Wrapped up

Christmas is coming, this is something I am not allowed to forget right now, as many are planning their vacations the retail world is working itself into a frenzy- such is the life.

A lot is going on- I have three articles coming out:
One in Furniture and Cabinetmaking #225 and #226, a British publication for those of you on that side of the pond
http://www.thegmcgroup.com/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=701

I also will have an article in an upcoming issue of Bonsai Focus, also a European publication funny that, but I am not sure which issue yet.
http://www.bonsaifocus.com

For now how about two finished coffee tables.

Catch up

I wanted to catch everyone up on how the coffee table commission is progressing. I am a little ahead of where this post will leave off and I will try and post again shortly- try.

Looking more like a scarab than anything else the parts for the base are rough cut and laid out.

The veneer process takes shape. Brown tape is specialty veneer tape that adheres with water- I once used blue tape instead and after the pressure applied to adhere the veneer it stuck like I have never seen tape stick before. Like removing duct tape from kleenex. Never do that again. On the lower image you can see a rough sketch of the final shape. I made a template with some MDF and a pattern bit to cut the base to size. Also note the other base in production- this, I think, will be a hall table. 

Both bases veneered and cut. 

The four legs attach via sliding dovetails. Using this jig and a guide bushing on the router I can cut the channels fairly easily for the dovetails. 

Art in the Pearl Labor Day Weekend!

For those of you in the Portland Oregon area my wife (http://www.ashleymayjewelry.com) and I will both be participating in one of the top arts and crafts fairs in the country, Art in the Pearl. It is held Labor Day weekend, August 30, 31 and September 1st 2014 at the North Park Blocks in Downtown Portland OR. This is a highly competitive event with only about 130 vendors chosen from over 900 applicants, so the work is always stellar, and we are both very proud to be involved. It is an outdoor event held under the large Elm trees of the Park Blocks, truly beautiful setting and Portland usually provides the perfect weather. Hope to see you there.

visit:
http://www.artinthepearl.com
for details and a complete list of participating artist.

Coffee Table is back

For those who have been following this for a while here is the coffee table with its fossil installed. For those new to this blog, don't look, go back and see this being built, then check out the image.

New commission

The summer show season is drawing to a close, which means a couple of things. Most importantly, to me at least, I will now be able to breath once and awhile. Also I will start to dive more seriously into the many commissions I have piled up. Some of these won't make it here, I am working on getting publications to cover a few and they need the content to be original. However this one will:
Really excited about this piece, I will be making a base to a wall hanging I made a few years ago, turning it into a coffee table. And yes, it will have brass lions feet toe caps.

"Live" Edge

It is a misnomer that the liveedge we hear so much about in contemporary furniture naturally emerged out of the tree fully formed like Athena from Zeus's head. Unless you intend to just cake the bark with finish, and in turn be left with a lifetime of debris as bark and rotten weak bits fall off from use, a liveedge demands a lot of human intervention. However, like bad open mic night performances, there is nothing worse than an unnatural liveedge on a piece of furniture. A successful liveedge is an artistic dance with nature, utilizing many tools to mimic her lines so that the man-made and the natural appear identical even under the sharpest scrutiny. Every bit of bark and other weak parts must be removed so that only the most solid edge is left. The following photos are from a Redwood Table that lost, on average, 3-6" of material around it's perimeter from rot and cracks, most of the liveedge is a fabrication, however if I never would have told you, would you have known?

Side note.

The table went to professional Bonsai Artist Ryan Neil. Wonderful trees and a wonderful garden outside of Portland. These are just a few fun shots.

I will be making a stand for this tree next month. 

Where have I been.

I have been wrapping up a very large Redwood Conference Table Top- I say top as we are still exploring a base for the table. The two Slabs old logged stumps that have been dug up later and slabbed. The outside edges are the root ball and the center is roughly were the tree was cut down. Since the stump sat dead and exposed for all those years the rot in the pieces was rather extensive. About 8 hours went into the liveedge with about 3" of material lost around most sides. The Butterflies are all that is holding on the left chunk. Came out well, everyone was happy.

It looks small but the table is rather large, it has roughly the same footprint as my truck. 

Your car should work for you, not you work for your car.

Everything still works, that includes my back. A very big thank you to the 5 volunteers who came out to make this happen, just some 2 by 6's, towing straps and muscle. Not as hard as anyone expected it to be. Makes you understand how the pyramids were built just a little more.

Estimated weight: 850 lbs
18" at base near 30" at the crotch, 7' long
Field Maple, Acer Campestre
of the hard maple variety, unusual for these parts, actually it is a European tree, quite compatible with the Portland climate.

Done, Done and Done

That about says it all.

Cutting top joinery

The frame members are each 7" wide and under. They have to support nearly 100 lbs of glass so the joinery must be bullet proof. I cut a 1/2 floating tenon into each mahogany piece and a 1/8" floating tenon into the maple pieces, mostly for alignment, but also to keep the angled glue-up form flexing its way apart over time.

Now they are ready to be glued up.

 Again a two person task.

Just a size comparison on the frame. Imagine the glass.

 Now the edge profile can be routed. Held off on this so I had more surface area for the ratchet straps to hold. Also to keep from damaging the profile.

Ready for finishing.

 Finally.

Detail of the dovetail key. 

An approximation:

Top frame assembley

As usual in this project little begets big and now it is time to tackle the top of the coffee table. I begin by assembling the individual frame components.

 The live edge is fitted to the mahogany with custom cut floating tennons, this is mainly for alignment during glue up.

Gluing up a maple and mahogany bit, that step in the maple is for the glass top to fit into. 

 Tape holds in a small accent strip of Macassar Ebony.

all trimmed up.

still not done. 

 The large open gap in this live edge gets an oversized butterfly key. It hides the edge of the glass, reinforces the frame piece and also serves as the "key" to judge top alignment. This key will correspond with a brass dot on the case side so the top goes on with the right orientation every time.

Bored and half cut. It breaks the ebony accent just slightly. 

 All the angles must then be cut for the frame members. Careful measurement when cutting out the maple pieces allows all the 8 sides to meet within 1/4" of each other allowing for a continuous live edge with minimal carving after glue up.

All pieces are dry fitted. 

Joinery awaits. 

Assembly complete

That says it all, everything is cut, glued, put together and largely finished, just some tweaking, and a few more coats of finish, glass and suede and this one is out the door.

There is that lid. Soss invisible hinges are used so when closed there are no obstructions.