More Good Things Happening!

[Bill Arnold]

Well, my schedule is finally slowing a bit so maybe I'll get back to being a regular on the Forum soon. Two of my 'creations' are on exhibit at the 2006 Florida State Fair Fine Furniture Exhibition.

My compass table, which you may have seen before won a First Place ribbon.

The dresser I built this year to match the bed and nightstands I previously built won a Second Place ribbon. Per the client's (spelled w-i-f-e) request, I made a small 'treasure box' to match the top of the dresser.

Photos are below.

Now I have the great joy of continuing with the bedroom suite by building a chest of drawers and a lingery cabinet! Lucky me!!! :rolleyes:

Regards,

[Eric McMillan]

Congratulations and very nice!

[Corey Hallagan]

Wow! Beautiful items, all of them! Congrats!

Corey

[John Miliunas]

Wow Bill, I can easily see how/why those would be winners!!! :) Great job on all, but maybe, a little more detail on the dresser and box??? (In other words, more pics and monologue on construction detail...:D ). As for the second part of your post, me thinks that both, you and your "client" are lucky! She gets some fine furniture and you get to spend some more quality time in the shop! Win/win!!! :) :cool:

[David Duke]

Excellent work Bill, while the table is absolutely stunning and shows your high skill level, I really like the dresser. I love the lines and heft, to me it really looks like a "mans" piece of furniture; since you had it entered in the state fair I assume it is your own design is that correct?

[Pete Lamberty]

Bill, you do absolutely beautiful work. Every piece is something to be proud of. I like the way the grain in the box matches the dresser top grain. Well done.

[Bill Arnold]

... maybe, a little more detail on the dresser and box??? (In other words, more pics and monologue on construction detail...:D ). As for the second part of your post, me thinks that both, you and your "client" are lucky! She gets some fine furniture and you get to spend some more quality time in the shop! Win/win!!! :) :cool:John,
As usual, I was much too brief -- a fault I promise to work on! ;)

The visible parts of the dresser are cherry and walnut. In this case, I used Florida Cherry from a local mill. Internally, I built a corebox of 5/8" pre-finished maple ply, reinforced and subdivided for the drawer positions. The corebox is edge-banded with 1/8" thick walnut.

The columns are 7/8" thick cherry to be flush with 3/4" drawer fronts plus a 1/8" bumper. The column has a 3/4" round-over leading to a solid 3/4" cherry side panel. Joinery is biscuits. Flutes are 3/8" on 5/8" centers.

The base is walnut veneer over ply for the toe kick with a 1/2" thick walnut molding fitted flush to the sides and columns. The toe kick makes the piece appear somewhat lighter.

Drawer boxes are 1/2" plywood with a 3/8" thick by 1/2" wide cherry edgeband on top. Sides are joined with lock-rabbets. I used self-closing ball-bearing slides per client's request. I don't have any photos of the drawer boxes yet.

The top is a veneered panel framed in walnut. I cut the veneer from a board we found at a hardwood supplier and chose for it's sweeping grain. I milled the veneers to about 1/16" and applied them to a 3/4" plywood substrate with commercial cherry veneer as the backer.

Now for the part I like about living in Florida. The photo with me in it was taken on January 22 -- swim trunks and no shirt would have been more comfortable, but modesty, you know.:D The first step in finishing the hardwood portions of the pieces I've built is an oil (BLO/Naphtha 1/1) rub in the Sun. Warmed by the Sun, the oil gets deep into the wood to pop the grain. The downside of this is constantly checking the pieces about every 10 minutes until the oil quits seeping back to the surface. It makes for a fairly even distribution of color in the long run. Several more hours in the Sun deepens the color of the cherry even more.

Yep, the top of the little box is the center part of a third slice of veneer from the same board. Other than that, the box is unremarkable. It's purpose is to hide that which normally gets tossed on the dresser; wallet, etc.

For a topcoat, I did something a bit different -- for me, anyway. I've been using shellac to seal items before applying lacquer as a topcoat. This time, I applied the shellac a little heavier and liked what I saw so I added several more coats and rubbed it out.

I've promised myself I won't get in a time crunch again this year (yeah, right). I've already started the mirror to go over the dresser and have milled some of the pieces for the chest of drawers.

Thanks to all for your comments.

