Aff Wood

Warning, this post does not contain anything creative or inspiring, but hopefully it is somewhat entertaining and feel free to laugh with me :)

If you follow me on instagram @sarahmdorseydesigns you might of seen this last week. Yes, that is paint splattered in the garage on the dresser, wall and ceiling. It was actually everywhere, but I couldnt fit everything in the picture.

 The culprit.

How did it get there? As I was pulling into the garage I ran over a paint can and it exploded. EVERYWHERE. If this doesnt make you want to run out to your garage and clean up everything, I dont know what will! Why couldnt of been white?

Anyways, I spent the next few hours cleaning off the dresser. I didnt make it to the wall in time, so I decided to let it fully dry and then sand it down prior to painting.


This weekend David and I picked up a plastic shelf from Home Depot and got all of the paint off of the ground. I was previously storing it in a cabinet, but it was awkard to get in and out, so a lot of the time it got left out. Obviously.


We primed it first and then applied about 3 coats of paint.

This weekend we also made piles: to throw away, to give away, and to sell. It took all weekend and while the garage isnt beautifully organized, it will do! We are most likely moving in 6-9 months, so we dont want to invest money in organization things that we dont know will work in the next place.

It feels so good to have the garage clean! No more worries about running over paint cans!

and in other organization news, a few weeks ago we repaired my broken closet rod with gorilla glue. I folded and put away some of my clothes that I dont wear as often to lessen the load. So far so good!

Thank you for the advice on how to redo my closet! Like the garage, we didnt want to spend money on something that we arent sure will work in the next place.  

we just finished a project for a local interior design firm that involved making 12 new feet for 2 big couches whose feet were not really in proportion to the rest of them, or to the room where they went ... the new feet are 7" in diameter, 7" high. we glued up some blocks from8/4 and made a sample and a template for the duplicator and had at it. before will could start turning them, i cut them to length and round for him. will had recently tuned up the bandsaw, adjusted the guides, etc. etc., but i didnt realize what a good job he had done until i cut the blanks ... square ... straight ... cut after cut, through 7 " of maple ... click the photos to enlarge them ..
in response to the comment below, i am posting a link to the bandsaw blades we use. THE most important part of the tune up is a new blade from doall. weve tried many brands i wont name, but these are, in our opinion, THE best. i have to go to the shop to find the exact info ... next is to adjust your guides close to the teeth and square your fence to the table and the blade ... fussy stuff but worth the effort. see the last photos below.
this is how they lined up across the top of a stack 3 high ... barely a 32nd difference across the tops.
the chips flew during the rough out stage ...
and made quite a pile ...

first coat of stain ... after distressing we used a second coat of english brown mahogany lockwood water stain. then a coat of oil/poly, then gel stain on the lathe spinning on low speed. the final coat of satin poly was brushed on with the feet on the lathe, and then they were transferred to the finish room to dry where you see them below.
all in, all done ... they will be installed to the couch frames with 2 - 8" timberlock screws per foot
in the photo above, you can see a stack of 9 - .1" veneers cut sequentially and sanded after from one piece of 8/4 walnut. and 4 - 10.5" wide curly hard maple slices also from one board.

ive been out of the writing thing for a bit here. ive been back playing some paddle tennis and pool in the evenings and things have picked up a bit in the office. aside from sending out drawings and estimates and shoveling snow, weve got a few new complex little new design projects were working on. plus, we received our approved finish sample last week and delivered the big island yesterday. tomorrow trevor and i will do the final onsite assembly. its nice to have our shop back after walking around a 16 object for a month or so ... it was a long way to the bandsaw for a long time ... click the photos to enlarge them ...
first coat of finish ...
as it says, before the seal coat
on site, but not assembled ..
i forgot the columns stuck out beyond the cornice and we had to take off the front door (twice), and a piece of weatherstripping to go straight out ... close one ..
back to normal ...
sams latest bench project
the client has added a shelf under the seat for books, etc. its a bedroom piece under the tv in the same room as the cylinder cabinets. (see the post below) ..
we started with a cross piece centered on every other rivet, but im guessing well fill them all in once the client checks it out tomorrow ...
and, my neighbor made an intriguing little sketch for some stools for her kitchen island ... she took one of our egypt legs and added some footrests ... if youve ever tried it, you know its not possible to go directly from a sketch to a real chair or stool without a full size mockup. (see below) ... how comfortable is that drawing? is it the right size?
well, our first shot wasnt ... too big ... the second one was just right
cool design and most comfortable if you sit across the seat as it makes the seat bigger without making the whole seat too big ... happy accident ..
and then, our friend mr. ruhlman sent us some inspiration from 1st dibs and france circa 1928 or so .... it looked sooooo simple in the picture ...
but wait, how do you fit that curved compound angled glued up veneered back piece to the rest of the thing ... cardboard helps,but patience and a good attitude is the sharpest tool in the box ... its coming ... more later when we get out the Edelman snakeskin leather. its going to be something ...
some fumed spessart quartersawn oak (never heard of it) from Talarico Lumber for an upcoming fancy phases of the moon bookcase project ... should be fun ..
and lastly, oh my aching back ... 2and a half feet or so of snow blown up against the house directly above the front entry ... it was easier to shovel it down than it would have been to shovel it up after it slides ... this was a once in eleven winter event ...
i only shoveled the half over the walk ... the far half slid off monday night ... one of the first days above freezing in 2011. all for now ... phew!