Design

The design process starts with understanding what my client wants and needs from the finished piece.  Whether an individual custom piece of furniture or a full wall of built in cabinets, each project’s beauty and function must exceed your expectations.  Form follows function utilizing traditional design methodology. 

I always incorporate the Golden Ratio (Phi) into the dimensions of my designs. This ratio is determined by the equation below.

If you are like me, the equation gives you a headache.  I take comfort in accepting that the answer (1.618 or 8/5; the ratio of height to width) occurs throughout nature.  For example, the size of each new section of a nautilus shell is 8/5 the size of the previous section.   The distance from your from your elbow to the tip of your fingers is 8/5 the distance from your wrist to the tip of your fingers.  Every new revolution of seeds in a flower has 8/5 the number of seeds in the previous revolution.

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 Phi was used to by the Greeks to construct the Parthenon.

The Golden Ratio is most often used when designing a piece from scratch without specific parameters for the dimensions.  If you require specific dimensions, the Golden Ratio can be utilized by employing Fibonacci Numbers.  This series of numbers; 0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89... starts with zero and one; adding the last two numbers determines the next.  The theory can be employed with specific dimensions.  Let's say you need a piece of furniture built 32 inches high and 48 inches long, the Fibonacci numbers for these dimensions would be 32 48 80 128 208 336 etc.  By taking fractions of these numbers, the various parts of your furniture can be built in the Golden Ratio.  For example, if we take 128 and 208 and divide them by 10, we come up with and 12.8 and 20.8.  These dimensions in inches would be the approximate dimensions of your doors (13" x 21").  Further, the drawer front dimensions can be determined by using 80 and 128 divided by 10.  Your drawers would be 8" x 13".  The dimensions do not have to be exact to look right.  As long as the dimensions are close, the piece will be proportional.

The importance of using this ratio is mostly subliminal.  If the ratio is used in the design, the piece looks good because it is in proportions that our eyes are used to seeing, making it look good even though why it looks good may not be obvious.  You don't need to measure a piece to see if it fits the ratio...it just looks right.  However, if the ratio is not used, it is obvious and the piece looks out of proportion.

My philosophy about my work is...It is critical to build it right, even if the customer won't notice...than to build it wrong and hope they don't notice.  You may not notice that a piece is designed well, but you will certainly notice if it's not.

Construction

Wood Selection

If you are unsure of what you want, I can help you select an appropriate species for your project.  Little consideration should be given to the cost of the rough lumber as there is very little difference in the cost when compared to the total cost of the project.   In selecting a species, beyond it's outward appearance, some consideration should be given to the wood's, durability and woodworking and finishing requirements.  

For example:

Mahogany is beautiful in fine furniture.  It has a very consistent, tight grain pattern and a very consistent reddish brown color.  Ironically, it's great for outdoor casual outdoor furniture it  is very moisture and rot resistant.

Walnut is naturally chocolate brown with green and silver highlights and looks great finished naturally or with an oil prior to top-coating with lacquer.  Walnut is a good wood to start with if you want darker stain colors.  It should never be used in items for food preparation such as cutting boards as the wood is toxic.

Cherry heartwood is salmon pink in color while the sap wood is very light.  If left unstained, with a finish that does not have UV protection, (like oil or shellac) sunlight darkens the heartwood to beautiful reddish brown while the sapwood remains lighter.  If you want the final color to be consistent, it is best to use only heartwood  which causes  more waste.  Otherwise, the lighter color must be toned to bring the color closer to the heartwood prior to staining.    The porosity of the wood is very irregular which can cause stains to look blotchy.  Extra steps must be taken to ensure a consistent finish.  This is why Cherry furniture is higher priced than other types.

Maple is very light in color with very irregular grain patterns.  The irregularity of the grain causes "tear out" (the wood splits at the edges or pulls away from a surface) which makes the wood difficult to machine.  Extra care, and extra steps must be taken to ensure clean edge profiles and smooth surfaces.  Like Cherry, the porosity of the wood is very inconsistent.  Since the wood is so light, blotchiness can be even more severe.  Maple should be stained in lighter colors or left natural.  Tiger, Curly or Birds Eye Maple has very interesting figure which can be highlighted with proper coloring and finishing.  

