Sofa Table #1

I have finished my latest and greatest piece of furniture. This was a piece that I had started a long time ago. Like many projects I started it with a lot of excitement and couldn't wait to get it done. I am not exactly sure what happened but I know the project was moved upstairs from the shop and was displayed behind the couch like it should be. The only problem was that it was far from being complete. The breadboard ends (the wedge shaped pieces on the end of the table top) were not shaped or completed. The entire piece had to be sanded and a finish put on, but for some reason it made the premature move to the upstairs and then went on to become almost unimportant. 

 Almost right after the move upstairs I became slightly unhappy with the piece. I definitely had lost my excitement for it.  I am not sure why for it was technically one of my better pieces but for some reason I couldn't see its beauty for a while. The table was one of the very first things that one would see when walking in to the house and it started to get a lot of attention and compliments despite its state of incompletion.  It survived several near disasters where people assumed that it was done and would lean against it and I would have to come to the tables rescue. It helped to have people compliment it and tell me they wanted one. I thought they were crazy for they couldn't even see what the finished product was going to look like.  Apparently I was the crazy one. After several rescues and many more compliments I started to fall in love with the project again. I decided to finish the project and I will tell you it is the project that I am most happy with so far. 

  The table is my own design and maybe that lead to my questions about it. The construction is of mortise and tenon with some bridle joints. I try not to use many man made fasteners in my projects and the only ones that are used in this project are the screws that keep the table tops on. I hope that the person who buys this piece enjoys it because it will last a long time. The table is made of solid walnut with the keys(the angled wedges that protrude from the sides of the table top)being made of African Padauk.  The new cover picture for my blog shows the small keys fairly well. They are cut and shaped by hand and inlaid into the side of the table. It takes me an hour to do each one but I believe the details are what makes the difference between hand made and mass produced furniture. 

  There are several things that I will take from this piece. I have learned that just because you may not see beauty in something doesn't mean that it is not there. We should all try to remember that and apply it to everything and everyone around us. I also will try to remember that I shouldn't  get down about a project in the middle of it.  There are many things in life like that for example relationships. They can get thrown away before you ever see the true beauty in it. Maybe we shouldn't be so hasty to give up on people. We might just be throwing away one of the best things that has ever happened to us. Perseverance is another attribute that this table has strengthened in me.  Sometimes we find ourselves in life to be down but the ups are on the way and we need to keep moving. we should never forget that.

  The other news is that I have a friend who has  graciously agreed to do real photography work for me. I hope that the pictures in the not to distant future will look much better than mine do. I am sure that they will. Hopefully the pictures will be used to make my future website look professional. I have the domain name already chosen and will pass it along to you when it is near completion. I will continue to do the blog. I received a comment that my last piece the (Bench Revisited) was nice but that I was a dork and I wouldn't want to disappoint that reader :-). God Bless you all and if you interested in this or any other piece of furniture please let me know.

Bench Revisited

         I recently decided to revisit one of my favorite pieces to make in the workshop. If you have read my blog before then you know that I made this bench before and presented it to my father for a Christmas present. I loved working on this bench so much that I wanted to make another one. Like many things in life when you do something the first time you remember the joy that it brought in your life or the joy of accomplishment but maybe you wish you would have done things a little different or that something was missing. Its not that you don't love the first time, or in this case my first bench, but you know in the back of your mind that maybe you could have done a little more. I sometimes view my woodworking the same way. On this bench I decided to inlay a couple of small strips across the front support rail. I am very pleased with how they turned out. They add just the right amount of contrast to the bench. The bench is made of walnut with maple and birch as the accent pieces. The seat is woven from authentic Danish cord. It stands a little over 27 inches tall at the top of the arm rest and is slightly longer than 42 inches.

   I remember as a novice woodworker that many times I would be intimidated by a new technique or adding inlay to a project that already looked decent. In truth I didnt want to ruin what I worked so hard to create. I believe that this fear affects many people in life. The fear of the unknown or the fear that you lack the ability to do what your mind imagines. I have over the past year decided to eliminate that from my life as a woodworker. The idea of failure is something as humans that we conjure up in our mind that can control us. I don't feel that I can fail during my projects in the future. I know that I have the confidence to try new ideas. That being said it doesn't mean that I wont make a mistake on a piece that I am working on. What it says is how I have changed my perspective on failure. I can always cut a new piece until I have exactly what I want.  I have the ability and desire to try it over until its correct. I know that may sound funny to some because ultimately its just a piece of wood. I do not want to limit myself as a woodworker. I want to be able to eliminate fear of things that I have not conquered because in reality I am the only one who can control what I can do or what I WONT LET MYSELF ACCOMPLISH. I choose to look at  new techniques or challenges as goals that I have not conquered yet. I want every project now to incorporate something that I haven't accomplished or tried. I know that this will make me more skilled at my craft and eliminate the idea of fear in my woodworking.

   I hope that these ideas will flow into other parts of my life as well. I want to set my mind to conquer new ideas. I don't have to limit myself to what I can be, where I will live or what I will do. I can choose to change anything in my life and if I make a mistake ,and I will, I just have to try again.  There are so many things that we can change and do over in our lives. Many times  we can fix them by adjusting our mindset and not limiting ourselves. Change your perspective to a positive one. Don't let the failure weigh you down so much that you cant stand up. Revisit things in your life and change what you have viewed as a mistake. Try something new that you wouldn't let your self try before. I know that the furniture that I make will most likely not define who I was in my life. I hope the ideas I have learned as a woodworker will spill over into the other areas of my life. I know that I will not be defined by failure or mistakes. There will always be people that try to tell you how you should live your life and what you do that is wrong or right. Just live up to your potential and don't worry about the naysayers.

