plywood unit

Shown here are the curved elements of the plywood range. The curved members are made up of 4 layers of 4mm plywood epoxied together around two curved formers.

Stacking unit

With the side components all glued up and the locating holes drilled for the dowels. It was now time to apply the finish to all bar the outside elements of each piece. I chose to go with a hard burnishing oil with a dark wax finish over this as this would be the most appropriate for the type of timber and the durability of the piece.

With all the interior components now finished it was time to do the final glue ups for each piece.

construction of stacking unit

The above images show how i went about inserting the locating points for each join. Using the metal work lathe and a couple of cradling jigs i had constructed i was able to access the same reference points to have a consistent dowel locating system.

Once the locating points had been completed i was then able to do the glue ups for all the side members. This was made easier with the jig constructed earlier to position each side pieces at the correct shoulder height while under clamping pressure.

The making of the Winsor chair pt1

Building of the green wood Winsor Chair 2nd yr design arts degree, 2007.

The timber is delivered and rough sawn with the chainsaw. The process that follows would prove to be one of the most enlightening experiences in the wood furniture genre.

Shaping of the seat base from campher laurel and using the pole lathe to shape stock for legs and rails.

Once the legs and rails are turned you then rapid dry the tenon sections of these components in hot sand. this enables you to shrink the tenons which when placed into the mortice will draw moisture from inside the mortice and expand the tenon, locking it tight. An amazing exponent of working with green wood. This process has been known and used for centuries. The rest of the process will follow…

jig construction

As i have seperated the side components to both cut the joinery and to also provide a greater continuity to the units when stacked i required a way of locating the side elements during the gluing process as it is essential that the shoulder positions remain accurate. The jig i have created to resolve this is shown here. The crown at the bottom of the image is fixed, with the top crown adjustable to accommodate gluing up all the various heights of the sides.

The adjustable top cron shown here slides in a routered trench which keeps the crowns square relative to one another and provides enough pressure to locate the pieces accurately. During the glue up i will use clamps from either side and cauls to the top which will be more than ample to keep the whole side square and true.

The quality is in the details

Shown above is the joinery detail for the stacking/ nesting shelving unit. The joinery in this image is only dry fit and the final joinery will have concealed dowel locating pins and once assembled a series of mitre keys will be added for structural integrety adding long grain to long grain glueing surfaces.

cardboard memories

As i await for mamterial to mount the fabric images i have assembled the unit so far. The outter shell has been veneered and doors and drawers temporarily mounted. I have also purchased stock for the feet from the Canberra Timber and Working with Wood Show. For this i have bought a small amount of Wenge, (for those unfamiliar with this timber it is a dark wood, similar in colour to ebony only alot cheaper.) The idea at this stage is for the feet to be 80mm high and a turned taper from approx 60mm to 25mm. This style of foot and the nature of the selected timber will hopefully provide the cabinet with a feeling of levitation as the grounding of the feet should disappear underneath the unit.

In construction i am leaning toward fixing threaded rod to the feet and installing threaded inserts into the base of the cabinet.

Stacking/ nesting multifunction furniture

With all the components and most of the joinery finished i decided to do a dry run of the second smallest unit to judge the aesthetics, scale and usability of the design. The above image shows the piece in its stool option, which is also the shelving option when used in the set.

Shown here is the side table option. I feel that this piece has succeeded in achieving everything it has set out to, its potential to be a commercially viable piece of fine furniture, i believe is great and has endless possibilities with the multiple nature of the set.

Stacking/nesting multi function furniture

The image shown above is of the many many sticks needed to create the stacking unit, and guess what, this is only about half of what is needed. The timber i have selected for this piece is American Walnut, a truly stunning timber when properly finished.

The construction of the side members shown here has been broken down into 20 x 20mm components which will then be bookmatched and glued back together. This serves several purposes, firstly it enables me to keep a greater continuity between the individual unit when they are stacked. and it also allows me to cut all the joinery individually which is a massive blessing as everything is set on a 4 degree rack with the cross rails meeting the sides on a 43 and 47 degree shouldered mitre. Let me just say the math was doing my head in.

foundations

The foundations of the wood workshop at ANU is built around the knowledge and learning gained from the first set brief, or project. This project being the breadboard.

This project is about learning the intimate relationship between the craftsman and the tool, in this case the plane. Bring stock to size from rough sawn, and unsquare pieces by hand takes alot of practice to achieve an amazing finish and is alot harder than the process seems at first glance. Every step of this process is completed by hand, apart from cutting the splines into the widening joins.

An amazing learning curve and a fitting way to be introduced to the furniture workshop.