Building on the information that I gleaned from the Graham Blackburn workshop that I attended, I wanted to go into a little more depth on the topics of design that were discussed. Very often when woodworkers think about designing a piece of furniture they only think about things like joinery, style and the finish of the piece. However, doing so is to consider only part of the equation.
According to Blackburn, there are three pillars of design: Function, Construction, and Proportion. I’d like to explore these one by one, giving each it’s own post here. So, let’s first explore the how the function of a piece relates to its design.
Function
The function of a piece is sometimes hard to define even for what you would think is a straightforward item. However, it’s very important to define its function completely before you design any piece of furniture.
As an example, if you were asked to define a table, how would you do it? Is it something that you sit at in a chair? Does it have storage for things like a desk would? How about a stand to hold something like a plant or vase…is that a table? How high should it be? Round or rectilinear? What makes a table a table and not a chair? You can sit on a table, can’t you?
A lot of these questions may seem silly. However, at the workshop, Mr. Blackburn had us go through a brief discussion on the definition of a table in order to illustrate a point. There was no one correct answer. The definition of a table depends on its intended application. Size, shape, etc. are dictated by how, why and where it is likely to be used. Similarly, the intended use could dictate certain design decisions like how big or what shape it should be. It’s also possible that the environment in which it will be used may also dictate some of the elements of its design.
On the subject of size, at the workshop we discussed different sizes based on standards, ergonomics and specific individuals. Of course the ergonomics of a piece will vary by function as well as the size of the person that may use it. Taller individuals may want a higher table due to their physical stature. Or, due to its intended function, a table might be designed to be much taller or shorter – for example to be used while standing up or for displaying something next to a chair. Mr. Blackburn highlighted a reference text for standard sizes of all kinds of furniture and cabinetry, etc. called Architectural Graphic Standards. He stated that any edition of the text is a valuable resource for details on standard sizes and determining efficient ergonomics.
So, defining the function of a piece of furniture is essentially just an application of common sense. The theory is that that the form of a piece should follow the function of its intended use. It’s important to ask and answer the necessary questions relating to the use of a piece of furniture before designing it. Unless we are simply designing abstract art, the esthetics, style, joinery, color, finish, etc. should all be secondary considerations. Of course, the material and joinery choices can become important based on the intended function of a piece as well. That will be the subject of my next post on Blackburn’s second pillar of design: Construction.
Tags: Design, function, furniture design, Graham Blackburn, three pillars of design
This weekend marked the opening of the season for the Rochester Woodworkers Society, the woodworking club that I belong to. As I have mentioned before, each year the club hosts several national woodworkers for lectures and workshops. The first talk of this season was given by Graham Blackburn.
Graham has an interesting background. Born in London, England into a family of woodworkers (father and grandfather), his parents wanted him to pursue a “professional” career as a lawyer or a doctor. Much to his parents dismay, he spent his summers in London working for a local cabinetmaker learning various techniques and woodworking skills and ultimately ened up in the fields of art, music and woodworking.
When Graham first came to the United States he settled in Woodstock New York – this was prior to the famous concert held there in 1969. He is a musician and ultimately attended the Juliard School in New York City on a music scholarship. He also subsequently played flute and saxophone for Van Morrison for several years. During this period he built his first house in Woodstock and wrote his first book about that process (he has now penned more than a dozen books). All the while he made furniture for himself as well as for others.
Still interested in woodworking, after his years in the music scene, he attended art school and learned the principles of design. Throughout the subsequent years he continued his woodworking, design and writing. He has been a frequent contributor to numerous magazines including Fine Woodworking and was the editor of Woodwork Magazine for several years. Many of his articles have centered around the history of various furniture styles as well as aspects of furniture design.
Graham took us through a slide show of various pieces that he has designed and built and discussed the good an the bad of each. Most notably he pointed out his evolution as a designer and how he had missed the mark in some of his early pieces. Given his background in art and training in design, Graham brings a sound perspective to furniture design. This is something that is somewhat unique as not a lot of woodworkers are formally trained in art and/or design. During his discussion, Graham stated that:
“Function is only half of the story, what makes a good design is a combination of balance rhythm and proportion”
The aspect of proportion is something that I have have written about here before, citing one of Graham’s past articles in Fine Woodworking. The balance and rhythm of a piece are closely related aspects that I think are worthy of some further exploration.
Graham also spoke about what he called the “transparent arts” of design. He described these as the elements of a furniture design that when done just right are not specifically noticed but, if done wrong make a piece look awkward and/or unattractive. These transparent design elements center around proportion, balance and rhythm and can be found in even the finest details of a piece.
Graham was here to discuss both design and the use of hand tools in the modern shop. I was fortunate enough to attend his workshop on the following day discussing these topics in a bit more detail than in the general lecture. I plan on following up with a post or two to discuss more of the details of what was covered. So, stay tuned!
Tags: balance, Design, Graham Blackburn, proportion, rhythm
When you’re writing about woodworking and design and documenting your projects, time sure flies. It was one year ago on Labor Day weekend that I started this blogging experiment that I call The Craftsman’s Path. The upcoming weekend marks the one year anniversary of this effort!
Since that day, I have written about many things: techniques, projects, jigs, design, people and experiences. The process has been great. I have enjoyed doing it as well as getting to know some of you out there who have been following along and commenting and/or emailing with input, questions and critiques. I wanted to make a quick post to say thank you for reading and most of all for participating. Please continue to do so in the future, and for all of you who are reading but not commenting, please do! The discussion is what makes this medium so rich in content.
