I own an 8×10 Shulman print, the kind that the architecture firm would show their clients. This is the best way to own a piece of Shulman’s work, as many of these exist. The curious thing is that Shulman was not thought of as an artist at the time – he was simply taking excellent photos of houses for the purposes of architectural business. Only later in life did Shulman exhibit in galleries and museums once his genius as an artist was recognized.  These 8×10 prints can be had on eBay every once in awhile for $100-$400, while the exhibition grade 16×20 prints fetch up to $10,000. There are also several excellent books showcasing his work.

After trying several prints out, I found this a picture of The Grand Canyon from a road trip I took there in summer 2002. The colors complement the stain of the table so well that I haven’t been able to bring myself to change it.

Collecting medical instruments and even civil war surgeons kits has quite a following on the internet these days. Ebay is strife with interesting finds. I wasn’t able to find too many civil war kits, but there were several $10,000 German WW2 kits for sale. Expensive, but they may be worth their weight in silver.

While the Sawzall made a very rough cut, the use of trim around the outside of the cut covered it up very well. All the trim is Phillipine mahogany, while the bar surface is solid plank of walnut.

The beautiful design by Anthony de Francisci features Lady liberty, modeled after his wife Teresa Cafarelli, and a perched eagle on the reverse. A 1922 Peace Dollar was the first significant coin in my coin collection when I was a kid and will always be my favorite. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no idea how to display it properly. Any ideas?

I’ve bought two pieces from Lumas, the 2nd and 3rd thumbnails below by Gabo and Alexandra Hagar. The Gabo print I framed myself, but I would recommend paying more for their framing option, as the Lumasec mounting of the Alexandra Hagar piece came out beautifully. Many of the pieces at Lumas are large and really your attention. The first thumbnail below by To Jacobi of the Ganges river in India is 71×102 inches, which is about 6×8 feet! Unfortunately that size commands a premium, with the unframed version going for $4180 and the framed version $8339. Find these and many more on the Lumas website.

Westclox first started making clocks under the name Western Clocks in 1887, which was shortened to Westclox around 1910. Their trademark product, the Big Ben, was brought to market in 1909. Many different styles of the Big Ben exist and are still being made today.

The clocks at Eleven appear to be Big Ben style 1a Luminous made from 1919 – 1935, which were in very good condition and may command a premium over other versions. Try Ebay for more Westclox Big Ben clocks.

Here in Manhattan, I went to a Midtown East lumber yard. By slipping the lumber guy thirty bucks and avoiding the front office (his idea, not mine) I was able to get out of there with about a hundred dollars worth of mahogany 1×2’s in two distinct tones. I bought a new Ryobi power mitre saw and an ultra fine finishing blade to aid with the cutting. For the legs, I got a few 1×2’s of white oak from Home Depot.

With a pattern for the block already decided upon, I started to cut 250 pieces of mahogany into 2,3,4, and 5 inch sections. Even with the 1200 watt power saw, the cutting took about 10 hours over 2 days. Then, I laid the cut pieces on top of a glass table and put them into the pattern. The hardest part was getting the rows to be exactly the same length, which ended up being a losing battle; with many cut pieces abutting each other in a row, small differences in length are greatly magnified.

The pieces were glued to each other individually, row by row, and then the three butcher block sections were stained individually. The variation in colors you see across the butcher block is because of the differences in tone of the original mahogany lumber, not the stain, which was consistent in color.

Cutting the legs was easy, and then I stained them before they were attached, as they would be difficult to stain differently from the rest of the top when already connected. Solidifying them to the three butcher block sections proved tricky. Metal brackets and wood glue were not enough to hold the butcher block to the legs, and putting force on the sides of the table acted like a lever for pulling those pieces apart from the legs. The final solution was to drill two very long holes (12-15 inches) on each side into the table. I inserted cut-to-length sections of steel threaded rods  into each hole, wrapped in glue to maximize contact with the surrounding wood, and giving the whole table significantly more strength.

To finish the table, I covered the entire thing in two coats of satin polyurethane for stain resistance and a nice sheen. The end product came out great, but I’d love to try this project again, skipping the complicated connection between the legs and the butcher block, and instead using one large butcher block.

The original prints on Ebay are going for $5000 and $7500, but are well worth the price, as this is one of the most iconic black and white images ever taken.