Starting some live edge stuff

 I'm in the middle of a massive project right now for my buddy Taylor, lots of live edge pieces. Really enjoying it too, but the wood isn't always dry enough yet. This is the start of a coffee table, a dining room table and two benches, couple of outdoor things.

This will be a coffee table

It's not dry enough to work yet!

These should become some floating shelves

it me!

Epoxy pour

this one was best used for lumber, kind of a wild side close to the edge of the tree

this is that lumber...

Coffee table is finished

I finished the coffee table with Old Masters clear coat. We still haven't decided what kind of legs to put on there so I can't deliver yet. Still, this is a cool table, and after some drying time that lumber will make a nice table base

First trip to Boone

 So we've been looking for a lot to buy for about a year now. First at the coast, then around some lakes, southern pines/Pinehurst area, NC really has it all. We ended up finally getting some good pictures of a few trips to Boone. In this trip, Lena the Youngest came with me and we went to Beech Mountain and some places in Boone itself. All around town, east north and west of Boone, then the 30 minutes up to Beech. We didn't end up buying any of these, but enjoy the picturesque scenery of the NC mountains.

Really cool bridge

Dense wooded lot, drops off a pretty steep slope

Now we're up on Beech Mountain. These lots were <$5k each, but on the back side of the mountain with no cell service

This one actually looks pretty buildable

Long gravel roads don't make for a good rental

This one is pretty flat too, and up on Beech that's hard to find

Lena really liked this one

Overall I had a wonderful day trip to the mountains with the kiddo. We looked at a bunch of land, she fell in love with the mountains too. I lived in Boone for 5 years while in college so I know it and love it well. I feel confident (hint hint) that we will find something up there soon

Random Holiday Pictures

 It can't all be woodworking, right?

Selfie playing Real VR Fishing on the Oculus Quest - really fun game

Finished picture of the hanging couch

Family at the State Fair - it was just food this year

A black widow spider eating a wasp on my new front porch - before I squashed them both

Kiddo is playing the oculus

Out with my love - voting on election day

Last day at my day job for the last 4.5 years

First day with the new company

Also fishing with my brother - more on him later

Butcher Block Countertops

 When I built the butcher block countertops for my kitchen, the wood was too green. It shrunk in strange ways, and created a wavy surface. Bottom line, face grain countertops are not a good idea, at least from green lumber. 

So I decided to cut up some lumber for edge grain butcher block stock. The plan was to cut some to 1 7/8" wide, glue those wide sides together in sections that would still fit through the planer, then glue the sections together so I could get something about 26" deep by 28" wide and at least 1.5" thick.

Starting with a 16' white oak, 10' hickory, and 6' maple boards

cut them down to length & ripped to width first. Added some walnut and dogwood too

Take those sticks, turn on the side, find combination that gives me length/width needed

In the clamps with glue

Planed down, glued the sections together, cut to width, and sanded

added butcher block oil. Can you see the different types of wood?

Installed in my kitchen

If you can tell, the first 3 blocks are white oak, most of the general color stuff is white oak. After that, there is a slightly browner board, that is hickory. Then a quartersawn white oak with some visible medulary rays, a row of dogwood that I milled from a tree we had to take down. The walnut (dark brown) and maple (almost white) rows should be obvious. 

I think this patterned edge grain is a fantastic approach. It stays flat, holds up well under Kelley's cooking. Going to have to replace the rest of the countertops with this stuff

My First Couch

 Instead of a hanging bed, I had a great customer order a hanging couch. She had a specific size in mind, and custom ordered the cushions for that. So I took my normal twin hanging bed and resized the frame, and had to come up with a design to get the back at an angle, and make some clean arms. My first attempt at a couch!

I started with the same basic frame, but at that custom size. Well, actually 2" wider to allow for the back supports. Add the arms and the back supports, then finish wrapping the frame. Add some seat slats, and paint the whole thing.

Starts as a pile of boards and a quart of paint

Assembled the frame with the 2x4's under for hanging

Added the corner pieces and back supports

Starting to add the arms, seat slats, and front/side wrapping

Finished off the arms and back slats. Also notice the cutout of that top piece

Used a gray Kilz primer and 2 coats of some exterior paint

Installed on the porch, this isn't pretty

Hanger details

Cane back to me for more paint & seat slats

Installed with better rope this time

This one came back to me. After installing the first time, they wanted more seat slats added, and a different rope solution. The porch has 9' walls and a sloped ceiling. They wanted it mounted on 2 points so it swings on an arc like a porch swing, rather than the typical 4 mounts that make it swing on a flat plane. The white ropes I picked up were 9'8" long, and I really thought they were going to work but by the time I tied the knots off for hanging the couch sat about 2' off of the ground - way too high, and not too stable. They wanted to go with a synthetic 3/4" manila rope, so thicker and longer. I found a 50 ft roll on amazon, cut it into 12' lengths and sealed the end with a blowtorch. 

This project turned out fantastic, I'm really happy with it, and the family wants me to build another one for their lakehouse.