Handsome Craftworks

This is a custom-built table request that I just completed, made from shipping pallets. Three kinds of wood from different pallet sources were used in constructing the table: pine, oak, and cedar. Overall dimensions are 30” x 30” x 15”.

The surface of the table top is sanded smooth, but left intentionally uneven, as the pallet planks used to construct the top varied in thickness. The requester wanted the sides to bare the markings and stamps typically associated with shipping pallets, and the wood overall retained the markings, flaws, scars, and wear from years of industrial use, from the elements, and from the pallets original manufacturing.

I am working on a custom request for a customer who wants a small rolling pallet table, and these are some pics from the very early stages of that process.

I first located the pallets I wanted, then had to cut them down to fit into my car (I don’t have a truck yet!) Once I get them home, I begin to completely disassemble them. These were tougher than usual to break down because they were held together with the kind of heavy duty pallet nails that were never meant to come out. Plus, many of the nail heads broke off, making things even more interesting. And lastly, that sure is some dense, hard-ass oak!

My first goal is to salvage as many of the nice main pallet ‘runners’ as I can, i.e. the ones with text, stamps, or colors that I can use to incorporate into the design. I also salvage as much of the deck wood as I can.

Next step will be to start milling down all the wood into usable pieces, and begin the construction of the table top. More details and pics to come…

Lots of New Lamps & a New Bench Too

Boy howdy am I behind on posting updates. But, the good news is that I’ve been busy down in the shop, and I’ve just posted a batch of new lamps and a new bench. Number three in the slat lamp series has emerged.

This one is quite a bit larger than the first two models, and features a very simple arrangement of redwood slats. The cool thing about these slats is that they not only vary in thickness and outside surface angle (they slant in slight different directions), but all the pieces feature the rough saw marks from when the wood was originally milled down from its rough state. These saw marks have a consistent texture and angle all the way around the lamp, adding a nice visual detail. The slats are spaced far enough apart to allow direct viewing of the Edison-style bulb inside. This lamp features the same cloth twisted cord, antique style plug, and polished sockets as the other lamps.

Next up is this simple pendant style lamp made from an antique wiring spool that I came across in an architectural salvage yard. In a similar vein of simplicity, I also ran across this old cooking lid in the same salvage yard. I cleaned it up and sanded it to get this polished aluminum look. I love the beehive-like layers in the design, and the piece looks nice with the antique style socket and bulb.

This is one that I suspect I’ll be making more of for sure. It is made from an old drawer that was removed from an apartment remodel. I removed the handles and cut it down to the length that you see here, but otherwise left it as is. All the old nails, paint and glue marks, and other imperfections are all visible. The worn utilitarian look works well with this antique style electrical hardware.

Here is a slight deviation from what I have been making so far…this is a tabletop accent lamp that is meant for highlighting a surface like the one you see here, a hallway table, etc. it’s made from an old shipping pallet that has this cool red paint still visible. Other than cutting the pieces to size, all of the original dents, marks, and imperfections are left as is. This lamp features a big ‘ol 25W Edison style bulb, twisted cloth cord, old style wall plug, and an inline on/off switch.

And the last of the lamp posts for today is yet another deviation. This time I am posting a lamp that already existed, but was in pretty rough shape. I took the lamp apart, cleaned everything up, then re-assembled it with new wiring and hardware. This is a great classic modern style lamp. This was my first attempt at refurbishing an existing lamp, and I look forward to doing more projects like this

And finally the last item that I posted today was the second bench/table creation, this one made from a combination of shipping pallets (the legs) and a salvaged redwood plank that I found off of Craigslist. I sanded everything down just enough to remove the dangerous splinters, and all of the imperfections are definitely visible but add lots of character to this piece.

Desk Organizer

Say hello to this desk organizer block made from salvaged douglas fir. These are fun to make, and it’s super customizable. I particularly like the way the wood grain worked out in this piece. It includes enough variety of holes to store and organize all kinds of goodies on your desk.

Time to get organizized. And I realize now that this post sounds like an Apple commercial :-)

New Slat Lamp

I just put a new version of the slat lamp up on the Handsome site. This one uses albizia wood from the recycled futon frame that I used in the first lamp, but also pieces of salvaged redwood and shipping pallet wood. The significant difference between this lamp and the original slat lamp is that this one has only one layer of slats, and through the gaps you can see the Edison-style lamp inside. Another, much larger version of this Edison-style slat lamp will be on the site early this coming week.

New Wire

Is it too geeky of me to say that I’m excited about my new blue lamp wiring that just arrived

Wee Pallet Bench/Table

I’ve just completed this bench made from salvaged pallets. I was fortunate enough to have these two contrasting colors of oak on hand, which works nicely for the top. The imperfections and markings of the pallet wood’s past life are all present, and the only finishing I did to the piece was to sand it down to get rid of the splinters and to add a very light coating of linseed oil.

The bench is called ‘wee’ because it is a bit smaller than you might think in the image….it finished out at just over 30 inches long by 14 inches tall and deep. I’m happy with this piece, and I look forward to making more items from salvaged wood. The alternating and contrasting oak planks worked out nicely here. Definitely some wabi-sabi going on here with the nail holes, saw marks, and slightlycupped planks. This was my first try at making these kinds of joints, and for the purposes of this bench, turned out ok.

Shop Photos from This Week

These were headed for the trash at my apartment building so I grabbed them….tossing around some ideas for what they might be turned into or used for in the shop…

Free Craigslist find from around the corner. Not sure what I’ll do with this just yet.

Glueing up frames for slat lamps.

Toxic Avenger. Actually, I feel like Walt from Breaking Bad. You’re just jealous of my hot pink filters, aren’t you?

Painting wood blocks to make new drawings.

Working on a pallet bench. Once the legs are done, I’ll get to the fun part of cutting up pallet wood for the bench seat.

Weekend Update 1.22.12

In the last few weeks I’ve decided that I want to focus more on making lamps…turns out that I really enjoy making them, and have become kinda obsessed with them. I will still make cat furniture and other miscellaneous one-offs, but I think my focus will likely be more lamp-centric. They are manageable in my space in terms of production and materials, and much easier to ship - plus they’re just dang fun to design. I am also able to make more of them in different variations, so the possibilities for making lamps are infinite.


Currently this is what’s happening right now down in the shop:


*** I’ve been experimenting with the Frankendenza. This is made from a hybrid mix of recycled plywood from other projects and wood shipping pallets. It will remain door-less (although I have ideas for how I will make doors on future versions), and will feature the color pattern that you see here, plus white accents on the plywood edges and a cool paper pattern to line the sides of the inside part of each bay.