wrapping up... but... of course

Long time no blog... well at least lots of photos.
Here we go.
The edge treatment and pre-finishing done it was assembly time! First I glued up the frames.


Then the base parts.
As the base glue ups sat in clamps I worked further on the frames.
Also I tackled the sizable panel fitting for the Kwila table.


Once again a Narra top to match the Kwila side tables. I didn't dare get as close off the saw as I have with the other panels. The big panel is a bit unwieldy on the cheap table saw. A big panel saw would come in handy every now and then heh.
I've been a little anxious about this "joint" as it is a big and very visible one. I took it extra slow, checking frequently for parallelism and how far I was practically every 64th of an inch until I got within a 32nd... then I checked after every few plane strokes... a bit over kill? Maybe, but...


After all that excessive creeping the final fit pretty much kicked ass :). As humble as one may want to be or is comfortable with, sometimes it's good toot that horn a little bit and be happy with a job well done.
I just hope it stays that way after finishing and gluing it in the frame. Glue does of this tendency to change things a bit.


Quickly whipped up a frame with half laps and screws to act as a doweling template.
I did learn a few things in the "industrial" cabinet shop that I would probably never use in my furniture but comes in handy now and then and makes life a little easier.


Dowels fit!
I couldn't put a dowel into the legs because of joinery going on in the leg. I have decided against using brackets as I frankly find them unnecessary for these tables.


Here's a very low tech "jig" (ha) I've been using dealing with dowels widely spaced apart. Cut a notch in a scrap make it as long as you want your dowels to be and use the end to rest your saw blade against while cutting. Maybe a little "crude" but easy and reliable!

Just about there! Hopefully I'll make the final glue ups tomorrow!

HOWEVER...............
There's always something...
a couple in this case.
First the paper for the Oak coffee table to be adhered to the bottom of a glass top. It seems IMPOSSIBLE to find in a large enough size. The standard I'm finding Japanese papers in is about 36-38" long and 24-26" wide. That is wide enough but I need about 45" long!
I went everywhere I could think of around the cities, and then the places that the people who helped me at these places suggested. Then started a wider search on-line... I found ONE roll that looked to be of pretty poor quality.
Unlucky for me, I'm stubborn and know what I want. Lucky for me I have a classmate and friend in Japan! He sent me a link to a website that I could not read (Japanese) but did have photos and prices that I could convert. Now the amount of paper I need for one table would only be about $7 worth but I can't imagine that the shipping residential to residential from Japan will be less than $80 considering a small package I was going to send there was $40 in shipping. Anywho I ordered enough for 4 coffee tables plus there will be left over.

Ok well that being dealt with... Glass.
I originally wanted 5/16" thick glass. Not too light and not too heavy. Turns out that is an "odd" size... seem pretty fricking normal to me. Turns out I was informed that is a "European" thing and that I CAN get some shipped from the East coast at $1700!!!
Ok well I decided on 3/8"... when the frames were assembled I could call to place an order.
What the ^@$#@*(E*(&%#%@%$!^&$^@*&!!!
I can't find anyone willing to work in a tighter tolerance than +/- 1/8" in 3/8" thick glass >:0
That's a QUARTER INCH window!!! Not something I would call acceptable in this case. I've asked if I can pay a higher price for even a tolerance of +/- 1/16" and have been turned down.
The problem is that these are relatively big industrial operations. I don't know that there are any small glass shops with people willing to spent just a little extra time to do something well around here. Getting glass shipped from the place I worked with in Vancouver would cost a bundle! And at that point I would have gone with 5/16" anyway!

Does anyone know any QUALITY glass workers in the Midwest?

Shaving Legs

Leg shaping time again. I have first sawed and shaved the profile for the outside faces. I put some of the pieces together to take a look. I am pillowing the insides with the same tapered pillow which would make the leg appear to flare a bit on the insides even if they were straight otherwise. Looking at the "mock up" I knew it wouldn't be enough. Pictured above shows the amount of material I took off the bottom of the inside faces of the legs... a 1/16"? Is this a bit "excessive" or silly? Perhaps, but it made all the difference :).
Maybe I have mentioned before but again and again I see, well more so feel, a difference when certain elements are off "dead flat". Some things "should" to be flat, like a table top. Other elements are given life, give off a friendlier, more organic sense from even a slight breaking of straight. Careful though it all is a balancing act. It all must be thought of as a whole. Too many, too much, some here less there, with the best of intentions it could not quite end up being what one had hoped. Or maybe if your lucky, better than you hoped.


