See? I told you so!

I get to take this piece of woody fiber from a large plant, with its stability and toughness, cut carve and sand it to build a functional piece of art. I'm glad we have this material, it would have been tough to make this out of rocks.

Top job

Remember top job? He was in James Bond and he used to throw his top hat to cut off people's heads, pretty cool. That has nothing to do with putting this four piece book match into position.

Fun part payoff

The first coat of oil makes the biggest color change, I can really see it now. Subsequent coats will make it glow and shine but the first coat transforms it from a nice smooth clean piece to a cool mixture of the deep rich color of mother nature's excellent material and mans crafty hands.

Tactile some more

Just a little step on top, kind of like the leg detail, an asymmetrical down curve that you can hook your finger under, you put your thumb on the top shape, pull the drawer out gently, it feels pretty good, just right. For those of you who are looking closer, the pins in the drawer sides are pulled up a bit as the drawer bottom groove is down near there and the pin would interfere with the insertion of the drawer bottom.

Tactile

People like to touch wood furniture, we sand it all day long so why not give 'em something to feel? A detail, a shape, how about both. Here the leg of the table rises above the rim and has a step and then a rounding to it, a nice combo of carving and shape. I added a decorative inlay around the top to set off the book matched top insert, little jewels of burly grain. Go ahead and run your fingers around the edge.

Clamp dance

My shop is pretty small kinda like a boat, if I keep everything pretty tidy then I stay sane. When I'm on a roll I try not to even swing the clamps over or near the finished work, its hard enough to work efficiently through the design, I don't want to add dings or dent repair to the day, maybe even unrepairable damage, all of these parts are matched. Slow and steady there mate!

Top parts

Strong backs help to clamp up thin pieces, these are all slices from one small board with a nice figured grain swirl so I book matched the heavier grain to lighter grain as the pattern moves from the center of the table, atop the small drawer and then radiates out toward the sides above the heavier figure of the side drawer fronts, when I apply finish and the dark colors of the wood come out, this will prove to be a nice balance to the table as a whole.

Joints and pins

Just the right fit- its tight, its strong and straight forward to make. I make all my own pins so they are nice and tight and walnut to match, and the tongue is a great locking slip, then the solid wood drawer bottoms add another good feel to the weight and the sound.

Music and plastic squares

The flow of energy in the shop has much to do with the music and the the work at hand, these little drawers are just coming so nice and square, the wood was milled slow and the joints are tight. Its a pleasure to work with a hand plane and nice wood, and not with a power blaster router machine finger eater.

Bench time

Some of my favorite time is spent at the bench. There are many ways to wreck the entire piece when I am on the table saw, cut a matched piece, then what? After I keep my head on straight using the saws I really enjoy the bench time, this is where the little details are made and the piece begins to get a personality.

Whats the next step?

This little piece has three drawers, two are little bigger left and right, there is one little guy in the middle. Drawer parts are cut to fit before assembly so that the drawers will have a nice fit in the end, get the scoop set so the next step is smooth.

Whats going on?

How is the job market out there? Its cold outside- better get moving.

Stance

I like my pieces to have a good stance, so it sits clean and when you bump into it, it bumps back a little instead of falling over. A good curve in the leg will add to the flare.

Carve a life

There are parts of a small piece that determine the overall look, the crisp detail, the matched figure of the wood, the overall proportions. Balance is important, budget plays a role, skill can be tapped into and not over done, I like to think about these things as I build a piece, where should I push it? Where do I settle for an outcome that I know will be sweet and not try for something new just because?

Walnut from Clarence's place

I'm making a small table in walnut, using up the rest of the nice warm, colorful, air dried, hard to get, mid-western, thick and figured wood that was originally harvested in the 70's by an older gent in Ohio. By himself he used a truck and trailer to haul these huge logs, he would pull along side a log in the forest, unhook the trailer, run a ramp from log to trailer, run a cable under the log and over to the truck on the other side of the trailer bed, then drive slowly to roll it up onto the bed. Then he'd drive it to the circular saw mill and after setting the teeth on the dished round blade, slice it into thick and heavy planks. Then they went onto stickers in piles and covered with a metal roof to air dry, nothing covering the sides of the pile. One year per inch of thickness is minimum for air drying wood in an Ohio yearly season. In the 90's I found this guy and started buying wood from him, over the years I made some great pieces and projects out of those piles. Cherry, walnut, maple, oak, sassafrass, catalpa, elm, hack berry, ash, and a few others.If you've ever pushed a sharp plane over an air dried piece of walnut you know how sweet it is. The crisp sound and the almost organic feel of the open pores and the grain. Sand it some and the smells are really nice. Polish it and add some oil and there is the wood like it was worked in the old days, a little elbow grease and mother nature mixed together. Now I just hope I can design something of merit and use the right proportions and the right scale, the right joinery. Maybe I'll do it some justice, we'll have to see. If all my experience can wrap into this little piece, just the right touch, the right subtle move, to make the shape look just right, not too much off the taper, don't push the fancy detail, make the drawers smooth and run right, make the stance look and feel good. I know what the piece will look like, I can almost see it in my minds eye. The sketch looks right, the wood is good, no mistakes now. Then when I'm done in a few weeks, I'll let it go out of my shop and into a clients home. Thats where it belongs so I can get on with another one, a short time spent with each piece from concept to real piece.