Graduation of the masters students

While up in Portland for some much needed R&R I had the chance to drop by Gary's shop for the graduation of his masters students. My personal favorite piece was a drafting table made by Student Ben Wu. It was a very ingenious design made in Walnut, Sweet Cherry and Hickory. His joinery was well done and the desktop raises to become the drafting surface. The pen rest is held in place with magnets and can be removed if in the way. The legs are an homage to the famous Nakashima cantilevered chair.

Another order done

The oil stains in the driveway add a lot. My shop is really to small to shoot this order inside.

This Order goes to an IPIC dining movie theater in Houston Texas. It was a fun order to fill, I had to design a set of chairs that went with my bar stools and I feel they turned out nicely.

Now on to something else.

tool box

TOOL BOX

I have always had the luxury of working solely in my shop and have not needed to take any tools out to woodwork elsewhere. Recently I had the opportunity to take a class from Gary Rogowski in Portland, Oregon. I needed to bring some tools with me for the class and rather than throw them in a backpack I decided to make myself a toolbox.

 It has four trays for tools that can be removed, two on the top and two that slide out from either side.

 The handle pivots to lock the lower two in place so as not to fly out during transport.

 The upper tray can hold up to three Stanley #5s so there is lots of room for goodies.

 The upper trays nest in above and then some straps attached to the sides hold a saw bag in place.

It has served me well and I continue to use it in the shop until my tool cabinet is done later this next year. Stay tuned for that build.

First Class

First Class

After 15 years of designing and building chairs I thought it would be fun to take a class on the subject to get a feel for where I needed improvement and where I was with the whole thing. I took a three day class in Portland at the Northwest Woodworking School with legendary Gary Rogowski.

The class was very fun and it gave me a chance to work on a design I had been saving for a while.

I got to sit in many different styles of chairs, Wegner, Boggs and Gary's own cafe chair, so I was all smiles. Mr. Rogowski is a great teacher and I recommend a class to anyone who would like to learn about woodworking. 

Among his devises to aid in chair construction there was this contraption that used dowels to mimic a backrest and proved very useful, while the data was difficult to transfer to my design. Once I figured out how to use the numbers I got from the jig it went well.

For my design I chose to work on a dining chair design I had drawn up about two years ago.

The second day of class we built a prototype of the design using pine sub-flooring from an old bowling alley. 

 The last day in class I used some sapele or khaya(I couldn't tell) to make a miniature.

All in all I thought it was a fun class. I look forward to completing the finished chair and I will post pictures of it when I do.

If you are interested in woodworking and want to learn from one of the greats, then I suggest taking a class with Mr. Rogowski, well worth it!

Designing something new

Designing Something New

With my latest contract I was asked to make 8 of my Walnut bar stools with metal foot pads and 8 chairs to go with them for an IPIC theater in Texas. If you don't know what an IPIC theater is, it's a restaurant-slash-movie theater. The lobby serves as a restaurant with full bar to fill you up and then off to the movie lounging in large armchair recliners. I bet they even use real butter in the popcorn. I had no idea going to the movie theater could be so opulent.

There was a slight problem with the order, I had not designed any chairs to go with the bar stools. 

So I was tasked with a new design to complete the order.

It starts with a drawing. 

The photo above is a rendering of the chair to be made. Once approved I had to figure out how to make it. 

I like to draw up full sized blue prints, it helps when making patterns. I can get my angles and heights correct.
                        

I then build a mock up in pine or cedar to test the sit of the chair. With this design I ended up moving the front legs in and attaching them similar to a Windsor chair, with a through tenon with wedge. I like the back leg of this design, but I wanted to do something new. I have been toying around with tapered lamination's and I thought this would be a great vehicle to test it out on. 

I built a form with the front profile of the back leg fut out. I run about 16 1/8" slats through my sander with a sled to give them a taper, then dry clamp them to the form and trace out the back of the leg on the corresponding part of the form.
                   

Next was the back rest.. I usually cooper the bar stools to accommodate the tenons that rest in the seat, but there was no need for that here so I built another beast of a form to use bent lamination again for the back rest. The rest will sit against the back legs and be screwed or doweled in place.

