Woodshop plans

Quick update. Plus, I got a new switch for my ShopVac. It must have been a pretty standard size: my local hardware store had it. I love it when things I think will be a hassle work out fine!

Mere Minutes

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Heres the bottom line: If you are planning to start your woodworking project, any of these products isnt something you SHOULD use, its something that you would be insane not to.

I have what I consider a fairly large shop and I am very thankful to have access to it. The building is owned by my mothers truss manufacturing company which is located in a small industrial park in Dothan, Al. The building I am using is one of the smaller buildings in the park but it is turning out to be a good workshop.

I have actually had tools in the shop for over a year now, I first put them in there when I was making furniture out of some reclaimed heart pine that I had easy access too and was able to get it at a good price. The economy was falling out when I started that so it seemed that no one wanted to buy furniture made out of the expensive wood. Anyways, that little venture opened my eyes up to the world of furniture making.

In the past few months I have gotten serious bout fixing the shop up and getting some quality tools inside. I have fixed a few leaks in the flat tar roof but there are still a few which I am hoping to spend some time on this week.

Here are some photos of the shop right now. The things that I have added in the past couple of months are: the 3 different sets of shelves, the Grizzly table saw, the sawhorses that are being used as lumber storage, the stackable saw horses, the small pegboard board, shop vac



Here you can see an old metal drafting table that I have been using as a workbench and an assembly table and it does neither one well. The top on the thing is warped big time so everything is out of wack that I try to assemble on the table. I usually work on the side with the drawers so thats where my clamps clamp onto and the drawers always get in the way, and the overhang isnt sufficient.

Behind that you can see a small pegboard board that I put up to get some of my handtools off the floor and the old desk, boy was this helpful although the clips in the pegboard dont stay on as good as I had hoped even with the little black clips that are supposed to help. The shelves there are some that I recently put in the shop that I got from a remodel job.



In this picture you can see my "miter saw stand" that I built with some 2x4s. It serves its purpose to hold up longer boards when they are being cut but that is it. I plan on building cabinets down this wall with the miter saw built into them. There are my stackable saw horse, and some green metal shelving that we had in storage. I think they came out of a grocery store or something, they arent very sturdy as they stand there because they dont have the correct bracing. I am probably going to do away with these.

There are a few sheet goods stored against the wall there and one half sheet of pegboard leaning against the metal double doors. Last but not least my new Grizzly table saw (if you look closely you can tell this picture was taken before I had the saw hooked up to 220v).



In this photo is a shelf that I built about a year ago just to get a few of my power tools off the floor. I recently put a few pieces of 1 by between the braces to hold a few clamps. Underneath that is a small table that I build while I was building my plywood sailing dingy. Also right in that area is my new Grizzly air hose reel. At this point I hadnt installed the hose on the reel yet.

Just beyond that you can see a few air hoses hanging up in the entrance to the hallway which goes back a pretty good ways. Down it are two bathrooms and a side door.

There is a poplar table that I built for a local church as an offering table. To the left of it is another area that i am currently using to store lumber and my shop smith stuff.



Here you can see the storage area with the lumber and the shopsmith. I bought the shopsmith when I was getting into the heart pine furniture in hopes that it would do everything I needed to make the furniture. It is capable of doing alot of things but not many of them very well so I think it has to go. It has the table saw, band saw, scroll saw attachments and I even have the planer/jointer.

To the right are two rickety "tables" I made out of 2x4s. One has a skil router table on it which I dont plan on using much longer. I want to build a router table and maybe incorporate the skil table into it.





Here is the front corner of the shop with some big windows that let in alot of natural light (and alot of heat!).



Here you can see the boxes that the table saw arrived in, I am keeping them few a few days to make sure that the table saw is in good working order. If something is damaged I would need the boxes as proof that the damage could have occurred during shipping. Luckily it looks like the saw is unscathed.

Just to the right of that is a table that I built out of heart pine that I am using as a desk right now. Behind that is the door to a small office that I am currently storing some of the heart pine furniture that I built in. Also you can see the 3rd shelf unit that I added to the shop recently to the right of the table.

Thats about it! I plan on making alot of improvements in the next few months, maybe I can get some furniture to build too!

Welcome Back Everyone,

To continue from yesterday: Ive taken the bowl back down to the wood shop and Ive deepened the two sections of the bowl so it will accommodate both the bowl in the center with veggies all around it.

