Experimental Design Lab (1)
ExLaB Anderson Wong 980955 Stance Crawl Melting Bench
exlab.
Design Journal 1
Experimental Design Lab (2)
ExLaB Contents 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Stool 1 - Stance 3.0 Stool 2 - Crawl
3 4 13
4.0 Precedent / Moodboards
22
5.0 Final Project - Melting 5.0 A) Conception B) Fabrication
37 53
7.0 Reflection
70
Table of contents
2
Experimental Design Lab (3)
ExLaB 1.0 Introduction My interest in the Timber Furniture course is in its inert technical emphasis in the driven designs, which, on top of incorporating in-depth research approaches, accentuates the importance of craftsmanship technology and real-world fabric. Understanding that great moments in architecture begin at the delicate details has driven me to desire to develop my technical and practical knowledge through the guidance of this subject. At the intimate scale of the human body, the curated mini-experiences through the process of creating a work of stool or chair is intriguing. This is a process and an outcome which has seldom been emphasized in my previous architecture work. I aim to further explore the key aspects of human interaction, joinery and refuge. These are aspects which architecture at large scales and furniture at intimate scales have in common, both complex and requiring immense attention. I am excited to experiment with the versatile uses of wood through its different types and treatments.
The ExLab Ethos The Experimental Design Lab is an investigation into material and process driven design. It suggests an alternative, “bottom-up” approach to the conceptual process where playful experimentation with materials and hacking of both traditional craft methodologies and contemporary digital fabrication equipment leads ultimately to the design of a functional item of furniture. Risk is encouraged, and hard-earned failure is rewarded in parallel to successes. Physical experimentation lies at the core of the ExLaB pedagogy. Designers are encouraged to get out of sketchbooks and get their hands dirty. The process becomes as important as the final outcome and provides a glimpse of the breakthroughs, the heartbreaks, the red herrings and the intense amount of labor that goes into the ExLaB process.
The freedom to explore through multiple routes and idea-vessels has taken shape in my design approach throughout my undergraduate degree, materialized in my previous design processes of constant iteration and testing, both physical and digital. It is with the aim of continuing to push my design thinking as well as the desire of incorporating the intimate scale understanding and in-depth material tectonic that I will be able to maximize my learnings through Ex_lab.
1.0
3
Experimental Design Lab (4)
ExLaB
STOOL 1. STANCE With EVON YUQIAN
1.0
4
Experimental Design Lab (5)
ExLaB 2.0 Stance Stool
PROLOGUE- STEAMBENDING The Stance stool (1) began with experiments with steambending (2) When first discovering steambending’s capabilities, the concept of being able to alter the property of timber by subjecting the regular pieces to set conditions, was outwardly intriguing. Essentially making timber malleable for a short moment before it was once again frozen in its natural state of solidity. It should also be noted that we were experimenting with air-dried blackwood for the final piece. The added moisture content meant that the steambending would be substantially more effective. Following tests on diferent timbers, we set out to explore ‘bending’ and its variants. From here we explored the idea of contrasting the orthognal and the fully bent. A duality.
Through several failures made from the steambending process, we were required to make large changes to the design of the stool. These desgin altering faults were documented in the process resulting in a thorough record of a steambending menu.
(1)
2.0
(2)
STOOL1
For the front legs, a single wide piece was made into a U shape. The blackwood back legs were sawed thinner, half the thickness in width. STANCE
5
Experimental Design Lab (6)
ExLaB
PROCESS
(1)
(1) Planing the block for accurate slicing on the bandsaw (2) Bandsawed Sliced veneers sanded to size on the beltsander (3) Timber slices soaked in the PVC tube overnight (4) Steamer set up (25 minute wait to allow the box to reach an internal temperature of around 80 degrees) (5) Pieces retrieved and bent carefully with clamps from the angle outwards. Bending strap should be used. (6) Piece left in the form and [dried (either air dried or in the drying rack for reduced springback)
(2)
CONSIDERATIONS
(3)
Timber should be at about 15- 24% moisture content for optimal bending, which is mostly possible for air dried timbers to naturally have. Air dried timber is a rare resource and is not easily imported to Australia. Kiln dried timbers can be soaked to reintroduce moisture.
(4)
Following a series of general youtube research, every inch of thickness requires an hour of steaming as a minimum.
