More Linnaea

The Linnaea chest and dresser are now finished. Thanks to Brian for doing a fair amount of grunt work fitting the drawers. So here they are with finish on them and handles. And a view of the drawers!

SPX and Ignatz

October not only brings wonderful weather, but also some wonderful events. The Big Apple Circus, Pumpkin Patch, and SPX.

SPX is the biggest little comic convention, held nearby in Bethesda Md. Since I have not only attended, but in years past been roped into serving on the steering committee, as well as know a few folks still serving on the committee, I was thrilled to accept the assignment to make the stands for the awards at the show; the Ignatz.

"The Ignatz Awards, named for the character in the classic comic strip Krazy Kat by George Herriman, is a festival prize that recognizes outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning. The ballot is created by a panel of five cartoonists and is then voted on by the attendees at the event. This offers a unique reflection of the views the professionals and their fans."

Since I had never been at the awards presentation, I found the sample they sent for me to mimic a little strange. Once I found out that the actual award is a brick (because that is what Ignatz the mouse hurled at Krazy Kat) the stand started to make much more sense.

A simple mitred box, with cut out sides for the brick to nestle into, and a slanted front. Finished off with a 1/4" veneer ply bottom, and felt.

I wanted to improve upon the model I recieved as I went, as well as make it easily repeatable if I'm asked to make them again next year. The original had the 1/4 bottom mounted straight to the bottom of the box, with the plywood edge showing, as well as being screwed and pluged on the sides.

I rabbeted in the bottom, hiding the ugly edge. And I fastened the mitres with glue and headless pin nails, which are much easier to conceal.

As for repeatability, I made a jig to hold the tiny 5" sides on the tablesaw to be able to cut the front angle and save my fingers. The only part I was dissapointed in, was I didn't think up a way to repeat the cutouts on the sides. In the end I just bandsawed and sanded them, which leaves them different from one to the next.

Next year I'll figure out a way to keep them exact.



So, I'll be out at SPX this Saturday (Oct 4th), delivering the Ignatz stands, and checking out this years comic offerings. And so should you.

The State of my Soul

Most people would say that I'm easygoing, with a neat limitless supply of patience. I'm also somewhat environmentally conscious/aware.

Most of the time I can square this with being a woodworker; we aren't wiping out entire species of trees, most places have a renewal program that include planting and not over harvesting, and we are creating pieces that last more than just a lifetime.

Some days however, my soul dies a little inside. Today was one of those days.

I got to work on the drawers for the chest and dresser today. The ones with the curved faces to match the curved case front. Mark decided that we'd be served best by making the faces from 8/4, giving us enough room to keep the drawer structurally sound while being able to curve the front. We could also keep the interior flat, giving us easy machining of the dovetails as well as not having to bother with curved drawer bottoms.

The other option would be a bent lamination, which above all else, would be very time consuming.

After giving the heads up to the rest of the company, and getting permission we dove into the brand new, very nice bundle of 8/4 walnut. I found great lumber very quickly, made my drawers, and everybody was good with it.

But then our fears that the drawers would be too heavy with that much wood came true. Mark sent me off to curve out the inside of the drawer as well. I had already cut a fair amount off the face, and now I was carving out the rest.

This is where that little bit of my soul screamed and died. AA walnut, 8/4, 4 chest drawers and 6 dresser drawers, and all we are left with is curves 3/4" thick all the way down.

The drawers do look beautiful, and definitely the correct weight now, but so much great wood went into the trash. And we didn't avoid most of the problems with the lamination process.

The only other time I remember my soul dying at work is when I saw a 8' slab of 8/4 mahogany ~20" wide, and thinking 'that was a great big beautiful tree, and someone hacked it to bits'.

Case Goods

We have a sideboard. Complete. The photo was taken just prior to installing the filler strips (to hide where the tambour turns the corner) and before the handles arrived.

As with all firsts, we found a few things that we'd like to change. The pedestal skirts are hidden by the mass of the case, so it just looks like spindly legs coming out of nowhere. So round two will see a slightly enlarged pedestal with a curving front skirt to match the curve on the case front.

The tambours open to reveal on one side a set of three habadasher drawers, and on the other an adjustable shelf.

