Category Archives: Furniture

Shaker….clean lines, clean craftsmanship.

Gallery

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Shaker....clean lines, clean craftsmanship.

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I love Shaker inspired things….I started making Shaker pieces as projects when I was at woodworking school, starting with a wonderful bench……I have made sets of these tables almost every year since I opened my studio….. Made from measured drawings … Continue reading →

New life for the Old Elms

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This big puppy has been transformed………..
A big plank of felled elm, we lose so many here… age, dutch elm disease, most go to landfill [a big beef I have, so much history, such wonderful wood, such a shame]…… Bill Best, a large animal vet rescued this one from a cemetery in town, it took a big crane to load the huge tree trunk unto his tractor & trailer so he could take it to the mill. His wonderful wife Mary has been planting young Elms on their farms hedge rows to be sure there are still some elms around in the future, she has planted 100′s, no mean feat with a shovel [did I mention I admire these people, both busy professionals]…they took this big plank from Bill’s ‘tree rescue’ to me wanting a rustic coffee table made from it.Hmmmmm …..
I had to think on this one, I wanted only to use the plank, nothing more, had to be 48-50 inches long.

Oh what to do…what to do, Will I leave the bark on ???? 
The ‘old boys’ say it will stay on depending on what phase the moon is in when it is cut…this bark didn’t want to come off & I like the dark on the outside of the light sapwood so it remained.

 

Here it is letting the glue dry in the mortise & tenons, joining the base ‘legs’ [that were cut from each end and shaped] to the top. I will put some braces on it just to be sure the joints stay strong because it is going in their log clubhouse for the new disc golf course they and their family are building. The old log ‘church’ was also salvaged by the Best’s, transported and rebuilt.And here is the big ‘Reveal’ today after the first coat of oil was flooded unto the surface….The wood is beautiful, a lovely tawny color with gorgeous figure where the tree had branches growing from it.

Now I will keep my fingers crossed that it makes the Best’s smile …….
So very pleased that the weather allows outdoor picture taking these days.

So have any of you ever played ‘disc golf’, this will be our first course on PEI.

A friendly face…

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to greet you when you come home….this is the third in a series of ‘Porch Dawgs’ that I have laughed myself into making..wonderful to sit on to tie your shoes..I think the next will be a beaver, then maybe a cat…
he is carved from butternut, with turned paws and a little walnut tongue and belly….
See I have a sense of humor.
The little fellow will be leaving this week to hang out in the house with the Kauri table I posted earlier.
He is well trained…….and sooo friendly!!

Come join the Imperfectly Perfect Furniture ….. My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia….Furniture Friday at Miss Mustard Seed       SAS Interiors Saturday Spotlight   Freckled Laundry  link up Parties..
Wonderful pieces to see, you could show off your own work.

Fit for a sit…

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The shop is dusty, finish is drying, like working in a madhouse…..I LOVE making stools & benches, this is just finished, will go in my studio waiting for a behind to “sit and fit”. I can’t begin to count the Windsor stools I have made……..


Turned from solid black walnut, the legs are wedged through the seat that has been turned to a dish shape..perfect for settling in………
 This black one below is my 3 legged ‘shop stool’………have spent many hours settled in to this one….fits perfect !!

A nice cherry, the wood just gets lovelier with age…
Find a stool that fits..one for your height & your size.

 

Kauri Table

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I am soooooo so loving this beautiful wonderful wood !! Also wishing it was going to grace my own kitchen ..sigh. Some pieces you make are really hard to part with……..I am glad it isn’t leaving just yet……and with the beautiful planks you can see beside it, something else will catch my fancy, I am sure.
 I did not want to show this table until the owner had taken a look. He came on the weekend to take a peek. I was nervous, I had free rein to do what I wanted, he had just told me what plank he wished for the top. You are never sure if you made the right decisions….
And he LIKED it !!
 Really hard to get a picture that does it justice, seeing as I couldn’t even be in the room to get a shot……Maybe before it leaves we can set it outside and take a few proper shots..
The thing weighs a ton…2 very able men to move the top…myself and an able man to lift the base.
There are still 3 very large planks waiting to be worked with ….just deciding what.
 It is made from Ancient Swamp Kauri, dated to be 30,000 years old, mined from the peat bogs in New Zealand. The gentleman who commissioned me to build some pieces out of it had a container shipped from NZ when he was there on vacation.
The wood is very resinous, accounts for the weight, but the figure and the colors in the wood are stunning. The top is 2.5 inches thick, 90 inches long and 40 inches wide…….the home where it will join a family is a post & beam open concept cedar house, overlooking the water..this should be spectacular in the space.
 Is this not fantastic, oh you just can’t imagine when it is flooded with light what happens……..looks like it is on fire !
 A couple of views of the through joinery and the ebony pegs to tighten the stretcher underneath.
With the thickness of the top, I kept the dimensions large for the legs and adjoining pieces….nothing fussy just timbers…..a rubbed oil finish, feels very soft with a wonderful lustre.
I have saved every off cut, Kauri is such a treasure waste is not part of the equation.
 It was somewhat scary every time you made a cut…you could NOT go get another piece if you made a mistake…I measured more than twice.))
I am hoping that I will be sent a picture of it when it is in its new home…………..Smiles,
Take a look at all the wonderful furniture projects at Primitive & Proper ‘s Piece of Work Furniture party !!

Easter Hare??

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I so like towel hangers, coat hangers…..also LOVE hares, have a hare art collection….I carved this maybe for Easter, but mostly because the hares the dogs and I see on our walks each day have just turned brown again. They are so kind eyed, remind me of does.
Digging into my vintage silver that I have been collecting for years..the ‘hooks’ are made from butter knives…I think this would be wonderful in a child’s room..not babyish and Sponge Bobish. Little coats and shirts would be so cute hanging on it.