tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794197433800142292024-02-19T12:20:44.557+09:00Furniture Maker ~ Dennis Youngデニス ヤング家具 日本工房djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-3647639841104292022-08-10T22:56:00.000+09:002022-08-10T22:56:14.110+09:00<p> Another chair.....like some others......made from Japanese Chestnut wood</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifSZsbzNofCPNJclJrB1NxEiIL-GBXDkPUQGECB_KVbv_uxZzLdtcTyZjcVxa0-whOsJl5e-WT2reZQ_cJLaQLCYJ7AyMOKd0fZ-AJfYVCfbdKxoBmPl7i31eeRZileEqq70xLLWnyZCB7C4qqNa4Oylo5Z6wca0Ro45rrSV-dW1V8VQSwlD1-UqtQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1705" height="573" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifSZsbzNofCPNJclJrB1NxEiIL-GBXDkPUQGECB_KVbv_uxZzLdtcTyZjcVxa0-whOsJl5e-WT2reZQ_cJLaQLCYJ7AyMOKd0fZ-AJfYVCfbdKxoBmPl7i31eeRZileEqq70xLLWnyZCB7C4qqNa4Oylo5Z6wca0Ro45rrSV-dW1V8VQSwlD1-UqtQ=w490-h573" width="490" /></a></div><p></p>djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-60819038793761259212017-03-13T10:47:00.001+09:002022-08-10T22:50:38.871+09:00Working on a new chair designI had the basic idea for a new dining chair design, but lots of things need to be worked out to finalize the concept before making anything that I would want someone to use. First I made a chair out of black and red painted cardboard to work out some basic proportions. I could sit in it to see how I liked the size.<br />
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Next I have made a prototype out of some Pine and upholstery materials, further developing some design details and enabling me to much better see how I like the seating comfort aspect as a dining chair.<br />
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I still need to make some design changes, particularly the front legs which seem rather stiff to me, but overall I am pleased with how the chair is turning out. The seating is quite comfortable, upright enough for dining, but also relaxing. I feel pretty confident at this stage to go on and make a chair that I can exhibit and hopefully someone will decide that they want to own and use it. I hope to show a final chair in a later photo.<br />
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djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-58499497938368809052017-03-06T05:52:00.003+09:002017-03-13T10:28:40.166+09:00Dutch type door for a bicycle shop<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Cherry and Cedar Siding Wood</td></tr>
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<br />djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-86193713871685553852017-03-03T11:43:00.002+09:002017-03-03T23:05:33.819+09:00Dining set in Chestnut (Kuri) and Sen wood for a young couple in Tokyo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-1985956576463938552017-03-03T11:35:00.001+09:002017-03-03T11:35:50.916+09:00Some recent woodwork from last year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitchen cabinet doors in mixed woods</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Counter chair in Black Walnut</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cherry and Black Walnut low table</td></tr>
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djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-55060518210279533512013-09-29T15:56:00.000+09:002014-02-06T22:36:31.666+09:00 BUTSUDAN MADE FOR CLOSE FRIENDSI hope to write about my good friend, Masanori Minami, and of my relationship with him. He was an artist, a well known painter in the traditional Nihonga style, even though he lost both of his arms at the shoulders when a boy. Becoming a mouth painter, initially by way of training with a Buddhist nun that had also lost her arms, his story beyond that point of having suffered a devastating injury, is one of perseverance, strength, and fine achievement.<br />
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Over the last number of years, Masanori was in poor health, and contemplating that his time remaining was likely short, he asked me to design and construct the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butsudan">butsudan</a> for his home. Beyond acknowledging the request, I barely considered the project at the time, he was too dear to me to much want to consider his death, but as it turned out, his life came to an end sooner than was expected, and my friend's wife confirmed that she wanted me to build the altar for them. Her desire was to have the butsudan incorporated with stained glass, accented by a light inside, and overall of a relatively uncomplicated design.<br />
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It was a challenging project for me, both figuring out what I wanted to do for appropriateness, along with the technical requirements. The four softly curving glass panels in the front and rear needed to be removable in the event of damage. Japan has frequent earthquakes, so over years of use, damage occurring is an unfortunate possibility.<br />
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I had a quantity of both Claro and Black Walnut that I had been keeping for many years, some beautiful representation of both woods in the deep color and grain pattern that can make this material so wonderful for woodwork . I had been saving the wood for what I hoped would at some point be a special and worthy use. I am deeply saddened by the loss of my good friend, certainly among the individuals that I have met during my life that I have found to be both greatly enjoyable and also inspirational. He was a man that was loved by many, and it is my hope that the butsudan will contribute to his memory in a supportive way.<br />
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Clicking on the photos increase the size, and thanks for viewing my blog.<br />
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<br />djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-63603879621608619072013-04-21T11:01:00.000+09:002013-09-30T09:26:06.139+09:00Cherry WoodA lady and her friend each wanted a small simple cabinet with an open space at the top, and some other specifics about drawers and a door with the space behind. I used some very nice Black Cherry that I was fortunate to find. Not a complicated cabinet, but I did have some considerations integrating the allowable movement solid wood construction with the design requirements. The area of the country in which the cabinets will be used, is considerably damper during certain times of the year, compared to where I live and work.<br />
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Of the many types of hardwoods that I normally build furniture out of, I would say that Cherry is one of the more predictable ones to work with.<br />
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Delivering the work enabled a rare trip down to Shikoku in southern Japan, a place that has some amazing feats of engineering highway bridges.<br />
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<br />djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-9612441931504145352012-09-22T06:39:00.001+09:002012-09-22T22:48:34.969+09:00Mr. Natural and the Evolution of a Design<br />
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The artist, R. Crumb, his well known character, "Mr. Natural", was the initial inspiration for the design of a rocking chair that I built a few years ago. I like how the depictions of the flowing bearded man often show him stepping out with purpose, and he seems in good balance and unfettered as he plows through his path in life. If one reads the stories that accompanied the character, it is shown that people relied upon him for his clear pronouncements, yet there is also something a bit quizzical about the man, one should often expect the unexpected. His shape of stability and assuredness in motion is what I also wanted embodied in the chair, along with the quality of being something unique, but with limited need for deliberation when viewed, the appearance being fundamentally solid and self explanatory. If the curves are graceful as an accompaniment, then I would be thankful. I desired a chair meant to be a rocker in total purpose from the beginning, not something that evolved to that from a previous history of being solely a stationary chair on four legs or other, such that often confuses me with the mixed messages of both rigidity and motion at the same time.<br />