With all of that said, I am anxious to get back into the shop and to posting on more topics. I have a bunch of new projects planned and I also want to continue with the process of talking about design. That is an area that I would really like to engage in some more substantive discussion – hopefully involving more of you!
So, thanks again for all of your support and until the next post, remember: Its Woodworking Season!
Previously, I wrote about the merits of using rough stock in your woodworking. In that post I discussed the benefits offered to every woodworker through milling your own boards from rough to ready. What I did not cover is how to go about preparing rough stock for use on a project.
The basic steps from Rough to Ready
Lot’s of articles have been written about taking a board from rough to 4-square. The basic steps that I follow are:
- Crosscut to rough length
- Rip to rough width
- Joint one face of the board
- Joint an adjacent edge square to the previously jointed face
- Rip to final width
- Crosscut to final length and/or add joinery details such as tenons, etc.
In this post, I’d like to focus on the first two steps of the process and to discuss how I typically approach them, and why.
As a point of clarification, the process and order of operations that I follow is deliberate. Some might argue with the first step of crosscutting to rough length so early in the process. My rationale is as follows: I try to get each piece as close to finished dimension as possible before any surfacing with the jointer or planer. Smaller pieces are easier to handle and the inevitable task of removing imperfections in a board (cup, twist, bow, etc.) are easier remove and with less wasted stock when the pieces are smaller. In some cases, a piece of stock that is basically unusable due to a condition such as bowing while in its long state can be successfully managed when cut down to smaller lengths because the condition is less pronounced in the shorter pieces.
Crosscutting to Rough Length
As I mentioned, the first thing that I do is to crosscut pieces to rough length. The only time that I deviate from this is when the finished parts may end up too short to rip, joint and/or plane in future steps of the milling process. My rule of thumb is a minimum of about 16″ in length. Shorter than that and I will usually try to layout and group like pieces within the same piece of stock. Then I will safely mill the longer board until the final step where I can crosscut to final lengths and add the joniery.
My tool of choice for this cross cutting step may surprise you. I typically use the hand held jigsaw for this operation. I do this because the jigsaw is portable and easy to maneuver in my small shop. I can also choose to crosscut in a larger area if necessary if the piece is to long to easily get into my shop. Those are the practical reasons however, the more important reason is safety.
Rough stock by nature is uneven and uncooperative when trying to hold it against a tool’s table or fence. It tends to wobble and shift in those situations. Of course, those conditions are a problem for tools such as the table saw, radial arm saw and/or miter saw. The way that those tools work with their relatively thick rotating blades tends to allow for conditions that support kickback to occur. Because the jigsaw is portable, I can set the rough stock across my workbench and with the aid of a roller stand for support, crosscut pieces as necessary without any worries. The jigsaw also has a very narrow blade that reciprocates rather than rotates. Thus, kickback is rarely a concern.
Ripping to Rough Width
Once the pieces have been crosscut to rough length, I can rip them to rough width. I can hear you out there saying that if I do this now before the stock is smooth I will either have to use a jig or risk kickback on the table saw. Well, the reason that I can do this now without the need of any special sleds or other jigs is because of the tool that I use.
My tool of choice for the rough ripping operation is the band saw. Because of the same dangerous condiitons that I described which can promote kickback during crosscutting rough stock, using the table saw for this operation (without the use of a rough ripping sled or some other device to make it safe) is not advisable.
I use the band saw to rough rip for much the same reasons that I use the jigsaw for rough crosscutting. The blade is thin and moves in a single direction toward the table. Even with the tendency for rough stock to close in on the cut while it is ripped (caused from relieving stresses in the board which develop during the growing and/or drying process) there is virtually no danger of kickback. The worst thing that may typically happen in severe cases is that the blade can bind requiring the kerf to be propped open with a wedge in order to complete the cut.
Other merits of using the band saw to rough rip are numerous. Some examples are: the ability to follow certain grain patterns in a rough board rather than ripping parallel to the edge in order to have the best looking piece result; to easily work around defects in stock; to get maximal use of a board due to the very narrow kerf of the band saw; and finally to more easily work with and rip thick stock avoiding potentially risky operations at the table saw.
Again, with the band saw I will sometimes group parts when I lay them out on the rough stock so that the ripping operation is safe both at this tool as well as later during final ripping on the table saw. I do not like to rip anything on the table saw that is shorter than 16″ in length and/or with a finished width narrower than about 2-3″. Generally, I do these dangerous ripping tasks safely at the band saw with a longer piece of stock and then joint or plane to finished width before the final cross cut.
If you don’t have a band saw, you could also accomplish these rough ripping tasks with a hand held jigsaw. Alternately, if you do not have a jig saw, you should build a rough ripping sled for your table saw in order to rip rough stock safely.
Hopefully, this sheds some light on the process that I use and why I do it this way. My main goal is to stay safe and to make the process as easy as possible within the constraints of my shop. I’d like to hear your thoughts on the subject. Please leave a comment with the comments field at the end of the post or send me an e-mail.
Tags: band saw, crosscut, dimensioning rough lumber, jigsaw, joint, plane, rip, rough lumber
This weekend I spent some time upgrading the blogging software that is under the hood at The Craftsman’s Path to the latest version. I migrated the site to Wordpress version 2.6. That change does not really show anything outwardly to the viewer but, it upgrades many of the tools a features behind the scenes that help to create the blog.
I also decided that it was time for a new look. So, as you can see I’ve updated the look and layout of the blog with a new theme. I think that this theme allows for a bit more flexibility and maybe better navigation of the site.
Let me know how you like it and of course, if you notice anything that is not working properly, let me know that too!
