by Julian Hamer
Nora Hall - Master European Woodcarver
Nora Hall's students quickly learn not to fear her title, or her list of carving accomplishments, when they attend her European Classic Carving.
A third-generation Master Carver, Hall has earned a reputation as a teacher not caught up in an elevated sense of herself, or her craft. Hall keeps instruction simple and pragmatic.
"Abilities are lost because students had the wrong teachers," said Hall. In her opinion, the wrong way to teach is by adhering to a rigid teaching plan without finding the common denominator of ability for a specific group of students.
Hall approaches a class without a plan. Using her carver's practiced powers of observation, she lets students "wrestle with the wood." This gives her time to evaluate them. On the first day of class, she moves between workbenches "sizing up student abilities."
After that she wings it, tailoring her lessons to fit the students' collective ability. "Students can give up because the work is too hard," said Hall. "I make it easy."
The roots of Hall's reputation had come from the decades spent mastering her craft. Her father taught Hall relief carving in Holland during the Nazi occupation of World War II. She was 18 at the time.
(By Earl Stresak - Woodshop News 1993)
European Master Woodcarver. Nora Hall will be offering a woodcarving class again this year at the Sitka Center for Art And Ecology, May 31 – June 2, 2008
Sitka Center for Art And Ecology
Founded in 1970, Sitka Center for Art and Ecology fosters creative inquiry and education. The involvement, investigations, and creative work of artists and natural scientists help Sitka Center fulfill its mission to expand the relationships between art, nature and humanity through workshops, presentations and individual research projects. To accomplish this, Sitka Center maintains a facility appropriate to its needs in harmony with the inspirational coastal environment of Cascade Head.
- Sitka Center for Art And Ecology,
P.O. Box 65,
Otis, Oregon 97368
- (541) 994-5485
- Fax: (541) 994-8024
- Email: info@sitkacenter.org
Russell Beebe - Working in Wood
My friend Russell Beebe is a life-long fine furniture maker, carver and sculptor. Russell also offers wood carving classes at his studio in Talent, Oregon. For further information regarding furniture, wood sculpture and carving classes please call: 541 535-6822
Akinaa Bimadezin ~ My Relations
In the Summer of 2003 I was commissioned by Lloyd Matthew Haines to create a 20 foot sculpture from a standing dead White Oak Tree. At first glance the big tree gave me an indication of how my design would evolve, from the juncture of the first large branch down to the base. The very uniform trunk offered freedom to create while the divergence of the branch above would dictate form. This and Mr. Haines' desire that the sculpture honor the Tree, our Wildlife and the Native Peoples who once lived in the area gave me the spectrum to create.
My first vision was that of a grand three dimensional Eagle involving the branch and above. There followed an integral design pattern containing clan and human images important in my own Anishinabe heritage, and what I have learned of Northwestern Native culture. The combination of totem (clan) and human figures I felt would represent the desired significance.
At the base of the tree a geometric triangular pattern has been carved around the circumference representing the Earth. At this level is the Frog and a floral pattern. As we honor the Earth, our Grandmother, as the giver of life so must we honor Woman. She is carved physically connected to the Earth pattern. Prominent at Woman's side is Man.
Russell Beebe
Below is shown an example of Russell's magnificent work.
Art Nouveau Style Wall Mirror made of Mahogany
One of my wall mirrors began as a design for a large coffee table. The shape and sculptural detail turned out so beautifully that I decided it just had to be hung on the wall. One of these mirrors is on display at the Chateaulin French restaurant in Ashland, Oregon. The wood is mahogany with a light walnut stain just to darken the finish a little.
Intriguingly beautiful sculpted wall mirror with beveled glass: Size: 66" x 32"
Contemporary Art Furniture
I have recently been exploring new design ideas based on the style that I am calling Contemporary Art Furniture. My two tiered coffee table in wenge and bloodwood is one example of this new style. Another is the black lacquer dining table that I made for clients in Virginia Beach, VA.
