Adventures In Woodworking

It looks like I am closing in on 6 months in Hawaii . I can't believe it ! So much has happened in such a short time . Looking at my previous post I am pleased to see that my trepidations were unfounded . I joined Martin & Macarthur in June as a furniture maker . 6 weeks and a couple projects later I was shifted to the the position of Shop Lead . My areas of oversight and administration include facility , production , staff , and supply . Oh yeah , I also make furniture . My Coarsegold shop was 300 sq. ft. Gallery S in Oakhurst was 484 sq. ft. My Kahai St. shop in Honolulu is 27,000 sq. ft. Running such a sizable shop is a huge task , and not a little intimidating , but ultimately a woodshop is a woodshop . It's just a different scale and more moving parts .

Experiences and Accomplishments

• Promoted to Shop Lead
• Reorganized shop and began reorganizing warehouse
• Constructed fixtures for M & M retail stores at Ala Moana , Shereton Waikiki , and King's @ Kona
• Responsible for delivery and installation of fixtures for Ala Moana and Shereton stores
• Operate and monitor lumber drying kiln
• Attended Waikiki OSHA seminar and implemented OSHA compliant shop safety documentation and training procedures
• Updating shop tooling , technique , and supplies
• Work trip to Kona (Big Island) store
• Shop production scheduling of high-volume gift item pieces
• Produced several pieces of Koa furniture
• Communicate with and supply third-party vendors (Koa watches from Canada , Koa IPhone cases from Austria , etc.)

Woodworking In Exile/Hawaii

I just wanted to notify those of you that occasionally check-in on me and my latest work that I am now making furniture in Honolulu Hawaii . I'm on sort of on a work adventure . I am taking a break from my little woodworking business in Coarsegold to explore a position with Martin & MacArthur Furniture Makers in Honolulu . Presently , my plan is to take some time to learn from and work with one of the worlds most highly regarded fine furniture companies , and then return to my own shop sometime soon . I guess it's sort of a working vacation . I'll probably be back in business on the main land in a few weeks or months , or however long it takes me to fully evaluate the real potential of this amazing opportunity . As always , please feel free to stay in touch with new projects and ideas .

Bed Frame

I made this bed frame a couple of years ago , but a few questions about my unusual joinery has prompted me to post it . In setting out to design a bed frame I decided that I wanted to make a piece that assembled and knocked-down without the usual nuts and bolts or metal brackets . Metal really has no place in fine woodworking . I believe a good woodworker should be able to fulfill a furniture function through design , material selection , and joinery , and not take the shortcut to modern factory hardware . The tension joint I applied to this piece is a modified small-scale version of a joint more commonly used in timberframe home construction . I originally designed this piece to be made with Douglas Fir (another tie-in to post & beam construction) but the vertical-grain stock I wanted was a bit too pricey for an experimental design . Now that the piece is made and is a proven performer , I look forward to building the next piece in something better than common Red Oak .

Trestle-style Table

34''W 72'' L 30'' H

Superior Red Alder top and Sugar Maple base

H. Behlen Co. Tung oil/varnish finish

I made this piece a couple of years ago ( you can see that the pic was taken in my gallery ) but it recently caught the eye of a potential client , so I thought I would post it . The base is assembled with wedge joints , and the top attaches to the base with an all-wood wedge and clip joint that I created . After making this piece I made a bed frame (posted above) that utilizes another of my knockdown wedge joints . If I were to remake this table I think I would adapt the rail-to-post joinery I developed for the bed frame to this table design . The bed joinery , as you will notice , doesn't project from the post , which when applied to the table would alleviate the potential problem of the head chair knocking knees on the tenon . As always , go to my photostream for more pics .

Almost Finished

I'm still applying the finish , but I took this preview pic for my client , so I thought I would post it . The design (with my own variations) is based on a sculpture stand by Rick Gorman (as seen in a FW contemporary design issue) . The frame combines Red Alder and Black Walnut and the frame panel top is Redwood and Elm -all of which are California natives . The California Elm came from a plank I bought several years ago while on a wood-finding trip .

