Matt’s Weekly Shop Update – Mar 28, 2017

March 29, 2017
Matt's Weekly Shop Update

Started to cut the crotchy white oak log and added the rails to the bed.

Viewer Projects

Bassinet by Ben

Pendant Lights by James

Attached are a few photos of some pendant lights I made with leftover material from other projects. I used curly spalted soft maple, walnut, white oak, and mahogany. I typically finish with lacquer but I used boiled linseed oil on this because I didn’t think I could get a nice finish in all of the small openings if I sprayed lacquer. I used box joints and I really like how the sides come together with different species of wood. The walnut panel on the ceiling is there to cover a ~8’x2′ whole I made in the ceiling when I took down a row of cabinets and the soffit between the kitchen and the living area.

Crib by Evan

My aunt and uncle are also having a baby boy, due march, and for Christmas I made them this convertible crib, and dresser set.

It took me about 5 months and the crib changes from a crib, to a toddler bed, and then to a twin bed. It’s curly maple and walnut!

Sofa Table by Jim

This was my first project utilizing mortise and tenon joinery as well as making breadboard ends. Todd Clippinger, from American Craftsman Workshop, was also making a walnut table with breadboard ends as I was making mine. He was such a huge help, even giving me a call to give me additional information that was too detailed for an instagram feed. So cool.

The clients had some pretty detailed needs here. They wanted it to finish at 100″ long to replace an existing homemade table of that length, and they didn’t want a stretcher underneath, since they wanted to be able to sit at the table to eat and watch tv. They also wanted me to stain it to match wood tones in the room. This was honestly my biggest challenge. I didn’t have time to get or send samples so I worked off pictures of their room alone. It’s finished with General Finishes Rosewood water based stain (which I thought would match) but it was super red (see below) so I went over that with a GF Java Gel stain, and got SUPER lucky, as it had the same redish dark brown tone as the trim and furnishings in their home VERY well. The top coat was GF Arm-R-Seal.

In the end, it was a very trying project with so many unknowns, but it was a huge learning process as well. I’d be happy to do another, but a Festool Domino might be in my future too lol