Grizzly Machines used in this

[Shiraz Balolia]

Just wanted to post an heirloom Bench I made for my daughter. The wood is Curly Bubinga and Gaboon Ebony. Inlays are Abalone as well as Mother of Pearl. Bench is about 100 pounds and was oil finished to 600 grit. Measures 45" x 16". The brownish wood is Acacia which matches her flooring. Of course, the artist had to sign the piece with an inlay as well :)



http://i68.tinypic.com/2mc7vy9.jpg



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[Chris Padilla]

That is quite a stunning piece, Shiraz! Thank you for sharing. Any chance you have any 'action' or 'build' shots that you can share?

[Shiraz Balolia]

Thanks Chris!

Just took a couple for the structural screws. The oval Ebony inlays hide the screws. Quite a process as I had to stage the various inlays.

The figure in the Bubinga just "exploded" when I put the oil on it.

http://i64.tinypic.com/16h3ntl.jpg


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[Jim Becker]

Beautiful work, Shiraz!

[Geoff Crimmins]

An heirloom indeed. Very nicely done. I let the design of the bench, and the inlay in beautiful. A lot of time and work went into this bench, and it shows.

[Biff Phillips]

Nice piece.

[peter Joseph]

Remarkable work. Any chance of a "workshop tour" video :D I'm guessing you have a few tools in there.

Peter

[Robin Frierson]

Beautiful work there Papa Grizz. Incredible figure in that lumber.

[Wes Ramsey]

Simply stunning. You did a beautiful job of making the detail in the wood as interesting as the detail itself. That bubinga is...just wow.

[William C Rogers]

Truly an artistic beautiful work. Your skill and design made a wonderful heirloom piece that will live for centuries.

[Bruce Page]

Very nice work. Was a CNC involved?

[Victor Robinson]

Lovely work! Though I found the title a little misleading - I was expecting to discover which Grizzly machines were used...

[Shiraz Balolia]

Thank you gentlemen!

Bruce, besides having a shop that kind of looks like my showroom, I also have a CNC Router in my home shop and can do pretty tight inlays. As you know, I also build guitars with some fancy inlays.

http://www.grizzly.com/the-presidents-guitars

Have not had too much time lately to build anything as I am on the US Shooting team and have been involved in that at a very high level (shot in two world championships, won several National Championships, etc). Besides, I also have to run this behemoth and so time is at a premium. This bench has got me back into my shop. Some of my machines are getting fairly old and so need to go shopping soon for the latest and the best - I think I'll take a stroll through the showroom tomorrow :)

[Shiraz Balolia]

Lovely work! Though I found the title a little misleading - I was expecting to discover which Grizzly machines were used...

Grizzly Machines:

12" Tablesaw (discontinued model, need to upgrade)

12" Jointer - http://www.grizzly.com/products/12-Z-Series-Jointer-w-Spiral-Cutterhead/G9860ZX?utm_campaign=zPage

24" Planer - http://www.grizzly.com/products/24-Industrial-Planer-w-Spiral-Cutterhead/G9961?utm_campaign=zPage

19" Bandsaw - http://www.grizzly.com/products/19-Ultimate-Bandsaw/G0701?utm_campaign=zPage

Milling machine - An older version of this - http://www.grizzly.com/products/9-X-49-Vertical-Mill-with-Power-Feed-and-DRO/G0796?utm_campaign=zPage

Floor Drill press http://www.grizzly.com/products/Variable-Speed-Gearhead-Drill-Press-With-Cross-Slide-Table/G0808

24" widebelt sander (used it a lot) - http://www.grizzly.com/products/24-Wide-Belt-Sander-10-HP-Single-Phase/G9962Z?utm_campaign=zPage

Roundovers done on a shaper with a router bit attachment

Downdarft table - Need to upgrade to a longer unit http://www.grizzly.com/products/28-x-39-Downdraft-Table/H2936?utm_campaign=zPage.

4 H.P. Dust collector - need to upgrade to the Cyclone version.

Plus a whole lot of elbow grease.

[Ronald Blue]

That is a pretty amazing piece of work. It is good to see that the owner of Grizzly knows how to use his machines and can create works of art like this. I would venture to say few if any other CEO's of the the competitors could create even a basic bench let alone one that could be among the finest furniture anywhere. Thanks for sharing this with us. It is a beautiful creation and your daughter will be proud to have it I am sure.

