Friday, December 23, 2011

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

Sunday, December 18, 2011

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