Oops. Apparently, I never actually applied. I hope I get in. For those of you who don't know me: I'm from Atlanta, Ga, but now live in Boston. I'm in my second year of the Cabinet and Furniture Making program at the North Bennet Street School. I also work down at Tommy's a couple of times a week. Here's what I've done since I came up here.

I forgot to explain. In case you didn't get it, each caption tells the project, the materials, the finish, and the techniques I learned. I didn't list all the techniques involved in each one, just the new ones for me.

Here's some of the stuff I made before I came to school. If this isn't a testament to the education I've received, I don't know what is. I also made some really neat little boxes which involved no joinery at all. Well, I thought they were neat. The point is: I did anything as long as I was making something. I didn't even know what a dovetail was. No one is born knowing this stuff. Actually, I'm not sure how I did those cabinet doors. I definitely didn't use mortise and tenon (I didn't know what they were either). I think I had a biscuit joiner.

Eli

love the portfolio Eli. Its amazing to look back and see all the projects you have finished in the last couple years. things seem to take a long time when you are in the moment building but you can make some significant heirloom furniture in a short amount of time.

Nicely done. It is great to be able to step through time and see your work progress. I wish I had photos of my early work, most of it is either gone or made for others (and made prior to digital photography!! ). It seems your NBSS education is paying off. Keep it up!

Very nice Eli, You have come a long way in the past couple of years. Now wait 5 more years and look back and see how much further you go. We just keep raising the bar. I am not putting you down in anyway. But it goes to show what they can teach you at that school.

The step stool came out great Eli. Neil hows about that step stool ????

Dude, you've made a lot of nice pieces anyone should be proud of. Good job. Yah, I still have a goofy bench with no vise...

Hey, guys! I finally got that pembroke photographed. The finish was a disaster so I had to redo it twice. I also made a stand for one of the book-binders at school. The dental moulding actually pulls out in the front as a shelf. I haven't put the knobs on yet.

Eli

nice job eli......really nice job...is it french?

Tommy, Je ne sait pas si c'est Francaise. Eli q'est que c'est que ca?

Yeah, my French is Rustier than some of my fathers old tools. Btw, IF he were still with us, he would have turned 100 TODAY. Happy Birthday Dad (the Master Carpenter who taught me how to sweep up sawdust)

Eli............pembroke came out nice. The top's wood selection and assemble, is showing some juice. SWEET!!! You obviously have turned your moments at NBSS into impressive value. Time very well spent.

COOL..........Neil

Eli, I must agree with Neil, very nice!

Rick

I dunno....holding back and coming in with a tons of work and blowing the rest of us away seem to be of questionable pallet makers ethics. I say put him on probation....

yeah...double secret.....i will keep a sharp eye on him for you all.....

Eli,

You've been sandbagging big time...

That pembroke table is phenomenal. I really like how the grain on the top flows from one side to the other.

Nice work.

Whit

Eli,

Great job as everyone said. I really like the top, you did a nice job matching the grain patterns. Couple of questions:

- I would have expected cockbeading around the drawer instead of a scratch bead. Am I seeing this correctly?
- And the gadrooning, I would not expect it to continue under the drop leaves? Awesome job on the mitering of the gadrooning by the way. Your in progress photos are a huge resource out there for all these little important details.

Like I told you before I really love this form and would like to build one for myself someday, you executed it beautifully. Now what are you working on? Cal

Thanks, Cal. Funny you should mention those things, bot were points of contention with the instructors. The scratched bead was my choice. The original had a scratched bead and I kind of liked how it dressed the table down. It went with the nubs on the stretchers. They could have been carved into volutes. Lance suggested cock-beading and even veneering the drawer fronts.

The carving I was actually against. I had drawn it only about 7 inches back and was just going to have it return under the rail. When they suggested that I go ahead and fit the whole piece, I figured I would only carve a few inches. Then they said to go ahead and carve the whole thing. They are fussy about funny things, sometimes.

A lot of what happened under the leaves I wasn't too keen on. The instructors want everything perfect under there. So the knuckle joint is out of a single board for continuous grain. Also, if the fly rail swings up too much, they have us adjust the whole rail, rather than planing the top edge. They don't want that gap that would appear when it's closed.

Regardless, I really enjoyed making it and am very happy with how it came out. It's a great project with a lot to learn. The carvings are excellent for anyone who wants to learn a little. There is a very systematic approach and each carving relates to the others.