Here are the photos:

This photo shows a side view of the bowl and if you look carefully you can see a little tear out in the end grain. Im dealing with this by sharpening my roughing gouge and very gently shaving away the surface:

Here is the bowl after a couple of minutes-you can see how this is smoothing down the surface. It sure saves time on sanding!


Hollowing out the bowl was not difficult as its well balanced and the wood is finely grained so it turned smoothly. Ive fit the dip bowl to fit up to its rim. You could use a bowl like this for nuts or other types of treats as well and it can be used with or without the dip bowl:


In this photo Ive done a little preliminary sanding. I really like this bowl:


Its getting really cold outside and my hands are freezing up and I still have one more project to do, Im going to stop and come back tomorrow and finish sanding it.

VW

Hello Everyone,

Well, its continuing to get colder and colder here and with the wind, our beautiful leaves are disappearing. I went out for a walk this morning and it was brisk outside. Snow will be here soon.

Back to the scrap wood bowl. Ive begun finishing it. I previously applied a wood sealer to the surface and then a natural pine stain in order to deepen the pine color. I got into a discussion with the future owner of the bowl over the application of a mahogany colored wood stain, which I wasnt too keen on. She loves the color red ( I dont blame her, its my favorite color too) and I wanted to accommodate that to the extent that I could so instead of applying a solid layer of stain, I elected to used two colors of wood stain and to sponge it on the surface.

Sponge painting is a common craft technique and its easy to find images on the Internet of surfaces that have been painted this way using paint. I never could find anything about using wood stain instead so this was uncharted territory. I wanted to use wood stain so the pine color would show through a little in the hope that this would dampen the intensity of the red stains and not overwhelm the piece. I also wanted to use a second color to help add more detail to the surface. My goal then was to color a section of the bowl with three colors: a claret red, a cognac colored brown, and the native yellow of the wood.

I purchased two stains in claret and cognac by Varathane. Their claret stain is akin to a cardinal red and the cognac is a medium reddish brown. And I also got a very rough piece of a sea sponge for this project.

Here are todays photos:

Here is the bowl ready to go with all the stuff I bought:


I spent several minutes masking off the portions of the bowl that I did not want stained with blue painters tape. Im going to stain a wide area that includes the rim:


All taped up and ready to go:


I shook the cans to mix them well and then just lightly dipped a corner of the sponge into the stain and then applied it gently to the surface of this scrap pine board. This is the cognac colored stain:


In this photo on the left hand side you can see the claret colored stain. In the right hand side you can see the two colors overlapping one another.

Ok, moment of truth-should I stain or not?


Press On! Here is the bowl with the claret stain only. The stain is down the sides and on the top edge of the rim:


And here is the finish photo with the claret stain, the cognac stain, with a little bit of unstained pine showing through:


Now Im going to let this dry for the next 2 days and then remove the tape and take a look at it. If it comes out looking positively horrid, then I can put the bowl back on the lathe and remove it (ahhh, the magic of wood turning!). Probably Ill finish the bowl at that point and then sit and look at it for a while.


Stay tuned, were not done!

VW

Hi All,

Well, while Hollys bowl cools its heels in the shop, we have another project to do and here is the story behind that:

I have a lovely cousin in California who is quite ill at the moment. Fortunately she has a lot of family support in this and specifically she has what sounds like three lovely daughters who have been actively supporting her and her husband. Two of the daughters live in California and the other lives on the east coast. All of them have quite a distance to travel but they do take the time to see their mom and to help out their dad.

I dont know about all of you but being a caregiver can be a lot of work and very stressful and the people in this world who do care for very ill family or friends should be called out and recognized for all that they do. So here is the SWW effort in that direction: Im going to make the daughters each a small present as a thank you and also to let them know that regardless of how the situation with their mom turns out, they have family who care very much about them.

Discussion and Plans

Im going to make each of the daughters a small wooden plate that they can take home and use. I have some white ash, black walnut, and a piece of cumaru wood to use in this and Ive cut out two of the blanks so far.

This is a photo of the cumaru plate (the square plate) and the black walnut blank:


I will cut out the white ash blank later this week and get all of these blanks ready for turning. As Ive only turned one piece of cumaru wood in my life, this will be a new adventure as this wood is very hard and dense and will present a challenge.

So here we go again. Get some coffee and drop by the wood shop-we have a new adventure before us.

Best,
VW

When I see a piece of furniture, its the joinery Im drawn to.

