Kitchen Table Re Build

The first week, of Rosewood's winter 12 week craftsmen program, has just ended.  Lucky for me I still had a bench space this week, only 7 students, so I began repairing my kitchen table.  When I got the table as payment for helping a friend clean out his garage (so practically free) it was in very rough shape.  The finish was faded and scratched, the table was wobbly and coming apart and the whole thing needed a good cleaning, and after living with it in this state for roughly a year I figured it was time for some fixing.

I removed the top from the base, scraped and sanded it down, to remove scratches and blemishes.  I was surprised to learn that the top is made of walnut, not surprisingly the top is made up of many thin strips and little to no care was taken to achieve good grain matches, so I will be staining the top to unify the colour of the heart and sap wood before I put a finish on.

Blue tape to keep the epoxy off the wood surrounding the joints

The base of the table was assembled with dowels and glue, and all of the joints on the stretcher had failed.  I separated the joints the best I could and glued everything back together with epoxy.  Epoxy will stick to just about anything so I did not have to remove the old glue.  A few hours later and I had a solid base again, no more fear of my table collapsing in the middle of a nice Sunday dinner.

The repaired table base

Next step will be to stain and finish the table top.  I am not going to stain and finish the base of the table.  The table is not worth the time it would take to protect it with finish and the base will not be seen much so there is no need to make it look any better than it does.  The top will be seen and abused much more so it is worth the time to add protection and improve its appearance.  This will also give me a chance to try a new finishing product.  I am constantly looking for sustainable solutions in my woodworking, so for this table top I will try using a waterborne stain and finish.  Better to practice on a piece for myself then on a client's piece if I like the result and it is easy enough to work with I will use it on other jobs.

Next week is the mastering machinery class at Rosewood, and it is fully booked, so normally I would have no space to work in.  Ron however moved a small work bench into a corner of the machine room and I will be able to work there for the next two weeks.

My other bench space.

Once the table is finished I will be posting photo's here as well as my website http://www.h3designconstruction.com/

Cheers

Hans Christopher

New Years Resolution, One Of Them At Least

I mean this in the most humble way, but I am constantly trying to improve myself; either as a designer, crafts person or human being, and I believe I am very successful at this.  Once I complete something I begin thinking of a way to achieve a better result the next time; maybe I can do the same thing faster, more accurately or for less money.  My father said to me "first do it right, then do it better" when I was starting in the trades, and this simple idea has become a personal motto and a big part of my business model.

New Years is a great time to take stock of one's self and look forward into the New Year.  I am writing about this here because this year one of my resolutions is work related and is as follows: To provide handmade, well designed, well-built and sustainable furniture at an affordable price and enjoy the process of building it.  I hope I can accomplish this.  I truly believe that everyone should be able to afford well made goods, while I simultaneously make a good living.  Maybe I am naive or  maybe I am simply wrong, only time can tell, but I am definitely going to try and maybe even inspire others to do the same.

Cheers

Hans Christopher

New Year Blues

Two days into the new work year and it is damn cold here.  Bummer because cold brings everyone's energy down which is not what you want when you are trying to began the new year on a high note.

I have begun the planning for a kitchen renovation, same house I replaced the siding on this past fall.  Brand new kitchen in a very old house can be a challenge, unexpected things behind the walls, floors out of level, nothing square and to say nothing of matching a new kitchen to an existing homes style.

To avoid issues in the project forethought and a certain elasticity in the plan help.  Plan for the worse hope for the best.

I've got the scope worked out, the plan is to refinish the floors, paint the walls, install new cabinets, move appliances and set a new tile back splash.  A straight forward renovation nothing outrageous nothing that pushes the boundaries.

Next step for me is to put together quotes from suppliers and other trades to finalize the budget and once that is done I can draft the plans for the work.

In other news I now have a website for my business H3 Design and Construction, check it out at h3designconstruction.  Let me know what you think of the website and the work I've done.  And keep checking back to see new work.

Cheers
Hans Christopher