My personal favorite is Quarter Sawn White Oak.   Oak is very stable, works easily and colors well.  It has an open grain which an be accentuated for dramatic effect.  "Quartering" the wood produces figure unlike any other wood.  Rays and Flecks, are the figure of the grain when quarter sawn, swirl and curve producing a dramatic appearance.   The other advantage of quarter sawn wood is that the growth rings are close to perpendicular to the face which minimizes changes in the wood with changes in humidity.  The best feature of white oak is that it contains tannins.  When white oak is exposed to ammonia fumes, the wood is colored in ways that cannot be produced with stains or dyes.  To my knowledge, I am the only woodworker in the area that uses traditional "fuming" to color my pieces.

I carefully select the wood for each piece giving consideration to the grain direction, figure and color.  Depending on the species, wood color varies from tree to tree and even board to board from the same tree.  Sap wood (the outer rings of a tree) can be dramatically different in color than heartwood.   By carefully selecting the wood for your project, I ensure that your finished piece has a beautiful uniform appearance.

Whenever possible, I use no mechanical fasteners such as nails and screws, preferring to use only wood parts and glue to build my furniture.  By using “keyed” or “pinned” mortise and tenon joints, sliding dovetail joints or wooden dowels, the piece is solid, yet flexible.  This type of construction allows the piece to move, as wood needs to do with changes in moisture.  This ability to adjust to its changing environment ensures that your furniture will last for generations.  

Unlike most commercial furniture, which is often made from particleboard, poor quality plywood and hardboard, my work is made of solid hardwoods, and furniture grade plywood.  Drawers are always constructed out of solid wood with dovetail joints

Mortise & Tenon Joints

These are the strongest joints used in woodworking.  Varieties include blind, through, keyed and pegged.  Pegs are square or round dowels inserted through the joint to add strength.  Contrasting pegs add beautiful details.  Keyed tenons are a means of connecting intersecting pieces of wood. (as seen in the Mission Medicine Cabinet).  “Blind mortises” make the tenon invisible and “through mortises” allow the end of the tenon to poke through the other piece of wood.  A pyramid shape on the tenon (as seen on the Mission Accent Table) adds a distinctive feature.

Sliding Dovetail Joints

Often used in highboys, this joint is strong and attractive.  When combined with a small amount of glue, the dovetail shape prevents the joint from pulling apart yet allows for movement in the wood pieces.  Allowing the wood to move is critical in heirloom quality furniture.

Book-Matched Panels

Panels in doors, sides, and other large areas can be "book-matched".   To produce a book-matched panel, a board is cut on a plane parallel to one face and the two pieces are opened up, as in opening a book. The result is a vertical symmetry about a line through the center of the panel, as shown in the photos below.

Finish

Finishing wood is a lengthy, process which when done properly produces an outstanding appearance.  Whether natural, stained, dyed, fumed, glazed or a combination of all of these  the color of the wood is enhanced by “building” a finish.  Several steps are required prior to coloring the wood.  Once colored (or not), several more steps are required to complete the finish. 

Preparation

Preparing wood for finishing primarily involves but is not limited to a sanding process based on the desired finish and species of wood.  Some woods require a sealing process prior to coloring.  Some can be sanded to finer grits, and others, if sanded too smooth, will not take a stain at all. 

To prepare stain samples, several different sanding schedules may be used to achieve different color results.  It is critical that all parts of a piece be sanded completely through the same process as the sample.   The purpose of sanding is to produce finer and finer scratches in the wood.  In addition to leaving the wood smooth to the touch, the fine scratches also serve to reflect light better.  The more light the wood reflects, the deeper the finish will appear.  Generally, the sanding schedule begins with 100 grit, then 150, 180 and possibly 220 or 320.  Each sanding step is intended to open the pores of the wood and remove the scratches left by the previous step.  As mentioned earlier, some woods, especially maple, will not accept a stain if sanded too smooth.

