Meanwhile

I rarely buy timber, but the current sign making job led to a request to procure a largish slab of zelkova for a counter. None of the timber I had on hand was suitable, so I had to tour the local merchants. After finding the shelves bare at previous contacts, last friday we settled on this piece at 110000 yen, a bargain price apparently, but shocking pricey for my standards. I have spent the last two days using a variety of sanders and planes to get the thing from a rough sawn plank to a silky smooth finish. Mind numbing work, so I allow the numbed organ to drift over to the other bench and assemble dome panels as a break. I have to get this plank out the door before I do anything else or it will get dirtied up and I will have to sand it some more. The thing is scheduled to have some kind of oil finish applied at the other end of it's journey, which is going to mean a lot more care than usual during transportation as any little exposure to water causes blotchy stains. This photo was at the end of smoothing the top, but it took all of today (excluding dome making breaks) to shape up the edges.