Nathan Conner
04-04-2010, 10:26 AM
Yeah, ok. So, they're not THAT original. Someone saw some photos on a website of a cutting board I did a few years ago and got in touch with me to make them an Entertainment center and a bookcase. We got together for a drawing session and to talk about their available space and their wants. These are what I came up with about two months later.
Almost Mission. Almost A&C. A little of both. The wood is cherry, all from a single tree that came down out in the county for a new road. That may be the last time I use local air-dried wood on a piece like this. It was a real bear to work with and took a good 3 weeks in just milling, re-milling, flattening. I'm lucky they turned out at all. You could sit and watch the pieces bow and warp as they relaxed after every cut. Grrr.
Construction was pretty straightforward. Mortise and loose tenon, courtesy of the Domino. Lots of hand tools. A couple of pocket screws in the bookcase. Everything was bookmatched - even the ends match each other. The doors are mirror images of each other. Way more attention to detail than I've done in the past, and though the design isn't perfect, they have limited space to work with. Blu-Motion soft close doors, oak-pinned shoulder joints on the drawers. I documented the build on my Picasa album from the pile of wood in the trailer, but I don't think I can link it here.
The finish is several coats of Land Ark original oil (AWESOME stuff - easy to wipe on, satin finish, smells strongly of oranges. It's simply tung oil, beeswax, linseed, pine oil and orange oil). A couple of coats of Land Ark liquid wax on the tops that will be buffed out next week.
I undercharged. MAN, did I undercharge. Wow. I made almost $2.10 an hour. Almost. But it wasn't about the money - it was about building and relaxing and enjoying evenings and weekends in the shop. And the experience. I don't think I'll do this for a living, but I really enjoyed myself. First time working on the fly with no plans on anything with substance. Never once got into a pickle I couldn't fix. A really nice experience and proof that nice projects aren't beyond even this beginner's reach.
Almost Mission. Almost A&C. A little of both. The wood is cherry, all from a single tree that came down out in the county for a new road. That may be the last time I use local air-dried wood on a piece like this. It was a real bear to work with and took a good 3 weeks in just milling, re-milling, flattening. I'm lucky they turned out at all. You could sit and watch the pieces bow and warp as they relaxed after every cut. Grrr.
Construction was pretty straightforward. Mortise and loose tenon, courtesy of the Domino. Lots of hand tools. A couple of pocket screws in the bookcase. Everything was bookmatched - even the ends match each other. The doors are mirror images of each other. Way more attention to detail than I've done in the past, and though the design isn't perfect, they have limited space to work with. Blu-Motion soft close doors, oak-pinned shoulder joints on the drawers. I documented the build on my Picasa album from the pile of wood in the trailer, but I don't think I can link it here.
The finish is several coats of Land Ark original oil (AWESOME stuff - easy to wipe on, satin finish, smells strongly of oranges. It's simply tung oil, beeswax, linseed, pine oil and orange oil). A couple of coats of Land Ark liquid wax on the tops that will be buffed out next week.
I undercharged. MAN, did I undercharge. Wow. I made almost $2.10 an hour. Almost. But it wasn't about the money - it was about building and relaxing and enjoying evenings and weekends in the shop. And the experience. I don't think I'll do this for a living, but I really enjoyed myself. First time working on the fly with no plans on anything with substance. Never once got into a pickle I couldn't fix. A really nice experience and proof that nice projects aren't beyond even this beginner's reach.