Winter term: the upward spiral

“As this sequence suggests, we view the process of learning the fine art of cabinetmaking as an "upward spiral," in which the cabinetmaker is constantly refining techniques previously learned-an effort with no end, as such, whose goal is excellence in all aspects of the craft.” James Krenov

The second course of study at Inside Passage is coined "upward spiral." In this term, we revisited all of the techniques introduced in the first course. Returning from the break, I was eager to apply the skills I'd learned in a more beautiful and challenging wood. I wondered what I could accomplish in an independent project, working at my own pace. After some sketching and contemplation, I settled on building a cabinet for Lara to hold correspondence. During the first term, she'd kept up with several of her close girlfriends through the nearly forgotten art of the handwritten letter.

I was granted significant flexibility in design for this second project, providing it met four criteria: small, simple, solid and sweet. Limiting the size allowed for an intense focus on the quality of the work. Excluding glass, veneer, or other advanced techniques, upward spiral focused solely on solid wood construction. I learned that a small, simple piece was plenty of challenge for term two.

At IP, much of the design process begins with the wood. Lara had a major say in the wood selection. She was partial to the darker woods, and had pointed out a slab of Claro Walnut in one of her first trips through the school. I loved this slab as well, but the grain proved to be too wide for a smaller cabinet like the one I was designing. Then she saw the French Walnut. With its dark, rich color and tight, feminine grain, she was hooked. So was I. Here's my plank in the rough:

I proceeded from sketching to a full scale mock-up, adjusting dimensions and proportions along the way. I spent a lot of time with the wood as a whole plank, studying the grain graphics. Krenov taught that grain graphics should harmonize with and add intention to the design. I had to see what the wood had to offer, and figure out how to best accentuate its natural beauty. This proved to be one of the most challenging and rewarding processes of this project. After much planning and deliberation, I made some critical cuts in the plank.

I then turned my attention to the door. The door would follow a classic Krenovian design, a tapered, asymmetrical curve. This process began with cutting the door stock into five staves.

Next, I beveled the edges and joined them back together. I then planed the staves into a curve, a process called coopering. With a well-tuned plane and a razor sharp iron, coopering is one of the most freeing and enjoyable processes known to man.

With the door nearly finished, the case was the next challenge. While the case of my first cabinet was doweled construction, this one would be dovetailed. Dovetails created both a strong mechanical joint and, in this case, a powerful design component. I'd cut dovetails in merciful woods on a small scale in the first term. Case dovetails proved to be a much tougher challenge. Slowly, slowly, they came together.

As I think back now to the challenges of this term, one thing stands out above the rest: sharpening. Though french walnut is generally merciful on the cutting edges of plane irons and chisels, a few of my pieces were loaded with (beautiful!) little pin knots that would damage an edge in just a few plane strokes. Some of the other woods I used, like Anigre in the back panel and Ziricote in the drawer front, were very tough on edges and required constant sharpening. This is a view of the end grain of the Ziricote, as I chopped the pins for the drawer front.

This term proved to be the most demanding; I logged at least sixty five hours each week in the shop, and the longest weeks were over eighty. Lara was more than ready to have me home. During the break, we explored our little corner of BC, enjoying a few sunny days between the winter storms, traveling around Vancouver Island, and trying our hand at crabbing. One old single-clawed red rock crab found his way into our trap:

Preparing him was an adventure, and he was delicious! I think Gideon enjoyed the crab meat even more than Lara or I did...

So, where are the photographs of the completed piece? After a few more blog entries, I'll post the photographs of all of my work at IPSFC in a kind of online exhibition.

Thank you for reading!