As a framer, he discovered that he really loved working with wood and making things, but the constant exposure to heat and cold brought another life choice revelation: “I quickly realized that, if I could get inside, that would be preferable.”

Eventually, through stints as a finish carpenter and a remodeler in partnership with a friend, Owain connected with an Art Nouveau style furniture maker who had a “huge commission” in Florida. The couple of years working on that project was “really where I got my first exposure to more fine furniture. It was a real crash course in improving my skills,” Owain said.

He’s been running his own shop in New Hampshire for the past eight or nine years, and has intentionally made the decision to keep it a one-man operation. “That means that I don’t tend to go after just runs of standard cabinetry. I tend to be more niche than that. At the end of the day, I am in it to make a living, and the things I can make money on tend to be the more built-in cabinetry type stuff” – but not necessarily just the prevalent “frame-and-panel stuff with a classic molding of some kind.”

For instance, he did an Airstream renovation last year and has also done a project with a “big, curved mahogany bar and a built-in wine cellar.”

Owain also does some architectural millwork, pieces for clients that are often anniversary or birthday gifts that incorporate engraving, and freestanding pieces. “The market’s constantly changing, but being a one-man shop I feel allows me the flexibility to pursue where the market is and take opportunities as they come in. I’ve got a pretty big space, and it’s tooled up pretty well for all kinds of different projects.”

One tool he uses often is the vacuum press, as he does a lot of curved work with veneer and bent lamination. “So definitely the vacuum press, I couldn’t do what I do without.” About a year ago, he also bought a CNC router. “That’s kind of been a trip trying to figure out how to incorporate that into my process. It’s kind of a no-brainer when it comes to the cabinetry side of things, just for punching out sheet goods for cabinetry it’s brilliant” – but Owain also wants to incorporate the CNC into his furniture designs.

“I think part of being successful as a fine furniture maker in 2017 is being able to figure out what the best tool for the job is. Sometimes that’s a CNC or something very high-tech, and sometimes it’s still a tool that’s been around for hundreds of years. I sort of jokingly using the hashtag ‘21st century woodworker’ sometimes on Instagram because I love the idea that, in one part of the day, I could be writing computer code and running CNC, and then later in the day, I’m still using a lot of traditional hand tool skills.” That might include hand planes or hand inlay tools such as scratch dogs.

At least once a year, Owain also tries to produce a spec piece “that’s kind of pursuing my own voice as a studio maker.” In 2017, Owain has been an Invited Artist exhibiting with the New Hampshire Furniture Masters Association, “and that’s something that’s been great because it’s kind of allowed me an outlet to get that work out into the world as well,” Owain said. Plus, “One of the nice things about an organization where you have a lot of furniture makers at the top of their game, they tend to push each other, push the work even further.”

His own aesthetic for his studio furniture pieces incorporates traditional forms that Owain says can be traced back to Federal, Art Deco or Arts and Crafts style furniture, “but I try to sort of update that a little bit and make it a bit more contemporary and put my own spin on it. I try to inject a little bit of fin and a little bit of whimsy and asymmetry into all my designs so that it doesn’t get too bogged down in the formality of that traditional form. I like to describe it as being furniture that’s serious but doesn’t take itself too seriously.”

For example, his recent “Escape Velocity” sideboard is styled in the Art Deco manner, with stringing that goes up through the doors, but as the inlay continues on to the top of the piece, “The stringing goes off in all kind of crazy directions, and it terminates in an inlaid circle of dyed veneers. It’s intended to kind of look like fireworks, or a stylized sort of fireworks.”

The idea of the piece, Owain said, is that, “There’s a lot of tension being built up in the curves and the casework, and then that’s kind of getting released as the inlay goes through the top of the piece and then goes off.”

He has also made an Art Deco style console table which also features an inlay but, “rather than your typical stringing that goes around the outside of a veneered field, it goes off into a curve and terminates in this little flower inlay motif. I think that’s a good example of taking the idea of what a typical string inlay on a veneered tabletop would look like and then playing with that and subverting it a little bit.”

When it comes to veneer, Owain is drawn to straight grain with contrast: Douglas fir, macassar ebony, rosewood. For solid wood, he’s had a past fondness for cherry and a lot of client requests for walnut, but recently, he’s been gravitating toward hard maple. “That’s been appealing to me: a nice, white piece of maple, with a nice grain structure – you can do a lot with it. I’m an embellisher. I like to decorate my pieces, so having kind of a neutral palette is nice.”

Over the next few years, Owain said, his goal is to start stockpiling and drying locally sourced woods. “I think it adds to the story of what you’re doing if you can use material from your neighborhood and be partnering with people that are harvesting it sustainably in your area. I live in the Northeast. I’m surrounded by the material that I use, and yet I’m buying it from places that are sourcing it from thousands of miles away, and that seems insane.”

His future plans also include teaching, in October, the machine woodworking portion of the nine-month furniture comprehensive program at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship. Owain himself “never ended up doing the furniture school route,” but he finds teaching, which he’s been doing for the past couple of years, to have been an important addition to his own experience as a woodworker.

“Being able to be around students that are super-excited about getting into the craft and seeing what they’re doing, it’s been really rewarding. It gets me amped up again. Sometimes, when you’re doing this for a job, it’s like any job: it can be a grind at a certain point. But going up there and teaching for a few weeks, it’s a reminder that I’ve got the greatest job in the world, and I shouldn’t take it for granted. I always come back refreshed and ready to go again.”

