Blog Comments

Originally Posted by Steve Horvath

Just happen to be going through the blog and came across this piece made by you, it looks great and I would be proud if some day I could come close to your perfection. The piece is pleasing to look at and the wood is beuatiful. Thanks for sharing.

Steve, I haven't been on the forum in a few months. I just read your comment, and wanted to thank you for the kind words.

Just happen to be going through the blog and came across this piece made by you, it looks great and I would be proud if some day I could come close to your perfection. The piece is pleasing to look at and the wood is beuatiful. Thanks for sharing.

Very nice inspiring

I love the coves. This is really something to aspire to. Thanks for posting!

Third piece of furniture. WoW! You obviously have more than just a knack for WWing. A huge part of the key to producing something, IMO, is having the dimensions of the individual components correct. And by correct, I mean it just looks pleasing to the eye. I call it "dimensionally stable". I am not really sure what that phrase means, it just came to me one day.. And then second the choice of materials. I will have to say you have hit both of these on the head. Ben, this piece has staying power. Congrats and look forward to seeing some matching mini Shakashima end tables or bedroom furniture.

Thank you Bill! That's a wonderful thing to say. I've finished the blog, and you can see the finished project in conclusion. I appreciate your's and your girlfriend's kind words. My fiance was so cute the other day. She came home the other night, and told me she showed the piece to her girlfriends at work. They told her they were envious that she was going to have a house full of beautiful, hand made furniture. I was humbled and grateful to hear that. That's praise I think we all can appreciate, the validation is part of why we do it, I think. Looks like I have a lot of building to do!

Sharing our hard work and love of woodworking with others is the best feeling. I joined this forum to not only share my work, but to see other's work, and appreciate what everyone else is doing. This is a great tool for learning our art.

Thanks Dan!

Interesting and informative entries Ben. Excellent photography also.

Ben, I have looked at this literally a hundred times. It would sadden me greatly to not be able to see this finished. I am in awe at the lines and the dimensional stability you have been able to produce. I showed this to my girlfriend. She asked me what it would take for her to get something like that made. I just looked at her and said you will have to talk to Ben about that. She looked at me and said "I am sure he would be able to get what he wants for it". and she walked away. I will say no more. We both really like the piece. Look forward to your next post.

Thanks guys! Cool, I'll keep writing then.

Please continue your story, it's really looking fantastic.

Definitely would like to see you finish this. Very interesting to me to see your process.

Originally Posted by Dave MacArthur

Great blog, thoroughly enjoyed the read.

I wondered on the cove cut, if you could have just cut a normal full cove on a board and sliced it in two? You wouldn't have had that flat rise then blending into a cove top, mirroring the legs then, I suppose.

Great work again!

Thanks Dave! I thought about cutting two coves out of one board and then ripping the board in two, but I couldn't think of a way to get the profile right without using a 10 in wide board. To get the proper profile, the blade raises, and the angle of attack on the blade increases, making the circumference too great to work with the whole blade.

I'm glad you like reading the blog. I haven't gotten a whole lot of feedback, so I was questioning whether I should finish the story.

Great blog, thoroughly enjoyed the read.

I wondered on the cove cut, if you could have just cut a normal full cove on a board and sliced it in two? You wouldn't have had that flat rise then blending into a cove top, mirroring the legs then, I suppose.

Great work again!

Originally Posted by Pat Barry

One question though Ben, what does the term Shakashima refer to? Am not aware of that. Is it referring to the style?

Hi Pat, Thanks for the kind words. Shakashima was what I named it. The name is derivative of the influences tried to incorporate while I designed the piece. For better or worse, I wanted the piece to have elements of Shaker style furniture, but I was also trying to express my wonderment of Japanese artists like furniture maker George Nakashima. Hence Shakashima.

You've alerted me to an omission on my part I think. I probably could have given a little history.

Thanks for taking a peek at the blog.

One question though Ben, what does the term Shakashima refer to? Am not aware of that. Is it referring to the style?

Ben this is really really nice. Love the style and the wood selection. Thanks for the details and excellent documentation.

Thanks Prashun!

Really beautiful.