Let's cut to the chase. It has been forever since I posted. I haven't been doing much woodworking. But here are some recent projects.
Shelving Unit:
Kitchen Island:
I have been living without a dresser for a very long time and have been thinking of building one for myself. I have grand ideas, but they will take a long time to complete. Fortunately Stephen noticed a dresser that was being thrown out at the shop and grabbed it for me. I ended up refinishing it and am very happy with how it turned out. It will do until I build mine.
All that I ended up doing was stripping the finish, veneering the drawer fronts and then applying some stain and shellac and new knobs...
Stripping dresser 01
Stripping dresser 02
Stripping dresser 03
Stripping dresser 04
Finished 01
Finished 02
I finally finished a bunch of items that have been cluttering up my workspace at the shop and brought them home, or sent them away. I finished one round end table that I gave to Trevor and Colleen, a coffee table, and 2 bedside tables.
I have started working on another round table which is a little different than the previous one since I wanted to make a top with a starburst pattern. I'm looking forward to getting some finish on the top of it to see what it is going to look like.
Last year I helped Trev build some builtin bookcases around their fireplace and there were supposed to be doors on the lower cabinet.... Well I finally have made them. It really didn't take that long and they turned out pretty nice.... Now just to hope that they fit (keeping my fingers crossed :-))
Door Panels
Rails and Stiles
Parts
Glue up
Completed Doors
Now they just need a little primer, more sanding and a finish coat of paint.
When is it a "vessel", "vase" or a "bowl"? Well doesn't really matter as it is what it is. I went into the shop today to glue up another leg for a new table that I am working on and realized that I was currently running out of things to work on (waiting for finish to fully cure on a coffee table and 2 end tables). I figured I would return to the lathe as it has been a long time since I turned a bowl... Sort of sounds like I have been turning for a long time... actually this is just my third bowl. I roughed out this blank a couple of months ago and never did anything with it until today.
I think that it has turned out pretty good so far. It is amazing to see it come to life as you actually have no idea what the grain is going to be like until it is in it's final shape. I still need to put it on the cole chuck and turn the bottom. Guess that is what I will do tomorrow after I glue up the final leg :-)
Again more playing with photoshop and burl images. I have been looking through what is currently available at Joe Woodworker and trying to find something to order. All of them would look amazing and the design completely changes based on where you take the pieces from in the veneer. Here are some of the images that I have come up with, some of them are from the same sheet of veneer but with the pieces taken out in a different location. Drop me a note if you think one is nicer than the others :-)
3197 take one
3197 take two
3554
3661
3682
3835
3516
Ok, this is just too much fun seeing what the pattern would look like in different veneers. This is a redwood burl that looks pretty amazing. However I think the draw back is that the burl itself is pretty uniform in its pattern and therefore doesn't really "pop" as much when put into a starburst pattern.
I am going to have to do some more searching to find something that isn't as uniform in its own pattern so that it becomes a lot more interesting.... The search continues...
I have been wanting to try creating a star burst pattern for a round table but have been having difficulty finding smaller tight grain mahogany crotch as I do not want to make a large table. (need a larger table for the pattern to really appear if the crotch pattern is large... or should I say normal). Anyways I was talking with Stephen today and he mentioned that I should try it out with a burl pattern instead as it is a much tighter pattern.... I have no idea why I didn't come to the same conclusion.... I was playing around with some images of some walnut burl in photoshop and setup a 12 segment pattern. I think that I am going to have to order this burl and learn the proper technique for setting up the pattern in real life.
On a recent trip to see my grandmother I picked up some of my grandfather's old hand tools. One of them was an old chisel who's handle and steel had seen better days. I spent a fair amount of time cleaning up the steel and getting it sharp again. I then went to the lathe and worked on making a new handle. I think that it turned out pretty good and I think my grandfather would be happy to see his tools still being used today.
Some amazing veneer showed up in the shop today... One bundle was some great quilted bubinga that made me think of a top for a hall table. I saw this great design where the top was boat shaped (shaped like a surf board) with arched legs. Anyways seeing this veneer made me think of it since when the veneer is quad matched the grain pattern takes on an oval shape.