(5)
2.0
(6)
STOOL1
(7)
The molds should have as much clamping space as possible to get even pressure around the bends. Our molds lacked enough hole space and hence the clamps could not always be placed in proper positions to be effective. Inconsistencies in the mold surfaces also promoted cracking issues via creating bumps where pressure would be increased.
6
Experimental Design Lab (7)
ExLaB
INITIAL STEAMBENDING TRIALS Bending the wood following the form-work. Bent with one side cracked, bending procedure was varried out to quickly
Natural grain of the wood directed out-
wards especially at the intended bend area. Takeaways A longer steaming time needed for timbers that were particularly dry. Formwork can be lined with a soft lining such as cork padding to prevent any knicks in the process.
(1)
(2)
(3)
Our use of the bending strap was not well done as the strap was much thinner than the actual board, making it ineffective. A bending strap can be used for the process to keep the pieces in tension. Edges of the timber strips can be chamferred off to reduce the splitting chances. BLACKWOOD The air dried quality is very beneficial for steambending. However, being moist, the timber cannot be used in most machines besides the mitre saw as it would cause
(1) Intended form (2) Bending failure with grain split (3) Bending success managing to achieve a 90 degree straight bend without much additional length. (4) All compiled tests
2.0 1.0
harm to the blade. This set up some additional struggles with the design that we should have planned out for. Incorporating a mitre saw heavy use design with the steambending process.
STOOL1
7
Experimental Design Lab (8)
ExLaB
THE DATA FROM EXPERIMENTS
TRIALS After
testing
scrapwood,
with
we
were
given oppotunity to try
out
air
blackwood
(A)
(B)
dried
with
30
% moisture content.
(G)
This easier
made
bending
than
with
regular timbers that were more air dried. It turned out to be incredibly when super
supple
steamed, strong
but when
dried.
(C)
(F)
(D)
2.0
(E)
STOOL1
(H) Element with varying thickness to create ease for bending where the angle is steeper. Would be useful
(I) Drastic Failure from grain direction
8
Experimental Design Lab (9)
ExLaB
EARLY IDEAS The first successful bent piece displayed excellent strength. On its own it functioned adequately as a 'stool'. The simplicity of this piece sparked the design for the later stages.
Schematic Ideas
1) Legs Need to account for springback. Potentially different angles for legs Need to conduct a sit/weight test on the leg Stool Leg requires multiple layers for strength
2) Seat Following strength and stability, the seat design depends on the selected joinery method 2
direction
Off axis
Top Single piece multi
down would be simpler.
direction bending
3)Other ideas
(1) Sit-test of Single
2.0
STOOL1
(2)Sketches and ideas
The leg can be made differently? as a body?
9
ExLaB OVERALL
Experimental Design Lab (10)
(1) Wooden strips soaked for 24 hours max (2) Steamer box set up whilst maintaining occasional checks on the water level (3) Molds made from scrapwood with drilled holes for clamps. (4)Using bending strap to keep the piece in compression while bending made the bending process easier. (A new strap was made using two strips to account for the timber width) (5) Clamp tests were done (with scrapwoods before, following page) with the optimum leave in time found to be at 2 days. (6) Drying rack was not used due to the final piece’s size. (7) Problem: The steamer cooled down midway causing the blackwood to become less supple, the wooden strips cracked at the awkward grain direction. (8) Successful bend was tested for the final piece, showing optimum strength. (9) Glue up of front U leg to back L legs (10) Testing seating pad position (11) Ergonomic seating test to follow own proportions. (12) Carving out the
2.0
STOOL1
10
Experimental Design Lab (11)
ExLaB BENDY Seating Experience.
Before shaping, the seating pad took an ‘outof-place’ appearance, seemingly super imposed on top of the bent legs. The block exaggerated the contrast of bent against orthogonal, but in a rather mockingly type of manner.
Shaping the
seat was then carried out with the main idea of comfort in mind. The shift of weight when seated on the chair causes a push backwards brought by the slight flex of the backwards legs. The thick seating pad shows a solid heavy top supported by elegant curves. An indent was carved to demarcate the correct and optimal sitting area an position. As a result, the seating experience first begins as a stable base, but then shifts when the stool receives the full weight and adjusts itself backwards and slightly lower, becoming relaxed This ‘contrast’ that we tried to achieve was not so successful in terms of aesthetics. The seat to leg joinery could have been more sofisticated,
(1) Precarved Seat
2.0
STOOL1
perhaps with some form of mortise tenon action.