These designs with exotic woods and rich colors are very carefully proportioned and worked out in every detail. All of the designs are original. My two-tiered coffee table is so striking that it could readily be expanded in size to make a dramatic and elegant dining room or conference table.
This is a very exciting departure for me from the modern art nouveau impulse that I have been exploring for many years.
A table that I am working on now will be completely made of bloodwood but will include sections that are stained black. The whole piece is then sprayed with a hard lacquer finish.
I am expecting this dramatic use of exotic woods and meticulous attention to proportion and dimension to be received with considerable excitement. I recently showed my two-tiered coffee table of bloodwood and wenge at a local furniture show with enormously encouraging results. What is so exciting it that the style can readily be applied to other furniture pieces such as dining room and conference tables but also buffet sideboards and even chairs.
Julian
Two Tiered Coffee Table
I recently made a dining room table and a similar style coffee table for a local client in Southern Oregon. Both pieces were made of Wenge, an African wood rich with black and brown color. Just gorgeous.
I had also been working with Bloodwood making a set of dining room chairs for a customer in California.
I had some pieces of both woods in my shop and it struck me how beautiful and exciting they looked together.
The tiered coffee table is a result of combining these two woods in one piece.
I used clear, clean lines and carefully considered proportions making three different scale models before beginning work on the project.
Julian
Two Tiered Coffee Table
Dining Room Chair with Arms
Originally I called this chair the “Vanya” chair.
From 1995 until 2000 I made props at the prestigious Oregon Shakespeare Festival, in Ashland. OSF is a remarkable and unique theater in that it has three stages where eleven fantastic plays are performed in repertory throughout a long season of over nine months. The facilities are beautiful and the productions world class.
For the play Uncle Vanya in 1999 I made four chairs and a bench. The design by Robert Brill was based on turn of the 19th century Russian furniture. The arms curled gracefully in a spiral.
When I returned to conventional furniture making in 2000 I remembered the design I had used for Uncle Vanya. I reworked the proportions and added further details including an inlay, pear-drop and curling in shape that added charm to the spiral arms.
Stage chairs are made with hard seats so as not to interfere if an actor can spring up quickly. But my new chair seats are gloriously comfortable and made with great care so that it is possible to linger at the table after dinner. In the same way, the height and depth of the seat and the curve of the back are optimum for seating pleasure.
Julian
Dining Room Chair with arms
Dinimg Room Chair with arms showing the sides
The Siskiyou Woodcraft Guild Show in Ashland, Oregon
Each year over the Thanksgiving weekend we have a Woodworking and Fine Furniture Show in Ashland, Oregon. The show is sponsored by the Siskiyou Woodcraft Guild, a highly talented and versatile group including woodworkers, furniture makers, carvers, wood turners and makers of musical instruments.
The show is held in the Great Hall of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival on Main Street in Ashland and continues from Friday through Sunday over the Thanksgiving weekend.
The show has been at its current location for over twenty years and has developed into a local tradition. It is a festive occasion with local musicians playing from the gallery inside the hall and outside on Main Street all the shops and houses are lit up with elaborate Christmas decorations and lights on all the buildings and even on the trees.
Last Thanksgiving we estimated that we had at least three thousand visitors during the first day. Furniture and small items such as jewel boxes and wooden flutes are offered for sale. Frequently visitors to the show become interested in a furniture piece and decide to place a custom order. These commissions can keep some of the woodworkers busy for months at a time.
During the summer this year we expanded to include a second annual show at the same location during the month of August. That first annual summer show was also a great success mainly due to the many out-of-town visitors and tourists who are in Ashland for the renown Oregon Shakespeare Festival's feast of eleven excellent plays in repertory.
Below is a picture of my display at the Siskiyou Woodcraft Guild Show last Thanksgiving weekend in Ashland.
Julian
Fine Art Furniture Show Display
Art Nouveau Style Chair with arms
I was recently asked to describe the style of my work for an article in the Medford Mail Tribune color supplement Home Life magazine. The difficulty is that my furniture is not simply a reproduction of art nouveau. Nor are my pieces copied from furniture of that time or from a similar impulse or trend.
