this is what a set of pool table supplies looks like when it arrives here at our shop ... well, its actually not alchoices quite this beat up, but we have had a couple sets of slate arrive in more than one piece ... better luck this time. no lost pieces; no broken slate. click the photos to enlarge them, though youll have to bear with me as i learn adobe lightroom. my ancient photoshop 7 program stopped working with the last windows upgrade .. i am NOT happy about that. image/adjust/autolevels .. i am really missing that one.
roughed out rails and cushion wood and cushions above
miracle of miracles .. it is to be exactly like the one above that we made and
installed about this time last year.
were even using the same drawing, materials, and cutlist.
here we go .. the new guy chris, finished the slate support frame last thursday ..
and here he is beginning the assembly of the base
all together last friday ..
and today we added the slate frame and the slates below
as of the end of the day today, we had the rubber cushions glued on to the poplar, and
tomorrow well get them bolted to the slate and add the curly maple rails ...
i love a pool table project ..
and just sos you know were not loafing, weve got some other stuff going on in the shop too ..
a 12 cherry chest of drawers above, with bookcases and ebony and quartered cherry details
and this 9 curly maple trestle dining table with an inlay. trevors got that one in the finish room now.
more on those projects later ..
for more pool table posts, click on this link
for more pool table posts, click on this link
Ahhh .. Waterjetting .... Another highpoint in technological innovation for me .... Heres a short excerpt below from the fascinating Wikipedia entry describing their history and applications ... Cutting food? Hmmm... wonder what thats about ... Click the pictures to enlarge them.
Matt Santwire of A L Melanson in Rutland at the controls. Importing the files that we created in Dorset, emailed to him, which he then toolpathed at the computer in his office and then sent to the computer you see here that controls the cutting ... Thats a lot of computing, trust me ... The machines surface is actually flooded and the material is under water when it is cut. Since there is no force the material is held in place usually just by gravity on the supporting bars you see in the top photo.
Findng home, the starting point for the computer file ...
These are the parts of the ducks which will be inlaid in the finished kingsize bed we are working on a couple posts below. Looks like it was easy when its done ... Wasnt ... All the little bridges were drilled out and the tabs sanded or filed off on the edge sander...
Other products we have made with the waterjet ... our aluminum windsors ... the back is springy like an old lawn chair ...
The base for the claro walnut table we just finished ...
1.5" thick cold rolled plate steel ... Tough stuff ... Took an incredibly long time to polish it ... cant imagine cutting it any other choice ...
This is the first sample center inlay we made on our first trip to Maelansons. We discovered that the cuts are ever so slightly tapered as the jet spreads out slightly once it penetrates the surface, so we cut all the inlays 
First sample of the center ducks in aluminum, back side ... You can see from the cad drawing that the image has been flipped ... good trick ...
Into the finished headboard sometime next week .... The polishing and fitting of the individual inlays and metal parts was done by Trevor, Will and Sam, coloring of the finished inlays was by Sam. Jim lent a hand in the early stages ... A total team effort for sure ...
Trevor cut the pockets for the inlays using our cnc, using a 1/16th" bit and a 1/32nd" bit for the final pass on the outline ... Amazing .... Stain color looks a little funky here because of the light .. Its going to be real nice I think when its all done ...
ok, heres a big one ... 40 " wide, 12 long, with our standard steel shaker base. this time we did the steel in our new rainbow finish. we purchased this new patina color from our friends at sur-fin chemical company. its a little fussier and more unpredictable than our regular blackening chemical, but the results are quite striking. browns and blacks with subtle hints of other colors in the right light. looks great with the expresso finish on this table ... .
the expresso finish was a request from the designer, and we had to make a number of samples before we got one we all liked. the finish that we used this time appears thinner, and more like an oil finish, and we plan to try it on some of our upcoming natural finish tables.
there was also a request for no cracks, which led us to advanced repair technologies no shrink, tintable, epoxy filler. after a little experimenting, that new product is also a hit with us. it takes a couple of days to dry really hard, but if we hit it right, we can do it on a friday and flush it up monday ... 
as seen on this old house
the filled crack after leveling ... trevor loosely fitted some pieces of walnut with similar grain into the largest of the cracks before filling them. 
this crack is in one of the other, natural finish tables were working on and we filled this large crack with smaller pieces of the darkest wood we can find, which was also an effective technique ... more on that table later ...
the slab was too big to get to the cnc upstairs, so trevor routed for the bases by hand with a bearing and a template.
the bottom of the 10 natural table ...
and will in steve holmans spray booth before the final topcoats over the expresso stain ... nice booth ... nice finish ...
we delivered the claro walnut sllab coffee table to connecticut yesterday. it was one of the slabs that we received back in february. one is slated to shortly become a gallery piece and two are still available. the clients found our website, and, coincidentally, they have a second home in the area and were able to stop by, select the slab the like, check out several base designs and finalize the details. it was one of those projects that went along quickly and smoothly from start to finish. i hope to get an onsite picture at some point as jim said it really completed the room. click the photos to enlarge them ...
this was our original photo shown on our blog ...
this is the side they selected and the details we decided on during their visit .. 
the cad drawing
after the second coat of gloss ...
sams welding jig that we made on the cnc ...
parts and pieces ... in the end, we used our blackening finish ..
Unbelievable figure and color
Looking from the end after the shellac ..
We used a sidelight to find any big chipouts that needed final scraping and sanding
Even without the finish, sanded to 320, it had a good shine
Heres Sam polishing the 1.5" thick steel legs... Tough stuff ...
All done ...
A close up in process, before the final, final polish ... We went for a shiny but not mirror finish and the sealing oil in the photo above really brought it up nicely.
we did a little custom cnc work for our friend bill laberge recently. he designed a table with a 2.75" thick edge, cut on a 60 degree angle ... we had a bit that would work, but it was too small to do the work efficiently, so for a moment, we considered alternate methods ... bandsaw it with circle jig? different angle like 45 degrees? in the end, trevor found a larger 60 degree bit and the cuts were faster, very smooth and exact. bill glued up the apron blanks with the grain running parallel to the table top to minimize the effects of seasonal movement. the table has four 22" leaves. (wow...big one), trevor cut and beveled the leaves to length and bill cut the leaf apron edges on his tablesaw ... ill try to wrangle a finished photo when its finished ... i saw it mostly assembled last week and it looked pretty cool. cilck the photos to enlarge them ...
stepping cuts had to be made ahead of time to allow room for the collett that holds the bit
in the middle is the top mated with the apron piece .. very smooth and precise ...
