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Chester King Lewis
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Situation
Recently I have found that I haven’t had enough room to store general appliances and magazines so the obvious solution would be to design a coffee table to fill the spare space in my room. The aesthetics of the coffee table are contemporary but original, looking simple but effective.
Design Brief
In the Industrial Wood Technology course we have been allocated the task of designing a coffee table. The ethnics of the coffee table is that it needs to be within the given size allocation of no higher than 200mm and no larger than 1000x1000mm.
Areas of Investigation
There are many different components within the task of designing a coffee table. One area of investigation includes the type of wood that might be used in relation to how you want the table to look aesthetically. Another area would be the way in which you integrate a certain design to fit into the surrounding area. The funding is also another important area that needs to be investigated in order to use the budget efficiently.
Criteria to evaluate Success
Does the table fit its original purpose?
It is aesthetically pleasing?
Does the design incorporate the required joints?
Does the table follow the given size limitations?
Research Tables
* Simple Design, Contemporary * Simple use of joints
* Simple Design, Contemporary * Simple use of joints
* Contemporary design, simple structure. * Rectangular shape white finish * Contemporary design, simple structure. * Rectangular shape white finish
* Nice beach style coffee table. * Comments on lifestyle
* Nice beach style coffee table. * Comments on lifestyle
* Surfboard top, quite sophisticated. * Use of different coloured wood * Surfboard top, quite sophisticated. * Use of different coloured wood
* Draws for storage compartment * Lower table for further storage * Draws for storage compartment * Lower table for further storage
* Useful compartment for storage * Rendered edges give nice finish
* Useful compartment for storage * Rendered edges give nice finish
* Square like shape. * Useful compartment for storage.
* Square like shape. * Useful compartment for storage.
* Natural wood from tree * Glass support on bottom for contemporary aspect * Natural wood from tree * Glass support on bottom for contemporary aspect
* White, curved edges. * Glass storage compartment complements the colour of coffee table. * White, curved edges. * Glass storage compartment complements the colour of coffee table.
* Complex draws and lower storage compartment * Complex draws and lower storage compartment
* Chamfered edges on top * Vintage pointed legs. * Chamfered edges on top * Vintage pointed legs.
* Two flat planks of wood placed on top of each other giving chamfered effect. * * Two flat planks of wood placed on top of each other giving chamfered effect. *
* Contemporary design * Glass front * Geometric qualities, classy. * Contemporary design * Glass front * Geometric qualities, classy.
* Dark wood, bulky appearance * Lower compartment for storage * Dark wood, bulky appearance * Lower compartment for storage
* Interesting bottom structure. * Simple top * Interesting bottom structure. * Simple top
* Wooden top with metal outer frame. * Very thin and hollow * Wooden top with metal outer frame. * Very thin and hollow
* Thin and delicate look * Drawer for storage * Thin legs * Thin and delicate look * Drawer for storage * Thin legs
Research Timbers
Black Butt
Black Butt is a large hardwood grown in coastal forests in New South Wales and Queensland. In terms of colour black butt timber often appears to be of a pale brown tone.
Tasmanian Oak
A hard wood used for a wide variety of purposes from flooring applications to furniture use. Tasmanian Oak is light in colour, varying from straw to reddish brown with intermediate shades of cream to pink.
Hard Maple
Hard Maple is a timber that is prodomently grown in Canada and the USA. Hard Maple is a moderatly priced timber being slightly more expensive than soft Maple . Color ranges from nearly white, to an off-white cream color, sometimes with a reddish or golden hue. The grain of the timber is prominently wavy with a thin even texture throughout the wood. Common uses for Hard Maple are flooring for basketball or bowling allies, residential flooring, cutting boards and baseball bats.
Jarrah
Jarrah is a timber that is widely distributed throughout Australia. The timber is very hard and heavy with a predominantly straight flowing grain. The local Jarrah that is grown in South West Australia generally seems to be of a more reasonable price as apposed to exotic imported Jarrah. The colour of Jarrah timber ranges from a light red or brown to a darker brick red, tending to darken along with the exposure to light. The timber has a medium to coarse texture, some timbers may contain gum pockets or streaks as a result of a naturally occurring defect. Jarrah is a very durable rot resisting timber and is also resistant against insect attacks such as termites. It is for this very reason that Jarrah is often used for heavy construction flooring, cabinetry, outdoor furniture appliances and turned furniture’s.
