Tap Handle Display

   Black Falcon Fabrication has teamed up with Geise to offer a limited run of unique tap handle displays. An old motorcycle fender and a handful of used gears were assembled to create this piece of functional art. Not only is there enough space to hold 5 of your favorite tap handles the fun begins with a crank of the handle on the center gear. With a turn of the handle all of the gears spin!

  This display is the first one completed and is currently listed on eBay. For more pictures and to place a bid search eBay for this item number  121636027609 . The auction runs until May 8, 2015

Time For An Auction

   The Milton Garden Club is hosting a silent auction this Sunday April 12, 2015 with proceeds going towards the purchase of a new clock for downtown Milton, Delaware. There will be plenty of great items available to bid on including this sign built and donated by Black Falcon Fabrication. Bidding will run from noon until 5 o'clock at Irish Eyes in Milton. Good Luck!

Horsing Around

   Luke is a happy horse. Especially since his feed bin and hay bin were installed at the barn.

 The feed bin holds 5 50lb bags of feed standing on end with room to spare. The lid was designed to make lifting those bags into the bin a little easier.

 The hay bin has enough space for 4 bales to stand on end making feeding easier and cleaner too. Just grab the hay flakes from the top of the bale and the rest of the bale stays in place.

  Looking for unique and functional items for your barn? Bins like these can be custom tailored to your needs. Email me at mattpiccolo@yahoo.com for more information.

Old Tools are Cool

                                  A couple of pictures of my 1927 South Bend lathe.

Color!

  The red and black distressed finish on this console table makes it a standout in any room. Measuring 22" tall, 56" wide and 17" deep this piece is just right for a TV on top with VCR or game consoles stored inside. Heavy steel channel was used for the frame with beaded sheet metal sides and doors. Reclaimed wood with great saw marks and a waxed finish makes up the table top.

  This piece is currently available for purchase. For more information on this table or inquire about having something custom built for your needs please email mattpiccolo@yahoo.com

The Arched Door Cabinet

  Just think of the ways you could use this custom built cabinet. A bar, TV stand or storage for kitchen wares are a few ideas. At 40 1/2" wide, 19 1/2" deep and 43" tall there is ample space to fit whatever you chose. A steel frame is accented with bead rolled and hand dimpled sides. Reclaimed wood from the attic of an old farmhouse offers just the right amount of contrast to the darkened steel.

  This cabinet is available for purchase. If you are interested in this cabinet or having a piece custom built to suit your needs please contact Black Falcon Fabrication for more information mattpiccolo@yahoo.com

The Bucket Bench

    The 3 barn wood shelves and curved steel front legs look great together on this hand crafted piece inspired by bucket benches of days gone by. Imagine this holding your favorite collectables or filled with merchandise in a retail setting. While sturdy in stature this is a very flexible design and could be constructed in different lengths and heights to suit your needs.

Panel making

   This is a short video showing what goes into making as side panel for a Black Falcon Fabrication cabinet.

   A plasma cutter is used to trim the steel. Next up is the bead roller with a round die. Then the panel is marked for dimples. Each dimple is hand hammered. The cabinet this panel will go on has 320 dimples total.

The Trough Table

                                                                  The Trough Table.

Details...

Fabricated steel legs
Ipe hardwood table top
Stainless steel trough with dual drains
Stainless steel hardware
3' wide, 8' long, 30" tall

  Fill the trough with ice and your favorite beverages, invite some friends over and let the summer outdoor fun begin!

Brimfield Bound

    Black Falcon Fabrication will be on the road in May. This time next month the spring sales at Brimfield, Mass. will be in full swing. I am teaming up with Matt Greig from Antiques in Milton to pack a spot full of great items.

   The table pictured above is just one of the new pieces that I will have offered at the show. I added a custom built set of legs and the wood top to this vintage set of drawers to transform the ordinary to the eye catching.

The Factory Bench Completed

Factory Bench

  This old factory work bench is just one of the projects currently in the shop. So far the bench top has had years of dirt and grime scraped off and all of the brown paint is gone. With the paint removed several cool details were exposed like the copper vise handle and metal faces on some of the drawers.

Blast Off

    A few months ago I was contacted by a decorator that I have built a few pieces for with a request for a  display case. We met to discuss the project, a rough sketch was put on paper and a plan was made. Build a 7 1/2 feet tall 5 feet wide metal rocket ship.

  Once I got the green light to start I wasted no time ordering steel and other supplies need to get the rocket launched. The basic layout was drawn out to size on the shop floor and metal began to be pounded into shape. Before long the nose cone was done, the main body had been formed and the two wings were in place. Oh, and a bunch of rivets were added. I stopped counting at 350.

  Used to display the owners collection of action figures the rocket ship has 3 levels of display area, two being glass shelves. I also built in plenty of storage space. Along with the cabinet at the bottom of the main body the 2 wings have hinged lids for extra capacity.

  Fabrication was completed and the ship blasted off to its new home. Delivery was accomplished and I landed back at the shop ready for my next project.

   

  

6 Drawer Side Table

This old 6 drawer parts bin was repurposed into a cool side table for a client. This piece measures 12X14X24.

