Chairs, bench and table, and teeth.

I got my wisdom teeth out today. Something I probably should have done when I was much younger but it is now done.  The timing was good as I just finished up with a big order of a table, 6 chairs and a 6' bench. They are pictured below and will be picked up tomorrow am by the shipper who will take them to California.  Not only was it a nice size order but they are all pieces that I really enjoy making.  

Below are one each of my New Waltham chairs.  They seem to have taken over as my best selling chairs.

waxing the underside of the bench. You can see that I add extra bracing on the legs. My chairs get just one brace per leg.

The New Waltham Bench, rightside up.

The trestle table waiting without its leaves.

and shown here with its leaves.

Our mailbox.  I was picking up the mail on my way back to the house and had my camera with me... The rusted box sits on a length of  honey locust that I cut from our yard about 6 years ago.  It has been hit by the plow,  batted with a baseball bat a few times and once someone drove right over it. (there were tire tracks on either side of it.)  The box is a replacement (#3 I think) but the post has lasted through all that. Honey Locust. It's just tough wood.  Our postal service has been tough too. We'll see if it lasts.

Enjoy the brown winter.
Tim

Trestle Table w/ Leaves II

It is always nice when a new design is well received.  Over the years, I have had many orders for my standard Trestle Table.  It is an example of what I generally strive for.  A look that is based in tradition but also somewhat modern looking.  Strong, clean and elegant if I may describe what I think of it.  

Last year, I made my first Trestle Table with leaves which was well received by the client and soon after, a new client ordered the second of this design.  There is a lot going on so it is still not simple the second time through.  That being said,  I was very happy to see that I did not feel the need for any changes this time.  On many pieces, I tweak designs each time I make them.  I feel like I got it right on this one the first time.  The pictures below are taken just as the table was almost finished.  A few details are not completed such as mounting knobs on the ends of the leaf slides. That was a few days ago. Tonight, I just gave it all its first coat of oil.  Pictures of the finished table #1 can be seen here.

fitting the leaf slides

one leaf in place

the concave edge of the leaf is shaped by hand to match up with the end of the table.

Two weeks ago I hiked up a nearby peak. It still looks like this today. No snow in February. I am so glad that we did not buy a ski pass this year.

Chairs and Beds

Pictured below is the milled out stock which will become an eight sided tapered post for one of my Low Post Beds. The first four tapers are cut on the table saw and the next four are shaped by hand.  The top of the post shows marking for the first of four tapers.

Skipping ahead, below are the four posts with the tapers completed. The posts still need to have their mortices cleaned up and to be sanded.

Below is a closer shot showing the lambs tongue transition from the square post to the eight sided taper.

Below, a set of New Waltham chairs have two coats of oil.  They will get another one or two after the holidays.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Tim

Trestle Table with Leaves II

I have not posted in a long time as I have been busy getting caught up on work.  At my bench below is one of the trestles for a Trestle Table with leaves.  This is the second one that I am doing now. I was very happy with the first so it is great to have the opportunity to do the same piece again.  I have many pieces on my website but I find that there are a few that I make over and over again. If I was smart, I guess I could make that into a huge business.  Oh well, things are moving along nicely now after a slow summer.

I was experimenting with my camera on these shots.  They are all taken at night without flash (my flash broke)(I hardly used it anyway). 

This shot shows the through wedged tenon on the underside of the trestle before I saw and plane it flush to the base.  A very strong but time consuming joint.

This shows the untrimmed pegs that add to the strength of the  tenon joint.  Also, you can see the hand planed curved surface of the top of the "leg".  All of the edges are given this treatment on this piece.  It really is a nice surface to run your hand or foot over while sitting at the table.

 Below are a couple shots of my work area.  A finished but not "finished" set of New Waltham chairs hang to the left.  Yes, it is a mess. This is at the end of a busy day. Most surfaces are cleaned up quite often but it takes very little time for me to clutter things up again.

Winter is a good time to be in the shop. 