Lets get that pillow pillowed!


A day later and the main shaping has been done.


Moving on... or not. I always like to put a fresh blade on the band saw before some major re-sawing... this is why. I didn't have any on hand and thought that I hadn't used the band on THAT much. Turns out Oak and Kwila take a toll. Luckily the good people at Eide Saw here in Minneapolis were nice enough to call me back with the blades done less than an hour after I called them.
So I was off to the city. After picking up the blades I stopped by MCTC where I took the Cabinetmaking program to ask if I could use their vacuum press for an up coming veneer glue up. Turns out this week is spring break and there is no class on Fridays. This was Wednesday afternoon by the way. Which means I needed to get the piece glue on in the bag by 5:30 the next day. Alright, but I was on my way to work at the tea shop after MCTC!!! I will go insane if I have to wait a week and a half to do this. I could get material to do a crude mechanical press like I have been doing with the smaller tables, but don't want to spend the money and time for just ONE glue-up. GAhhhhh
All I could think about while at work was what to do about this situation.
I decided to go for it, I'd wake up early and really push to get it done.
I had to put the new blade on the saw, reset and fine tune the resaw setup, saw the veneer, mill bake-ins for the substrate, glue two of them, wait, cut clean and plane them, glue the other two, wait, repeat, find a layout for veneer, rip the veneer for joining, joint the almost 4 foot veneers, glue, wait, glue, wait, repeat, repeat, trim the veneer to appropriate tolerance for the vacuum press, and get to MCTC to actually do a dry run and real thing...


Got home from work at midnight, got out of bed at 6:45 am and hit the band saw by 7:00 ha.
Pretty long veneer joints, at least compared to the other tables.


Tape tape tape, glue glue glue, tape tape tape.


Made it to MCTC and in the bag by 5:20 HA!
I would normally like to stew and spend a little more time with the veneer but I came up with a game plan before the day of work and hope that it would work out. I have yet to see its true outcome, which wont come until finish is applied...

New Tool, of sorts

My new tool, a camera heh. I've been planning to get a DSLR for some time but have been holding off a) for the right time, b) just in case there would be any new offerings. With the completion of the table "range" coming it was about time I finally take the plunge with a new camera. I have been hoping to be able to do my own product photography, unless I decided I need something professionally shot. The cost of professional photography is not cheap. One session alone may very well pay for this camera.
It is not the latest or greatest but for the price it is probably the best value. Also though I have taken some courses I have never majored in photography, it would be a bit silly for me to go all out. The Canon 450D aka Rebel xsi. Waiting paid off as I found this guy on craigs list "new in box" for the same price range people were buying these used.
I'm planing on using some 70s Olympus lenses I have access to that I have used with the Olympus OM-1 I've shot with in the past. The lens adapter is ordered and I'm playing the waiting game :) .


I seemed to have developed a bit of an affinity with pottery. I don't know quite when it started but that doesn't much matter ;)
I have also recently found a specifically ceramics gallery in Minneapolis where my eye caught this lovely little piece.


A small bowl by Andrea Leila Denecke of Scandia, MN. I have not met the crafter though I should like to. The under-side of this piece is what really grabbed my attention. A brushed "wash" of slip with evidence of brush strokes, variation in tone and colors due to the firing, an extra "splash" of glaze left to chance.
The thickness is nicely balanced, subtle traces of finger lines, quiet complexity in color variation... No where near perfect regulation yet no where near chaos, it does not feel manufactured but part human, part spontaneous "occurrence".
Pieces like this one embody a number of concepts that just aren't too conductive to furniture making. Processes and topics that I find fascinating and inspiring.
Someday I might like to take a class in pottery but for now I am pleased with the idea of making a small "collection" and living with pieces of beauty of other craftspeople and perhaps giving some away later on for others to enjoy :) .


