The Walter Project: A Design That Put It All Together

I just finished the major portion of shop work on a project that combined my concept of an adaptive workshop with a group technology build strategy. The adaptive shop concept allowed me to efficiently combine a number of diverse constructions into a single unified structure that makes a cohesive statement.

The schedule for this project was tight, and therefore, I decided early on to build it out of sequence using a take on group technology methods where similar components of somewhat unrelated assemblies are produced together to maximize build efficiency.

I accomplished this mainly by developing cut lists based not on a sequential assembly order, but on parts sorted by common construction technique and material size. It helped therefore to design with as much commonality as possible. Frames were made with 3/8" wide x 1 1/2" long mortise and tenon joints in 2" wide 5/4 stock for example. There were numerous panel glue ups not only for doors and side panels, but also drawer sides, fronts, and backs using 4/4 stock that were sorted into a single cut list and produced together.

Building this way allowed enough extra time in the project schedule to accommodate the construction of a rather interesting four-panel veneered top design, and the special open frame-left side doors that visually enclose the front and back of the cabinet, yet allow proper ventilation for a computer system the client intends to store within.

Building a design without regard to construction sequence requires a high degree of definition and planning up front that almost certainly negates evolution as the project progresses, evolution that often produces a better end result through the application of a builder's creative process. But I must admit that I often think about product design within the constraints of a shop that operates within a valid business model, and that requires a consideration of production rate and cost containment especially when the project is commissioned by a client as it was in this case.

Producing a design as an optimized family or group of woodworking processes may allow the balanced meshing of goals that include visual aesthetic, function, and reasonable profitability in a one-off project setting.

Another Organ Project: A First Step

A pipe organ is categorized as a wind instrument although it has a keyboard. Although all organs have at least one keyboard, the differences between instruments can be huge depending on the building style chosen. There are large industrial organs, and small historically based organs. I chose to build after a style based on the earlier history of the organ in its most simple and primitive form when mechanical action connected each key to its corresponding pipe valve. See the first pipe organ I built on that style here.

I modeled my keyboard design on several examples of eighteenth-century European organs I was fortunate enough to examine and play, and had an actual keyboard built to a 53-note specification some time ago by a German firm. I recently placed that keyboard on one of the shelving units I previously assembled in my workshop to get a better understanding of its relationship to the evolving design of a new pipe organ I intend to build as I work on other projects.

I think that every small shop owner must make decisions about what he or she can realistically build given resources available, and what should be jobbed out to another individual or firm. With respect to the organ, I find it unrealistic to gather the equipment needed to build either keyboards or metal organ pipes when there are others out there who can provide these items built to my standard and specifications just as I would want them built if I were doing it myself.

I recently computer modeled the 53-note keyboard in solids so that I can incorporate its design into new organ design assemblies. It in fact, was originally modeled in two-dimensions using AutoCad. Placing the keyboard on a shelving unit in my workshop allows me to visualize different organ design arrangements with regard to the minimalist concept I introduced in my last entry based on a reductionist approach, summed up well by Antoine de Saint Exupery, who said that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove.

I may in the end modify that existing keyboard into something less than 53-notes, and I will occasionally play out a piece of music on it to see just how few notes would actually be required to perform something within the reasonable limitations of my new organ design. I made a recording some time ago of a short choral number on one of the church organs I built using just two of its stops and playing it down one octave, and discovered a unique and wonderful interpretation of that number even with the bass octave removed.

A short recording with two stops, less notes, and a new sound. Something to drive this project forward in fact.

Shelving Units: History, Perspective, and Pipe Organ Building

The Treaty of Versailles heavily restricted the German aircraft industry following WWI. Yet Germany was able to develop a bomber force prior to WWII by disguising their development as passenger aircraft. All good engineers are students of history because history often provides us with important lessons.

