Rich Soborowicz Furniture

Building a small tansu chest (why small is more work)

Rich — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:06:48 +0000

There is a Box and Container show this fall at NW Fine Woodworking that I intend to enter. I have built large pieces of furniture without much difficulty; however in making a small tansu that is 22”H x 22”W x 12”D it is taking longer to make compared to a piece that would be 2 or 3 times larger.

The reason is that the tolerances are much lower and I am using a new joint. Here is a picture of the upper right hand corner of the tansu. Notice the 45 degree angle where to two piece attach to one another. This is dry fitted (not glued yet), and you see the blind mortise and tenon joints that I am using.

The wood is Koa and has a beautiful grain, color, and figure. Here are pictures that show the other piece in greater detail.

Why grow plants hydroponically?

Rich — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:22:10 +0000

I can think of three good reason as to why grow tomatoes hydroponically. First is the weather. In the grow room one can keep the temperature at the ideal growing conditions of night time 60-65, and daytime 65-75. Also it does not rain or in my case deer do not graze on the plants.

The next reason is one can supply the correct amount and type of light. Plants grow at 6500K (405-465nm) blue lighting but bloom at 2800K (620-740)nm red lighting. Thus in the grow room you must the both the blue and red spectrum of lighting. Mother nature is one up on the grow room, but you can grow tomatoes during the winter. Talk about local and near organic produce!

The last reason is nutrients. In a hydroponic garden one must supply all the needs for the plant. Plant grown hydroponically grow faster, produce more fruit, and better tasting fruit. You can see by the photos below. The plant outside was germinated at the same time as the plants grown hydroponically. Just amazing!

What does tomatoes have to do with woodworking?

Rich — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 16:28:31 +0000

There are two good reasons that tie growing tomatoes hydroponically to woodworking. Woodworking is a high creative process in my approach to it and I enjoy cooking for that very reason. I enjoy eating heirloom tomatoes; however the weather is very unpredictable in the Seattle area to grow tomatoes successfully.

My workshop is large enough for me to devote 16 square feet to a grow room that contains the tomatoes. Thus the idea of growing tomatoes indoors came into being. The shop is heated so all I needed to do was supply these items: growing media, water, nutrients, and light.

I created an ebb and flow system, where the bottom tray contains the solution that pumps water into the upper tray and drains back down into the lower tray. I also wanted to move the complete setup in case I need the space for a large project or if I wanted to put the tomatoes outside into the natural light so I created a dolly with wheels to move it.

How to ebonized wood

Rich — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 14:49:46 +0000

For the base I started with a darker wood Makore than say Maple because if the base gets damage the under laying wood is likely to show. First I apply three coats of dye which penetrates deeply into the wood. Next I apply 2 coats of stain which provides a deep rich color. Because this can be wiped off you one applies a hand finish I first seal the color by spraying a thin coat of lacquer. Next one can apply any finish over the color job