Right now I am carving a pie-crust table. I should be putting finish on next week. Unfortunately I didn't document this one very well, but I plan on making another so I'll do better. While I carve that at home, I'm drafting two projects at school. The first is a pair of lolling chairs. They're based on the one in the Kaufman Collection, with the Sheraton style front leg/arm post. The second is a french-ish bombe. It's kind of an experimental project so Lance and I are designing it on the side.

Eli

Eli,

Thanks for the detailed response. It's cool to heal about the decision making process you went through, and the perspective of the instructors there. Lots of good information. I don't think I would send the carving under the leaves, but I tend to take a pretty practical approach, and mostly just try to copy the originals. And it would be rare for a Philly cabinetmaker to waste any time or effort on the non show areas.

I look forward to seeing/hearing more on the tea table. I have built one a few years ago that I gave to my brother. Is it ball and claw, carved knees and pedestal as well as the pie crust lip? And did you turn or router out the waste on the top? I have a 35" mahogany board reserved at my Dad's shop that we ordered from Irion earlier this year that will one day be the next one I try. Enjoy the time you have to build while you can before wife/kids/day job get in the way (not that I would trade it, of course). When do you graduate and do you plan to build for a living after school? Cal

It is all those things: Ball and claw, carved knees, squished ball with carvings. The top is 36" and I cleared it out on the lathe. That was kind of nuts. One side of the board is very dense so it was shaking the whole machine room. We ended up bolting a counter-weight to the back. I caught the tool once, too, and broke the tool rest. That was kind of scary, but it really happened too fast to realize. In the end, I was able to turn past the big gouge mark and keep the full diameter, just a little thinner (1/2" in the middle).

The board I have is amazing and I have to thank Tommy for dragging me to Irion. I wasn't convinced it was worth the trip but I ended up with three 36" mahogany boards with pretty spectacular grain. Now, I tell everyone to go out there.

I put up a few pictures on my website: http://gallery.me.com/sundu

I remember seeing yours on the site. I actually downloaded and saved that picture and the one of your lowboy. They are both fantastic.

I graduate at the end of may and it is coming way too fast. I have so much more I want to learn, but I guess that's why this tends to be a lifetime endeavor. I do plan on building for a living. I'm shop monitor at the school for the summer, then I'm headed down to Tommy's shop. I'll finally be able to devote my time to the forum.

Eli

Eli

Eli,


I must say you are a talented man. Keep up the good work. Just be prepared the competition is tough out there. Stay in touch and look forward to seeing some more amazing furniture. Hey call me I got a question for ya. Oh ya you need some Holly???

Fred

Here are the pictures of the Pie-Crust, finally. I'm pretty happy with how it came out. I got rushed at the end, so it could definitely use some more clean-up. But I had to get it to a show and then a charity auction. It was really fun to make and went much more quickly than I expected. I'll be doing another one this summer and I'm excited to see if I can improve.

I finally got my sign painted and photographed, too. Kaitlin did the painting. I only did the red background.

Eli

Yikes! Sorry, about the graininess. I have better pictures if anyone wants more detail.

Oh, and thanks Freddy. You're pretty talented yourself. I'd love to see some shots of that Seymour dressing table when it's all set. I'll definitely keep in touch. Sorry, I didn't get back to you, but I heard Devin got you sorted out.

Eli

Nice table Eli... Sorry to see you are a Dawg fan..... Go NOLES!!! (I'm in Florida BUT NOT a Gator)

At least you aren't a Gator, I can deal with a Seminole. There's a guy at school who's from Alabama, an Auburn fan. Ewwwww. Hurray for Matthew Stafford, by the way, #1 draft pick. Also Knowshon, top running back. Go Dawgs!

The sign is for my parents. They both went to UGA and are huge fans. The sign was carved under the tutelage of Rob Campagna, in his sign carving class at Tommy's. Unfortunately, he's no longer teaching it, but my friend Claire and I had a good time and, obviously, learned a lot. She made a cool little gnome and half a sign. I did the opposite. For those who haven't figured it out, the bulldog is the University of Georgia's mascot.

My next projects are: a lolling chair, which is actually finished and just needs upholstery, a hanging corner cabinet, just because I wanted to do a barred glass door, and a bow-front commode, which was a huge headache to draw but has been a pretty smooth build so far. I'll get some pictures up of the process and talk about our design problems.

Eli

nice job man....cant wait for school to end