At The Shop (11/14-12/12)
To say I have been slacking on the weekly “At The Shop” section of the blog is a complete understatement! It has been five weeks since my last update! I will do my best to bring everyone up to speed on the latest projects and developments here at J. Alexander Fine Woodworking.
The kitchen cabinet job is completed, along with the clients new kitchen table, and has been for about two weeks. Everything turned out absolutely fabulous. We had no major issues rear their ugly heads, and except for one wall with a huge bump, all the surfaces were flat and plumb and everything fit like a glove.
This project really opened my eyes to the amount of time it takes to install large jobs like kitchen cabinets or entertainment centers. Even if everything fits perfectly, which, trust me, never happens in any home, it just takes a lot of time to load up all the project’s pieces and the tools, drive to the job site, unload everything, and put the puzzle together. There are cabinet boxes, shelves, doors, drawers, end panels, moulding pieces, toe kicks, crowne moulding, and hardware that all has to come together pretty much perfectly, and it is a process that just takes time. I vastly underestimated how much time it was going to take, and as a result, shot well past my projected completion time on the job, but that is how we learn, right?
Along with the cabinets, we also built a 44″ diameter dining table for the client’s nook. The table is going to doubled as a workstation, so we designed a squared pedestal base to house the clients laptop, papers, and office supplies.
Bookshelves
After the kitchen job, it felt good to work on projects that took only a week or two to complete, rather than five weeks like the kitchen cabinets. The next project in line were a whole bunch of bookshelves. The design called for bookshelves that had a more open, sleek, and lightweight feel to them. Not only were they less expensive than the traditional cabinet style bookshelves, but they did not feel like they were imposing or closing in on the already small office space they were installed in. Everything went smoothly and some final pictures should be up shortly. Check the next “At The Shop” entry.
Wine Rack
Another exciting and unique project we are working on is a wine rack that is being built into an old wooden English phone booth. The final product will have 11 rows, with each row holding 5 wine bottles. The parts are being stained and finished as we type this out, so check back later for the final pictures.
That just about does it. We have a ton of business ideas we are working on to keep ourselves busy during these tough economic times, and I am dying to share them, but they will have to wait for another time. I am getting sleepy and the new episode of The Office on Hulu is calling my name.