Another Veneered Tabletop

Yet another veneer project . 28'' in diameter . Black Cherry string inlay and edgebanding , Eucalyptus burl , fiddleback Black Walnut , and California Laurel . I applied a common satin oil-based polyurethane finish for a matte effect , which I think helps the top blend nicely with the rough-buffed iron base that the top is mated to . Apologies for the photograph . To begin with I am the worst photographer , but I also had to quickly shoot it on a white backdrop in front of a bright french door at my client's house .

small stuff

Fixed a knife handle for an old client . Not a big deal but I think I did a pretty good job , so I took a pic . I used Ipe (tropical hardwood) for the handle and secured it with knife maker's brass rivets . I also made a custom scabbard for it just because I can . Oil and wax finish . Note : I fixed this knife (which apparently has some sentimental value for the client ) a couple years ago . The old walnut handle is also pictured .

Round Taper-Leg Table

24" H 15 3/4" W

reclaimed Redwood top with figured Cherry base

linseed oil blended beeswax and carnauba wax

This is the 2011 edition of my simple taper-leg table . This circular version of my Shaker Tables features curved aprons and a gentle yet springy curved flare at the foot . The piece features an old growth redwood top (likely Giant Sequoia sequoiadendron giganteum as opposed to "common" Coast Redwood) which I surgically extracted from a large wooden sculpture that my client owned . The finish is my new recipe which incorporates carnauba wax with my standard formula linseed oil /beeswax finish . The carnauba wax builds to a higher sheen , which enlivens the subtle fiddleback figure in the Cherry .

Revised Display Case on Chest

50"W 81"H 18"D

Central Sierra Sugar Pine with Sugar Maple

Pure Tried & True linseed oil warmed and blended with beeswax

Last year I was commissioned to make a couple commercial-grade gallery display cases . They turned out fine and they were a proving ground for my unique all wood sliding door design , but I have been looking forward to applying my innovations to a no-holds-barred fine case piece . In making this piece for a private collector I decided to seize the opportunity and go all in . The case is fashioned in premium local Sugar Pine (the entire piece features exactly two knots , and for the sake of breaking the monotony of perfect wood I had to make a special effort to place those knots where they could be seen !) and the friction components for the sliding doors are made of long-wearing Sugar Maple . The overall austerity of this design is , as with all my designs , enlivened with honest yet eye-catching joinery . The top case is joined with diagonally wedged mortise and tenons and of course the drawers are joined with hand-cut through and half-blind dovetails . The interior of the case is lit with no-heat , spectrum-corrected LED light fixtures and the exterior top of the case conceals halogen spotlights that light artwork on the wall above the case . The adjustable glass shelves are fitted in wood frames which form a lip that prevents very expensive and very breakable items from rolling off the shelves .

kitchenette accomplished

My built-in furniture a.k.a kitchenette is finally finished , delivered , and installed ! This one was a challenge for me . The woodworking couldn't have been more straightforward , but a short lead time , an anxious yet indecisive homeowner , and a tricky staining procedure really kept me on my toes . I wasn't in on the installation , but I am told they fit flawlessly with no need to scribe either to the wall or finished floor . The stain color was also a dead match to an existing piece of furniture (which I had to match working only from a website pic) . The contractor told me that the homeowner said (about the cabs.) that "They're like furniture" .

Veneered Tabletop

This 27 3/4'' W tabletop was my early November work . The piece features Eucalyptus burl , light fiddle-back Black Walnut , California Laurel ( known as Myrtle outside California ) , and Black Cherry . The commission was initiated by a client looking for a top to mate with an existing iron base , and will serve as a lamp/coffee table . The material selection and design was a collaboration between me and the client . Given my limited hands-on experience with veneer , I am fairly pleased with my results . Now that my hands are more attuned to the finesse techniques and the delicate materials of veneer work I will certainly be making a similar top again very soon . On the revised version I think I will reduce the size of the inlay strips , use the dark Walnut for the lenticular pieces , and use a lighter tone material for the space-dominant pieces . I assembled the components with old-fashioned hide glue (not the hardware store liquid pseudo-hide glue ) and finished the piece with traditional short-oil varnish which I rubbed-out to satin .

