Occasionally a blog post will go a bit viral. This one traveled through a number of translations into half a dozen languages before it ended up in English again. This digital success encouraged me to do something that i have alway wanted to do- revisit this piece. In the coming blog posts I will chronicle the process of designing and building a piece like this.

My goal is to pick up where I left off with the desk and see if I can push new ground. The first principal that will be different is the two tiered approach to the curved elements in this desk. The original had a three layer system. The model below helped me get organized and then…

I was able to pull the actual curves down from the shelf and mock it up. Purchasing and inventorying these steam bent curves was one of the best things I have done for my workflow! Once I had the curves where i wanted them I was able to cut plywood blocks to help me figure out the angles that I would need to cut on the legs. You may notice that the curve on the left is quite thick. I will need to trim it down before I go any farther.

I take the piece over to my big saw, the Tannewitz, and peel off a useable chunk. I love that saw!

A quick trip to my State disk sander to clean up the bandsaw marks and I am back to figuring out the joinery.

I mentioned these pieces before. They will show me the profile that the legs will need to have to give the desk it’s shape.

Here they are lined up agains the end of the 3″ thick maple board. You can see that my approach to woodworking is very efficient! I will be able to get the maximum yield from this piece of wood.

The legs start their transformation from this huge plank at the chop saw station. Then it is back to the trusty Tanny to rough the legs out. I used the plywood template from the previous shot to set the angle of the table.

I take the legs over to the Oliver Jointer to clean up one side of each leg.

Next in the chain is the planer. I will clean up the side of the board parallel to the one that I just did on the jointer

I get some more mileage out of those plywood pieces. I use one to set the angle on the table saw.

Now they see their final action. I set the angle on the small jointer to clean up the remaining rough surfaces on the legs.

I have replaced the plywood place holders with the actual legs.

As of now everything is right where I want it. I am ready to lay out and execute the joinery. It is going to be quite involved so I will leave it for the next post.

Here is the model as it came into focus. I had to compose in 3-d after coming to the realization that the bench would be based on very large sweeping curves. I wanted the curves to have a dynamic relationship to the tree and root system.

The bench featured a number of seating areas that related to the actual use of the property. A chaise like section was coupled with a seat that faced the sunset.

The next step had me devising a way to mock up the curves in my studio. The chalk circle represents the trunk of the tree.

It had been my hope that t he roots of the tree would spill out from under the bench blurring the line between bench and tree.

Nice try but the reality was that the bench needed to be bigger. MUCH bigger.

I went back to the drawing board and increased the diameter of the circle bench from 12′ to 18′! Now that the scale is right we were able to focus on some of the details in the piece.

Here is the model which reflects those changes. If you click on the picture below you can rotate the circle bench. (does not work on the iPhone/iPad)

Here are a few more shots that should complete the picture of this bench. Now for the next challenge…actually building this piece!

First I turn the form over so that i can remove all of the screws and bolts.

The pieces start to come off. The small blue circles are plastic inserts buried in the concrete to allow a soft foot to be screwed to the casting. This will protect the floor of the bench is to be used indoors. This bench is going outdoors on a concrete patio so the foot will serve as a shock absorbing transition. Without it the leg would surely chip. The brown and white and blue mess in the center is apiece of foam that formed the relief in the foot detail.

With the side piece removed the white PVC edge is revealed. This insert forms a very important detail in the leg. Lets take off more!

You can clearly see the recess formed by the foam block. Remember that the leg is upside down.

The last piece off will be the PVC board that formed the step detail in the face of the leg

Here it is removed and the leg is now in the proper position.

The rest of the shaping on the leg will be done with this wet grinder. Before I tackle the final detailing I need to focus on the seat.

Here we go! I begin by cutting and gluing together foam. The foam will help make the seat lighter. The next installment will focus on the stainless steel that will reinforce the seat.

Concrete Bench Part 1
Concrete Bench Part 2

Here are some shots of the model

The detail on the legs are an evolution of the detail that was first developed for Outdoor Bench #6. That detail was first used in the big planter that I made for the Open Bowls show at the Longhouse Reserve. I mentioned before that Outdoor Bench 6 and 7 are being built at the same time. They both rely on that detail so I am glad that I had an opportunity to incorporate it into the planter. That experience gave me the confidence to move forward with both benches.

The detail is made by cutting a piece of PVC board into the negative shape of the desired step. I can foresee a day when I make the whole form out of the PVC board. I have a feeling it is going to cast very well. For now I am content to mix the new PVC board with my standard technique of using AC plywood.

Another new development in my concrete procedure is the addition of a wet grinder with diamond polishing pads. I bought the grinder to help make the facets that I use to give each casting its unique presence. The ability to make all of the surfaces look the same regardless of the material that was used to cast them is quite liberating. In the case of these legs I can cast them with the top surface up. In the past I could only have the bottom of the feet up becasue the finish would stink. All is different now that I can grind that surface to perfection.

The final part that needs to be fabricated presents a number of new technical challenges. The seat is going to be fun. First of all it is made up of two separate castings that will be bolted together. This will allow me to give the seat an angle towards the center with a small gap for water to escape. The final. consideration at this stage has to do with designing some flexibility into the forms so I can vary the length. This is not a factor in my other benches because the seats have all been made of wood. My solution was to pick a maximum size for the seat and build the form to that size. I then built a sliding stop so that I could cast into a smaller portion of the form.

There are plenty of other issues that i will need to address before I can cast the seat. To be continued…

Concrete Bench Part 1
Concrete Bench Part 2

The drawer stock has been cut to side and the layout process can now begin. I set a marking gauge to the exact thickness of the drawer side

I use the tool to scribe a knife line on the edge of the board. The slight depth of the knife line will allow my chisel to lock in. This is the only way to chisel a straight line.

