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 . 
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
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 . 
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
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 .
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