Project plan

This weekend (February 25 - 27) the Woodworking Shows will be coming to Somerset, NJ. As the closest show to my home on sunny Long Island, I make it a point to attend every year. Though I cant say its always been the best of shows, it promises to be good this year (check out the floor plan).

While I believe the show is under new ownership (I could well be wrong on this point), its the people that Im really looking forward to. Ive been tweeting a bit lately with Andy Chidwick and Im really looking forward to meeting him. A woodworker we all know (who shall remain nameless) has been goading me to bust Chuck Benders chops on his behalf (in a playful manner, of course). Roland Johnson of Fine Woodworking will be there too. And of course, Alan Z., Wilbur Pan and TomP (and hopefully others) of the Wood Talk Online community will be there. Thats really only naming a few of the many who will be making this a great event.

Ye old QR code.

I think Ill be there on Friday, with intentions to get back to Long Island before evening rush hour. Ill be wandering around with my standard Penultimate Woodshop t-shirt with the giant QR code on the back. Please say hi if youre there and have a good time at the Woodworking Shows. Also, stop by the Woodpecker booth. They dont endorse me, but do they ever make sweet layout and measuring tools. There booth is where Ill probably be dropping the most cash.

What vendor cant you stay away from?

p.s. - Ive managed to score some tickets to the show. Please let me know in the comments if youd like one and Ill do my best to share them.

Philly Planes


Just got another update from Phil Edwards regarding my hollows and rounds...theyre complete and should be in my grubby little hands by the end of next week. I love it when manufacturers give updates of their work while its being done, it makes parting with my hard earned cash that much easier! Phil has been extremely professional and a pleasure doing business with; if his planes are half as good as his customer service then Ill be a happy woodworker.
Ill let you know when they arrive.
Cheers!

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For you woodworking in america 2014 its good

well, 2012 is certainly off to an interesting start ... we finished a stool this week for a client/friend who recently finished this needlepoint project after working on it off an on for a really long time (she claims 15 years, off and on). so, she is really excited to cross it off her to do list after all this time and will be picking it up next week. click the photos to enlarge them ...
next up, next week well be transforming this 8 foot claro slab into a dining table that will then be shipped to england .. imagine that .. its not my first international shipment, but they dont come along everyday .. well crate it up, get it to an agent in boston, and off it will go, i presume, by boat. the house will be finished in april so it should get there in plenty of time.
the leg structure is a new design and were anxious to see it all come together. its 1.5" thick steel and it will be blackened like others we have built in the past ... theres a model of the completed table around somewhere ..
and after that one, we have a show coming up in february at the southern vermont art center (why put things off til the last minute?) and were starting to work on our pieces for that effort. i havent done a show for a while and its always a good exercise. the slab above is going to be probably a dining table or maybe a coffee table. im working on the room layout below. the flat art on the wall will be by marta johansen, and old friend, and were trying to make things that will complement and not interfere with her work. its not a huge room, but it looks like well have room for a couple of mirrors in the corners, a bureau, a bench and low console, and the claro slab above in one form or another... well have to see how we do ...
the bureau is nearly complete ... all the cherry for it came from the same log and it has nice figure.
four drawers and steel legs, like half the bureau we made as part of our bethlehem steel series below.
and, im working on a tapered corner mirror belwo that will mount on a wall in the end, but for the show it will have to have a freestanding base.
again, some nicely figured irion cherry...
it will be kind of like this one, only with natural cherry and some steel details.
my other mirror piece, which i have so far only mocked up, will have a fish eye type convex (security) mirror which will (hopefully) reflect all the drawings and furniture in the room in one peek. the base and rod support will need a little more thought and a little more heft, maybe employing some polished firewood ...
i turned and painted this on the lathe from mdf as a prototype. and will added a little gold leaf yesterday morning to set off the mirror from the dark background .. gold leafed mdf ... ha ha ha ! told you you can do a lot with mdf ...
and wills side business, seeders instruments, has banjo #8 in the works .. picolo style; cherry and walnut ...
he also got a repair/restore job from one of his clients. its about a hundred years old and needs some work ... seeders instruments to the rescue ... more on this stuff as it progresses ...
and sams stretching a bit to create this half oval balcony. bending flat stock in a horizontal plane requires a great deal of patience, adjusting and care.
he made the oval frame where you stand and the bottom and top of the ailing using the same jig.
bending rectangular flat stock in a horizontal plane requires a series of saw cuts and a bunch of grinding. plus the stock has a mind of its own as it is welded and if youre not careful your piece gets longer as you go ... fun ...
then theres the challenge of keeping things square as you fit and weld and the fine challenge of bending thick stock to fit around thinner stock ... home stretch now ... i saw it had primer on it yesterday ...
also, weve got a couple built in bench projects in the works. one is straight and straightforward, and was primed yesterday, while the curved one is more complex and still in the estimating/approval, finish details stage.
cardboard and 1/4" mdf; micro pins and hot glue ...
a little resawn foam for cushions ...
for the straight bench, the designer added the back after he completed the drawings so it was left to us to decide on the angle ... our mockup was a little too vertical ( in the end we ended up with about a 1/2" seat pitch, front to back, and a 15 degree slope off of that. it seemed to look good with the mahogany side tables trevor was working on the tables below have a hidden drawer
and were working on a new postcard/handout design .. getting close to ordering them. im about out of my old 30 year anniversary ones from two years ago.
ill be teaching a short workshop course on digital design and fabrication at green mountain college in poultney this spring. lucas brown, the head of the furniture program there has designed a one sheet desk and stool. after a couple of prototypes and subtle programming adjustments, trevor is nearly finished with his classroom run of 22 tables ( +/- 288 total pieces) .. they are pretty cool, slip together, and require no fasteners to assemble. the concept is similar to others weve done for vew-do balance boards and wagathas dog biscuits.
and lastly, i passed this slab of claro walnut on the stairs on the way out the door yesterday ... i have to make a quick poplar mockup, cut it down a little, add some butterflies, finish the wood and steel, and send it off to greenwich village ...
whew, how do i keep track of all this? you might legitimately ask ... well, i dont sometimes. its a constant juggle and shuffle and as time goes by, i rely more and more on my guys to figure it out, help each other, and work as a team to keep ALL of us on track ... im lucky to have em ...

have a good weekend ... guild of vermont furniture makers meeting at my shop today.