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Furniture builds


Keifer

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Thank you so much everyone.  Your kind words mean a lot.  To answer the inquiring minds, I do not bend my wood.  I’ve seen different techniques and jigs for it, which are intriguing but have yet to try it.  My method is probably unconventional but I have to work with what I got. I’ve included a crude drawing of my method, which is basically just a ton of sanding.  I sketch my shape into the side grain, cut away as much of the shaded area and file and sand the rest.  As much as I can on my belt sander and the rest by hand. 

A3EEB21C-CC4B-4938-96FA-E3EE17506D17.jpeg

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Thanks for the explanation, Keith. I used a similar method back in the day when I was hand carving small wooden bowls. I found the finishing process to be very restful, almost zen-like.

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On 6/8/2018, 6:09:32, Keifer said:

!

On a special note, the accent pillows are from our very own Brae (otterine).  I was very excited when I got them today...just perfect!

 

 

When you are ready her bed sleeping pillows are perfect too. the pillow cases are luxurious. 

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Started work on my first attempt at a historical chair.  These components are for the Villa Esche armchair 1908 by Henry Van De Velde.  Unfortunately There are not many photos of it.  I can not find any photos of the back of the chair so it will just be my interpretation of this chair.   It chose me though so I must answer the call. 

1E6BD1A1-44E6-4ECB-BE01-423D973E2620.jpeg

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Keith you are doing an excellent job in your miniature furniture builds.  I would have used my bandsaw for irregular cuts... I know with  a young family you can't buy tools every weekend!  But watch for them used... I found a benchtop model for less then $50 before at our local restore.  A bandsaw is just slightly different then a scroll saw.  The bandsaw allows you to cut thicker pieces of wood for the irregular rounded shape.  You have a great eye, I am going to enjoy watching your progress!  Please sign and perhaps put the year on the bottom of your furniture.  When your daughters are grown up, they will enjoy having the date you made those wonderful pieces of furniture.  

I love TV Trays... but I didn't see TV tray when I saw your photo.  I do most of my mini work sitting on my sofa and an Eames Fiberglass TV tray.

The first two pieces of power equipment I learned to use was a Bandsaw and a Miter saw... I think a Bandsaw or scroll saws are as safe as using a sewing machine... and if you observe a 2-3" rule of holding wood 2-3" away from the blade, you should always be safe using a miter saw.  Remember, don't move any wood, until the blade stops moving and you won't have to worry about losing a finger.

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If power equipment isn't in your budget, jewelers saws are incredible... I wouldn't go to a class without one... and a Zona Saw with the greatest number of teeth available is also an incredible tool for cutting something straight.    I recently participated in a woodworking class where we were cutting a lap joints on 2-3/8" x 2-3/8" thickness of wood by hand, and was very happy with my tools that I brought to my class.  Just add some candle or bees wax or burlife to the blade to help your sawing action.    Both of these saws are very inexpensive.  You can purchase a Zona saw at Tom Thumb Store in the Chicago area - I know they moved - but they had them each time I have been in the store.  I bought my jewelers saw online from Gesswein, but my jewelers saw blades from Rio Grande.  

 

 

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Ok Keith, spill the beans, what type of wood are you using (VERY nice) and what are you cutting those lovely curves with? One of my favorite browsing books is Taschen's 1000 chairs if you like modernist chairs.

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13 hours ago, Neverfinished2005 said:

Please sign and perhaps put the year on the bottom of your furniture.  When your daughters are grown up, they will enjoy having the date you made those wonderful pieces of furniture.  

 

Thank you for the kind words and thanks for this idea.  I have not signed or dated any of my works.  

I have a couple of power tools- a miter saw, scroll saw, benchtop belt sander and a homemade tablesaw.  A band saw is high on my wish list and probably would be next but if you didn’t catch it above, the table saw I am using is of the homemade variety.  While it is great for cutting down plywood, it is not the most accurate and definately not safe for smaller cuts.  So I really should get a real table saw as I use it quite a bit.  

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Holly you are right, I learned to use a pencil with new eraser for my push stick for my table saw.  The new eraser helps keep the wood steady and does protect my fingers.  I have never used a push stick for a scroll saw or band saw, it is truly like sewing, you can use both hands to guide your wood. 

On the subject of the back of the Villa Esche Armchair - these are beautiful designs!  I did a Yahoo image search, and the URL is very long, so I won't post it, but if you are being inspired by the chair I saw, that resulted in my Yahoo image search, I found a photo with back slats that is strikingly similar to your post.

It is a joy to see a new miniaturist work on chairs.  If you can master the chair in its many forms - chairs are very challenging to get them to be the right height on 4 legs and to sit properly, you are going to have so many opportunities if you are not freaked out by chairs... I know some very talented miniaturists that do their best to avoid them.

I can relate to pallet wood... my husband harvested some paduk from a pallet he got at work, and that is the hardest wood that I have ever put through a planer...The harvesting and repurposing wood is a fun way to go, and someday I will find that perfect project for that wood!

 

 

 

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11 hours ago, WestPaces said:

Ok Keith, spill the beans, what type of wood are you using (VERY nice) and what are you cutting those lovely curves with? One of my favorite browsing books is Taschen's 1000 chairs if you like modernist chairs.

Well not a very exotic wood, just oak.  I have yet to buy any wood for any of my projects.  Just using scraps and such.  I will definitely check out that book.  

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I remember talking to one Gentleman @ one of the Chicago Shows... he specializes in miniature kitchen cabinets, and I asked him what saw he was using... and he was using a real table saw.  While my husband could definitely use a life size saw for small cuts for me, it makes me nervous just to watch, so I prefer a model makers saw.  There were several,  off the top of my head, for model making:  Dremel, Jarmac, Preac, Micro Mark...Byrnes, Proxxon...

(Holly, of course DH uses a push stick on his real table saw, not giant pencil with eraser... but that would be a great picture eh?)

Dremel, Jarmac and Preac are not made anymore.  Our local miniature store owner had a jarmac that served her well.  A tilting arbor on a table saw is very useful.

The preac if you find one is really precise, but no tilting arbor on it; Micro Mark, Proxxon, Byrnes are current... Byrnes is top of the line and the larger table is plus, but I haven't been able to talk myself into buying one.  Micro Mark does put their top of the line tilting arbor on sale, sign up for their mailing list.  When I bought my preac, I had previously committed to my husband that I would sell my Micro Mark, but since the preac doesn't have a tilting saw blade, I kept my micro mark saw.  I'm not 100% sure, but I think Proxxon makes the Micro Mark saw, so it is private label situation.  If we don't have a lot of table saw experience here, the FMF has a lot of experience and I'm pretty sure someone has a forum topic on table saws.  I don't like the Byrnes tilting table; I would only purchase the saw with a flat table.  That just looks dangerous to me.  Kickback from a saw blade - just isn't much fun, you need to be quick on your feet and limber enough to move out of the way of a flying piece of wood.

 

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I don’t know if I ready to call my furniture professional but I really appreciate you thinking so.  I am trying to exercise an extreme amount of patience with this latest chair as it is more delicate than anything I’ve done. 

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On 6/14/2018, 8:57:38, Neverfinished2005 said:

Please sign and perhaps put the year on the bottom of your furniture.  When your daughters are grown up, they will enjoy having the date you made those wonderful pieces of furniture.  

Seconding this idea. My grandfather was a plumber by trade who also did a lot of hobby and practical woodworking. He usually signed his name, and often dated the pieces he made for us. Helped identify some things in my grandparents house as ‘grandpa made’ when we were dealing with their estate. The few dollhouse pieces he made for me as a child are some of my true treasures. 

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