A few pictures of my work...

[ROBERT ELLIS]

Heres my first attempt to show off some of the Shaker Style pieces I make. Thanks for looking. See if you can spot the "alien" in pic #2. This picture was taken at Berea, Ky (a few hundred yards away from Brian Bogg's studio). I didn't realize this little guy was peeping over the cabinet until I reviewed my photos at home on the computer. Hope you get a chuckle. Thanks to the folks who turned me on to the pixresizer - wasn't too hard once I got the hang of it.

Robert

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[Jim Dunn]

Robert really nice pieces of work. If I haven't already said welcome please accept my apologies.

Jim

[Don Baer]

Robert,
Those are very nice, now how about some more info like material, how it finised.. your not gonna get off that easy.


By the way welcome to the creek.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Excellent work Robert! Like the others....materials, and finish information would be appreciated!

[ROBERT ELLIS]

Don and Ken, I'll update you with some of the requested info in the morning. Been at this computer thing for several hours and getting tired. Did you spot the alien in pic#2?

Robert

[Cecil Arnold]

Robert, really impressive.

[Martin Shupe]

Robert,

Welcome to the Sawmill Creek Shaker Club!

Very nice work!!!!

[Jason Tuinstra]

Robert, there is nothing I like better than Shaker style furniture. Great job on these three pieces. The finish looks great. Now, I didn't see any aliens, but I'm sure you'll help out with that. :p

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Not being a "Flat Boarder" myself, I really appreciate the talent that went into making those pieces.

Terrific!

Bruce

[Rob Will]

Robert,

Welcome to the Sawmill Creek Shaker Club!

Very nice work!!!!

I second that motion! What do we call the bottom pic? Is that a hutch, a wash stand, buffet etc. (?) I like it!

Rob

[Keith Outten]

Robert,

The alien is under the floor boards.

Nice work!

[Vaughn McMillan]

Great work, Robert, and I see the alien's eyes peering over the top of the cabinet. :D

Welcome to the Creek, and we look forward to seeing more pics in the future.

- Vaughn

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Hey Robert, that sure is nice stuff, thanks for taking the time to learn the new software and the effort to post your work, I live by these pics!! :D

Ya I can see that little guy peaking over the top, funny how some things just pop out in pics that you do not see in the flesh.

Cheers!

[Frank Eppler]

Robert, we are going to need more information here. I am new here also. However, I have been here long enough to know these folks (me too) love to hear all the details.
Great work, Frank :)

[John Miliunas]

Very nice on all three pieces, Robert! Love the color and finish and very clean execution on the details/joints! Not to be too redundant, more detail info, please! :D BTW, if those eyes represent your "typical" alien, then I ain't got a problem with them! :) :cool:

[Jim Becker]

Very nice, Robert! Thanks for sharing them.

[tod evans]

nice work robert!

[Chris Dodge]

Very well done! Are these based on original shaker designs or did you design them yourself? I see more decorative touches than in most shaker stle furniture so I was curious as to the origin of the design. Either way, I like it!

[Scott Banbury]

Absolutely gorgeous, Robert!

I too want to kniow finishing details. Did you ahve to stain or tone the Cherry to get the fabulous match or did you build from the same tree?

[Bob Noles]

Robert,

I guess you could say these projcets are "out of this world" (pun intended)

Great work and thanks for sharing. I too will be watching for further details.

[Richard Neel]

Robert,

I am currently building a small table out of cherry and am looking for a finish like the one on your shaker pieces. Can you describe your process?

[Alan Schaffter]

painstakingly hand fitted because they look like gap is about a 1/16 or less and very even. Very nice work. Ditto on the material and finish.

[Bill Simmeth]

Nice work Robert. That little alien is a cute rascal!

[ROBERT ELLIS]

what's that old saying from the movies - you guys shore no how to make a girl blush... Well even though I'm not a girl, my head has swollen so much I hope I can get through the door and back out to the shop after this lunch break.

To answer a few questions...First, a word of W A R N I N G you may not want to read no further because what I'm about to relate will probably let some of you down.

FINISH (Stain) - Water Based Analine Dye, Antique Natural Cherry, WD Lockwood's the Manufacturer of the stain, their stain number is 911.

FINISH (Sealer) - Typical Lacquer Sanding Sealer (2 coats), topped w/precatalized lacquer.