Perhaps the best description is the one by a reporter for Style 1900 magazine. She described it as "a modern interpretation of Art Nouveau"
I think that is exactly what it is.
Art Nouveau Furniture is certainly one of the sources of inspiration behind the development of my design ideas. I have been greatly inspired by the Art Nouveau movement and in particular the furniture of Louis Majorelle. I also enjoy the style of Antonio Gaudi and traveled to Barcelona in 1985 especially to view his fascinating architecture.
Maori carving of New Zealand, where I lived for a year and the sumptuous organic intricacy of Celtic metal work and jewelry inspired a profound interest and recognition that these instinctive and traditional peoples had a lively intimacy with nature which profoundly influenced their crafts. The Celts in their craft followed intuitively the forms and formative processes found everywhere in nature.
Beyond these rich studies the major influence behind the compositions of my sculpted furniture remains the extensive art training I received at Emerson College in England.
Julian
Art Nouveau Style Chair with arms
Unique dining tables
Over time Fine Art Furniture has developed a line of unique dining tables. First there is the sculptural detail beneath a center oval of tempered glass. This is something that I have designed and developed myself. I have not seen a similar design anywhere. It is quite unique.
Unique Art Nouveau Style Dining Table
Another unique design is the three-piece table set that is extendable using an extra table between the two end ones. The idea is that the day-to-day table is separated at the center and another table fits between the two. All three tables are secured together making a very long and unique table ideal for large family gatherings. When the smaller table is needed the center one can be taken away and used in another room. This saves having to store extra leaves. In the picture below the center table is used in the study for a games table.
Unique three piece dining table
Another unique dining table that I enjoy making is the drawer-leaf table. The design has been around a long time but strangely it is not very common. The draw-leaf table uses wooden slides and has a clever system whereby the leaves are pulled out from the ends and then slide back in when not in use.Julian
We specialize in custom dining tables
We specialize in custom dining tables. Over many years I have explored many different dining table styles and developed some intriguing original designs. The inspiration for the glass centered dining table with the sculptural detail beneath the glass came from a series of asymmetrical "leaf-shaped" coffee table designs that I began almost fifteen years ago.
There are various technical challenges when glass is to be set flush into the surface of the center of a dining table. Wood moves with the varying fluctuations of humidity so an adjustment system is built in and the glass can be easily leveled by the turn of a screw.
The table centers are usually ovals of different sizes. These ovals are computer drawn for accuracy. The same program is then used to calculate the glass size but very slightly less than the hole in the center of the table top for a perfect finish.
I have my glass cut and prepared by Fabricated Glass of Talent, Oregon. We are very fortunate to have this high quality glass company right here in the neighboring town although they ship all over the country.
Fabricated Glass can use my computer file on their cutting machinery and make perfect ovals every time. The glass is tempered and beautifully polished so that it looks spectacular and enhances the beauty of the wood like a sparkling jewel in the center of the table.
Julian
Custom Dining Table with glass center
Draw Leaf Dining Tables
Our dining table at home when we were growing up was made of oak. It was a draw-leaf table. There was no concern as to where to store the extra leaves because they neatly disappeared back into the table. The leaves extended by simply pulling from the ends.
It was very practical for our family. The leaves remained concealed for day-to-day use when only the regular size was required. When we had guests the leaves pulled out and there was plenty of space.
This used to be a very popular form of leaf table but it has been increasingly superceded by the spare leaf table. The reason for this may be the apparent option of different lengths when using the spare leaf table. One leaf or two or even three can be used adjusting the table to the desired size. But as the spare leaf table seldom uses boards wider than twelve inches because of the risk of warping then the different size options are not as great as it would seem. One leaf is not enough for extra guests while two is adequate only for two extra places. Three leaves again ifs not enough for additional seating. The draw-leaf table has three sizes: normal and one leaf or two.