There is a good deal of discussion in music circles today about the current state of the pipe organ and its use. I feel that the instrument may no longer be relevant in a lot of ways just as I am beginning to define my workshop not only as a space to better understand functional design and the relevant architectures and technologies that produce that design through modern woodworking technique, but also as a place to continue the building of those musical instruments.

I began my shelving unit project to specifically prototype the construction of the sort of larger frames I would use to build another pipe organ according to a design concept I am working on where less is more. This instrument would be a smaller subset of one of the organs I built in the past yet, would be something altogether new providing those who use it with an instrument capable of expanding their knowledge of music, composition, improvisation, registration, and accompaniment by allowing them to incorporate a rich set of tonal resources into a performance with other musicians. Being a work of art in and of itself, I see something like this ending up in a smaller art or performance gallery where chamber music performances would enhance the use of the space.

It was Antoine de Saint Exupery who said that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove. This is the basis for a pipe organ I would now build.

Shelving Units: The On Again, Off Again Project

The shelving units are a set of larger objects that will eventually go home with me. I fit their construction into the shop schedule when and where time allows. The design therefore experiences evolution. I had some spare time this past month to get two of the units assembled using a novel way of joining the shelves to the side frames with profiled mounts that allow some offset to take place which compensates for any small yet unavoidable dimensional tolerance errors that occurred during construction.

Meaning that everything went together really well during assembly.

I have a client project that I started a few days ago, so the shelving unit project is again on hold for the time being. Good thing too, because I now have a better idea formed for building the top sections using a profiled frame method that could turn out to be far more compelling than the simple solid wood tops currently applied to the two assembled units.

Building top sections for the shelving units will have to wait though, because newly commissioned work takes priority over anything else in this workshop.

Time to Catch Up

I can say what a great summer it was now that it's over. I completed the dance board project for a folk-indie music group, and a small but interesting speaker project. Both turned out to be personally rewarding in the outcomes they produced. The fall weather came early this September, and my thoughts instinctively turned to the possibility of yet another hard winter like the one we experienced last year when I started building my shelving unit project. Although the shelf unit side frames were completed, the actual shelf parts for that project were still stacked all around the shop. So it seemed natural to at least complete the shelves while I wait for word on yet another project design I recently submitted to a client for final approval.

The shelving unit project is a challenge in the shear number of operations it requires for each component assembly. It has given me a huge volume of experience in building large mortise and tenon joined frames in this relatively newly restructured workshop of mine.

They say that the weather should warm up by the end of the week. It may be an opportunity to take some time to get myself out of the shop, and take a short break from the work and sawdust. I think that might not be such a bad idea really.

Collaboration Among Friends and a Stunning Performance

In one way or another, many of us who build functional design are systems integrators even if the subsystems we use are articles supplied by other artisans. The metal pipes I use to build an organ come to mind. We often cannot do it all by ourselves, and employ the skill sets of others in our work.

I had the opportunity early this week to see one of my own projects integrated into the musical performance of a folk group located here in Minneapolis. I built a tap board for the group, and describe it in more detail here.

To think that something that came out of my workshop could so collaboratively integrate with performance style combining folk music with dance in such a powerful and expressive way produced a lasting impression on me. The performance the other night was simply stunning.

Life is great when someone decides to do something that maybe hasn't been done before, and succeeds at doing it like Molly and Chase have done. I sincerely appreciate the collaboration that let me be part of it.

Pluralistic Woodworking and Design

This set of speakers represents a sort of capstone project in a way. I named them the Pluralists because of the many different woods that I used in their construction.

I computer modeled the box and vent dimensions using driver parameters, and from there I solids modeled a unique visual design to produce working drawings adding to the technological challenge that even this small project represented.

Consider also the number of diverse construction techniques used here on such physically small objects. Dovetailed boxes, veneered front and back plates, computer numerically control routed speaker openings, cross grain routed mortises, and angled tenons represent most of the challenging construction methods used to complete this design.

A quick read through any issue of Fine Woodworking magazine will reveal that my current work does not represent old world craftsmanship typically represented by hand tool methods, something previously discussed here in this blog. But new techniques are offering me new challenges and opportunities for design growth while still allowing me to maintain high standards of artisan craft.

