A Toolbox

Carpe Diem!

This toolbox I made as an example to show my Workshop One (beginning) furniture design students. It was the semester that the pandemic came to the states. Within a few days after starting on their own version all classes were kicked out of the building and held online after that. Sadly no student had a chance to finish their own toolbox design. 

The handle was turned on my lathe. End tenons join into round mortises drilled into the sides.  Plywood ends.  The sides join into the ends with pseudo dovetails cut using my CNC. The divider is walnut.  The text was V-carved into it using my CNC. A 1/4" thick plywood bottom is trapped in slots cut near the bottom edge of the sides and ends.  The slots in the angled sides are also cut at an angle. 

Pseudo Dovetails

One advantage of using the lathe to cut the handle was that the center grip was tested as it was being turned to make sure it was a comfortable grip. 

The divider helps separate box contents for organization or just keeping the oily tools away from the dusty tools. 

Comments and question always appreciated!

4D
 

A Simple Landscape Model Stand

A Quartet of Stands Conspiring.

This stand design was a request from a Professor of Landscape Architecture at Kansas State University.  No specifications provided other than to hold up landscape models done by students for display and examination. Often I'd see them in use during class critiques. Other times holding student made site models in the building hallways and exhibit nooks. These are a small bit of my legacy. 

I'd previously spent time sketching/iterating lightweight easel designs for artwork display. This A-frame design was just waiting for release from the storage rooms of my creative mind.  It is another example of my pursuit for simplicity in design.  The only challenging part is cutting and joining the feet to the legs. 

We had a drawer full of assorted hinges salvaged from past remodels and rejected prototypes. Among those were several 3" wide door hinges. Those suggested the legs could be made from pine 1x4s (usually 3.5" wide) initially.  We didn't have any in our supply room so instead I ripped 3.5" wide strips from some 18mm Baltic Birch plywood for both legs and the model shelf.  Each shelf is 1/2 the length of a leg.  Legs for 8 can be cut from one 60" x 60" sheet of Baltic Birch plywood. Another half sheet would be enough for the shelves and feet. 

I wanted the mass of the models to be centered above the base.  A little drafting deduced the lean angle and spread of the legs.  Feet were cut from a single 14 degree angled bandsaw slice diagonally through a small rectangle of the same plywood. Bottom edges of the feet sit flat on the floor. They were joined to the legs with a wide floating tenon.  I showed a standing prototype to the professor the next day.  I was then commissioned to make 15 for the college.  Enough for a single class of students to use during critiques. 

A Duet of Stands Cooperating.

The landscape models made from layers of chipboard could be quite heavy. To support them reliably the model shelf is attached with 3/8" diameter steel pins between the shelf and legs. Holes for the pins were drilled centered and perpendicular with a self-centering drill jig. As far as I know no stand has failed since they were put in use. Two stands used together hold up a very large site model in the photo above. 

I can tell by the hinges used and the unnecessary chains that these two copies were made by a student helper (cheap labor).  The four in the first image have stout door hinges between the legs. With the shelf in place the geometry is locked. 

The legs can fold together once the shelf is removed. The shelf can then be slid onto one leg to remain attached when the stands are stored.  Several stands can be stored in minimal floor space. 

Oak Version

Flush Strap Hinge

3 Heights. Chamfered Edges

For Flat Work or 3D Site Models 

The oak version shown here I made mainly to show off some design refinement and added versatility.  The legs taper. A narrow strap hinge is used rather than a door hinge. There are 3 height options available rather than one. The stance changes as the height changes so the bottom of the feet are rounded over to always have a tangent intersection with the floor.

A simple, lighter version could be made with 1 x 3 (.75" x 2.5") boards as shown in this rendering from my CNC software:

Feet attached with a mortise and tenon joint. 

The Fit Poster shown in the last photo is a survivor from the early '80s. It was for a folding lounge chair I designed and entered into a national design competition. 