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I liked the first edition of Mr. Natural out of some very rich Walnut, and so did a few clients of mine, but it was a bit experimental and eventually encountered some technical problems. Perhaps those that also work with wood can pretty easily figure out what those were? I wasn't oblivious to the possibility of a degree of failure resulting, but the form was compelling to me, and in the least wanted to test it out. Following the advice of another R. Crumb character to, "Keep on truckin'", I thought the basic concept was worth pursuing, and went on to the next chair edition, also in Walnut, with one major change that I thought would alleviate the problem that arose in the previous design, along with a few smaller proportional ones. This model, seen below, also found a good reception, and I have made a number of them for people. It further fulfilled my hope that a comfortable chair would likely reduce much in the way of hesitation from purchasing a somewhat expensive object gleaned from a certain comic book character, were one astute enough to notice the resemblance. Crumb's Mr. Natural is a man of wit, intrigue, and charm, but sometimes his associations can be of a somewhat dubious nature. Perhaps it is somewhat like the Buddha himself, who after achieving enlightenment, is said to have preferred the company of hell raisers and drunkards, over the more restrained type folk that seem more commonly met....<br />
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For a few years I went with the second design in the series, but responding to the<br />
comment that my furniture sometimes tends to be a bit heavy, I thought less about the original inspiration and proceeded to refine the design to a lighter in visual weight chair. Most recently produced from some Cherry that I had stored for many years, and originally rescued from pulverization at a pulp mill, the results are shown below. I was pretty happy with the way things turned out, and so is the dear woman from the next town over that commissioned me to make her a rocker of my own choosing, and now owns the chair. Her most recent comment that when sitting down in the chair, she simply does not feel like getting up, pleases me to no end. Success is sweet with new designs.<br />
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Still, wanting to see if I could take the chair to a further lighter weight, the results are shown below, the latest in the series Particularly the front and rear legs are a lighter scale, as are the remaining parts of the chair to a smaller degree. It was only a couple of days ago that I delivered the finished chair to it's owner, commissioned for her as a total surprise, an unexpected gift from a generous friend. The wood is my local Chestnut, a material that I have come to much value and favor in recent work. The recipient of the rocking chair is a member of a large household comprised of three generations, from grandmother to still young grandchildren, so I expect the chair will get much use, and henceforth, remembrances will accompany it through the ages. It all seems quite natural.<br />
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Thanks for viewing my blog, your comments are welcomed.djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-45414265107934782732012-08-12T09:19:00.000+09:002012-08-13T11:19:42.947+09:00Japanese Chestnut on the LatheOur Japanese Chestnut <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">(</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i><b>Castanea crenata</b></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">) is fairly resistant to the Chestnut blight fungus that devastated billions of trees in the United States, and where intensive efforts to find a prevention for the disease have to this day not been successful. In Japan, our Chestnut is still quite abundant, the wood being a valuable timber, and the nuts an important food product. It appears that although the Asian trees have the level of resistance, it is thought that either the Japanese or Chinese variety (different species) were in fact the culprits in introducing the parasite into the west, possibly either in some lumber or living trees that were imported. A sad day that was, beginning the demise of an important timber from trees that had also been a source of food to natives and the early settlers.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Speaking of the wood's character, it is quite 'calm', a fairly light in weight hardwood that is yielding and relatively easy to work with. With time, objects made from the wood take on a subdued but very pleasant honey color, giving a subtle quiet effect. One of my favorite woods, and fortunate to have a local source for it. I have made a wide range of different types of furniture with Chestnut, both of western and Japanese style inspiration. I currently am building a rocking chair with the wood. There can be some range in the quality of the material, the older trees with a tighter grain are the ones that yield the best lumber, with greater stability resulting as well. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">It occurs that many woodworkers have not had the opportunity to work with the wood, perhaps haven't much seen how it turns out when worked and polished up with a finish on it. Both a clear oil and an urushi finish will give very pleasing results.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">A tray or "obon" like this is very commonly used to serve tea, I suppose nearly every household will have one. A fine wood for the lathe as well. This chunk has an interesting swath of reddish color through it, something that I don't recall seeing much before.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">I put this small item with it's stand of tig welded stainless out as part of an exhibition that I had of pieces for sale, something inexpensive to supplement the larger furniture work. I was interested in seeing what reaction it might bring, to my mind a very lovely piece of wood in a useful form that most people can relate to, and last but not least, at a giveaway price. "Buy it for almost nothing and I will give you the stand too". I like to at least show one thing at a price that a shrewd person ought to pick up on right away, my contribution to the masses, so to speak. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> I don't recall there being any reaction really, folks barely looked at it.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> It is hard to figure, sometimes, and a bit disappointing. Still, Illusions can inspire...</span><br />
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</div>djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-1150193158941536972012-08-08T23:22:00.000+09:002012-08-11T10:20:22.867+09:00Gone, but Not Forgotten<br />
The folks that ordered this rocking chair finally came by the shop to pick it up. It's been a few weeks since I completed it, and could have delivered it to them the next day, but picking it up was their preference, and the fellow is a shokunin himself and has a truck. He wrapped it with cardboard, even carried it out of the shop, leaving me feeling odd and thinking it was a first for that. I would have used moving blankets. Only the next town south where his residence is, but it saved me some effort. I never did see the location where the chair would be used, something that always interests me. Japanese houses of a certain period do tend to be alike, so I can easily imagine.<br />