The draw leaf table can be made to expand dramatically from a family table with comfortable seating and perhaps space for a couple of extra chairs, to a considerably much larger table when desired. The table I am making at the moment is seven feet long for normal use. It is a wide table (54") so it seats eight for normal use. When expanded the length increases to ten feet.
The leaves of draw leaf tables can be made virtually any size. I have seen an antique table that was eight feet for day-to-day use and could expand to fourteen feet. While the mechanism is simple and tried over time there are specific rules of thumb that must be followed.
The top and the leaves are not fixed in the usual way and must be constructed to remain stable because they are not secured to the table apron. All the draw-leaf tables that I have seen have a parameter of wood framing the table surface for extra stability. The leg system is traditionally a post and stretcher construction but I have seen these tables made with corner legs and also in the style of a refractory table. Actually, the construction beneath the table can be any style as long as there is sufficient support for the table when the leaves are extended so that the table will not tip or wobble.
Julian
Draw Leaf Table
Carved Wall Mirrors
I use some carved details in my furniture making. The carvings make the pieces fun and they are eye-catching and attract attention at furniture shows. The mirror shown here is made of curly cherry. The strands of "kelp" are made from purple heart and are set flush into the mirror frame behind the sea horse so that the sea horse appears to be amongst the kelp.
I also make a lot of mirrors similar to the one below. These mirrors are intended to be both functional and to serve as decorative art. The idea is for these lovely sculptural forms to enhance a space and make even an otherwise dark alcove interesting. The need may not be for an ordinary looking glass to look at yourself in but rather for a splash of reflective light and an art object of interest and beauty.
The forms for these sculptural pieces are first drawn in chalk on a board of masonite. I rework the design over and over using different color chalks until I achieve the desired form. Then, using French curves and flexible curves I cut through the chalk with a sharp hard pencil so that when the chalk is erased the pencil line remains.
I use a saber saw to cut out the shape and then wood files and sandpaper to make the curves graceful and smooth. When the pattern is finished I use double-sided carpet tape to fix it to the solid hardwood board that will be the mirror frame. I rough out the shape with a saber saw and then route around the masonite pattern with a spiral bit and a guide bushing. Using the saber saw and router and a pattern in this way alleviates some of the tedious work and also means that I will be able to make duplicates at a later time if required. After the routing the surfaces have to be whittled, carved and sanded until they are immaculate. Then I add interest to the shape by contouring the sides and surfaces so that they appear to twist and meander.
The little sea horse in the picture was made in a similar way so that the real carving didn't start until I had the shape completely cut out. Then the depth and detail were added making the sea horse a three-dimensional carving.
Julian
Carved Wall Mirror
Sculpted Wall Mirror
Heirlooms
I have a friend in Ashland, Oregon who owns an old grandfather clock. He and his wife visited England several years ago and sent back some antiques for their home here. Amongst other pieces was a fine old grandfather clock made in the 1790s. At the time the clock was made the poet Goethe was still alive, Napoleon was on the rampage conquering most of Europe and the population of the United States was four million.
Somewhere in a small country town in the south-west of England a craftsman in a workshop was producing furniture. All the work would have been done by hand either by the master or a journeyman and certainly with the aid of apprentices who would toil from dawn to dusk in the shop and as members of the master's extended household.
The master would have made many of his own tools: his planes, bow saw, chisel handles and mallets using them all his life. He would have passed the business on to his son and grandson.
The wood they used was laboriously pit-sawn, dried for years then dressed and planed manually.
The clock case itself was made with traditional knowledge and years of personal experience of the properties of the woods so that, assembled skillfully it would endure for generations.
My friends clock has already lasted through two hundred years of history. It has stood in the hallway of a house somewhere, ticking steadily and rhythmically in the background of the lives of the families that lived and died there. Out in the world history was being made: heroes and villains would come and go and events unfold for either the good or the bad of the present and future generations.
