About

ABOUT

History

Taansi. Hello

I think I fell in love with woodwork when I was a young boy. After my father’s job was cut in British Columbia, the family moved to Québec in pursuit of career stability. When we arrived in Quebec City, I thought the cathedral was unbelievable, but it seems something else there had influenced my life. Down a cobblestone street built when horses were the best option for bulk transport, I wandered into a small woodshop, an atelier du bois, was mesmerized by the natural materials all around me that had been transformed into beautiful, utilitarian items, and begged my poor parents for a (rather expensive for them at the time) $15 wooden spoons. I had tried many projects on my own since them, some good and many not so good, but in my late teens when I stumbled upon an old box containing my great grandfather’s hand planes. I fettled and fussed over them, spending countless hours of frustration with an old Oil stone and sandpaper, until finally I could make that old tool remove a ribbon of silky wood when it was passed over the surface of a board. I have been hooked ever since, and pursued a life-long education in this material. Starting with Carpentry, realizing how little I cared for the imprecision and cost over quality mindset behind it, and moving quickly into Joinery and custom creations, where I could feel good about what I was doing. I’d taken entry level college programs early on to learn the standard way to do things, the knowledge that has been passed down and perfected over thousands of years of trial and error, and spent the rest of my years working for a handful of experts to scrinch, save, and squeeze enough peanuts together to by an old used tool every now and then. Over a decade of collecting, cleaning, repairing and mastering these tools has now led to a fully equipped workshop, capable of handling anything from furniture refinishing, to guitar setup and repairs, to motorcycle maintenance and painting, playing music and riding bikes being the other major passions in my life.

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Our Vision & Mission

Connecting

The vision began with a simple love for wood and a desire to create. As time has passed we are at the stage where we are longing to start a family, and wish to save enough money to travel across Canada, connecting with as many relatives as possible, and showing our children as much of our heritage as possible. The French side of the family came to Canada with Champlain in the early 1600’s, was married in what is now Northern Quebéc, and the rest is history. My father had over 50 first cousins. The dream is to learn and share as many stories and as much joy as possible with our family that can be found in nearly every nook and cranny across this vast land, to pass down our love, relationships, and survival stories.
This is why we are breaking out into entrepreneurship. We have the skills. We have the technology. We are reaching for the stars with our vision in our hearts.

The mission is to leave this world having made a positive impact. By providing 100% eco-friendly options, we hope to someday have passed the techniques and processes to people anywhere chairs and tables exist, effectively taking a load off of mother earth.

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How We Assist You

Here to help you with all your woodworking needs! Whether you have a beloved antique needing repair, a piece that requires refinishing, or a vision for custom woodwork. The pride in attention to detail and craftsmanship stems from the knowledge that a second life has been given to the once-living material that is wood, and of the memories and usefulness it will render for decades to come. You can trust that your furniture is in skilled hands, ready to receive the care it deserves.

Beyond just repairs and refinishing, we offer tailored solutions to fit your style and needs. Our custom woodwork services allow you to create unique pieces that perfectly match your vision. We believe that furniture should tell your story, and we’re dedicated to helping you express that. You can bring your old railroad ties, old barn wood, or any reclaimed lumber, and have it transform into anything you can imagine.

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TIPS

IS YOUR FURNITURE VENEER OR SOLID?

Solid wood will have “end grain”. Veneered furniture has an edging applied, either a solid wood boarder, or an edge “tape” of solid wood. Veneer on commercial items is typically very thin, up to 1/64″, and while this does maximize the quantity of items a tree’s beauty can be transposed upon, it can also greatly reduce the refinishing options available. An inattentive hand can quickly cut through this thin veneer when removing the old finish, which (if power sanding) can quickly expose a large blotch of MDF or plywood. If you’re planning to refinish your own veneered furniture, try and practice removing the old finish and stain in an inconspicuous place

WHAT GLUE SHOULD BE USED?

Yellow wood glue is the preferred glue. It is a PVA (poly-vinyl-acetate) glue with Aliphatic Resin added to increase its water resistance. Basically it’s the same white glue you used in Elementary school, with a yellow add-in to make it stronger. This glue works extremely well when it is bare wood to bare wood, on well mating surfaces. If either of those conditions are not met it won’t work for long, because it has a high adhesive strength (it’s ability to bond to wood) but a low cohesive strength (it’s ability to stick to itself) and is also mostly water. This means if you try to reglue a dowel connection two parts of a wobbly chair, you had better remove the glue from the dowel and the hole it goes into, and that there should not be any play, or movement, when the two pieces are dry fit (without glue) together. They should go together with firm hand pressure, not loosely, because as the water evaporates and the glue cures, it shrinks considerably, leaving very weak hollow areas where there is no wood-to-wood contact. After gluing two pieces together, you can use clamps, tape, or even bungee cords, to hold the pieces in position as the glue dries. Make sure not to put so much glue that you can no longer fully seat your pieces together. Squeeze-out should be wiped off immediately, and thoroughly, with a clean, damp rag.
Polyurethane glue on the other hand, has some “gap filling” properties, as it will expand like foam insulation anywhere it can as it cures. This glue is a good fit if you have removed the old glue from both mating pieces and there is a little play. It is activated by moisture, and very messy if you get it where you don’t want it, so be sure to put masking tape around the joints you are gluing to avoid a headache. Cleans with Acetone.
Epoxy Resins are an expensive option, but probably the best for ease of use and speed of operation. Epoxy will not increase or decrease in volume as it cures, so it will fill any gaps in joints*, it has much higher cohesive strength than Yellow Glue or Polyurethane, and it will stick to most clean surfaces that are “scuffed up”. scratch a piece of steel with a hacksaw blade until it is uniformly scuffed, clean it with a grease remover like acetone, and pour epoxy on it. The other glues will pop off, the epoxy won’t. This means you don’t need to worry about removing the old glue before joining pieces, you need only scuff/rough the surfaces up to give the epoxy something to bite into. Cleans with Acetone.
Protein Glues have been used by every culture since time immemorial. The most ubiquitous are made from animal collogen, hide glues, fish glue, rabbit glue, they all have their own specific properties. The benefit of these glues is that they are edible (food safe) and reversable. Stradivarius’s fiddles have survived to this day not simply for the fact they were a prolific builder, nor that they have been carefully handled through many hands, but due to the fact that fastidious Luthiers through the centuries have been able to disassemble and reassemble these working art pieces with ease.
Many other protein glues exist. You are probably familiar with Paper Maché, which gets it’s sticky characteristics from the protein gluten, but did you know that glue is also made from milk? The casein protein in milk has been found in glue and paint going back centuries. It sticks so well, in fact, that “milk paint” is a real thing you can apply to your furniture today! There are rice glues and glues derived from tree pitch. All of these ancient glues has its own benefits and techniques.

*as long as it doesn’t leak out of the joint! it is often thick when applied but becomes quite thin and fluid at the start of it’s curing process. Make sure the piece is positioned in a way that it will not leak out of the joint

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