Link: My Folding Lounge Chair

Comments and questions are welcomed and encouraged.

4D

  

Rocking Balans Chair

Mechanically Rocking Balans Chair

In the late 70s a new seating idea arrived.  As personal PCs started to show up in the early 80s a new set of ergonomic posture concepts also showed up.  

As part of my personal academic research I designed a progressive sequence of balans type chairs in search of a version that would fit better in an office environment.  The original rocking Balans chair had a dynamic quality to it. The rocker base allowed easy transition from perched forward to sitting level. It allowed fidgeting to keep from getting stiff while in the chair.  Many versions that followed copied the perch forward position but had no dynamic nature. 

Of all my prototypes this mechanically rocking version came closest to duplicating the qualities of that original rocking version. The X geometry allows the occupant to rock forward to the perch position or rock back to a level seat. The knee rests pivot to meet your shins at any angle. They pivot out of the way when rocked back and feet are flat on the floor.  

The Bubinga wood version above with blue seat and knee pads was my original prototype. The Maple wood version shown below was #1 of a series I made and sold to different campus offices that were just starting to use computers. 

Maple Production Version

Final Destinations Unknown

I don't know what happened to these chairs.  The owner of a local auction company told me he once had a group of some unusual chairs with orange seats to auction off, but he couldn't remember where they came from.  It wouldn't surprise me if the university sold them off as a group.  Modern office chairs with ergonomic adjustments have taken over. 

Questions and Comments welcome and encouraged. 

4D

25" x 48" Hobby Workbench Design

A Simple Workbench

Many home stores carry butcherblock slabs in different sizes. 

4x4 Cedar posts are also readily available in most areas. 

This bench design is made from a 25" x 48" x 1.5" thick slab of Birch butcherblock. Home Depot, Menards, Lowes etc. also carry 6' and 8' and 10' long slabs. The legs are  4x4 (3.5" x 3.5") cedar.  The legs attach to the top with a CNC cut tenon array. An example is shown here: Simple Desk. Stretchers are solid Birch and tenon into the sides of the legs. In assembly belt clamps around the legs helped pull the stretchers tight until the glue dried. 

Solid and Sturdy

The legs flare out a few degrees for a more stable stance. A shelf could be added atop the stretchers if desired. 

While not the 3" or thicker slab of 2x4s that makers often glue up for a bench top, this hardwood top is solid and stiff.  A bench vise would be a good addition.  Hang a drawer or two on the underside of the top for storage.  Apply 3 coats of finish on top and bottom of the top to stabilize it against bowing or splitting. 

The photos here are of a scale model I made.  The college I taught at was remodeling their workshop and needed more student workbenches. I made this model to present one option for them to consider.   Same construction and materials used as intended for full sized versions. Small details such as the mortises and tenons were cut using my CNC.  

Some stores carry wider butcherblock slabs.  A  36" x 72" slab would make a larger bench for those who need room to spread out their work. The same simple base would work with slightly longer stretchers in both directions. 

Questions and comments encouraged and welcome. 

4D.

CNC cut Radiused Corners for Furniture Projects

I would occasionally have students design a cabinet box with radiused corners.  Before we had CNCs to use we might run the corner board across the table saw blade at an angle to cut the inside cove. Optionally we might use a cove bit or large ball end bit on the router table. Follow with a few angled table saw slices to remove much of the outside surface.  Then plane/scrape/sand away to smooth out the outer surface of the corner. 

Using a 3-axis CNC and Aspire software, and the job set up as a 2-sided job, both the inside and outside faces of the corner curve can be cut. 

The goal is to remove the red shaded areas from the rectangular starting block. 

Top and Bottom cut Areas

As the whole top area of both sides is being cut, an extra inch was added on both ends for a place to clamp it down.  The moulding toolpath in Aspire software using vector drawings of the section views makes easy work of removing the waste areas to leave a perfect curved corner. The 1" ends can then be trimmed off. 