Time has changed the clock too. No doubt it has been moved to different locations over the years and acquired patina: a bump or a nick here and there, scratches around the key hole and the ever darkening of the wood and wearing of the hinges. If the clock was beautiful and the pride of the craftsman and the joy of the owner when it was first made it is even more so now with the addition of its long and seasoned history.
Julian
Heirlooms of the Future
Nautical Themes in Furniture
Last year I made a set of coffee and side tables for a lady in California. The tables were all made of cherry with a carved center sculpture depicting wavy ocean lines and sea creatures. The coffee table has a whale, a dolphin and a small sailing ship while the two side tables each show a dolphin. The design in the side tables are mirrored to one another so that both of the dolphins face inward towards the settee.
This year seems to be another year of nautical themes in furniture. I am currently designing a large round table to seat twelve for a client in Florida. The center of the table will have inlay work depicting a pelican, a lizard and a sea horse. There will be two gracefully flowing lines of "kelp" meandering across the surface.
The second project in the pipeline is a set of eight dining chairs to go with a table that the customer already has. The table has a glass top supported by a base of dolphins. My chairs will be made with the tried and true proportions and dimensions of my regular chairs but with backs shaped similar to a dolphins tail fluke.
Julian
Nautical Themes in Furniture
The Siskiyou Woodcraft Guild
The town of Ashland, Oregon hosts a wonderful woodworker's club called the Siskiyou Woodcraft Guiid.
The Siskiyous are a gorgeous mountain range to the south of Ashland on the California border.
The Siskiyou Woodcraft Guild has about fifty members in Southern Oregon and includes boat builders, carvers, furniture makers and wood turners.
Every month the members meet at a different shop and discuss their latest wood project. The last "Shop Chat" was at my friend Tony Scolaro's shop in Rogue River just north of Ashland. Tony had built his own shop as well as an addition to his home and showed the same very high level of craftsmanship in the building construction as he did in his furniture. He also showed us a beautiful oak buffet/sideboard that he recently completed. Every detail was meticulously executed. A very fine piece of work! We ended the shop tour with a BBQ and plenty of good conversation.
Two juried shows are presented yearly by the Guild in Ashland displaying fine woodwork and offering items for sale. One show is in the summer and the other during Thanksgiving weekend.
At one of these shows I met a man called Jay Mullen who is a professor at Southern Oregon University in Ashland. Neither he nor I can actually remember our discussion but over a year and a half later he called me. I made some drawings for Jay and his wife Nancy Jo and a scale model of a possible dining table. The finished piece was a long inlayed dining table of figured maple and purple heart. The table is made in three pieces with a center section used as a separate table in another room when not needed for a dinner party. Jay and Nancy Jo entertain in style and their table comfortably accommodates ten or twelve guests.
Julian
Banquet Table
Oak CD cabinet
I have just completed a lovely custom-made CD cabinet for a couple in Ashland. It is made of quarter-sawn oak with lovely, rippling tiger stripes running through the grain.
The wood combination is red oak and purple heart. Both have an open grain although they are quite different in color they are quite similar to work with. The purple heart is the harder of the two woods and I have used it to accent the piece with contrasting colors for the knobs and for the vine like inlay.
The finished cabinet has ten drawers each holding approximately thirty CDs to house a large music collection.
The entire cabinet is made of solid hardwood including the side and back floating panels and the drawer bottoms. The top has a mitered edge of two-inch red oak surrounding a floating panel of gorgeously figured wood.
Julian
Oak CD Cabinet
Dunsford Church
The vicar of the village of Dunsford in the 1970s and for many years after was a wonderful man called Rev. Gibson Pattison. He was a Second World War hero who, by spying and infiltration had saved the country of Belgium from a coup d'Etat by subversive communists. For his services the Belgium government gave him a Chateau and awarded him an honorary university degree. Gibson then gave the chateau to the Red Cross to care for the flood of European refugees after the war.
The church at Dunsford is very old and has a separate seating area and crypt for the Fulford family who were the local gentry. In the parish of Dunsford is the old mansion of the Fulford family, which has been seated there since the time of king Richard the First. Many of its members have been eminent in their day, some of them having fought in the Holy Land, and others having suffered for their loyalty to their king.