More Behind the Not Yet Finished Method

My previous post about completing a project that would find itself yet unfinished because it was now functionally being used to produce new outcomes got me thinking about a segment of the population that finds itself bothered by my apparent inability to complete certain projects that I start. This population segment believes that you finish what you start regardless.

That segment should take a closer look at my blog entries before coming to conclusions that do not fit the direction I take with some of the projects that I classify as learning projects. Learning projects to me are those that teach something about a process or technique that I want to try before applying it to a more critical design whose outcome really matters. Like one commissioned by a client.

Take my shelving unit project for instance. I began building that project to evaluate where my workshop stood in its ability to produce larger projects after having built smaller studio projects for so long. I was able to see and correct deficiencies in shop layout and equipment as a result. That project was interrupted by the last one that happened to be paid for by a client, but not before its important outcomes had concluded.

The current speaker system project now making its way through my workshop is another example of a learning project that originally began as an opportunity to try a new dovetail jig which I again used in building the most recent client based project. I restarted that speaker project now as a way to fill in some free time before I possibly return to the much larger shelving unit project. That is if the shelving unit project proves beneficial to my current workshop goals.

Learning projects are great. I encourage anyone to try them when resources allow. There is no rush to finish something that proves its value in what it teaches once that teachable moment is understood, and can be further applied. I do though usually finish all projects that I start. Eventually.

The Pluralists: Where Design Inspiration Comes From

I build musical instruments, and so I care about good sound. I started to design and build my own speaker systems a number of years back. They have occasionally sold through local galleries. I started to build a set over a year ago that was based on a small full range driver. Small but with an incredible sound especially if supported by a subwoofer. This project is next on my list to complete.

The boxes are built using through dovetail joinery. A whole lot of different woods are used in their construction, so I came up with the name Pluralists.

The legsets are going to be something altogether different. I know a university graduate student who decided a couple of winters ago to make not a snowman, but a snow bear. She posted photos.

I was in the shop making small light fixtures at that time when I combined one of the fixtures with one of the Pluralist speaker boxes. I stood back to look at it and thought, snow bear.

The Molly Project: Completed But Not Finished

Sometime last year I decided that I wanted to build another pipe organ. Something happened to further reinvent that goal when I was recently approached to do a project for a friend who had started an indie folk band with her boyfriend.

Her name is Molly. She uses her background as a professional dancer to provide their music with percussion through dance. His name is Chase, and he is a music teacher with the public school system here in Minneapolis.

Molly approached me with a completely unique idea, and asked me what I thought about building a portable hollow box that could act as a combination dance floor and percussion device during their recording and performance sessions.

We talked over a lot of potential design criteria, and basically settled on the following.

1. The top had to be made of oak for its resonant qualities.
2. The box had to be as light as possible so that Molly could help move it from place to place.
3. The box had to reflect my standards of fine woodworking.
4. The box had to have an access hole for a microphone.

We discussed methods for maybe tuning the box like a drum. That led me to include two outer holes on the back that could be opened or closed with tuning slides held in place with turned knobs. They actually work too. The tone of the box becomes deeper and more resonant as the slides are opened.

I completed the project this past weekend. The band now has percussion provided through dance. The band is called THE SUMMER COATS, and they are writing and recording their own music. I am excited to hear their first songs, and in addition, equally excited for them as they plan their first tour in July.

This project for me is similar to building a pipe organ in that although my part of it is competed, the project itself is not finished. It now will do something that maybe hasn't been done in some way before. It will provide listeners with a unique musical experience. That is what is so great about building a functional object no matter what it is. That it will be used to do something. That something in this case is to make new music.

Panel Glue Press: An Argument for Calculated Risk

This blog is devoted to the professional aspects of design and engineering applied to the art of fine woodworking. I make that statement in its header. The entries are written to describe the evolution of engineering that I employ increasingly to design and build functional objects primarily from wood.

