Project Information
My youngest brother Mark has been working with wood for all of his adult life. (Our "adult" life started early). He is and has been a very talented contractor and cabinet maker for many years. I on the other hand have as long as I can remember a artistic nature that has see the use of many medians throughout the years. Mark lives in our home town in Louisiana and I now live in a suburb of Dallas, TX. We see each other fairly often and talk on the phone just about every day. After I got into wood working, I focused on the more decorative aspect while he focused on the functional aspect of construction type wood working. He then started the cabinetry and decorative style type. He is BY FAR a better wood worker than I'll ever be. With that said, I asked him if I did an inlay, could he incorporate it into a piece of furniture. I should have said "would you" instead of "could you". Duh! Well, it has taken almost a year of nights in the garage and several trips back and forth from LA and TX to get to this point, but we did it! The first part was the research on how to make decorative inlay banding. After several trials and failed attempts, I was able to hash out a fair representation. Next was the inlay addition of the ever so important and Louisiana historical "Fleur De Lis. This design came from a coaster that I saw at a winery in Louisiana (that don't even sound right). I took a picture with my phone, brought it home and photo shopped it into a scroll saw pattern. Alas, the pièce de résistance, the center piece, the focal point, the cherry on top of the sundae! The inlay center piece. (AHHHHhhhh…."Angels singing") I stuck with the theme of Walnut and Poplar with all of the pieces. After all these pieces were complete, it was yet again, off to Louisiana for a delivery and a much looked forward to visit with my little bro.
Mark graciously accepted the pieces and put them in a "warm dry place" for safe keeping. After a few months of procrastination, lolly-gagging and putting it off, he got to work on the entertainment center. Working long hours during the day, taking care of his Family and his dirt track racing career (besides being a super hero) takes a toll on his time. But as always, he came through with flying colors! The overall design was of Mark's creation. The tedious miter cuts, the long hours of sanding into the wee hours of the morning, the gluing, hand sanding and finish work were all left to his enjoyment. If he said he'll do it you can count on it getting done. If he tells you a chicken can pull a wagon, you can hook him up. This boy can fix anything but a broken heart and he can mend that!
Well, like the title says… This is "The combined effort of two brothers love of woodworking". It is also the combined effort of two brothers who love one another and would give each other the shirt off their back. I enjoyed every minute of working with Mark on this project! We are now planning on pooling our efforts on the construction of a king size bed. I can't wait!! Stay tuned! Same wood time, same wood channel!
Mark graciously accepted the pieces and put them in a "warm dry place" for safe keeping. After a few months of procrastination, lolly-gagging and putting it off, he got to work on the entertainment center. Working long hours during the day, taking care of his Family and his dirt track racing career (besides being a super hero) takes a toll on his time. But as always, he came through with flying colors! The overall design was of Mark's creation. The tedious miter cuts, the long hours of sanding into the wee hours of the morning, the gluing, hand sanding and finish work were all left to his enjoyment. If he said he'll do it you can count on it getting done. If he tells you a chicken can pull a wagon, you can hook him up. This boy can fix anything but a broken heart and he can mend that!
Well, like the title says… This is "The combined effort of two brothers love of woodworking". It is also the combined effort of two brothers who love one another and would give each other the shirt off their back. I enjoyed every minute of working with Mark on this project! We are now planning on pooling our efforts on the construction of a king size bed. I can't wait!! Stay tuned! Same wood time, same wood channel!