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The Cherry wood turned out quite attractive with the Egoma or sometimes called Perilla oil that I now mainly use for my finishing. It does bring out a lot of color, and is quite a strong finish for a natural oil, something that is desirable in our relatively high humidity environment during certain times of the year. The back support laths are made from a wood called Sen, and having the highly figured fiddle pattern is not uncommon with the species. It is sometimes mistakenly referred to as a type of Japanese Ash, having a similar color and grain, but being an unrelated species. The design I am pretty pleased with, though I am continuing my attempts to lighten up the chair with the current edition that is presently in the works, this time made from Chestnut, a wood that I have been using a lot of recently. There was an earlier comment that the Windsor type side stretcher is not needed for strength, and perhaps within that thought is also the possibility that it is incongruous with the rest of the design? At this point I don't mind it, more think that it adds a small element of interest. I enjoy seeing something on a chair that touches with earlier eras, when the overall concept may be of a contemporary nature. The illustrious history of chair design evolution speaks a lot to me.<br />
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The rocking chair origin can only be traced back to North America during the early 18th century, though rocking cradles appeared much earlier, as is evident in paintings. This type chair soon appeared in Great Britain shortly there after. Perhaps one of the very few examples of early American made chair design influencing Great Britain, if that really was the case. Few if any of the original makers saw the chair as something requiring further thought as to design, based on the fact that the chair had blades on the bottom and was meant to move. Regular chairs were simply made with the usual straight legs shortened, to which the curved blades were attached, something that is still quite commonly done today. I have done a number of them that way as well myself, but something always bothered me about what often appears as a rather stiff form stuck onto curves. It is as if the chair has a case of rigor mortis! To my mind, designing a complete chair where the form can carry through from and to the curvilinear parts on the bottom, and it also has some visual cohesiveness with the movement aspect, it makes more sense. My rocking chairs over the more recent years, without the blades, there would be no safe way to sit in them without the risk of crashing over backwards or forwards. In the lesser completed form, certainly not a gentleman's chair, or something acceptable to a lady that might easily become flustered! I think of chairs as offering the place for the input of a great amount of subtlety, depending on the intended manner of use and location, and from that gives the possibilities of great practical seating. It is something to hold the interest of the craftsman woodworker throughout a lifetime of work.<br />
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Some folks have asked me to post photos of the completed chair, and I welcome any comments. Thanks for viewing my blog.<br />
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A customer of mine asked me to refinish a table that I had made for him a number of years ago, his granddaughter had worked it over pretty good. It was a bit of an unusual project at the time to build it, and I had somewhat of a hard time approaching it with the usual degree of concentration. He was using a Mahogany table that the carpenter who built his house made, and though the material was quite nice wood, it was too narrow and the base was rather heavy and ill proportioned to the top. He asked me to do something with it, no specifics required, whatever I wanted.<br />
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I didn't have any Mahogany and it is hard to obtain. I did have some Maple in the length required however, and it was handy and well seasoned, so I just widened the top with it and changed the overall shape to something that I thought was pleasing, and also used some of the lighter wood for the base, mixed with Black Acacia and Walnut for the woven pattern. I'm not so into racing stripes, and a lot of thought really didn't go into the project, I simply produced it rather quickly as a priority, and it pretty much came from nowhere but the time. No study, pulling out old patterns, or sketching. My customer is a casual guy, owns a great French restaurant, from which he has mostly retired now. His lifestyle is relaxed and at his own pace. He likes the more unique aspects of the table, I guess could be said, and it gets treated pretty rough, used for both dining and as a work surface. The chairs were a later addition that he asked me to do. <br />
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It's enjoyable for me to see the table now and then, he lives close by my shop. It does make me wonder what I had in mind when I produced it? I do recall thinking in an intuitive way about what he would like, and also what I could do expediently. I might want to try and develop the idea of the wood weaving during another time. I was a little concerned regarding the durability of the strips, they are quite thin, but so far everything has held up without any problem at all.djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-33996975293945982622012-06-15T09:30:00.001+09:002012-06-16T08:11:51.457+09:00Seat Shaping Thoughts<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dc0K0byk3Gs" width="560"></iframe><br />
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I've added a final short summation to the earlier videos on shaping a wooden seat. I hope that in the series, there may be some useful information for people wishing to do similar work. I am interested in learning if anyone finds what I have shown here to be helpful within their own approach to chair making, or what other methods that they may have found useful to produce seats. A bit of a choppy edited vid, sorry! Thanks for viewing.djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-24009784428374939192012-06-13T09:30:00.002+09:002012-06-13T09:32:23.997+09:00Final Seat Shaping<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_98ANEr6SvQ" width="560"></iframe><br />
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The last in my three part video series on how I shape wooden seats. Thanks for watching, and I hope that there may be some useful practical aspect for someone, contained in the methods shown.djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-44290245747008431632012-06-12T07:01:00.000+09:002012-06-12T07:08:49.501+09:00Travishing a Chair Seat<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/so-ZU526hEI" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Step 2 in the process of shaping a wooden chair seat, following adzing. Using "travishing" irons here, a tool that evolved with the trade of Windsor chair making in Great Britain. Produced by blacksmiths, the degree of curve in the irons varied, and the handles were likely accordingly made by the users. The one I most use in the video has a handle that I shaped to fit an old iron that I found. The other is complete as I discovered it, also at a second hand tool dealers in Buckinghamshire. Quite efficient for cleaning up the adze effects, and for more refined shaping of the contours, used both across and parallel with the grain. Great tools, albeit requiring a degree of physical effort to accomplish the task. I have no thought as to what might work with better efficiency, without going to some electric grinding or sanding devices. I do enjoy keeping certain traditions alive, and have used these tools for many hundreds of seats. <br />
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Still one step to go for the final shaping, using Japanese tools.djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-69519246703092589822012-06-11T07:37:00.000+09:002012-06-12T07:08:01.820+09:00Adzing Again<br />
