ok, claro wlanut, i love this wood ... fancy, warm, vibrantly figured most of the time, stable, flat; its all good ... and we have made a lot of stuff with it. lately, as we get more requests for custom pieces, i have come to feel the need to have some photos of our different items in one place ... a sort of, here, this about sums it up link, so i dont have to get a picture here, get another picture there, find a picture of that specific table base .... etc, etc. if you make custom stuff for other people, and have been doing it for a while, youll know what i mean ... anychoice; here goes ... please click the photos to enlarge them ...
first up, cause i like the warm and fuzzy photo at the top, is this coffee table we made for a client in the boston area, who actually had the luxury of keeping it on her covered porch along with a collection of our outdoor lounge chairs ... for more info on this project, check out this blog post ...
sometimes, at the end of a project we even get letters like the one above .. my home has been trumped by the table ... hmmmm, i doubt it, cause ive seen photos of the house, but its a nice compliment, regardless. it goes with the table on the crossbuck base below, and the original blog post from 2008 is here. i think that one may be the one that started it all for us ... 
but heres another early one, and the first table we did with the solid steel base, what we refer to as our shaker style legs ... learning process on that one ... but, we got er done, and have done many others with that style legs in both bright and blackened steel the original blog post is here ...
we made a little model first on the cnc and sprayed it with the krylon metalllic paint. looks like the real thing, only a tenth as big ...
the finished table, cut from its background
birds eye view of the grain in the top ...
sometimes we have to assist mother nature in getting the shape exactly right
but alls well that ends well ....
this was a big one ... about 4 wide and 11 long ... original blog post here ...
and above is another letter from a happy desk client ... some drawers and secret compartments made for a really special desk ... this was a recent one from late last year ... more info here
we start with slabs like this one; in fact we bought four from goodhope, from the same log and used them for the desk above, the table below, the table we have in our current show at the southern vermont arts center, and we still have one more available on out wall that you can see a couple photos down ...
this was a fantastic piece of wood when it was all polished up, and its now happy in its new home in the hamptons ... california to goodhope hardwoods in pennsylvania to vermont, to east hampton .... lots of miles on most of these. we have two to montana, about a 6000 mile trip !!
several tables have our ladderback chairs in one form or another ... these above sport nice bomber jacket leather seats.
the raw material ... often, not perfect, though with lots and lots of potential ...
this one heads off to england next week in a pair of crates via ocean freight. even more miles on that one ... this has a new base design based on our designer clients input ... again, a model was helpful in determining the final proportions ... more info here ...
the leg assemblies are drilled tapped and bolted together and can be easily shipped flat, in pieces.
and we often add butterflies to both decorate and stabilize the cracks.
this one is in our current show at the southern vermont arts center in nearby manchester.
great figure and grain character in this one ... 
and this is the last slab from the spectacular log you have seen in some of the previous pictures. its from closest to the center of the log and probably has, actually, the best figure yet. it was completely cracked into two pieces when it arrived, and we intend, in the end, to probably use it as two pieces, connected by butterflies, but separated as above by a 1/4 inch or so. even without finish the color is amazing ... call now to discuss your options ...
sometimes a client will select a slab from the goodhope specials or coffee table slab page and we add just simple wooden or polished steel pipe bases. keep it simple stupid ... 
and now were at the sawbuck base table that goes with the letter at the top ... 
solid, twist and reverse twisted 1.25" steel crosspiece by sam in the metal shop ...
or we can weld other steel base designs from structural stock ... these pieces were fabricated by sam in the metal shop from 3/4" stock and some round, 1.5" solid bar stock
more info on this project here ... again with the models ... love em ...
some polished or black pipe legs .. instant coffee table
this bed and side table assembly went to florida and is made from a pair of american, not claro walnut, but spectacular nonetheless. i post it with the claro pieces because the design could easily be made using a claro slab as well ...
and sometimes we get to make a little bench for a new york city apartment entrance hall ... this one is 36" x 15". small, but i love the form and it opens up the possibility for others like it as well as new dining table base designs.
specs and shapes of our available leg designs, all of which can be customized and made heavier, lighter, wider, or shorter, as you wish. our most popular is the one above, in 1.5" thick steel.
and pretty much any welded shape you can come up with can be fabricated by sam in our in house custom metal shop
and here, ill talk VERY GENERALLY AND UNSPECIFICALLY about prices ...these prices of these tables are directly related to what we have to pay for the wood slab, delivered to our shop. a rule of thumb seems to be, or could be about $1000. to $1400. per lineal foot of table ... anychoice, thats a place to start, but the final price could be more or less than that, if, for example, you select an extra wide, extra long, or figured slab, or one with some extra character from the specials page. each project is priced individually with the cost of the wood being the main factor ...we sell the leg assemblies separately. the solid, waterjetted, 1.5" thick sets start at $3500. as drawn and pictured in the natural finish. for the black or rainbow patina, add $400. there is a separate upcharge for custom shapes and 1.75" thick stock. for each design that upcharge is different. custom shape and thickness quotes on request. shipping for the bases in the northeast would be +/- 250-350. nationwide quotes are available with your shipping address.
so, here, this about sums it up for claro walnut for now ... but i also feel like we have just scratched the surface ...
other walnut blogs posts at the links below:
a dozen big ones
how much does a claro walnut slab table cost?
one for sale right now
Sabtu, 22 Oktober 2016
Walnut Slab Coffee Table
Similar to another coffee table we built last fall, we sent this one out into the world last Wednesday. Its eastern walnut rather than Claro. It was about 28" wide at the narrow end and about 7 long and 18" high ... simple base, two verticals of 16/4 x 16" wide and two 1/4" steel plates ... Beautiful grain ... The slab came from Alderfer Lumber in Pennsylvania ... Click the pictures to enlarge them ...
Close up of the crotch figure grain
The unfinished slab with the graduated butterflies
Here, you can more clearly see the base detailing, what little there is of it ...
On the bottom, we routed the slab to receive the 1/4" x 6" plates ... washer head screw/bolts in oversize holes to allow for expansion and contraction .... simple ....Senin, 03 Oktober 2016
Show Time
Theres a show called "Out Of The Woods" opening Saturday at The Southern Vermont Art Center in Manchester, Vermont. It will feature the works of 11 New England furniture makers included myself and fellow locals Bill Laberge and Steve Holman. The show has been a long time in the making and for a change we were one of the first to drop off our pieces so Ill be seeing all but one or two pieces for the first time myself on Saturday. Theres a meet the artists reception from 4 to 6 and their openings are alchoices fine events. Happening at the same time will also be the opening celebration for the 81st Annual Members Exhibition, a sure to be interesting display of the memberss fine art and sculpture work. Come by if you can ... Click the pictures to enlarge them ...
Well be showing one of our Bethlehem Steel series pieces, a walnut and steel table and six complementary walnut chairs.
A close up of the plates Sam made to cover hardware wounds in the 20" wide walnut boards.
A few photos from the SVAC website showing some of the other artistss work.
Steve Holmans sideboard ...
Close up of one of the bronze wood burl sculptures from the photo at the top ... Mother Nature is a pretty good sculptor too ...
There is also a very cool building on the site designed by the award wining architect, Hugh Newell Jacobson.
