…and there’s so much to learn, but so much to gain by knowing how to do a great furniture finish!
On Monday we worked on finishing the construction of the nightstand with the size and taper of the drawer bottom and then more work tuning the drawer front and cabinet. It takes a lot of time and fine work to fit, plans a bit with super small shavings and then repeat. And there is a zen satisfaction to it all as I have noted. Also, spent the weekend thinking about what it might look like to apply to the full-time program, and talked to Mary – who was as supportive as ever, she is so supportive and accommodating!
Tuesday we started our two-day finishing lesson with Brad, guest instructor and former graduate. In fact, we had Brad all week as Nick was out all week. Brad was great and really offered some interesting design perspectives, plus it’s very good to get input from different instructors as they all have slightly different focus areas and often provide different perspectives.
In terms of the finishing information, it was super interesting and my first try at shellac and a French Polish. I come from the mode of “put on some poly and call it good” which is just way too simplistic. We also did varnish, polyurethane and even dyes and stains, so a number of sample boards at work. Super interesting, just seeing how the different properties impact the piece in different ways, plus how different pieces require different strengths (e.g., durable, gloss vs matte, water tolerance, drying time/cycles, application methods, etc.).
Wednesday was day two and more experiments in finishing styles and approach. And at the end of the day we had a little extra time (did I mention we are a very good class, we constantly get the “you all are really better than most classes” and I am certain that is not something everyone hears 🙂) and so started some samples with my milk paint choice. Going to try a few different applications with different finishing styles for my nightstand before I fully commit.
On Thursday morning, I focused on finishing sanding my nightstand and then more progress on the paint samples. We had dozens of options, and I narrowed it down to half a dozen or so, and then finally made the selection to an earth green which I think will look great with the walnut top and drawer front. And in the afternoon I continued with sanding all the other stuff like the top and drawer plus tubes up the drawer bottom. And most exciting, I began the shellac process for my top and drawer and it was beginning to look great!
As the week came to a close, Friday was all about finishing and prep for the cabinet on a stand. Finalizing design ideas, wood choice, etc. so we would be ready for creating our parts list, and then from there finalizing our wood shopping list since the next week we are headed to the mill for a day of wood selection and buying. Also, this Friday was a bummer, as I had a bit of a snafu on finishing for the top so I have to wait until next week to address because the one lesson I heard loud and clear, if something goes wrong, stop and wait – come back with clear head and cured finish to begin the recovery process.
Finally, one of the things I have decided on my Cabinet on a Stand project, I want to do a natural edge door panel with a reveal that allows me to have a vase inside and seed (maybe with lighting). So I talked to Brad about places to go for good and really interesting smaller pieces of wood. He turned me on to Goosebay Sawmill and Lumber in NH, so on Saturday I went up there to look around and found a couple of walnut burl pieces that I hope will be suitable. Stay tuned..
Dateline: NBSS Three-Month Furniture Intensive, Oct 17-21 (Week 6)