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The origins of my own chair making are much derived from the couple of years that I spent with two of the last companies in Great Britain still doing traditional work. Both learning the methods and being immersed in the atmosphere of the old chair making town, it afforded me the great opportunity to drink deeply from the brilliant history of woodworking within that country. The "bottomers" adze for roughing out seats is still the method that I use today. Merely picking up my adze gives me a tingle of pleasure, it feels good in my hands, and it conveys a very practical use, albeit somewhat remote from the more mechanical devices in broader application today, designed for removing wood for a similar purpose, with the loud noise and dust that they also create, and possibly being powered by the nuclear juice. This particular seat will be for a new rocking chair design, currently in the works for a customer.</div>
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With English all wooden chairs, particularly Windsors, having been made predominantly from hardwoods, the seats more often than not, Elm, having an initial tool for seat shaping, where a lot of physical power could be applied through, as well still enabling a degree of control, the adze with the longer handle and curved wide face became the tool of choice. During the era of segregated tasks being done by specialists, working with the adze became a separate profession in itself within the chair shops. I'm not sure that it was such an enviable one however, as the work with the tool can be hard on your back if done for extended hours, and there also is the degree of danger working with the sharp instrument. Carelessness can creep in with fatigue. I can only marvel at the fellow in the old photo, and the effort it took to adze out the many seats behind him. Perhaps early 20th century? Note his protective leather leggings. It's a sweet looking adze shape that he is using there as well. Reading about the history of chair making in Great Britain, injuries weren't so uncommon within the bottomer's trade. "No toes Neville", is one bloke still remembered in the literature. In the very least, I still need to get one of those caps.</div>
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The seat in the video is from a local species of Cherry found in my area. Somewhat more difficult to adze compared to the more resilient Elm, going against the grain can blow out divots deeper than you want to go, or lift up sections beyond the edges of the desired outer profile within the seat blank. A sharp adze and caution as you go with the right touch, will give the best results. It took me a fair amount of practice initially to acquire the skill, my body learning to develop the control to lift up a shaving and follow it through to complete a pass. With the random striking here and there without enabling the cleaner more even furrows, common amongst folks learning to do the work, the result is far less productive in terms of more even contours, and what does result in leading up to the next steps in shaping, also comes at a slower pace. Experience makes for the better ability. The adze is indeed a fine tool, one where once you have learned it's use and potential, keeping it in practice is something that seems to come along with it. I wonder how many of us are still out there using it today?</div>
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I follow the adze work with both English and Japanese hand tools for completing the seat, which I hope to also show in a video.</div>
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<br />djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-74918768342263578812012-05-25T02:58:00.000+09:002012-05-25T07:39:07.361+09:00Old Friends and Windsor Chairs Again!I recently made contact with some old friends, a couple that I had met on the airplane when moving to England to do chair making within the wonderful traditions that exist there for the craft. Mr and Mrs Sano were also moving to England to live for awhile, Mr Sano is a professional photographer, and more often than not can be seen with his camera in his hand. It had been thirty-five years since I last had seen or spoken to these very kindly and otherwise enjoyable people. They had asked me to make two dining chairs for them after we did get together again, and they visited my shop one day last year. <br />
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The Sano's current dining arrangement is a mix of an antique English table with chairs of different designs, all purchased after they had mover back to Japan and found in a shop here. The chairs I would be building for them would be replacing two of the existing ones, that were to continue finding use in another part of the residence.<br />
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The specifics of the design were to come up with something similar to some early work that the couple saw and liked in my portfolio, and that the choice of wood be American Black Walnut. They wanted a relatively simple chair without arms. I took the liberty of adding some Japanese Cherry for the back laths. I have always liked the combination of Walnut and Cherry, thinking the grain and colors of the two woods play off of each other well. Also, to my eye, the Cherry tends to lighten up the visual heaviness of the dark Walnut. The two woods will age gracefully together. The photos below are of one of the Sano's new chairs, a commission I immensely enjoyed thinking about and making, for some folks that I consider good friends.<br />
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The Sanos picked up the chairs on a beautiful weather day. We went up to an airy soba noodle restaurant to have lunch, at the base of some mountains nearby. An old temple is also there to explore, with a waterfall directly behind it that sends out a chilly mist. The mountain snow is melting now and the streams are running full.<br />
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<br />djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-43808666199853086782012-04-10T11:57:00.000+09:002012-05-04T08:15:02.931+09:00Working away from the shop<br />
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As mentioned in some other posts, I have a side work activity doing tree removals. I live in an area where a large portion of land is forested, mostly Pine woods. Most of the removals are around homes in the wooded areas, but sometimes also at a city location, very diverse places really, one of the reasons that I enjoy it. Seeing some areas that I normally wouldn't get the opportunity to visit and often speaking with the residents there, working with some pleasant and highly skilled people, the challenges of the heavy work, all things that add up to a nice sometimes change from being by myself in my workshop. Still working with wood, with a totally different goal, makes for a good contrast from the rather finely detailed aspects of furniture making, and at the end of a work day, the amount of accomplishment is often determined by a pile of logs stacked up, requiring a diversity of physical actions to achieve it, both on the ground and above. A lot of consideration is sometimes involved in the process as well, different situations come up and there are risks that require being confronted. It can make for some very interesting and exciting work.</div>
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Most of the tree work is aided by a crane, a great device that often allows a safer and more practical approach to removing trees. The vid here, I made with my helmet camera, and it exemplifies a typical day, part of a job cutting about eighty trees on a property to be sold, and where a recent snow had caused some damage to an adjoining house when a few trees toppled. It gets especially interesting when the wind picks up about 25 minutes into the vid. The wind is a truly powerful force, and something to be very well considered and respected when working with trees. </div>
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<br /></div>djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-51634917314817295152012-04-04T11:21:00.002+09:002012-04-10T11:11:33.105+09:00A pretty girl and her jewelry boxI was fortunate to have an interesting commission come my way not too long ago, and from the states. A friend asked me to make a jewelry box for his young daughter, to be shown to her upon it's arrival, but actually will be given to her to use when she is older....perhaps turning 18? I considered it a thoughtful and loving gift. The order also came at a time when I really needed the work, due to the earthquake and consequences that had resulted shortly before. Thanks, Paul!<br />
