Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Bed Update

The bed is finally finished and installed, just in time for the clients to move in. Of course there are things that I am not 100% happy with, but overall I'm pretty proud of it. I think that most of the problems are due to being rusty, and not thinking through the entire execution the way I would if I were doing this more regularly. Also not having a proper work space was a problem.

All the same, I wish I had this piece in my room.



Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Tiring, but fulfilling...

Today was the install, and I've been busting my ass trying to get everything finished. Of course its not, but it's not so bad that it won't be ready for the Monday move in date. Everything went together pretty well, and we got all of the lighting hooked up. Now I just have to finish the nosing on the shelves, clad the boxes with 1/2" x 2" strips of fir, and apply the finish. It is going to be a long couple days.
Both sides of the headboard open for storage.
This is the back side, as you enter the room. If you turn to the left, the wall and headboard frame a view of downtown and the space needle.
This is the bottom of the bed platform, with space for basket storage.


As I was driving home for lunch I spotted a great license plate, L 7 square!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Furniture



Adam and I have been talking for a while about future collaboration in furniture. We have very different styles, but I think we both have a lot to bring to the table. As much as he likes to bitch about work, I am jealous that he gets to spend each day in the shop. My work life is centered around the desk and computer, and it starts to get old.

To that end, I am stepping away from the computer and building a piece of furniture for the house I have been working on! I even bought an air-compressor and a couple nail guns. They aren't the top of the line, but for the time being they are everything I need.

The compressor and tools were a package deal at Home Depot, and a Christmas present from the parents.
I don't have a real table saw, nor do I have room in the basement to even improvise a good cutting table. Fortunately the lumber yard will cut down the sheets for an hourly charge. I think it cost about $150 to have them cut up 10 sheets into all the pieces I need.
The birch
The CVG (clear vertical grain) fir
And finally the CVG solid stock. These images should give you a good idea of the cramped conditions in my basement.

The fun starts tomorrow, the install starts on Wednesday, and I hope to be completely finished by the end of the day on Thursday. Hopefully I won't be working constantly between now and then, but it's been a while so I want to give myself plenty of time. Not to mention that I obviously don't have a spray booth, so I will be applying the finish by hand. And the headboard is clad in 600 lineal feet of 1/2"x2" material that has to be laid up and attached after the install.

I'll try to document the process.
I have to say it's making me really excited about getting back into furniture.

Lola filter on the iphone

Bainbridge Island for Saturday breakfast and a trip to Bloedel Reserve

Long time no post

Ed harassed me a while ago about posting, so I promptly ignored him. The last couple weeks have been oddly stressful, but thankfully that will be over soon. The clients have a move in date a week from Monday, so the project should be complete by then.

A quick update:

Christmas in Fresno was great, pretty relaxing. My parents must think I'm a real bum, because I come home to visit them and sit on my ass all day. Its so nice to not have any responsibilities, etc. I enjoyed hanging out in Fresno with the Dice Riff Raff, although I hadn't planned on sleeping on the floor in Ed's kitchen. Oh well, hopefully it was worth it for Adam...

What happens when you teach your nice to use the iPhone camera?

Extreme close-ups

Dolls ready to get their hair did,

and some candid shots of wii paper airplanes.