Lie Nielson and The Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking

Today Liesl's Dad and I traveled to Manchester, CT for a hand tool event put on by Lie Nielson tools and held at The Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking.  What a fun day.  I've taught at the school, it was good to catch up with director Bob Van Dyke and other old friends such as Wil Neptune.  What a great display of hand tools.  I wish I could afford to buy them all.  You can spend a lot of many on awesome tools here, the school shares the building with a Woodcraft store.  Bob and Will were doing demos as well as Mike Pekovich from Fine Woodworking Magazine and Mickey Callaghan, past president of the Society of American Furniture Makers was there showing a beautiful piece he made, a eighteenth century New York corner chair made out of Mahogany.  It's awesome.

All tuned up'

Here are the cigar box guitars tuned and ready to be played.  They are tuned in open 'A' and open 'G' and sound surprisingly full and good.  I have a smaller cigar box that I'm going to turn into a ukulele.  Too much fun'

The Finale'

Today Jeff and I finished shooting an episode of "The Garage".  The project we made was a cigar box guitar.  These things are so cool and fun to make- and they work.  Visit www.cigarboxnation.com to learn more about the history of these instruments,how to make one and to see some really awesome examples.  

Here is the one I completed for the show.

Repeat Performance

Today was spent designing and working on some drawings for a potential customer but I did have a little time this morning to build another cigar box guitar.

Cigar Box Blues

Today Jeff and I shot an epidode for the show " The Garage".  The project for this episode is a cigar box guitar.  These things are really "COOL' and are the perfect re-use/recycle project.  You can get cigar boxes for free or next to nothing at your local liquor store.  The fret board/neck piece can be a store bought 1"x2".  The only thing purchased are the tuning pegs which cost $12 for six, which is ewnought for two guitars.  In a few hours and with simple tools you cab have a great instrument.  These things are serious and play well.  I had a great time.  Watch for this on episode 5 of the show.  Check the side bar too see where the show is available.

George Nelson is in the house

This stack of cushions taken off of some vintage ottomans will turn into a bench and two chairs in the near future.  I'm a huge fan of George Nelson and his designs he created for Herman Miller Furniture. Keep following the blog too see how they develop.

I can't help Myself

I just can't help myself.  Yesterday I found this awesome yellow and chrome bread box at an Antique outlet.  It was so cheap I couldn't resist buying it and turning it into a bread-side table.  I shipped a bread-side table this morning and then replaced it with this one.  You can find it available on my etsy store.

Inspiration

There are many things that inspire me in life to do what I do, Liesl, Quinn, my friends and music to name a few but as a contemporary furniture maker  and designer nothing inspires me more than the architects and chair makers who's designs were advant-gard and who experimented with new materials.  When I was the Department Head of the wood studio at the Worcester Center for Crafts in Worcester, Mass I taught a few furniture making classes.  A component of one of the classes included furniture history.  A project I had my students do was to look at the chairs at the Vitra Design Museum, pick a chair,study it's designer and write an essay on that designer as well as build a scale model of the chair.
The three chairs above are part of what inspires me.  The one on the left is an Eames type chair I bought at a contemporary gallery.  The others are works that my former students made.  The one on the left is a scale model made out of copper of a Sori Yanagi chair and the other is a model made out of wire of a Frank Gehry chair.  These chairs inspire me and also remind me of those students.  A nicer memory.  

I never get tired of these

I sold another bread side table so I brought the table to the studio for a sprucing up before I ship it.
I touched up the legs with some paint, waxed the cutting board and clean the hardware and box. I never get tired of these quirky pieces. I'll keep making them as long as people keep buying them. Believe it or not I'm actually running out of them. I'll have to start looking for more boxes and more ottomans.

Ottomans/Stools repurposed

I have a bunch of different ottomans I've collected.  I used the legs too make my bread side tables.  I decided I would make some stools with them.  The bases will be made out of plywood, similar in style to my table I made recently for the show
Today I worked on the template for the stool and a routing jig to cut the 1/2 inch lap joint

The Ladies finally come outside

The ladies finally ventured outside''

Coop

I finally finished the run for the coop.  The chickens can go outside, once they get the nerve.

Plywood Coffe Table

Today Jeff and I continued to shoot for the show.  The plywood coffee table was a good project for the show.  This table will also be included in my book as it is made from a single sheet of plywood making it economical to build.  It was a fun project.  The plywood could be covered in a plastic laminate to add color.
The shelves are attached to the base using 3/4 inch aliminum channel.  The shelves are band sawn and then trimed om the router table using a flush trim bit against a template.  The two base halves are joined using a lap joint which was cut using a stright bit with a router.

