Art table completed

[John Grossi]

Well, I finally finished my wife’s art cabinet. She has been using it for about a month now and is extremely pleased with it. I built a flip top lid, using Rockler hardware. Four wheels allow it to be pushed away from its furniture position to the area she paints at. We have a room we call a sunroom. It is perfect for painting, however when visitors come, she likes to have a place to put her supplies. We saw this idea in an art catalog and made some revisions. One difference was to try and make it look like a piece of furniture and be a functional art table. This project turned out to be a first in a few areas. All exposed areas are solid maple, the few inner shelves are poplar. Breadboard ends were a first. I posted a few months ago of some issues and Sawmill members came thru. Thanks. The finish was another first. Being my wife is an artist, she will not settle for the min-wax look. Again Sawmill helped us along with Rockler. This was our first use of shellac flakes and transtint. Wife loved working with that and really likes the result. Well, got to go and squeeze out one more project before golf season heats up. John

[J. Z. Guest]

Super nice John. I'm a sucker for these dual-purpose pieces. One one hand, it is beautiful furniture. On the other, it doubles as a hobby accessory & storage. Another feature is the support you get from your wife for your hobby.

[gary south]

very nice... the color is awesome!!!! alot of storage spaces that is my thing...

gary

[Joe Cunningham]

That looks incredible. I like how tidy it is once everything is stored away.

What kind of shellac and color for the transtint? Did you dye the wood first or add the dye to the shellac?

[John Grossi]

Guys, thanks for the nice comments. From Joe-What kind of shellac and color for the transtint? Did you dye the wood first or add the dye to the shellac? The shellac is Rockler's garnet flakes, 1lb and 2lb. The transtint dye is red mahogany. We did not dye the wood first. We took a cup of denatured alchohol and mixed the flakes with it. Next day we added a drop or two of the transtint, trying it out on some maple. After the first shellac coat, we put on General Finishes, Georgian Cherry gel stain. Because of the shellac the stain went on pretty evenly. The following days we applied 4 coats of 2lb cut shellac. (same brand). The final coats (3) were the General Finishes Polyacrylic water based topcoat. Quite a learning experience. Without a doubt the hardest, smoothest finish we have applied to any project. Thanks to the Rocklers in Pittsburgh, Pa, we were able to get the look we wanted. John

[John Thompson]

Beautiful piece, John...

Sarge..

[Irvin Cooper]

John,

What an awesome piece! I love the functionality combined with the beauty of it. A combination you do not necessarily often see....

Also love the painting on the easel.

Irv

[Jim Kountz]

Nice job, looks like it gets the job done well too!!
The wife wants to know where you got the tile for your floors!!

[John Grossi]

Jim, A local tile dealer sold it to us 3 years ago, (I think it was Youngstown Tile in Canfield, Ohio. Name- Becagli by Carabobo. Color- Opale. Grout- Seashore. Irvin, my wife appreciated your comment on her painting. The double silos were part of the old Harvey Firestone farm in Columbiana, Ohio. It is now a golf course and my wife is painting some of the course highlights. I try and do her a favor and play as much golf as possible so she has quality time to paint. John

[Ron Brogan]

Her art table is a work of art in itself. Beautiful and functional.

[Jim Becker]

That's a really kewel piece! Nice work.