Woodworking Progress

For those of you who read my last post about New Year's Resolutions/New Beer Revolutions progress, I mentioned a couple things that don't make much sense unless can see what I am working on. So... to facilitate that, I've taken some photos that I will post this evening. First, I want to have a 2005 Double Bastard downstairs in the Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens. Then, once I get home and everything settles in for the night, I'll upload the photos (and probably the "tasting notes" post about the beers we drank last Friday night).

Okay, now that the evening has settled down, here's the rundown...

First up, the makeshift bar. What you see in the picture to the right is the physical mass of the bar I would like to build. The space it takes up is just about what I desire for the dimensions of our studio. The bar surface--as shown in the photo--is salvaged mahogany from a giant pallet, and will be resawn (probably by hand) to make two 16" x 1.5" boards 65" long for the counter top. The smaller pieces sawn off the larger pieces will be around 32" long. The upper portion of the bar--the arm rest if you will--is made up of er... smaller boards: two 9 x 16" pieces at 64" long also with 32" pieces attached (one of which I have already sawn off).

I also salvaged some other wood to use on this project: oak, also from pallets up for grabs up at work. I think it is white oak, but it also could be (and probably is) some cheaper variety from South America or Asia. Regardless of that (or "irregardless" if you want to watch a certain big Irish guy twitch), it looks pretty good. It's the wood to the right of the photo. The mahogany (which could also be a cheaper substitute from overseas) is the wood to the left of the photo. Again, it looks pretty good. Both woods are heavy... hea-vy... dense... and difficult to cut, especially when compared to pine and douglas fir, which is the usual wood we encounter regularly.

Anyway, back to the bar concept... you'll also notice a few other "salvaged" items that, while helping me determine the actual shape and function of the bar, will not be a part of the final piece. For instance, the chair legs balanced on the right side of the frame are there to represent one of the four turned posts which will ultimately support the canopy over the bar (you know, where stemware is hung from).

Below the bar to are two whiskey barrels. They will not be used for the bar directly, but they will be used around the bar area. Look on the wall above the beer bottles. That circle (and one that should be below it, but fell off) represents a barrel end that will "stick through" the wall from the refrigerator behind the wall to the bar area. I think that at least one tap per barrel end will pour from the kegs in the 'frig. I also think I will be able to use the remaining barrel staves for some bar stools. We'll have to waiti and see. Representing the front of the bar are two desk ends. Sure, they don't look that bad, but on closer examination, their facade starts to fall apart. They are a "cherry" veneer on pressed wood... not exactly what I'm looking for in the finished piece. Instead, they nicely represent the two large mohogany panels that will be front (and side?) of the bar.

The drawback? This is not the project I need to complete for my NYR/NBR. It'll help me lear stuff, but it doesn't put a bookcase in the library, nor does it empty the... what... fifteen? twenty?... numerous paper boxes of books that are filling one of the corners of the studio.

What clears things up and helps me learn about what I'm getting into are the breakfast nook benches that I've started working on again. One of them was started previously, and the other was brought to a point where I can figure out the corner seat. The carcass of the bench seats is essentially all you see here, as quite a bit more work is coming this weeknd. I'll bulk up the feet up a bit and complete the boxes just under the hinged seats. Now this project is helping me learn about the construction of the bookcases for the library. So far so good.

Just for the sake of "sharing" what woodworking projects I'm working on, here is the gargoyle I'm working on:

I think I'll learn a bit about hand carving various aspects of my future projects. Plus it will look cool somewhere in or outside the studio.

Oh, and here's the drawing it is based on.