Salko posted: " BY GREG MERRITT My exploration of seating continues with a couple of Shaker inspired stools. Many, many moons ago, long before GPS, we made a trip to Nashville for a friend's wedding. We had very little money at the time and knew this woul"
My exploration of seating continues with a couple of Shaker inspired stools. Many, many moons ago, long before GPS, we made a trip to Nashville for a friend's wedding. We had very little money at the time and knew this would be the only trip for that year. Unfortunately, our time in Nashville was less than pleasant, other than the wedding. Anyway, on the trip home we began looking for any stop that would salvage the trip. My wife scanned over the road atlas and stumbled on the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill just outside of Lexington, KY. So, on a whim, we routed ourselves to the village.
We arrived late afternoon on a Saturday and were pleasantly surprised that they had overnight rooms. As luck would have it there was a room available. Not only that, they had a dining hall that served family style meals. So, we moved into our room and walked to the dining hall and had a very pleasant dinner by candlelight.
The next day we toured the village and I poured over the furniture and buildings as far as they would let me. This was long before I had any tools or even a shop space, but the desire, the desire to build was there. The last stop before leaving the village was the gift shop and there I bought three little books of scaled drawings of Shaker furniture.
That's a bit of back story, but I thumb thru these books every now and again for inspiration. This time around the stools caught my eye. Actually, the rocker has my interest, but I figure the stools will be a good way to get my head around the process. These are simple stools and should nestle nicely with the kitchen island that I converted my old workbench into.
I like most things Shaker, there is an elegant simplicity in all that they built. The one thing I have never been a fan of though is the woven tape seats. Seats woven with muted earth tones are OK, but the brighter colours just look out of place to me. So, my stools will have seats woven with fibre rush. It looks simple to accomplish and I personally like the look. After playing around with the proportions and a little time at the drafting board, here is what I came up with.
Not too different from the original Shaker design, just tweaked slightly. I'm building these stools with what I have on hand. The legs will be red oak and the stretchers will be white oak. The seats will be woven from fibre (paper) rush. I've gotten off to start turning the eight required legs. The goal is to crank out one leg after work every evening. So far, so good. I'm three for three. I'm actually getting pretty quick at it. Quick being a relative term. The story stick is a handy thing for this repetitive work too.
I deviated from the Shaker simplicity and added a single bead to the leg as well as a little wood burning. You know I can't not add some wood burning. Just one more reason I would have made a lousy Shaker.
Progress continues on the stools. Mostly one hour at a time after work each day. This has become my basic workflow as of late. Come home, check in and then out to the shop until dinner time. Then grab as much time over the weekend as I can. Anyway…
I managed to finish turning all eight of the legs (posts). These are close to final shape, but I'll most likely chuck them back into the lathe and change the shape of the taper to the foot. I also completed the initial turning of all of the required rungs.
When I design a project, I tend to focus on the overall proportions and keep the details to a minimum. I do this so as not to overly influence the final product. I know this seems counter to the whole idea of design, but it's what works for me. My goal is not to crank out identical, production style pieces. If I make a piece again, I want the proportions to be right, but I also want each piece, or series of pieces, to be unique. So, part of my process is to work each element in stages. Essentially designing on the fly through a process of gradual reduction.
Working this way would drive some folks absolutely crazy. A lot of people like to have everything mapped out ahead of time. For me though, I like having the details sort of evolve along with the project itself. Sometimes I have an idea about the details from the start, but often I don't have clue what will develop. I find this to be particularly true with my wood turning. A contributing factor is that I'm not all that confident in my developing wood turning skills, but I'm beginning to find my way.
The point of all that rambling is that my pieces tend to change as a project progresses. The first change to the project at hand was to add a bead to the legs.
The rungs were next to fall victim to change. I first turned all of the rungs to a simple cylinder and added the tenons. I then set eight of them aside to become the top rungs around which I'll weave the fibre rush seat. The remaining rungs went back on the lather and received a taper on each end.
The final bit of modification was to the foot end of the legs (post). During the initial turning I established the transition point of the taper to the foot, but left this area "fat". I felt they needed a little more grace and took cues from some Shaker examples to added a bit of life to the taper.
