January/February 2016 Archives - Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To

A Chair Grows in England

Barrie Scott — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 13:03:32 +0000

British furniture designer Gavin Munro has studied the process of controlled tree growth and the behavior of groves of pruned trees (“coppices” in British English), and has taken it all several steps further. In a 2-1⁄2-acre field in Derbyshire, England, he planted around 3,000 young trees. After eight years working on guided growth, he plans a harvest in 2016 of ready-grown furniture.

Gavin Munro checks experimental shapes of his lumber, which he grows directly into furniture shapes. Numerical codes on the testing area help him to note progress.

You might call it “creative arboriculture” or maybe “living sculpture.” The art involves guiding young tree development using cables or frameworks and using precise techniques of pruning and grafting.

What could be seen as eccentric is, in fact, detailed and documented experimentation. Gavin is supported by the European Union’s Climate KIC, which subsidizes new sustainable businesses that could reduce carbon emissions in manufacturing. This green aspect is one of Gavin Munro’s greatest motivations. He is keen to share his research: If big companies take it up as a viable production method, then the environment will benefit and, he feels, this alone would be a success. The energy used in transport and manufacture could be reduced massively.

This unusual shape will grow into a lampshade. Gavin guides the growth by pushing tree limbs through holes in perforated plastic, then fastening them with horticultural wire.

As his reputation spread, his order book filled. Everything growing is, in theory, sold. He also receives commission inquiries. Interestingly, a popular request is coffins for green funerals. The main product is chairs, then various shapes and sizes of earthy lampshades, then a greater challenge: tables.

Grafting the limbs together creates natural laminates, which bring added strength to chair pieces.

Although a work in progress, his display of flourishing, organically fed and sculpted young ash, sycamore, hazel, sessile oak, red oak, crab apple, willow and wild cherry already looks like stunning one-off art pieces.

How They Grow

These oaks are in the process of growing into furniture. In the background, you can see some young coppice pieces ready for use.

Early on in this project, Gavin observed that chairs are best grown upside-down. While it might seem logical to start with a sapling for each leg, it is not so. Trees grow outwards, so they adapt comfortably to spreading and being formed into chair legs. As Gavin puts it, “You have to learn to think like a tree” by watching what it does. New shoots are soft, vegetable-like and non-fibrous. They can be radically bent and, if suitably supported, as the tree matures that is the shape the new wood acquires.

Shown here are sycamore chair backs. Chairs, Gavin says, grow best in an upside down position.

When the first two healthy shoots grow from a mother root, the chair maker eases them horizontally in opposite directions, creating the chair back’s top rail. As they proceed, vertical shoots sprout. These mature to become back spindles after the maker selectively prunes them down to three or four — whatever works visually. As the outer top rail gains sufficient length (i.e., the width of the chair back), the shoots are bent upwards to push towards the light and form the chair’s back legs, while lateral shoots are trained to begin the growth of the seat.

Gavin uses pruning shears on some of the works in progress. Maintaining the growth of all of his trees is a constant process.

Gavin has developed a reusable framing box system created from thin cellular plastic sheeting used for signboards, which he has assembled into a chair-shaped mold with sequences of holes to attach the shoots using rubberized ties. The molds are secured in long rows to horizontal fence wires.

This picture shows an early prototype.

As growth proceeds, they begin grafting. New shoots grafted laterally create cross members, and the structural value of joinery framing is ready-grown. Where two or more twigs grow parallel, a careful hand fashions a lengthwise cut and binds them together to create a natural lamination. Gavin proudly showed me a couple of twigs grafted together lengthwise over two seasons. Woodworkers know that laminating timber in the workshop produces greater strength. In addition, the natural fibrous strength of a stick is stronger than similar sized timber with a cut grain. Combining these two factors creates a slender, strong chair leg and an interesting material, which in itself is a useful benefit of these experiments.

An artist’s rendering of a completed chair.

Gavin has tried finishing the harvested goods with planers and sanders, or the grinder-mounted Arbotech shaping tool, but he is more inclined to the use of drawknives of various shapes and sizes to stay as green as possible. I will look on with interest to next spring when he begins harvesting the full-grown furniture and hope it won’t put too many of us joiners out of work!

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Old-Fashioned Music Box

Sandor Nagyszalanczy — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 19:43:54 +0000

This hand-cranked music-making machine taps out a short tune on a xylophone.

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Quick and Easy Bookcase

A.J. Hamler — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 17:56:12 +0000

This weekend project drops the frills in favor of classic style and solid woodworking skills.

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Folding Work Station

Ralph Bagnall — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 18:05:20 +0000

When (or if) you absolutely must store your car in the garage, this customizable unit folds tight to the wall and unfolds when needed into a full workspace for all your home projects.

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Greene and Greene Dresser Additional Details and Drawings

Chris Marshall — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 18:06:34 +0000

The Greene and Greene Dresser project that I made for our February 2016 issue was the concluding piece to a Greene and Greene bedroom set – and it has LOTS of construction details! So many, in fact, that we needed extra space to share them all with you. Here, I have the chance to go into even more detail on specific aspects of the Dresser’s construction, while supplying the additonal drawings you’ll need to build it.

You can download the PDF of this article here.

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Greene & Greene Dresser

Chris Marshall — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 17:51:27 +0000

If you built our Greene and Greene Bed and Nightstand (February and August 2015 issues), this Dresser is a beautiful and practical way to complete your bedroom set. Many of the construction methods for the Nightstand, in particular, are the same. This dresser, however, is definitely a complex, challenging project: you’ll find additional details you’ll need in the construction Drawings and text available online as part of our February 2016 “More on the Web” section.

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Making Box Joints with Templates

Chris Marshall — Thu, 24 Dec 2015 16:14:21 +0000

Learn how Chris used a set of templates and an adjustable miter fence to make the custom box joints for a Greene and Green-inspired Arts and Crafts dresser. These techniques can be applied to other projects that require custom box joint layouts.

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Making a Tambour-Style Drum for a Music Box

Sandor Nagyszalanczy — Thu, 24 Dec 2015 15:55:27 +0000

Learn how to make the wood drum that holds the pins that operate the mallets that play the tune inside our wooden music box project. The drum is made from slats that are connected by a canvas, similar to a tambour door.

For a PDF explaining the pin arrangement Sandor used for this project (and an overview for how to customize your own music box) Click Here.

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Folding Work Station

Ralph Bagnall — Thu, 24 Dec 2015 15:54:21 +0000

This folding work station provides plenty of storage, a sturdy work surface, and it folds up against the wall to save space in your garage or work room. The work table features a t-track system and vise for securing work pieces. When folded up, this work station is only 14-in. deep, leaving plenty of room to park your car.

You can find the cut layouts for the plywood by Clicking Here.

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How to Cut a Dado with a Table Saw

Chris Marshall — Thu, 24 Dec 2015 15:52:05 +0000

A dado joint is a flat bottom channel that is cut to fit the width of another piece of wood. They are perfect for supporting shelves in cabinets or dividers in boxes. We show you how to cut a dado using a table saw and stacked dado blade set.

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