Meyers Collaboration VII -- Framed Needlepoint

This is the seventh collaboration between my wife Sara Meyers and myself in which she stitches the needlepoint work, and I build the frame. As mentioned in previous posts about these pieces the use of the term collaboration is really a misnomer as 98% - 99% of the work rests in the stitching, a rather rigorous art requiring the difficult friendship of patience and concentration.  I am simply amazed by her beautiful work. The heart shape, however, provided a significant challenge to matting.  We checked at least four commercial frame shops in Tucson, and none were able to cut the inner mat precisely to the shape of the heart, though the outer mat was nicely cut, as always, by Jinou Naval at Sarnoff Custom Framing. Our friend Nathan Benson took up the challenge, and through a time-consuming and considerable sequence of image transfers and manipulations he was able to program his laser engraver to cut the inner mat very close to the perimeter of the heart. Sara then added a background continental stitch of gray thread around the silver heart perimeter to fill the small remaining gap and cover the raw canvas. Nathan was also able to add the nice touch of a subtle and delicate "signature" and date to Sara's piece:

Several combinations of speed and power proved unable to eliminate laser scorching of the paper, though 50% power did work better.  The edge of the mat was completely Cajun and brown flares radiated onto the surface.  This is not surprising considering the low ignition point of paper, Fahrenheit 451 if I recall, a number we might keep in mind.  Interestingly, about 90% of the surface scorching could be removed with a simple white eraser which did not alter at all the texture or sheen of the mat board (also obtained from Sarnoff).  When it came to removing the charred surface on the mat's cut edge 180 grit sandpaper worked very well.  The image below shows the mat board prior to removal of the scorching:

Singular wooden ware + hand carved teaspoons at:  flyingcircusstudios.etsy.com

Windsor Chair Rush Replacement

The Finished Chair

There is a certain joy and satisfaction to a well done furniture repair...the patient can walk again. My experience has been that about half of the necessity for repair derives from design flaws rather than accidents or even overuse. The most common table repair, for instance, is a cracked tabletop caused by an incorrect attachment of the top to its supporting stringers that does not allow for the seasonal expansion and contraction of the top boards. Such was the case with this Windsor chair. The rush split right behind the front rail as shown below because the makers had left this corner completely sharp when it should have been “relieved,” that is rounded over so as not to create a cutting edge:

Weaving cane I had done, a very laborious process, but I had never woven rush. So the first matter was to find the appropriate replacement material. I had read that in antique pieces such as this natural rush was the preferred material, but when I received it I realized that the chair had, indeed, been done in fiber rush, the natural rush being too coarse, too thick and variegated. I found the correct fiber rush 4/32” thick at The Basket Maker's Catalog and ordered 3 coils (250') to be safe, though only two were utilized. Before removing the old rush, however, a serious obstacle appeared: the rush passed through a secondary rail in the back of the seat which had to be removed. It was attached with both large wood screws covered by buttons as well as dowels: 

Murphy, of course, now arrived to help out. Virtually every old chair I've repaired literally falls apart with a few strikes of a deadblow hammer. The joints on this chair seemed welded together, and it took drilling, heat, and extreme tension using strap clamps to pull the chair balusters out of the hooped back in order to remove this rail. Luckily only one of them split:

The second matter was how to do it...so turning to YouTube, I found an excellent video How to Weave a Seat in a Rush Chair by Ed Hammond.  Also, since the Windsor chair has no corners I also watched  his How to Weave a Rush Frame that Has No Corners.

As recommended by Ed Hammond's video, I noted and photographed the pattern used by the makers such as the manner that shorter pieces of rush were individually started to compensate for the differing number of strands in the front and back of the chair:

Between the upper and lower courses of rush wadded brown paper had been added for extra support, and though the video recommended using small triangles of cardboard I decided to reuse the paper, wetting it well and then stuffing it between the rush layers.  This provided a nice filler especially because the frame was made of fairly thick stock.  The photo shows the placement of the paper by the original makers:

The one suggestion I would have liked to have had in retrospect is paying better attention to the line formed at the row of intersecting strands, perhaps even using a triangle to keep the alignment true.  Always fun to try a new skill and inevitably learn the numerous small details that constitute quality work.  I managed to weave just one short of the number of strands the original makers used, but still my next weaving would certainly benefit from the lessons learned.

Singular wooden ware + hand carved teaspoons at:  FlyingCircusStudios.Etsy.com

Feng Shui for Sheet Goods -- Tool Tip #17

How many are the ways to store sheet goods?  Really, just two:  horizontally as they do in lumber yards and commercial shops or vertically, typically leaning against a wall, as we do in small shops.