I love to cut joinery, I should add to that. I love to cut joinery by hand. For me there is just no better way to spend a day in the shop because I find it to be one of the most satisfying processes in woodworking. I understand some people find fulfillment in finishing and some just find it in the end product, some probably even find it in the initial milling boards to size, Ive never heard anyone say they enjoy glue-ups or assembly but Im sure theres someone who loves that as well. (glue up time seems to be my most irritable time)
Heres the problem, I think that all of us a workers of wood can appreciate well executed joinery as a mark of craftsmanship and sometimes refinement. On some level, non-woodworkers can appreciate those things too. But often joinery is just not enough to supply the drama good pieces need. Projects need an element that draws people to look at them, to pick them out of a room or a picture. Something to draw the eyes of woodworkers and non-woodworkers alike. Whether its complex drama like carving, inlay or marquetry or simpler drama like a tapered leg, a simple turning, or an eye catching moulding, there needs to be some aspect that will tell a story.
Lately Ive been writing about my building a version of Chuck Benders William and Mary bookstand. When I saw it in Popular Woodworking Magazine I knew I was going to have to build one for several reasons. One reason was that even though it was a smaller piece, there is a ton of joinery going on in this baby. Another reason was I fell in love with the subtle drama of it. The combination of small turned feet and scalloped relief cuts makes this piece sing out a story most everyone wants to hear.

The turning comes later, for now lets start with the scalloped relief cuts or cyma curves.
 No templates were harmed in the creation of these relief cuts. Instead I carried out a simple layout using a pair of dividers to scratch in the eventual saw cuts. I used a marking gauge to define a line down the middle of the piece. Then I set the dividers to the depth of that mark and from the center of the board, scratched in the center curve.

Without changing the dividers setting I took three steps down the center line, I placed my post pin on the outer edge of the board and scratched a matching curve, but in the opposite profile. I repeated that until I had three semi circles total, one in the center and two on either end.
 Then I took a different pair of dividers and set them to around 2/3rds the width of the first setting. I did not measure, I used my eyes. I then played with the distance to find the "sweet spot" that would connect the end of the centers circle with the sweep of the outer circle and I scratched that in place. I darkened all the scratch lines with a pencil and shaded the areas to remove.
 Now I was ready to begin to cut them out. I had meant to cut these out on the bandsaw, but for whatever reason the wood gods were not on my side while I tried to change out to a thin 1/8" blade. After an hour of setting, tensioning, and swearing, I gave up and decided I would have to resort to the coping saw. Not really a defeat, I like to work with the coping saw too, so closer to changing gears.
 I dug out my Moxon Vice, set it up, clamped in the first piece of stock, and went to work. First I sawed out as much of the waste as possible.
 Then I set about cleaning up the lines and making them as crisp as possible. To accomplish this I moved back and forth between a couple rasps, a couple chisels and even some paring with a relaxed sweep carving gouge.
 This method of ding it by hand does not create carbon copies on each of the four pieces, but the truth is you will never see them stacked in profile like this.
 Instead they will be spread out around the four sides of the frame, and even though they are not perfect copies, unless someone breaks out a ruler and goes to town measuring them, no one will ever be the wiser. So if you are the type that gets hung up on these things, my advice is that you gotta relax a bit man. In the end if it looks right, it is right.

Ratione et Passionis
Oldwolf

If you missed them and you want to catch up on the rest of the William and Mary Book Stand story all the articles have been collected together HERE.

I bought the book, but not through Chris’ offer, but instead, from Lee Valley Tools, a company I support whenever possible. Now don’t start thinking I believe in “Protectionism” because the reality is, I believe that concept to be ridiculously counterproductive. I bought the book from Lee Valley solely for selfish reasons.

Canada has one-tenth the population of The United States. Lee Valley, and its tool-manufacturing arm, Veritas, sell worldwide, but also operate 13 stores across the country. Compare that to a company like Rockler, which operates, between owned and partnered, 90 stores across the United States and you get some idea about what this Canadian company is up against. Now add in exorbitant taxes, ridiculous levels of government red tape and high overhead, and you have to wonder why this company stays in Canada at all. Trust me, it ain’t easy being Canadian, despite what you read, and even harder to be a successful corporation here. I just figure if enough Canadians are like me and stay loyal to this company’s retail outlets, we will give them an incentive to stay here and not be like the many others who moved south of the border in search of greater profits. Protectionism tries to keep others out. Loyalty tries to keep ours in.

Ok, enough of that, on to the book.