The seat is going to be a fully sculpted 2" thick slab, which is a bit overkill for a cafe style dining chair, but I think it will play well off the luxurious atmosphere they are to be housed in. 

Designing a chair is a simple process, but it takes patience and tinkering until you get what you want. These chairs would not have come about without the request, but I am glad that I made them as I think they will be well received. I look forward to making many more of them. I intend to try a few with upholstered seat as well.

It took about a week and a half to fine tune the design for the chair, which is a bit mad considering I am on a deadline, but it was worth it.

For me the design experience is the most fun part of what I do and every time a new piece is thought up it turns into a journey of tweaking the design a little bit every time a run is made until I can't think of anything I want to do different. 

I think these chairs will be one of my favorites.

Fling With Furnishing

Fling With Furnishing  

By Catherine Noel

  In front of me in the bright July sunlight is an unassuming gray and green metal building. This is the home of Bear Kat Wood, Fine Woodworking in southern Oregon. I am on a quest to find a piece of furniture, specifically a sitting chair. I am not particular, any old thing to sit in will be fine.

Inside I am surrounded floor to ceiling and wall to wall with all of the implements of wood. Saws, tools, wood, sawdust, and signage all work to immerse the visitor in the world of wood. Even the air is tinged with the smell of fresh cut wood, and the slightest hint of oil and finish products. Around me are scattered absolute beautiful works of art in various stages of completion. The furniture is randomly intermixed with scraps of plywood, planes, large saws and every size imaginable of wood pieces, from large colorful slabs cut in large thick sections down to the fine dust that is coating every surface I see.

This is not a clean well laid furniture store with casually thrown shawls, it is a working furniture shop. No interior decorator has done due diligence to present the perfect motif. This is wood from humble beginnings into furniture that we all use every day.

Near the wall across from me a particular black walknut chair grabs my attention. It's sculpted form flows with natural beauty. Smooth lines and gentle curves undulate in a balanced dance with the natural shades and colors of the wood. This simple chair is alive with movement and purpose. I run my fingers softly over the gentle curve of the nearest arm. It is a sculptural piece that belongs in a museum. People should see it, often.

“Have a seat”, the owner Bear tells me.

I'm remiss to disturb such perfect beauty. “It's so beautiful, can I sit in it?”

“Absolutely. That's why we build 'em.”

I can't imagine something so lovely and visually pleasing to also be comfortable to sit in. As I slide back into the seat my arms rest naturally on the chair arms. I feel as if I've just received a hug from a very dear friend, one I've known and enjoyed their company for a long time. Every part of my body is supported as if this chair was designed and built specifically with me in mind.

“It's wonderful.” I say closing my eyes. The chair is solid wood, but I feel perfectly cradled in its perfect form. “I could sit here all day.” I say relaxing into the hug of the chair just a little more.

Bear smiles understanding. “It's designed so that you will want to do just that.” Bear says. “Over here I'm building a dining chair. It is designed in a way that will be comfortable as you sit at the table to a nice meal, but the back is a little straighter, the seat flatter and higher, so that you won't want to stay too long. If you know what I mean?”

I understand what he is saying I think about the design aspect and our relationship with the furniture in our lives. There is a natural philosophy behind the design of furniture. A dining chair is designed to give the feeling you are visiting the table. You should initially be comfortable, but you shouldn't want to live there. Its made to welcome it's visitors and then send them on their way. The sitting chair is different, it should give you the feeling that all your cares are gone and that you do want to live there. It is the piece you sit in while enjoying an all night talk, or sitting peacefully contemplating life and all of its idiosyncracies.