Today someone referenced a short story written years ago by Arthur C. Clark. You could say that it argues against the desire that a lot of us have to employ any advancement in technology to achieve better results as we engineers often do.

Clark's short story can be found here.

My last entry was about the time I just took from a client project to assemble a new panel glue press that promised to produce wide panels that came out of the press flat rather than more typically bowed. I took a risk by taking time from that client project to build something that promised a better result. Yet I had no experience with gluing panels with this method or tool. It could have worked against me, but tonight I found that it worked for me. The panel shown here in the glue press is perfectly flat across its width.

I am not afraid to attempt something new with risk involved when I think that the probability of that risk is worth the potential result gained by taking it. Failure has to be an option though because sometimes failure occurs. But I feel that an opportunity for success is often worth the risk taken if you do your homework, and trust yourself, your experience, and your skill set. It all came out well in this case.

Panel Glue Press: The Reluctant Project

I am currently in the middle of a rather interesting project that requires two rather wide panels produced from rather thin stock relative to their width. This project therefore justifies the acquisition of a panel glue press clamping system shown here in the photo. The experienced woodworker will know that wide panels are rather difficult to glue up without having them bow across their width due to uneven clamping pressure applied by typical bar clamps even when those clamps are alternated on both sides of the panel during the glue up process.

I call the project to build a panel glue press a reluctant project because I rushed the production of its large supporting frame through the workshop. I rushed it because even though it will support a client commissioned project, it impacts the timeline for that client commissioned project which in this case just luckily happened to be slightly ahead of schedule.

But if the client based project happens to go south as projects sometimes will, then I may need that extra margin which now is no longer available because I spent it on building the new panel glue press. I think that every woodworker I know who operates his or her organization within any sort of business model must often make workshop upgrades within the time allotted to client based projects without seriously impacting the timeline for those projects. This is often difficult to do.

I rushed through the panel glue press project to minimize the impact it had on an ongoing client based project even though it ultimately improves the quality outcome of that project. The glue press frame turned out well, but with minor flaws that could have been avoided if I had taken more time to complete it with greater care and patience.

I find it somewhat difficult to balance that tradeoff between making a workshop change to benefit a client based project against the time it takes to effect that change though in the end, I usually value a better design or build outcome at the expense of the client project timeline. Communication with the client is very important in this instance. Some people will understand, want a better outcome, and tolerate a minor delay. Some though will emphasize the importance of schedule despite the fact that their project has durable value.

Functional Design and Unintended Consequences

I often design something for one purpose only to have it used for something quite different than that for which it was originally intended. My recent drop leaf drawer unit design has taken that familiar path. I added a drop leaf top to a drawer unit that I had built so that I could use it from the couch as a laptop workstation or alternative dinner table. It spends its time these days doing none of that though.

I have a comfortable leather office chair that sees a lot more use lately because the drop leaf drawer unit that sits beside it now features one of my iPad stands placed atop it. The iPad is held at a perfect viewing angle and height for me while I sit on that leather chair.

The drop leaf extension added to the drawer unit can support my laptop without interfering with the iPad stand while located on the center of the table top. I can use the iPad to look up reference information while using the laptop for design work, a very efficient, compact, and comfortable work solution ergonomically integrating multiple resources which I had not originally intended to combine.

I like functional design not only for its ability to provide solutions to known problem requirements, but also for its ability to open new doors to creativity by providing unintended solutions. I saw this in the pipe organs I built where players with different musical backgrounds would use innovative stop registrations to perform music in ways I had not considered.

More often, we who build things will come up with a unique idea and get the you-cannot-do-it-that-way-because-it-has-never-been-done-before argument back in return. It is refreshing when a design is actually used to do something that has never been done before by someone who is willing to experience things in a fresh, new way.

The Molly Project: Iterations

The Molly Project is an attempt to build a tap dance floor that can be used as a percussive device during the performance of live music by building the floor upon a hollow yet enclosed box.