So now I have all of my wood bits ready to go. Next up will be the drilling of holes and assembly of the frames.
With all of the parts complete, it was time to bore some holes. There are (24) rungs which left me facing (48) holes that needed to be drilled plumb and square. It's not that difficult of task really, but one errant hole can mess up the whole works. Actually, a little variance can be beneficial by way of adding tension into the frame. Too much variance though will either split a post or make it impossible to assemble the frame.
So, I cautiously began marking out and drilling each mortise holes. To add a little extra stress, I had to be diligent with my depth. These are blind holes and need to be as deep as possible to form a strong joint. I used a standard auger bit and had to pay careful attention to the lead screw. Half a turn too far and the lead screw would come through the opposite side. To control the depth of bore you can count turns, strap on a vintage depth stop contraption or, as I did, wrap a bit of painter's tape around the bit.
The process was to mark out the centres by sighting across the post at the top and bottom locations and connect those with a straight edge to establish the intermediate location.
The best way I have found to hold an individual leg is to place it in joiner's saddles and clamp it to the bench with a holdfast.
The drilling is straight forward, but I checked my progress with a square.
No matter how careful you are, sometimes the point of the auger makes it through to the other side.
Sometimes though, it validates your skill with the brace and bit.
And so, I progressed, first with individual frames and then the entire frame.
The glue up was a bit stressful. It was a lot of parts to assemble and hot hide glue doesn't wait. I was given a few extra seconds though, due to the high temp (88F) in my shop. So, no pics of the glue up. All of my concentration was on the task at hand.
The glued frames with a second coat of Tried & True Original. The first coat was applied while the pieces were on the lathe. That first coat of the individual pieces saved me a good bit of work when cleaning up the glue squeeze out.
A note about the grain orientation of the pieces. I set the rungs so that their grain was perpendicular to that of the posts. I also set the posts so that none of the rungs inserted directly through the long grain of the post.
Now all I need to do is figure out how to weave the seats.
Now that the stools were assembled, it was time to tackle the seat weaving.
The material that I chose to use is fibre rush. This is a paper product that imitates the look of natural rush and has been in use since the early 1900's. I had planned on researching and writing a thorough post on fibre rush, but Cathryn Peters (wickerwoman.com) has a "history of" article on here site that covers it. Jump over there and have a read and then come back. I'll wait…
…to understand the weaving process I read through the articles on Ms. Peters' site, bought a small booklet on the subject and watched a bunch on YouTube videos. The most helpful video, by far, was Ed Hammond's (peerlessrattan.com) video.
Having prepared as much as I could, there was nothing left to do but jump in and do it. So, I gathered my supplies and tools and settled in for a long afternoon.
The pattern is a simple over-under and progresses counter-clockwise around the stool.
While the pattern is simple, the nuances that are the hallmarks of skill and proficiency are not. As with most hinges handwork, these must be earned with time on task. Where to push and where to pull? How hard? How large a coil of material can I work with? On and on. The thing that I struggled with the most is how to handle and turn the coil as I weaved. The loose coil of rush must be continually rotated, in the correct direction, else the strand will untwist and leave you with a string of flat paper. I fought this all afternoon! Constantly having to stop and re-twist the strand.
There is a rhythm that began to reveal itself as the afternoon wore on and I became more and more comfortable with the process. Over the rail, up through the middle…over the rail up through the middle. Even so, my progress was clumsy at best, but I managed to get the first seat completed.
This first seat is presentable and I'm confident that the next one will improve in both execution and speed. This first round of weaving took me six hours! I also woefully underestimated how hard this process would be on my fingers. My thumbs and index fingers are raw and sore. So, either tape or gloves will be needed for the weaving of the next seat.
I spent my evenings after work weaving the seat for the second stool. I was a little more comfortable with the process this time and actually enjoyed applying the rush.
I'm happy to report that I gained a little speed and the weave looked much neater. So much so that I dismantled several courses on the first stool and re-worked it so that there wasn't such a marked difference between the two. Not a dramatic difference, but it would have driven me crazy if I hadn't fixed it.
