Ishi-Doro or Japanese Stone Lantern

Lanterns were originally introduced into Japan by China. The first ones were made of metal and primarily used to light doorways to shrines and temples. They were later made of stone for use in gardens, but it wasn't until they were introduced into Japanese tea gardens by tea-master Sen-no-Rikkyu did they really become a major garden element. Japanese tea ceremonies were often held in the evenings and light was needed to guide guests to the tea room. I make them out of wood scraps left around the shop. They are a bit smaller than the originals, table top size. They are also wired for a 25 watt halogen bulb, not to be used as primary lighting but as decorative.




This is a Rankei Lantern also known as a riverside lantern, which would usually be positioned overlooking a pond or stream to create a beautiful image in the water's reflection. I crafted this one with black walnut, curly cherry, Bolivian rosewood, and a burl of eucalyptus.
















This next one is called a Kanju-ji Lantern, it is a square lantern with simple forms. The original design comes from Kanju-ji Temple in Kyoto dating from the Edo Period (1615-1868). The proportions of rectangular forms, openings, flattened light compartment and large gently curved roof present an austere, elegant form embodying quiet simplicity.








I used black walnut, Bolivian rosewood, bloodwood, poplar (which the top is shaped from then stained), and topped of with a burl of eucalyptus finial.




This next one is named Kotoji meaning "harp tuner", for the two legs on which the body of the lantern stands are said to resemble to tuning forks of the Japanese musical instrument "koto". Usually one leg is placed on the land and the other in water, reflecting the interdependence of land and water. I crafted this one with Bolivian rosewood, mahogany, and of course topped it of with a finial made from the burl of eucalyptus.

TV table, coffee table, side table, what ever you need.

About two years ago my friend (some of you know her as Penny Lane) purchased a home theater system. Unfortunately she did not have a piece of furniture to put it on, so we went shopping for something that was attractive, affordable and non obtrusive. We didn't have much luck, either it was ugly, too big, or too expensive, but we did get some ideas. Unbeknownst to her, I got to work.
















I had to work fast, I didn't want her to have the opportunity to buy a piece. First thing I needed to do was get measurements (TV and stereo system) and also figure out the optimal TV viewing height. After getting all the info that I needed I quickly designed the piece. Next, I had to figure out what type of wood? I am a big fan of Walnut and Ms. Lane was becoming one too, so it made sense.

Walnut would be the primary wood, but I wanted to mix it up. It is a pretty simple piece but it needed a little something to make it stand out. Zebrawood was the answer, it has texture, it's warm like the walnut, and it would not over power the piece. Two days later, the piece was built and all I had to do was finish it.















Well, Penny loves her TV table and it seems to receive many accolades, this brings me to a question. As you've noticed the title includes more than just this table, my thought is to base my first line of furniture from this piece. What do you think? There could be different wood combinations as well. I would appreciate any thoughts.

Filing Cabinet

Here it is, the Walnut filing cabinet that goes with the desk. There are two pull-out drawers on top (later on that) and the sliding doors below which hide the pull-out hanging file drawers. The doors are book-matched and are also matched to the top of the piece.















With the door open you can see two of the four legal sized hanging file drawers, these drawers are also book-matched. Above, are the pull-out drawers, look closely and you will notice the facade matches up (this is one board cut just in the right place) the circle pattern is where a branch was attached to the tree. I used Bloodwood for the Bow-Tie handles which ties in nicely with the desk.

Next is the top, after French polishing it with twelve coats the piece has great depth (it looks like you could reach into the wood). Notice the oval pattern (again where a branch would have been attached to the tree). As I mentioned before if you look at the first picture you will see the same pattern in the sliding door. (it is the same piece of wood)















The drawers frames are made from cherry, and are joined with half-blind dovetails. I used a router on these because of how many were needed (typically I hand cut all my joinery).














If you look closely, you can see one more detail that I added, walnut book-matched drawer bottoms (yeah, a little over the top).

Finished Product

After twelve coats of hand rubbed shellac (aka French Polished) we come to our "finished product." I used a shellac that I would highly recommend (Hock Shellac); it is easy to apply/repair, non-yellowing and nontoxic. I used a blond "two-pound cut" which I applied with a pad, two to three coats at a time. After allowing it to dry thoroughly (several hours) I then would go over it with four-O steel wool, then go back at it with the shellac. It takes some time, but it is well worth it!


As you see the desk is very simple, pretty much just a work space with the pencil drawer. If you look closely, you can see one of the Bloodwood Dutchman (Bow Tie) on the top and one on the front edge of the desk.

Next up is the credenza; the client needs hanging file drawers and a couple of regular drawers for storage (remember there is just a pencil drawer incorporated into the desk).

Here we have a good portion of the cabinet finished, sliding doors hide the file drawers. Notice on both of the doors the pattern matches, this is called "book matching" just one of many detailed items on this piece. More to come!