Then we have the dresser and the chest to work on. The cases have already been assembled, blades installed, and the chest even has had the sliding doors and jewelry drawer made and fitted.

The sliding doors on the top level of the chest, each hide the outer sections when closed, revealing a pullout jewelry drawer, and they slide together to cover the center section.

Today I was revamping the pedestals for these two, while tomorrow will bring the start of making the 8/4 panels for the drawer faces. Then we'll have to decide to best way to shape them.

CNC delivery

The company got a new CNC router, and it showed up today. If you've ever wondered how these 2k+ lb machines get delivered and installed in a shop here is a little show and tell.

Delivery is easy, you stick it on a flat bed truck and ship it off.

From there, you have a couple of options. Just pick it up with a really big forklift and plop it down where you need it, but you need a lot of room to maneuver when you do that (which we do not).

Or, you get a crane to lift it off the truck, and stick it on these little rollers, and tow it into place with a lesser rated forklift.

Kind of fun, if you've never seen it before.

Commuting bike

Now, while its not exactly woodwork, building myself a new commuting bike is one of my many hands on hobbies.

For several years, I commuted the 3 miles to The Common Grounds on my bike. I took many rides around the trails available to DC and northern VA residents. I've even biked out the W&OD trail for a overnight hammock camping trip.

Then came car ownership, and convenience. Then a 25 mile commute to Woodbridge. Then moving to Woodbridge where cars rule the roads. All adding up to the neglect of my nice bicycle.

I have tried on occasion to ride over to work. Things have always cropped up to keep it from becoming a habit; weather and road safety being forefront, but not having a safe place to park it to keep out the dust and away from potential theft are not far behind in my concerns.

Since I am so close to the shop these days (3/4 of a mile) I decided that I should have a commuting bike that doesn't need to be keep in pristine condition, while saving the nice road bike for weekend, or further excursions.

To that end, I have started building a fixed gear bike. I was able to locate a 1974 fuji road frame at a great south Arlington local bike shop Phoenix Bikes.

Since it's an old steel frame I would have to do an incredible amount of damage before it started to show, and a fixed gear has no gear shifting, or even freewheel moving parts to get dust clogged in them.

I hacked down the traditional road bars, and re-wrapped them with nice bright red handlebar tape. I decided not to build myself a set of wheels (maybe in the future) but ordered a set with a fixed rear hub.

The only thing left to get it rolling is a set of tires, which are hopefully on their way. And the only thing left to get it road worthy is the correct size brake caliper, which is being order by a local bike shop.

More on Turning

This weekend's post hurricane weather was beautiful. Since I have been neglecting my lathe for months now, I decided to get out and turn.

I started by finishing the "water glass" I still had in the chuck. It turned out nice, but only with about 5.5 oz capacity.

And while I was at it, and in an effort to hone my skills with the hollow master, I turned a very tall goblet.

And with most things I turn, I realize only after its finished and off the lathe, that it didn't turn out exactly as I envisioned it. I was aiming for a sort of long tapered look, kind of like a champagne flute, with a bead in the center of the stem, and a much narrower stem.

Don't get me wrong, I still like it. It's just my mind and my hand aren't exactly in sync yet. I am having fun sculpting by my whims, and not repeating cup designs, as of yet.

And finally, I've had a chance to make the handle for the mug I was asked for. It's been a while, but I'm still way ahead of my deadline for it. A nice big mahogany mug (haven't spec'd out the capacity yet) with a maple hand carved handle. Even carving out the handle's mount points on the side of the mug turned out to be less daunting than I imagined.

Now I just need to get it covered and delivered in the next 5 weeks.

Linnaea Update

So, it's been a while since I've had the energy to sit down and blog something out. Not because things haven't been happening...just because.

On the work front, we are coming to a close on the 8 week project that has been the Linnaea seating. We are down to a coffee table, a pair of end tables, and one sofa. And they are getting pushed into another portion of the shop for the finishing touches...so I'm free.

Free to fix the sideboard/credenza. Last week, while I still had an assistant working on the couches, I commenced working on the sideboard. Unfortunately, as I found out while assembling all the parts, the AutoCAD drawing had 2 different top views. One showing the relationship of the case, top, and pedestal, and one showing the interior parts of the case, tambour door track and dividers.

