yes we do repairs

ive always felt that a craftsman should fix stuff.  particularly stuff that is important to people who really like the stuff that is broken.  it might be a family piece, like this one, and have sentimental value, or it could be just a nice piece of furniture with a problem here or there, looking for the good life.  also, as a 

craftsperson, where else are you going to get to work on pieces like this one if you automatically just say

"i dont do repairs"  .. i mean, check this out .. fantastic unrestrained inlay work .. probably 18th century?  definitely english, as its owner is.  anyway, this was an onsite job, particularly enjoyable because we have been discussing fixing it off and on for, literally, years. click the photo to enlarge it.

all done today ... check that one out.  ready for the next hundred years.

weve had a run of repairs lately .. heres a shaker like cabinet that had no pulls, a funky fastener on the latch, a big water streak down the front of it and some shelves inside which we removed and replaced with a rod for hanging clothes.  its got some charm now.

and how often do you see a paper mache tilt top table?  never knew there was such a  thing.
love the scrap abalone oval, what would you call it?,  an applique?

this one had a painting fall on it .. that broke the paper base where the column screwed in. we also added a new catch where before the hinged block was screwed together so it couldnt flip up

technically, this wasnt a repair.  we just made a new base for the top.  the center of the table is a square of reclaimed french parquet floor.  the real thing!  hand hewn from solid wood, with a clever, rustic, mechanism that changes it from a 44 " square to a 62" round

here you can see the mechanism and the hand hewn nature of the original floor

tah dah!  the top is darker, and the base is lighter, in real life ... overhead florescent lights ..

another nostalgic funky family piece .. had a big crack in the side and back, and the two front feet and one of the back feet were loose and had to be removed and reset.

havent seen it yet with all the drawers.  only one drawer needed work

and this piece ... holy moly !  braziliab rosewood danish modern, damaged in shipping.  another onsite repair

cool piece ..

loved the interior bar detail and and way they cut the doors with the angles on them..
only the left one is open enough to see that.

better now, not perfect, but better

and we recently did six of these .. removing worn out brass casters on the front legs,

and turning new balled feet for the front legs

this is the connector from the trestle table below

as you can see in the photo below, the wedge grounded out on the edge of the hole before the table tightened up.  we squared up the inside edge and made new wedges.  its solid as a rock now.

we also added a foot to each end to make it a 12 table

and were working slowly on the doors below ... engineering a frame to hang them .. interesting challenge. they are too short, and too wide for the hole.  i have a plan ...

and weve got a very cool 12 foot walnut table going too .. more on that later

almost forgot this one ... it had a very clever sliding dovetail joint between the back leg and the 1/2" thick top rail.  had to trim off one side and reglue .. should be fine .. its part of a daily use kitchen set ..

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sometimes we copy stuff

occasionally, we are asked to copy existing pieces, often, as in this case, because the original maker is no longer in business, or in the case of antiques, no longer living.  those are basically our two criteria.  we often get inquiries asking "if we can make this" and you can usually google "this" by its title or description and find out if the maker is living and still in business.  no luck on these.  and they looked pretty old.  and they were really comfortable ... the first project was a bench, below, that we made from the original in 2011.

 the original bench came to our shop, and much to our delight, the entire structure was held together with stainless steel threaded rods, clever brass t nuts and elegant hand made brass cyclinder nuts.  so, we had patterns for the legs, with mortises and tenons to copy it.

lots of pieces and some fussy interlocking stuff, but we eventually got it together.  finished nicely with some brush on, soak in, wipe off penofin nantucket mist ... so actually, when the chairs gave up the ghost this year, we still had the original bench disassembled and piled behind the chop saw waiting to be fixed for the employee lounge .. after 4 years we still hadnt gotten around to that.

 

 you can see the original bench patterns in the dark wood in the pile of parts above.

 i thought these would go relatively quickly, but when youve got 88 pieces of wood with intersections and other miscellaneous joinery, and some threaded rods and t nuts to deal with, nothing is ever going to go as quickly as you might think.

but in the end, they are graceful and sturdy, and im sure will be around for a long time. i look forward to seeing them in the clients garden once the snow melts in boston ...

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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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metal shop stuff

 sam is humming in the metal shop ...

were adding some railings to a tansu cabinet stairway we built in the late 80s, 25 years ago now .. i still have the original drawing!  the clients now have grandchildren and we all know what that means .. safety first! .. chris and i installed the tapered posts and made some full size templates, which we later cut as assembly jigs on the cnc for sam to weld up the actual railings

some pre-job photoshop work

the railings are all welded and finished now, and im making the wood handrail tops.  

we hope to get this all installed later this week.  click the photos to enlarge them.

and this is an interesting mockup tapered leg for a possible steel and marble coffee table commission.

the client is concerned about the total weight, and we are still waiting to hear from them, one way or the other.  its an interesting prototype though, and im sure we will use the concept in the future.

easy to do in wood .. a little more work to do it in steel.

marble top .. patinated steel base

and we got a deposit check yesterday for a new version of the skinny console base.  the top on this new one will be 15" wide though, which required some base redesign ..

splayed it out a little at the floor

 almost done!

and sam has finished welding on a steel support for a 560 pound safe that will be installed soon.  the safe will take a few more weeks to get to the clients home as it is being custom fabricated in california.  luckily, the manufacturers will be in charge of the installation ..

we are in the process of adding a storage cabinet with drawers or trays under the safe. 

 another handrail .. the upstairs part is finished

and well install the final piece on the main floor also probably later this week

 it just needs a little clear coat and it will be ready to go .. tricky shape .

fits in the space up top there ...

a couple more trout buckles out the door ..

bunch of these lately too.. this one is unfinished here..

and a mockup bar stool that will get some revisions soon.  

and then well make at least 8 of them for a local client.

another nakashima style table base for a massachusetts client ..

and last, but not least, a custom free standing fireplace spark screen.  the are a million different mesh you can buy to weld in there.  this is just one of them .. all for now ..

 and its finally spring and fishing season is open .. sam with a nice 17" brown.

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