Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 16 to 26 of 26

Thread: Bompe Chest Build – Almost Done

  1. #16
    Count me as impressed! Nicely done.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Sebastopol, California
    Posts
    2,319
    This is lovely, lovely, stunning work, and your finish brings out the lively wood really well.

    I've been driven a little nuts every time I see the thread title, though. The traditional name for the chests on which your piece is based is "bombe," apparently referring to the rounded shape of bombs in the eighteenth century, when these chests were developed (think of the bombs you see in a lot of cartoons: black sphere with a fuse on it). Your spelling makes me think of burlesque: bompe and grinde. Maybe that's what you had in mind.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    2,474
    I always thought it was 'bump and grind'. Saw it first hand at the Roxy in Cleveland circa 1969 as a wee lad.

    But let's get back to Mike's beautiful work.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5,582
    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Allen1010 View Post





    Wow! This is a very very nicely done cabinet. Love the finish and the inlay details. Great work Mike! I'd like to see the finished unit with the electronics installed and lit up.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Carlsbad, CA
    Posts
    2,227
    Blog Entries
    2
    Thanks all for your kind comments – your too generous by far! I'm self-conscious about posting a thread with so many pictures, but I'm glad to hear my fellow Neanders don't mind.


    Here's some final pictures of making/installing the 1/4" thick solid mahogany chest back. The back is inset 4" from the back edge of the chest to hopefully hide some of the tangled mess of cables/power cords etc. I used a paper template to shape the back to fit to the interior curves of the chest.





















    [QUOTE=Derek Cohen;2659993]Extremely impressive Mike! This design requires mastery of the most difficult techniques in woodworking. Some of that curved work is what most dream of doing, and very, very few actually do.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek[/QUOTE]



    Derek, I couldn't be more flattered by your comments as I'm a great admirer of you and your work. For many years I shied away from including curved elements in my woodworking. Even though I was fairly confident about being able to shape the curved pieces, I'm terrible with design and didn't think I could incorporate curves in a way that would look right. Part of why I wanted to post this thread is to encourage my fellow Neanders not to shy away from curves; shaping curves is straightforward - pretty much sawing/spoke shave to the layout line.

    The biggest design learnings for me were:

    1) Using flipchart paper to make actual size drawings.

    2) Using a beam compass to combine simple circles in whole number ratios, to generate the desired profile.

    Both ideas were stolen from a book on furniture design I think is really helpful, "by Hand and Eye".




    Phil Mueller --Well done Mike! Love seeing your work. Thanks for the great build threads. And yes, would love to see the finished piece all set up. By the way, I share your love for finishing. Most of my projects get the Watco/wet sand/shellac/wax treatment as well.

    Robert and Phil, finishing is my least favorite part of woodworking -the list of projects I've ruined at the finishing stage is embarrassingly and frustratingly long. I'm a big fan of finding 1-2 "Go To" finishes and learning how to make them work. I think shellac French polishing sometimes gets a bad rap because it can be can be presented as overly complex. My experience is it's rather forgiving – if you don't like the way it looks, you can always smooth things out or even start over with a little alcohol. My only suggestion is don't try to do it in direct sunlight. You can guess how I know that!



    Pete Taran Mike, Excellent work. I love the use of that Disston #12 in your work. I agree with you on the shellac. Fresh mixed flakes is the way to go and using padding to get the finish on is what French Polish is all about. A great collection of almost forgotten techniques!!

    Pete, the biggest reason I finally decided I didn't need a table saw and could rely primarily on hand saws was when I got a pair of #12's saws from you at vintage saws many years ago. Thanks for giving me a big push down the slippery slope of hand tools!




    Pat Barry - I'd like to see the finished unit with the electronics installed and lit up.

    Pat, unfortunately the chest is still in the shop awaiting final approval from the Boss about where I can put it in the house so I haven't been able to set up the electronics. Apparently I failed to get sufficient "prior authorization/approval" to convert the living room into a music listening space - something about "leaving a glass on the coffee table and making water rings once too often! ".

    I'm pressing to have the ruling overturned (never thought those words would have such an ominous connotation"), but I may have to circulate a petition among my fellow Neanders to generate grassroots support. If I prevail, I'll certainly post pictures with tubes warmed up and making music – wish me luck!

    All the best, Mike



    Last edited by Mike Allen1010; 02-20-2017 at 3:18 PM.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Austin Texas
    Posts
    1,957
    Just outstanding Mike. So very well done and sets the bar way up there for the rest of us. Balls and claws, "bombe" sides, curved shelves, inlay - you're on fire boy. Then to be shot down by the Boss? Not even fair, say it ain't so.
    David

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Essex, MD
    Posts
    420
    Fantastic work, as usual Mike - thanks for sharing your progress.

    As for the living room verdict - don't you have enough leftovers from this project to make coasters for the living room? Some little inlaid disks (finished with oil-based poly or something drink-proof) with inlays that match the "big Bomper" inlays would be nice. Of course, that could be viewed as taking over the whole living room...but if it's anything like mine, it isn't used enough to justify the square footage so why not make it useful? Be advised that my management didn't find that argument compelling.

    good luck,
    Karl

  8. #23
    Gorgeous work! Thanks for taking us along for the ride.

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Cape Town, South Africa
    Posts
    40
    This is beautiful. I love the shellac finish. I always admire someone who can carry the same attention to quality and detail throughout a complex project which spans a long build time.

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Carlsbad, CA
    Posts
    2,227
    Blog Entries
    2
    Quote Originally Posted by Pat Barry View Post
    I'd like to see the finished unit with the electronics installed and lit up.


    Hi Pat,


    Per your request, here are some pictures of the chest with an electronics in place and music finally playing.












    Sorry it took me so long to post pictures. It was only after protracted negotiations with the LOML that we were able to reach a compromise on where I could put the chest in the house. Although final agreed location was acoustically less than ideal, at least I made the cut to get it into the house!


    Over the last 30 years, plenty of my woodworking projects have fallen woefully short of the Bosses standard and have been condemned to a permanent place in the garage for "storage" or described with the the fatal words "this is really beautiful, and I can see you worked really hard on it. Somehow it doesn't really fit with our decor --- but it would be perfect for (fill in the blank of local charity), I know they're looking for something exactly like this!" Don't get me wrong – I'm absolutely not complaining; more like recognizing I guess I have made some progress over the years with my only important customer!


    I'm boring my fellow Neanders with these comments only in hopes those getting started with the craft, may take heart from the idea their skills/projects will improve over time! FWIW, I'm absolutely not qualified to offer advice to anyone on anything – period, full stop. My reason for posting is to encourage my fellow Neanders not to be discouraged if your current projects turn out to be less than what you were planning on. Welcome to the club, that's pretty much everyone's experience!


    As long as you're enjoying the process, hang in there -your skills/projects will improve. It's not my place to say, but personally one of the things I enjoy most about woodworking is the idea stuff I built will be enjoyed by generations of people I care about long after I'm gone.


    Okay, that's somehow sounds melodramatic – which is not my intent. Probably good reason to stop talking.


    Cheers, Mike

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    N. Idaho
    Posts
    1,621
    Looks great Mike. The most important part of your post is the fact you know who your most important customer is😀 Thanks as always for taking the time to share.
    "You can observe a lot just by watching."
    --Yogi Berra

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •