I was looking out the patio door the other day and noticed this old table sitting in the screened in deck.  I got to looking at the legs and got to thinking about how they would be perfect for my new "S" shaped coffee table.  So I took them off and installed them on the new table.  They look great, excpet for being too long, they are 21" but would look better at 16".  After seeing it all together, my wife expressed that she had some nostalgic feelings towards that old table and wasn't ready for me to re-purpose the legs.

 

 

 

Today the first stave of the viola da gamba is bent. 6 more pieces to go!

Yes, they really were built this way. The next two are the tricky ones as they have to be bent with a twist in them. I'm going to leave them like this to settle and hold their shape before jointing the edges and gluing them together. I'll have to check for springback as I don't want to build stress into the instrument's top.

The center is bent first, then the next two which continue the belly. The 3rd & 4th are basically flat. This won't quite make the full top, I'll have to add some wings for the very edge.

Once this is all assembled I can establish a nice flat bottom edge for gluing the top to the sides, called the "garland". Then I can carve it into nice flowing curves. The advantage of this method over carving regular violin family tops is that all of the grain follows the surface. These tops can be made thinner for the same stiffness. So I've read!

OH! That scorching is typical! Nothing to be alarmed at. Its tough going bending 1cm thick spruce on the hot pipe. It'll carve out.


 

 

 

This canoe came in for some refinishing last Saturday.  It doesn't get any better than this!  16' Chestnut "Cronje" model.  Original owner, stored indoors, used well.  All of the wood was in excellent condition, the varnish was clean and intact, the seat cane was perfect.  Needs only new canvas, paint, and some refresher coats of varnish on the interior.

 

 

 

 

What a difference a coat of paint makes!  One down, a few more to go.

 

 

I drew out the shape to roughly the proportions that were evident from the photo, then made a template which would be used both for setting the shape of the opposite side, but also to use with the flush trim router bit.  Now I can make a gazillion of these tables!

 

 

 

 

A friend of mine found this old photo of a mid-century modern S shaped coffee table.  I had been looking for the right idea for a table for the basement rec-room/theater.  When I saw this one I knew that this would fit right in.  So today I got started on it, just a simple MDF top, painted with the maroon canoe paint, and Birch veneer on the edges.

 

 

At last!  All of the woodwork is complete on the hull of the Kildonan freighter canoe (no, not this first photo, the others!)  Time to finish cleaning up and getting ready for the first coat of paint.

I also have the outer stern stem made and fitted in place.  I'll be fitting the keel shortly.