Matthew educated himself about the significance of the Torahs and the Ark to the Jewish religion in order to develop a design appropriate for the congregation. Matthew met many times with the Temple’s  design committee and the Rabbi. He also attended a bar mitzvah in order to better understand the role of the Ark cabinet  in the services. After countless hours spent on his design he presented it to the committee and they were quite pleased. The Ark took two and a half months for Woodleaf to build.

The Ark is very large at 82 1/2 inches wide, 41 inches deep and 10 feet high. It has a three dimensional door front with 12 Star of David’s depicted that represent the 12 Tribes of Israel which is of religious significance. The mechanism for opening the large door consists of  75 pounds of lead weights for counterbalance, a solid brass pulley, and a sash rope in order to keep the system quiet as it moves. The door is lockable but the lock is not visible from the front of the cabinet.

The interior of the cabinet features a back panel of 960 pieces of  beveled ash for added dimension and detail. There is a closet switch that automatically illuminates the inside of the cabinet when it is opened with a concealed LED light strip.

The cabinet was made from cherry plywood, cherry solids, walnut and ash. It was finished with a light aniline stain and clear lacquer.

Dedication Shabbat

Assembly at Shop

Detail of back interior panel

The Torahs illuminated

Wall cabinet on display at A Winter’s Tale Gala

Assembly at the shop

The finished product

In January Woodleaf Studios donated this wall cabinet to The Methodist Home for Children’s annual fundraiser.  It is the second year that we have donated a piece to this great cause. The cabinet face is comprised of maple burl from the stump of a tree.  The visible pattern is achieved by spreading the 1/4 inch slices of maple apart like a deck of cards. The cabinet is banded with walnut and has several adjustable shelves on the interior. We actually have a similar cabinet in our kitchen that Matthew designed and built of walnut and maple. We use it to store all our supplements and cold remedies etc.. It is functional art as seen below.

Our cabinet at home

Woodleaf Studios took apart the 1 inch thick solid maple tung and groove flooring by removing nails, then they glued the floor pieces together and planed off the old finish and paint. They finished the table with orange shellac and a clear lacquer top coat. The base is made of  sapele, a mahogany like wood. The edges of the top reveal the tung and groove pattern of the floor.

So rather than having a book as the conversation piece the table itself serves that purpose!

original section of floor

new finish

Coffee table in its new home.

 

The client also wanted the mechanical call button and cab indicator lights visible for use but inconspicuous.

Integration of electrical wiring for call button and cab indicator lights.

Call button and cab lights after finishing.

Below left is a shot of the cabinet taking shape. Notice the plywood so no one falls down the elevator shaft!

Detail shot of the wood species. Light wood is cherry and dark wood is walnut burl.

The beautiful finished piece with doors closed.

The hidden doors revealed.

This built in cabinet hides an elevator and  a closet. It is made of Cherry and Walnut Burl. Half round cherry pilasters, antiqued bronze hardware, ebonized bead details and concealed hinges  complete the design.

6/2/84

Recently Matthew and I celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary. I was pleasantly surprised when he brought home this teak table for our deck. I had been looking in stores trying to find something that would compliment our teak chairs with no luck. Matthew designed and built this table using leftover wood from a recent project. There were very few boards of any size available yet there were a number of narrow strips/drops that made for a nice “breathing top”, a top that sheds rain water. The legs turn 90 degrees at each corner to create a sense of movement. The brass screws join the legs to the aprons and add a little decorative interest. Epoxy was used to join the mitered top and reinforce the joinery. The table is finished with teak oil. All in all it is a marvelous replacement for the old glass and white metal table that did not match our deck furniture.

Floating Dreams

This bed was designed and built for a couple that wanted a platform style bed with a clean and simple look that also provided storage underneath. They also specified Walnut. Woodleaf Studios suggested night stands to complete the ensemble and came up with the intriguing floating placement of the night stands.

The headboard is made of vertically grained solid walnut planks that are scalloped with a parabolic shape using a table saw. Then the scalloped edges were hand carved to create the tooled look.

The night stands have a waterfall wrap of walnut plywood with a solid walnut front edge. They are dowel located and bolted to the headboard. There is also a concealed metal strap under the front edge of the platform to provide stability.

There are four large drawers underneath the bed for ample storage.

The finishing consists of an NGR colonial maple base with a special walnut wiping stain topped with a catalyzed lacquer.

The bed comes apart into several pieces for ease of transport and installation.

Hopefully, the new bed will provide a plethora of “floating dreams”.

Platform bed construction

Ready for the mattress

Headboard close up

Floating Night Stand