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I think this is superbly good. The details are spot on and I've not seen something quite like it.

An absolutely impeccable design...clean, consistent, superbly proportioned - really wonderful.

Very nice design...I looked at your website hoping to see more pictures; perhaps of the inside. The cabinet itself looks fairly difficult - radiused all around, hidden hinges. Nice work, great design. Love to see some more pictures.

I like this design and it looks like a great execution too. It appears that you carried the dovetail spline at the end down into the legs through the infill. Is that the case? Can you enlighten us a little on that choice?

How did you join the legs to the stretchers? Mortised?

Nice design, the contrast of the clean lines and the rough timber is very nice.

Nicely done - the Green and Green touch is very nice! This looks great and I appreciate the technical accomplishment too. My wife is an artist and I've been toying with the same idea. It looks as if you have some kind of mechanism to raise and lower the traveling center. I'd be interested in seeing how you accomplished that. I've considered some kind of gearing with a worm gear and track as my wife moves her paintings up and down a good bit. Anyway, beautiful (and technically great) work.

I've been bad this year, but would promise to be better for any small shiny tool. And, nothing beats a new plane.

I like this piece a lot. From the side it has great balance and form. It's interesting, sculptural, and flows nicely. A very good design. I have to say the top suffers a bit from the board match - the grain is wonderfully heavy and it just doesn't flow like the rest of the piece. The glue line is just too obvious. The base looks the same way. Hope you don't mind the crit - perhaps others think differently.

I was at Rockler yesterday and they had the cookies on the counter - wow, I was impressed. these things are not a gimmick - they work very well.

I would like to see modern work. If the Gallery is any indication of what's being done "out there", then there is some substantial interest in modern work. Areas of particular interest include design, unusual construction and methods, and interpretations of period pieces. There is no question that we need to look backward to go forward - we inherited the skills of those who went before us. But, how many period highboys, chest-on-chest, and Newport style desks do we need to see?

Andy sets the standard - again. It's a shame he's lost all of his straight edges though. Who knows where his aversion to anything straight will lead, but I can't wait to see. Andy, I love to see more pics as you may have outdone yourself. (I couldn't find this on your website.)

Interesting thoughts on the design. Often, for myself, I know where I didn't get the fit I wanted or where I messed up a little, but we seldom know where a design slipped a little. This is most often true on boldly designed pieces like this music stand. It's hard to get feedback. (I did look at the inside too - thanks)

I too think the legs make up for a lot. Interesting Empire piece. Turning all of the brass is a unique skill in woodworking. I grew up in Jackson, MI so I know there are lots of machinists around. I'd be willing to bet you were a machinist before a woodworker.

Anyway, interesting work. I've been reading a bit about design and recommend Krenov's books. I'm quite sure you would appreciate them given the nature of your work. I look forward to seeing other stuff from you and I think I'll recognize it when you post.

Alan,
I like the overall proportion of this piece. The lights and the darks work well. It is "lite" on its feet and the bottom third is looks particularly good. The legs are very, very nice. The top seems a bit "heavy" and could have benefited from removal of some material on the underside. The width of the drawer seems off and doesn't compliment the door. I'm curious what your thoughts were upon finishing it. Overall, very nice - perhaps you could comment on the design a bit as the piece deserves some conversation.

Thank you, I appreciate that. I worked very hard on the proportions basing much on the golden rectangle. In very strong grained woods like oak the grain is part of the design and I select grain and orientation as I work.

Very nice blog regarding the construction. You put a lot of work into it. Great piece. You put a lot of work into it too. I haven't gotten through the blog yet, but I will. Question, you set up the curved legs in order to mark them for dowels using a dowel center. You now have the location, but not the angle. I messed this up a time or two and found that if the angle of a dowel isn't exactly correct you've got a problem. Given the curve of the leg and the fact that every dowel is angled differently how did you accurately drill the holes?