[Scott DelPorte]

Wow, beautiful wood. Your daughter must be thrilled.

[Rick Potter]

Lucky daughter. That is simply beautiful.

[Bill ThompsonNM]

Now that is a truly inspirational piece. Both simple and stunning!

[Charles Taylor]

Very nice looking work.

[Larry Komroff]

Wow. That piece is absolutely gorgeous.

Larry

[John Blazy]

You're not letting your daughter sit on that are you? But then again, oil finish on wood and MOP are the ultimate "solid surface" so resanding scratches then re-oiling is cake. I had an imported pallet made of Bubinga. Used some on my boat. Rope mottle grain is awesome on that bench! How much do you pay for your abalone? Ive seen prices all over the board - from 100 to 400 bucks per 5 x 9. Guess it depends on the grade.

[Shiraz Balolia]

Thanks!

You know how today's kids are. She said "its nice, thanks" and started talking to my wife about something else. I said "I am going to bypass a generation and am giving this to your daughter instead". Granddaughter is 2. I suppose she will get it someday, anyway.

I have a bunch of Abalone sheets that I had put away years ago. Same with the figured Bubinga. I have a bunch of it as well as other exotic woods that I just bought for the sake of buying because it was figured. I have some that has the most incredible figure you can get. I tried buying some more, but seems like the secret's out and prices have gone through the roof, and is very scarce.

Here's a sample of the really intense stuff. Those cabinets are here at Grizzly. I did not make them, but supplied the wood for it.

http://i63.tinypic.com/wcio9e.jpg

[Scott T Smith]

Shiraz, thank you for starting this thread. The wood figure and craftsmanship on that bench are both extraordinary! Those kitchen cabinets are well done too. Most likely your daughter will better appreciate the gift over time; at least that's the way it is sometimes with gifts that I present to my wife (although she did really seem to like the Sig that I gave her for Christmas last year - go figure!)

One of the nice things about your equipment is that they work well for a long time! I've yet to have any unscheduled maintenance on any of mine.

[Jay Larson]

I think I'll take a stroll through the showroom tomorrow :)

Sorry, but I envision Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack as Al Czervik going "I'll take one of those, two of those, one of those... I'll bet with this hat you get a free bowl of soup."

Awesome bench. That figure just glows.

[Bruce Page]

Thanks!

You know how today's kids are. She said "its nice, thanks" and started talking to my wife about something else. I said "I am going to bypass a generation and am giving this to your daughter instead". Granddaughter is 2. I suppose she will get it someday, anyway.

I sometimes get the same reaction. It's sad that the younger generations have no idea how things are made or what goes into making them. They just know they can get them in two days from Amazon.

[Gary Muto]

That is one amazing bench! Thanks for sharing.

By the way, just becaasue "somone" decided to discontinue production on a tool doesn't mean you need to replace it. :D

(Ducking and running now...)

[daryl moses]

Absolutely beautiful, thanks for sharing!!

[John McClanahan]

That is a pretty amazing piece of work. It is good to see that the owner of Grizzly knows how to use his machines and can create works of art like this. I would venture to say few if any other CEO's of the the competitors could create even a basic bench let alone one that could be among the finest furniture anywhere. Thanks for sharing this with us. It is a beautiful creation and your daughter will be proud to have it I am sure.

I'm thinking the same thing.

[Gene Waara]

I'm thinking the same thing.

Ditto. Stunning work. Though I guess I am lucky having all my children appreciate the things I make for them and for my grandchildren.

[mark mcfarlane]

Thanks for sharing. Great bench.

[Jim Mackell]

I aspire to reach that level of skill. I know I'll never have that level of equipment to work with! Great job!

[John Blazy]

. . . I'll never have that level of equipment to work with! Great job!

I know that you didn't really mean it that way, and I know where you are coming from, but it reminded me of what Rambo said - the greatest weapon is the mind.

I never had the $ for good equipment, so I often had to improvise, and actually my best disc sander is one I made from a three dollar washing machine motor I bought at a garage sale. Silent (direct drive) and true, still runs to this day. Its the craftsman, not the tools. (Of coarse, nice equipment really helps:)).