Carl Auböck, an Austrian designer,

 

lived before my time. I just met him today. My wife sent me a link to a guy that she thought had designed stuff that was kinda like my style. She was right, or I’m designing stuff kinda like his style?

This is a project I’m working on:

 

Now my Mahogany root section has no legs but if you’re familiar with my stuff, you know I like tripods.

Carl Auböck’s table:

Sigh! History comes to bite me in the ass. 

 

Homage to Mr. Auböck: This is a cocktail table 17″h x about 58″ x 40″

The color pattern is natural to this wood; Swietenia Mahogany.

 

 

This is the underside detail showing the original crosscut chainsaw marks made by the sawyer that sliced this from the original root section.  

 

Foot detail: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have finally turned a piece of wood in the new “Metal” lathe.  It’s one of those things that most people wouldn’t think of doing. “You turn wood in a wood lathe.”

 I took a quick picture so I could get this out of the way.

 

 Thanks for stopping by and enough of the lathe pictures already! 

I really didn’t have anything to post. My mind was  a blank. I’m getting to the end of my time for getting things finished by the 18th. I just started the last part of the last piece that I’m going to do for the show. That makes three pieces that are in progress that will need to be done in less then 3 weeks. 

One of the things that I dread when working with wood is the waste. As I was plunging this bit into this thick piece of mahogany, it bothered me that the wood I was removing was just going to go in the waste can. I was thinking how beautiful the color is when the wood is freshly cut. I was thinking how that this 2 inch slug of wood, that had been attached to the tree and had been curing for the last 40, 50, sixty years, was finally coming to it’s end by being removed to be thrown into the waste. So I decided to document it’s end for posterity.

I just wish I was a little more creative and could figure out what to do with those little curls of this incredible material.

 

I get into long conversations about composition with my friend Karl. He’s back in school and telling me how he’s learning the basics of composition. Cool. What’s that?

Threading Pedz Legs……. “Ol’ Pedz Leg!” 

The newest in the terrazzo line…..

So far so good. What are they? You’ll just have to wait and see!

I usually only post things related to what I do at the studio. This Enviro section was originally about the types of trees that the wood I use comes from. Today though I’m posting about some Cuban Tree Frogs that are finally emerging from the aquarium (thanks Carol) that has been their home for the past 3 weeks.

The tree the frogs are perched in is one of two Paradise trees that were put into pots by my daughter and me. I figured that it would be OK to post these pictures here. 

I never realized the process of the eggs turning into tadpoles turing into frogs was really that incredible until the aquarium they were in sat on our kitchen counter for 2 and half of the last three weeks. I might attack documenting the process as we experienced it but right now, here are my newest babies.

Thanks for checking in,

Paul 

 

Just some of the machined parts for the Mrs. Wonky stool:Â

The last Pedz top I poured and featured here was a real coooooooool orange. Orange with real nice red glass. The orange pigment I used was NOT specifically for cement. Now this little fact made a BIG difference in the cement curing. It DIDN’T. I waited about 6 days before attempting to pop the Pedz from the mold. It crumbled immediately. Good news was that I was able to salvage both the stainless reinforcing and the red glass. Both were installed in the new yellow Pedz top. (I really wasn’t happy with the “real coooooooooool orange” anyway)

I used the same  type pigment but yellow and added 75% less. The new Pedz top released from the mold great and will be ground on the 11th.

 

 

The new yellow top after grinding:

 

I’ve been working to get the Pedz out of the way so that I can get moving on Mrs. Wonky. Some people find working with stainless pretty difficult. I love working with the stuff. No painting needed; just a little polishing and some Sheila Shine to keep it looking nice and oil free.

My first threading on the lathe. The Pedz legs. Threaded and polished.

 

 

 

Pedz legs bent and welded.  

 

 

Polishing out welds and heat spots. 

 

 

Preliminary set up. The Pedz 

 

I’ve been messing around with different concrete mixes for the Pedz tops. I started by reading the book “Concrete Countertops” by Fu-Tung Cheng. It’s a great book that tells a lot about doing these kinds of things. As those types of books go, I needed to change a few things, like buying materials locally that don’t cost an arm and a leg. That meant a little trial and error. So below are the first tops that I’m am totally stoked about.  They are super hard and took a mirror shine at 1500 grit grinding. It took almost an hour to break through to the glass aggregate with a 50 grit diamond disc. They were ground yesterday after 4 days of cure. I’ll follow that up soon with a 3000 grit. Cheng says it’s not needed, but I have so much glass in the surface that I think it’ll really bring the shine out. 

 

 

 

Got the 3000 grit diamond discs. MAN what a difference. Those things are like glass. I did make the mistake of using a penetrating sealer. It dulled the polished/ground finish a little. Looks plastic like. Next one will be waxed with carnauba wax.  No sealer

 

 

 

 

This week I got the lathe and mill hooked up to power. What did I do without my own equipment for so long????

 

 

My first project was getting Mrs. Wonky’s parts done. Turning the stainless backrest top screw:

 

 

Tapping the bottom disc:

 

 

I needed a mandrel to turn some aluminum discs for another project. The discs have 3/4 inch holes in the center. I was planning to make the tool when I remembered that in my tool box was a mandrel that I had made as an apprentice twenty years before. Sure enough it was a 3/4 inch mandrel. It had never been used. Today I used it for the first time.

 

Cheers and thanks for stopping by. 

 

Update: Turning lamp part in aluminum: