I started the week by cutting another 16 CeorfanBirds. These will now be finished and then this will become my first ready-to-buy product. I have 26 cut and 10 finished with the first 13 being given away to people who have been influential in my life. The next 13 will be offered at a special price to commemorate their launch - more on that when they are available.
I also worked on finishing the large oak rule that will become a wall mounted measuring chart for my niece's children. This was sealed then the numbers and markings painted before it was finish sanded and a final coat of lacquer applied. I am really please with how nice an object this is and again will offer these for purchase at some future point.
I also cut a couple of simple signs one for a customer of the guys I share the workshop with - which needed to be carefully positioned on a thin strip of wood. The other was a test to create a contemporary looking house sign with a textured border area. I used this also to show-off my CNC to some old work colleagues from Vectric who stopped by the workshop on Thursday to take a look at what I've been up to. Leading up to that I got the workshop better organised - moved my wood storage and with some help built a new workbench to hold some of the heavier tools. So at this point I'm really well setup for cutting and finishing all in the same area.
At different times this week we've also continued the assembly of the ornate mantel. This is now in 3 pieces that make up the whole of the mantel assembly. Its been fantastic to finally see it come together and how well the whole thing has worked. Its really special to start with a pile of rough sawn timber and then several months later have transformed it to this. All that is left is some hand finishing to blend a few of the discrepancies together and tidy up some corners. Then it'll get sealed and a good overall sanding before finish lacquering. To complete the install we'll also need to make a backer for it to sit on and some doors to cover the none-operational fireplace that this is designed to surround. They'll be tied in with the design by having an egg and dart inlay that echoes the original. Overall though after such a long time we're getting close to installation...
