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Joe Horner writes:
We got to have some fun with this custom hutch.
I don't know about everybody else, but over time our work can
seem fairly routine. Dining room suites, bedroom suites, tables,
chairs, chests, etc. Most of them done in various brown stains
and satin topcoats. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do.
We do what we feel is a very good job and take a lot of pride
in every piece that goes out the door. However, it can become
less glamorous than our clients think it is at times.
When this happens, it is nice to have a piece come along
like the one in these photos.
Just down the road from us is a custom furniture maker and
woodcarver that has some spectacular pieces in his portfolio.
Most are large pieces commissioned for the wealthy that feature
a lot of custom carving. His carving is really something to see.
Like most of us in Groop he takes his skills for granted and
probably doesn't charge enough for his work. He is, however,
mart enough to let us do the finish work for him!
...
We finished this hutch in November so it could go home
for Thanksgiving and I thought Groop would enjoy seeing it.
A lot of the tips that appear in Groop are in this finish.
Please excuse the less than perfect photography.
Here are the details:
The cabinet is made of pecan solids and veneers.
The beaded trim on the doors, inserts, and drawer fronts
is made of mesquite. The rope moulding under the crown
is the only piece not custom made in shop.
It is a piece of commercially available poplar moulding.
The tree trunks, leaves, tassels, and basket weave inserts
on the sides and doors, were all done in solid pecan on the
CNC router. This left everything rough cut, sort of a two -
dimensional look. Kevin then hand carves all the detail
into this rough carving which really brings it to life.
The original design called for a western look with horses heads
around the top, but it evolved into oak leaves. Since this is the
cutting horse capitol of the US, the feet remained horses hooves.
The client wanted a "fun" finish but not a decorator's trendy finish.
She intended for this to be a piece that would stay in her family for generations.
Here is our schedule:
It came to us production sanded, so we started by filling all gaps,
nail holes etc., using Fixx brand oak wood patch.
Sanded the entire piece to 120.
Stained overall (except back of open shelves) using Golden Oak.
Painted back of open shelf area a light sage green.
One light coat of vinyl sealer followed by sanding with 320.
Glazed overall using Burnt Umber wiping glaze.
Light coat of vinyl sealer followed by sanding with 320.
Glazed the tree trunks, concho, tassel ends, and interior of
basket weave pattern using Van Dyke Brown wiping glaze.
Painted the leaves using a mixture of greens from Golden Artist Colors.
Originally we submitted a sample using a mixture of fall colored leaves
using the Golden colors, but the client wanted all green leaves.
We used several colors of green and thinned some considerably
to create colors that mimic the mixture of greens on a tree.
Each leaf is slightly different in color.
The samples we received from Golden got us started,
but we wound up buying about six or eight more colors
by the time we did her sample and the final piece.
These were really easy to work with and created great colors on the piece.
One light coat and one full coat of vinyl sealer.
Well sanded using 320 and 0000 steel wool.
Gloss lacquer topcoat followed by 0000 steel wool
and a final satin lacquer topcoat.
Although we didn't record the actual time involved,
we spent approximately 10 hours over a period of one week
to complete this job. We charged the maker $1500
which was about 26% of the total cost to the client.
We love doing this type of work and only wish Kevin would build faster!
His work ranges from simple bookcases to horse drawn wagons.
This was a very satisfying project for the builder, for us and the client.
JoeH
TX