All right, back to wood working. I have not been able to spend the time I would like in the shop lately because I have been on the job more than normal :/ . Today I made some good progress on the base joinery... in fact, it's done! ha
Pictured above: fitting "floating tenons"... there needs to be a better name for this joint. "floating" or "loose" tenons don't quite sound right when the joint is done well hmmm.


Dry fitting and mocking up to contemplate any minor changes. You will notice that the coffee tables don't have as many stretchers as the other tables... I took a look in the mock up and it simply looked cluttered and dumb with four stretchers. I just beefed up the long aprons in thickness and width. I would say it is still not technically as strong but unless someone is planing on using this table as a very poor trampoline, one needn't worry. It will still be stronger than "need" be.

Pedestal teaser

After waiting for Oil to dry I was finally able to finish the third of three Pedestals. From right to left: AD Cherry with AD Maple, AD Walnut with AD Maple, and KD Walnut with HD White Oak. Everything but the KD Walnut is finished with shellac and wax. The KD Walnut is oiled.
More decent photos will come after the coffee tables are done!


On that note Milling is complete and I'm getting a move on Joinery. The frames are built the same way. Clearing the rebate to make room for rail joinery.


Holy crap!! Look what happened to my chisel while working on the above Oak pieces... seriously I just needed to make an end-grain chop maybe a 1/16" deep and CRUNCH! I knew Oak was hard but this is unexpected. I've never done a whole project of Oak before. I've only recently seen the species in an aesthetically pleasing manner, Oak was usually the last I would ever use.
I guess I'm surprised with the little experience I already have and it's "workability". Most guys around hear love Oak... Oak this and Oak that, I was frankly sick of seeing and hearing about it.
Does English Brown Oak work any better? I still have a craving for some of that European beauty.
Still this Oak isn't as tough as Shedua... I'm just taken a bit off guard.


Making those all important cross cuts to finial dimension.


Trying to get some support with these long pieces. I would really like to find a "real" X-Y table. I'm getting a bit sick of this one heh though once again it is better than nothing.
Even though I've had to go out and about running errands and what have you I feel like I've been making decent progress on these Coffee Tables. Really I'm just moving on through the steps faster because there are less tables to make but moving on and not droning away for hours at every operation keeps my spirits higher. Even if I'm not working any "faster" I feel more energized and excited about moving on because I actually CAN move on as opposed to grinding away at every corner. I find that I can work later into the day, I'm willing to put in the extra time because I know I can get this or that task done... Sooo it's almost like I'm faster if you were to look at progress in terms of days vs hours (in fact I'm probably more productive in hours too).
Then again I was kind of feeling this way at this stage in the Pedestals then it took weeks to get them done. There is a lot more work to do. The refinement and hand work is really what takes time... we'll see.

Milling Frustration

Well, coming to a close with the pedestals I started to have some troubles in honing. I have been using a Norton 1000 Grit stone and a King that is about 6000 G. Well I always felt I had to put more effort into getting a nice polished edge than many of my classmates, but now I couldn't even get what I was getting before. I'm not the most patient of people to be doing this kind of work but I have VERY little patients for things that aren't working as they "should" be.
My King stone had a crack and the dumb base was flexing. Norton stones however don't have bases which is actually a good thing!
After reaching my wits end I went out and got a Norton 8000 G stone. What a difference it makes!!! I had no idea getting that final polish could be so easy! Maybe "training" on the poorer stone for a couple years helped but I do not suggest putting yourself through that mess.
Seriously spend the extra $40-$50 and get the Norton off the bat. Save yourself from suffering and make honing more enjoyable!
The King stone promptly made it's way to the garbage. heh.


