Handmade Furniture

Both my dad and my grandfather were carpenters, and we built our house as well as a commercial building when I was growing up, so I inherited the carpentry gene. Oddly enough, I get exactly the same feeling of satisfaction when I build something as when I write a good piece of code; presumably because they both involve balancing form and function in a carefully though-out design, a painstaking assembly stage, and the constant attention to detail.


wooden futon with black cushion

This is a cutaway photo of my latest creation--a convertible couch I built during August of 2002. It's a fairly spindly 2"x4" frame, through which a knotted rope web (I got the idea from an Amish bed I saw down in Arcola, Illinois) supports a standard futon cushion. The interesting bit is that the backrest pivots down (on 3/8" bolts) to make a bed. A small set of hidden diagonal braces make it quite sturdy, even though I only used about half the wood I'd planned on using! (2013 update! I drew up the folding couch plans, by popular demand.)


large wood table

I based this table's design on my kitchen table at home--it's a 6'x3' top made of finished 1" lumber, supported by two 2"x8" uprights with large feet. The only major difference from this table and the version my dad built is the two large diagonal braces (not visible) connecting the uprights to the surface. I finished the table with about 3 coats of polyurethane, which has held up quite well, even without a table cloth, since I built it in the summer of 2001.


small wooden desk

This desk is mostly scrap lumber--the top is recycled from the desk cover I built back in my apartment, and the sides were from some shelving our neighbors were throwing out. This is the least sturdy of my creations, since the flimsy 3/8" plywood desktop is the only structural element connecting the legs together. I am proud of the sliding drawer, and was quite happy with the polyurethane finish on the desk top.


large metal and wood workbench

Stereo view 1, view 2, view 3, view 4.

This is my metalsmithing and electronics workbench, built during the summer of 2001. The top is a hideous 1950's-era metal-rimmed wooden countertop I ripped out while remodeling our kitchen. By cutting the countertop right at the sink hole and rotating one of the pieces 90 degrees, I was able to reuse the countertop as a very sturdy workbench that fits in the corner of our basement. The two pieces of the countertop are held together with a 2"x4" frame underneath and a few doubled-up 2"x4" uprights. I put a chunk of pegboard on the side uprights, and wired in a light switch to control a set of outlets in the center.

It's a quite servicible workbench, but it must weigh about 200 pounds. That, and the fact that it won't fit back up the basement stairs any longer, means I'll probably have to rip it apart or leave it there when we move out.


I've collected a set of random woodworking proverbs over the years:
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