woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
I mull the design over in my head, just kind of let it come to me, often cleaning up the shop from the previous work until I get an idea. I like to ask myself, what does my eye want to see in that room, the feeling of it, try to become a bit detached like someone else that will be looking at it that didn't make it. Might hit a few books of classical or modern furniture to get some inspiration. It isn't hard to get carried away with your own ideas. Have to work out the proportions, arrange the wood, sometimes from outside to inside the shop for some additional seasoning. After cutting to length plus a bit, let it sit a little longer. It seems that when you remove some of the stresses off of a piece of wood in the length and width, it often wants to move around some more. Some species variation with that too. Get to making it, maybe some mockups out of plywood or cheap wood, things look different from paper to three dimensional. Consider thicknesses and joinery. Get to the machine work, finish planing and edge details, sanding, then the overall construction. Hand planing takes time, but is also one of the most enjoyable aspects of woodworking, never seems to get old. Get it all put together then really go over it for bruises or blemishes, what all can happen when clamping or even just moving it around. Some final sanding. Finishing adds time on and off over a week or ten days or so, drying time between applications of oil, with lots of polishing during the oiling process. So, total time involved is kind of a combination of the constant work and when on and off the project for intermittent periods.
I guess if i considered the total time for a table like that, my time involved would be like three weeks at a comfortable pace. I don't like to rush it unless absolutely necessary. Sometimes things have a way of time stretching out. The second time around on a given design generally goes a lot faster, much less considerations involved. That is where you can do pretty well. Problem is, often I will never do a design again. Each house is different, and the people there. Unless you have a big name and can get big bucks for whatever you do, having some standards that you might do fairly regular, or at least know the general design and other specifics well for a given piece, is pretty essential to be successful at it business wise. Not having to spend time thinking so much is a big plus. New work is fun but more often than not doesn't pay so well. I have a few standards, but these days coming up with new designs mostly keeps me interested.
Tree work adds a really great change, I dig it. With trees, much easier to measure how much work you get done in a day, plus doing it with some bros.
I guess if i considered the total time for a table like that, my time involved would be like three weeks at a comfortable pace. I don't like to rush it unless absolutely necessary. Sometimes things have a way of time stretching out. The second time around on a given design generally goes a lot faster, much less considerations involved. That is where you can do pretty well. Problem is, often I will never do a design again. Each house is different, and the people there. Unless you have a big name and can get big bucks for whatever you do, having some standards that you might do fairly regular, or at least know the general design and other specifics well for a given piece, is pretty essential to be successful at it business wise. Not having to spend time thinking so much is a big plus. New work is fun but more often than not doesn't pay so well. I have a few standards, but these days coming up with new designs mostly keeps me interested.
Tree work adds a really great change, I dig it. With trees, much easier to measure how much work you get done in a day, plus doing it with some bros.