A while back, after downloading the teaser and having a look, I gave credit to Al Parrish for the fabulous photography in this book. At that time I didn’t know who did the design and layout of it, but thought they deserved some recognition as well, as this is a truly well-done publication. The first thing I did when I got my hands on my copy was to look through the title pages to see who did what and discovered that the Typographer of Essential Handplanes was Linda Watts. If I went looking for the designer’s name, you know I had to be impressed with her work.

The bottom line regarding Christopher’s work in this book is that I’m glad I bought it. It is a comfortable read, forces one to think, and is packed full of information.

First and foremost is Christopher’s style of writing. While his topic is technical, his writing structure is relaxed and informal. As you read it you get the feeling that he is talking to you about planes while the two of you are having a beer together at the local pub. His ability to achieve this, “Hey, buddy” attitude throughout the book is the anecdotal information he adds to almost every article, most quite funny. After reading the book I know he has a reserved respect for some of his past shop teachers, gets a charge out of some of his own students, can easily be made to spit up his coffee, has a wife that owns cats and often shops for tools at antique shows and flea markets. Chris also has some rather strange phrases that he throws out that make you pause. Thankfully, he does not give explanations of them because, frankly, I never want to know just how wet a Louisiana’s underarm is. All of these little charmers are included by Chris to bring his human side into his technical writing, making the reading and learning experience far more enjoyable than it should be.

In fairness to Christopher, he has acknowledged in several articles published during the lead time for this book that it is a compilation of his past articles on handplanes, and he wasn’t exaggerating that point. There is a fair amount of repetition in it, more than would be necessary in a 312 page publication that focuses on one topic. The book does, however, touch on just about every aspect of handplanes that you can think of; from buying them, through using and sharpening them, to selling them on eBay. Where the information excels, though, is in his constant comparisons between vintage and new that are found throughout the book. As someone who is starting to look at adding some more planes to my collection, I found these observations helpful and informative. I also enjoyed learning more about the less common types of planes out there as Chris included articles about Miter, Moulding, Rabbet, Plow and Shoulder Planes; all covered by one article about the plane itself, and a second describing how to use it. With his descriptions of some of the processes, you will have to go back over the content two or three times because the first time around, you have no idea what the hell he is talking about. In those rare cases, though, the fault lies with the complexity of the process, rather than the inability of the writer.

While I am more than impressed with the book and found it to be well worth the forty bucks it cost me, I am not without my criticisms, although few.

The major complaint I have with the book is its lack of graphics to help explain the technical aspects of many of the processes covered. True, there are many photographs included, and while they are well done, some information requires a technical drawing to truly get the point across, and these are seriously missing in this publication. An example of this is within his article entitled, “Squaring Boards Using Handplanes & An Historic Book”. Six technical photographs accompany this article, and while they are all well done, they just do not give the viewer as much information as a well thought out graphic would. The two photographs that show planes running either across the grain, or at an extreme angle to it, freeze the planes’ travels at mid point, the least problematic point in a plane’s stroke. It is easily understood that a long soled plane will bridge the hollow in the middle of a cupped board. Where the problem lies for the inexperienced is in the start and end where the sole isn’t supported at both ends by the high points. Displaying one good graphic that could show all three points of a stroke; the start the middle and the end, would be a huge benefit in determining how to handle the entire stroke. There are a few more examples that would be better served by an accompanying illustration, but this one alone exemplifies their omission.

While overall I was extremely pleased with the book, I have to admit that a nag seemed to grow in the back of my mind as I progressed through it, a nag that keep saying, “There, see, he isn’t as lax about technicalities as he leads you to believe”. Christopher makes many comments throughout the many processes he covers which point out areas where he believes such things as blade angles and the like are not that relevant, or where perfection in grinding them is not necessary. Some of his comments also lead the reader to believe, at least this reader, that Chris isn’t too impressed with those that chase perfection in all things plane, and that planing is a technique, not a science, the way some treat it. My background with handplanes has always led me to believe that, whether that concept be right or wrong. However, throughout the book, many of his technical explanations belie this attitude, which results in that nagging in the back of my mind. On the one hand, my reason for respecting Chris for his instructional work is because, in my mind, he isn’t anal about what he is describing. On the other hand, I could actually see his butt cheeks tightening as I read some of the explanations he included in this book and believe me, that is a mind-image I would rather not see.

