Monday, December 23, 2013

Hanging Bed update

When I last posted about this project we had just started it. The arms were being bent in the forge. Here are a few more pictures of the bed in progress.


                      This is a shot taken of the test fit of the wooden frame into the metal nest. The next step was to have the metal frame powder coated. Below is a picture of one of the halves fresh back from the powder coater. The frame was built in two pieces so that it was a little more manageable to install on the second floor porch.



Here is a picture of the Cypress bed frame.


Here it is installed. Hard to tell it is hanging with the porch being unfinished.





Next is another project for Derek Vanlandingham. It is a Pine cabinet to display a clients trophies.
Derek has a wonderful antique pine cabinet that we borrowed a lot of the details from.





Here is the finished cabinet in the clients home. Hard to believe it is 96" tall. The upper is fitted out with brass poultry wire and a couple of accent lights above the glass shelves. The finish is multiple coats and a couple of different shades of Briwax.




Saturday, October 19, 2013

Catching up

             
                  Have been busy with a few new projects but I thought I would update some recent projects.
First is a couple of pictures of Emily Owens dining table. When we first spoke about the design she told me she wanted to have a band of hammered nickel around the edge and the bottom of the bases. You can see that the built in bar in the of the pic has the same detail.  The process is called repousse and it creates a very cool look. I love the way it turned out really changed the look of table. Nice job from the guys at Iron Age Studios. Hope to do a pair of consoles with some of the wood that is left.






  






The next project is another collaboration with metalworkers. This time with the guys I share a shop with. The name of the company is Whitesmith. I have used them for years on various little projects. About 6 months ago I was looking for a new space and inquired about their Mezzanine level. We moved in the first of June and really like the space. Maybe some pictures when it's all sorted out. 
This bed is for a client of Derek Vanlandingham. I have worked with Derek for many years while he was with John Phifer Marrs Interiors. This is our first project together since he went out on his own, with many more to come.







HOT STUFF!!





 These are a few shots of the arms being bent out of 1/4" by 5" flat steel. This will become part of the "nest that will hold a Oiled Cypress platform. The whole thing will be hung from stainless cable on a second floor porch off of the Master suite.
hold a Oiled Cypress platform. The whole thing will be hung from stainless cable on a second floor porch off of the Master suite.





                                     Now on to my current project with Emily Owens Design.
This is the inspiration picture for a TV Cabinet for a private conference room. We had to stretch the length to accommodate the TV and the space. You can see we changed the middle doors to a bookshelf unit that will be removable for access to the TV.




                                       This is a shot of the jig to rout a relief panel in the legs.





The beginning of the tapered leg with a spade foot.



                                                 

                                                   One of the outside frames dry clamped.






                                            The frames set up against the full size drawing.





      Detail of the curved panel that makes the transition from the end units to the bookshelf unit.




The basic carcase glued up upside down.



Lot's more to come!




Sunday, August 11, 2013


   


Thought I would post a picture or two of the Louis XVI chairs that I did a few months earlier.





Next is a couple of shots of a modern dining table for Emily Owens. I don't do modern stuff that often but when I saw the wood she selected I had to do it. The species is Quarter sawn Eucalyptus and the pictures do not it justice. It has a twinkle all its own. This is also going to have a band of hammered nickel around the edge of the top and at the base.












Stay tuned working on some really cool projects for the end of the year!!

Saturday, June 8, 2013

I always like to mix new technology with an old look and that is just what we got to do with this project. Behind the doors lie a 40" Samsung TV that pops out of the top. This project was for the office in a private library.



Here is a pic that shows the curve of the front. these are the rails




                               Here is a picture of the legs with the mortices  cut for the rails. Below shows the Brusso knife hinges mortice which must be done before the assembly .




Here is a shot of the assembled cabinet. Next the fun part.



This is a picture of one of the side doors sideways in the vice.


Small doors done and working drawer fronts in place



Below is the almost complete cabinet. All that is missing is the library seal we had made by Dover Designs.


Below is a short video of the vacuum bag used to bend the laminated and veneered panels. It is an amazing way to press anything flat or curved. 


Here is a picture of the Nexus 21 TV Lift installed.


Detail of the marquetry


The finished piece before delivery. 



Friday, March 29, 2013

                Louis XVI chairs to go with the Dining table I made for the Beach's.  See the earlier post for that project. Sure no problem I said. What was I thinking!!
   So where to begin was my first question. How about with the easiest part the leg blanks. The only piece that started as a square, straight blank. Every piece after that had some sort of curve to it.
The legs had numerous steps to get them to completion, lots of jigs etc. Oh yeah! there was the 384 flutes to rout out and clean up. Below is the stack of leg blanks, front rail,side rail, and back rails.


                      You could say this generated quite a bit of fuel for the Chiminea at home!


This is an early mock up to check back angles and seat height for the client to sit in.


       Working on the crest rail here. More curves and angles than one knows what to do with.




 This is how I addressed the back leg detail. The legs where angled at 4 degrees I think, and to be honest I can't remember what the upper part of the back legs was reclined at. The problem was how to make it in two pieces and have strength for the stress of someone leaning back after that great meal was finished.

   Here it is refined with the rail  mortices and lay out lines for the back leg turnings.



          Back to the legs. I had my Mike Chavez turn the legs for me. Once that was complete it was on to the 384 flutes that had to be routed on a tapering leg. I came up with this jig for a laminate trimmer with a 1/4 " core box bit to rough them out. Then they all had to be cleaned up to make it a true radius then finished with a small detail at the bottom termination. That was fun for days!!


This is a shot of the little jig used clean out a recess for the paterae.





The stack of finished front legs.


This shows the completed rails with the tenons cut and the rabbit for upholstery and the square detail that will be done with gold metallic paint.


This is almost every part needed to complete a chair.


Starting to come together here.


A couple of shots on the crest rail and bottom upholstery rail.
What can't be seen is the domino I used to join the rails to the leg. The Festool domino machine is second to none for this type of work. It made it way easier than doing a mortice and tenon and is far superior to a couple of dowels.




First dry run on glueing up the fronts to the back. Once I had them all together there was a lot of carving to get the detail around the crest and upholstery rails finished.



This is the gadrooned cap that sat atop each crest rail.


The line up of twelve completed chairs. But we're not done yet we have to turn two of them into arm chairs.


This is the blank for the arms. 


The arm and support column with all it's little details.


One detail I was fretting about was the reeding at the column base. This is an area about 1 1/8" x 2 1/4"
with a series of 1/8" reeds. Carving them was out, to time consuming. A router with a pt cut round 1/16" Radius. That was all good but how to keep the spacing exact. Bumping the fence on the router table was not going to be exact. Then I remembered my 30 year old Incra jig. Yep!!  That was the ticket. Took about 15 minutes maybe and was perfect.


Sorry the pictures are lacking in some of the later steps. I guess I got more concerned with finally finishing this project than documenting it.
Below is one of the arm chairs in primer.


Here is a completed side chair.


Arm detail before some of the patinating took place.





One of the finished arm chairs awaiting approval at Emily Owens Design. 
Thanks Emily and the Beach's for this wonderful and challenging project.
I don't think there are to many sets of twelve Louis XVI chairs being built by hand in the world today.


Next I just want to build a square box again!!!