Display Chest

18'' W 36'' L 5 1/2'' H

Lightly figured Black Walnut w/ Black Cherry inlay

Tried & True pure linseed oil w/ beeswax

I am a little late in posting this , but this chest was an October work . The visual simplicity of this piece - altogether it's just a box with a glass-panel top - is the cumulative effect of an exacting joinery set , good wood , and quality hardware . The box is joined with delicately proportioned (read difficult to cut) dovetails and the bottom panel (which nobody will ever see when the case is lined with velvet) is a rigid and stable fame & panel pine assembly . The frame in which the glass panel is fitted is fashioned with a mitered slip joint , which I chose because it meets the tricky structural requirements of the assembly and allows a certain 'grain flow' around the corners that doesn't distract the eye from the overall appearance of the piece or its contents .

The glass panel is fixed in the wood panel with flush wood cletes held in place with polished brass screws . The brass hardware on this piece is deffinitely worth mentioning . The full-mortise lockset is a a good American made piece , but nothing special . The lidstays are premium ( very expensive but well worth it ) Brusso-made pieces . The feel they telegraph through the piece when they operate really makes this box for me . The hinges are Lee Valley extruded brass ; truly a hardware package that will serve flawlessly for generations .

2010 Bookcase

66'' H 31 1/2''W 14''D

The best Sugar Pine in the world !!

Tried & True linseed oil w/ additional beeswax

I think this storage case signals a significant evolutionary step in my personal theory of furniture design . In making this case I really tried to push aside the temptations of tradition and precedent , and reveal in all its bare honesty the pure austerity I am pushing toward in my work . This case is aggressively progressive in its plainness , which is exactly what I want ; unapologetic simplicity . The flash in a piece like this is the earnestness with which it is made . The case is joined with my usual hand-cut dovetails , the door frames are fitted with flush panels with just a saw-kerf reveal , the doors are opened by means of a finger-hole centered on the meeting door styles , and the doors are hung on non-traditional concealed European-style hinges . The stylistic choices add up to my definition of a good honest cabinet that exist only to exemplify the incomparable beauty of real wood , solid technique , and absolute utility . In the future I hope to be making many cases of various uses on this pattern .

Sculpture Stand

11 3/8''W 11 3/8''D 26 3/8''H

Black Walnut and Figured Coast Redwood

Tried & True linseed oil/beeswax blended with additional beeswax

Period Shaker Tables

15''W 15''D 23''H

Figured European Beech

Tried & True linseed oil/beeswax finish

This design is my take on the classic small tapered-leg table . They will serve perfectly anywhere you need a small table , and can be made with or without a small drawer . Next time I think I will fashion this design in walnut or cherry , or maybe with contrasting softwood tops ( which would be sightly more correct for Shaker table making ) . For more pics go to the "Album of Selected Works" .

Sugar Pine Wall Case

22"W 38"H 5 1/2"D

7 coat linseed oil with Beeswax finish

Vertical-grain Sugar Pine with reproduction foraged iron hardware

I designed and made this cabinet to store my growing arsenal of fine handtools and select machine tooling . After completing the piece I decided it was a little too good to serve as a shop furniture . The case is presently employed as a display case at the gallery , proudly and conspicuously hanging between a couple of fine paintings . The pine (I would argue that this is the best quality pine on the planet) carcass of the case is joined with hand-cut dovetails . The door is assembled with mortise and tenon joints and is precisely hung with foraged iron hardware . After completing the piece and changing my mind about using the cabinet in my shop , I kinda think the only thing holding this piece back from being an absolute home run is the glass . If I were commissioned to make a similar piece for a client I would try to source antique glass for the door . For this piece I used common plate glass , which is totally suitable , but the irregularities and character of antique glass would really add a great deal of warmth and authenticity to this type of cabinet . The finish is my usual Tried & True brand linseed oil which I blended with beeswax . The interior of the piece is unfinished because I do not believe in exchanging the fantastic aroma of raw pine (I think the fragrance of sugar pine is almost medicinal) for the less pleasant smell of half-cured linseed oil or shellac . Every time you open an unadulterated pine case you get a sweet little hit of pine perfume .

