The First Section of a New Railing

Last Friday, Sam and I installed the first section of railing from the sketch of a new railing in my January 16th post. Looks good. It's the first railing he'smade in 5/8ths square stock which is a nice baluster weight for a big space. The next section will go to the actual stair post and from there down the main steps. Then there are a couple handrails and a a long straight section ... couple weeks should wrap it up; maybe a little longer ... Nice people, nice project.


The first section installed ... love the post tops

detail sketch

concept sketch

the template for the next section

How is this going to work?

in the shop ... ready to go

a pair of reclaimed oak tables

well, after a long wait for the wood to arrive from west virginia, we finally wrapped up this pair of reclaimed oak tables.  they are designed for high stools and to be used both separately and together as a long skinny table, 36 x 96, or squared up at 60 x 48. 

our classic, 'bethlehem steel' bases, made from 2.5" square steel tubing and 2.5" angle iron.

  we tried to line the boards up as best we could, trimming the edge defects as required, and matching the grain.  new man on the job, chris, checks them out before gluing them up.  there were also a few 'holes' that required patching too.  as the saying goes, 'if they were on the floor, you'd trip over them'.  we did leave a lot of the natural small knotholes, which add to the reclaimed wood feeling.

before the stain, we burn the oak with a 'red dragon' torch to enhance 

both the grain patterns and the color.

in the shop, and ready for finish ..

as two separate tables

a reclaimed oak coffee table of the same 'bethlehem steel' series, only with tapered legs.

the metal shop is almost done !!

sam is welding in the new metal shop and there are only a couple things left to do.
a tiny bit of wiring; a little more siding;

here's a link to the slideshow of the project, start to finish, on my dcf facebook page.
give our page a like while you are there, and enjoy your tour ...

 and here's a link to some of sam's metalwork online .. take the tour there too.

 

all for now ...

sam's belt buckles ...

still time i think to get that special belt buckle christmas gift.

call or email ... sam@dorsetcustomfurniture.com

802 867 5541

classic vermonter below, or your custom design

click the photos to enlarge them.

numbered and personalized on the back

 

The Parrot Chairs ... Sketching in Metal

Inspiration Photo

Via a referral from a friend in Massachusetts, we were contacted by a client who had an interest in having Sam fabricate some 'parrot chairs'. The client had saved a picture from a magazine, but had no other details like measurements, what the front legs looked like, a close up of the parrott detail, etc. We agreed to make a mockup for a small fee and the results and their proposed changes are shown below. It took us a while to get to it as there were some 'thought problems' to work through such as how to bend the back legs/hoop piece with even a small amount of repeatable control. I'm sure these things are pressed out cold by the thousands in factories around the world, but unfortunately, we're not one of them. We ended up making a pretty elaborate jig that, with a few modifications, will work fine. The jig was essentially based on the one we use to steam bend backs for Windsor chairs, something we've been doing since the late 70's. Creating a new chair design is tough in any medium, as what you are really creating is a functional sculpture, something viewed from all four sides with small complications like comfort, durability, and repeatable production thrown in. Tough in wood, not much easier in metal ... We'll see if we get to build them .... It will be a challenge for sure if we do ....

The 'sketch'

Proposed changes to the 'sketch' ... click to enlarge

Back view

Test drive ...The seat needs to be wider in the front and the back needs to be tipped back a little more .... other than that, not bad for comfort ...

new metal shop open house

 

we're going to have a little celebration/open house tomorrow, on sunday, the 29th .. hours are from 2 to 5 .. come on by and check out sam's new space, and see some of the projects he's been working on.    

the actual address is 23 goodwood lane, which is one mile up danby mountain road from route 30 in dorset, vermont. goodwood lane is on the left and 23 is the first driveway on the left.

light refreshments and good company

home stretch on the new metal shop ...

 when last we visited this project back in september, the carpenters had just finished getting the slate on the roof ... after that it was on to the siding and window trim outside, and the insulation, second floor radiant heat,and sheetrock inside.  click the photos to enlarge them ..

it was kind of a thrill when the lights went on and siding was mostly finished ...

we still had to have the concrete professionals back to pour the slab for the 

steel/blower/compressor shed .. 

 and we had to build the rather elaborate 20' long rack to store all the small in size, but 20' to 24' long raw materials ... fortunately, the carpenters were called away on another job for a day, which gave us time to figure out the rack before the roof went on .. mucho easier that way ..

the shed is fitted here with a bronze color standing seam roof by donnie dorr's metal shop ..

 and inside, we did some painting, and reconfigured the chop saw tables into a mockup work table so we could figure out where to hang up the welding fume extractor.  we ran the pipes to the blower thursday ..

 boilers these days are amazing ... this little guy puts out 80,000 btus, enough to heat both floors, (+/- 1500 square feet in a vemont winter), and provide domestic hot water for the sink and bathroom.  exhaust out in pvc pipe.  no chimney ...

 ahhh, the doors .. nobody made a cheap standard unit three doors wide, so we had to cobble these together with parts from a company whose name escapes me now .. we made up some quicky transoms from 8/4 pine and ordered up some custom thermopane to fill them.

 there were a couple reasons for that configuration .. #1, you can open the doors totally in the summer like below, and should we move on at some point, the openings are framed to accept regular 9' x 7' commercial overhead doors .. presto, a heated, two car garage with a mother in law apartment above  ... the plumbing and radiant for the second floor was roughed in before the sheetrock went up ..

 

 a few notes below on the quicky transoms ...

 9' 3" x 16" plus the frames

 essentially, the frames are butt jointed, timberlock construction, with applied moldings to accept the glass .. framed in the shop and screwed in over the door units .. cheap, easy, and fast ... you don't get that combo often enough ...

all for now ... sam is moving in this week

the steel's there waiting for him