Research joining methods
Mortise and Tenon Joint
The mortise and tenon joint has been used for centuries to construct framed cabinets, chairs and tables. In simple terms the tenon is a tongue cut out at the end of a length and a mortise is a cut in another piece of timber, which allows the tenon to fit into the cut out slot.
Dowel Joint
A Dowel joint is effectively a butt joint reinforced with short wooden pieces of dowel. The dowel joint is a very simplistic joint yet is virtually as strong and a mortise and tenon. The dowel joint is one of the more considerably easier joints to make and is suitable for joining rails, joining board edges and constructing cabinets and boxes with right angles corners.
Biscuit joint
The biscuit joint is one of the less common wood working joints. The biscuit joint is a suitable joint for a person that does not want to see the joint as it is hidden. The biscuit joint is essentially a reinforced version of a but joint with a biscuit and glue reinforcing the joint. The biscuits themselves are either made from solid wood or else laminated wood. Laminated wood is more effective because the moisture of the glue causes the biscuit to expand creating a tighter bond. Biscuit joints are usually used to join timber boards such as table tops.
Research Finishes
Oil Varnishes
Oil varnishes are often referred to as solvent based varnishes. The ratio of oil to resin has a significant impact on the properties of the varnish. High oil varnishes are known to be relatively tough and water resistant making it a suitable finish for exterior woodworking products.
Bees Wax Polishing
Waxing wood is a long tradition that is now employed upon antique restorers. Using bee’s wax creates a smooth blemishing finish to a job. Bee’s wax is applied using either a cloth or brush. After 15-20 minutes steel wool can be used to rub on more wax and invigorate the oils of the wax into the wood.
Nitrocellulose lacquer
Nitrocellulose lacquer is the most common form of wood finish. Most products with the title “lacquer” will contain nitrocellulose. This lacquer is moderately water resistant and may change colour to a tint of yellow as it ages. This finish is available in both gloss and matte finishes and is applied using a brush for the best result.
Stains
Stains provide a decorative finish to timber whilst darkening the wood and bringing out the definition of the grain. Staining timbre is a beneficial way to help preserve the timber naturally. Usually two to three coats of stain are applied to the timbre.
Initial Design Ideas
Design Development
Working Drawings
Cutting List
Costing (finance plan)
Production Plan Firstly all of the pieces on the cutting list were cut to exact size including (legs, rails and solid tops.
On the top end of the legs the dowel joints were marked out
After being drilled 3cm into the wood, a dowel centre point was inserted into the drilled hole. A right-angled jig was used to keep the leg aligned while the dowel centre point marked the rails. 3mm holes were then drilled where the centre point left marks. This process was repeated for each leg and each rail.
The solid top was then made from three planks of timber being biscuit joined edge to edge. This process employed the task of marking out three evenly distributed markings in the middle of the long side edge. Once one plank was marked the opposite plank was also marked to match the previous alignment. After this the biscuit cutter was used to make space for the biscuits to be inserted. When the holes were cut and were precisely aligned the table tops were ready for gluing. The three lengths of timber were placed on top of two metal framing clamps glue was placed in the holes of the biscuit slots and across the edges then were clamped together and fastened using the metal frame. Excess glue was wiped off the timbre with a damp cloth whilst glue was still wet. These steps were carried out twice, for both the tabletop and the storage shelf.
The table top and shelf were then placed through the thicknesser to evenly flatten the surface of the job. After this the table top and shelf were sanded using the orbital sander using a variety of abrasive grades incuding
The frame was constructed together with the dowel joints sitting on top of the shelf. When the frame was aligned straight, and an outline of the legs were traced onto the shelf. The marked outline was then cut out using the band saw.
40cm up from the ground dowel joints were drilled on four sides of the legs
Diary of Making
Evaluation- Initial Ideas, Developed Idea, Production Process, Final Evaluation
The initial ideas were successfully developed and further used to design an original coffee table. The developed idea was carefully modified to improve certain aspects such as the size of the legs and the thickness of the table top.