Colonial Sideboard

78''W 19''D 32''H

Old-growth Central Sierra Sugar Pine with reclaimed Douglas Fir

"Salem Red" milk paint with a linseed oil seal coat

This custom sideboard is my early August '10 work . The piece features American Colonial period correct construction technique , hardware , and finish . The table was designed around a couple of very old Douglas Fir planks supplied by my client . This design may be rightly called colonial , provincial , country , or any of the descriptive terms applied to simple furniture making . I do not think this simple form of work should be thought of as a stylistic choice or genera of woodworking , but understood as the practical result of making furniture with a small kit of hand tools and limited time and resources . I set out to make this piece in that frame of mind . The working conditions of a frontier carpenter were my guide in terms of the design and the techniques I applied to making this table . I assembled drawers with glue and old fashioned square-cut nails , I finish smoothed all the surfaces with a handplane prior to applying the milk paint finish , and I sourced hand-wrought ring pulls for the drawers .

2010 harvest-style table

34''W 70''L 30''H

Red Alder with Black Walnut

Polyurethane over Danish oil

This piece is my June 2010 work . This table might be called a 'salvage' or 'restoration' project because the table top was a part of my client's existing kitchen table . The size of the top and the style of the base on the original table no longer suited the client's purposes , but the top had acquired a great deal of character and sentimental value , so they really didn't want to just chuck it on the burn pile . My job was to re-size the top , edgeband the top with Walnut , and design and make a base that would match the top . The original table was a heavy trestle-style design , hence the massive 1 3/4'' thick top . The problem with putting that top on a harvest-style base is that the thickness of the top robes you of potential depth on the aprons (the horizontal framing members) . My solution to this problem was to strengthen the slightly skinny aprons with Walnut brackets where they join the legs . These Walnut splines beefed-up my corner joinery , added visual interest , and matched the top edgebanding . When the piece was finally assembled I was pleased to note that the table is absolutely rigid , thanks to the nifty joinery . I dressed the top edges with my favorite 'furniture maker's' bit profile . I have found this profile exceptionally comfortable when you rest your forearms on the top- a la the correct way to sit at a dinning table . Apologies for the poor photos , this was one of those projects where the time between completion and delivery was just too quick to allow me to photograph it properly .

three-drawer case on stand

16 3/4''D 22 1/4''W 37''H

European Beech and Sugar Pine

Satin water-based lacquer finish

This chest of drawers is my May 2010 work . Its petite size and accessible height suggest a multitude of minimalist storage solutions . The client for whom this piece was designed and made will be using it as a nightstand , but the form of the piece could easily be repurposed to a full chest of drawers , lingerie chest , media cabinet , sideboard , filing cabinet etc. The case features a blend of purist straight lines and subtle curves . The double-tapered legs have a soft flare and lend the piece a graceful yet solidly planted stance . The sweet-smelling Sugar Pine drawers exhibit my usual full hand-cut dovetail joinery and my signature "hole pull" drawer pulls . The drawer front "pulls" are accentuated with Beech inlays .

the depressing side of woodworking

A couple of months ago I got a call from a person interested in a small media cabinet . Great . The clients were a referral from a past customer , and they had even gone to the trouble of scouting my gallery . Really great ; obviously they know my stuff and like what I do . The potential client gave me a rundown of what they were looking for and we setup a meeting . When I arrived for the on site meeting my excitement shriveled . Their existing furnishings were very dull and very 80's . Bad sign . I thought 'oh please don't ask me to duplicate this stuff' . Thankfully they were totally open to professional suggestion on the design as long as I could simulate the existing finishes . I wasn't ideal from the standpoint of making true heirloom furniture , but a gig is a gig and woodworking is woodworking , so I didn't raise any objections to doing the piece .

