| Project by woodchips | posted 764 days ago | 447 views | 0 times favorited | 10 comments |  |
 |
Hello All,
I’ve been quite busy with school so this most recent project took a lot of time to finally get done. It is my first actual commissioned piece so I am excited about that. I haven’t yet delivered it, that will be done manana, but I can’t wait to hear what the customer has to say about it. The customer is a local furniture store in Michigan, near St. Joseph. They are selling more throw pillows of late and they wanted something to showcase the pillows, at first they were going to buy something online that was probably made from laminated particle board ($199) but my friend who works there talked them out of that (thank goodness) and I ended up getting the job. I used some of that cherry got such a good deal on a while back, (thanks again for all the input on that decision) I really like the final product, it was a bit of an experiment for me in terms of trying to develop my style a bit more. The overall lines seem to speak of art deco influence with something else I can’t quite place my finger on.
I would have much rather put a clear coat of lacquer on it but the paying customer wanted a Minwax Cherry Stain on it, so…ya’ll know how that goes. I really wanted the cherry to stand out more but, oh well. As it ages I believe the cherry will gradually darken while the birch hopefully remains the same color, then there will be more contrast.
Here’s some more shots of it…
I did a walk-around tour of it in pictures to give online viewers a better spacial sense hopefully. It stands abvout 78” tall x 37” wide x 20” deep. Minwax Cherry stain with 3 coats of fast drying lacquer (sprayed on) sanded to 220 before any finish was applied, then 320 between coats and a final rub down of 400 emery cloth
I really like this stuff so far, it’s very flexible and the back side can be used to remove the dust, plus by design it’s virtually impossible to clog up. anyway more pictures, enough talking.
here’s some upclose shots of the eye-popping grain.
I put it on heavey duty castors so they can move it around easier, but I hid the castors so as not interfere with the furniture feel of the piece. it only sets off the ground by about 5/8 on an inch.
And the final full frontal shot of the piece.
Enjoy!
-- "Who but a fool would discard seeminly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent engineering" -- Aldo Leopold
10 comments so far
RobS
home | projects | blog
1243 posts in 1203 days
posted 764 days ago
I have to say, that is one pillow case I would not want to sleep on… Great job.
-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX
woodchips
home | projects | blog
229 posts in 861 days
posted 764 days ago
hahahahahha
for sure. and thanks for the compliment. my wife came up with the name and i thought it was catchy calling it a pillowcase, since that what it is albeit rather different than what first comes to mind, of course.
-- "Who but a fool would discard seeminly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent engineering" -- Aldo Leopold
Chris
home | projects | blog
1469 posts in 888 days
posted 764 days ago
Nice… How did you hide the casters, with a skirt?
-- Chris
woodchips
home | projects | blog
229 posts in 861 days
posted 764 days ago
well sort of a skirt although from the one picture that shows the base in detail, it’s more like i jsut made the sides extend further down and then added a taller front piece of faceframe at the bottom so underneath the cabinet there is about 1 1/2 inches of space to play with and i stuck some 2” castors as close to the corners as possible, still allowing the turning radius. (if all that makes any sense)
-- "Who but a fool would discard seeminly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent engineering" -- Aldo Leopold
TomFran
home | projects | blog
2515 posts in 891 days
posted 764 days ago
Congratulations on your first commissioned piece! I’m sure the customer will be happy with it. Hope you were even able to make a few dollars on the project.
-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28
woodchips
home | projects | blog
229 posts in 861 days
posted 764 days ago
thanks for the congrats! on the part about making a few bucks…well actually it funded the purchase of some much needed tools so as far profit is concerned, nil…but i did get tools so i’m not so concerned about cash in pocket. i’m still trying to figure out how to charge for things like this, i know there were a few blogs on how to charge for commissioned pieces but i can’t seem to locate them. if you know the links could you post back to me?
-- "Who but a fool would discard seeminly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent engineering" -- Aldo Leopold
TomFran
home | projects | blog
2515 posts in 891 days
posted 764 days ago
Hey, money for tools is the same as “making a few bucks.” I was just hoping that you didn’t just “break even.” Sometimes, in our excitement to get a few jobs, we shortchange ourselves, and that’s not fun, especially if you’ve got mouths to feed.
As for a link on how to charge customers for your labors, I thought this one was full of some practical wisdom.
-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28
woodchips
home | projects | blog
229 posts in 861 days
posted 764 days ago
thanks fo the links Tom. i’m going to do some research on this particular issue as i did make a profit but now that the job is done i believe i probably needed to charge about $100 more than i did. the customer will end up paying $585 total for the cabinet.
-- "Who but a fool would discard seeminly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent engineering" -- Aldo Leopold
Thos. Angle
home | projects | blog
4013 posts in 859 days
posted 764 days ago
good enough on the price. Nice work, Isaac.
-- Thos. Angle
MsDebbieP
home | projects | blog
14162 posts in 1058 days
posted 763 days ago
excellent creation; excellent name and woo hoo re: funds for tools
-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)