The one I based my CNC program off of (the one showing the interior parts locations) was 1" less deep. The other was correct. So now the tambour doors will not cover and/or pocket correctly.

Fortunately the top and pedestal are correct and can be used, as well as not having the tambour yet so no waste there. But I do have to make a new case, with the updated measurements.

While I am at it, I'm also working on the chest of drawers, and the 6 drawer dresser. Those cases are going to be pretty straightforward; it's the drawers that are going to get us. Especially on the 6 drawer dresser, with bow front, and matching curved drawers. We'll have to figure out how to cut the curved face out of 8/4 lumber, plus how the 1 3/4" thickness on one side of the drawer but not the other affects the operation of the drawer. Exciting new engineering prospects.

Linnaea Tables

The Linnaea collection has end tables and coffee tables. Only I've neglected to get any photos of the coffee table, so you'll just have to make due with a look at the end tables.


A curved front on the drawer and shelf, with the curve running along all four sides of the top. It looks a little big on its own, but works well when it is next to the Linnaea seating.

On the production front, we've been able to get our apprentice to the point where he can just bang out the couches. I've got a little catch up work to do now that the tables are finalized, so we can finish all of our current commitments, and then its off to build the second round.

We already have drawings for a dresser, a chest of drawers, a bed table, and a sideboard. All of these pieces were designed as a case, with a bowed front, curved drawers, a footed pedestal, and a quasi floating top. Quasi because it will be raised above the case by a recessed framework, creating the floating look from further away.

Hopefully I will be free of these 21 production pieces be the end of the week, and get on with the newness.

Mirror Stand

It's been a bit hectic at the shop since the Lemonade Social a month ago. With 2 sofa sets sold at the social, and another set the week following, I've been mostly working on those 11 pieces plus the 10 tables (coffee and end tables that is) that go along with them.

What did get a little overshadowed was a mirror stand, for which I was requested to craft. The lady whom I made the copper wall hanging/disc into a coffee table, had a mahogany mirror that she wanted a stand for. And since she enjoyed my table so much, and got to meet me then, she wanted me to make this as well.






Fluting on the 3 exposed sides of the post, with a finial, and our Chevel mirror stand foot, made a nice simple stand that looked very nice. And the little light colored area on the rear is my cherry plaque with my signature.

On YouTube

The video project that I participated in for the company a few months ago is finished and posted on YouTube. For your viewing pleasure:




And click here for the other two videos posted that don't feature me

Lemonade Social

This past weekend, we had our 2nd annual Lemonade Social at work. Last year I didn't have much of a role, but this year all of the projects I was working on were featured, as well as being there Saturday talking with customers and giving tours of the shop.

In addition to the new Linnea Sofa, we had a matching chair, coffee table, and end tables. So the last few weeks got a little hectic, finishing the couches, getting the coffee table built, and having the end tables thrown in at the last second (well, 4 days before the event).

With a fair amount of luck, and a ton of help, we got it done. And there was a tremendous response to the set. I heard a lot of good things from young modernists, to old ladies, telling us how we got the look and feel of it just right.

The exception to that was the chair. For whatever reason (I'm still having trouble figuring it out) the chair was just a sofa scaled down in width, but it felt too big. Some of that was the seat is 28" wide, enough for 2 people to cozy up side by side in it. But with the wide feeling was also one of it being too deep...for some people. 2 or 3 of the people I was talking with liked it at that size. We even had one couple order one of the large chairs, and one of our as yet un-built small chairs.

So that is one of the things I'm working on now. Setting up a chair 5" less wide, and 2" less deep. And for some reason, we're working on a medium sized chair, 2" bigger than the small, I guess just in case Goldilocks shows up to try them out.

We also had the cubes out on display. Dubbed Suzy Cubes (hey, not my idea) we had them stacked up and going around the corner to show off some of what you could do with them. The scrap pile cube got a fair amount of attention I'm told, so I might have some more scrapping to do in the future.

The other piece that was featured was the Laptop Desk. I got to work on it a bit right before the event because it needed a little help. One of those
"all hands" situations.

