Bergelin
Custom
@
Owl in the Poplar
|
I started working with the
Bergelins in June of 2000 building custom orders & samples. When I first went to meet with Thad & Chris - seeing the sites & touring the factory - it came up that, though it had been a dozen years, I had a lot of turning experience. |
Robert's Buffet
|
162 Classic Post - under construction
|
I had not been there longer
than a couple of weeks before I was standing in front of a lathe. Over the next couple of years, we expanded what turnings the Bergelin Co. offered. One of the early additions was the #162 Classic Tall Post. |
|
|
|
|
Choosing what parts of the post are cut 1st, or last, keeps the post balanced while it is turned.
With a little luck it stays 'wiggle free' start to finish. |
|
Another skill I brought
with me was how I cut & fit a dovetail joint. During my apprenticeship at Barr Cabinet Shop in the 1980s, in addition to learning to turn, learning to do this was an absolute requirement. |
#218 blanket chest tray
|
#218 Louis Philippe Blanket Chest w/tray
|
If you are a long time
Bergelin customer, & have ordered a blanket chest at one time or another, I was the one who built it. |
|
Until the spring of 2004,
I divided my time between the Bergelin plant & my own shop in Vale, NC, building for them & continuing my own work. |
This old hay barn on my farm was converted to a shop in 1989.
|
my shop at the Bergelin factory
|
In June of 2004 the Bergelins
& I agreed to put together an area for me in the factory. Here in this dusty spot, in addition to doing custom work & turnings for the Bergelins, I continued pursuing & building my own designs. |
|
And here I remained until
June of 2009, when the Robert Bergelin Co. was closed. In July Chris, Thad & I started talking about continuing our work together on a much smaller scale. |
my shop at the factory - June 2009
|
our 'new' shop - our 2nd order
|
So, in January of this year
Bergelin Custom was established. Located where the Chris Bergelin Design sample shop was some 15 years before, we are now offering the same quality & attention to detail customers have come to expect from the Bergelins & myself |
For more on my apprenticeship years, as well as pictures of my own work
- or maybe just another story or two -
please visit the Owl section of this site -
Owl in the Poplar