a curly maple pedestal table

we just finished a nice curly maple pedestal table.  

its heading to Connecticut next week.

its based on a design weve done a number of times now, usually before in walnut.

we started with nice wood from our favorite supplier, irion lumber.

myron sent us a matched set of boards, all from the same log.

before the angled apron and the finish. this is the first time

for the angled apron, which we feel gives the top a lighter look.

the base support pieces are mitered and dominoed and then glued up a pair at a time.

then the halves are glued together.  they are secured to the base by timberlock screws that engage

the cross grain 3/4" dowels inserted in the pieces before they are glued together.  we usually add a little glue between the horizontals and the verticals, but  its mostly the timberlocks the give the base its rigidity.

we now include two dowels in each base section.  this blog post contains the most information

on the construction and assembly of this type of table.

heres a smallish oval version from last december.  

that one went to an isalnd in the carribbean.

 and heres the original from 2010 with a
link to the original table design and blog post from august 2010

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a spalted maple table top

just before christmas, we delivered this spalted maple table top made from a few planks of
this log of spalted maple i had online

based on the clients existing glass top table that came with the house,
he requested a 52" x 115" table top. 

 

the log was 10 long, but there were some soft spots on the
ends of the planks that needed some attention, and in some cases,
some inlays to make them work ..

after a bit of wrestling with skilsaws, straight edges, routers, and jointers,
we got the planks glued up and ready to scrape and sand.

there were two existing pedestals supporting the existing 1" glass top, and they were 

tiled into the floor and for sure not going anywhere

after adding some 1 x 3" steel tubing stiffeners, we took the cardboard patterns that 

the client made for us, along with his measurements, and routed the bottom of the top 

until there was an inch of wood remaining, same as the glass.

we then added some 1.5" angle iron with tapped holes and 5/16ths bolts
to clamp the top to the tiled bases.

  trevor added the contrasting claro walnut patches, along with a couple cans of 

minwax wood hardener, a product i would highly recommend if youve 

got some punky spots in your wood.  its some kind of epoxy that firms everything 

up nicely and does not show discoloration under a clear finish ...

       

the finished inlays

and we squared off the corner where the log was notched for felling

good to go ...

and we also made three trays from another plank from the log.

and those will be flanked on both sides by custom cushions at a later date ...

we still have a few long planks and about 8 short coffee table planks available for other projects.

great looking wood ....

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pie top table

so, my designer friend, nina, wanted something unusual for the top of the antique 

table base that she bought at brimfield below.  had to be round.  

i scratched my head for a bit, and this is what we came up with.

click the photos to enlarge them. 

its a very cool thing.  kind of like a piano stool.  i wish i had taken a picture of the raising 

mechanism.  that knob in the middle of the shaft locks it at whatever height you

tighten it at.  its got an acme thread adjusting shaft and a spinning collar that raises

and lowers the top.  at the bottom its about 22" high, and at the top. about 38".

very slick.  im sort of stumped as to its original purpose, but it is really well made and very stable.

a 14" wide piece of glued up reclaimed oak, cut into four pie shaped pieces, and glued up.

we had to special order the 2014 silver dollar as our local banks didnt have any.

we tried a bunch of different patina chemicals on it, but the only thing that worked was a soak

in good old chlorox for about an hour .. it wasnt perfect, but a little black sharpie and 

it was good enough.

cad drawing above.  we cheated by throwing the plank up on the cnc and cutting 

it there for a 10 minute perfect fit and glue up.

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The New Year

in the spirit of recycling, i give you a reprint from new years time, 2011.

Ahhhhhhh.... I always think of the New Year as kind of a blank slate .... I know its just another day/week/year coming up, but I like to think I can start anew and correct little things in my personality that irk me. Hasnt happened in the past; probably wont happen this year either. I did, actually, even though everyone else had a paid holiday, spend some time today organizing my office and getting my job list on my whiteboard, but, why is my bench always such a mess .... Where is that thing I had in my hand not TWO seconds ago? Why oh why do I hate Quickbooks Pro 2010 sooooo much? Why dont I have a proper tool cabinet of my own after 35 years of doing this when everyone else in the shop is so orderly? This is starting to look like a list of new years resolutions and maybe it is ... Well see ... My wife Kit is finally getting a real bureau as we speak, after about 5 years of me talking about it, so there is hope, maybe .... I leave you to ponder the above with me and also you can ponder the stuff below I scraped off my bulletin board recently ... Enjoy ... Dont go too deep with it ... Its light stuff ... Click the images to enlarge them ....
I had a wonderful conversation the other day with an old friend about the current vagaries of the custom work business ... the slow pay .. the almost order that takes as long and is as complicated as the real order, the lack of choice caused by the lack of demand, and it all boiled down to cash flow. Things do seem to be picking up though recently, (dare I even say it????) The above quote from Paul Downs, a Philadelphia furniture maker who was interviewed a few years ago by, I think, Woodshop News is a true thing. His quote above resonated with me as it has been the back story of my 31 years in business ... So true ... We like the craftsmanship, but we also need to do the money stuff. ... almost everyday ...
Error and Trial .... We often say we work from one recovery to the next ... No mistakes, no progress.
We dont know .... in some ways, another part of the story of my life ... listening for inner voices .. Id like to write some this year about creativity. Where do ideas/designs/processes come from? Can you teach other people to have ideas? Im interested in your thoughts ... Comments?

Failure to failure, one recovery to the next ... obstacles into opportunities .. variations on a theme ....

More on having ideas above... We do know,however, that every idea is not a good idea ... 

Then there are a few humorous ones ...

I love Roz Chast ... she often has her finger on the pulse of the thoughts in the back of my mind.How can you not buy that painting after a good ad like that ... ?

A little Zen .... I guess this means that hings are just as they are, regardless ... Who can tell how events will be transformed? Indeed ... I love this story .. Its from the reference section of the Steven Mitchell translation of the tao te ching. It also, along with the one below, has the most thumbtack holes in it and I now can retell it almost verbatim ...

Tom Peters gave me this one one day when I was complaining about teenagers (Will, I think) ... Nature? Nurture? Coincidence? All Of The Above? Who knows?

Good thing ...

The Moby Dick guy .... Hand lettered and posted by the time clock for about a year by yours truly .. Everyone should memorize this one ...

Jim Harrison ... another favorite ... ready and attentive .... love the concept ...

And, I would have written you a shorter blog post too ...

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