1st real commisioned piece

1st real commisioned piece · 07-20-2007, 10:37 PM

A good friend down the street asked for a TV stand to better match her older furniture, she gave me basic requirements but let me run with it...
Solid cherry stained with red mahogany, then 2 coats of watco cherry danish oil. several coats of sprayed poly wet sanded to 600 grit, then several coats of johnson paste wax
My good friend Ralph helped me when i was at the head beating against the wall point several times

, but otherwise this one is all my doing
My nephew Jaysen (just joined the AF and stationed here at Pope AFB) gave me the idea of fuming the brass pulls to tone them down when i couldn't find any antique looking pulls
Thanks for looking
Gary

toolferone · 07-20-2007, 10:42 PM

Wow! Nicely done. It sounds like it took longer to do the finish then to build the piece. How did the customer like it? The only problem is no work-in-progress pics!

kota62 · 07-20-2007, 10:54 PM

I think she liked it, she paid me double what I originally quoted her...
I'm in New Jersey for a month on business and have none of the in-progress pics here (also have no access to my tools)

The finish did take a long time, but to feel how buttery smooth it is really made it worth the effort
Gary

McRabbet · 07-20-2007, 11:17 PM

Very nicely done, Gary! I wish I could get my customers to pay me double! But I think you deserved it here!

MikeH · 07-20-2007, 11:32 PM

The whole thing turned out great. Especially the finish. Great job!!!

07-20-2007, 11:33 PM

woodArtz · 07-20-2007, 11:47 PM

That's great looking work. Good job!!!

b4man · 07-21-2007, 06:42 AM

I don't know who got the better end of the deal. Her for the beautiful new piece or you for being appreciated enough to be appropriately compensated!

skeeter · 07-21-2007, 09:14 AM

Really nice work. The total package turned out great. The craftsmanship from design to finish is quite evident, right down to the hardware.

cskipper · 07-21-2007, 12:39 PM

ebarr · 07-21-2007, 01:24 PM

Thumbs up. Finish looks great

cpowell · 07-21-2007, 03:46 PM

Great looking piece. Finish looks sharp and I like the detailing and hardware.

Chuck

adowden · 07-24-2007, 12:13 AM

Congratulations on a beautiful piece! I am very impressed with the tight tolerances on the doors. You have every reason to be very proud.

Amy

nelsone · 07-24-2007, 08:36 AM

Great looking piece! Congratulations on the selling price! Tell me about fuming the brass. I really like the look!

kota62 · 07-24-2007, 06:37 PM

Originally Posted by nelsone

Tell me about fuming the brass. I really like the look!

Nelsone:
I was looking for an oiled bronze look for the pulls but couldn't find any that were small enough to fit the narrow stiles of the doors, so i widened my search and found solid, bright brass pulls through Amazon

My nephew learned of fuming brass to age it in high school up in Pa.
What i did was get clear ammonia from the grocery store, put several inches in a sealable jar and hung the pulls from some wire from the inside of the lid (the parts do not contact the liquid), several hours passed and nothing really happened so i let it fume for about 24 hrs, after i pulled them out, I wiped them down with paper towel just to remove any loose crud...
There is no finish over the pulls..

I read on the internet that boiling finished parts in water with a bit of white vinegar will get rid of the sprayed on clear coat, i really don't know if it helped or not, but you can see the results

Thanks for asking, and for all the favorable comments
Gary