Enjoy the bustle before Christmas.

Tim

Mariner's Raw Teak Chart Pencil

Teak is an amazing wood that is often used as the decking of all kinds of seafaring craft. It is amazingly rot resitant even when left unfinshed. Most teak decking is actually left unfinished and will weather to a grey or when oiled will be a warm brown. I have left this pen unfinished so that it can gradually take on a burnished warm brown with use. The .7mm pencil lead seems to work well for chart work. Not too thick a line and not as prone to breaking as a .5mm lead. 

While a pencil is necessary for the chart table, a pen is nice to have for more permanent writing, so I also make a pen with a Cross twist mechanism in raw teak.  I had a piece of teak around from my boat building days and thought it might be just the thing for the mariner or armchair mariner.  

 

Teak Chart Pencil- $30 -pictured above (includes a drawstring pouch)

Teak Chart Pen- $30. (includes a drawstring pouch)

Teak Chart Pen and Pencil Set- $50.

Pictured below is a new pen made of Wenge.  I bought a board of Wenge about 24 years ago and made a few hand plane bases with it. I still have a bit of that in the shop and decided that it might be good for a pen.  It is a very hard tropical hardwood that will polish with use. The finish is wax alone to bring out the color.  This pen would cost $30.

Happy Fall,

Tim

Tiger Maple Trestle Table for My House, Finally

When we first moved into our house, we used a small - four person- kitchen table that I made.  About 8 years ago we had Thanksgiving at our house so I put together a larger table made out of saw horses and three rough pine planks that were left over siding for the house.  We are still using that table. Not for long though as I am finally making us a table.  The top is made up of three (I had to keep something from the old table) wide tiger maple planks.  It will have breadboard ends and a milk painted trestle base.  Since time is always an issue, the base will be a simplified version of my usual Trestle Table base.  It will look the same except the cross beam will be joined like a bolted bed rail instead of using a keyed through tenon.  Also, the joints in the trestles themselves will be bolted mortice and tenon joints instead of 3" long through wedged tenons.  This simplified design may be something that I will offer to those who are trying to keep price down where possible.   There are not many times where there is an opportunity to save $ when making quality furniture.  I will let you all know how this base works out.

Below, the three tiger maple planks sit together, surface planed but not edge jointed.

 The glue-up below.

The table had a few very pretty sap pockets that I filled with clear epoxy so that they will be smooth.  I like these character marks.  They give the table some landscape.  

 This table is for me, so I do not have to worry about little things that I would otherwise worry about.  There were two damaged spots on one board so I inlayed shapes of cherry to add a bit more landscape to the surface.   When you sit at the same table for three meals a day you really get to know it.  A tiger maple table with these character elements will be nice to sit at I think.  I know our kids will enjoy finding them.

The video below shows the breadboard end being test fitted to the table.

More on this table at a later date as it progresses.
Have a good one,
Tim

Furniture Show in Woodstock, Vermont

By the time Hurricane Irene hit Vermont, it was considered to be a tropical storm but it dropped so much rain that it had a huge impact on parts of our state.  On my way to Woodstock by way of Route 4, I passed these signs of the destruction.  These pics were taken today. 9/25/11

upended building near Bridgewater Corners

smashed house a further down the road

a wooden deck steel bridge that was torn right off of the banks

Add caption

Just down the road,  this last shot is my booth the the two day Woodstock Fine Furnishings Show.  I sold a couple of chairs which makes for a successful show and may have chair set orders coming from this.  It was a smaller crowd than last year but they were people who were very interested.  Time to get back to work now.

We were very lucky to have not had any damage from the storm.  I am glad that I was finally able to see what the storm actually did.  You can hear it and see it on the news but until you see it , it is hard to really understand the impact of it all.  I am amazed that more people were not killed.  The water carved such huge swaths through the valleys.  A lot of road crews etc are still hard at work trying to repair the damage.  I think the impacts will be seen for quite a while.

Have a good one,

Tim