Gibson called me one day and asked if I could carve lettering. I said that I could and he took me over to the church and showed me a large oak panel into which were carved the names of the various church ministers going back for hundreds of years. The carving had been discontinued many years ago and Gibson wanted it brought up to date. I took the panel home and carefully traced out the letters setting to work writing in the several rows of names and painstakingly carving them into the old, old oak. The work turned out well and I am proud to say that I have something of my own work in the old church along with the beautiful craftsmanship of those ancient artisans. Perhaps my three rows of lettering on the panel of oak will also be around for many hundreds of years to come.
Julian
The Yreka Post Office Chair
I recently completed a dining table and four chairs for Ray and Julaine Morley in Ashland. (See the story below) One day they dropped by my shop and offered me some oak wood panels that they had found in their parents storage shed. It was obviously very old wood. I asked them to see if they could find out something of the history and this is what they discovered.
"I talked with my father this evening and was able to glean a bit of information. My father began work at the post office in Yreka on July 5, 1948 ( my mother joined him about a month later with babe-in-arms, moi. However, it turns out that the post office was in yet another location, though all three have been on Broadway, progressing about a block southward with each move. In 1948 it was the Warren Building (long gone), which is where the oak originally came from. It moved to the second location in 1950. My father aquired the oak in 1961 when the post office moved to its current address. The wood predated my father's arrival in 1948 and must be at least sixty years old". Julaine Morley.
When I first saw the wood I did not think I could do anything with it. It was heavily varnished, dirty and had "junk" chalked on it. I offered it to a fellow furniture maker but he didn't want it either. I had it leaning against the wall of my shop for a week or two and then one day I decided to plane it and at least see what it looked like under the old varnish. To my astonishment it was really quite lovely with "tiger-striping" rippling through it. I was making a set of dining chairs at the time and decided to make one more along with the others but out of this oak.
The chair turned out very nicely and I carved a rose in the back for fun. The interesting historical background to the Post Office Chair has attracted considerable interest locally. I have decided to show it at the upcoming Woodcraft Guild Show in Ashland, Oregon on Thanksgiving weekend this year. It will also be featured in the regional newspapers during the same week.
Julian
The Post Office Chair
Oval Dining Table - The Rose Dining Table
I have just completed an attractive oval dining table for a couple who live in Ashland, Oregon just a few blocks from our own home. We had dinner at their house last weekend. I had delivered the table a week before and they invited Ellen and I to come over and enjoy a meal with them!
Ray and Julaine Morley were very pleasant to work with and I enjoyed making this fine piece for them. Ray is also a fantastic cook and wined and dined us handsomely.
Good food, great company and interesting conversation!
Ray and Julaine took a number of very nice digital photographs for my web site including this one with some interesting lighting effects. I wanted to include it here because although the colors are not true the pictures are gorgeous and show more than anything the drama of the sculptural center within the oval tabletop.
I have also included a link on this page to some other pictures showing the bleached maple and purple heart contrast in natural light.
Ray and Julaine have now decided that they would like chairs to go with the table and have chosen tall back chairs of the "Sommerset Tall Chair" style and including the purple heart inlay in the back of the "Cornish Chair".
Naturally the chair backs will be carved with roses!
My latest Oval Dining Table.Made for Ray and Julaine Morley of Ashland, Oregon.
The Rose Table
Herbert Read
I knew of two woodworking shops in the village of Woodbury in Devon, England. One of them was near the ancient stone church. It was a one-man shop at that time but I do not know the name of the woodworker. His furniture was beautiful, carefully made of the country style, which was becoming increasingly popular in the early seventies.
