From this to that...

Well it's been a while and I still haven't posted the final pictures of the teak/redwood table I've made for our living room. It's done and looks great. I will post pictures soon.
In the mean time I've already completed the next project and I've started another one that will be done this weekend. I just haven't had the urge to share anything lately. Strange how the brain works. For months there is nothing and then today lets show 'em what I got... I blame all this on my ADHD! I love it and I hate it at the same time. Oh well.
So there is A LOT of news in our life and big changes coming soon... and I mean real soon. But more on that with the next project. (which will be soon) Now to this project:
My good friend and ex band member Spook inspired me to build my first guitar cab which is the first post ever on this blog. He actually got me started on blogspot. Way back he used to come into Evans shop after-hours and work on his guitars while Evan and I would work on our personal furinture projects. Now 6 years later he's got his own business and makes guitars for people from CA to Australia. Long story short... my turn to build a guitar. It's been on my mind for a loooong time and that time has come. So I decided to make a Fender style Telecaster for my sons 7th birthday. For about a month or two I did all the research I could on building guitars. Especially Telecasters. From Google to Stewmac to Borders and Ron Kirns detailed Tele build! Give me anything you got on that subject. And last but not least... the most useful and important... my boy Spook. I can't tell you how many times I called him to milk his brain. It reminds me of the time I used to call Kel from the beer store in Berkeley at midnight and ask him why my cooled wort wouldn't drain from my boil kettle! He just like Spook always helped me out with his personal tips and tricks! I myself find great satisfactory in passing along what I've learned over the years and I know spook does too, but a few times I could tell it was a little much;-) If I was going to put all this time and effort into a project I wanted to do it right! There are so many new tools and techniques that come into play when building a guitar. There are so many new things I learned and also learned how not to do. The internet is a wonderful research tool no questions asked, but if it wouldn't have been for Spook this build would not of turned out the way it did!
So with all this long bla bla bla here are a few pics from the raw blank to the finished guitar. I did not document this build just because I was so focused on doing it right I didn't even think about taking pictures. I did mess up on the bridge pickup rout but other than that I'm happy. The next one is for me:-)
The neck is leveled and crowned, finished with nitro and the body is mahogany with a maple strip and curly 1/4" maple top. Finish is Urethane. Pickups are Ken Armstrong and Dimazio DP381. She still needs a final setup and then it's in the case for Max to unpack on his birthday:-) Here is the blank it started from to the final guitar. This took a long time:

Figured Teak Redwood Coffee Table

A few months back I helped a friend of mine build a deck in Martinez. At the end of the project when it was time to clean up he sent me to the dump with all the demo lumber. That's where I looked a little closer and found a few very nice old growth 4 X 6 Redwood beams. Lots of nails and paint but just looking at the end grain I knew this was worth keeping. We've been in the need of a coffee table in our living room for a while so I finally broke into the Redwood. The top is part of the figured Teak I've had for a while veneered on 3/4" MDF. The design is on the fly, as usual. Here are the first few weeks:

Here the top and the rough redwood lumber.

Original Stamp.

Milling the table legs.

Table leg jig.

Cutting out the profile.

Time to clean up the rough band saw cut with the jig.

Final sanding before finish.

Since this is reclaimed Redwood I want it to look that way after milling and shaping it. A good way to do this is to oxidize the wood just like it does naturally. To do this i mix vinegar with steel wool and let it sit for a week. Then I apply it with a lint free rag just like stain. It oxidizes immediately.  

The dried oxidized weathered look with no finish.

Here the legs have a coat of oil finish. No finish on the legs looks more realistic but i like having some protection on my lumber and depth as well. 

 This is the teak top with a coat of sealer.

Time to cut the dado in the redwood legs with a slider on the table saw.

Since all the parts were finished I taped off the exposed edges with painters tape and epoxied
the legs onto the tabletop.

Done deal...

Well it's finally done. Like always it took way longer than expected but I still learn new things after all these years of woodworking. That's a wonderful thing.
The table is finished and ready for the auction in mid March. I'm curious how much it will go for. I heard last year a custom built cake fetched over $2000! That's a lot of money for a cake. Let's hope it gets more than that. Here are some pictures of the final piece...

Oak auction 4

I finally had some time to glue up the two front legs. The table is still moving so I had to relieve the edges to make the legs fit. I think it will tweak and move for some time but as long as it stays straight and flat I'm happy.

Gluing up the front legs

The legs are glued in with epoxy and clamped in place.

Deadline...

It was a very interesting week but I will not bore you with my work related circus drama. With that said I didn't get the 2 front legs glued up but I managed to install the thin long one. I've got all the coats of finish on the top so it's ready for the small front legs to be glued up and I still need to seal the bottom. I missed the deadline on dropping this thing off at school for a catalog description but Mel talked to the front desk and bought me some time. I have to work all weekend so nothing will get done until next week. Man time flies... Here are some pictures of not much:

I glued up the thin leg and finished the top with Four coats of synthetic drying oils.

Close up of the cut edge.

A picture of the live edge with the finished top.

Oak auction 3

Today I had a whole day to work on the table. Max and Mel went to lunch and then to 2 birthday parties.
Tomorrow it's my turn. Max and I are going to a golfing birthday. That will be a first for both of us and it sounds fun. Hopefully in the morning I'll be able to get the legs glued up and apply another coat of finish. We'll see how it goes. Here's what I got accomplished today:

Finally all the cracks are filled with epoxy and sanded flush.

Time to trim the legs to size.

When I first started working on this project I initially planned on a single leg in the center front but after playing around with some different positions I was glad I made an extra leg. This is something Evan Smith taught me while working with him in San Diego. He is a good friend and a great woodworker! Afterhours we drank good beers, talked shop and designed furniture. I learned a lot from him and really miss those days...

Dado jig for the long base leg. Nice tight fit.

I installed the jig with a few brads and did a few passes here. The total depth is 1 inch.

Finished dado 1 inch deep.

Now I have to chisel out the round corners so the leg will fit.

Now that is a nice tight fit.

I located the center point of the slab and ran 45° lines out to the legs but they looked to close together. I moved them around until they looked right. Another thing I learned from Evan: Distance yourself from stock measurements and standard practices...

Leg jig.

Chisel out he corners...

...and it's a perfect fit.

Time to clean the live edge. First I use a file brush to get rid of the leftover bark and then clean up with a torch. 

Finally it's time for finish! This top has been filled and sanded and filled and sanded and filled and sanded and sanded and sanded... The last sand was with 220. The finish on this will be a fast drying synthetic oil that has been formulated to enhance the natural look of wood. The dry film is also non-toxic, alcohol resistant and FDA approved for food contact. With multiple coats it gives a wonderful satin finish. 

First coat.

Fantastic color! No stain or dye. All natural white oak end grain. That has character.