Jun 01

Power-Carved Walnut Bowl – Daniel D. Brown, 2018

For the final day of my “staycation” I decided to make a little bowl to go with table/book shelf I built this week. I had this hunk of walnut from a neighborhood tree (from which @tam_a_ryn also requested I make the drawer pull), that kept screaming at me to make into a bowl a la @dlwoodworking (his work blows me away, and is an order of magnitude finer and more complex. Go check him out). I power-carved it out with a @kutzall carving wheel on my @makitatools angle grinder and random orbital sander. Just a quick, fun, dirty, and utilitarian little project. Click on the instagram post below to see video on how it was made.

 

 

May 31

Bookcase Side Table – Daniel D. Brown, 2018

I’d say that turned out pretty damned close to my original design! This was my first time making something from rough cut lumber. I designed this piece in SketchUp to sit next to our couch, be usable for drinks on the side and knick-knacks on the back, and hold all of Tamaryn’s cookbooks. I built it out of scrap lumber obtained from a furniture maker – these were his cutoffs. The tops are live-edge walnut, the base is ash, and the shelves are walnut and mahogany. The whole thing took roughly three weeks from start to finish. Much of it’s creation was documented with more descriptions on instagram.

 

   

 

May 12

Cheeseboards #4 & #5 – Daniel D. Brown, 2018

Two quick little boards to share. I was tasked with making a serving board for one of our best friend’s birthday (@mandyrubes). So I went to the wood pile and picked a VERY rough little chainsawed slab of elm (from the same tree I used in cheeseboard #3 and our coat rack), threw it through the planer like 30 times, cut the shape on my bench bandsaw, rounded over the edges with the router, sanded, and then made @tam_a_ryn do the finishing with mineral oil and beeswax (check the instagram post at the bottom for entertaining vids of that, with a cameo by @andtheschwartziswithme. You can also see @tam_a_ryn posing with our gift). The next day, my neighbors offered me some logs they’ve had in a pile for a few years. I had no idea the species, so I cut one open with the electric chainsaw, and repeated all the above. It turned out to be some beautiful yellow-orange mulberry wood. I gave them this board since they said I could take as much as I want. She had initially said “but you won’t want it, it’s full of bugs and rotten.” Luckily that was only true of the bark and some black ants in the pith. I was not expecting such color when I cut that dirty gray log open. Note: the shapes were basically just dictated by the cracks I worked around.

 

 

May 04

Bath Caddy – Daniel D. Brown, 2018

I finally completed this bath caddy for @tam_a_ryn. I think she likes it. It’s inspired by @wilker_dos’s design. I watched her build video a while back for a rough idea and just made something similar on the fly… with only like 5 screw ups or design changes while making it. Ha. It’s made of cherry, walnut, and maple – which was all rough sawn and a little warped Craigslist scrap initially. It was a lot of fun just getting to use my new planer to find some beautiful grain hidden within. The top slats slide to accommodate different devices, and I’ve left the grooves open to “future proof” it (as long as we have this bathtub). I can slide in new panels to fit anything else she wants to take to her bubble bath. 

  

Apr 28

Tripartite Framed Feathers – Daniel D. and Tamaryn Brown, 2018

Finally finished this custom mahogany frame for three of my wife’s artworks (@tam_a_ryn). If you’re in Pittsburgh, you can see it (along with my “Jabba’s Palace” piece) tonight at the annual #artallnightpgh.