The other woodwork shop was also very interesting. They were making grandfather and grandmother clocks but with the clock cases made of pine! They were strikingly lovely in that clean white wood. I met the man running the shop who was in the middle of making a welsh dresser or hutch. I was mesmerized by his easy rhythm and effortlessness as he worked. He was clearly a craftsman who had been working with wood all his life and it was an inspiration to watch him. I knew he was busy but I was so enthusiastic seeing him at work that I asked if I could come and help him just for the experience. No pay!
He readily agreed but warned," You'd better go and talk with the boss first. He's through there." And he pointed to a door at the back of the shop.
I knocked and entered the office. Inside there were at least a dozen beautiful tall clocks some open with the workings visible. But it was clearly a bad day to intrude. I explained that I had spoken with the woodworker in the front of the shop and would like to volunteer my help for the experience. He was pretty angry and told me that I would just be a nuisance. But I thanked him for his time anyway.
I was making a small stocky, round side table of four-inch thick lumber. I had worked on the restoration of a three masted schooner at Plymouth docks the previous summer and the block of wood I used for the table had been the piece of solid African teak that had been cut out of the deck to make a hole for the main mast. It was at least eighteen inches in diameter and a single thick piece of wood. The sides were rough and it was not a perfect circle so I needed to cut it round on a band saw. I did not want to go back to the woodworking shop in Woodbury but I knew of another large shop near the town of Topsham nearby that had an industrial band saw.
Herbert Read is a fantastic company, which specializes in ecclesiastical woodwork. There make altars and pews, carved screens and founts for all those beautiful English churches. They have an apprentice system of five years teaching carving, other woodworking skills and stonework. I took my piece of teak along to their shop and asked the lady in the office if I could have it cut on their band saw. She was very pleasant and introduced me to the owner who sent me into the machine shop to ask the man in charge. The man running the shop was friendly but didn't have time to help me. He told me to go right ahead and use the band saw myself and when I had finished he refused payment.
Actually I went back to Herbert Reed some time later hoping to find a job there because it was without a doubt the best woodworking company in the South-West of England. But, although the owner was impressed with my enthusiasm and very kind they had just had an order of large tables for Oxford University cancelled and he felt that he couldn't take me on. I suppose if he had I would be working on church restoration in England now and might never have come to America twenty seven years ago.
My latest project - a set of eight tall back dining chairs.A set of eight chairs with carved detail in the back. Made for Craig and Norma Yelin - Boardwalk Realty, West Hartford, Connecticut.
Connecticut Chair
Mister Hamer of Exeter
In 1974 I lived near the city of Exeter in the county of Devonshire, England.
I was doing all kinds of woodwork in those days including making doors, windows and cabinets. It was expected of a carpenter at that time to turn up with his tools and more or less be able to make anything needed on the spot. A couple of times I made full sized doors right there in someone's driveway in the front of their house, cutting out the tenons and mortises by hand.
I also had a very small shop of my own where I lived. It was more of a shed really, not very large at all.
I had bought a simple wood turning lathe. It was painted red. It was old and very sturdy, the headstock attached to one end of a two inch round steel bar with the tail stock sliding along it to accommodate the length of the wood. It was a very nice lathe, well made and uncomplicated. But the bar was quite short so that I was limited to turning items about one foot long. For fun I was making three legged stools at that time from a wood called Iroko. I tried to sell them but more often gave them away as presents. They were simple to make with three nicely turned legs and a turned seat. Iroko is African teak. It is golden and rich in color. A very beautiful wood, which I finished with linseed oil.
I decided that I wanted to make taller three legged stools and wanted to extend the bed of the lathe to be able to turn longer legs. I dismantled the lathe and removed the 2" bar. I knew that there was a large engineering company at Plymouth about thirty miles from where I lived so I drove down there.
I parked in the large employee parking lot and approached the main gate. I explained to the guard that I need an extension welded to my to the bar of my lathe and that I had brought it with me. He asked my name and I replied that I was Julian Hamer and that I lived in Exeter.
