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Thread: A kitchen by hand

  1. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    Beautiful work.

    Though the drawers behind doors is different.

    jtk
    +1

    Everything is beautiful. I only got to build one set of QSWO cabinets and loved it (it wasn't by hand, that's for sure). I don't understand the drawers behind doors either? Seems a bit superfluous. I've been guilty of building things that even I asked, "what the?" Clients get what they want.
    -Lud

  2. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by James Pallas View Post
    Very nice Brian. Good feeling to be able to provide the client what they want in design and quality execution.
    Jim
    Thanks Jim! Very much appreciated! I completely agree, having the job go well with only minor hiccups and easy resolutions to get to a result that everyone is happy with is a great feeling.

    Quote Originally Posted by Justin Ludwig View Post
    +1

    Everything is beautiful. I only got to build one set of QSWO cabinets and loved it (it wasn't by hand, that's for sure). I don't understand the drawers behind doors either? Seems a bit superfluous. I've been guilty of building things that even I asked, "what the?" Clients get what they want.
    Thank you! It's certainly superfluous, but my clients like the type of doors that I build (big flat panel) and so they wanted a set for that area. It was not without some trouble as I made a minor goof with the hinges and so went a little crazy sourcing low-profile hinges to accommodate the issue. There is good reason why it is pretty uncommon to see drawers behind doors with cup hinges and the reason is that they consume a lot of space. That said I felt the result was very substantial in appearance and in use, it allowed to contrast a lighter wood but only in a way that shows when the doors are opened.

    I had low drawers behind the other doors.





    These drawers were also faced (the ones behind doors) but with a thin 1/4" face simply glued over the existing face to form a neater facade.

    A sharp eye will notice that the plumbing drains uphill, that was also fixed.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  3. #18
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    Yeah yeah. a ton of hand dimensioning, super tight dovetails blah blah..

    But those crisp 45 edge bevels... oolalah! be still my beating heart

  4. #19
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    One beautiful kitchen Brian. Now I know why you are so thin.

  5. #20
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    Excellent as always. So glad to see your move to professional woodworking is being so well received. You certainly deserve it.

  6. #21
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    You are fortunate to have a client that appreciates your fine craftmanship!!! Very well done!!! Love your results!!!
    Jerry

  7. #22
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    Fabulous as usual Brian, thanks for sharing. And relieved that you now have a bandsaw and j/p up to the task--congratulations! Will look forward to seeing the table and chairs in place.

    Best,
    Chris
    "You can observe a lot just by watching."
    --Yogi Berra

  8. #23
    Brian,

    Ten out of ten for design and execution. Beautiful, restrained taste that allows the workmanship and material to stay in the foreground.

    Doug

  9. #24
    Brian, what does it mean to build a "kitchen by hand"? Handcut dovetails and handplaned surfaces? Plywood and veneer cut with a handsaw and hinge mortises bored with a bit brace? Is the project priced to reflect the lower productivity of handwork, or does the client pay a premium to support the ethic of manual labor? If the results cannot be distinguished, what is the difference between work produced with hand or machine tools or a mix of the two?

    Please don't take this as negative criticism or indifference to the visual quality of a handplaned versus a sanded surface. These are questions I often think about in my own work. As someone who makes a living working wood I generally use machinery and powered hand tools most of the time for efficiency while relying on "hand tools" when appropriate,and I suspect from reading some of your other posts that you do the same though probably with more emphasis on hand power.

    I admire the design and detailing in your kitchen and thank you for posting it. It's a nice counterpoint to the run of the mill.

  10. #25
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    It's really nice Brian. I see lots of harmony in the grain matching and colors. Its very peaceful
    Aj

  11. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ryan Mooney View Post
    Yeah yeah. a ton of hand dimensioning, super tight dovetails blah blah..

    But those crisp 45 edge bevels... oolalah! be still my beating heart
    Thank you! Hah, they are actually what I enjoy mostly as well. I like dovetails, but I've seen a few by this point.

    Quote Originally Posted by michael langman View Post
    One beautiful kitchen Brian. Now I know why you are so thin.
    Hah! Thanks Michael!

    Quote Originally Posted by Phil Mueller View Post
    Excellent as always. So glad to see your move to professional woodworking is being so well received. You certainly deserve it.
    Thanks Phil!

    Quote Originally Posted by Jerry Olexa View Post
    You are fortunate to have a client that appreciates your fine craftmanship!!! Very well done!!! Love your results!!!
    Thank you!

    Quote Originally Posted by Christopher Charles View Post
    Fabulous as usual Brian, thanks for sharing. And relieved that you now have a bandsaw and j/p up to the task--congratulations! Will look forward to seeing the table and chairs in place.

    Best,
    Chris
    Thanks Chris!

    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Hepler View Post
    Brian,

    Ten out of ten for design and execution. Beautiful, restrained taste that allows the workmanship and material to stay in the foreground.

    Doug
    Thank you!