Before
After
Just about everything I have read or watched says that the fibre rush should be sealed with a couple of coats of clear shellac or something similar. This adds a bit of durability and stain resistance to the seat. So, I dutifully complied with shellac.
The first coat took a good bit of shellac and I was a little worried that the uneven appearance wouldn't subside once everything was dry.
The first coat did indeed dry to an even, albeit, darker colour and the second coat went on quickly. I also took the time to add one more coat of Tried & True original to the frames of the stools.
With that, I'm calling these stools done.
Either hubris or taking the blame. Not sure which.
IRES, LLC posted: " For the best user experience we recommend using the most current operating system version for your device and enabling auto updates on the application in your App or Google Play Store to ensure you are on the most recent version of our app. "
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Dan Moynihan posted: "Boston Real Estate Times Landmark Properties has purchased North 116 Flats, a 150-unit student-housing property in Sunderland, Mass. The Athens, Ga., company bought the property from Fountain Residential Partners of Dallas. The purchase price was no"
Boston Real Estate Times Landmark Properties has purchased North 116 Flats, a 150-unit student-housing property in Sunderland, Mass. The Athens, Ga., company bought the property from Fountain Residential Partners of Dallas. The purchase price was not disclosed. CBRE brokered the deal for the seller. North 116 Flats sits on 18 acres at 653 Amherst Road, […]
danicacoria posted: "You can make good money fairly quickly rewarded by investing in real estate investments. You must do well and learn as much as you are doing if you wish to succeed. The tips to help you become a great real estate investor. Your reputation is going to be "
You can make good money fairly quickly rewarded by investing in real estate investments. You must do well and learn as much as you are doing if you wish to succeed. The tips to help you become a great real estate investor.
Your reputation is going to be of real estate investments. This can build up your credibility around town that will make people more loyal clients.
Stick with a niche you feel comfortable dealing with. You will find more success by sticking to a particular type of investment. Whether you plan to flip a house, working with starters or dealing with properties with low down payments, stick to what you know for success.
Prior to investing in real estate, do your research. There are many tips and strategies you must learn. Try buying real estate DVDs and going to the local library to find real estate books to boost your knowledge of the subject.
TIP! Prior to investing in real estate, do your research. By doing good research, you will learn all the ins and outs of the business.
Location is critical in any real estate investment. Property conditions and other factors are usually subject to change. Properties in areas aren't going to turn out well for you. Always research on a property values in advance for the areas you are most interested in.
Problems with tenants may consume a lot of time for you.
Properties near business districts or waterfronts are likely to increase in value.
Find out as much as you can about the pricing of properties in your selected area. Finding out who the neighbors are and whether they rent or own can provide an idea of the neighborhood. It's easier to make a good decision if you look at things from the street level.
TIP! Always familiarize yourself with property values in the area. Mortgages and rent in your local neighborhood could give you a better feel for the house's value as opposed to its financial statements.
This can help you get on the right direction. There is nothing worse than you having to cover part of your own pocket because a renter is behind.
Don't get real estate located in a bad neighborhood. Be sure you're noticing the locale where you're buying your property. Do your homework in advance. A good deal on a nice house might mean that it's in a bad area. It may be hard to sell and this type of home could be vandalized easily.
Hire a property manager. Since these tenants are what essentially pays your mortgage, you want to know they can keep up with your payments.
Do not purchase anything that has not been inspected by an unbiased professional. Sellers who pony up their own inspector may be using someone who will favor them. Make sure the inspector used is a neutral party.
TIP! You never want to purchase a property that has not been professionally inspected. Certain sellers offer to provide inspections, but they may hire someone who is not impartial.
Real Estate
Don't let a real estate investment deplete your investments to eat up your savings. Investing in real estate means investing money for a long period of time.You don't want to mess up your daily life affected by this long-term turnaround.
Sign up for a good foreclosure lists so you can get great deals. This will help you a lot of time and money. These are accurate and will aid your research.
