Wood Working project: is

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Tuesday, January 28, 2014

design is a process

well, after about 35 years of this kind of work, i have come to really appreciate the process of design, as much as the event of making stuff, which also is a process, and not a list of a linear progression of steps. we do something, analyze it, do something different, analyze that, and step by step, move it all forward in small increments. to get to the model above, ive been working with the builder, the client, and two different designers for a couple of weeks now. it was a lot of work, but i think weve got a handle on it now, and it has been interesting. click the photos to enlarge them ...

it started with some architects sketches for a more or less traditional kitchen, with a pantry in a separate room off to the right.

we went with that originally, and i had just finished my shop drawings below, when i was informed that there was a new designer on board, up from florida, with some new ideas of how the kitchen should look.

he wanted a more streamlined, clean and modern look ...

after quickly revising my drawings to reflect his initial input above, trevor and i visited the site again and waved our arms and pencils and cardboard around with everyone for a while, until i realized that it was going to be a little more complicated then that ... i offered to make a scale model. time was short, but we got on it

so the site looked like below thursday afternoon ...

and the model looked like below friday morning ...

so after another meeting friday morning, it was back to the shop, and mid afternoon, back to the site with the model below, adjustments and additions completed ...hot glue and double cardboard ... nothing better

north and east

east and south ...
back to the new shop drawings monday ... a couple more model changes and were good to go ...

so now, the confusing little room is gone, it all feels more open, clean and spacious, and, its the weekend ...

for more on models and mockups, see these previous posts

Monday, January 27, 2014

New Claro Slab Table is FInished

Well OK ... Another big claro walnut slab table. Weve made quite a few of them now and there is more information about them on my blog than a person could likely want to read. (If not, be sure to scroll to older posts). But, we like them. They always seem to have this mysterious sense of substance to them when they are completed. The wood is dark and deep and totally unpredictable in its grain and color. We like the steel bases too. This one looks a little shinier in the picture above than it is in person. There was a little sunlight sneaking in the door when I took the picture and, reflected off the floor, it made the base look pretty impressive. Actually, its clean, but not real reflective and is meant to match the zinc counters in the clients kitchen ... Click the photos to enlarge them ....

A birds eye view of this 48 x 120 x 3" thick slab ... We figure conservatively that the table weighs at least 400 pounds assembled and I am unable to pick one end off the floor without feeling like I might hurt something ... For shipping to Montana, the slab will unbolt from the base and the 5 part base will be disassembled.

This project has been going on for a month or so so I reloaded a few of the relevant pictures of the process. You can see the other posts in the claro slab tables category to the right. Above is the raw slab before we trimmed it to width and length.

First step was to use my trusty 25 year old 3.5" Makita hand held planer to smooth the rough sawn top.

Then since we had other stuff going on in the shop, the preliminary planing and cutting was done at my garage. Easier than loading and unloading, and, with my old truck on its way to the graveyard, we towed it merrily down the driveway with Sams Saab, whistling while we worked.

We laid in a few strategic butterflies

And worked on the chairs that go with it at the same time ... They are a version of our contemporary ladderbacks with a Danish cord seat by Sandy Sherman chair caning. Danish cord seats were popularized by Hans Wegner in the 50s and 60s and are friendly and comfortable, though a bit labor intensive. The chairs are, like Windsors, more about the silhouette than the grain of the wood ...

Our typical base installation

A close up of the finish

The chairs in two views ...

The 160 nails per seat that it takes to organize the weaving. Fortunately for Sandy, Trevor was able to layout and rout the holes on the cnc so all Sandy had to do was hammer them in.

And in contrast, an updated photo of our skinny console for comparison ... You can pick that one up with one hand ...

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Eames The Architect and The Painter Review And the Winner is

I recently watched a movie about Charles and Ray Eames on Netflix and wanted to share my thoughts!

Eames: The Architect and The Painter

In addition to discussing their iconic furniture, it goes into their influence on the design community and beyond, as well as the good and bad in their relationship.

A large part of the movie contains interviews with members of their studio, which gave an insiders look into what is behind the Eames name.

If you have Netflix, you may want to add it to your queue!

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and the winner of the giveaway for the Ikat stencil has been chosen! Congrats Barbara R.!

Stay tuned for more Humpday giveways!