The Garage

Jeff and I have had a decent run of it lately.  The show has been picked up by its 29th station.  These are all community access TV stations but you never know what might come of it.  I'm not taking anything away from community TV but not a lot of people watch it, but the more we are out there the better.  One day the right person might be watching and like what he/she sees.
Doing the show gives us a reason to make work that doesn't always pay the bills.  The episode we shot today and will continue to shoot tomorrow is about making a plywood knockdown table of my own design.

The whole idea of the show is to inspire people to be creative and to make things and not to get intimidated because they don't have the best of equipment or all of the bells and whistles.  Just make' Have fun and find your outlet.  On the side bar is a list of towns that are airing our show.  If you live in one of the areas and are interested check out the local community access TV stations website for dates and times and have a look.'

Coffe Table Lap Joints

The table is connected with a simple lap joint.  I use a straight edge and a 3/4 inch straight bit and cut a notch five inches long.

 

Jigs and Templates

Today I spent the day prepping for our shoot tomorrow.  I'm making a table out of plywood .  I've made this table before.  it is an original design of a knock down coffee table I make using a single sheet of plywood and some aluminum channel.  The only joinery, lap joints, are cut using the table saw and router.

Today I made a flush trimming jig for the shelves and legs.

Back to Normal- Somewhat

I'm glad the coop is outside.  I now have space to move around and can get back to some projects I was working on.  I have to try to finish my diner settee for the Worcester Art Museum's Art Allstate program.

Moving Day

Yesterday was moving day for the ladies.  My friend Jeff came over to the studio too help me move the chicks outside.  It still a little cool out at night but the chicks have all of their feathers.  The coop is at the side of the studio facing the back acreage.  I have to get some fencing and make the run.  We should have eggs come August.

The ladies are home.

The baby chicks we bought a couple of weeks ago aren't so little any more.  They grow big quickly.  We moved the heat lamp and feeders into the coop and moved the chickens in today.  They adjusted quickly.

Chickens and Legs

Today I didn't do much in the way of furniture making.  It was a day to tie up loose ends. One thing was too make a screen window for the coop and the other to continue painting the legs for a bread box table.
I cover the top of the legs with painters tape and coffee cups to protect the area that has already been painted.

4' x8' The Art of Pl;ywood Furniture

I'm writing a book for Linden Publishing tentaively titled 4' x 8'. The Art of Plywood Furniture.  The book will consist of 60 contemporary pieces of furniture designed to be constructed out of a single sheet of plywood.  The book will also celebrate todays contemporary makers and designers.  The book will have detailed images and text allowing you to build each piece.  A call for submissions has been posted on the Furniture Society's web site http://www.furnituresociety.org/ under the opportunities link as well as here.

More Bread Box

Today I cleaned and painted the leg hardware for the bread box tables.  I take the hardware and legs from old vintage ottomans that I find on eBay or in thrift stores.  I give them a coat of metallic paint to clean them up.  The legs are going on a chrome bread box so they get painted black with metallic ends.  I cleaned up the bottom of the box and gave it a coat of lacquer.

Bread Boxes again

Lately I've been selling some chrome bread boxes from my etsy store ( see link below).  They are always fun too make.  I have an order for a chrome bread box from a client in Glendale, CA.  The bread boxes are fitted with a plywood base that I then attach the leg hardware that I get from vintage ottomans.  The legs will be painted black with chrome ends.  I attach a chain for the door, clean and laquer them and then they're done.

I need to make something with all of the ottoman parts left over. 

The ladies are getting big

The six Black Star chicks we got a couple of weeks ago are getting big  in a hurray.  I think I'll move the coop outside this weekend, which means I need too make the run soon.

Glueing up the base

Today I attached the base to the carcase of the lap desk.  You need plenty of clamps and some angled cauls.  Use a fine bead of glue and go around the perimeter.  If you use to much glue you'll be cleaning up for ever.

Back to the lap desk

Today I went back to working on the shaker lap desk.  The coop is complete and the birds are getting big so it was a good thing I finished it when I did.

Back to the lap desk.  I sanded the body and cut and sanded the bottom.  The bottom is made out of quarter sawn white pine.  Tomorrow I making a modern plywood table for the show " The Garage"  so the desk will be put on hold once again.  The tape on the bottom acts as a marker and lets me know where to position the body to the base.

The coop complete'

Yesterday I put the finishing touches on the coop.   I made a window on the front of it and some stops for the doors.  I also made the ladder. All that is left to do is to make a fenced run for the birds.  They're getting big fast so they'll be in their new home in no time.

Coop Doors

Today I finished the roof and made the two doors on the coop.

Roof and Floor

Yesterday I started to put on the roof and the floor of the coop.  Liesl's Dad Ted generously donated the roofing material and the floor material.  The coop is looking awesome.

The Coop Continues

Today I worked on making the partitions for the nest boxes and the door. It's going well.