We've Moved (virtually, not physically)!

Greetings avid woodworking readers,

Obviously, as a blog author, I fell off the map over the past few months and that is bad news. Bad job, Larissa, the internet needs you. What can I say? We've had furniture commissions and full woodworking classes and I can't be sorry about that! I can be sorry for letting the Chronicles of a Woodworking Apprentice blog lapse, however.

Never fear, I will never come to you without good news! We have started a new blog that is integrated into our website so it's easier for me (and Rob) to update regularly. It's all the same great, informative, picture-infused, witty, and awesome woodworking content. And, bonus, we have already been on top of it. We have vowed to update at least once a week at www.jdlohrschoolofwoodworking.com/blog and are already three weeks into keeping that promise.

I have adored my time here on Blogger updating as a woodworking apprentice for the past 3 years but, now I have graduated from apprenticehood and am hard at work making furniture, teaching classes, and just generally being busy being a real life woodworker! So, I had to call in reinforcements to reconstruct the blog to making it easier to update and to add in a second woodworker and author in Rob Spiece so we can keep things fresh and new.

So, moral of the story: I'm not gone, just relocated.
READ ALL FUTURE BLOG ENTRIES ☞ HERE ☜

See ya over there,

Larissa 

What? A new blog entry? And a new Lohr Woodworking sign? Yes.

Hey kids, I've missed ya! After a brief lapse in blog upkeep, I am back and ready to update you guys on the regular. Are you ready?

To summarize the past two and a half months: The tail end of winter was cold. There was more snow than we/anyone would have liked. We did a massive spring clean of the barn/slab storage space, show room, and shop (we brought in a 4 ton dumpster and everything). It got a little bit warmer and then it got hot. It's still very, very hot.

I must, of course, take the time to acknowledge our ever-wonderful and most recent Lohr Woodworking School graduates that have joined us over the past few months. We have been grateful to spend time with three new Practical Woodworking classes, one Advanced Joinery class, and the second-ever Veneer & Cabinetwork class all since the start of the year. Thank you, as always, to our students for being motivated, excited, skilled, interested, and oh-so fun!

Another mission accomplished during the first few months of this year: A new sign at the road for the Lohr Woodworking Studio! Starting with an oak crotch slab, we began by using our router sled jig to level and flatten the faces. Then, after some sanding, we took to our usual repairs and split-strengthening with an inlaid dovetail bone and some sawdust-infused epoxy. After the repairs were complete and dried, I took over the lettering while Jeff & Rob started in on the base.

As far as the lettering goes, let me just say that this project deeply strengthened my ever-lasting relationship with plunge routers. First, we collectively decided on the lettering, spacing, and layout and then used a video projector to shine the words up onto the slab. I traced the text with a dark colored pencil onto both sides and made sure to trace those same letters onto a spare piece so I could practice and get the adjustments on the router just right before committing to the real deal.

I used a 60-degree v-groove bit and set a maximum plunge depth where the heaviest weight-of-line was in the lettering. So, basically, I picked out the thickest part of all the letters (I think it was the lefthand side curve of the 'G') and plunged the bit down until it was cutting the entire width between my traced lines, then set the depth stop there. From there, it was all free-hand routing. Without using guides or jigs, I relied on a somewhat steady hand, a lot of light, my dark lines, and some patience to cut the letters into both faces of the slab. I never locked the router at any certain depth; Instead, I plunged and lifted the bit gradually as I pushed forward and the weight of the lines changed. For sharp pointed corners, like in the 'N', I started at the smallest outer tip of the point and gradually plunged the bit deeper while moving it forward to create the pointed slope. It took a few hours and a bit of touch up with a chisel afterwards but, it's legible so I'm content with the results. Who needs a CNC right? You can watch me tackle this routing endeavor in the timelapse I shot to condense the few hour process into 2 minutes. Watch it here or scroll down to the bottom of this entry!


Meanwhile, Rob & Jeff were designing the base. The first obstacle was to find a means to display the house number in a way that was clear and married well with the live edge of the oak slab. Naturally, they nailed it. With a shaped and curved piece that keeps the legs parallel as well as looks awesome, obviously! Then, Jeff took over shaping some seriously cool, organic looking clamping pieces to hold the slab at the top. A carved clamping upright was attached to both the front and back at the top of each leg. They extended above the legs so that the slab could slide between them, rest on the tops of the legs, and a bolt could be fastened through-and-through each side of the clamping pieces as well as the slab to hold it firmly in place.

The finishing touches included applying boiled linseed oil to the whole project, letting it dry for a week, and then starting the finishing process. For a project like this, that will face all the natural elements, extreme weather, and live beside the road, we opted for marine varnish to create a strong, waterproof barrier and extend the life of the vibrant sign. After the first coat of clear finish dried, we painted the inside the lettering with black paint to make it easy to read from afar. We waited after the first coat of finish was applied so that it was easy to wipe away any paint that may find it's way outside the lines in the process. After the paint dried, the next two coats of finish were applied and it was ready for action!