Next came the money talk . The client had mentioned a factory cabinet that they liked but were unimpressed with the quality that cost $ 1200 . I read the room (an unmentionable but necessary survival skill in the fine craft business) and figured I could probably ask $ 1400 for my piece without being shown the door (If I'm honest $ 2200 would have been more appropriate for my skill level) . Wrong . Though my bid would have netted me less than $ 5 an hour after expenses and taxes (I do not charge design or consultation fees) the deal fell apart . And it fell apart in the worst way . As soon as I said $ 1400 the meeting immediately morphed into the client scrambling to extricate themselves from any perceived commitment . When this happens (I've seen it happen many times) their faces just change . Boom ! Meeting over . I suggested a couple cost-saving options and the usual 'we'll think about it and get back to you ' was tendered . I haven't heard from them , but I am hearing from more and more people like them as folks further remove themselves from non-third-world craft . -The question still lingers in my mind , how could they expect me to deliver a fine cabinet for less than the price of a factory piece ?

2010 Nightstand

23''W 17 1/2''D 24''H

English Walnut with Sugar Pine drawer

Tried & True linseed oil/beeswax finish

This piece is the revised version of my 'Book Table' . The 2010 edition features a frame and panel top , the addition of a book shelf , and a larger more cleanly integrated drawer . The curved drawer front springs to the hand and bonds the dominant angular lines of the piece . The drawer is fashioned in pine specifically for its pleasant warm resonance .

furniture and light

When did good furniture loose its edge ? Let's blame the advent of electric light . Furniture is practically and philosophically different if it is designed , made , and used in organic light . Natural raking daylight pops wood figure and color while candle or lamplight not only affects the appearance of woodwork , softening marks of merciless wear and deepening shadow lines , but also the feel of furniture . Firelight lends woodwork an indescribable warmth and tactile magnetism . By contrast , over-lit rooms erase all shadow lines , washout subtle wood tones , and highlight the tinniest scratches . Traditional woodworkers knew the conditions they were designing for and the contextual excellence of their work is obvious . Natural light complemented and emphasized their lines , and the natural wood colors and organic finishes available to them . Likewise , contemporary design is a function of contemporary conditions . Blinding Technicolor wattage forces us (woodworkers) to simultaneously contrive visual interest and hide distractions . Elaborate lines , figured woods , exotic woods , flashy joinery , dyes , and synthetic scratch resistant finishes are all common elements of modern plastic fine woodworking . Obviously furniture design evolves for many reasons and I believe light is a key , if overlooked , element .

Artist's Stool

11''D 11 1/2''W 24''H

European Beech with Walnut wedge joinery accents

Tried & True varnish/oil finish

I first modelled this stool in June of 2007 . It is the first piece I designed that I include in my current line of work . I think this piece is the sum of my creative style . There is just a singularity in the way this stool builds and performs . It's such a simple piece , but it expresses as much as a piece of furniture can communicate about the purpose of woodworking .

Gallery S

Gallery S formerly located in Oakhurst , CA Hwy. 41/Rd. 426

559-760-7616 furniturebyseth@gmail.com

furniturebyseth | the basics

the seth difference ~ My furniture making is simply a thoughtful and honest composition of spare form and unsparing craftsmanship . My objective is to create beautiful , long-wearing , and "ownable" fine woodworking through austere lines and innovative joinery . Though my first design thoughts are of quality , aesthetics , and creative satisfaction , my work is also mindful of turn-around , price , and shipping .

my materials ~ Furniture made to serve and please generations begins with very good wood . As a native of lumber-rich California , I am able to responsibly source a wide pallet of materials with varied workability , color , and texture . Though I work with many different wood species , I have found California Walnuts , Sugar Pine , Red Alder , and European Beech to be exceptionally responsive to my concept of furniture making .

finishes ~ In my shop finish is an ingredient in the furniture , not just a coating on the furniture . I practice finishing as a process of conditioning and fortifying wood , celebrating its lovely anti-plastic color and texture . My staple finishes are : California Walnut oil (blended with warmed California beeswax and applied by hand) Tried & True varnish/oil (applied by hand and topped with wax) and hi-tech water-based polyurethane (often applied over a coat of tone-warming oil ) .