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I had been keeping a small supply of what is called Enju wood here, in my possession for at least fifteen years, but had never used any of it. It is a legume, not so unlike Black Acacia and in the same family I believe, but is a bit softer and a warm brown color. No previous experience working with the species, but I knew it by reputation as a material sometimes used by an old occupation of woodworkers in Japan, called "sashimono". These are people that specialized in making smaller items in wood, from scroll cases to certain types of furniture, most frequently in a traditional style, but in many instances also having unique detail embellishments, often very intricately made articles that required a major investment in time to produce. The level of skill and fine degree of execution is inspiring if one cares to look into it. There are fine examples to be seen, though sadly, the demand for such goods is in limited supply today, and the number of people still involved in the trade, now few. I suspected that Enju is fairly easy to work and can take on fine crisp details, which turned out to be the case. I can only imagine that the color of the wood will become deep and rich with time and use.<br />
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I enjoyed this project immensely, from the initial conceptualizing to the finish execution. The design is pretty simple, but there is some subtlety, as in the slightly curving sides from top to bottom. It wasn't without a degree of difficulty to make, working within the limited allowable size, and I was quite pleased with the way it turned out. My customer seems happy too, sent a photo of Whylie that I love, taken on her birthday! It was a lucky coincidence that the jewelry box arrived shortly before. The box is really not very large, but Whylie being next to it makes it appear so. I am confident that in a few years, the proportions will be better matched! I do hope that she will get many years of enjoyable use from what I made for her. In thirty or forty years, I would very much like to see how it has aged....Whylie as well, alas.<br />
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<br /></div>djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-83911252098993834162012-04-01T09:26:00.013+09:002012-05-03T10:36:31.466+09:00ChestnutChestnut is one of my favorite locally available species of wood to work with. It is not so hard as many other typical furniture making woods, a nice change from using Walnut and Cherry, for example. The species has a certain accommodating resiliency, is quite stable, and over time, ages to a very attractive warm homey color. With use and care, it will take on a nice patina as well, one beyond what the oil finishing process can initially impart, Either with an oil or urushi finish, the results can be very attractive. The grain pattern is bold apparent, but not overwhelming, compared to what is often found in Keyaki (Zelkova). There is a feeling of humbleness and practicality with the material, and that coincides with the diverse locations where it can be seen growing in and around the area where I reside. Large trees sometimes become available to be sawn into slabs to dry for later use, but as is often the case with other woods as well, finding logs without defects can prove difficult. Age imparts the welcomed size, but it also gives time for rot or other undesirable effects to develop, and some types of boring insects frequently will target the wood. Fortunately, Japan has not been affected by the great Chestnut blight disease, that greatly eliminated the species in other parts of the world<br />
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Since the great earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan, I have continued to work in my shop. Though commissions came to a near standstill and it was a major disruption, I did have some requested pieces to complete over the last year, the photos shown here being representative of some of it, and with the thankfulness as well, to have such a fine Chestnut wood to provide for the making, for myself and the people that asked me to make furniture for them.<br />
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The upper photo of four chairs is for a location that I never saw. A lady looked through my portfolio and liked some older Windsor styles that I had done many years earlier, and notified that, "Simpler is better", was her philosophy, something that I don't so much subscribe to, generally liking a certain degree of subtle ornamentation on furniture. I was in agreement in this instance, however, as doing the work for a 'mystery spot' necessitated restraint. The client also specified wanting a comfortable wooden seat, as opposed to using upholstery. Those were pretty much the extent of her specifics, once again with the nod to something not dissimilar to the earlier work photos that I had shown her. My 'hunch' of what she would like, some inspiration from the wood, and what I wanted to make, is what remained to help with the direction of things. After sending her the completed chairs, she responded with a most pleasing note, and a box of delicious mikan, a type of Japanese fruit similar to tangerines, and available during the winter from some warmer areas in the south. Eating mikan during the winter is a national pastime. It is something that can help take your mind off the cold, and what a relentless cold winter it was! Also, the fruit is a good source of vitamin C. Stay healthy to do more woodwork, is perhaps what she was wanting to say, along with her thanks. <br />
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The cushion seat chair as part of a dining set commission for a newly built small home, is shown with flat runners on the bottoms of the legs, essential added parts when using this type of seating on the tatami mat. Without the lower flat connecting pieces, the legs would be damaging to the mat, causing indentations and possible tearing. With them, the weight is spread out with no edges that will grab, and the chairs slide easily over the surface. For wooden or carpeted surfaces, I produce this design without the bottom runners. For people that might find it helpful to have their chairs be able to be moved with more minimal resistance, the runners can be incorporated for any surface on which the seating is used, acting as glides. The arm on this chair is rather difficult to make. There is a dip in the midway portion of the sloping arm surface, between where one's elbow and forearm make contact when sitting, yet the wood thickness remains consistent. As opposed to the simpler alternative of merely being flat, the curve at that point makes for more comfortable resting of a person's arm, and also adds a certain visual welcoming softness, to my eye. Done in this way complicates the joinery process, and the design requires a number of ordered steps from bandsawing to hand shaping, to give the results that I want. A lot of care and control is required to give the smooth transition of lines and what will best provide comfort. The method is my own concept, I have never seen similarly done.<br />
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I am certainly one of the more fortunate ones, to still have the ability to live and work as before the disaster struck Japan, where so many people suffered the tragic losses of family, home, and their place of occupation. For many individuals, returning to what had previously been their normal way of life is still far from being realized, or the hopes to do so will never be completely fulfilled. What particularly strikes me in this post, is the strong contrast between the last two photos. The upper one shows a hopefulness for the future, the ability to find usefulness and enjoyment within our surroundings and in the way we live, while the lower photo shows a kind of ultimate destruction, with everything gone and bewilderment towards what lies ahead. Both can be the realities of life.<br />