   Thank you for viewing and reading my blog and please share it with others. I have a couple of pieces that I need to finish that have lingered in different states of completion. Those will be the pieces that I work on next. I should have another post in a couple of weeks. If you are interested in this bench or other pieces of furniture please e-mail me at  mikepeters72@yahoo.com

Coffee Table

I know that many people do not read this blog and as far as that goes I know that I don't post that often.  As the title of my blog suggests sometimes there is not much time for fine woodworking . I would love to write about all the daily jobs that I do from basement and bathroom remodels to fences that I build or siding a house. Those things are nice but I can associate woodworking with happiness and a change in my life so that is what I choose to tell anyone that might read this. Life is about hopes and dreams and maybe some of you who read this will think about following your dream.  I know someday that I will be able to practice my passion more often than I can right now.  I have recently been spending a little more time in the shop and have begun to breathe that sigh of relief again. This coffee table is one of my projects that I am most proud of. It represents a time in my life that was difficult in many ways. I was experiencing a time  when I was not happy with my job. I was not happy with the way that I was approaching life and most importantly my mother was diagnosed with kidney cancer. There are many people who deal with things that are far worse than those that I mentioned especially in a personal manor but my Mothers diagnosis triggered a change in the way that I look at life and the people around me. 

   I initially withdrew from people and friends and became depressed about life. I am lucky to have people around me who believed in me and stood by me even if they didn't  always know where I was or didn't return their phone calls. I found myself looking through my favorite publication, Fine Woodworking, when saw a picture of a coffee table and I knew that I had to build it. The table was designed by Seth Barrett from New York. I changed a few things to make it a little more me and I went through the beginning of my new life philosophy with this table as a goal.  The only way for me to take the new steps of change was to complete this table.  It provided a break from everything that was real and difficult. A couple of hours here and there were often all that I needed to catch a breath between hospital visits. The shop became a sanctuary of sort.

  The table fascinated me because of its design. If you look at the top at a certain angle it almost appears to float because it doesn't rest on the legs. I really enjoyed its architectural elements and every piece supports another piece and so on until you have a coffee table. I think that applies to my life a little. I have a great supporting cast around me and they all lift me higher. I would not be who I was if it wasn't for those people. I think of everyone of you when I sit down and look at this table. The day came when finally conquered my goal. I am still working on myself but I am a lot better than I was.

   Sadly my mother never got to see this table in its completed form. I dedicate it to her and all the people around me who have made life something to treasure....

Cabinets

My latest woodworking job has taken me away from furniture and brought me to a more practical side of woodworking. I was asked to do a small set of kitchen cabinets and it has been a great experience. Those of you that are close to me know that at times I have come close to pulling my hair out but that was more in response to trying to make cabinets and get other jobs done as well. I know that in the future there will be more cabinet jobs and I cant wait. The cabinets you see here are going to be painted white. I am looking forward to their completion. The only downside to doing a job like this is my lack of space in my shop, so the cabinets have invaded my dining room. The doors are almost done and I probably only have a day and a half left on the entire project. I hope the customers love them. My spare time and fine woodworking are really synonymous in my life. I rarely ever have actual spare time and when I do I love to try some fine woodworking. I always seem to get slightly anxious when a project is drawing to a close and this one is no different. I cant wait to do one of my favorite things and that is spend a few minutes admiring what I was able to accomplish. It is so nice to not have my mind racing about what I am supposed to do next and just let everything go and  just marvel. It never lasts long. The next project takes over pretty quickly. I know that a lot of men and women build wonderful things everyday. Some of them build better than I and some do not but that doesn't stop me from being very proud of what I make. I encourage all of you to try to buy something from the little guys. You will find some wonderful craftsmen if you just give them a chance. We live in a wonderful country when you really think about what each and everyone of us can do what we love to do. 

Trays

This is a custom serving tray that I made. The tray is made of curly maple with walnut accents. The maple surrounds a fabric liner that is covered in glass. This particular tray  is 30 inches long and would adorn the top of a coffee table or dresser or even a dining table or kitchen Island. I also make the trays in other sizes that range from typical serving tray to square(perfect for that ottoman) or any size that is requested. The fabric can be chosen by the customer or  be replaced with many items such as tile or pictures of loved ones. I will try to post pictures of other trays that I have done to show other options that include inlay and various wood types. 

Presenting the Bench to my Father

Here is my Dad with his new Christmas present. You can tell by the look on his face that he is not sure what to think of it :-)

Bench

This bench is my latest creation. I say my creation because I built it but I did not design it. The bench was designed by the critically acclaimed woodworker Mark Edmundson. His version was featured in Fine Woodworking magazine #194. The bench is Marks design but there are a few changes that I incorporated to make it mine. I remember when I first saw this particular bench I was stunned at its beauty. I also felt that it represented several design elements that should be incorporated into my working habits. Prior to this project my woodworking had fallen into straight line and box characteristics. This bench had graceful and gentle curves and had a woven seat. I felt that it was time to break my old habits and begin to add design elements into my woodworking that were new to me and represented the next step in my dream to become an excellent furniture builder. The bench is constructed of Black Walnut and the small faceted accent pieces you see on the legs are made of birch. The seat is woven from Danish cord. The weaving process was new to me and took about 10 hours and to complete and about 24 hours for my fingers to stop hurting(wear gloves)

   Once I decided to build the bench it also came to my mind that it would be the perfect Christmas gift for my father. I had not talked to my dad in almost 7 years. In July of 2007  we had  decided to make a new start to our relationship and Christmas of 2007 would be the first Christmas that we had spent together in a long time. I did not have a lot of money to spend on my father for Christmas but I knew that he would understand the time and effort that goes into a project like this. 

   I am so happy to have been able to build this piece and present it to my dad Stan Peters (even though it was a month late).