Clik here to view.
Designers Alphabet F is for ………..
Frieze is the middle band on this Doric classic order, Drawing by author. rieze. On ancient post and lintel construction, the lintel is divided in three horizontal bands: architrave, frieze and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rally in the Heartland
Engraving detail by Albrecht Durher, Library of Congress We are smack in the middle of it. A rebirth of handwork fueled by a new breed of toolmakers turning out superbly crafted and functional tools....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Design Critique Oct 2012
Michael Cran submitted a recent project requesting your input, below are his comments. As always for these on-line critiques, if you share an opinion, please bolster it with the why behind your veiw....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Designer’s Alphabet, G is for………..
Guilloche, (pronounced gil- LOSH) an ornamental carved band consisting of two or more ribbons or ropes flowing in interlaced curves. They show up in an infinite variety of patterns, many based on an...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The shortest distance between two points is a curve
Contrary to what you learned in 7th grade geometry, a straight line is not the shortest distance between two points. A flowing curve pulls your eye along sweetly, whereas a straight line often halts...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hidden Treasure
A pair of child’s writing arm chairs in the white The workshop sits down a tree lined gravel drive, barely visible from the road. Since 1973, thousands upon thousands of Windsors went from freshly...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Designer’s Alphabet – H is for…….
is for Herm or terminus, named after the columns that marked the boundaries between territories in the ancient world. In antiquity, stone markers were often topped with a bust of the pagan god hermes,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Quote to Ponder
Clay pot by Cary Hulin, Holmes County Pottery, photo by G. Walker. “No man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth, without caring twopence how...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Designer’s Alphabet, I is for……………..
is for Paul Iribe (1883 – 1935), a multifaceted and prolific illustrator and designer in the decorative arts. His furniture designs spanned the end of the Art Nouveau and the beginning of the Art Deco...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Newtown
It’s a time to mourn. We seek answers, but they elude us. Mourning quiets the noise inside. Quiet enough to hear the hard questions.
View ArticleClik here to view.
Built-in portable, waterproof, hairy, handy ruler.
5th Edition of Handbook for Boys 1957. Four years ago I sat in the back of a design workshop led by Jim Tolpin. He demonstrated how to design and build a piece of furniture using his hands as a ruler...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Recycled Ideas
English Oak Burl Table by George Nakashima 1905 – 1990 (Skinner) If you search “live edge table”, about eleventy million images pop up of contemporary or modern furniture with a natural or live edge....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Moxon vise ratrod
To be more precise, it’s on it’s way to becoming a ratrod. This vise will never look this good moving forward so I took this “before” shot. I just built a moxon vise with the hardware kit from the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Quotes to Ponder 2
“pursue the path of the ancients” while declining, ” to tread in their footsteps” John Gloag
View ArticleClik here to view.
Designers Alphabet, J is for …..
is for Inigo Jones, b 1573, d 1652 – England’s first prominent architect. Jones had far reaching impact on furniture design by the fact that the ideas he unleashed impacted Briton and everything she...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Try Something New
Donna was able to generate this curve in about ten minutes. We both grinned at each other and asked – Why Not? Half the fun at a Lie-Nielsen hand tool event, are the informal jamb sessions between...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Designer’s Alphabet, K is for ……………
Klismos chair by Philip C. Lowe, drawing by author. is for Klismos chair. This form leaps right out of antiquity, yet because of it’s clean lines and flowing curves, it’s been reworked and re-adapted...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Underground Railroad Clock
The understated dial gives this clock case a quiet dignity I seldom copy furniture designs but this tall case clock is an exception. The original sat in the parlor of an early 19th century farmhouse...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Designer’s Alphabet, L is for…….
John Linnell, born 1729- died 1796. One of the most prolific British furniture designers and cabinetmakers from the 18th century. He took over his father’s cabinet shop and designed and built...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hand and Eye coming to a workbench near you
Here’s a link to an update on the progress of ”By Hand and Eye”
View Article