The porosity of some woods such as cherry and maple varies significantly from one area of the wood to the next even within the same board.  This variation will cause a blotchy appearance when applying pigmented stains so a sealer must be used to ensure a uniform color.  Sealers can also be used to moderate color absorption of dyes and pigmented stains in all woods.

Once the wood surface is properly prepared, the next step is coloring the wood.

Color

Color is imparted to the wood with dye stains, pigmented stains, glazes, ammonia fumes and most often, a combination of these.  Dyes stains impart a uniform base color to the wood without obscuring the grain or highlighting the pores. Using dyes allows for deeper, richer and more complex colors than pigmented stains alone.  Pigmented stains highlight grain patterns and complement the dye stains to produce a rich complex color.  Glazes further highlight the grain and features of the piece such as raised panel door frames and decorative moulding. 

Ammonia fuming is a process for darkening and richening the color of wood by changing the chemistry of the timber's pigments. The traditional method of finishing oak in the Mission or Arts & Crafts style requires exposing the wood to very* strong ammonia fumes in an airtight chamber. The tannins in the wood react with ammonia vapors to give a rich color that ranges from caramel to dark chocolate to grey depending upon the duration of exposure and the amount of tannins in the wood.  The fumes color the glassy ray fleck cells as well as the softer wood, establishing variations in the color that cannot be achieved by any other process.   All woods that contain tannins are good candidates for ammonia fuming.  The rest of the finishing process enhances the natural variations in the color of the wood as seen in the Mission Side Table.

 *Household ammonia (1% concentration) can be used for fuming, but the process takes much longer.  I use 26% concentration which is very dangerous if not handled properly including working in a well ventilated area while wearing a respirator and protective clothing.  I do not recommend this process to amateur woodworkers.

I am often asked if I can match a color.  It is important to understand that wood's color varies from board to board and even within the same board.  In most cases, I can get very close.  In every case, you will be able to approve the final color. 

Finish Coats

“Chatoyance” is a term used to describe the changing appearance of the wood grain in changing light.  When viewed at various angles, the figure (grain features) actually changes color from light to dark and back again.  Only a properly built finish will produce this effect. 

Not only does the finish protect the wood on the outside, properly finished furniture (inside and outside) is more stable.  If wood is left unfinished on one side, moisture will be absorbed unevenly and will promote cracks in the wood and loose joints. 

The most important consideration when choosing a final finish is what is the intended use of the piece.  As a rule, I use catalyzed lacquer as a top coat.  As opposed to polyurethane (which, in my opinion, looks like a plastic coating on the wood), lacquer imparts a beautiful, durable finish which enhances the grain patterns and makes the wood look more natural.

Shellac is a natural by product of the lac bug found in India.  It comes in various forms and colors and works very well in certain applications.  Often used as a sealer, (de-waxed only) shellac can be used exclusively to build a finish.  It can't be matched in developing "chatoyance".  Unfortunately, shellac is not a very durable finish on it's own.  It is relatively soft and prone to water marks, scratches or damage from chemicals.  It is appropriate for low wear piece like my curio or the Mission Side Table.

Oil finishes will make the wood darker in color (as would water) and highlight the figure in the wood.  While producing a beautiful finish, oil's are not durable and must be maintained carefully*.  An oil finish is appropriate for a low wear piece.

Hand rubbed oil finish (as described by a veteran woodworker)

Hand Rub oil on the piece until the oil warms from the friction from your hand.  Wipe excess oil with a clean soft cloth:

Twice a day for a week,

Twice a week for a month,

Twice a month for  a year,

Twice a year forever.

There are many other finishing products available including water based coatings, varnish, nitrocellulose lacquer, and polyurethane which can be brushed, sprayed or wiped on.  Many of these products are good quality but are intended for use by DIY's for ease of application.  I use only professional quality products which are best applied with special spray equipment.

I will work with you to determine the best finish to achieve the appearance you want and the durability you need.