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</a>djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-54463488086978172962011-02-23T12:04:00.009+09:002012-04-09T23:08:44.056+09:00Old photosGoing through a box of old photos taken over a number of years, I picked out a few that brought back some particular memories. Sometimes what was done came easy, other times more entailing some struggle. Meeting and getting to know the people who ask me to make furniture for them is a big part of it. I think the photos give an idea of some of the diversity of individuals that I have done work for, and how their tastes and homes helped to direct me to go in a design direction for the particular commission, and resulted in a fairly wide array of styles. California is a place with rather eclectic tastes, from very traditional to wanting something that has never been done before. No doubt a lot of work was approached that would never have been so, without the inspiration from the customers, and the challenge of finding my own interest to portray into a requested job is something that I much like doing. I receive a lot of satisfaction from building furniture that 'fits' well into the location where it will be used. <br />
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I don't particularly subscribe to the "simple is best" philosophy, I like small details that hopefully catch someone's eye over time, maybe add some fun and personality to the work. My own sense tells me about the ornaments, what my eye wants to see, and the scale. I try to be careful that the smaller details don't cloud up the important overall form of the furniture, put trust into an order of things to convey a message.<br />
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Mostly quite old work here, done when my shop was located in the states.<br />
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<br /></div>djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-45846003458605693262011-02-19T05:18:00.015+09:002011-02-19T19:14:42.954+09:00Blog reality check<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg30OIpqHfPZm20L4oZubmKV3a4-l8AsPYTlo4k50Jde5_2O1FouvNOR0XJCDpQQ1ZhzJL-wRDe3rvoMm1xvC_jx6Pek1NRhDsVQkjJYiynsONBbbFu7LS6f62XIhDxv69dt6syAmsKhqM/s1600/opium_dens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg30OIpqHfPZm20L4oZubmKV3a4-l8AsPYTlo4k50Jde5_2O1FouvNOR0XJCDpQQ1ZhzJL-wRDe3rvoMm1xvC_jx6Pek1NRhDsVQkjJYiynsONBbbFu7LS6f62XIhDxv69dt6syAmsKhqM/s640/opium_dens.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
With the blog I have been trying pretty hard to align my thoughts into some degree of order for a reasonable level of conveyance, and put it down with half way decent punctuation that with luck, will help it be understood, and hopefully enjoyed It all takes a bit of effort, especially after working the entire day.<br />
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Is anybody out there?<br />
<div style="font: 12.0px 'Hiragino Kaku Gothic ProN'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">誰でもはそこにいるか。</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">È qualcuno là?</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Este cineva aici?</div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Devanagari MT'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">किसी<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"> </span>को<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"> </span>भी<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"> </span>वहां<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"> </span>है<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;">?</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Er<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Geeza Pro';"> </span>nogen<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Geeza Pro';"> </span>til<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Geeza Pro';"> </span>stede?</div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Est-ce<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Geeza Pro';"> </span>que<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Geeza Pro';"> </span>quelqu'un<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Geeza Pro';"> </span>est<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Geeza Pro';"> </span>là<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Geeza Pro';"> </span>?</div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Είναι οποιος δήποτε εκεί;</div><div style="font: 12.0px AppleGothic; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">누군가는<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Lucida Grande';"> </span>거기<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Lucida Grande';"> </span>있는가<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Lucida Grande';">?</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Está<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Geeza Pro';"> </span>qualquer<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Geeza Pro';"> </span>um<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Geeza Pro';"> </span>lá?</div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Ist<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Geeza Pro';"> </span>jemand<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Geeza Pro';"> </span>dort?<br />
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<div style="font: 16.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">The arms are done, it's time to kick back for awhile...<br />
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</div>djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-3269803436061546512011-02-17T23:19:00.022+09:002011-03-03T10:43:46.745+09:00Into the unknownA number of years ago I wanted to learn the process of tig welding stainless steel., so I purchased a welder and signed up for a short course put on by the manufacturer in Tokyo. Although I didn't really have it in mind at the time, it did help lead to an exhibition of a number of pieces made from wood and steel. This chair was one of the more ambitious projects out of a run of a number of things. I was thinking more 'object' than chair per say, but it did end up having an unexpected nice flex to the back, and being rather comfortable. A furniture designer ended up purchasing it, urged on by his wife, who took a real strong liking to it. I did express my concern to him about how it might hold up, but since I haven't heard anything to the contrary, presumably it is still in good shape. I've been thinking about exploring the possibilities with the combination of materials again this year. <br />
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I like working with steel, things having to be done a certain way really doesn't much apply, just figure it out as I go along, and it is mostly an open book. It does make life easier in certain regards as well, just a phone call and the next day the steel is at my door ready to be used, no thoughts needed with regard to moisture content or any of the other variables that best be considered with wood. What prompted using steel as a furniture component was seeing an old motorized rebar bending machine sitting out rusting behind a nearby metal fabrication place, and their saying that I could have it. I figured that it had to be useful in some way. It does work for bending other steel besides rebar, in a crude fashion.<br />
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</div>I did get some unusual comments from some of my customers who had previously purchased my all wood furniture, for example, "What was I doing?" Since I had never asked myself that question, it didn't bother me very much. A few folks found it within themselves to be more kind. It isn't surprising that people will have certain expectations about an artisan's work after seeing a certain type being done over a period, that is what helps to build a reputation, and it's good for business. My own expectation about what I do..... to be in a good frame of mind at the shop, and to try and do the best work I can, and every hungry dog passing through gets at least one square meal. I recall that is why I wanted to learn this work in the first place, it seemed like it would give such an opportunity.<br />