I think about other pieces of furniture and what my relationship is with them. A high bar is uplifting, a piece to encourage fun and laughter. It raises you up above your usual self just a little. I always feel like it is a special lunch date or a meeting with good cocktails when I sit at a high bar. Conversely the kitchen table is compatible with the dining char like visiting a friend or loved one, a comfortable and unassuming piece. The kitchen table is not judgemental, it accepts me as I am and is good at keeping secret the bit of extra around my middle or the unpalatable fruitcake spit into a napkin. Though it has a time limit and it's important to never overstay your welcome. Hall tables are shallow and off to the side, things we merely glance at in passing, yet nice to set a special vase or a bit of color to encourage those walking through. They are much like that fancy neighbor we greet a little too exuberantly and get away from quickly in our embarrassment. Whereas bedside tables receive a lot of attention from their owners. They are a self contained nook to keep our personal items, specific to us. My bedside table is almost like a tiny ark. I keep anything that I think I made need off hand in the middle of the night there. It keeps my implements of inspiration safe from the prying world. My bedside table is a piece of furniture that I protect jealously from the world. The furniture I own for working is perfect for four and one half hours in the morning and four and one half hours in the afternoon, five days a week. Then my chairgoes under the desk or the stool goes under the workbench, put away until the next time I clock in. It is utilitarian in nature and designed with practical usage in mind. Writing utensils go to the right, I'm right handed, book holder to the left, so I can type while reading, etc. The chair is comfortable enough and the stool also. Though all of these items are worn, work gets done here, so I feel like I am meeting up with co-workers when I sit down and I don't really want to see them after the day is done.

The wonderfully sculpted sitting chair I sit in now is a piece I want to come home to. It is a piece of furniture I want to share my morning cup of tea or coffee with. I want to share my evening libation in this chair while I let the rest of the world wait, be still, just for me. I want to see this chair on weekends and holidays, share my joy and my sorrows while I sit here. This is a long term relationship, not one I will be taking lightly. It is strange how I came here with certain expectations and have found so much more than I realized I could. We never quite know how or when a relationship will start, this chair has pleasantly surprised me.

I sigh, let my worries sink deep into the dark depths of black walnut, and easily rise to face the day with a smile. This one is coming home with me.

Written By

Catherine Noel

Sometimes the old ways are better.

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, 

well then woodworking must be the mother of necessity.

 Over the years I have used countless jigs, mills where I needed to add some sort of coupling to the piece to fit it to the machine, all trying to find a faster way to turn my stepped tenons. I have ground open end box wrenches, made slip measurement guides, attached routers to the lathe, jig after jig, all with the same conclusion; that I was doing it the best way to begin with. By taking my time and slowly turning to the desired measurements. Stopping often and checking with calipers. 

I am not a purist in my woodworking, nor am I against using hand tools to complete a job, I am in the middle somewhere and try to do the job the most efficient way I can. For some tasks it means unplugging completely while for some other tasks the power tools can get the job done. 

Sometimes the search for a faster way comes to a good end and you find that more efficient technique, but sometimes a slower more methodical route is the best. Only experimentation can tell you sometimes. 

No matter what method of work you do, mass producing a piece with machinery or making a one of a kind with hand tools, don't let the tools or technique define your design. You might have to ponder a design concept for years before you figure out how to make it work. Pandering to the tools can steal the creativity from your design and it will fall flat. Draw your creation in your journal(very important for designer to keep) then figure out how to make it happen. 

Don't let your imagination get constrained by the tools, but make them work for you to create. 

I do still use this aid, but taking my time and creeping up on the measurement, stopping and checking with calipers seems to be the best for me. 

If you want to use the slip measurement tool, start by setting up a fence on your drill press and drilling concentrically larger holes in a piece of thin stock and labeling them. Then cut this board in half and when you rough in your turning you can slip it over the work and see how you are progressing. 

For the wrench tool, pick an open end box wrench and check it with calipers to get the perfect width. Using a grinder with cut off wheel to take a bit off the end of the wrench then put an angle on it with a bench grinder and sharpen it like you would any other turning tool.

 Bring the wrench up from underneath the stock and slowly bring the cutting surface into the stock until it encompasses the work. I don't use this too often, but they are nice to have around.

For tenons I like to add a strip of measurement tape to the top of my tail stock and set my compass to that, then mark the work using the compass. 

You might have a better way, that's fine. I just offer tips on what I have found works best for me. The point is to find the best way to make it all work for you to craft your creation.