Book Shelves

A break with convention.

My usual M.O. is to put a new twist on a timeless piece. About a year ago I was talking with a friend about a different kind of piece and this is a spin on those discussions and drawings. Although the shelf is finished it is still only primed. I'll determine a color at a later date.

Being a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to materials and tools, working with MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) and thinking about paint was a stretch for me.

I rescued a stack of MDF boards from going to the dumpster at a job that I was working in Cleveland 8 or 9 months ago. The boards were cut offs from the interior trim we were installing at a Condo Complex. Much thanks to my Foreman Mike for allowing me to take the boards home.

The four boxes measure 15 x 15 x 11 1/4" and the shelf stands 54" tall.

Topless Table Continued

The base of the coffee table is complete but I still have yet to find a suitable source of material for the top. Another project on hold. The oak timber milled up nicely and was a pleasure to work with. I went with hand cut dovetails to join the rails and legs instead of the traditional mortise and tenon. In retrospect it is not the ideal form of joinery for a table base. Sometimes breaking with convention for aesthetics does not produce the best structural design. The table base measures 32" x 32" and is 20" high.

If you click on the top photo you can see the joinery, it won't really pop till the finish is applied.

The makings of a Coffee Table

The next project on the agenda is a coffee table. I have some remnants of a Post and Beam barn that I have been re-milling. These particular oak beam pieces were given to me 5 years ago by a friend of mine, Justin Cubranich, they were in a dump rotting away. Much thanks to Justin and his colleague Dan Dixon for letting me have these treasures. I only wish I would have taken the time to go back and load up the rest of the timbers. Many American Timber Frame buildings date back to the 1800's. The fast grown modern oak cannot compare to the beauty of the lumber taken from the old growth trees.

I have yet to find suitable material to complement the Legs and rails of the table. I do have some beams from another barn to re-mill but, till then the table is going to be topless.

In The Begining

The first project I ever built was in the fourth grade and I suppose I was ruined from that point on.

It all began as a forth grade class assignment in Social Studies, we were to serve an apprenticeship and then deliver a report on the experience. My parents contacted our neighbor, Jack Jones, who owned a construction company and made furniture as a hobby. I remember working with Mr. Jones as being awkward because I was a shy chubby little boy out of my element. I remember finishing the project and being so proud, I remember Mr. Jones suggesting that we distress the chest to make it look old and worn. I strongly objected to that Idea. I can also remember being in his shop working and watching. I remember making things in the following years and taking them to his house and being secretly eager to get his approval. I wish I wasn't so shy back then I could have learned so much from him.

This is where it all began with this one school project.

Book Shelf: Experamenting with Form

This book shelf has been nagging me for several years. I drew it probably five years ago, and it has sat in the back of my mind since then. I do not contend that the design is original because nothing in this world is original. Everything is contextual, it either is influenced by something or a reaction to something else.

This bookshelf is a prototype, that being said it was a learning experience, next time I will be able to get a more dramatic bend out of the sides.

The bookshelf is constructed utilizing reclaimed oak fence boards from my family's homestead and the horizontal shelves are oak that was left over from my brother's abandoned remodel on his previous residence. I chose an Ebony stain to mask the grain pattern of the oak so that the lines of the shelf stood out and the eye would not be distracted by the beauty of the wood.

Stool prototype

This stool is a result of a collaboration with long time friend and cabinetmaker Loren Klimko. We worked together for several weeks trying to make Windsor chairs the way they would have been made in the 1800's. After experimenting with steam bending and working green wood, our day time jobs left us to temporarily abandon the effort to master the Windsor.

Using some of the fundamental principles of chair making I learned from Loren I built this stool using the left over materials from our Windsor project.

The stool has a poplar seat and cherry legs. The curved braces on the legs are done to mimic the Thos Moser style.

Cherry Cabinet

This is a cherry cabinet commissioned by my father to hold his flat screen TV (not pictured).

The cabinet is 46" x 21" x 27"

The cabinet features poplar drawers with hand cut dovetails and cherry fronts, the doors are lap jointed with recessed glass. The Carcass is a combination of cherry ply and
hard wood cherry on the top, face Frame,
doors, and drawer fronts.

It was finished with an natural oil finish and
sealed with polyurethane.

This project utilized new materials specifically purchased for the construction of the cabinet.