11
ExLaB KEY MOMENTS
Experimental Design Lab (12)
(1) Final Stance
(2) Carving
2.0
STOOL1
(3) Sit-test full
(4) Seat/Leg detail
12
Experimental Design Lab (13)
ExLaB
STOOL 2. CRAWL With EVON YUQIAN
2.0
13
Experimental Design Lab (14)
ExLaB 3.0 Stool Exercise 2 CRAWL
Pushing the flexibility of timber, the cross axial rotatinal bending presented a fabric-like softness to the leg appearance. The seating pad takes a similar approach to achieving softness with bent edges folding over due to the gaps created in the lamination.
Walnut and cedar were
used to create a stripe pattern lamination. With the ends having their gaps, foldovers were produced at each end to further emphasise each of the three seat edges. The laminated seat parts had their edges chamfered to show the second layer of the lamination, exposing a streak-crack in between to emphasise the three parts coming together. Each triplet of legs gather at the near edges of the triangle seat, with each set having their own unique bends and directions. CRAWL takes a creature-like personification, with fluid legs capped with stump toes.
2.0
STOOL2
14
Experimental Design Lab (15)
ExLaB BENDY
The utilisation of freeform bending as well as mold directed
(1)
methods. We experimented with cross axis bending, meaning perpendicular the grain, which could only be achieved easily with steaming. Without steaming the timber often split along the grain when twisted.
One of the first issues we discovered when trying to steam the thick veneer was its tendency to cup in the steamer (1). It soon occured to us that the piece had a 100% chance of cupping if it had a thickness to width ratio exceeding 1:30 . Our 2.5 mil thick by 120 wide pieces cupped severely after just 30 minutes in the steamer. This could be prevented with steaming jigs or simply using thicker pieces if the larger width is required.
MOULD ISSUE. The pieces were bent at the same time in the same way, stacked on top of one another, in order to maintain their similarity. However, because these pieces were tightly stuck together in the drying process, some moisture was unable to
(2)
escape, most noticeable at the ends (2) where they had blackened with blue spots or mould. We left the tests in the drying rack for 2 hours each on two 60 degree cycles. However, because we left them inside the machine over night where the heat would not be on, this perhaps allowed for some remaining moisture to not be able to escape.
(3)
2.0
(4)
STOOL2
(5)
15
Experimental Design Lab (16)
ExLaB THICK VENEER
In order to explore the capabilities of thick veneer (2-4mm), multiple tests were carried out to challenge the usual forms of straight timber veneers. The change in the walnut timber form produces an almost softlooking organic-like set of legs,
emerging from the
veneers that were pushed to reach cross-axis and rotational bends. The seating pad takes a similar approach to achieving softness with bent edges folding over due to the gaps created in the lamination. Two timber types were used to produce the veneers, creating a stripe pattern lamination. With the ends having their gaps, foldovers were produced at each end to further emphasise each of the three seat edges. The laminated seat parts had their edges chamfered to show
(1) Stool Exercise 2, Anderson Wong & Qian
the second layer of the lamination, exposing a streakcrack in between to emphasise the three parts coming together. Each triplet of legs gather at the near edges of the triangle seat, with each set having their own unique bends and directions. The stool takes on a creature-like personification, with fluid legs capped with stump toes, as the result of the process.
(2) The Underbelly.
2.0
STOOL2
16
Experimental Design Lab (17)
ExLaB
Stripes : Cedar and Walnut The alternating layers created a beautiful light/dark contrast in the stack. The underside of the stool left in the yellowish cedar contrasted the dark walnut above which further added to that ‘living’ detail appearing as an ‘underbelly’(1) . The routered chamfered edges were
(1)
used to accentuate the 3piece connection
and reveal
a hint of the cedar (2). In hindsight, this may have clouded the design intention and added a bit too much stuff. Discovery
2)
The curved detail was discovered from the lamination process of the veneers. The use of the Vaccum bag to assist with lamination produced an unforeseen result of maintaining the form of the press-curved edges (3). where there were no in between layers. I expected the need to add glue in between these edges to keep this curve but was not sure
(3)
how I could clean and sand it out afterwards as the gaps would have made it difficult to access.Without the need for glue, this detail kept itself clean with the help of vaccum force, adding the curved character to the edges
2.0
where the legs would be attached.
