4 x 8: The Art of Plywood Furniture

This is where I'll be for the next while.  I've compiled all of my information and projects and now I'm putting together the manuscript for my book tentatively titled 4 x 8: The Art of Plywood Furniture, published by Linden Publishing.  I'll be chained to the table until I get this done.  It's going well.

Cider House

Today Liesl, Quinn and I went apple picking at Keown orchards in Sutton.  As we were leaving I spotted this beautiful old cider house.  The house is over grown, faded and weathered.  It looks beautiful.  Beside the cider house is a huge coopered  apple cider press standing on a hill of field stones.  The press is just as old but the old coopered staves are still in tack.

My apologies for the bright pictures but it's the best I could do under the circumstances. I'm going to go back and look at it more thoroughly and take some better images.  It's awesome    

Teal cushion and walnut slab

When the walnut slab bench is done I'll finish it with a coat of oil and then wax.  This is a beautiful piece of walnut so I really want to highlight it's natural beauty. I'm going to get a small cushion made out of some teal vinyl I have leftover from a previous project.  This cushion will compliment the walnut slab without taking away from it.

Walnut Slab Bench

I've been doing a lot of wrtitng on the book lately but I took a brake from it today and worked on the walnut slab bench.  I'm hoping to get it done in time for the exhibition in November.

The bench is made out of a walnut slab two inches thick.  

I have four walnut turned tapered legs that I took off of an old table that I'm re-purposing and using on the bench.

I'm building a small frame that will be attached to the underside of the slab and then the legs will get mortised through the frame and into the slab.  The legs have a 1 1/8" thick by 1 3/4 " long tenon.  I'll drill a hole  into the bottom of the slab leg mortise that will accommodate an insert nut.  I'll then screw a hanger bolt into the tenon of the leg and screw it into the insert nut.  This method really beefs up the strength and integrity of the tenon joint.

The chalk line on the slab indicates wher the frame will be.

A sign of things to come

I have beautiful walnut slab that I'm going to make a bench out of.

The slab is an awesome crotch piece that measures approximately five feet long and three feet wide.

I have to make router jig to level the piece.

The usual?

Yesterday I reassembled "Whaddya hav hun".  The entire piece was given a fresh coat of white epoxy.  I sanded and varnished the cutting board inside the bread box and tightened the hardware for the legs.  The piece looks great'   Believe it or not there is some inspiration behind this piece.  I saw a desk at the Peabody Essex museum in Salem, Massachusetts that was completely made out of ivory.  The desk looked like a secretary desk. The desk is from China, circa 1735

Whaddya hav hun?



Yesterday and today I took apart a bread box table that has porcelain stove legs.  I sprayed the legs with a a coat of white epoxy.  The legs attach to a plywood base that then attaches to a white bread box.

The table reminds me of an old diner waitress.  Hence the title ' Whaddya hav hun'?



Red or White No# 2

Yesterday I completed another wine box table.  I love how these turn out.  I routed the edges of the plexi glass top and sanded them to 600 grit making them clear.  When the lid is opened all of the way the plexi top holds it into position.  I gave the table a coat of Varathane and wax which makes the graphics on the box  pop'. 

Arts Worcester and The Artful Phoenix

I make these small shaker style end tables. I use old pine tongue and groove floor boards I have for the tops and dimensioned off the shelf pine lumber I buy from the local lumber store.  I use traditional mortise and tenon joinery in the making of the tables.  The legs are tapered and the tenons are pegged.  I oil and wax the tables.  I love the contrast of the old pine versus the new pine.  All the joinery is done on the table saw.  I don't need to use a jointer or a planer.  This table is going to The Artful Phoenix gallery in North Attleboro, MA

Here's another wine box table completed.  I still have to attache the glass top.  The table is given a coat of varathane and wax.  The wax makes the graphics really pop.

This table is a piece that will be exhibited in the Aurora gallery of Arts Worcester during the month of November as part of an exhibition that Liesl and I are having called 'Co-Habitat"