Molly is a singer and dancer in addition to being both friend and in this case client. One of her requirements is that the floor must be as light as possible yet built to minimum dimensions with certain materials that will enhance its resonant qualities.

My first design iteration had the box constructed of four side aprons joined to corner posts using mortise and tenon joinery. I was doing projects with that construction technique lately so it was natural to begin the design there. But that is not how a box is typically built.

The first true box iteration I explored was based on box joint construction. I built a couple of drawers and a few audio speaker system boxes using that method. I sometimes think of it as a signature style. But I think I am going to settle on another method that has worked well for me in the past. That method is the half blind dovetail.

I have some small speaker boxes I have to complete when time prevails that are built with through dovetails. Through dovetails present a good looking trapezoid profile on one side, yet a not as good looking rectangular profile on the opposing side. Through dovetails are still considered the pinnacle of fine woodworking.

Half blind dovetails present that same good looking and instantly recognizable trapezoid profile on one side. The opposing side is clean across its surface. It is a good look I think in addition to having just about as much prestige as its closely related through dovetail relative.

All of the three traditional box joinery techniques mentioned in this entry qualify for the appropriate strength requirement by presenting enough face grain surface area for gluing. I think I will use the half blind dovetail method on this project. It uniquely represents the principles of fine woodworking inherent in my work.

The Molly Project: Planning Stages

A friend contacted me a few weeks ago asking about the possibility of having me build something for her. Her name is Molly. We soon met to talk over the project and some of its details. It sounded interesting enough that I knew I had to find time to fit it in if I could develop a workable design based on her concept and requirements. I worked out the design, and recently met with her to discuss details and cost. We have a preliminary agreement to build as a result.

I am still working on that large shelving unit project for myself, but its project timeline can slip some though. This project is core to my workshop mission, and the first entries I write here will discuss the build process before I discuss the specific need that this project addresses. It is definitely one of the more interesting projects that I have been asked to be a part of.

Shelving Units: Expecting Too Much Sometimes

The machine pictured here is a combination planer-jointer. It can easily convert between one machine or the other. It is configured as a jointer in the photo here. I love this machine. I also hate this machine sometimes. I purchased it because I was doing smaller work in this not-too-large workshop of mine. It was perfect for that work.

I replaced the combination planer-jointer last summer by dedicated machinery with more accuracy and capacity to handle projects like the large shelving unit side frames pictured below. Yet the planer-jointer stays where it sits because it can surface a board flat that is 10" wide. I use it now almost exclusively in that capacity to surface one side of a board completely flat before running it through the dedicated planer or drum sander. Doing so helped create almost perfectly aligned mortise and tenon joints used in the construction of the shelving unit side frames pictured here. I love it for that reason.

This particular planer-jointer was designed with some limitations that make it more attractive to a woodworker like me with a smaller shop and budget. It has tables made from aluminum rather than cast iron for instance, and only the outfeed table is adjustable using simple set screws which periodically go out of alignment like they did today, and then are rather difficult to adjust. I hate it for that reason.

I like perfection in my machinery and in my work too, but with respect to the planer-jointer, I decided I had to accept the fact that it was not designed to offer perfection, but rather capacity and functionality within the reasonable price I paid for the machine. I therefore pay closer attention to its alignment now, and make adjustments when required. I accept this imperfection because of what the machine can do for me within the limitations of my workshop space and budget. It has a very welcome place here as a result.

Shelving Units: The Engineering Case for Quantifying Quality

Tolerance stack-up is an engineering concept defined as an accumulation of dimensional variations in a part or assembly made up of multiple parts. No part can be made perfect, and many mechanical drawings include dimensions with specified tolerances such as 15.000" +/- 0.005" to convey an acceptable range within which the dimension meets specifications.