    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin Jenness View Post
    Brian, what does it mean to build a "kitchen by hand"? Handcut dovetails and handplaned surfaces? Plywood and veneer cut with a handsaw and hinge mortises bored with a bit brace? Is the project priced to reflect the lower productivity of handwork, or does the client pay a premium to support the ethic of manual labor? If the results cannot be distinguished, what is the difference between work produced with hand or machine tools or a mix of the two?

    Please don't take this as negative criticism or indifference to the visual quality of a handplaned versus a sanded surface. These are questions I often think about in my own work. As someone who makes a living working wood I generally use machinery and powered hand tools most of the time for efficiency while relying on "hand tools" when appropriate,and I suspect from reading some of your other posts that you do the same though probably with more emphasis on hand power.

    I admire the design and detailing in your kitchen and thank you for posting it. It's a nice counterpoint to the run of the mill.
    Thanks Kevin! FWIW, I'm distinguishing the difference for a forum of woodworkers because as far as industry is concerned if it's not fully automated process then it's hand made. The term has lost all practical meaning for distinguishing what is made by hand with hand tools. I'm drilling down a bit deeper here and further distinguishing in this context for my audience which is not going to consider hand fed machinery to be hand made even if the broader industry does.

    I feel that by saying something is 90% made by hand, with hand tools that I'm basing it on the hours, 90% of my hours (or more) were hand-tool related hours. Hand work is time consuming but the result is often appreciated. It becomes pretty easy for a client interested in detail to spot the difference between the dovetails produced by and automatic dovetailer and those made by hand so the result is often distinguishable.

    In any case, the conversation does not usually circle around hand vs machine with clients, but instead it will circle around design, process with consideration for joinery and finished aesthetic. I can detail the aesthetic of my work much differently that what is produced in a large production type shop because of the way that I do things. I will continue to add machinery to my work because I need to be competitive in terms of timeframe but it will remain highly hand tool and handwork centric. The most important part for me is to maintain and improve upon the integrity of the work.

    My goal is to have the finished result to be as sweet as possible. I add machinery where it improves upon my process in terms of speed while maintaining quality, often improving upon the entire result as it allows me to design further detailed and further complex work while allowing me to build it in a more reasonable time frame. I avoid machinery where it reduces the work (in my opinion) in terms of design integrity and structural integrity.

    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Hughes View Post
    It's really nice Brian. I see lots of harmony in the grain matching and colors. Its very peaceful
    Thank you!
    Last edited by Brian Holcombe; 04-23-2018 at 9:39 AM.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  12. #27
    Fair enough, but I still would like to know the justification (as a professional) for using hand tools where power tools can get you to the same result faster. Is it a matter of personal satisfaction? I don't see anything design wise that could not have been produced with a balance of 90% machine work and 10% hand work. For example, the drawer through dovetails could have been cut with a bandsaw. You may be adept enough to cut them by hand as fast as I could with a bandsaw, in which case good on you. Are you dimensioning rough lumber completely by hand, and if so, why? David Pye is curious.

  13. #28
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    Beautiful work as always Brian! I also love the perfect pyramid corners where the bevels meet. I also really like that corner shelf.
    Happy and Safe Turning, Don


    Woodturners make the world go ROUND!

  14. #29
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    Kevin,

    When I started this project I didn't own a jointer/planer, I do now and so I use it. I think there is a value in dimensioning by hand, certainly, the value is that you know how to do it and you know how to check lumber for flatness, it also teaches you to handle a plane very well. So, now with Jointer/planer available I do the prep by machine but final surface is by hand. I'm capable enough with hand planes that it's actually considerably faster for me to hand plane them than to sand because of all that training.

    This is a good topic, so happy to expand on this. It's actually tough for me to not write a very long reply and dig into detail in the form of example. Let me know if that is more what you're looking for.

    Thanks Don!
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  15. #30
    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin Jenness View Post
    Fair enough, but I still would like to know the justification (as a professional) for using hand tools where power tools can get you to the same result faster. Is it a matter of personal satisfaction? I don't see anything design wise that could not have been produced with a balance of 90% machine work and 10% hand work. For example, the drawer through dovetails could have been cut with a bandsaw. You may be adept enough to cut them by hand as fast as I could with a bandsaw, in which case good on you. Are you dimensioning rough lumber completely by hand, and if so, why? David Pye is curious.
    I have often heard woodworkers say "I could easily make this by hand, but it would cost three (or four) times as much. Then when I look at their prices it is sometimes twice as much as what I as a hand tool woodworker would charge for the same work. The problem is that these fellows have an investment in machinery, an investment in training and experience in how to use the machinery, and a shop with more space more heating more lighting and more, which is entirely wasted when they do handwork. And in addition they have very little experience or training actually using hand tools. So hand work is very very expensive for them.

    If you don't see anything that could not be made with 90% machine work, I think horizons are limited. In fact designs which demand handwork are the most likely to be effectively produced by hand.

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