Desk for JC part 2

Now it is time to connect the legs to the desk top, left; here we have the right leg with the braces which have been handcut to fit to the top of the leg (right photo). The braces are glued to the leg, then the leg is attached to the desk top (bottom left).





























After attaching the first leg, I shaped (grinding the hard edges) and then, attached the other leg. Next to the leg (the bloodwood, red) are the drawer slides, which is attached to the top in a channel that I routed out.














This is the drawer which I made from Bloodwood, and Walnut that was cut from slab that the top is made from. Notice the drawer front is at an angle, this is because the desk is at a slight slant as well. The drawer matches up with the front of the desk but pulls out straight.

The Olympic Torch

As a thank you for his work with a homeless shelter here in DC, my friend "The O" was nominated to run the Olympic Torch in 1996. After running the torch, he was able to purchse it and wow, what a beauty. Unfortunately, it has been just sitting around not being displayed in the manner it should, so I took it upon myself to bug the hell out of "The O" until he gave it to me for the following reason.

Read in a God like voice:

To build unto it an honorable display, capturing the very essence of this wonderful piece.

Well "The O" finally came around and I quickly got to work. My first decision was how to best display the torch? On a pedestal, in a case, or just hanging free? The torch is a symbol of peace, and I thought what better way to let it be shown than in a free space, hanging without any clutter. My next decision was how to symbolize the Olympic Flame. A Bic lighter wouldn't work. Candle wax might ruin it. Could I make a flame out of wood? I am a craftsman, so what the hell.










First off, I had to find wood that would best simulate fire, so here we go. In the photo on the left, Left: the first wood is bloodwood with very deep red tones. Center: tulipwood which has yellows, pink yellows, and red streaking through (best simulating fire). And right: yellowheart which is just plain yellow.
I then cut the pieces into smaller pieces and started to glue them up (right) in a flame-like manner. I drew a flame on each, cut them on the band saw, then glued them together and came up with....


Well, to make a long story short, I mounted the flame to a cherry wood frame (which is very nice, as well) hidden behind the torch. This makes it easy to then mount it on the wall.


So if anyone just happens to have an Olympic torch and wants a great way to hang it, hit me on my e-mail and we will get started.

Desk for JC part 1

I have a client, JC who ask for a couple of furniture items to be made for his office. The first piece that I will build is his desk. It is very simple when it comes to a desk, but when it comes down to the finer details, it becomes a time consumer.



This slab of wood (walnut) is to be used as the top of the desk; parts will be cut off (as the piece of wood is to big for the space). As we go on I will use 95% of this beautiful piece.








Here I have hand cut bowties in one side of the right leg, these will be used to tie the two parts the leg together.



Here are both sides after the bowties have been cut out; the actual bowties are on the left. I glued them in the holes tying the leg together (more on that tomorrow). Notice, the center bowtie is a different color, this is a piece of scrap from the top.



Here we have it after the glue up, with a light sanding. I will run it through the belt sander and it will even out the wood.













Next the left leg; top left, the pieces before construction notice the hand cut through mortise and tenon. Above, leg after glue up, it still needs to be shaped with a grinder. Left, the end grains of the through tenon (nice tight fit).

Hallway table

When Miss Penny Lane and I moved into our new apartment, I decided that I needed to christen it with a new piece of furniture (yes, we would christen it that way, too). The entrance hallway looked bare; well, the whole apartment was bare, but the hallway really stood out. I have always wanted to design a table for a hallway but never had the chance, so this was exciting. Normally I would start sketching ideas until something came to me, but my excitement about making a piece for myself coupled with my ADD, I figured that might take too long. I just happened to have a great piece of Black Walnut that I really wanted to use. When I design a piece, it is usually around the types of furniture a client might already have in their home or a concrete idea of their own. After designing the piece, I would then buy wood that best works with the design. With this piece, however, I would be designing around the piece of wood.

















I wanted to design and build something simple, and I was somewhat limited with just one piece of wood. What a challenge. Mother Nature needs to be appreciated in each piece of furniture I build; therefore, no stains are used, and I work with the natural beauties of the wood (knots, live edges, grains, etc). I also am a nut for what is called a Bowtie, Dutchman, or Butterfly, which is a technique typically used for keeping a piece of wood from splitting by holding the wood together, but can also be used for purely decorative purposes. For this piece, I would be using the technique for form and function.

I decided to leave a live edge (the right side of the base) on the table; this makes the piece feel alive and brings Mother Nature into the home. I cut the opposite side, giving the piece a clean feeling, as well. The butterflies on the top are the functional type, as they are holding the wood from cracking any further. The butterflies on the base do hold the wood together, but are used more in a planned way, where I cut the wood into three separate pieces and then brought them back together. Well there you go, simple huh? This piece took me about thirty hours of building and finishing, and I just love it in our hall.