STOOL2
17
Experimental Design Lab (18)
ExLaB PROCESS
(1) All twist bent tests for the legs made from thick veneers (2) Laminated veneers cut to size to form the 3 parts that makeup the sitting pad. Bandsawed following the printout size and shape.
(1)
(2)
(3) Parts dominoed together. (Dry tested first with slightly sanding down dominoes and their brusing edges) (4)
Connecting brace sawed up from reamining laminated
veneer. Slots are made in the brace using the small bandsaw and a holding jig. (5) The leg-brace-seat glue up. The issue was discovered
(3)
4)
that the legs had enough flex in them to make the chair flimsy. There was nothing to brace them. So, despite how level it was made, it would still be flimsy if the legs were not provided some extra stability. (6) Bracing elements (resembling that of toes for the creature), were made to hold the legs in place. This proved to be extremely difficult as the stool legs did not line up and were all slightly different at their
(5)
2.0
(6)
termination point due to the nature of the bending process.
STOOL2
18
Experimental Design Lab (19)
ExLaB Connection Testing
Inspired by the finger joint chair, we aimed to find a suitable method to join the curved legs to form a structurally stable base. This test was relatively successful as all 4 elements were curved in the exact same way at the same time (laid on top of one another in the clamping). This meant that if there was any spring back at all, all of them would experience similar effects and remain identical.
We wanted to push this bending further and explore the irregular versions. The final stool used sections of long
(1)
(2)
(3)
pieces of twisted walnut that were bent in an extreme rotation. These piecces were not consistently the same and each section had a drastically different bend. In the process of driving the design we had missed out the requirement of a consistency to make the connections less of a hassle. As a result, the wild legs became complicated to join to the seating pad. Each leg was not very strong (still slightly pliable), and could only work in groups. We decided to make them support the chair from underneath so that they would not tend to push up through the slots, making the seat a stopper for this action.
4)
(5)
(1)First Test, regular finger joints
(6) (2) All same elements (3) Final
chosen type of bend (4) Problem with the bending for connections (5)
To combat this, we created a bracing element which would incorporate slots as varying directions to accomodate the wild bends. However, they were still problematic as the bends took
The bracing element, some slots curved (6) Wild Curves bringing a
place even against the grain. (4), and could not fit into the
life-like growth character
straight slots. We had to cut curved slots for some of the
2.0
STOOL2
pieces as they would not bend back straight.
19
ExLaB Overall
Experimental Design Lab (20)
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(1)Timber bandsawed and thicknesser-ed to produce straight veneers. Soaked veneers(from 1 night to 2 weeks) steam-bent cross-axis. (2) Drying rack (60 degrees for 1 hour), reduces springback (almost to 0). (3) Test weaving with shortly soaked veneers, required a thinner veneer in our process.(4)More cross axis testing, all free form generally. (5) Veneer experiments to combine and form leg stands. A brace-holder piece was required. (6) Bent timber veneer (from longest soak) was cut to size. (7) Lamination of veneer begins, gaps were left on the edges. Vac Bag was used for secure lamination as well as to create the overflow and squeeze detail.(8) Laminated veneer cut to size and dominoed to form a seating pad. (9) Final Leg to seat joint. (10) Glue up with rubber mallet assistance. (11)
Checking to level. After levelling, a problem was discovered : the legs despite being levelled, were still too flexible and tended
to slide around with horizontal movement forces applied on top. (12) Stablising footpads made and joint together to add a more stable base for each foot.
2.0
STOOL2
20
ExLaB KEY MOMENTS
(1) Freeform Bending
2.0
STOOL2
(1) Sit-test
Experimental Design Lab (21)
(1) Final
21
Experimental Design Lab (22)
ExLaB
PRECEDENTS. AND MOODBOARDS
2.0
22
Experimental Design Lab (23)
ExLaB 4.0 Mood Board
(1) Kaptura de Aer, Counterpoise Chair, 2016
(3) Tom Raiffield, Arbor Dining Chair, 2013
2.0
MOODBOARD
(2) Revers Chair, Andrea Branzi 1993
(1) Tom Raiffield, Chaise Lounge No.4, 2007
(3) Anoxeria Stools, Chris Bartel, Netherlands 2009
(3) Warped Wood, Kino Guerin, 2013
(3) Shoemaker chair by Martin Azua 2014
23
Experimental Design Lab (24)
ExLaB 5.0 Mood Board
Dreamcatcher Hall Table
Stella - Wangphongsawasd
Macquarie University Tahquamenon Stool
Ghost Chair
The tension of rigidity and fludity.