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<div style="font: 13.0px 'Hiragino Mincho ProN'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">何年も前に<span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Times;">TIG</span>溶接の手順を学びたくなり、溶接機を購入し東京にある製造会社の隣で開かれていた短期コースに参加しました。 それによって、その頃はそこまで考えていなかった木材とスチール両方を使った数多くの作品の展示に繋がるきっかけとなりました。</div><div style="font: 13.0px 'Hiragino Mincho ProN'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">この椅子は多々重なった仕事の中でも特に意欲的に取り組んだもののひとつでした。 椅子自体よりオブジェクトとしての考えが強かったのですが、最終的にこの椅子には背の部分に予想していなかったよいカーブがつき、ずいぶんすわり心地のよいものになりました。 とある家具デザイナーが、この椅子に強い好意を持ってくださった彼の妻の力説により、椅子を購入することになったのです。 彼には椅子の耐久に対する私の懸念をしっかり伝えましたが、連絡がないところをみると椅子はきっと、まだいい状態でいるのでしょう。 今年はまた、材料の組み合わせにおける可能性の探索を考えています。</div><div style="font: 13.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 13.0px 'Hiragino Mincho ProN'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">私は、決められた方法はほとんど当てはまらず、作業を進めながら方法を考え出していく<span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Times;">(</span>それほどの困難もありません)、スチールを使った仕事が気に入っています。 スチールの使用は私の生き方をいくらか楽にもしてくれます。例えば、電話一本で次の日には素材が私のドアの前に準備万端で届けられていて、水分含有量など状態が変わりやすい木材のような考慮が必要がありません。 家具のパーツにスチールを使用するきっかけを与えられたのは、近くにある金属製造所の外で錆びついた古いエンジン付き鉄筋製の曲げ機会を見た際に、持って行っていいと声をかけられた時でした。</div><div style="font: 13.0px 'Hiragino Mincho ProN'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">以前に、素材が全て木の家具を購入してくださった何人かのお客さんから、<span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Times;">"</span>どうしたのか<span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Times;">”</span>といった内容のコメントを受けたことがありましたが、私自身が自分にその質問を投げかけたことがなかったのでそれほど気にとめませんでした。 人が、ある一定の期間に特定のタイプの仕上がりを見て、その職人の仕事に対してある種の期待を抱いても驚きではないし、それは評判を築くうえでの助けにもなり、ビジネスにとっても良いことです。 私がすることに対して私自身が抱く期待とは... 工房で気持ちの良い感じ方、考え方でいられること、自分ができるなかで最善の仕事をすること、そして通りかかるすべての空腹の犬達が十分な食事を与えられること。 それがそもそも、この仕事を学びたかった理由であり、そんな機会を与えてもらえそうだと感じたのでした。</div><div style="font: 13.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
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</span></span></span></div>djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-47298433004434878222011-02-16T12:44:00.041+09:002011-03-25T21:51:45.443+09:00Back in time<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYPw0x3rVHSyvFXZQD_QJSe1i884QzqqkoVG5R4Rk1X6rt-QzOS6XW6CPqhiNEHhqx2J6kQgjw0wvw_z0Q3E850SotGIhG_5YxVMrP9ONzWnKlFzkjWx-J467uoIqshAZ8SrfCMtTD1MM/s1600/img100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYPw0x3rVHSyvFXZQD_QJSe1i884QzqqkoVG5R4Rk1X6rt-QzOS6XW6CPqhiNEHhqx2J6kQgjw0wvw_z0Q3E850SotGIhG_5YxVMrP9ONzWnKlFzkjWx-J467uoIqshAZ8SrfCMtTD1MM/s640/img100.jpg" width="423" /></a></div></div><div><br />
It's getting close to thirty years ago that I built this chair, a short time after returning to the states from Great Britain to start my first shop, and English style was still very much in front of my eyes. The chair was a commission to go with a desk, and my client liked the classics. I had been working and studying hard in England, trying to soak up as much as I could from the great furniture making history in that part of the world, and in a good local to do it, the town of High Wycombe, that in the 19th and early 20th centuries had been the chair making capital of the....universe? Someone might pass through the place on their way from London to Oxford, and not give it a second thought beyond it's gritty appearance as a relatively small industrial town like others, but beneath the exterior is a rich furniture making past, some things special to only that region. Surrounded by Beech woods, during one period more handmade chairs were being produced there than in any other place in the world. I was working in the town at a later date, but the atmosphere I experienced was exciting for me as a young furniture maker. The workshops still in business were down to only a rare few, others had evolved to a nearly total mechanized operation putting out much less than spirited work. In addition to where I was fortunate to have found employment after a good deal of searching, walking down the narrow lanes and looking up at the many windows in the old brick buildings, behind which generations of woodworkers had once been working at their benches, it served as a great inspiration for me on my path. There was some kind of spirit lingering in the air that spoke to me. The chairs could still be seen in some pubs and hotels, continuing to do their jobs daily after the many years, with a lot of character and the nuances that you can recognize from being made in that area. I met a few blokes who had once worked in those brick buildings, retired by then, but with their tools kept in their sheds, and their interest in woodworking still evident in their eyes as they told the remembrances. I found a meaning in all of it, cool to be going through the same motions with all the ghosts.</div><div><br />
</div><div>In my opinion, there is a lot to learn from studying classical furniture. What is it that makes a particular chair more appealing, compared to a similar design made in another shop, the "good", "better", and "best". Subjective to some extent, but the experts will agree, and the huge sums that the auction houses can now obtain for the best work helps to confirm. What are the characteristics that makes up a nicely designed and executed cabriole leg, both a delicate and robust form that found it's way all the way over from China? There have been almost an infinite number of variations, probably almost as many as the number of makers who have used the idea.<br />
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You don't have to think that a design is still timely to get a hint of good balance from it, maybe pick up an essence that can be applied to more contemporary work as well. The influences were very strong from the interior design fashions of those earlier eras, moving from the city to the countryside, and there was lively competition amongst the designers and manufacturers for recognition. Not a sense of indecision behind what went into the work, design uniqueness seems to have been a lesser aspiration after a style took hold, with slight variations and strong execution reflecting the culture of the time.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Sometimes I like to look at the older work that I have done. Though greatly influenced, this chair wasn't exactly a copy, it has a bit of my own interpretation to it. Developing my own perspective about work was still very young, and I can never go back to having the same sense that this chair came from, lots of water beneath the bridge since, carrying many hundreds of pieces of furniture. 'Naive' can be a useful quality in design, sometimes simple and to the point, and less individualism can bring with it a pleasing quality of restraint. All in all, there are one or two things that I might want to do a little different with this chair were I to build it now, but it does honestly represent a certain time and accumulation of effort, and I am still happy with it, albeit produced so long ago. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Using black Walnut for the chair, my client liked the wood. The steam bends are unusual, from a Sycamore that grew near my shop, and the wood is not usually regarded as a good bending species. It would bend ok, but warp badly during the subsequent drying time. Thankfully, I managed to get something that I could use after a few tries, it worked out alright.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGpoU8J4kjMsZDZR8hZkIhH-ru5yUqDkYf1_lnRhAxo-zT774lt7XNvmpxHAP3Vt0fmsM4fDHJ8_rO4CGAPN90pKBhutlHQ1XumvlFXaPsNN3CzYEZ-xIcGaInUFloddrluwsN2MP8J1g/s1600/windsorwork9a001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGpoU8J4kjMsZDZR8hZkIhH-ru5yUqDkYf1_lnRhAxo-zT774lt7XNvmpxHAP3Vt0fmsM4fDHJ8_rO4CGAPN90pKBhutlHQ1XumvlFXaPsNN3CzYEZ-xIcGaInUFloddrluwsN2MP8J1g/s640/windsorwork9a001.jpg" width="433" /></a></div><div style="font: 10.0px 'Hiragino Mincho ProN'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Hiragino Mincho ProN'; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Hiragino Mincho ProN'; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><div style="font: 13.0px 'Hiragino Mincho ProN'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">この椅子を製作したのは、最初の工房を始めるために英国からアメリカに戻ってすぐ後で、もう30年近く前、まだイギリス様式から目を離すことができない頃でした。