As the first major piece of liturgical furniture for the studio, the Altar at the Mt. Carmel Retreat Centre outside the city of Edmonton in Alberta is a special commission to the studio. Below is a somewhat brief account of its creation in the form of a series of photos with brief written reflections.
The Consecrated Altar
And so, with the Archbishop pouring out holy chrism oil onto the altar and proceeding to spread it across the altar table’s entire surface with his hand, the altar at Mt. Carmel is consecrated!
Sealing the Altar
I was honoured to be invited to seal the altar during the chapel’s consecration. So, with the relics safely entombed, I set the table’s stone in place and sealed it in an act of completion.
Waiting for a blessing
Now the altar waits for the Bishop to come and consecrate it (and the new chapel) for use. My boys and I have been invited to attend and I’m looking forward to it next week.
Grateful for the help
After a herculean effort (especially moving the altar’s stone table) everything came to rest in place and there was a moment of fellowship among the friends who had helped.
All Loaded up
Believe it or not, my son and I were able to load up the altar by ourselves by sliding it up on two lengths of plywood. And, after covering it up and strapping it down I made the trip up to the Mt. Carmel Spirituality Centre without incident.
Finishing the Altar’s Woodwork
It’s a beautiful moment seeing the altar’s woodwork finished with multiple coats of linseed oil and beeswax.
Placing the Altar Panels
It’s pretty amazing how much the final woodworking step of inserting the panels finishes the altar’s woodworking. Although no one will likely see it again, I’m quite pleased with even how the inside turned out …
Putting All the Pieces Together
It’s always an exciting moment in a project when all the pieces get put together … I think that all the planning and work is going to pay off.
Attaching the first Columns
The triple columns on the altar’s outer legs proved to be the element of its design that was the hardest to make. It took a little bit of figuring out how to hollow out the columns so they would fit tightly on the altar’s outer pillars, but the effort was worth it, and I’m happy …
Wood Turning
I really haven’t had a lot of experience turning wood on a lathe, but after a morning of doing so I think I quite like it. Best of all, the wood blanks turned out looking great. Now all that’s left is cutting and fitting them to the altar’s main legs …
Frankenlathe
After a couple of days trying to piece together something to turn the altar’s columns (and one very bad experience with a wood blank coming off the lathe’s spurs mid turning!) I’ve got something that works and which I’m dubbing the “Frankenlathe“.
Altar Feet
After making all the pieces and carefully fitting everything together, the final feet for the altar in in place … And, I’m quite pleased with how they turned out.
Resawing
While most of the altar is being made with 1½” lumber, there are parts of it that will be ¾”, so Adele and I needed to resaw some of stock into thinner slabs. I was really grateful for the help today, as balancing such long lengths by myself would be very difficult.
Adding the Structural Cradle
I think I’ve already mentioned the challenge of building an 8′ altar in a space that’s 9′ wide … When adding the structural cradle today, I was very glad of the nice weather so I could roll the work out into the back alley and complete it without the studio’s space limitations.
Every Woodworker Says It …
… and they’re right—There are never enough clamps for a project. Although the altar’s bottom corners went together incredibly well, getting an even pressure on each glue seam takes a lot of setup. I’m now wondering if the studio may need to invest in additional clamps before the project is done.
Table Stone Found
It’s been a long search, but today I finally found the most beautiful stone slab for altar’s table outside Calgary.
Fitting the Altar’s Structure
Mocking up the altar’s structure (and holding it together with straps.)
Picking Structural Lumber (Attempt #2)
Loading up all the lumber needed for building the structure of the altar (with my wife’s car!)
Building a Workshop Table
One of the problems I’m facing in making this altar is my need for more space. Currently, my woodworking space is only 9 feet wide, and with the altar being 8 feet wide, I needed to devise a way of getting around it. My solution was to build a table for the workshop that I …
Structural Wood Failure
After letting the structural wood dry over the weekend, I’m faced with a significant problem. Every length of the lumber I prepared has twisted, warped, and bowed (as you can see from the winding sticks, which should be parallel but definitely aren’t!) While I could probably pull the wood straight using lag screws, this wouldn’t …
Drying Structural Wood
With the cutting and planning finished the wood now needs to be dried. Since it was being stored outside, its moisture content is very high, and I’m hoping I can help get it dry enough to use fairly quickly (hence the fan in the bottom of the photo.)
Preparing Structural Wood
After much searching, I’ve found three long lengths (24 feet each!) of Douglas fir 2x12s that I can cut up to form the wood I need for the altar’s structure.