A simple base, with some paper management on one side, a drawer and charging station on the other, and a power adapter/USB throughput in the center. Some good cord management down through each of the back legs keeps the rat's nest out from under your feet, and then a set of pullout shelves in the front skirt. If I didn't already have a desk, this would be at the top of my list. I might need to set up an organizer like that for mine however.

One of the most interesting parts of the event was one of the tours I was giving. It was composed of a lady who helped design what is now our Artisan Sleigh bed, a friend of hers that does some woodworking, and another of their friends. During the whole tour the woodworker was engaged and interested in how we do all of our work, the lady was fascinated with the whole process and loves our product, and the third was stone faced throughout the tour. And so I felt as though I had to find something that would grip him, but couldn't seem to get there. As it turns out, he thinks the work we do is beautiful and amazing, and when he gets his house after getting out of the Navy this year, how this is the sort of furniture he wants. Especially our Waterfall line.

New Moccs

The new moccs arrived yesterday after months of anticipation. Scott, from Walking Liberty Moccasins, did a great job and exceeded my expectations/demands.

The welder's split turned out to be this nice neutral shade of gray instead of the horrific shade of construction boot mustard that I had resigned myself to when he said it came un-dyed. He artfully added the requested toe cap to minimize any added stiffness.

The only trouble is in the stiffness of the leather. This hide was stiffer than what he is used to working, but unfortunately all that was available. To counteract this, he has done his best to allow for the extra stiffness, Gooped up the soles (something he doesn't do anymore) so that I could try them out right away, and is even all prepared to hunt down a softer hide and remake them for me if they just don't work.

So, the breaking in period starts. Normally 3-4 days, but add a few more for the extra stiffness. And I suspect a few more for the added toe cap. I put them through their paces at the shop today, and they are already starting to work in. The toe area is definitely where the most work is needed, to allow my big toe its own wiggle room.

Since I wore them to the shop I got loads of comments. Everything from "ugly", to "must be hot", and even "those would be great hiking boots". Most people were surprised that they were custom made.

Granted, they look a bit silly with shorts, but as they soften I should be able to turn down the tops and "cuff" them into low-tops. And I have to say they aren't any hotter then my old pair of Doc's, but they sure do breath better. And even though they've got a bit to go before they break in all nice, my feet are already thanking for getting them out of those crummy old sneakers.

As much as I'd like to break them in all in one go, I'm pretty sure that's not the way to do it, so I think I'll give them (and my toes) tomorrow off and let them rest.

Shinto Bench

On and off for the past 3+ weeks, when I haven't been working on the new sofa, I've been working on what I have dubbed the Shinto Bench.

It was finally decided by the powers that be, that we (meaning the Design Team, aka me) need to have actually produced something. Since 2 of the 6 benches are for customers, they have been jumped up to the top of the priority list, and I have been working on them solidly for the past week.

They are a simple bench that echo the lines (in my eye at least) of Shinto Shrines and Temples. Simple in looks, and basic construction techniques, but actually turned out to be quite involved.

All of the tenons were through tenons, where the tenon penetrates through the legs and seat. The seat tenons will be flushed up, and have a wedge of ebony, while the stretcher tenons are left proud and are keyed with more ebony.

The mortises in this case were better served to be square, made with a hollow chisel mortiser. The hollow chisel, a sharp chisel blade on 4 sides, with a drill bit in the center, echoes the construction technique of yore, where they would drill out the waste wood first, and then come back and square everything up with a chisel. The hollow chisel mortiser does take some getting used to; making sure that everything is lined up just so, cutting just over halfway through, and then flipping, and cutting from the opposite side, leaving you with a clean surface.

To complicate all of this, the legs are splayed in both directions, necessitating the tenons going into the seat to be cut in with compound angles, which seemed simpler than cutting the mortise other than straight. The leg mortises were cut with only one angle, so the tenons could be straight with only an angled shoulder.

Then the tenons were cut by hand, with a tablesaw and dado blade, then mortised in the tenon to allow for the key. The seat was cut with our CNC router, with required a bit of tricky programming of what turned out to be 1/4 of a sine wave. Fortunately, I laid this problem to one of our showroom guys, who happens to have a background in engineering and a love of calculus, and he set me up with the equation I needed.

It was only after everything was cut and finished (for 6 benches) that I could clean one up enough to dry fit, and hope I was accurate enough for it to go together.

