*pics* Touchwood Sycamore Rocker *** IT'S DONE ***
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Re: *pics* Touchwood Sycamore Rocker WIP
It's clear now.
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John
Tried to send another PM, but they tell me your inbox is full
Don
It's clear now.
Re: *pics* Touchwood Sycamore Rocker WIP
Thanks John,
The Sycamore is much easier to work with than the Utile. Utile is full of cross-linked grain, so planing is a real pain...tearouts all over. It's also somewhat brittle..I broke one of the flairs on the front legs just setting the chair down on an un-padded surface. Fortunately the repair is not noticeable (but I see it!)
The only problem with the QS Sycamore is that it wanders from QS to PS in the same board...so getting grain matched parts is a guessing game. On the other hand, I had some pleasant surprises once I started shaping. Mother Nature must be looking after me. :icon_thum
I can't wait to see the first coat of oil go on...probably 3 weeks away.
Don
Thanks John,
The Sycamore is much easier to work with than the Utile. Utile is full of cross-linked grain, so planing is a real pain...tearouts all over. It's also somewhat brittle..I broke one of the flairs on the front legs just setting the chair down on an un-padded surface. Fortunately the repair is not noticeable (but I see it!
)The only problem with the QS Sycamore is that it wanders from QS to PS in the same board...so getting grain matched parts is a guessing game. On the other hand, I had some pleasant surprises once I started shaping. Mother Nature must be looking after me. :icon_thum
I can't wait to see the first coat of oil go on...probably 3 weeks away.
Don
J
jeff...
MORE *pics* Touchwood Sycamore Rocker WIP
email from Don
"Hi guys,
First coat of oil on QS Spalted Sycamore chair. It will look a lot better after a couple more coats. There was no way to tell how this was going to look. The color is too dark in the pics....but it was sort of like opening a Christmas present as the first oil went on.
Don"
Let me be the first to comment :swoon:
email from Don
"Hi guys,
First coat of oil on QS Spalted Sycamore chair. It will look a lot better after a couple more coats. There was no way to tell how this was going to look. The color is too dark in the pics....but it was sort of like opening a Christmas present as the first oil went on.
Don"
Let me be the first to comment :swoon:
Re: *pics* Touchwood Sycamore Rocker WIP
Wow, that QS Sycamore really comes alive with an application of oil. Not to mention that is a beautiful chair. Let me be the second to comment :swoon::swoon::eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:icon_thum
Thanks for posting Jeff... and thanks for creating Don, you're an artist of the highest measure.
Dave
Wow, that QS Sycamore really comes alive with an application of oil. Not to mention that is a beautiful chair. Let me be the second to comment :swoon::swoon::eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:icon_thum
Thanks for posting Jeff... and thanks for creating Don, you're an artist of the highest measure.
Dave
J
jeff...
Re: *pics* Touchwood Sycamore Rocker WIP
Don't know about you guys... but I keep going back and looking at the arms and ray fleck all over the chair - I can't make up my mind which I like better :dontknow: The way Don caught the end grain on both of the arms makes it hard to decide... I don't know how many growth rings are showing on those arms but they sure are showing their age.
Thanks
Don't know about you guys... but I keep going back and looking at the arms and ray fleck all over the chair - I can't make up my mind which I like better :dontknow: The way Don caught the end grain on both of the arms makes it hard to decide... I don't know how many growth rings are showing on those arms but they sure are showing their age.
Thanks
Re: MORE *pics* Touchwood Sycamore Rocker WIP
I can look at that all day. In fact, I have smudges on the screen where I try to feel the finish And it's not just the wood, the shape is...."organic". Best way I can think of to describe it.
Craftsmanship is being able to make a chair like that. Comfort is being able to sit in one of those. Wealth is owning one. Happiness is seeing it all here on NCWW!
I can look at that all day. In fact, I have smudges on the screen where I try to feel the finish
And it's not just the wood, the shape is...."organic". Best way I can think of to describe it.Craftsmanship is being able to make a chair like that. Comfort is being able to sit in one of those. Wealth is owning one. Happiness is seeing it all here on NCWW!
Re: *pics* Touchwood Sycamore Rocker WIP
Don:
Do you use a 2, 3 or 4 board combination for the seat bottom?
Doug
Don:
Do you use a 2, 3 or 4 board combination for the seat bottom?
Doug
Re: *pics* Touchwood Sycamore Rocker WIP
Hi Guys (and Gal),
I had a tough time putting on my hat this morning after reading all your great comments.:wsmile:
Thanks for all the encouragement. This is chair#5 and they just keep evolving (deeper seat carving and front scallops, modified arm shape etc.). This one is the most comfortable so far.
I have to take a "rocker break" to build a partner desk for an old customer in Annapolis next, but right after that it's on to another rocker. I'm always looking for unusual wood and Jeff really came through with the QS/Spalted Sycamore...might have enough of it to squeeze out one more chair.
Has anyone ever worked with Mulberry? Kyle Edwards has some air drying and it sounds interesting..just don't what it looks like.:dontknow:
Don
Hi Guys (and Gal),
I had a tough time putting on my hat this morning after reading all your great comments.:wsmile:
Thanks for all the encouragement. This is chair#5 and they just keep evolving (deeper seat carving and front scallops, modified arm shape etc.). This one is the most comfortable so far.
I have to take a "rocker break" to build a partner desk for an old customer in Annapolis next, but right after that it's on to another rocker. I'm always looking for unusual wood and Jeff really came through with the QS/Spalted Sycamore...might have enough of it to squeeze out one more chair.