No worries, folks, this doesn't mean goodbye to the classic JD Lohr Woodworking sign that we all know and love; It has found a new and distinguished home next to the door as to welcome us all as we enter the Lohr Woodworking shop.

Here's the timelapse of me routing the 'Lohr Woodworking Studio' lettering into our new sign:

A new Lohr Woodworking live edge table is in the works!

There's another all-new, all-original Lohr Woodworking live edge table in the works, kids, get excited! The Pirro family needs a dining room table and we're hard at work to make that "need" into a "have". This dining table will be the very last to be made from the famous 300 year old English brown oak burl log that resulted in the "Frontier" and "Resurrection" dining tables.

First things first, we used a router loaded with a bottoming bit and our massive router sled to level and smooth both faces of the slab. When the slab was milled, we brought it up to the shop where it was prepped for void repair. The log that this slab was cut from was covered in burl clusters from top to bottom. Because of this, the grain is highly figured, colorful, and beautiful to look at. The downfall? The slab is completely filled with natural voids, splits, and knots.

In many cases, we would opt to leave the natural flaws as they are (much like George Nakashima) however, in this case, as it will be used as a dining room table, the voids need to be filled for ease of cleaning and to provide a consistently smooth surface. To prevent the epoxy mixtures from draining through the voids, Jeff created a setup that seals the holes from the bottom- it's plastic, carpet padding, and melamine stacks that are screwed to the underside of the slab to create a damming system that conforms to the voids. We can then flip the slab over and fill the voids from the top side while the damming pieces allow the epoxy to pool and fill the spaces until it has time to dry.

This highly figured slab was not your average epoxy void repair job. The size of each void/split/knot and its location with respect to the edges of the slab, determined which kind of epoxy and filler we chose to use.

For the larger bark inclusions and knots, we used some serious chemistry skills (with massive aid from the ever-genius Linda Lohr) to mix up clear EpoxAcast 690 casting epoxy so that the natural bark can be seen through the filled void. The casting dries completely clear and maintains somewhat of a flexible property that allows it to move with the wood as it expands and contracts with changing humidity. Mixing the casting epoxy required some careful weighing, a desiccator vacuum chamber (to remove bubbles before pouring), and a blow torch to rupture any bubbles that collect on the top of the poured casting.

The clusters of smaller splits and voids were filled with a West System epoxy, sawdust, and crushed bark mixture. The sawdust and bark were taken from along the live edges of this slab so the color would remain a natural match. Each batch of epoxy mixture has about 7-12 minutes of open time so to ensure each individual void was filled, one batch was mixed to fill one cluster at a time. For larger voids, we would search for a piece of the natural bark from the same tree to fill the space as best as possible.

Needless to say, filling the voids that covered the entirety of the table top took about a week. When all the voids were filled, whether it was epoxy-and-sawdust or EpoxAcast, it was left to dry for 24 hours. After the damming materials were removed from the bottom of the slab, both faces were smoothed with a belt sander. As you can see from the photo to the left, the filled voids are brought to life and add an exciting element of contrast when they are filled with the natural bark pieces. The base will be made of walnut so the colors match perfectly throughout the entire table.

Now, how to keep such a long, continuous slab from warping and cupping as the humidity levels change throughout the year. The table will be attached to the base which will offer a certain degree of stability but, to ensure the table top stays flat for all time, we will add some breadboard ends.

We used a fence jig that clamps onto the end of the slab from both faces to ensure that the cut is exactly the same on both sides. Then, we used the router with a straight-cutting bit to carefully create a long 1/2" thick tenon across the ends of the slab by cutting down from both faces. The tenons were cut to be longer than the breadboards are wide so that we can make tongues that go all the way through the breadboard ends for strength and to accent the joinery.

The breadboard ends themselves are made of straight-grain, rift sawn white oak to ensure a strong, ever-flat hold on the ends of the slab. There was a 1/2" plow cut along the inside edge of each breadboard to fit perfectly onto the tenon we cut into the ends of the slab.

Meanwhile, brainstorming of the base was underway. As the table will accompany a built-in banquette style seating arrangement, we needed a base that was easy to slide in around and provided leg/foot room from at either end. While searching and sketching up ideas for a simple, curved, trestle-style base, we broke out our Sam Maloof book for inspiration. If you are unfamiliar with Sam Maloof, do yourself a favor and treat your eyes to some of his beautiful woodworking. Ultimately, plans and patterns were decided and drawn up for Jeff's sketch you see to the left.

 

Using the patterns to ensure they were identical, each piece of the base was cut to shape, then joinery for the top rails and the mortise for the trestle was cut into the base ends. From there, the individual pieces were glued together with floating tenons and plenty of epoxy.

The long rail supports that connect the ends, and soon attach the table top, were cut to rest perfectly into the top edge of the base ends. And, already, the base stands on its own. Today, work begins on the trestle itself that will run through the middle of the base ends.

With that, you are officially caught up on our progress on the Pirro Live Edge Brown Oak Burl Dining Table. Taking only a brief hiatus to welcome 2015, we will otherwise be hard at work on this project so look forward to another update soon on how it comes together! Until then, Happy New Year to all! Cheers to a new year, new adventures, and new woodworking projects!