Fortunately, the dry fit went fine. Unfortunately, it is not easy making sure each tenon fits into each mortise. There is a lot of sanding of tenon faces, and paring of mortise cheeks until the proper fit is found.

I am pleased that it is all coming together, and that I've had the opportunity to experiment with non-traditional wood. The long cherry bench was requested as Artistic Sapwood cherry, where I was to select an interesting board with sapwood, and sort of bookmatch it into a seat. It may be a bit hard to see in the photo, but the sapwood runs down the middle of the seat, lightening in the center where we cut down into the heart. It was to be a bit rustic. I followed through with that same thought for the other customer's bench, in walnut. In this case, there was more sapwood, so the only heart left on the bench is in the 4 corners.

Too bad I didn't think to make one for myself, I do really like them. I just don't want to ever have to make them again for any reason.

An Overabundance of Logs

Sudden and severe thunderstorms are sort of the norm in the Mid-Atlantic region during June and July. Tornado warnings aren't unheard of, but I remember hearing about them maybe once a year, and sometimes not at all. This year, it seems as though every other T-storm has tornado warning associated with it.

With all this crazy wind and rain branches and limbs are coming down all over the place, which gives me a great opportunity to get green wood to experiment with.

Yesterday I got some walnut logs and branches, as well as an elm branch, a dogwood trunk section, and some type of fruitwood.

Then there is the limb that came down in our own backyard. The landlord cut it up, and stacked it against the fence, and there are a few sections that I have my eye on. I've also got some maple being held for me from a downed limb at a friends house.

One of the things I'm looking forward to is trying out different woods than what I have access to at the shop. The other things is turning the green wood, and then letting it distort as it dries.

And, We're Off

Tuesday's design collaboration came up with a good looking couch frame. I then "sculpted", sanded, and reassembled the couch so that it may go out to our Rockville showroom.

We're having a second back cushion made, as the complaint on the top of the list (so far) is that the back is too hard/stiff. I'm personally not terribly in love with the bullnose on the arm, and we still need to pin down the edge treatment for the rest of the frame.

We'll do all that after we get a few weekends worth of input from out customers. If you happen to be in Rockville MD, come by the Hardwood Artisans showroom and sit in it.

Couch Prototype

Most of what I've been working on, when I haven't been hiding from heat stroke, has been the prototype couch. The Mark I was entirely build from plywood, to get the basic dimensions and feel.

After getting the upholstery back, we had round 1 of sitting and adjusting, which consisted of 8 people sitting and giving their opinions, some more detailed than others, and concluded with the need for 2 more inches of back padding, more slender arms, and a seat pitch adjustment. Round 2 had 10 (maybe more) people getting grilled on the feel of the couch, and concluded with a need to drop the arm by 3/4", as well as the whole couch by 3/4".

Thursday I did a little AutoCAD drawing, trying to nail down the aesthetics, and tie it into the Mid-Century Line. My ideas seemed to be somewhat well received, which gives me some encouragement to this whole design thing.

Today, we started in on the Mark II. Solid wood, finalizing dimensions and construction methods (even though we are just screwing this one together, we are thinking of how the "real" versions will be put together), and getting ready to sculpt.

The Mark I with uphostery, Mark II waiting for upholstery.

I've also finally gotten around to photographing the cubes
Cherry by itself, and the scrap box stacked atop the cherry.

and the sink stand lacquered and with chrome bars attached.

Film Star, Design Team, and Cubes

Even though I haven't been posting recently, it has not been from lack of content. Let's start with the Cubes.

I got to be a part of the idea, and implementation of the Cubes. 13 1/2" 4-sided cubes, that could be modular. Get 2 and put them side by side and they can function as a coffee table. Need the floor space, separate them and use them as end tables. Get a few more, and stack them against the wall and you have a bookcase.

I did a bit of research (mostly just happening across similar items online and collating them), the idea was well received, and given the green light. I then happened across an article for Scrapile. A Brooklyn based company that was creating high-end furniture out of scraps from New York's woodworking industry. I thought that would be perfect for a Cube.

Unfortunately, my skills were deemed to valuable in Cube production, so they were handed off to one of our up and coming craftsman. I did get to make the scrap panels for the solitary scrap Cube prototype, in which I learned that its harder than it seems like it would be.

