Ok I know it has been forever since I posted. Sorry about that, I'm sure everyone was wondering what happened to me? Actually, for the three of you who read this blog, I'm sure you know since you're related to me.
Now without further delay, here are some pictures of the mantel that I built for a couple down in Oakland. This was the first project that I built in my shop, and it provided the means for me to move from my previous shared space. I manged to wrangle a few other jobs and that's what prompted me to start my own business.
The mantel is made from quarter-sawn White Oak. All solid lumber. I glued it up and then miter cut the pieces out of the single glue up so that the grain wrapped around the sides. It doesn't look like a single chunk of lumber, but then the side of a big piece is mostly boring grain anyway. What you see in these pictures is the first finish. It's VanDyke and Good Stuff, but after delivery and having the mantel sit in the house for a few days the couple decided it was too dark and didn't blend with the tile around the fireplace. So it came back to the shop and I sanded and refinished it with Amber Shellac and a lighter VanDyke. After delivering the refinished mantel I agree with the clients, it was too dark the first time. Note to self, things appear darker as they gain surface area. The finish samples I made for them were 6" x 12", but by the time that expands into the entire mantel it's a lot darker. I'll get the pictures of the second finish posted soon, they need a little color correction first as they were taken in dim light. Luckily, my wonderful wife is a professional and can fix them.
Other news...I'm still working on bids for a few kitchens. There's one here in El Cerrito that I think would be great to get. It's interesting, and the clients seem like they'll be interesting to work with. It's a small house, so coming up with efficient storage solutions will be a fun challenge.
Ok...more later...






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