The problem I had with this second system is access, always the sheet closest to the wall was the one you needed which required lifting it up and over all the others.  This shop organizational "tool" provided not only easy access but also mobility, allowing one to roll full sheets up to the table saw and then putting the cut list back aboard.  Pieces could be removed over the rails or alternately slid out from the end.  The whole unit stores easily as well, the swiveling casters allowing parking in very tight spots.  Here are some details:

●  Casters are solid rubber 6" diameter, two with locking levers

●  Dimensions are 2' wide x 6' long; platform structure made of 2x4's 

●  Cleats under each of the separating bars prevent sheet goods from shifting laterally

●  Easy to pull a single piece out of the rack over slick Melamine floor 

●  Height of PVC pipe separators:  15", 24", 41".

Suddenly sheet goods have their feng shui...you won't regret having this caddy.

Singular wooden ware + hand carved teaspoons at:   FlyingCircusStudios.etsy.com

In-Drawer Knife Block -- Large

This is the larger version of our FlyingCircusStudios.etsy.com item: "In-Drawer Knife Block -- Compact" and was a response to customer demand.  Though only a couple inches larger than the compact version it provides space for thicker handles and longer blades.  Here are the specifications:

● Dimensions are 9 1/2” long, 8” wide and 1 1/4" thick

● Holds 7 knives from 3" paring to 10" chef

● 3 longest slots are 1 1/4" apart; 3 middle slots are 1 1/8" apart; 3 shortest slots are 1" apart

● Slot length ranges from 4 1/2" to 8 3/4"

● Width of two longest slots is 1/8", i.e. knives up to that thickness will fit

● Width of remaining 5 slots is 3/32", which fits most typical kitchen knives

● Finish is primarily Danish oil

Our recommendation is to place the block over cork or resilient shelf pad to protect both the knife edge and drawer bottom. Easily lift knives out with one finger on the butt or by grasping the spine.

Eliminating the handle support block reduces height, length, shipping cost and price, but note that some handle-heavy knives might require a piece of foam, a length of which is included when you order the item, under the handle if you wish to keep them from tipping upward (note the foam in the photo above).

The creation of an Etsy shop was partly a response to my abhorrence of the waste of beautiful wood that ends up in dumpsters outside woodshops everywhere.  Most of my knife blocks are made from woodshop cutoffs that would otherwise end up in the trash.

Singular wooden ware + hand carved teaspoons at:   FlyingCircusStudios.Etsy.com

Over Sink Light Fixture -- Cabinet Coordinated

A recent commercial kitchen remodel required a new light fixture over the kitchen sink, and in order to coordinate perfectly with the cabinetry, it was fabricated from the exact same finished wood as the cabinets themselves. This wood is readily available from the cabinet manufacturer by ordering a spacer piece 3” wide by approximately 8' long, requesting the same wood and color finish as the cabinets. Thus a perfect match is assured! The 3” wide spacer stock was fabricated into a simple 4-piece mitered frame joined with glue and biscuits. Four “L” brackets attached to the top of the frame are screwed to the ceiling. The frame surrounds two 24” long dual bulb T-5 fluorescent fixtures which are separately attached to the ceiling and connected to the electrical supply.

The trick is getting a luminescent panel, which rests on a ring of 1/4” square wood molding, into such a small opening. This was accomplished by first routing, before any mitering or assembly, a dado 3/4” wide by 1/4” deep into the inner surface of the 1x3 just slightly above the 1/4” molding. This extra clearance allows the panel to be maneuvered into place on its molding. The molding was cut from other stock and stained to match, not at all a critical match as the molding is small and not readily noticed.

The fixture is approximately 28” long to allow for clearance at either end of the fluorescent fixtures and 11” wide so as not to protrude beyond the 12” deep plane of the upper cabinets. The low 3” profile means the fixture will not block any light or view from the kitchen window. The 4 T-5 bulbs provide plenty of light for the kitchen sink area and beyond. Cabinet manufacturers would certainly sell these if they thought to make them.

Singular wooden ware + hand carved teaspoons at:   FlyingCircusStudios.Etsy.com

Café Shims - Table Leveling

You are sitting with your lover; it's a lovely sidewalk table on Place du Tertre in Montmartre. The waiter has just brought your wine, red wine, of course. The glasses sparkle in the fading Paris sunlight. You gaze into your lover's eyes and lean forward for a little kiss. Suddenly the force of your elbow finds that one leg suspended off the plane of the other three and voilà: first the seesaw down, then the recoil up. The glass of red wine tips and spills into your lover's lap. The deft lover, however, would have surreptitiously tested the table upon arrival, slipping his (or her!) café shim under the offending leg and avoided such unpleasant surprise.

Everyone has been annoyed by a rocking restaurant table. Still you probably won't have a cafe shim with you, but if you did, you would certainly impress your companions. Andrew Knowlton wrote in the April 2016 issue of bon appétit, speaking of a Beverly Hills restaurant, “They solved the single biggest annoyance in restaurants: wobbly tables.”