Now that the Cubes have been put together I'll have to get some photos, so you have that to look forward to.

In the mean time you can all try to picture me as a Film Star. 2 weeks ago I was asked to participate as a background figure while some customers were interviewed and filmed for an info-mentary. It turns out that there wasn't really room in the shot for background figures, so mostly I helped with the prop and set work (moving furniture and lights around wherever they wanted for filming). But then they wanted some interviews for employees, so reluctantly I was put on film talking about actually making this stuff.

I am told I did well, that I have 'a presence', and that I know what I'm talking about and that I am passionate about it, so that it comes through well. All I know is that I was nervous, and still don't think I like being the focus of a camera.

So that leaves, the Design Team. I've been moved over to the newly created Design Team, in which we are going to develop some new products, filling out at least one of our product lines, and maybe redoing some of our current products. I am, at the moment, the only member of the Design Team. I will be getting to work with a 2nd craftsman when he finishes his current projects.

As my first task for Design Team, I was to make some promotional pencil cups. Being not very difficult, I was able to over two half-days. The second, and much more difficult task, was to design a Mid-Century Classic Sofa. We had some photos of a Scandinavian designed couch, a desk bookcase and filedrawer already in that line to match it too, and a couple of discussions of elements we'd like to see in the sofa.

I started designing and drawing on the computer, to get ideas down and concrete. At some point it was decided that the concept phase needed to be in realspace, so we could tweak the comfort of the couch and actually sit on it, then develop the aesthetics to tie it into the Mid-Century Classic style.

So I've been making a plywood sofa back to be padded and upholstered. Not very easy. There were a few false starts, a couple of good ideas, and then the impracticality of those ideas when I actually got to trying to bend 1/4 luan around some not-so-gentle curves.

So I have a back that I'm not so sure of, that happens to be 2" too long, as I neglected to resolve the armrest overhang problem satisfactorily before I actually began the back construction.

This just reiterates what I already knew, which is that designing is tricky business. Made trickier by that fact that I am not the final authority on this project. When doing my own designs I am beholden only to my own ideas and ideals, which I can change to suit whatever obstacle I encounter.

On this project I am on the front lines, and while I do have input, I have at the very least 2 people, and probably more like 8 people, who are the authority.

Photos of all this to come. Maybe tomorrow.

The sink stand. The backsplash will reportedly get tiles, and I've got some chrome bars that will go across the front and sides. It looks and feels a little wobbly, but the weight of the cast iron sink sits over the legs, and keeps the whole thing stable.


The decorations look a little less awkward when mounted on the side of the bed. If you look closely, you can see the dents, dings, and holes in them. After they were made and carefully sanded, they were "distressed".

The Sink and Rolling Pin

The funny rolling pin/decorative turning thing was removed from the chopping block. It turns out that was exactly what the customer was thinking. I did have to make a slight modification, turning the ends down to 1 1/2", and turning 2 extra because we were no longer cutting them directly in half.

In other news, I've spent the last 2 days fighting with a cast iron utility sink. I'm building a bare bones sink stand for it, and have had to make a lot of fittings and adjustments to get the sink to fit. Cutting weird parts out of the mitered top, even cutting out around half of the rear skirt in order to accommodate the plumbing.

Today it was up, with the sink fit in it, and almost ready to go. I'll touch it up, and send it off to be white washed, and get to work on the pair of bathroom vanities that will accompany it, which I finally got the final dimensions for.

Pictures later, if I can remember to tote along my camera to work.

Various Updates

Before the weather turned nasty, I got to turn a bit and try out the new chuck.

This was also my chance to start work on the coffee cup that one of my co-workers wanted me to make. How to build and mount the handle will be my challenge for the upcoming weeks.

Since the weather isn't cooperating today, I spent a little time finishing up my display panels for my jewelry. Simple stands with a slightly angled groove, so that the 1/4" panel slopes back ever so slightly. A pair of larger cherry panels, a pair of curly maple panels, and a small curly maple panel.

For earrings, drilling pairs of holes throughout should work well. I have yet to decide the best way to hang necklaces and bracelets, dowels or hooks.