</div><div style="font: 13.0px 'Hiragino Mincho ProN'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">この椅子は、伝統的なものを好むクライアントによる、机とのセット注文でした。 イギリスの<span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial;">High Wycombe</span>という良き町で ―19世紀から20世紀初頭にかけてこの町は、銀河系全体...?からみても、椅子作りの中心地でした― その世界の中でも卓越した家具作りの歴史から、出来る限りを吸収するため私は勉強と制作に熱心にとりかかりました。 ロンドンからオックスフォードに向かう道中に通りかかっても、この小さな産業地帯のようなじゃりじゃりとした外観の町を再考することはないかもしれませんが、この外面の下には豊かな家具作りの歴史、この地域だけに当て嵌まる特別なものがあります。</div><div style="font: 13.0px 'Hiragino Mincho ProN'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">町はブナの森に囲まれ、一時は手作りの椅子が、世界中のどこよりも製作されていました。 私がそこで仕事をしていたのはその歴史の中でも後半でしたが、まだ若い家具職人であった私にとって、そこで体験した雰囲気は刺激的なものでした。 今では、まだ製作をおこなっている工場は希少な存在となり、他の工場はほとんど全ての工程が機械化され、心のこもった作品は生み出されなくなりました。</div><div style="font: 13.0px 'Hiragino Mincho ProN'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">苦労の末に私が町で手にした勤め先の幸運としてさらに付け加えると、細い路地を歩きながら、古いレンガ造りの建物の、代々の家具職人達が作業台についていたであろう数多き窓を見上げていたことは、私の生き方の大きなインスピレーションになりました。 そこには私に話しかけてくる、なかなか消えない熱情<span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Times;">(spirit)</span>のようなものが感じられたのでした。 その頃の椅子はパブや宿場で何年もの時を経た今でも、その地域のものであると見てわかる性質とニュアンスを放ちながら、日課を守っているのを見ることができます。 私が見上げていた古いレンガ造りの建物で仕事をしていた何人かの職人に出会ったことがありますが、もう引退はしていたものの、彼らの工具はまだ物置に保管されていて、思い出話をする彼らの目にははっきりと、木工に対していだく関心をみてとることができました。 これらのこと全てに、私は趣旨を見出しました ― 亡霊たちと同じ経験を辿ることはクールだ</div><div style="font: 13.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 13.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 13.0px 'Hiragino Mincho ProN'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">個人的な意見ですが、伝統的な家具の勉強には学ぶところがたくさんあります。 ある特定の椅子を、他の工場で作られたデザインのよく似た椅子と比べたときに、より魅惑的に、『よく』『よりよく』『最もよく』見せるものは何か... 中国から渡って来た繊細且つどっしりとした曲がり脚を、注意深く美しくデザイン<span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Times;">/</span>製作するための特性とはなんだろうか... そこには無限に近い数、おそらくアイディアを形にした職人の数だけのバリーエーションがありました。</div><div style="font: 13.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 13.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 13.0px 'Hiragino Mincho ProN'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">良いバランスの手引きを得るのに、既存のデザインがタイムリーだと考える必要はなく、しいて言えば、もっと現代的な作品にも応用できるエッセンスを見繕う、ような感じです。 一時代初期のインテリアデザインファッションから来た影響は非常に強く、都市から地方へと移行し、デザイナーと製作者の間には認識、評価のための活発な競争がありました。 その頃の文化を反映するわずかなバリエーションと強固な手法と共に、スタイルが重視されるようになり、取り入れられたものの背景にあった躊躇いとは関係なく、デザインの独特さが向上心に繋がることが少なくなったように思います。</div><div style="font: 13.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 13.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 13.0px 'Hiragino Mincho ProN'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">私は時々、自分の手がけた昔の作品を見るのが好きです。 強い影響はあったものの、自分なりの解釈を多少含んだこの椅子は、完全に模倣ではありませんでした。 仕事に対する自分の観点の発達はまだ若いものであったし、この椅子が生まれてきた同じセンスを持っていた頃には二度と戻れません。 橋の下の川水はあれ以来、何百もの家具を流し運んでいきました。 <span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Times;">“</span>素朴さ<span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Times;">"</span>はデザインに役立つ特質に成り得るし、また独自性が少ないことによって魅力的な慎み深さが生まれます。 概して今、この椅子をつくるのであったら、1、2箇所、少し違ったことをしたいです。 が、この椅子はある特定の時期と努力の蓄積を表していて、ずっと昔に作られたものではあっても、自分では満足のいく作品です。</div><div style="font: 13.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 13.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 13.0px 'Hiragino Mincho ProN'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">クライアントの嗜好から、椅子には黒クルミ材を使用しました。 本来プラタナスはスチームベンドに向かず、曲げることはできても乾かす過程でそりが悪くなりますが、ありがたいことに何度かの試みの末、使えるものができ、うまくいきました。</div></span></span></div></div><div style="font: 10.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 13.0px;"><br />
</div></div>djyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985330530360767281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379419743380014229.post-75648454078639665112011-02-09T12:12:00.016+09:002011-02-15T12:48:15.491+09:00Another type of woodworkingI've heard it said that if someone spends too much time in a furniture making workshop, they risk the possibility of becoming a piece of furniture themselves! I haven't exactly noticed any stretchers growing out between my legs, but for quite a few years I have had an additional occupation of removing trees, both in residential settings and in the woods. I find the heavy work intrigues, and it does get me out of my lonely in the shop, the chance to work around some good people who are well experienced in the business and very enjoyable to associate with. Mostly a crane operator rings me up to assist him on jobs these days, on the average three or four times a month, just enough to provide a change of scenery and to keep my hand in it. Chainsaws are also tools that I enjoy using very much, sometimes modifying them to obtain greater power, they are a deep subject if you want to pursue it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Tree work is very much a trade that best has a lot of study associated with it, if one wants to gain efficiency and try to help mitigate the dangers. There can be a certain degree of unpredictability that goes along with it, tremendous diversity in the situations, so being careful on all fronts requires a lot of awareness. Working at heights has it's challenges and enjoyments, the need to pay close attention to what you are doing, lesser so to where you are doing it. Overcoming the fear factor has been quite interesting, if not spooky, and there are payoffs besides the wages, the air is amazingly fresh and clean above the forest floor, the view sometimes sublime that few get the opportunity to see, it can be most invigorating. The work gives a chance to visit some locations in the prefecture that otherwise I wouldn't, and to mix it up with the locals a bit. Tree cutting brings them out of their houses, people want to investigate, and there is a fascination. There is also the opportunity to sometimes obtain logs for what I do in the shop as well, though in my area, Pine or a pretty unusable Cedar is often what is being cut. Unusable for furniture that is, though the logs go to auction and are purchased for use in construction. Some large trees are in our schedule from time to time, sometimes hundreds of years old, particularly at temples or shrines, and around the old farmhouses. Why they need to be removed isn't a subject for much debate, age and disease has affected many of them, leaving in that state can be very dangerous to people and structures below. The forest trees haven't been maintained very well, removing some to allow more light to help the others to better prosper is a valuable consideration.<br />
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Thought that I would post a few of the times and places, hope that you enjoy the photos, click to enlarge.<br />
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There is some variation in the diameters in a pack, so I find it best to drill a hole slightly small and the skewer can be easily sized down quickly with sandpaper for a perfect minimal resistance slip in fit. I put a little angle on the end with a rasp before pushing it in, a slight amount of glue applied. The bamboo doesn't seem to swell up as much as wood does when glue touches the surface, perhaps barely at all, and it is a bit slippery to begin with. A little tight and it taps in with a hammer. Too tight and it will likely become stuck only part of the way in, so you will end up having to drill it out and redo. Snip and pear it flat with a chisel...no muss no fuss, and the process goes quick. <br />
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The skewers can be useful for other things as well; applying a spot of "instant glue' to under a sliver of grain that has lifted up, or pushing a cloth with finish on it into a recess, etc. Some thoughtful person brings a bottle of sake, nicely drunk with yakitori grilled in the stove in the shop, not a bad reason to have some skewers around either....<br />
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