Elm Cabinet II

[Paul Chapman]

Morning Rob,

Just had another look at your cabinet, wondering why it looked so different (better) when I saw it in your workshop a few weeks ago. If you get a piece of paper with a straight edge and put it across your PC screen along the edge of, say, the bottom of the cabinet, there is quite a bit of distortion in the photographs. This is most pronounced in the close-up showing the bottom of the cabinet and the top of the stand, but also appears to a lesser extent in the other photos.

That's one of the problems with small digital cameras. They have quite wide-angle lenses and I often find that they distort straight lines in things I photograph.

Anyway, I think that's why I felt that there was too much contrast between the curves in the stand and the straight lines of the cabinet. It's the distortion in the photographs making the effect appear more than it is.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

PS I think the bottom photograph of the series posted on your blog shows the cabinet most realistically.

 

[woodbloke]

As Paul has said there's a bit of distortion in pics as they wers shot quickly without a tripod or extra lighting. The ones on the Blog are better and will be going to F&C along with loads of others from the making process - Rob

 

[Waka]

Rob

I think the cabinet looks uneasy on the stand as if its doing a balancing act, maybe thats what you are trying to portray. That doesn't detrack that the stand is excellent craftmanship, but to my eye it doesn't sit right.

Maybe if there was some curves in the cabinet section it might marry the two together.

 

[BradNaylor]

Michael Huntley, the editor of F&C was in the workshop on Friday and had a close and 'up personal' look at it

Never mind all that, smartarse.

When are you going to paint your bloody skirting boards?

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Dan

 

[woodbloke]

Michael Huntley, the editor of F&C was in the workshop on Friday and had a close and 'up personal' look at it

Never mind all that, smartarse.

When are you going to paint your bloody skirting boards?

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Dan

:lol: :lol: ...Dan - it's the 'au moderne' effect...my excuse anyway(three coats of matt acrylic varnish) - Rob

 

[Anonymous]

Outstanding Rob!!!

I love the curves of the supports for the upper cabinet, and the feeling of lightness the space between cabinet and base brings.

The joinery looks superb too. How did you round the tenon ends without damaging the faces of the frames?

 

[woodbloke]

How did you round the tenon ends without damaging the faces of the frames?

Tony - the ends of the tenons were rounded with a skew chisel (gives a slicing cut across the grain) and then the long sides were shaped with the big LN shoulder plane, with no blade projection on the side (as is usual) or there would have been an element of 'dig in' on the leg. After that it was just a case of smoothing off with sandpaper wrapped round sticks. The surface of the leg was of course cleaned up prior to gluing - Rob

 

[woodbloke]

Rob

I think the cabinet looks uneasy on the stand as if its doing a balancing act, maybe thats what you are trying to portray. That doesn't detrack that the stand is excellent craftmanship, but to my eye it doesn't sit right.

Maybe if there was some curves in the cabinet section it might marry the two together.

As Paul said, the pics here aren't the most wonderful..it actually looks balanced 'in the wood'. I did think for quite a long time about how to get the cabinet a bit more curvy, maybe in the shaping of the side panels or on the door, but there's always a danger of over egging the pud in which case the whole thing starts to looks a bit contrived. As in most of these sorts of things, it's trying to obtain the balance between the different elements which is bloody hard and what suits one may not have the appeal to another. Generally though, I think it turned out reasonably well - Rob

 

[Harbo]

Rob - what can one say? - another excellent piece of work.

I am suprised you used MDF?? :shock:

Rod

 

[davegw]

...why put a cupboard on such long legs?

Why not? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Seriously though - a beautiful piece of work.

I wish I was better

Thanks for giving me the boost to try harder

 

[woodbloke]

Rob - what can one say? - another excellent piece of work.

I am suprised you used MDF?? :shock:

Rod

Rod - I admit I did use the crappy stuff from one of the sheds but it's worked out quite well. All the big, flat surfaces in this maker's stuff are mdf underneath the very expensive veneer, and I suspect that he's not alone in the very up-market world of this sort of furniture - Rob

 

[Paul Chapman]

Nothing wrong with MDF as a substrate for veneering. From what I've read, all the top makers seem to use it.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Harbo]

Rob I was only joking - nothing wrong with the stuff - most of our furniture is by Jaycee whom I am sure used MDF as the core?

Rod

 

[woodbloke]

Rob I was only joking - nothing wrong with the stuff - most of our furniture is by Jaycee whom I am sure used MDF as the core?

Rod

Hey Rod - that's OK...no kiddng though, that mdf from the sheds is really rubbish. Next time I'll use a bit of something half-decent if I got any veneering to do