another post and beam pool table

this is what a set of pool table supplies looks like when it arrives here at our shop ... well, it's actually not always quite this beat up, but we have had a couple sets of slate arrive in more than one piece ... better luck this time.  no lost pieces; no broken slate.  click the photos to enlarge them, though you'll have to bear with me as i learn adobe lightroom.  my ancient photoshop 7 program stopped working with the last windows upgrade .. i am NOT happy about that.  'image/adjust/autolevels' .. i am really missing that one.

roughed out rails and cushion wood and cushions above

 

 miracle of miracles .. it is to be exactly like the one above that we made and 

installed about this time last year.

we're even using the same drawing, materials, and cutlist.

 here we go .. the new guy chris, finished the slate support frame last thursday ..

 

 and here he is beginning the assembly of the base

 all together last friday ..

 and today we added the slate frame and the slates below

 as of the end of the day today, we had the rubber cushions glued on to the poplar, and 

tomorrow we'll get them bolted to the slate and add the curly maple rails ...

i love a pool table project ..

and just sos you know we're not loafing, we've got some other stuff going on in the shop too .. 

a 12' cherry chest of drawers above, with bookcases and ebony and quartered cherry details

and this 9' curly maple trestle dining table with an inlay.  trevor's got that one in the finish room now.

more on those projects later ..
for more pool table posts, click on this link

back to work

we'll ok .. it's the new year, and we're back at work, and from the looks of it here, we're pretty busy.  luckily, the last few days things have kind of come into focus and under control ... a little new year miracle, compared to the last couple weeks of 2013.  click the photos to enlarge them.

trevor seems to have the 12' cherry cabinet details mostly complete, and we'll be doing some preinstallation recon work on site tomorrow or friday.  it's always nice to check the floors for level and the walls for plumb when you are installing a major piece in an older house.  well, first we have to finish the piece, but as soon as everything else here leaves, we'll be on that ...
it should be ready for finish after tomorrow.  next week after the other stuff leaves

the pool table is finished now that will has felted the rails below .. the felt is simonis, dark green and i believe it's the first time we have used that color .. like it.

and for above the table ..

 

we're working on this light, assisted by authentic designs, up the road in rupert .. 

it's nina mooney, the designer's concept, and i think it's going to be cool ...

we had to do some creative cutting, drilling, tapping, and epoxy work,  but i think we've got it.

 

photoshopped concept by nina here

and in the pool table photo above, you can see the model for the table in the drawing below.  it will be made from recycled chestnut and we should be starting the joinery tomorrow sometime.

and the benches below go with 8,  30 x 36" quartered oak table tops we finished on  monday.

the commercial pedestals are on site, and hopefully we'll install them next week with the 

pool table, the benches, and the dining table below.

we're using a fine (new to us) polyurethane varnish.  it's by a company called lenmar, which has been recently purchased by benjamin moore.  we used a coat of gloss as a base and applied two coats of satin on top with a 3" foam brush.  flowed out like it was sprayed.  i'm going to go out on limb and recommend it ... not something i usually do, but i like it as a finish.

this is another project for the hill farm inn, a rehab of a venerable bed
and breakfast down the road in sunderland.

there was concern that the antlers on the deer from the logo inlay

 would disappear if we left them in the burl.  sooo.

 

there was an antler that sam found in the woods rattling around, 

and trevor made some 'antler antlers'.  fun.

and we moved the mill from the old metal shop

 to the new one thanks to the help of our friend malcolm cooper, president and owner of jk adams

and his new company peace street rigging ... any excuse to use one of his tractors.

 the mill is happy to be back in a heated space ...

 sam's busy in the new metal shop .. knocking out a few projects before 

starting on a new big one next week

this coffee steel table base going to san francisco

and this one will be a base for a new claro walnut slab table we'll be building from the slab below.

it's going to be a nice one.  there's some good figure lurking in there

all for now ..

another custom pool table

well, there's not much to add in this blog post as it's pretty much the exact same table as the one below, featured in this post from last december.  i do like the dark green felt and the curly maple rails, but otherwise, there's not much to add.  thanks again to my favorite fine woodworking pool table article.

we used the same types  of beams and blinds from the same supplier as last year ..

and the construction was pretty much identical ..

clickthe photos to enlarge them

 dark green simonis cloth

the set up was straightforward and it played exactly like the last one .. 

as you can see from the table in action video,

i think i missed a few more shots this time, but on the whole, 

the speed, sound and cushion action was identical to last year's edition.

below are a few other 'pool table in action' videos starring yours truly, who is

not quite as sharp as he used to be ...

the other table like this one

murphy table video

other pool tables we have made

the friday before christmas

well here we are, approaching our 34th christmas at dorset custom furniture.  we got the spirit friday, when jim put up the traditioinal 'tree' lights on the end of the shop.  it may be the last year for this string as about half the lights are out, and the local stores no longer carry the bulbs ... maybe we'll get lucky and find some in 'the big city' (rutland or bennington)  if we get there over the holidays.  click the photos to enlarge them ..

as usual, there is a lot going on in the shop this time of year .. the pool table is part 

of the hill farm project and it looks like that will be finished by the 1st.  

it's now ready for blinds and finish and felt on the cushions

we're working on several projects for a local inn restoration

down the road a piece in sunderland

one of the projects involves some steel cut outs, based on their logo, on the gable end, and trevor cut some samples for size.  i took them to their friday christmas party and nina mooney, the designer we're working with, bravely got out on the porch roof after lunch and held them up .. 

we decided the deer has to be bigger.

back at the shop, trevor was putting the finishing touches on the inlay in the 

trestle table for the same project

the base is finished

but we were all concerned the the deer antlers would get lost in the sky

fortuantely, we had an antler that sam or someone found and we sliced a couple pieces 

up and trevor cut them out and fit them in ... viola!  antlers!!

and we installed the drawers in the 12' bedroom piece we've been working on

the faces will have an ebony and quartered cherry detail to go with the ebony and burl edge inlay ..

and we're waiting for the custom cast pulls to arrive from ball and ball.  they've done them for us before and they should be here soon.

and will's wrapping up another banjo to be shipped out before the 1st.  it was a tricky one where he had to figure out how to steam bend and laminated curly maple for the rim, engrave a bunch of pearl inlays, and engrave words and initials into the ebony on the finished rim .. not an easy task ..

talk about the workmanship of risk ...

and sam has finished his first 'larger than a belt buckle project' in the new metal shop

the client sent us a photo of a similar wood base with funky metal connectors and we figured out how to weld it up in 3" steel tubing.  cool object.  it will have our bronze patina on it before shipping.

and the carpenters wrapped it up on friday .. they finished the siding , installed the collar ties on the second floor and insulated the ceiling so we can at least heat it occasionally for painting

we'll finish it off as our cash flow allows

ta dah

and tah dah  in here too

and the final part of the dorset church rails is ready for christmas services .. just in time ..

merry christmas to all !!