The guard called someone on the phone and presently a shop supervisor came down to the gate where the guard introduced me as Mister Hamer from Exeter. We shook hands and the super took me into the plant. I was shown into an office where I was again introduced as Mr. Hamer from Exeter who needed some work done to extend his lathe. The shop foreman took me along to a machine shop where I was presented as Mister Hamer from Exeter to another man who was in charge of some enormous metal turning lathes and milling machines. The foreman explained what I needed to the machinist and we discussed the best way to go about it.
After a few ideas were explored the machinist said." You know it would be easiest if you made a brand new bed for your lathe from this length of two inch steel" He dragged a six-foot length of round iron bar from the rack, which I could barely lift.
And the foreman nodded adding, "That should do you!"
I asked how much I owed and he replied, "Oh no Mister Hamer. That's perfectly alright".
I thanked them both and headed back the way I had come struggling with my heavy iron rod.
I met the supervisor, thanked him in turn and he replied, "Oh, that's quite alright Mister Hamer" and he opened the door for me and wished me good day.
At the security gate I paused, chatted a little with the guard and thanked him too.
" I'm glad we were able to help you Mister Hamer".
I got home and could hardly wait to rebuild my lathe with the new six-foot long bed and as I was working, I began to wonder if perhaps there was another Mister Hamer a preferred customer from Exeter and I had been unwittingly impersonating him, or perhaps I was just plain lucky!
Something new from my shop.A beautiful new set of eight chairs. Just completed for a family in Montana.
Montana Chair
China Cabinet
I have just completed a very nice china cabinet for a couple in Los Angeles. They have a set of beautiful Wedgwood dishes from England and some fine glassware that they wish to display. The lower section of the china cabinet has adjustable wooden shelves with two grooves cut into the back so that the plates can be displayed standing up as well as stacked.
The top section of the china cabinet also has adjustable shelves but made of tempered glass set into wooden frames. The top section has recessed lighting to show off the glassware.
The woods chosen are my old favorites purple heart and madrone. I have a smaller collectibles and curio cabinet similar to this one displayed on my web site that is made entirely of madrone but with an oil color smoky finish. Bob Horning and his wife Naomi saw my curio cabinet but liked the wood of the curved front buffet sideboard. They needed a cabinet to hold the chinaware that was both deeper and wider.
The china cabinet easily disassembles into two pieces for shipping and fits securely together again on arrival in a matter of seconds.
All the glass in my cabinets is tempered with a polished edge. Not only does it look better it is safer than window glass and also much stronger. This is an important consideration both for shipping and daily use.
I have very much enjoyed making this cabinet for our new friends and now they have ordered a decorative standard lamp of the same woods. The lamp stand will include details of the china cabinet design.
I will write in detail about the standard lamp in a few weeks.
Julian
My wife and I are planning to relocate from Ashland, Oregon to Williamstown, Massachusetts where we have friends and family. Consequently our home in Ashland is for sale. Click here to see pictures and more information.
Sweet Home in a Great Location
Ashland, OR - This is a delightful home you will want to see. Offering an open floor plan with 9-ft. ceilings on the mail level, this home lends itself well for entertaining. Great storage cabinets and built-in bookshelves, gas fireplace, spacious and bright kitchen, master bedroom on the main level and wonderful outdoor patios and gardens. The upstairs is being used as a family room and office, but is designed to be a large bedroom suite with a Murphy bed and full bathroom. Property is completely fenced and has mature landscaping, which creates privacy. Sitting near shopping, YMCA, bike paths, parks and more.
The home is listed with Ashland Homes Realty: Michaela Rydbom (800) 334-7499, 541 482-0044
Listing #2807305 $399,900
2663 Takelma Way, Ashland, OR 97520
Beds: 2 Baths: 3 (2 1) (FH) Sq Ft: 1842 Lot Sz: 0.160ac Area: Ashlnd Yr: 1999
http://www.propertiesinashland.com/property.asp?id_property=121801
Furniture notes is a regularly updated feature on my web site. My intention and hope is to share with visitors various aspects of my technique, philosophy and general musings on my craft. Earlier postings can be found in the Furniture Notes Archive.
China Cabinet
