upper cabinet that will built, and that part of the installation went very smoothly.

all in, all done, except for the last piece, a 42" marble table that fills the space between the two counters. that goes in tomorrow, just in time for the fundraiser party the client is hosting saturday night for the local dorset nursing association .. it should be a great party! more pics when we are totally totally finished.

trevor put the finishing touches on it today ...

there are a lot of interesting details in this house, like the island we made back in may, (another challenging project), the soft corners on the wall openings, the owner made concrete floor tiles, and the curving steel and marble stairchoice...

all done; the tables in ...

Senin, 15 Agustus 2016

Walnut Quilt Rack

Quilt rack 31"x29"x10"

Catching up on postings, I have a number of projects going and that has kept me achoice from the computer, that and it is warming up here, so the golf clubs are getting more attention that the L-N #4.This quilt stand is made of walnut and ash and is 31"w x 29"h and 10" deep. I turned the 7/8" rods from ash I had on hand.The rods and stretcher are wedged through tenons and those were all cut by hand.

Applied quilt block design

The applied quilt block design is made up from a number of different exotic woods (actually some pen blanks).The finish is my standard General Finishes semi-gloss and I topped it off with a coat of Mylands wax.

Rabu, 10 Agustus 2016

Wagathas Bulk Rack

Minggu, 07 Agustus 2016

New Claro Slab Table is FInished

Well OK ... Another big claro walnut slab table. Weve made quite a few of them now and there is more information about them on my blog than a person could likely want to read. (If not, be sure to scroll to older posts). But, we like them. They alchoices seem to have this mysterious sense of substance to them when they are completed. The wood is dark and deep and totally unpredictable in its grain and color. We like the steel bases too. This one looks a little shinier in the picture above than it is in person. There was a little sunlight sneaking in the door when I took the picture and, reflected off the floor, it made the base look pretty impressive. Actually, its clean, but not real reflective and is meant to match the zinc counters in the clients kitchen ... Click the photos to enlarge them ....

A birds eye view of this 48 x 120 x 3" thick slab ... We figure conservatively that the table weighs at least 400 pounds assembled and I am unable to pick one end off the floor without feeling like I might hurt something ... For shipping to Montana, the slab will unbolt from the base and the 5 part base will be disassembled.

This project has been going on for a month or so so I reloaded a few of the relevant pictures of the process. You can see the other posts in the claro slab tables category to the right. Above is the raw slab before we trimmed it to width and length.

First step was to use my trusty 25 year old 3.5" Makita hand held planer to smooth the rough sawn top.

Then since we had other stuff going on in the shop, the preliminary planing and cutting was done at my garage. Easier than loading and unloading, and, with my old truck on its choice to the graveyard, we towed it merrily down the drivechoice with Sams Saab, whistling while we worked.

We laid in a few strategic butterflies

And worked on the chairs that go with it at the same time ... They are a version of our contemporary ladderbacks with a Danish cord seat by Sandy Sherman chair caning. Danish cord seats were popularized by Hans Wegner in the 50s and 60s and are friendly and comfortable, though a bit labor intensive. The chairs are, like Windsors, more about the silhouette than the grain of the wood ...

Our typical base installation

A close up of the finish

The chairs in two views ...

The 160 nails per seat that it takes to organize the weaving. Fortunately for Sandy, Trevor was able to layout and rout the holes on the cnc so all Sandy had to do was hammer them in.

And in contrast, an updated photo of our skinny console for comparison ... You can pick that one up with one hand ...

Rabu, 29 Juni 2016

Quilt Rack

This hand-made quilt rack is an excellent choice to display your own hand-made craft. This rack protects your work as it displays it, making it the perfect compliment your own hand-made piece of work.

Senin, 30 Mei 2016

felting the rails and them rack em up !

when last we left you reader, on the subject of pools tables, (almost a month ago), the pool table was set up in the shop and ready to go ... last tuesday, on the urging of our client, will and i took a long road trip to virginia to set it up. it was definitely the longest trip to install one yet, but on the whole, interesting, relaxing and rewarding on a lot of levels. its amazing what a difference a smart phone with navigation and an ipod with spotify can make .. conjure a song; listen to it. get lost .. find yourself .... amazing ...

back to where we left off ... after laying out the cuts on the cushions with a jig we made a few years back, we trimmed them on the chop saw and trued them up ... pictures of that operation in the previous post.

then comes the tricky part .. click the photos to enlarge them ...

will created the series of photos and notes above and below to document the process some time when we were making a previous (green felted) table, and he still reviews them each time he does the rail felting. its an important, fussy, tricky, part of the project that makes the table what it is. below are some larger versions of the same photos

the pucker ... see notes in the fine woodworking article about that .. you may need to be a fine woodworking member to view that ... $15. well spent ...

do a couple sets of these and youll have it.

then for us came the set up ... in a very nice room i might add ...

the felt is stretched from the side pockets and centers of the end rails out to each of the corner pockets ...

and then the corners are stretched and stapled to the slate liner pieces ...

bolt on the rails and pockets and rack em up ...

woodworking tools tips

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Minggu, 06 November 2016

the kitchens in

Senin, 15 Agustus 2016

Walnut Quilt Rack

Rabu, 10 Agustus 2016

Wagathas Bulk Rack

Minggu, 07 Agustus 2016

New Claro Slab Table is FInished

Rabu, 29 Juni 2016

Quilt Rack

Senin, 30 Mei 2016

felting the rails and them rack em up !

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