Friday Finds

A few new pieces  in the booth today. Stop by and check these and all of the other great items at Antiques in Milton.

Start to Finish...

Hot rolled steel was used to create the frame for this vintage mirror. Each of the dimples around the frame were hand hammered. The frame was heated and then waxed to seal the surface.

The missing silvering shows the mirrors age and adds an artful sense to the piece in turn creating something that is not just useful but beautiful.

$175.00

Available for purchase at Antiques in Milton 109 Union Street Milton, Delaware.
Open 10-5 Monday thru Saturday
12-5 Sunday

Driftwood Art

   There is a lot character in a piece of wood that has been floating around the ocean.  The wood tells a story of countless hours of being tossed about by the waves to finally wash ashore and be found by someone strolling the beach. Where has it been, what has it come in contact with? Did a whale brush against it? Maybe fish nibbled it to see if it was food. Close your eyes and imagine.

   Now open your eyes to see the wood in a whole new light. Something that has soul and beauty. Strength and substance. Something from the earth. Sculpted by nature. Combined with man made steel to be artfully displayed and treasured.

  These pieces are currently available for purchase. $65.00 for the vertical piece and $85.00 for the horizontal piece. Look for them in the Black Falcon Fabrication booth located inside Antiques in Milton, 109 Union Street Milton, Delaware. Open 10-5 Monday thru Saturday, 12-5 Sunday.

The Dental Cabinet

I got a call the other day about restoring an old medical cabinet. I don't really get into restorations but I said bring it by the shop and I will take a look. This is what arrived, a cabinet from a dentist's office. I looked it over and we talked about the job for a while. The conversation went back and forth on what direction to go with the project and it was decided that I would not be doing the work for the client. A deal was struck and I purchased the cabinet. I would be restoring the cabinet for myself! Now the fun begins, removing several layers of paint. Can't wait to get started...

Barn wood table

  I am always questioned as to where I find the wood for my furniture. I smile and say that some wood is purchased from a barn wood supply company, some has come from barns that I have taken down and some has been purchased at yard sales. The yard sale comment always seems to raise an eyebrow as if I'm pulling their leg. Well, it's true, the wood that was used for the top of this table was found at a yard sale.

  The yard sale was just a few miles away from the shop at a house with a very weathered pole barn out back. After looking through the goods that were out for sale I asked if there was anything in the building. Sure was, everything that was too heavy to move to the front yard was in the barn and for sale. I found enough items that day that I had to make a trip home to get a trailer in order to get everything back to the shop.

  These yard sale boards were a full 2" thick, nearly 10" wide and 14' long. I have had them in storage for a while and finally decided to build something with them. The table pictured above is what I built. The pictures are a bit deceiving, this table is much larger than it appears. It measures 37 1/2" wide, 89 3/4" long and 30" tall. The live edge slab legs are 2 3/4" thick and are bolted to the top with heavy gauge 3" angle steel. All together the table weighs 209 pounds.

  If you would like to purchase this table or inquire about having a piece of furniture custom built please contact me through email at mattpiccolo@yahoo.com

From coffee table to cupboard...

     If you go back to the beginning of this blog you will find a post about a coffee table. The table in that post had been in the store for sale for a little over a year without being purchased so to make room for newer pieces I decided it was time to bring it back to the workshop. After moving the table around a few times to make room in the shop I knew something had to be done.

     What to do? Chop it up and toss it on the scrap pile? The thought had crossed my mind. Then, while shuffling the table from one side of the shop to the other for the last time it was chop time! Some pieces of the table would not end up on the scrap pile though. The pieces that could be reused were transformed into the cupboard pictured above.

     With a fresh cut off wheel on the grinder I started dismantling the coffee table and separating the usable parts from the scrap. The 3 inch channel base and the 1 1/2 angle frame of the top were the only pieces that made the transition into the new cupboard. The remaining parts were set aside maybe to be reused in a future piece of my furniture or to sold off and turned into a new air conditioner, toaster or whatever scrap metal gets turned into.

     I have had the idea of a large cupboard floating around for a while and with the leftover steel from the table this seemed like the perfect time to get started on a new project. A few rough sketches were drawn up and then the process of cutting, forming and welding began. The frame of the cupboard is steel angle covered with 18 gauge sheet metal that has been step rolled to add some design flare. To finish the steel a rusting solution was used and then sanded off. Black stain was applied next to darken the metal with a final hand rubbed waxing to help protect the finish.

     The wood that I used for the shelves was salvaged from a local feed storage barn that was being torn down. A light sanding was all the boards needed before a coat of Briwax Tudor Brown was applied. The dark color contrasts well with the metal and also allows the character of the wood to still show through. I like being able to see all of the saw marks, nail holes and bug holes that the old wood has earned over the years.

     At 80 inches tall, 4 feet wide and 2 feet deep at the base this cupboard is an attention grabber. Stop by the Black Falcon Fabrication booth inside Antiques In Milton to see it in person. Located at 109 Union Street in Milton, Delaware the store is open 7 days a week 10 till 5 Monday through Saturday, 12 til 5 on Sundays.