Lookin like a rainy weekend here. That should be all the lumber I need. It was quite a bit of work this morning just rearranging and picking thru my stacks to get at it.
Stock is looking good. Also a great choice in a folding rule, old school. My two go to tools for furniture: I haven't used a tape measure in years for furniture. I have a brass gauge for setting table saw blade heights, but I used the sliding square for years.
Shawn Curry your stock and table design look great! I love the mirrored grain. Its not quite heavy or dark enough to call Mission Style. Maybe Craftsman Style. I like Mission but it can tend to be depressing if overdone. The wood and style you picked are perfect. Substantial but not massive. Do you intend to do a light stain or natural color similar to the picture? metalcuttr
Yes, I plan to stain it - I’m going for an antique white oak tone, to match a couple other pieces I’ve made this year. The style I’m trying to imitate is Gustav Stickley, who would have preferred to call it “craftsman” as well. I’ve got a bit more trimming to go, but those are the boards I’ll be using for the top.
This is going to turn into a bit of a long story, so I apologize in advance... So I had a fortunate “blessing in disguise” sort of setback today. I wasn’t very happy with the stock I had for one of the breadboard end parts. I had one last board left from this log in reserve, but it was more than 1/2” thicker than the others. When I brought it inside I realized it actually belonged to the top, as it was a much better grain match compared to the other board. It looked nice in the middle of the pattern. Before: After: Then I also realized it was the book match to the board on its left if I turned it around. I also spun the other 2 matched boards on the right so that the knots lined up better with where the grain was “pooling” in the other boards and I shifted the narrow board to the other side. I wasn’t thrilled about the knots before, but now I feel like they’re telling the story of this particular log. The grain looks the way it does because it had a branch coming thru it right there. It’s almost like you’re inside the log, looking out. And it’s a kinda hard to tell in the pic, but the same thing is happening with the knot at the far end, on a diagonal. Anyway, if you couldn’t tell already, I’m getting pretty excited about this project.
Do you need any other ideas for your table? This one came up on my Facebook page. West Coast Classic Floral Design
Hi Shawn, as a friend of mine so often says when I am stacking firewood, "we must honor the wood". I can see that you are doing exactly that. Consider that you are an artist and the wood is your palette and canvas! metalcuttr
Thank you, indeed we must! For me, in a way, it’s also a connection to my ancestors. The logs that this lumber came from, grew on my property, which has been in my family for nearly 100 years. The borers killed this one, but now it’s going to live on, hopefully for another 100.