With all the content, descriptions and advice included in this book, there is one that stood out for me like it had neon lights around it and reading it resulted in a rather hilarious result. To explain, like most married men, the one room in the house that I feel left alone in is the can, and much to Chris’ chagrin, that is where Handplane Essentials resided until I had finished reading it. Reading along, I came across the line, “Teaching yourself to use a handplane without guidance is a challenge”, and when I read it, I let out a rather loud “No Shit!”, a profanity that is common for me, but one that is not normally stated with such vigor. After finishing that article, and – ahem - “finishing up” in general, I went off to the kitchen. When I got there I found my wife cooking something, and when I walked in she pointed to something on the kitchen table. I turned to have a look and discovered two plums sitting in a small bowl and listened to her comment, “Eat those, they may help you”. With great embarrassment, I explained that my comment was figurative, not literal, but I did thank her for her concern.

So what brought on this reaction? Let me explain.

My exposure to handplanes before switching over to hand tools is limited more to the results of planing, rather than the use of a plane. As a carpenter who specialized in kitchen cabinets, my old man always worked on a site, rather than in the shop. Because his toolbox was often his workbench, it was always full of shavings and it was my job on Saturdays, before he went off to the Legion, to clean them, as well as the sawdust, out. I remember collecting those shavings and playing with them, as the lengths of those paper thin strips of wood fascinated me, as well as how those really thin lacy ones felt when I rubbed them between my fingers.

Sadly, by the time I was old enough to help out in the shop and job site he had pretty much stopped using planes except for the occasional swipe or two. Patience was not his virtue, so when the price of power tools came down enough that he could afford them, he found himself a new altar to pray at. His most revered purchase was a radial arm saw, purchased in 1967 and produced by Skil. What that man could do with that saw would make old Norm green with envy. The result of all of this was that my instruction, and believe me, I got a ton of it whether I wanted it or not, was limited to all things with a power cord.

One time stands out, though, a time when he brought out his Stanley Block Plane. There are two reasons this occasion stands out to me; the first of which is that this was a very rare joint in his work; one that didn’t fit as tightly as his joints always did. In truth, I believe I had something to do with its slight misalignment as when the old man cut a miter joint; either on the tablesaw or the radial saw, you couldn’t slide a cigarette paper anywhere along it, they were always that tight and true. This was a consistent accomplishment that I was never been able to achieve and having seen the results of many professionals, both on and off the television and web, I can attest to the fact that not many others have achieved his deft control either. My second reason for remembering this incident is that it was one of those very rare times that I volunteered a question, asking him to explain the tool a bit to me because I was intrigued by it.

In answer to my question, my father gave me a quick run-down on planes. I remember him explaining the different angles of planes, some of what to look for when you apply them to wood, and which one to use for different applications. He didn’t, however, explain to me any of the technicalities of it, and in fact, volunteered the admission that he just didn’t know them, which, at the time, surprised the hell out of me because I thought my old man knew everything there was to know about woodworking. What he did say, though, was that if you use it, you quickly learn what works and what doesn’t, and like any tool, you soon develop a “feel” for it, knowing how to get the most out of it “instinctively”, which was a huge word for him, considering his grade 5 education.

Now I don’t know whether or not my old man was full of it when he told me about developing a “feel” and “instinct” about a plane, but I can tell you that I am not my father’s son when it comes to teaching myself about getting the most out of one, which is why I bought Chris’ book in the first place.

I will tell you one thing I know for a fact, and that is that buying this book is truly a worth-while purchase. It may not make you a better planer, but after reading it, at least you will know why.

My copy does not have a little hand-drawn picture on the title page, though. Bummer!

Peace,

Mitchell

As soon as we get the approval on the most recent finish samples we sent to the client, well get this table into the finishing process ... Trevor used the end grain from a cutoff to make the patches, a nice touch .... Click the pictures to enlarge them ...

Heres a close up of the angle iron we used to help hold the table flat across its width where it was cut to insert the leaf. Traditionally, we run the grain the grain the short way on our expanding tables, but this client wanted the wood grain running the long way since she plans to use the leaf only occasionally ... It presented this design/engineering challenge, but we all like the way the top looks with the long, matched grain ...

Except for a couple of patches in the top and some aprons on the leaf, we finished construction on the recycled oak table (see post below).

Need some aprons on the leaf

this picture shows the steel and the Watertown runners on the underside of the top .. Its a heavy one ...

We werent sure about the mismatched grain and the breadboards on the leaf until we saw it all together today. With the recycled lumber, it all seems to make perfect sense ...

This is the jig Trevor made to taper the 3" legs on the bandsaw ...All for now until we get final approval on the finish samples ...

