Syzygy Woodworks

Yesterday was a big day with the delivery and set-up of this beautiful dining table. Everything went well and my client is delighted with the addition of this piece of furniture to his new home. I was thrilled with how good the table looked in the room. From the colors to the style and scale of the piece it just looked like it belonged where it was placed.

The table is made from solid oak and measures 13′ 6″ long x 42″ wide. It will comfortably seat 14 people, 16 if you don’t mind less elbow room. To maximize the seating my client requested only two sets of legs, so the span between the legs is ten feet and is supported by a single laminated beam. A long threaded rod runs through the center of the beam and ties the two sets of legs to the beam.

Some more fun facts about the table:

My client has a trailer repair business. The tabletop was made from the solid oak laminations that are used for the floor of 18 wheel trailers. The laminations come in sections 12″ wide by 24′ feet long by 1 1/4″ thick. I used a number of these to construct the tabletop. Using this material formed a good connection between my client’s business and his new home.

Oak weighs approximately 48 lbs/cubic foot. By my calculations, the tabletop weighs 325 lbs and the base weighs 235 lbs giving a total weight for the table of 560 lbs.

The table is on the second floor of the home and the only way into the room was through the double doors opening onto a balcony with railing. This was done without the use of any modern technology or machinery. A mobile set of stairs, a pickup truck, a step ladder, eight guys and some will power that far exceeded that of 325 lbs of oak and the tabletop was lifted into position in less than five minutes. Further proof that we often tend to overthink problems. Not that I can ever be accused of overthinking things 🙂

All of my projects seem to present a unique set of challenges and this project was no exception. From design to engineering to the logistics of dealing with a piece of this scale this project challenged me in many ways. I’m really pleased with how it all came together. It’s nice to think of all the warm memories, good food, wine and conversation this table will be a part of for many years to come.

“How do you eat an elephant?”
“One bite at a time”

When I was first asked to build this dining table I realized the only way I was going to get it done was by tackling it “one bite at a time”. I’m nearing the end of the project and that has proven to be true as the project has been a sequence of solving one problem after another.

Eight feet is a pretty standard, although not small, dimension in woodworking. At 13′ 6″ x 42″ this dining table exceeds that by a lot. It’s amazing how things get exponentially more complicated and difficult the bigger the project. Further complicating things, my client did not want any legs in the center of the table, so there would be a span of 10 feet between the supports.

I’ve had to build the table in three different workshops. The bases I’ve built in my workshop. A friend and fellow woodworker, Andrei Zborovski of Avrora Inc. helped me build the 10-foot support beam using his veneer press. Finally, the good folks next door Furniture Medic very kindly lent me some space in their workshop to build and assemble the tabletop. I could not have done this project without the help of these two businesses and feel very fortunate to have had their help.

As so often seems to happen, my client is truly wonderful and his enthusiasm and can-do attitude have been a huge help with this project. I’ve said it before and it still holds true, I’ve been so fortunate with all the amazing clients I’ve had over the years.

The picture shows the stain being applied to the tabletop. (Woodworker is shown for scale.) I’m hoping to deliver the dining table towards the end of next week. Which raises another problem. The room it goes into is on the second floor and the only way to get the table into the room is through the window. As I said earlier, it’s a case of solving one problem after another. Wish me luck!

I was excited about this project from the first inquiry. A large bookcase with a library ladder! How cool is that?

Ten feet wide by just under ten feet tall this bookcase will provide space for a library of books and decorative items. The ladder provides both functionality and a conversation piece.

Built for a client of designer Lori Taylor at Trends Home Decor Inc.
Finished with Target Coatings, Inc.EM6500 waterborne pigmented lacquer.
All moldings were made in-house on my Williams & Hussey Machine molding machine.
The Quiet Glide Rolling Ladder is from Van Dyke’s Restorers

Fireplace surround with shelves for stereo equipment.

I built and installed this piece earlier this summer. My clients had done a lot of work remodeling the interior of their home and this fireplace was the final piece of the puzzle. The work they had done really opened up the interior of the house and the fireplace along with hanging the television above the mantle, framed by the large windows overlooking a canal gave a great focal point to this room.

This project is outside of my normal scope of work. I built an entertainment center for a client and they asked if I could run faux wainscoting in the room where the entertainment center was and down the entrance hallway. Along the way, the project grew again and the trim work was added to the door opening in the hallway.

I made all the moldings in house on my Williams and Hussey molding machine as I wanted to match the moldings used on the entertainment center and tie everything together. I also did the painting which is way out of my normal scope of work!

The artisan market in St. Augustine, Coconut Barrel where I have a booth, is having a “Christmas in July” event. It will run for 10 days starting on July 21st, and will feature handcrafted Christmas Decorations and Gifts.

I turned these birdhouse Christmas ornaments and will have them for sale in my booth for the event.

In addition to built-in pieces, I also build stand-alone furniture.  I delivered and set up this doll display cabinet yesterday for a very patient client.  It is definitely one of the more unique pieces of furniture that I have built.   Built primarily from maple.  And glass.  Lots and lots of glass.  It stands just over seven feet tall and five feet wide.

While working with my client on the design she passed a comment to the effect “love to wrap it in a bow”.  The idea sparked the use of the carved bow as a handle on the doors which really sets the display cabinet apart and adds just the right touch of whimsy.

I’m very pleased with how this turned out and how happy my client is with it.

A client asked me to help make a table using this amazing piece of driftwood she had found. The concept for the table was hers, for the most part, I helped with some of the design details. I built and finished the base and installed the supplied stainless steel rods. I also applied the finish to the driftwood. The glass top was provided by the good people next door to me, Benchmark Glass and Mirror. The driftwood is an amazing piece of wood. You could get lost for hours looking at all the different patterns, textures, and colors in it. A unique piece of furniture!

It’s been a while since I posted to social media.  Not because I haven’t had anything to share, quite the opposite.  I’ve been busy with a backlog of work and then simply got out of the habit of posting regularly.

These images are of a fireplace surround and entertainment center I built and installed recently.  The electric fireplace was provided by the good folk at Grill and Hearth.  I also did the stacked stone surround, which is about the limits of my tiling abilities!