Raising the Barn video

O.K. The video of the barn raising that Shawn Lance has produced is now available from his web site. He has a trailor you can watch. Just click on the title above. Enjoy!

Reincarnation

I don't believe in reincarnation for people but trees.....well....sorta, kinda. Bill and I cut an enormous white oak the other day that died over the summer. It was located in a mans front yard that Bill had spotted while driving by. Bill has a way of finding treasures in the strangest places. After several trips to track down the owner, Bill talked the guy into letting us have the logs for simply cutting it down. The dead tree will now be reincarnated into many new useful things. I could have hiked 50 acres of woods and not found such a clear and straight white oak such as this. It was nearly 30'' in diameter and maxed out the cutting capabilities of my sawmill. We had a blast cutting this thing up watching all the beautiful quarter sawn boards stacking up on the trailor. Bill's dad Raymon came by to help as well.

So much is going on right now. I just completed the triple back settee for Mr. Underwood. He has been very patient since ordering it over a year ago. My next piece is the sideboard out of curly maple. The timber frame shop has the window openings cut out along the front which makes it look more like a shop than a barn. Boy is this the time of year to work outside. I never take for granted being able to work from home doing what I do. I don't miss the old 9-5 job I did for 17 years at all. I guess maybe I have been reincarnated too.

All Boarded Up

Once again trying to beat the rain I completed the installation of the rough sawn timber on the outside of the new shop. It looks like a "barn" at this point. It has taken thousands of board feet to cover this shop. The front door has been roughed in and the side lights on each side. It will look better when I get the windows cut out but for now will hold out the rain.

Shawn Lance has completed the "Barn Raising" video which has already started airing on Hendersonville's local comcast channel 3 every Friday night at 6 pm til the end of the year. I will soon have some info on how to purchase a copy of this DVD if you're interested. Shawn did a great job putting this together and I highly recommend this to anyone considering a timber frame structure. A picture is worth a thousand words and this video should answer some questions on how to get started and what a "raising" looks like. I will have a link to his web site to purchase the DVD by the next post.

I have so many irons in the fire right now so work on the new shop is slow. I do still make windsor chairs and have a settee to do next. I also have a sideboard to make for a dining room. This is for the same couple I just delivered the dining table to in Alabama. The curly maple for this sideboard came from Irion Lumber Co. out of Pennsylvania and it is prime stuff. I highly recommend these guys for matched sets and crazy figured hardwoods. Check out the finished dining table top which was finished using russett amber maple dye, amber shellac, and laquer.

Ready for Thanksgiving

I can't believe October is already here. Time is flying by and I can't do anything about it. I guess I've been having too much fun. I look forward to the change of season, the cooler air, fall leaves, and a warm wood fire. It's the best time of year to get outside and work like a dog on all the things I've been putting off over the summer.

The dining room table I have been working on is ready for Thanksgiving. I will deliver this soon to its new home in Alabama. The eight chairs I made have been patiently waiting for this table and I hope compliment each other. The sideboard is next!

I got to meet Peter Galbert at Highland Woodworking last week. He was teaching a class with Curtis Buchanan on the c-arm rocker.Pete is a very talented chair maker who will no doubt change chair making history. We went to dinner to discuss the chair class I will be assisting him with at Kelly Mehler's school in Berea, Ky in March. If you want to learn chair making you don't want to miss this fantastic opportunity. Go here to sign up. http://www.kellymehler.com/. If you haven't already checked out Pete's site and blog http://www.petergalbertchairmaker.com/

The Barter System

I am not a brick layer. I can't believe I even considered laying the brick on this shop but I found a way out. Bill's friend Larry King (not the old one with suspenders) is a very experienced and talented brick layer. Larry is also having a baby in December and needed a rocking chair for the baby room. I make chairs, Larry lays brick. Problem solved. Bill and Larry layed all 1500 brick on Sunday while I was finishing up the Craft show in Nashville. I hated to miss the fun but the two of them looked as if they had just climbed Everest. It was a long day and Larry had to drive back to Indiana to be at work the next morning by 6 am. My hats off to both of those guys who did a fantastic job. I hope Larry will like the rocking chair.

The brick is called "Jefferson Wade Tudor". It's a tumbled brick made to look old. The mortor is a buff color which gives a period look to the brick. They didn't have gray mortor in this area back in the 18th century so this should fit the decor of this shop.

I have many things to do in the next few weeks that will keep any work from being done on the shop. I have many chairs to make as well as other pieces. Soon I will return to Elberfeld with Bill to cut more timber. We have an awesome white oak to take down that died last spring as well as other logs to saw for the new shop walls and loft. I will post on this later.

Time Lapse

Here is the short video that Shawn Lance did of the barn raising. He is still editing the complete barn raising program. Thanks once again to all who helped.

I will be headed to the TACA fall craft fair in Nashville this weekend to show my chairs and talk to interested woodworkers. It's a long 3 days but I always enjoy the connection with the people. Looks like rain will be a part of this outdoor show so wish us all luck.

Closing In

Well the roof is finally done and in good time. The rains have set in thanks to a stubborn low pressure system stuck in Texas pumping moisture right into middle Tennessee. I still have the "Snorkel" machine which allows me to take some good pictures of the roof from 50 feet in the air. I started closing in the eaves with the same system of rough sawn planks, black felt paper, rigid insulation, and OSB. I rough framed for the window which is kind of a guess right now. My windows were donated from Carl Kowalski from Northern Indiana. These windows are from the late 20's and are beautiful leaded paned glass. I will have to build the frames for each window which is why the framing is a guess. More on the windows later.

I am trying to get all the things done up high while I still have the lift machine. It goes back on Saturday. I could use it another week but it's too expensive.

Shawn is still working on the video program on the barn raising. It will air on local channel 3 after he completes all the editing. Shawn is very talented at what he does and I am so grateful for his interest in documenting this process.