Popular Woodworking 2008-10 № 171, страница 7
— Out on a Limb — BY CHRISTOPHER SCIIWARZ. EDITOR TT 7 POPULAR 1 . WooDworking Abandon Ship-Before it Sinks CX /neof the biggest frustrations with woodworking comes with designing furniture. There arc thousands of people who will teach you how to cut a joint or apply a finish, but there isalmost no one who will tell you that a design of yours stinks. You can't trust your family. They will like whatever you build. And when they rave about a project, you should interpret "Wow! 1 k>vc it!" as "Wow! It's not fallingapart!" You can't trust fellow woodworkers. Of all the critiques I've sat through. I've found that most wood-workcrsarc loathe to take a brother or sister down a notch when it comes to design. Some woodworkers feel unqualified to comment on a project's aesthetics. Other woodworkers hesitate to criticize because they know that their turn in the box is coming Heck, you can't even trust the Internet. Even on the anonymous messageboards. it's really rare for one woodworker to offer anything but the mildest commentary on a project built by another. Stuff that looks like it should be hauled away in a dumpster usually gctskudosalongthc lincsof: "Thai's some nice red oak!" So who can you trust? Until you can afford a personal design guru, you arc going to have to trust your educated gut. When I say "educated." I mean that you have to treat design like any other wood-workingskill. You need to study it by browsing books on great furniture from your library. You need to read about antique and 12 ■ Pt<puU* WW»orVinf iWvrJlVW contemporary work like you read about the latest dovetail-cult inggizmo. After reading enough books on fine furniture, your gut will twitch approvingly whenever you sec an excel lent form. And most of all. you need to practice. That meanssketchinga project several times before committing to it. There arc several ways todo this. Draw stuff out full-size so you can sec how the parts relate tooneanother. Build it out of foam-core insulation to see how the project looks in three-dimensional space. Build a mock-up out of cheap wood so you can alter moulding profiles and work out the details of the joinery. Why am I writing about this? Because I'm just about to do the absolute most important thing when designing a piece of furniture: Be fearless when it comes to abandoning your efforts to design furniture. I would rather have 10 picccsof awkward furniture in my wastcbaskcl than one in my house. I haw an end table design that made it to the wooden prototype stage, and it's just not working for me 1 tried cvcrythingl know to save it (lightcningthc look. creating harmonizing details. trying to c reate one dominant theme for the piece). But nothing helped. And though I'm irritated that I used up several hoursofjhopiimc.that'sbcticrthan the sinking feeling Idgct every lime I saw my complete but not-quitc-there design. PW Customer Service How can / contact customer serWce with questions regarding my subscription, including a lost or damaged issue! Visit populafwoodwcKlting.com/ customerservke. Or write to Popular Woodworking, P.O. Box 4202 JS, Palm Coast, fl 32142-0235. Or. if you prefer the- telephone, c all toll-free 877-860-9140 and a customer service representative will be happy to help ><xj. When doe* my subscription expire? The (Lite of your sulncripiion expiration appear* on your maga/ine mailing L»M, abow your name. The date indicates the last issue in your subscription. Can I get back n%ues of Popular Wood working.' Back issues are available while su|)|>lies last. Visit popularwoodworkingxom/l>ackissues. Or if you know the exact month and year of the issue you want, call our customer service department toll-free at 800-258-0929 to order. What ill wa n f more information about the projects and looh I read about in Popular Woodworking/ For all editorial questions, please write to Popular Woodworking Fditorial, 4700 E. Calbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 452J6. Or e-mail popwood*fwpubsx"om. Does Popular Woodworking offer group discountsf Croup discounts are available by spccial arrangement with the publisher. For more detailv, send an e-mail to Debbie PaoMo at debbie.paoleMoOfwpubs.com or call 513-531 -2690x11296. Our Privacy Promise to You We make portions of our customer list available lo carefully screened companies that offer produc ts and services we believe you may enjoy. If you do not want to receive offers andV* information, please let uv know by contacting us at: list Manager. F«W Publications 4700 E. Calbraith Road Cincinnati, OH 45236 Safety Note Safety is your responsibility. Manufacturers place safety devices on their equipment for a reason. In many photos you see in Popular Woodtsorking. these have been removed to provide clarity. In some cases we'll use an awkward body position so you can better see what's being demonstrated. Dont copy us. Think about each procedure you're going to |M.f form beforehand. |