Make sure you pick a comfortable niche. It is better to find a groove with your investments if you focus on a single segment of the market. Whether you plan to flip a house, purchase a rental property or buy foreclosure, you should buy what you know.
TIP! Keep with a specific niche that you like. It is easier to get into a successful flow with your investing if you are focused on your market segment.
It is important to jump into the market early and learn as much as possible. You may miss out on investment opportunities if you don't get moving!
Never leverage yourself out completely when looking to get the next real estate deal underway. You should always have available cash in case of emergencies.
Look at how the economy is expected to progress in the region where your prospective properties sit. High unemployment and a shortage of good jobs keep down property prices down. This minimizes your chances of getting a big impact on your investment. A robust city will increase the value of properties.
If you are considering real estate investment, then you need to consider just what kind of personal time you are willing to put into property management. Tenant problems can really kill your time. If you cannot juggle the responsibilities, think about hiring a property manager.
TIP! If you wish to invest in properties, consider the amount of time you can give for managing it. Tenant issues can eat up your time.
Start with a single property. Though you may be tempted to purchase multiple listings at once, you can make big mistakes early in the game. Begin with one and learn more about the strategy you go along. This will be of great benefit to you to learn the game without many distractions.
These different legalities are going to vary from town to town so you should know what to expect ahead of time. Talk to local public officials to abide by all of the property.
Screen all your tenants thoroughly. Your focus on screening will ensure that you the right tenants.
Make sure that you select places that are well-known and in a great area that could garner a lot of interest from potential clients. This is important as it will give you the most amount of resale value when you make your purchase. Also, look for easily maintained properties.
TIP! Try to invest in real estate in locations that are in-demand. You will get a higher resale if the property is in a nice area.
Do not allow your emotions to get in the best of you. Keep emotions so you don't overpay.You can make more money by following this way.
Know that any real estate investment venture you make may not pay off for some time. Make sure that you have financial resources while you wait. You will want to be employed starting out. Many expenses can pop up when you're investing and managing property. You could go under if your income source.
Decide whether you want a long or short-term one in advance. This will affect the amount of money you'll need available. If you plan to purchase the home and keep it for awhile, you can choose to put more money into it.
When determining a potential investment property, try choosing one that will appreciate. Properties near business districts or water can earn you a lot of money. Understand that the price will fluctuate based on the work that you put into the property.
TIP! Try to look for investment properties that will become more valuable over time. A lot by water or right in a business district, for example, will most likely mean more to you in the future.
You must be very responsible and goal oriented to succeed in real estate. Get yourself established before you make connections and save money for it. This is a great way to prepare for your real estate investing.
Learning about investing in real estate investment is not free. It may be that you just sacrifice some of your time to pick up materials from which to teach yourself the basics.Try to soak up the knowledge from people around you.
You can't always accurately predict how long a property will be on the market. Know this when trying to determine how much risk is involved when you buy a property. Are you financing the property or paying in cash? What interest rate can you getting? Do you wish to rent before you end up selling?
You want to have evaluated a neighborhood prior to making any investment purchases. You always want to look into the other homes values and how they have been selling on the market. You can make many different changes to a house, but you cannot change the location it is in.
TIP! Always take a look at an overall community before investing in a specific property. Desirable neighborhoods will always hold their value, whereas depressed neighborhoods may not give you as good a return.
You want to have a large down payment before you begin investing. Sellers are more likely to negotiate if you have cash involved. This also makes mortgage approval process much simpler. Paying cash is best because you avoid needing a mortgage at all.
Don't make the latest trends are to do so. Not all people are alike when it comes to a house.
There is not doubt that investing in real estate offers impressive potential for producing substantial wealth. It can be hard to figure out. This article will help you get started.
Avoid buying property that is dirt cheap. You may be attracted to the numbers, but the house might have difficulty selling. Spending more money means you will become the owner of a better property.
TIP! Don't purchase a less-than-ideal home. This is tempting because of the price, but is not a good investment.
Blue widgets is a complex topic, which is why you should take the time to research it some more. Luckily, this piece includes all you require to move forward successfully. All you need to do now is put it into action.
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