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Custom Woodwork : Furniture : Cabinets : Millwork

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Building up the clear coats on the new bedrails for the old bed. The final sheen is to be satin, and I like to do my build coats with gloss. The lack of flattening agents in gloss coatings means that you get more depth if you build with them. The bed was made by the client's father almost 50 years ago. I've been working on strengthening the connections between the rails and headboard and footboard. Gone is the hook-style hardware, replaced with a stub tenon and 1/2" bolts into brass cross dowels (same construction as my workbench).

"Sanding? F**k that s**t", says Mr. N°4-1/2.

If you are wondering what I will be doing with the piece of lignum vitae that I bought yesterday, this is one project: #Whackamajig. Lignum vitae is one of the hardest woods on the planet, hitting around 4400 lbs of force on the Janka scale. (The Janka scale measures how many pounds of force is required to embed an 11mm diameter steel ball halfway into the wood). By comparison, hard maple is 1450 lbs on the Janka scale. Lignum vitae is so dense that it sinks. It is also a very oily wood, and as such, was used for ship's propeller bearings. As a mallet, it has a wonderful heft, allowing for more controlled strikes of a chisel. The pair of mallets shown have heads weighing roughly 3lbs each. Due to its ability to self lubricate, I'm going to also try making a plane with a lignum vitae sole. Now, the bad news - because it is such an incredible wood, it has been harvested to near extinction. It is on the CITES Appendix II list, and the IUCN Red List. #mallet #malletmaking #custommallet #lignumvitae

My haul from the Tools of the Trade Show and Sale. A 2" Lee Valley chisel, with a Sheffield Steel blade, super sharp and very well cared for. Vic @vic_tesolin_woodworks believes it may have been manufactured by Marples in the 70s. Six edge clamps for a mere $20. Three sticks of Brazilian rosewood, imported in the 1960s. And, the crown jewel, a magnificent piece of lignum vitae. It measures 12-3/4" wide by 4" thick and 25" long, and weighs 58lbs. It has been seasoned for over 30 years. I'm looking very forward to making some tools from it. #lignumvitae #leevalley #brazilianrosewood #rosewood #leevalleychisel

I've been looking forward to this since the last one in the spring. Lots of neat stuff and interesting people. #toolsofthetrade #toolshow #woodworking #antiquetoolshow

Two of the methods I used for removing the flooring itself. The first, I saw (#sopunny) @toolaholic use. Works great for clearing out a first area, which makes starting the second method easier. Longer arms (or longer tool handles, or shorter legs) would be welcome, either way. And yes, the floor vents are plugged. #flooring #hardwoodflooring #removingflooring #flooringremoval

Remove trim. Remove flooring. Install flooring. Install trim. This has been my work for the past two weeks. This is how I was shown to remove trim, with zero wall damage. A sharp knife, and a pair of bead bars. #trimremoval #baseboardremoval #baseboard #trim

The Extractor. If you have anything to do with nails, get one. They make removal so frickin' fast, especially brad and finishing nails. #theextractor #nailremoval #cooltool #notforuseonhumans

Hello. This is me, worst model ever, showing off my @searchandrescuedenim apron. I absolutely love my apron, and Will at S&RD has been fantastic both before and after I bought it. I had one sniggle, which was that the X straps prevented the apron from cinching tight to my waist. I reached out to Will, and he sent me the waist strap, for just the cost of shipping. And a hat. Which I am also terrible at modeling. My apron now feels absolutely perfect. If you're looking for an apron, Search & Rescue Denim has a wide range of materials, some really cool finishes, and will customize your apron however you want. And, they're Canadian. #shopapron #apron #madeincanada #needmorecoffee #terriblemodel

It's getting pretty full, and it's been a while, so here is the current state of my handtool cabinet. Enjoy! Feel free to ask about anything in there. #heyfww #handtoolcabinet #handtoolholder #toolcabinet #toolstorage #handtoolstorage

This is other picture of the wall hanging planters which the client sent me. I was really concerned with ensuring there was proper drainage (especially after seeing the rot on the cedar handrail and newel post at another client's). The tops of the verticals are angled, the cross bars which support the galvanized steel inserts are angled, the tops of the cleats and spacer bars are angled. The steel insert boxes have drainage holes drilled into the bottoms. Having the planter broken into 5 sections allows for a regular person to remove each section easily, even when full of dirt and plants. Or, just the insert boxes can be removed. All about options. #wallplanters #planters #wallhungplanters #wallplanter #customfurniture #customfurnituretoronto #cypress #madewithosmo

Late night install for me, and early morning photos by my client. Five cypress wall planters holdin fourteen galvanized steel boxes. Planters are finished with Osmo UV Oil. The steel boxes were made by Danforth Roofing Supply. They are hung on a French cleat, which is spaced off the wall with 2" x 2" x 1/2" aluminium spacers. I wanted to keep any organic material off the stucco (they've had issues with it). Thank you for sending the pictures, Tara. Been fantastic working for you again. #wallplanters #wallplanter #customplanter #customfurniture #customfurnituretoronto #cypress #madewithosmo

Small project, which actually started out smaller. Client was having the front porch repainted, and the painter pointed out that the handrails, where they met the bottom newel posts, were rotted. When I arrived to replace them, I found that, well, the cedar cladding on the posts was also rotted. Which entailed a complete recladding of the posts. I stuck with the existing look (the upper newels were fine). I did, however, take a lesson from the book of @gosselinkfinecarpentry, and shape the top of the handrail to better shed water. I also caulked the snot out of it after the pictures were taken. #handrailrepair #cedardeck #paintgrade #deckrepair

Current project: strip a set of red oak stairs in preparation for matching to the new, pickled, white oak floors. Card scrapers cleaning up what the sander can't reach. Gotta say, a real test of your card scraper sharpening skills is to do it on site with a bastard file and your hand as a vise. The most amazing burnisher from Liam @weeatthesun certainly helps #stairs #stairrefinishing #stairrefinishingworkinprogress #staircaserefinishing #staircaserefinish #donnotsweatontheoak

Happy shed-urday! Just finished assembling this prefabricated cedar shed. It took @leo.of.all.trades and I two days to prepare the site and assemble this 10' x 12' sweet smelling out-building. Clients are happy, and have asked me back for a number of other jobs. I made the decision last month to begin splitting my time between furniture and general carpentry/handy-person work. I started out as a handy-person, and transitioned to furniture. Problem is, as much as I love it, I don't make enough of an income on the furniture. By splitting my time, I can feed both my soul, and my bank account (and family). #cedarshed #shed

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