Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Chipped a Tooth?

Greetings again, sorry for delays. Though work on the sofa is indeed progressing, I have been quite distracted otherwise.
The above is an albumen print by Oscar Rejlander entitled Hard Times. Obviously many can relate.
To skip the tired sob story I think it is sufficient to say that all my socks have holes in them. Times have been tough and I've been wrestling over it with myself for some time.
I've decided to bite the bullet and seek "real" employment.
I got a job at a cabinet shop located across town about 30-35 min away in clear traffic. The work is neither glamorous nor what I am terribly interested in, but as we know sometimes something has to give.
However, thus far I have only signed on for 32 hours a week trying to still get a level of focus on my personal work. Yes, my productivity will go down. On the other hand this will allow me to afford some things, like potential co-op gallery space, marketing tools, and lets not forget wood and replacing some tired tools... and new socks. As much as I want to feel sorry for myself I try to look at it in a positive light.

Aaannd here's proof of progress heh. The back frame dry-fit.
The legs and leg stretchers are being pre-finished currently. Hopefully I'll be able to start pre-finishing bits of the seat and back frames tomorrow. I'm using oil again so it takes time, even more time in the cool winter basement.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Fat Man, Little Coat

After the drawing board (in my case, floor) was hit I've done some rough milling for the Sofa.
These are pretty BIG planks of air-dried Walnut from IA.
My little shop can hardly handle them! I had to improvise a bit and do an initial rip with a circular saw.

Though the sides are basically the same as the chair version, the pieces between the sides will be 6 feet long. I haven't built anything on that scale since my workbench. I had forgotten how much of a hassle the scale is working from large rough timber in a small shop with small machines.
Oh yeah, the Roller Stands I have here are terrible. When I got them it was tough for me to justify the price of better rollers but now I wish I had. Yet another item on the list.

After some long hours of milling, this is what I got.
The lumber is not ideal, it's mostly quarter-sawn and every big plank has at least one big knot. Even trying my darnedest, there was an awful lot of waste resulting in less than ideal grain. I realize I may ask a lot on these matters, but hey, I've done my best choosing from what I have and it will be fine.
Had a short day today finishing up the rough milling this morning only to step back and allow it a little time to settle. Got some cleaning and "sketching" in.
Hopefully I can move onward tomorrow!