In more frustrations... Oak Milling... So like I said I ended up getting White Oak from the main local hardwood seller. The mainly supply to cabinet shops and other "industrious" operations.
So this 8/4 was kiln dried and my guess would be that it was dried as fast as possible to meet with "industrial demand". I had found one great looking plank (in terms of potential yield). When I plotted the parts out before cutting into it I though I'd be able to get the whole table out of this one 8/4 plank minus 2 long pieces. Turns out I was wrong. Above was to be a frame member and a stretcher. Even though I cut with about an extra 1/8" in thickness in both pieces I could not use either for their intended purpose!
In addition to the stress the wood had I kept finding "surprises" throughout both "rift" planks I had.


This is a nasty one! I had set aside an "in case" off-cut about 40" long. After my discovery tension in the wood I went to this to get to more pieces out of. Turns out this gaping crack was hiding waiting for me to find it. It started about 3" on one side of the off-cut to about 4" from the end! I had basically cut this shooting crack out of the plank without seeing any evidence of its existence!!


Oh sweet. That's a BIG knot to be hiding inside a 2"! There was a small visible bend to the grain on the outside, I though I might find a little dot of a knot...


The cracks kept coming out to party...
There's a whole bunch more but you can get the idea.


After working a number of short days taking a little material off here and there then letting it settle, repeating the process and again. I'm getting close to final dimensions... not quite though.
Two Coffee tables. One in White Oak and one in Kwila. I wish I had more Kwila. I know there is one part I'm not overly happy with. I did the best I could with what I have though, and money is tight. Not to mention there's no way for me to color match any other material coming my way and Kwila has a pretty wide range of tone.


Speaking of lumber coming my way.... Look what I got!!! This is 44 b/f of steamed Swiss Pear coming from Gilmer Wood Co in Portland Or. The two thinner planks are a match from a flitch and the shorter wide one is a quartered flitch 15" - 16" wide, all 10/4" thick!!!
Pear isn't cheap and neither is shipping it from Portland but it should be more than enough for my next project... FINALLY I'm not calling it too close. I wish I had bigger machines though. I hate the idea of ripping and joining back together pieces! >:( Not that I can't do it or that it takes a heck of a lot of time but I feel confined and it kind of "violates" my "religion" ha.

Pedestal Assembly

Assembly has been going pretty well. These are a bit more awkward to handle because of the long legs but I managed to get it done without banging anything up.


This time I decided to got with a different method of attaching the tops, doweling. A scrap piece of sheet-stock serves as a doweling template. I think from now on the side tables are going to get dowels for the table top too. The coffee tables I'm thinking will get brackets because they are much bigger; perhaps being able to take the top off would be advantageous for transportation.


The Cherry and AD Walnut clamped up. The KD Walnut is taking longer because of the oil finish. it'll be another week before I get that one together. However all these to need are top panels fit, finished, and stuck into place... then a final look over. So close!
On that note... I have hopefully remedied my Oak problem. I ended up calling around a little bit and getting more frustrated. I finally said screw it and take another look at the main local hardwood yard (Youngblood for those who may around the area). New stock came in sense the last time I was in there. Randomly there were two rift-ish planks in the quartered pile and I took a couple flat sawn boards that have a bit of rift on the sides. The planks are not perfect color matches nor grain matched but here's hoping it will work out!


Upon completion of a project I like/need to take a day off and I like to invite a friend or so over to take a look and have a little drink. Some think that wine is appropriate, and they would be correct, I however like beer :). Another beverage craft. I think I just have beverage "vices" tea, coffee, and beer. I love them all though coffee and beer more sparingly than tea ;).
Winter is my favorite beer season. That's went all sorts of Porters, Stouts, and other "big" beers comes to taps, stores, and tables. One of the few things the Midwest has going on is some great beer.
I was told the other day that Minneapolis/St. Paul is the drinkingest city in the country ha! I don't drink a lot, it's more about flavor, exploration, and interest in others crafting for me. We don't actually have that many breweries here in MN though. Lucky for me there IS one award wining brew pub and a pretty new specialty beer store owned and run by an acquaintance of mine who used to run a bike shop.


