Wall Cabinet

This is another wall cabinet I made a few years ago at a good friend's workshop near Harpenden. Unfortunately the thickness planer broke the front panel of maple at point where the board wouldn't work. I decided to use the break in the timber in the panel anyway. I think it adds something to a quite simple design.  The joints are hand-dovetailed using a Japanese saw and there is a magnet holding the door closed. I recently took it down, sanded some areas back, and refinished with danish oil and beeswax. I feel the urge to make dovetail joints again.  

I Heart Whitstable craft fair- this Sunday.

After a short stint at Quite Contrary in Tankerton, hoping to return there later..... I'll be at I heart Whitstable Market this Sunday. Stocking fillers and larger items available. Stock is much depleted from a recent fair at The horsebridge in Whitstable. Here is this last available engraved turbine tray I made. Unless requested I think that project has come to a good end. Hope to see you Sunday.

 

Better photos for Etsy

 

I put these photos on the Etsy website under the Bokuartisan page there, I think they are much better. I'd quite like to make some huge ones of these to stand on the floor. Anyone know where to source monster test tubes... I like laboratory glass, vials and weird potion bottles are beautiful. Reminds me of doing chemistry at school.

Teething Table 2

 

Thanks to Minoru for making the teething table once again. He's made improvements on the original. The tiger oak top has a fuller profile on the top and this time the sharper edge on the legs gives better definition. We had some enthusiastic feedback on the table this weekend at 'I heart Whitstable' craft fair.

stack up

                     

I found these pictures of a project for stacking aromatherapy boxes together on an old disk. The various bottles go inside on different levels, but the vial diameters were wrong in the end and the boxes had to be adapted- which was gutting.  The top and bottom trays hold the boxes together in a sort of sandwich; I bought it back from Japan,a really beautifully figured piece of cherry. I'd like to re-do this type of stacking project for another purpose. Sorry about the weird upload of the shots. It appears you can't rotate the images after they are uploaded.

JIN hair studio

The top bedroom of our house is really not the place to make anything big, like a reception counter for a small hair studio. I need somewhere more family friendly, and a place where you can leave your mess, without little hands fumbling with the timber and sharp tools. 

I wanted to get a Japanese look to the reception counter. I think it worked well. The finish was adding deep reds with black paint onto the plywood and rubbing them into the surface to create an aged effect.

My wife scribed the mirror tables to the walls, they're perfectly done. Nice job.

Tea Light Holders

I made two of these cherry veneer candle holders but sold the pair before I took decent pictures. I was asked if they wouldn't catch fire by the person who bought them at the weekend. Of course I tested both and they were fine. The trick is making sure the body of the holder is higher than the flame from the tea light, as this keeps any gust of wind from catching the sides. I am planning on making more of these with more petals and using a different finish, something that looks more flower like. 

Key rings

What a great summer this is turning out to be. I loved watching the Olympics recently, I think it has injected a much needed can do spirit around the place.
Hope you like these little key rings I've been doing. They're are very popular in Whitstable, but could also have your logo/name/business name on instead.

Maple and American Black Walnut box.

I cut the curves on a bandsaw and sanded and scrapped the sides smooth. I think I cut the recess for each corner with a router whilst it was square. The keys were done when it was square too. All the machining was done when I was working in Rainham. This and making a couple of friends there were the best thing to come out of that place.

Here is the first wee jewellery box.

Four varying depth compartments for ear-rings/cuff links and the like. One pair of magnets to locate the lid to the base.

I lined the bottom with some lovely Japanese paper that I got in Tokyo- I tore each of the fibrous circles to fit each compartment, more satisfying than cutting them.

Mahogany jewellery boxes

I am making a few jewellery boxes out of mahogany.
The timber is rescued more than reclaimed, and started as a battered square section post about a metre long.

Wasted as a hammering stake, wedge or some other inappropriate, bordering on the criminal, jigalump- I couldn't leave it alone.

I found a new way to align magnets to get the top to fit on perfectly without any step at all. For sale-if you're interested!

I called this the teething table, it's a coffee table just over 130cm long . I designed and made it about the time my first daughter was born, everything had to be rounded so she wouldn't bang her head on any sharp corners and then on top of that- unclimbable. It wasn't long before she started to chew the legs then eventually managed to pull herself up to the table top. The legs remind me of jamon. I still have the jigs for the legs and top but not the awesome spindle moulder cutters I did the legs on, sadly.

Getting started

 I have to start somewhere so... I am going to put some pictures of some of the things that I've made. Some pieces go back a few years but it makes more sense to start at the back and go forward.

I feel connected to each piece that I make, often because I've had the timber around for a while and  waited for the right time to use it, the right kind of project.

I had this piece of chestnut from Japan which I brought back to England along with some other nice timbers. The carcase is brown oak and the 2 rectangles are based on the golden section. I had a lot of help to make it as I had very little experience around this time of using machines and thinking joints out. Thanks Pete Legg. Not everybodies' cup of tea but good for some people like me.