This, that, and the other

[wroughtn_harv]

We got back from vacation and went straight to Eddies for the Octoberfest get together.

Since then we've stretched and tied in about eleven hundred feet of eight feet high fence. The posts and braces were done by others. We stretched and tied in one strand of barbwire top and bottom. Posts were set on fourteen foot centers and the pulling brace was in the middle.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

The client had a forty foot opening and wanted a slide gate. I talked them into a thirty foot slide with a ten foot swing gate for those rare occasions they need the extra clearance.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

While doing this job I also got to work in Dallas in the high rent district. I didn't take any pictures but it was interesting. That work earned me an invitation to bid on a unique fence. Unique in that it's proprietary, my concept and done my way. If we get it it will be fun. It's extremely expensive, but that's okay.

I've also been invited to bid on another fence job. What's neat about this one is I'll be competing against professional designers and real fence companys. I'll know more next week but as it was explained to me over the phone last week I think I've got a good chance to at least be competitive on the design. I hope that I can get it for a lot of reasons. Most of them are ego and I'll admit it. But I don't know a high school drop out that wouldn't die for the opportunity to whup up on the degree professionals at their own game.

It was one of those things where the wishes of the client were expressed and a couple of hours later I saw it. It was like the stone staircase in Highland Shores where I not only saw the finished product, I envisioned how to accomplish it.

We've also been given the opportunity to work with a couple on their private residence. It's one of those places that has to be seen to be believed. If I described it you'd probably turn up your nose a little more than a tad. But if you took a tour you'd be blown away by the creativity and beauty. We hope to be able to contribute in our own little way.

I've also been give two tentative go aheads on big timber entryways similar to what we're wanting to do at Don and Karens. These are within twenty miles of each other so we should be able to do both of them at the same time. They will be different from each other and totally different from anything else in the area.

Back in August we started a staircase with a client.

They bought into my idea of a eastern red cedar staircase. So back in August we went into the woods and cut us some logs.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Then we took the logs to a friends place and cut them into slabs for use as runners and treads.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Life has been busy for both of us, the client and myself.

Here's what we're looking at.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

What the client fell for, my ideas, unproven, unusual, etc and so on, was big cedar treads mortise and tenoned into a steel skeleton hidden in a cedar runner.

Something like this:

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Like a lot of my projects, this is a twofer one. What I mean by that is we get not only the fun of building the project, we get to build the tooling etc too.

One of the pleasures of this particular project is the client is an artist and can visualize concepts immediately. It's growing as it's going up.

As of now here's the plan. We're taking the nine worst treads for the lower staircase. Worst as in the most un-nice unfinished edge that goes to the rear of the tread. The poorest of the poor will go to the bottom two treads, you'll have to be on your knees to inspect them. The next two poorest will go at the top of the bottom section where they'll be facing the wall of the pantry/fridge pedestal.

We've got to build a temporary carriage to handle the completed section as we move it in and out cutting the runners in. The inside one will be tricky because the bottom half will have handrail and the upper half will not.

The treads will be cut into the mortises of the quarter by eight inch steel skeleton. We're also attaching the skeleton to the treads with stainless screws. Then the runners will be cut to accept the skeleton. The runners will also be attached to the skeleton by way of semi-hidden stainless screws. Hopefully the steel skeleton will noticed only by the most observant.

The runners are four inches wide. On top of them we'll attach a three by three rail drilled to accept the pickets. Right now our plan is to cut out and lathe round the pickets out of scraps. We want red and white with no knots. The hand rail on top of the picket will be cedar cut and shaped by us also. The hand rails along the hallway at the top of the stairs will match the construction of the staircase.

Over the next couple of weeks I'll try to update the photos as we go along.

 

[MossRoad]

Ahhh! A nice Harv project to relax me this evening.

I love cedar. It is the first wood my dad showed me that I can still smell to this day.

 

[EdC]

Harv
When you put pictures like that up on the forum you make it a joy to come home from work and look at your artistry. Can't wait to see it finished.

 

[3RRL]

Wow Harv, what a project!
It must be great to be able to visualize and then make what you see come true. I really like all the photos and great documentation to go along with it. All that cedar is awesome looking.
Can't wait for the next batch of pictures and the rest of the story.