Has anyone ever worked with Mulberry? Kyle Edwards has some air drying and it sounds interesting..just don't what it looks like.:dontknow:
Don
Re: *pics* Touchwood Sycamore Rocker WIP
Doug,
You might be able to see it a bit better from this view. In order to get some kind of balance side to side I ended up ripping two boards in half and putting the halves on opposte sides...it ended up as a six board solution. The grain wanders from QS to FS so matching is lots of fun.:icon_scra
Doug,
You might be able to see it a bit better from this view. In order to get some kind of balance side to side I ended up ripping two boards in half and putting the halves on opposte sides...it ended up as a six board solution. The grain wanders from QS to FS so matching is lots of fun.:icon_scra
Re: *pics* Touchwood Sycamore Rocker WIP
Wow :eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap
Design and execution are fantastic. That QS Sycamore is beautiful.
A local tree guy (used to work for my old tree guy) called me about a 30+" diam. Sycamore log he cut a few days ago. He was was trying to figure out how to haul it off. If I split the cost to haul it (to the sawyer :eusa_danc ) he would give me the log for free!! I guess I need to follow up on that!
Wow :eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap
Design and execution are fantastic. That QS Sycamore is beautiful.
A local tree guy (used to work for my old tree guy) called me about a 30+" diam. Sycamore log he cut a few days ago. He was was trying to figure out how to haul it off. If I split the cost to haul it (to the sawyer :eusa_danc ) he would give me the log for free!! I guess I need to follow up on that!
Re: *pics* Touchwood Sycamore Rocker WIP
Alan,
I would definitely follow it up. If the sawyer will do some of it QS, I would be interested in it too. Do you have local folks that can dry it?? Actually it's good to let it air dry for a while...the QS tends to twist in the kiln. I need it to be about 9/4 thick and would be happy to share in the cost. :icon_thum
If it's spalted that's even better...but either way its a great wood to work with.:eusa_danc
Don
Alan,
I would definitely follow it up. If the sawyer will do some of it QS, I would be interested in it too. Do you have local folks that can dry it?? Actually it's good to let it air dry for a while...the QS tends to twist in the kiln. I need it to be about 9/4 thick and would be happy to share in the cost. :icon_thum
If it's spalted that's even better...but either way its a great wood to work with.:eusa_danc
Don
Re: *pics* Touchwood Sycamore Rocker WIP
Don and Alan,
I have a stack of dry qsas that I will probably make a chair from, but my brother was recently at Redcliffe Plantation in Aiken, SC and he tells me that the interior trimwork on this plantation is made from sycamore and that it is twisted, warped, cracked. The trimwork was replaced in a restoration, but that sycamore twisted warped and cracked, too, he was told by the tour guide. Have either of you heard of this characteristic of sycamore? I have sent an inquiry to Redcliffe Plantation to see if they can confirm the problem and tell me whether they think it happened because the wood was improperly dried or not...which I suspect to be the case.
John (Rocker)
Don and Alan,
I have a stack of dry qsas that I will probably make a chair from, but my brother was recently at Redcliffe Plantation in Aiken, SC and he tells me that the interior trimwork on this plantation is made from sycamore and that it is twisted, warped, cracked. The trimwork was replaced in a restoration, but that sycamore twisted warped and cracked, too, he was told by the tour guide. Have either of you heard of this characteristic of sycamore? I have sent an inquiry to Redcliffe Plantation to see if they can confirm the problem and tell me whether they think it happened because the wood was improperly dried or not...which I suspect to be the case.
John (Rocker)
Re: *pics* Touchwood Sycamore Rocker WIP
I dunno John,
I just checked the MC on the remaining QS Sycamore and it's running 9 to 12% across a dozen samples...but so is most of the wood in the shop. Some 4/4 walnut, and 8/4 cherry that was reading 7 or 8% a week ago is also in this range.
The humidity in the shop is a bit higher than normal. It's right about RH 45%., so this might account for the change. The rocker measures in the same range on the seat and headrest. I'm pretty sure my other chairs made in walnut, utile and cherry were also in the 9 to 11% range.
Jeff's boards had some twist in them but not excessive and I was able to rip,joint and plane to get uniform thickness. Maybe Sycamore absorbs moisture more than other woods...but it's specific gravity is 0.49 compared to 0.50 for walnut and cherry...pretty much the same...so it doesn't look like it would.
Plantations in SC are often not dehumidified, and moisture level might be high enough to warp finished wood.
Of course, if you leave a finished rocker out in the rain, bad things will happen...but anyone that does that is rowing with one oar anyway.:nah:
Don
I dunno John,
I just checked the MC on the remaining QS Sycamore and it's running 9 to 12% across a dozen samples...but so is most of the wood in the shop. Some 4/4 walnut, and 8/4 cherry that was reading 7 or 8% a week ago is also in this range.
The humidity in the shop is a bit higher than normal. It's right about RH 45%., so this might account for the change. The rocker measures in the same range on the seat and headrest. I'm pretty sure my other chairs made in walnut, utile and cherry were also in the 9 to 11% range.
Jeff's boards had some twist in them but not excessive and I was able to rip,joint and plane to get uniform thickness. Maybe Sycamore absorbs moisture more than other woods...but it's specific gravity is 0.49 compared to 0.50 for walnut and cherry...pretty much the same...so it doesn't look like it would.
Plantations in SC are often not dehumidified, and moisture level might be high enough to warp finished wood.
Of course, if you leave a finished rocker out in the rain, bad things will happen...but anyone that does that is rowing with one oar anyway.:nah:
Don
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