The usually accepted tolerance range for most professional woodworkers is +/- 1/64" or  +/- 0.016". This degree of accuracy is not hard to obtain given experience and good equipment. The problem lies in a design that combines multiple parts in such a way that the dimensional variations add or subtract. The accumulation of dimensional variation can become significant if many parts are used to make up a single assembly as in the shelf unit side frames pictured here. Viewed in another way, if four sequentially assembled parts are off by only 1/64", the final accumulated dimension represented by their assembly will be off by 1/16". And that is significant. The same holds true for angular dimensions and perpendicularity.

I am not able to measure the shelf unit side frame diagonals during the glue-up process because the many clamps required interfere with the measurements. I rely on taking measurements with an accurate square in each of the internal frame openings and adjust clamping pressure where required to get good readings. The side frame diagonals are within 1/16" of each other or better when the clamps are removed.

Diagonal measurements within 1/16" or better are generally good enough to consider larger assemblies acceptably square. My designs often rely on ultra-accuracy to insure the overall object assembly comes together well. The Alice Table comes to mind as a good example.

Tolerance stack-ups are analyzed in terms of either a worst case scenario where an assumption is made that all dimensions will end up at one of the outer extremes of the specified tolerance, or statistically where a probable average of variation is assumed. I will often consider my woodworking technique and shop equipment good enough where I assume a probability of small average variation.

I should maybe consider playing it safer the next time I evaluate a particularly complex design by using a rough worst case analysis. It might save an unpleasant surprise. The computer screen might tell me I can build something, but reality might dictate otherwise. So far though, the shelf unit side frames are gluing up well.

Shelving Units: Starting Out

The last two projects I wrote about were items I built for myself. The next few posts will be about a set of four shelving units I started to build this weekend also for myself. I decided that a set of shelves will best and most economically hold my growing collection of integrated technology that includes the computing, audio, and display systems I use in my work and life at home. One of the shelving units will also act as a bookcase.

I had two goals in mind as I set out to design the four shelving units. Each should reflect the quality my workshop is capable of producing so that they properly communicate my design and skill level during their lifespan, and yet the construction of each should attempt to minimize schedule and cost burden as much as possible.

I achieved the first goal by using mortise and tenon joined frame constructions for both side and shelf frames to give the shelving unit assemblies a simple and unified yet professional look. I am going to achieve the second goal by using as many commonly dimensioned parts as possible to minimize machine time and setup. Each shelving unit is therefore part of a product family based on a nearly common product platform.

You know how difficult this winter has been especially if you live and work in the upper Midwest as I do. I made a wood run for the project this morning sorting through a pile of lumber in an enclosed but unheated shed with the air temperature still in single digits looking for boards that were as straight as possible. I quickly stickered them on two even saw horses when I arrived back at the shop to minimize their chance of warping.

Finding New Ways to do Things Differently

This business of design as practiced through woodworking is often and basically one of trial and error even given a broad depth of experience. I will never stop learning and being frustrated and amazed by the path to outcomes no matter now long I stay with it. The table just completed here is so basic and simple. A simple tapered leg table. Yet it exists because I need to always learn more which is basically something my dad taught me.

I decided to build this table as part of the glue strength test project I began last fall. The project had two components really. One was an actual test of the glue strength itself, and the other was to be an application of the glue to a typical project. The project did not happen as I planned because the glue did not test well with respect to strength. I was going to use the new glue to join the table apron pieces to the tapered legs and therefore prove a substantial time savings but instead, completed the project by using a traditional wood glue.

I did a number of things on this project that were either new or something that I do not always get the chance to do though. I built tapered legs on the table saw. And I employed a different finishing process. I also got the chance to employ one of the unique period profile router bits I have to the table top. The table base is simple and fundamental, yet the profile around the top is complex and elegant. Both statements work well together. I think I already knew that they would though since that seems to be inherent in a lot of my work.

I both expanded and reinforced knowledge by doing this simple project which seems far from the main goals I set for my workshop last summer in building a new pipe organ. I think there will continue to be projects like this again and again on this blog space because after all, I can never stop learning.