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The saw has a variable speed control dial (2,500 to 6,300 RPM), soft start and an electric brake. Its 6-1/2-in.-dia. blade offers 2-3/16 in. of cutting capacity when set to 90 degrees, and the saw will cut up to 1-9/16-in.-thick material when tipped to a 45-degree bevel. Its bevel capability ranges from -1 to 48 degrees, with positive stops at 22.5 and 45 degrees. Two front and rear supports improve rigidity and accuracy during bevel cutting operations, and a soft-grip handle improves user comfort.

This 11.2-lb. saw (with both batteries installed) will cut to within 11/16 in. of a wall or adjacent surface, and its release lever enables smoother plunge cuts. To help reduce splintering on plywood or melamine, you can use the saw’s built-in depth stop to make a preliminary 2 to 3mm first cut, before repeating with a full-depth cut. A premium 55-tooth ultra thin kerf blade comes standard, but specialized blades for other material types are also available. The tool’s 1-7/16-in.-dia. rear dust port connects to a dust extractor to help keep the cutting area cleaner.

Makita’s 18V X2 (36V) LXT Brushless 6-1/2” Plunge Circular Saw Kit (model XPS01PTJ) includes two 18V LXT® 5.0Ah batteries, a rapid charger and two hard carry cases. It sells for around $656 without guide rails. Or you can buy the saw as a bare tool without batteries for about $422.

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The low-profile pleated filters permit a wide field of view, and they won’t interfere with safety glasses, sanding shields and welding hoods. Their compact shape also prevents them from getting bumped or snagged when you raise your arms for overhead work. The mask is made of lightweight thermoplastic elastomer, which adapts to the contours of your face. It is latex- and silicone-free, and the non-slip strap is easy to adjust in four positions. A large center valve enables easier breathing and less moisture build-up inside the mask.

GVS Half Mask Respirators are available from Rockler in either Small/Medium (item 59101) or Medium/Large (item 58759) sizes for $24.99. The filters are easy to change, and pairs of replacement filters (item 57904) sell for $11.99.

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Tim Inman:  Furniture restorers and veterinarians have something in common: our “patients” can’t talk to us. If only that old trunk could tell us what that glue is, or when that burlap was put on, or how and by whom.

Regardless of when and where, there are two “most likely” adhesives to consider in this case. One is simply good old hide glue. The other is a gummy material often referred to as “mastic.” True mastic comes from a natural tree resin. In fact, the tree is commonly known as mastic. It exudes the resin much like pine trees ooze rosin. This material was collected and used to make a rubbery semi-flexible adhesive compound to bind things like fabric and leather to furniture – and often tile to floors. Modern mastic materials are compounds of similar but manmade materials. Unfortunately, it is pretty inert. Most solvents will not liquefy it, and it gums up the abrasives when you try to sand it away, as you know. Much stronger solvents or heat would be my line of attack.

First, I would try the strongest methylene chloride paint remover you can find. (The heavier the can, the more methylene chloride content inside, as a rule, because the specific gravity of methylene chloride is very high compared to alcohols.) Do a test spot to see if this is going to work. Put on a generous dollop of remover and then cover it with plastic to hold in the remover vapors. Wait an hour or so to see if this is working. Heat might also help, so try putting the piece in the sun while the remover is in place. Work outside, of course. If this doesn’t work, then a contractor’s heat gun and a scraper are about your next best friends. Fortunately, other things will bond to the leftover mastic. So 100 percent removal probably is not necessary.

On the other hand, if the adhesive is hide glue, then water and heat will do the trick. As you will quickly tell from the relative space I’m giving each adhesive, I’m betting you’re dealing with mastic.

Chris Marshall: Here’s my experience with a tenacious old tile adhesive I believe to have been mastic: after trying a variety of removal chemicals on it with no success, I finally was able to peel it off the walls of our bathroom with a heat gun and a paint scraper. The brownish, dried adhesive held on some ugly, thin painted metal tiles that just had to go. To my relief, using a heat gun and working carefully didn’t damage the drywall underneath. When I heated it up, the adhesive simply released its grip, blistered up and was easy to scrape off without leaving residue behind. Heat was the miracle cure in my situation! But, use caution if you try this: a heat gun can quickly turn a surface from super hot to scorched black — you don’t want to send that old trunk of yours up in flames.

Rob Johnstone: One solvent that you didn’t mention is lacquer thinner, which might be just the ticket. If the burlap was attached with contact cement, lacquer thinner is the best solvent. If that does not work, you could always test with some paint remover. If all else seems to fail, go nuclear: start with some 36-grit sandpaper and just work up through the grits. If you don’t skip any grits, you will be surprised how quickly each successive sanding will go. Remember, you are only trying to remove the previous sanding marks in each step. But, I really hope the lacquer thinner does the trick.

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From ripping, to planing, to planing out the rabbets, to chopping the mortices for the through tenons everything was done with hand tools. The electrical use was for the lights and radio. The art is a colaberation of a very successful artist and a 4th grade class. She paints the two watercolors and the kids chop them into strips and weave them together. The subject this time was Mt Hood.

I simply wanted a frame that was Craftsman to honor the high population of Arts and Crafts homes and bungalows here in this part of Portland, OR; and I wanted the frame/wood to look like something that had been sitting around on the side of the mountain these last 80-100 years. The kids were blown away, and it’s expected to fetch a pretty penny at their school auction.

Baer Charlton, CPF, Framewright
Portland, OR

See the Gallery Below:

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