Inside Surface

Outside Surface

Care must be taken to align the board when flipping to do the second side. The material used and grain direction of the board should also be considered when cutting the adjoining flat side of the cabinet box. Plywood could be used with corners with grain running as shown in the renders above.  The grain direction of hardwood sides must match the grain direction of the corners. Front to back for the examples shown, Use Biscuits or Dominos to join the curved corners to the flat sides. Cutting a slot for a spline between adjacent parts could also work. 

This same strategy can be used to make corner sections that aren't 90 degree. I had a student from another class request how to make radiused corners to attach angled wings for a chair seat.   With the potential load on the wings of the chair seat being fairly great he eventually attached them with metal brackets.  Wood corners might split in such cases. 

A hexagon box with radiused corner would be a great application for CNC cut corners. Just draw up the inside and outside vectors of a 120 degree corner section. A few other drafting tricks might be needed.  :)

4D

Comments or Questions welcomed and appreciated!

  

Single Side Cantilevering Shelves

One Sided Shelf

These shelves were more about testing an idea than needing more shelf space. Still, they've become a home for a few of my foxes. Yes, I have a collection of foxes.

The challenge was to find a secure way to connect and support cantilevering shelves from one end. 

The shelves vary in length, with the shortest at the top and the longest at the bottom. 18mm thick plywood brackets, all identical, are used to keep all but the bottom shelf square to the vertical side.  They slide into dovetail slots in the supported end of each shelf. Each bracket also has an embedded threaded nut at the bottom for a bolt that will hold them tight to the vertical side.  Brackets are closer to the back side of each shelf to minimize their interference with whatever is displayed on each shelf.  

Support Bracket with Slot for a Nut Carrier

The embedded nuts are typical hex nuts held in a 3D printed carrier.   A simple slot is all that is needed to slip the carrier with nut into. Slots parallel to an edge are easy to cut on a router table or with a CNC while the perimeter is also being cut.  A hole for the intersecting bolt can be  drilled with a clamp on self-centering drilling jig. 

Drilling Jig @ Amazon.com

Typical Shelf Underside

The shelves also have two embedded threaded nuts for bolts piercing the end that connects to the vertical panel. The tightly held shelf traps the bracket.  The bracket holds the shelf level and keeps it from being lifted up. Shelves progress from 6.5" long to 23.25" long. They are 9" deep and spaced 13.25" center to center.  Some ash wood trim covers the exposed sides of the plywood shelves. Corners have a radius that matches the rounded over sides of the vertical panel. 

The bottom 23.25" long shelf is also the supporting foot for the whole system.  It has a bracket below that extends from the vertical panel to a short vertical foot. The bracket dovetails into the bottom of the bottom shelf. It also has an embedded nut for a bolt through the vertical panel. 

Bottom Bracket

The foot includes threaded adjustable feet to keep the vertical side perfectly plum. The adjustable feet screw into embedded nuts. A dado slot receives the bottom bracket end which is held with wood glue and two wood screws.  Trapped in the dado the plywood bracket can't split. Perforations in these parts allow air to flow from a floor vent below the shelves. 

Bottom Foot

This prototype uses a spare ash wood 9" wide x 6' tall vertical section from my much larger and more versatile shelf  system.  It can still be attached to that system if need be, and add its cantilevering display shelves to that system.

9" x 6' solid vertical panel

The notch in the bottom is so cables can pass through.  When used in the shelf system power cables run through to power a radio/music player and lights in the top cap of the shelves. 

All components of this shelf can come apart and stack flat for easy packaging or moving or shipping. The shelves/bracket unbolt from the panel.  The brackets slide out of the shelves.

In use this cantilevering shelf makes a good display space for my foxes. Needed is a light to illuminate the normally dark corner where it resides. There is an outlet on the wall behind the shelves where a light could be plugged in.  I'm in search for just the right clamp on light to do the job.  

4D.

Comments or questions welcomed and appreciated.