This is a pic from Town Hall Brewery in Minneapolis. This pub brews there own award wining beer and are constantly changing their seasonal selection. A new one is put out probably every 2 weeks and they generally have 4 to 5 of their seasonals on hand at any time! It's a pretty mellow atmosphere with old tiled floors, brick walls, and carved wood trim. The brew site is separated by glass walls for all to see across from dinning tables, a pool table, dart boards and a small fire place.
Not a bad place to sit back and talk the talk with some friends.

pedestal pre-frinishing

seems like it has be a while since last post hmmm. Not a lot of pictures came up either. Probably because I'm to the nitty gritty which doesn't really make for great photography... well by my self anyway.
But yes, surface prep and edge treatments where completed. I'm always surprised how many edges there are to be treated ha. Especially on these "sticky" pieces.


End grain edges are softened as well. The woods I'm using now was much quicker work for the files than the side tables.


It has been a little while since I used an oil finish. The Kiln-dried Walnut is the only to get oiled, the other two are getting the good old shellac and wax. In school we used turpentine to dilute the oil but it get me such head aches when any one used it. Perhaps it takes longer for mineral spirits to dry but at least I can still function while using it!


Here the pre-finishing is almost done on the pieces getting shellac. Orange shellac this time around. The Cherry does look a bit on the orange side (also the low yellow lighting doesn't help in the photo) but I think it will age/oxidize into it. It will be a while before this Cherry reaches it's deeper, more rich color... though I DO hope someone will like it and buy it, I would like to see it again down the road and perhaps snap a photo when it has seen some passage of time :)

Rant Warning...
With the completion of these Pedestals drawing near it will soon be time to start the 3rd tables... the coffee tables. I received two more planks of nicely rift to flat Kwila from Jason at Cormark in North Carolina. Thanks to Jason for your effort, sincerity, and timeliness! HOWEVER... I have not yet located the White Oak I have been keeping and ear and eye open for since MAY! I have pretty much giving up on finding a seasoned flitch of it (though I know a couple guys ready to cut me some green oak if I were to ask). So, some of the big suppliers out there carry SOME "rift" white oak... you'll find nice long very straight rift white oak in household hand rails, banisters, and the like. Ok well I'm quite willing to pay a "premium" price on premium material, especially considering my lack of luck otherwise.
There just so happens to be a larger hardwood dealer about 10 min from the shop... It just so happens that I cannot deal directly with them. Sweet. Well there's a lumber/cabinet shop who does have accounts with them... 40 min away from me. Well that's better than 2 hours right?
Well, I put in an "order" for "50 b/f of 8/4 rift white oak". They gave me a price to which I said that I would expect premium material for that price. They said not to worry because nice straight logs are specifically pulled for rift and quartered milling. This makes perfect sense to me.
He said he would get it in the next day or two... I waited 2 WEEKS and never got a call. I called in they said it had been there waiting... cool thanks guys. Now I have to borrow a vehicle to be able to haul 8 ft planks and it's a 40 min one way trip. I get there, no less than half the boards they got for me were quartered. Some had twisting grain, diving grain, a couple big knots, half heart half sap in one board... yeah, great I can't use any of that. I was pretty pissed. Come on guys. get your damn business together. It wasn't the shop's "fault" they didn't pick the lumber. Ok, they'll order more for me (mine you I had already put $200 down) and call me when it's in. I got a call today saying it was in 2 days ago. Really? oh good thanks again. Borrowed a truck AGAIN drove out AGAIN. This time there was ONE nice board. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?! What the HELL do you guys think you're doing? is this a freaking "favor"!? I have work to do! I could be searching for other place to find PROPER material. STOP pulling me around and WASTING my damn time!
I normally tend not to name names dealing with "misfortune" but this reflects on their business. Forest Products Supply in Maplewood, MN. Don't waste your efforts on them.
Sure, I'm not making their job easy, but this is making my job impossible. If you can't GUARANTEE an order then DON'T!
I am pretty much spent looking for Oak. the worst part is that it's such a common wood!
At this point I don't know what to do... I think I might have the heart to try one more place but after that... I don't know.
This table was first based on the idea of a white oak coffee table due to the Japanese paper I want to use with it. I don't what to change that but I need to get material soon. I might have to pull the Nakashima and use Walnut. I at least know a couple place where I can get that even if it's not local.