Less Stacking Chair
Borek Sipek, Germany, 1988
Tension and technology. Bespoke/ Handmade / Industrial. Brass accents, steel framing, screwed. Timber with lacquered surfaces.
2.0
MOODBOARD
24
Experimental Design Lab (25)
ExLaB 6.0 Moodboard
2.0
(1) O Stool, Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young Blackened Steel
(2) Una Chair, Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young
(3) December XL Ottoman, Jasper Morrison, Wataru Kumano
(4) Nido Sofa, Estudio Persona No OptionsAdd
MOODBOARD
25
Experimental Design Lab (26)
ExLaB 7.0 Precedent Study - BUTTERFLY CHASING THE BEND
Yanagi’s plywood stools takes up the Charles and Ray Eames method of moulding.
Eames technique which uses thin wood ply about 7
layers, rolled through glue coating and compiled in alternating grain directions similar to the concept of CLT.
The minimal
design expresses bends in 4 directions with a triple bend to for the seat+leg and its bottom support edges (toes perhaps).The interesting aspect is the bending movement ‘with the grain’ at the bottom. The twin mirrored leg+seat held together by dowel joint bracing, expresses a simple emphasis of the bend. Our interests were in applying similar technique to veneer. Our veneer tests (not plywood however) showed that bending with the grain promoted cracks as it would easily split. This multi-direction bending
(1) Butterfly Stool, Sori Yanagi, 1954
encourages us to use our lessons from steambending that could be used on the veneers in combination with lamination glue up to promote these bends.
Design drive
The light and expressive tone of the curve represents a body like fluidity. Which on top of ergonomic purpose, exhibits the timber’s aesthetic in its function and ability. It’s ergonomic function is its aesthetic, as shown in the Eames Leg splint.
(2) Charles and Ray Eames Leg splint,
2.0
PRECEDENT
(3) https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=S8cQz4rSit8 - Plywood moulding
26
Experimental Design Lab (27)
ExLaB 8.0 Precedent Study - POANG CHASING THE BEND
POÄNG chair originates from Noboru Nakamura (1972). Bentwood construction is used in the POANG. On top of comfort, the tension give factor tests the strength of the bending feature. The current day’s chair’s back frames are made from a layers of beechwood veneers glued together after being bent. On the other hand, the arm/leg base contrast this by using solid bent wood pieces. When thinking about exhibiting ‘flex’ and ‘tension’, these chairs were clear displays of such concepts. The importance of the design is the sole arm/leg rails that support the whole seat with the inclusion of the tensile feature. I was interested to explore this further to push ‘bending’ as a concept. Combining the two timber materials of
(1) Ikea Poang Chair, 1978.
veneers and solid timber, a further contrast in expression can be achieved. The veneer glue-ups can be used to achieve more intense curves, potentially off axis bending, while the base solid legs of a full thickness (potentially steambent) are for the stability flex. As a result, the bending of both elements are exhibitting different possible features.
Design Drive.
Being more of a utilitarian example, an additional feature
(2) https://www. youtube.com/
2.0
PRECEDENT
is the direct bracing across the chair becoming a feature of support in itself (also forming the seat support).
27
Experimental Design Lab (28)
ExLaB 9.0 Precedent Study - Finger Joint Chair ROLES
Rigid expressions of joints. Finger joints clasping the bent elements expresses a change of roles in the duality.
The rigid and solid part of the chair has oppurtunity to play the role of the ‘restrictor’, a binding mould like element to hold the bent (free) motionful pieces in their place. This concept pushes ‘formwork’ and ‘process’ to become part of the chair itself, an idea that begun in my experiments with steambending with its formwork heavy process.
Movement against the solid. The interest here is in the exploration of roles of the elements and their corresponding
(1) Finger Joint Chair, Samwoong Lee, NA
forms, be it orthogonal or bent. There is a secondary layer of implied contrast here within the elements so-called ‘character’.