ASSEMBLY - Here's were the warning comes in...shelves are poplar, butt jointed to the cherry outside, shot together with 16 gauge nails. I anticipated some questions once I revealed I use nails in the construction. Would you believe I used around 65 plus nails on the outside alone. The back is tongue and groove poplar and there are over 90 nails in the back. How have I gotten by with the technique. I think the secret's in hiding the nail heads. Mixing the stain powder with lacquer thinner and then blending it into the putty, all but hides the nails. I've made hundreds of these cabinets, and no one has ever brought up the nail issue. If and when they do show up the, cabinet takes on the appearance of an old piece that has been put together with hand forged nails. Several Upper scale furniture dealers over the years have sold these successfully.

The doors (here's another one of those warnings) are put together with dowels, butt jointed another words, using Grizzly's dowelling machine. Why, you may ask do I take these shortcuts? As I told everyone in my introduction I make furniture for a living and I found these techniques to be the quickest (although admittedly not the best)!

As for the color blending, I always turn any sapwood inward, and when I'm glueing up the panels and doors I try to match colors in the cherry, but I would have to give the matching/blending success mostly to the water based stain.

STYLE - Chris asked about these being my own designs. No. The center picture is very close to being a Shaker original (less the beaded doors the Shakers used on their cabinetry) The others are adaptations, or my spin on some I seen a decade or two ago in a magazine. To answer the question about the last cupboard being a buffet or washstand. Probably neither. It's too small for a buffet, and probably wouldn't qualify as a washstand.

Congrats to Vaugh for spotting my little friend first!

Now that I've no doubt let some of you down by my nailing and butt jointing, am I still in club?

Thanks for the nice compliments and questions. Sorry for the length. Will be having some pictures of Sassafras cabinetry to post soon.

Robert

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Robert..........You were in the club once you quit lurking. You work speaks for itself and is beautiful! Please continue to post pictures and techniques!

[John Miliunas]

Robert, you most certainly remain in "the club"! :) AFAIC, any joinery, which does the job and is acceptable to the client and is, at the same time, the most efficient means of doing it, is fine! I happen to use a lot of floating tenons, but not the traditional style. I use the Beadlock system and love it. Not for everyone, but works for me. And you're right...Many of the older pieces out there, revered by many, used little more than nails to hold them together. Thanks much for the detailed "look" and explanation of your pieces. I'll be looking forward to more of the same! :) :cool:

[Brian Jarnell]

Can't wait to hear what the purists have to say about the nailing business.
For myself,I have never used a nail in a cabinet.

[Clint Malone]

Beautiful work.

[Gail O'Rourke]

Robert, first let me tell you that your pieces are gorgeous. I just read an article talking about using a dye then a stain. I love the color your pieces came out and it is rich and warm.

THANK YOU for sharing your technique for construction. I also have my own business and as you know, time is money. I often will opt for the pocket screw and leave the fine ww techniques to other pieces.

I appreciate your willingness to contribute as well as love the pictures, so show us more.

[Bob Stegemann]

Robert, very nice work. I like shaker style. Is that the log cabin by the rail station?

[lou sansone]

welcome to the creek
great job on the pieces and I like the color as well. most of my photos come out color challenged and it is hard to see the actual color of the piece. yours look pretty decent. looks like you used single boards for the the last piece's doors.

keep making dust

Lou

[john mclane]

As far as I'm concerned you are in the woodworking and power tool threads and that in itself does not say anything about not using screws and nails. I think the work looks great and might try the stain technique. It does look rich and pulls the grain out nice.

Keep up the good work and keep telling us how these things are made for us that remain as sometimes inept and definately inexperienced hobbiers.

[Russ Massery]

Most Excellent! Love the finish, And Welcome to SMC!

[Jay Knoll]

Robert

Thanks for showing us the great work and the mini tutorial on how put them together!

You clearly have a lot of knowledge to share.

Welcome to the club errrrrr, Creek errrrrrr -- oh, you know what I mean! :)

I look foward to seeing more of your work

Jay

[Jerry Todd]

Robert,
Your work is fantastic. I love it. Have to have more information on the finish.

[Ken Shoemaker]

Robert,
Thank you for letting me see your work. I love the finish and appreciate the craftsmenship it takes to make such nice pieces.

Well done!!

Ken