Hammer King!

I just had to put this up. Check this guy out. He has to be fun at parties!

Crown Tip for Box Beams

Here's another crown moulding tip that really makes for

uber sweet miters. When you're building box beams

with crown in them, like these here.

Assemble the crown pieces on the floor first
and then install them assembled.  Be sure to under
size your measurements by at least 1/8" to insure they
fit into the beams.  No one will notice a little slack, but
if the beams aren't perfectly square, you'll never get the
crown into them.
Note the two assembled crown units at the top of
the photo.  I use the pinch clamps mentioned
earlier to help assemble these.

Media wires in Panels

Heres what HE loved. This guy was a Home theater nut. Before the panels were installed he had wires everywhere. When I left, they were all hidden in the base of the panel wall system. it was a ton of extra work, but in the end, this really cleaned up a bundled mess of wires running across the floor and made the man of the house love the project too.

Cherry Mantle with wall panels to match

Heres a shot of a real sweet build I did a few years back. This was a great job even though I lost my ass on it. I really enjoyed building it and the lady of the house absolutely loved it. Even her husband, who just couldn't fathom spending so much money on gasp the house, loved it when I was done. Turning him around was a very rewarding experience and made the fact that I only made about $25 an hour on the job worth it in the end. The fireplace is floor to ceiling brick and the panels cover all that 1975 ugliness.

This build is cherry and the finish is a waterbased polyurethane.

And the Mantle I built for my house

What is unusual about this one is that it is actually for my house, thats right dude, this one is all for me. It's funny how much more accepting I can be of flaws and defects when its for my own house. Don't look too close! This one, like all the trim in my house is made from Knotty alder and finished with brushing laquer. Simple and rustic. ... and mine!

Mantle Shelves

Just downloaded my camera last night and have a few of my last mantle jobs I thought I might share with my (1) follower! Here you go dude! Mantle shelves aren't all that exciting but they really finish off a fireplace remodel, but whats unusual about the this one is that it had to bend around a crazy pop out in a corner. Of course it was all out of wack so I built a template and took that back to the shop so the turns would be just right. Sorry didn't get any shots of the template.

Crown Moulding Tricks

OK, going through the showroom pics I found one that gives up a tool set I've been keeping a secret cause it's just that good. I've been pretty protective of my discoveries that really make a difference in quality and speed of install in the past, simply because I invest alot of time researching, testing, and developing these techniques. Why should I just show them to some jackass I'll bid against one day? Well, not too likely I'll bid against guys around the internet, and since I can't take the knowledge with me, I might as well at least document my own path to find it. Besides, if you found this blog, chances are you're a guy like me on his own knowledge quest and probably someone I'd like working with anyway. You are afterall, spending time at a computer looking at carpentry techniques so you must be into the artform too...So here you go, another tool and technique that really makes a difference in your work.

Pinch clamps. These clamps were developed for the picture frame industry but they work killer for holding crown moulding outside corners and small casing miters tight. Basically anytime I need to clamp together a miter while the glue sets, I'm reaching for these. I often will build a crown assembly on the table with these clamps and let it set up before I install it. Real slick.

We sell these in our store. Call us at (925) 935-8400. Our website sucks.