I place the board in my bench vise and use a different layout tool to draw the angles of the pins on the end of the board. A dovetail joint is made up of a matched set of pins and tails. I always cut the pins first. Some woodworkers cut the tails first- not me.

I always put an X in the part that needs to come out. I have made the mistake of cutting tot he wrong side of the line which results in sloppy dovetails. The X helps me remember to saw on the waste side of the line for a perfect fit.

The best way to do the cutting is with a hand saw. I saw on the X side of the line and I go right up to the knife line. If I saw past the knife line the joint will be ruined. Sawing is one of those activities that benefits from practice. If you are doing this for the first time practice cutting some straight lines. It will pay off when you cut the dovetails.

The next step involves chiseling the waste out. This is best described via video.

I got into my work and I did not document the rest of the process. I will continue with the drawer from a different project. Below you can see the half chiseled waste. I will flip the board and clean up the rest from the other side.

I place the pin board on the matching side and use a sharp pencil to accurately lay out the other side of the joint.

Back tot he hand saw and chisel to form the tales. It is the same process that I used to make the pins.

Ready to go together

The end results!

I often use the dovetail for more than it was intended. I push the pins and the tales past each other and then cut and facet them into the composition. The result is a tectonic landscape of movement. The dovetail become the structural decoration in the piece. Here is an example of large dovetails in this piece that leans against the wall.

This is the 3-D sketch of the new Mirror with two drawers. This sketch represents the bare minimum that is needed to get started. Lots of choices remain to be made during the construction of the piece. The implication of this type of construction is that I have to build the piece. This immediately establishes that my work is about more than just the functional result. It is about the exploration of one person. I digress – this is a glimpse of the ongoing conversation in my head about “Art Furniture” Perhaps someday I will dedicate a post to trying to further sort out these ideas.

I am going to focus on the fabrication of the two drawers and their carcasses (the box that a drawer goes into). I wen to my veneer shelf and pulled out this ‘Unknown B’ veneer. I purchased it years ago at an auction that benefited WARP. The veneer was 30+ years old when I purchased it and the species of wood had long been forgotten.

I quickly make two plywood boxes that i intend on wrapping with this veneer.

Cutting the veneer is facilitated by the use of a specialized saw. It a hybrid device part saw and part knife. It allows me to cut the delicate veneer without destroying it.

The edges of the veneer are cleaned up via the jointer. I clamp a number of these sheets together and treat them like a single piece of solid wood. The jointer makes them all perfectly flat at the same time.

The next step is to pull the joint together with masking tape. It stretches just enough to provide just a bit of clamping pressure tot he joint to bring it home. Next the sheet gets flipped over and a special veneer tape seals and reinforces the joints. The tape is water activated. It shrinks just a bit as it dries. The veneer tape is now holding the joints closed. I flip the sheet and remove the masking tape.

The veneer is glued to the carcass one pair of sides at a time.

The excess is trimmed off with the help of a router bit with a top bearing.

The boxes are now wrapped in veneer!

Once the glue is fully cured (about 24 hours for yellow glue) I use water to re moisten the veneer tape. A scraper blade helps to remove it. Now they are ready to be sanded.

I break out my sample box of veneer as I clean up for the day. The satin wood samples jump out at me as a possibility.

Not a perfect match but possible. I think I will continue to refer to it with the name it had when I purchased it… “Unknown B”

Here is what I love about veneer.

The solution is a bunch of foam

A bit of steel

These parts were carefully positioned and will cut the weight by a fair amount. It is the difference between being able to easily move the casting vs. struggling. (I should note that i have superhuman strength so it is still quite heavy to the average person)

Note: The silvery Stainless Steel parts are threaded inserts that get locked into the concrete and will be used to fasten the wood.

THe piece is beginning to take shape!

The holes correspond tot he threaded inserts that i buried in the casting.

The ash components are designed to hide the screws that hold the cherry to the concrete. Even if there were no holes to cover I would still want the ash pieces. They increase the footprint and provide the visual “glue” to tie the concrete and the Cherry components together.

The Ash is providing too much of a contrast so it will need some help. I sneak across the street to steal some Oil paint from my father. (One of the many advantages of having an Artist for a father)

A few samples later I decide on a mix of Indigo and Ivory black to mellow the Ash and help it tie into the concrete.

Finished!

Detail.

Corner Piece #3
Part 1
Part 2

I had to be careful to provide a large enough footprint so that they would be stable. While I was building them I was thinking about concrete and the fact that the weight would help the stability of the piece. I now have the concrete skills to pull it off so I decided to jump in with a model.

There is no client involved so the model is a bit rough, almost like a 3D sketch.

This piece centers around the concrete so that I where I will begin. The concrete elements in my work are cast. This means that I will have to think inside out. The form material is a special plywood that is waterproof and has a smooth coating. I refer to it as “Red Board”

Here is the finished form.

Note: this component is cast upside down.

Now I will show the individual pieces that make it up. I need to stay one step ahead as the cast concrete can lock itself into a poorly designed form and require the destruction of the form to get it out. Yes I have made that mistake!

The back of the form

The front of the form

There is also a separate piece for the top (not pictured). All of the parts are caulked in place so that they will be water tight. I should mention that I use UHMW plastic to make the facets for the corners. I use the facts to relate the concrete to the rest of my work. Plus I can change them to give the casting a different look.

The concrete mix and the extra materials to give it a bit more strength go into the mixer.

The form gets loaded and agitated to encourage the bubbles to work their way out.

Three days later I free it from the form.

It was a successful pour!

To be continued…

Corner Piece #3
Part 1
Part 2