Yesterday was a beautiful summer day, actually one of the first hot sun, blue sky, put your shorts on, summer days of the season and I took advantage of it to go to the Danby Bluegrass Festival with some friends. Will and his Goldtown group, were playing with some other friends as The Johnny Davis Band so it was an easy decision to hop in the car and go. Compared to the other acts, they were definitely the youngest, but they ripped through a number of bluegrass standards and some of their own stuff and were well received by the crowd. I know they had a good time too ... The site was picture perfect, the other performers were real fine and it was just a great afternoon .... Click the pictures to enlarge them ...

I got there in time to see Smokey Greene sing that 70s classic, "Drop Kick Me Jesus Through The Goal Posts of Life" ... I last saw him do that locally in the 70s before we both quit the bar scene. I missed a great photo op of a small group of line dancers doing the dkmjttgpol line dance ... quite the sight. Smokey closed his set with about 20 people on stage helping him sing some classic standard, though I cant remember which one it was.

Next up was Will and his friends doing their stuff...

Will, getting down some good banjo licks ...

Acoustic Blue ... Classic standards and gospel, with Smokey helping them out..

the crowd

The last set I caught was by Junior Barber and his friends from Platsburgh, New York.
Junior as a dobro player is right up there with Jerry Douglas imho, and it was great to see them perform. Im sure the group after them was great but we had the Lilly party to go to, where there was an acre of blooming daylillies, an acre of friends, a 1/2 acrre of pot luck food, and about a half hour of professional quality fireworks. Its an annual event for at least the last ten years and never fails to be great. Had I checked my email before bed I would have found an order for one of our fanciest pool tables. Today I feel like I went through the goal posts for the winning point.

ive been making pool tables now since about 1989 .... hmmm almost 25 years?  seems like a blink.  i was first captivated by pool in high school, at the bowling alley, at Frys, the luncheonette with two pool tables in the back, one for an open 9 ball game (50 cents and a dollar) and one for the old men to play one pocket on.  high chairs to watch too.  there was also another 8 table room on the second floor above woolworths where we hung out and played games to 25 or 50 for time.  loser paid for the table time.  i got hooked by the geometry, the skill building, the camaraderie and pool hall culture.  and, in one of my fondest high school memories, my father, who was also good with a stick, took me into the city to play at Allingers, the famous philly pool room where they still had girls come around and rack your balls up and a pretty fair sized gallery section to watch the action on the hot tables.  it was something.  but i digress ... the table above was a redo of an old brunswick table i bought with peeling veneer and a broken leg.  i was making it for my boys, but a client (for the second time) bought the table as i was working on it.  click the photos to enlarge them.

the table above, with claro walnut rails by will and a steel frame by sam is one of our latest.  finished last fall and shipped to chicago.  more pictures and info here. 

this one was for a special client, back in 2003.  they were building a large barn/party/entertainment building and we got to make the pool table and a large kas style tv cabinet.  im doing some work there now and its great to revisit this stunning space.  we received a design award from custom woodworking business magazine for it in 2005.  there is a video of how this table plays at this link.  i hope to get better at this video thing as time goes on, but it gives you an idea of how the table plays.
then we got into our arts and crafts era.  this ones mahogany with burl accents and i wish i had a better picture of it ... it also had a nice wood frame light above it inspired by the brothers green and i know i have a picture of it somewhere.  also 2003.
and this one, yet again the same year (it was a VERY good year), a little fancier with some baseball inspired motifs on the legs and some fabulous quilted maple panels ... im planning a visit to as many of these tables as possible to take videos of them in action.  they all play great.
and then in the 2004/2005 ea, we had a short 3 edition run of these vertical grain fir tables.  simple, direct, effective, and they all went in spectacular rooms with lots of windows.  stratton mountain, vermont above ...
and this is our latest version of the post and beam style.  we delivered that one to sugarbush, vt just last december and here is a link to a video of it in action ... more video links to follow soon i hope.
now were looking forward to our next commission, which is in manchester.  that project will be an older table that has lost its slate (somehow).  weve ordered some new slate and when it comes, well set up the base, refelt the rails and cushions and set that one up in a spectacular recently remodeled home.  more on that later.

pool .. i love it.  i think ill go to my man cave and shoot a few racks right now ...
man cave with my modestly restored 1915 brunswick balke-collender pool table.  after selling the first two attempts to get a pool table for myself, i decided to not make this one too fancy so no one would buy it.  it almost sold once, but i talked the clients into a new table, and i still have the one above in my cellar today.