Steam-bending or bent laminations can be used to make this eye-catching design.
By Michael Fortune
Page: 26-33
From the February 2011 issue #188
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The design of this table is part of a series that I revisit from time to time. The original concept for the series was based on a pinwheel (a common example of which is a child’s pinwheel on a stick that blows in the wind.)
This shape lends itself to repeating one design element several times then attaching them together, an efficient approach when making furniture. So far I’ve made several different stools, cabinets and even massive boardroom tables based on the same pinwheel motif. Generally speaking, I come up with an idea then problem-solve how to do it, often relying on the well documented history of furniture making in books and magazines.
For this table I revisited a sketchbook that is 25 years old. At the time I had completed a commission for stacking
tables with Australian lacewood tops and steam-bent cherry frames. In my design exploration there were several sketches that I thought had some value but didn’t work for that particular commission so so I filed them away for use at a later date. My old sketchbooks have become an idea bank that I’ll make a withdrawal from when I’m casting about for something to make.
Web Site: See more of Michael’s work on his web site.
Web Site: Find out when Michael is teaching at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking.
To Buy: Purchase Michael’s CDs on various aspects of design and construction.
In Our Store: The “Sourcebook of Modern Furniture.” Read more