The set of six is made of random hardwoods, hand-sanded and oiled, not hardware shims at all! They are 1 3/4" wide and 3” long, a little smaller than a business card, and taper from 3/16” to near zero.

A novelty perhaps, but shims are useful: leveling furniture and pendulum clocks, securing hammerheads, locking Hungarian shelves, etc. 

Singular wooden ware + hand carved teaspoons at:   FlyingCircusStudios.Etsy.com

Antique Chair Restoration Collaboration

The front edges of this chair looked like sheaves of wheat, stringy strands of wood separating from the leg due to innumerable collisions with the drawer pedestals of its desk. The top of the back was worn bald and blonde. The finish was generally finger-marked, faded and scratched. The cushion fabric was thread-bare and worn. In short this old desk chair looked ready for the grave.

The restoration of this chair followed the process outlined in my July 30, 2015 post Finishing Tip #5: Simple Refinishing in 3 Steps, except that after cleaning (Step 1) the damage was so bad that considerable sanding was required to smooth and recontour the legs. Because completely bare wood showed right next to wood still with color a Mohawk wiping stain (Step 2) was used to blend evenly the disparate surfaces.

The collaboration commenced at this point when I handed the chair over to the skillful hands of finisher Anthony Hernandez of J. Swiss & Co. in Tucson. Instead of the usual step 3 in my simple refinishing of using oil based products to restore sheen we elected to spray the piece with satin lacquer using professional equipment. Prior to the clear coat Anthony used some lacquer toner as discussed in step 3 to help blend the color of the sanded areas.

The collaboration continued with new upholstery on the old seat board expertly accomplished by Fabrics That Go, also in Tucson. They also supplied the fabric itself which coordinated well with the chair color as well as the pattern being perfectly centered and suggestive of the form of the back. The holes in the seat board were so worn out that epoxy was used to fill them so that the screws holding the seat board to the frame would have some purchase.

All in all a nice result of some collaboration.

Singular wooden ware + hand carved teaspoons at:   FlyingCircusStudios.etsy.com

Shop Clean-Up: Rule of Two's -- Tool Tip #16

Geraniums are an unexpected window treatment in a garage, and I'm talking about a serious grease monkey's garage where transmissions are pulled as easily as flashdrives. Even more surprising, however, were this mechanic's tool habits. As each tool finished its job, wiped clean it was and then put back in its place, turning the tired saw “a place for every tool and every tool in its place” into a mantra.

Now and again I've thought what a nice ideal this was, and now and again I would try to follow his example though not with much success. My working behavior was more to grab tools helter skelter, dropping them on any blank spot on the workbench and often having to move a bunch as I negotiated a piece of furniture. Anyone who works with their hands knows well that any job always requires every tool you own. Maybe a few might return to their places in the course of things, but inevitably in the light of the setting sun I had a job that my mechanic friend did not: putting away a pile of tools.

So now I have a piece of advice for you that has proven a psychological advantage to make this task easier:   I call it the “rule of two's.” This will work for the gardener out in the yard. It will work for a load of clean dishes in the dishwasher. It will work for the tools of any craftsman in any media. It will work for butcher block, easel or workbench. Take your tools by two's and put them away. Somehow this pairing of items just makes the task of putting away smoother, faster, more satisfying, more “artful.” Try it once and see what I mean...seems silly, but it really works!

An index of the first 15 Tool Tips can be found at:  15 Tool Tips

 Singular wooden ware + hand carved teaspoons at:   FlyingCircusStudios.etsy.com

An Exception to the Rule

Suspended Drawer Side Table

Why not have your cake and eat it too, why not have the airy look of an open side table and yet provide enclosed storage for all those myriad items you might like next to a couch but out of sight? Such was the inspiration for the “Suspended Drawer Side Table,” which has roomy drawer storage but no apron or cabinet enclosing it. A pair of well-waxed undermount all wood drawer glides allow easy sliding but provide no apparent reason for the drawer to stay attached. The grain direction of the top ensures that contraction and expansion do not affect the fit of the drawer since little movement occurs with the grain through the seasons. Just to mix it up the grain direction is rotated on the shelf, though here movement would do little more than shift the legs in and out a tad. The L-shaped cleat screwed to the underside of the table top also acts as a stop when it contacts the back of the drawer face upon closing. A little surprise, however, is piling the drawer to its rim only to find the top object contacting that same cleat.

 

I used my nearly trademark selection of cherry and black walnut, a quite appealing color combination, and, as per usual, asymmetrical piecing. This piece finds its place in our own home where it fulfills a plus thirty-year-old promise to replace a cheap, commerical mahogany plywood side table...a blantant case of the cobbler's shoes.

Singular wooden ware + hand carved teaspoons at:   FlyingCircusStudios.Etsy.com

Detail of slide

View of the back