[John Miliunas]

Way cool, Bill! Thanks for details and yes, I envy you for being able to do that in mid-Jan.!!! :mad: BTW, did anyone else notice the bookmatch on the dresser top??? Looks a bit like a kayak! :D Anyhow, nice job, Bill! The judges obviously know quality when they see it! :) :cool:

[Dick Latshaw]

My compass table, which you may have seen before won a First Place ribbon.
Bill, is that the same table that you exhibited at the Woodworks show in Tampa in November? I saw that one in person, and the pics did not do it justice. Absolutely stunning!

[Bill Arnold]

Bill, is that the same table that you exhibited at the Woodworks show in Tampa in November? I saw that one in person, and the pics did not do it justice. Absolutely stunning!Dick,
Yes, it's the same table. There were some flaws in the top of the table in November, but not bad enough to sway the judges -- they still thought it was a good piece. I sanded the top down, re-shot the pre-cat lacquer and rubbed it out before taking it to the Fair. I think it could use a little more work to get it just right. I still have a lot to learn about finishing!

Regards,

[tod evans]

nice work bill!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Beautiful work Bill. They look great and love the table..

[Bill Arnold]

Way cool, Bill! Thanks for details and yes, I envy you for being able to do that in mid-Jan.!!! :mad: BTW, did anyone else notice the bookmatch on the dresser top??? Looks a bit like a kayak! :D Anyhow, nice job, Bill! The judges obviously know quality when they see it! :) :cool:John,
People have commented on the top, but you're the first to see it as a kayak. All I knew was that I liked the board, then the veneers I re-sawed from it. The fact that the grain of the board is so symetrical is somewhat amazing -- that's one reason we chose it.

Something interesting about stopping by a hardwood supplier occasionally is to see the 'discards' -- boards nobody else wanted. While I was still letting the board we used for the dresser top 'talk' to me, my wife spotted a 4' long cutoff of cherry that someone else didn't want. It has really swirly (almost burl-like) grain that you'll see on the front of a lingery cabinet I'm designing now. I'm setting some of the dimensions to best exhibit the veneers I'll cut from the board.

Regards,

[Jason Tuinstra]

Bill, looks outstanding. Congrats on having these as entries. They are certainly worthy of the honor.

[Jim Becker]

Very kewel, Bill. Congratulations on the wins!!! Great stuff.

[Chris Dodge]

Beautiful work Bill and congratulations on the awards! They are well deserved!

[Joe Blankshain]

Congrats on the recognition of fine craftsmanship.

[Karl Laustrup]

Bill, good to see you back. Hope you'll keep us posted a little more often.

I do remember the table and now the dresser and box. WOW! :cool: :D

I've got saw horses just like those you use. I wonder if that means I can make something that beautiful. Well, maybe not, but I'm going to keep working on it. :o

Karl

[Pete Harbin]

Way to go Bill! All of the pieces look beautiful.

Pete

[Cecil Arnold]

Way to go Cuz' I wish that kind of talent ran through my part of the family.

[Bill Arnold]

...I've got saw horses just like those you use. I wonder if that means I can make something that beautiful. ... Karl
I do pretty well when I use the sawhorses with the red tops. If I'm just hacking, I use the ones with yellow tops. :D

[Bill Arnold]

Thanks to all of you for your comments. :)


Way to go Cuz' I wish that kind of talent ran through my part of the family.
Hey Cuz!

We all have plenty of talent -- it just has to be tapped. For instance, LOML is very talented at finding new projects to keep me building stuff for her!!! :rolleyes:

[Jerry Olexa]

Bill: EXCELLENT work...Looks good..You deserve the prize..

[Lou Morrissette]

Bill,

Excellent work! The prizes are well deserved. Great job.

Lou

[Alan Mikkelsen]

Great work Bill. Enjoy looking at fine craftsmanship and yours is the best!

[Bill Arnold]

Thanks to all of you for your great comments. Feedback from you guys is just what I need to spur me on even more.

Interesting that one of you mentioned the dresser having a 'masculine' feel. No doubt, it does but my wife actually chose the design and helped develop it. It incorporates features from a couple of styles by top yacht interior designers. I built some of the pieces when I worked in a commercial shop for a while, my wife saw the photos I took and asked if I liked it well enough to use it in our home. Of course, I said, "Sure, Sweetie!". :)

Incidentally, I need to brag on a couple of other guys in our local club, the Florida West Coast Woodworkers Club. Like myself, one of the guys first exhibited last year. This year, he showed a scrollwork piece that took a First Place ribbon and an intarsia item the got a Second Place award. The other guy built a very nice jewelry box as a first year entry -- he won a First Place award for his efforts. So, out of the three of us who entered from our club, there were five items in total and we won three First and two Second Place awards.

Regards,