James Smith Designs

Construction of Chest of Drawers - Outer shaping

2012-02-26T11:30:00.001-08:00

With the drawer fronts machined to fit into the cabinet, the final key stage of the construction is to shape the outside. The design concept was a simple one; the piece is intended for a nursery; the idea therefore was to soften the overall form and reduce opportunities for children colliding with hard edges / corners / handles etc.

The hatched area denotes the timber to be removed, at this point it almost seemed to a shame to remove this joinery - but the best effect is yet to come..

With a spokeshave, the timber was removed to reveal the final form, this tapering chamfer softening the form and in turn finishing the last stage of construction. After sanding, a hard wearing acrylic finish is applied to give the water-resistant work surface required by the clients.

As soon as they're ready I'll post some studio and contextual shots of the finished cabinet. Thanks for reading!

Construction of Chest of Drawers - Installation of drawers

2012-02-26T11:15:00.002-08:00

To allow the handle free design, touch release drawer runners were necessary - these were installed on lateral slips to allow the cabinet to expand and contract without altering the position of the drawer fronts.

The runners proved to offer the well engineered smoothness in operation that was hoped for.

Construction of Chest of Drawers - Glue up & assembly

2012-02-26T11:04:00.000-08:00

The assembly of the carcass is always a nerve-wracking process with time limited by the glue and lots to check to ensure joint closure and squareness. Fortunately all went smoothly.

A very satisfying part of the process - smoothing the joints after gluing to reveal the joinery. This image also shows the curved aperture for the drawer fronts machined into the carcass.

The rear dovetails on one of the drawers; the joinery has come together really well on the carcass and drawers, the machining jig proven to be a sound addition the the workshop.

Construction of Chest of Drawers - Joinery

2012-01-18T11:41:00.001-08:00

For the purposes of cutting the main joints on the body of the chest the studio invested in a routing jig for machining joints. To become familiar with the tool the dovetails for the drawers were cut using it.

The box or finger joints were then cut with good result using the jig. This required some subversion of the intended method as it turned out the jig was not meant to cut panels of this size.

The component parts of the cabinet and drawers jointed & ready for gluing.

Construction of Chest of Drawers - Timber selection and preparation

2011-11-30T11:20:00.002-08:00

The chest is being made from Ash, the timber is English and a mixture of white (for the exterior) and olive & white for the drawers.

This stage involves careful inspection and selection of timber to ensure consistent grain and colour particularly around the exterior of the chest. Once the selection is made the timber is 'broken out' into more manageable sizes for machining.

The timber is machined to size using a planer - thicknesser and the edges prepared square and straight for jointing with a hand plane.

The planks have wooden biscuits inserted into their edges for strength and then, with glue are pulled together using sash cramps. All efforts are made at this stage to ensure the new panel is clamped flat and remains true. This panel will form the top of the cabinet.

The image shows the figure of the wood, these planks were crown cut, i.e. from the exterior of the logs - thereby giving this strong, distinctive grain pattern.

Construction of Chest of Drawers

2011-11-29T16:13:00.001-08:00

To begin what is likely to be an intermittent blog : I'll firstly be documenting the construction of the studio's current commission; a four drawer chest of drawers.

The fine tree on the left is a Himalayan Cedar (Cedrus Deodara), there was a second here but its age got the better of it and it was felled by tree surgeons. Ensuring the timber was cut and air dried correctly about two years ago has meant that it is now almost ready to use. When used as drawer bottoms the natural aroma of this timber not only serves to give the storage spaces a good smell but also offers natural anti-moth protection.

Having cut the timber to more manageable sizes that are specific to the furniture, it is moved from a draughty barn to the warmer indoors. The aim being, with the help of a de-humidifier to reduce the timber from around 14% to 8% humidity.

Kink II Stools updated and documented

2011-04-10T15:21:00.000-07:00

The Kink II stools have reached a new stage of development; the tops now consist of felt upholstered pads and the frames powder coated in CMYK colours. Thank you to the huge photography skills of Katrina More-Molyneux for these brilliant images.

The stools are now available to order, please enquire to discuss your requirements.

James Smith Designs with Designer's Block in Ventura Lambrate, Milan

2011-04-10T15:04:00.000-07:00

Very excited to be in Milan to exhibit the recently updated Kink II stools. The stools will be exhibited with Designer's Block in Ventura Lambrate. The exhibition runs from the 12th - 17th April.

First post_Retrospective press

2011-04-10T14:46:00.000-07:00

A little retrospective post to begin this blog.

Whilst exhibiting at Tent London in the Autumn the 'Kink II' Stool received its first piece of press having been noticed by a writer from Architonic. The stools were subsequently featured here; Kink II Stools on 'The Daily Tonic'.