Building For Dwelling

When a shop is not a shop

2010-11-17T06:25:00.002-05:00

It has been a solid year since anything has come out of my shop. It has become transformed into storage / a cluttered mass of tools that have not been put away. My late fall ritual of winterizing my tools has yet to happen again this year. I am looking to 2011 as being a more productive year.

Cigar Box

2009-12-30T11:19:00.004-05:00

This cigar box was built using Spanish cedar, walnut, and a 12" x 12" piece of copper. I built this box back in 2002, and used it in a presentation in my last year of grad school at Kent State. There is nothing sleek or petite about this box, it is a heavy mass to be placed on a stately desk or Table. I am still waiting for the copper to take on a green patina in the years to come.

Learning from my mistakes

2009-12-30T10:56:00.004-05:00

In the Fall of 2005 I built an art easel for my step-daughter, the process is featured in in the slide show on the side of the blog. The table of the easel split, due to an engineering error; I did not allow for proper expansion and contraction of the table. To remedy this problem, I have removed the table and will widen the holes that the screw passed through so that they become shaped like a slot. the split will be filled with clear epoxy and planed flat once again. Then when re-assembled the table will be able to flex, preventing a further splitting.

The finished cutting board

2009-12-28T15:56:00.003-05:00

This cutting board features the end grain as the cutting surface with a random cherry and walnut pattern. The cutting board is roughly 13" x 13" and is banded in maple. The lumber used in the construction of this cutting board is scrap cut off materials from past projects, and it is glued and sealed with FDA approved products.

Odds and Ends

2009-12-23T08:31:00.003-05:00

Board cut offs from past projects and odd shaped pieces from re-milling beams provides an opportunity to create small unique projects that save scrap materials from the bonfire.

The cutting board pictured is glued up scraps of Walnut and Cherry banded with maple. Once flattened the cutting board will be finished with a food safe butcher block oil.

The mallets are constructed of beech remnants from re-milling century barn beams. Two of the mallets are treated with tung oil and the other two are finished with an Elmer's wood stabilizer.

The mashers are glued up ash and walnut scraps with a oak handles. The mallets and mashers are built using common joinery techniques, a through mortise with wedges.

Chest

2009-12-07T12:14:00.003-05:00

The chest was built in conjunction with Master Cabinet maker Loren Klimko, it was a nice return to the basics as we walked through the design and creation of this prototype. This chest was designed for production and sized to maximize the yield in materials. The materials are paint grade and to be painted by the end user.

The design can be easily modified in material and finish to become a blanket chest, cedar chest, or toy chest.

The chest is a constructed of poplar rails and stiles with Architectural grade MDF raised panels, top, and bottom. It measures 18" x 18" x 36"

Re-Milling Timbers

2009-10-18T19:48:00.002-04:00

With winter on it's way and an unheated shop, it is time for tune ups and storage for the tools.

Re-milling timbers into boards for next years furniture making has been giving me some unexpected surprises. An 8x8x16' walnut timber buried beneath years of grime, and insect infestation will yield an exciting piece this spring. Several Beech beams have also yielded some beautiful boards. I am still optimistic that I will uncover another oak timber to complete the topless Coffee table.

These Timbers were salvaged from a Century Timber Frame Barn in Medina County. Great thanks to Bob for arranging to have these timbers delivered to my shop.

Rein Board

2009-10-05T13:10:00.004-04:00

A rein board is used to practice holding and operating the reins when driving a carriage or cart. This rein board is a modified duplicate of a rein board borrowed from Maple Crest Farms in Brecksville, OH. This is one of two that I built to the specs provided by the experts at Maple Crest, it is designed to accommodate singles, four in hand, and Tandem . The reign board is made of reclaimed oak fence Boards and feature old horse shoes as counter weights.

A New Top for an Old Piece

2009-10-05T13:01:00.004-04:00

This was a project that was hanging out in the corner of my shop for about a year. I had it all ready to go I just needed the motivation and time to fit it all together. The oak used was left over from my brother's abondoned re-model at his old house. The base of the table is an old foot pedal Singer sewing machine base. The drawer featured dovetail joinery and the secondary wood is poplar.

Book Shelves

2009-09-28T16:09:00.004-04:00

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

2009-09-27T09:35:00.005-04:00

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

2009-09-13T10:56:00.003-04:00

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

2009-09-09T15:13:00.005-04:00

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

2009-09-04T08:38:00.007-04:00

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

2009-09-03T13:56:00.004-04:00

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

2009-09-01T14:45:00.006-04:00

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.