My Interest lies in the establishment of the elements as characters within a chair. They act against one another, bent elements always in a constant flux, wanting to escape the grip of the clasping brace that holds them in place. It is an expression of a held moment in time, a cinematic roleplay of forces between this dialogue.
(2)International Furniture Design Competition Asahikawa
2.0
PRECEDENT
28
Experimental Design Lab (29)
ExLaB 10.0 Precedent Study
- Snap Chair
Tension and technology. A branch out from the past interest in flexible and rigid, is the Snap chair that utilises rigidity and tension. As a fully foldable set of parts that lock into each other with the help of steel tension force, the Snap Chair is a lightweight and portable engineered piece. The combination of metal hinges and cables with the curved laminated timber creates a high-tech functional aesthetic.The final finish is of a nitro-cellulose lacquer, some in a reddish brown and others in a yellowish brown coat. What solidifies its identity is its Snap sound, produced when adjusted to its final upright position, which adds a second layer to the seating
(1) Peter Costello, 1992, Sydney. (50 Chairs)
experience.
Marine plywood and steel cables resonate the integration of a boat-like identity from Costello’s previous boatbuilding environment. I am interested in the expression of utility and function as a break-away from the usual form driven design process.
Following an integration
of mechanisms (be it hinges, screw-ins, removables or tensioning cables)the seating experience could hence becoming a part of a ritualistic approach with a designed set of movements to operate and reach the final seated
(2) The folded form (50 Chairs)
2.0
position. Movement and furniture correspondently tied in a dance-like ritual.
PRECEDENT
29
Experimental Design Lab (30)
ExLaB 11.0 Precedent Study - LEGLESS
CHASING THE BEND Thin veneer is used here, exhibitting raw on their own as a vulnerable material. This use of veneer is unexpected and strays from the usual lamination for strength. Instead, it admits its weakness and flaunts a new ability to achieve stability. Chasing the flex, my interest in Legless is the expression of tension flex as a support element which produces a spring like action to the stool. Buckling of an element is usually seen as a structural flaw, however, here it is the driving point of the design. From observation, the bracing ‘feet’ are the key elements to the stability of the chair apart from the multiple veneer strips. These hold a rigid base and if provided with the equal and same seating force, a similar action-reaction chain
(1) Legless , Xingyu Zhou, 2019. Photographed by Charlie White.
would be produced, unless of course the off-side force is applied and the other legs would have a differing bending motion to counter this. My thoughts for the project were pertaining to exploring how the bending motions could be a bit more free in allowing the chair and it’s legs to move and flex according to the seating process gradually, perhaps in an order.
With force applied in one area
gradually increasing or shifting to the next until full seating position. Being assigned veneer, this project resonates and opens doors to challenging the ability of the skinlike material.
Additional thoughts. The freeform flexing alllows for more than
(2) The formwork to stress the bending becomes part of the stool.
2.0
PRECEDENT
double-axis bending movements which could be an interesting feature to explore, perhaps in a more permanent way. It would be ‘Frozen Freeform’.
30
Experimental Design Lab (31)
ExLaB 12.0 Precedent Study - Chest of Drawers DUALITY
Wendell Castle’s Chest of Drawers exhibits a creature-esque form sculpted of walnut, birch and oak. Voluminous curves that resemble tentacles reach outwards from the chest to grab footing onto the ground. The duality of the solid contemporary chest with the freeform lifelike vines creates a mysterious persona for the piece. Timber is expressed as both dead and alive. I am interested in incorporating contrasting timber characters as such within my piece. Half dead, and half alive. This contrast could be further accentuated with two varying timbers of different shades, such as ash(light) and walnut
(1) Chest of Drawers, Wendell Castle, 1962
(dark). Most of Castle’s work uses stack lamination (Figure 2) to achieve biomporhic curves. I aim to apply steambending and/or lamination to express the bend through its patternous grain accordingly.
(2)https://www.youtube.com/
2.0
PRECEDENT
31
Experimental Design Lab (32)
ExLaB 13.0 Precedent Study - Walnut Contour Chair CURVEDWAYS
Longgrain joinery. This piece incorporates several timber veneers joined side by side, which exaggerates the curves via repetition. The Contour Chair sets a strong precedent for me as it is a great example of the single theme 'flowing' throughout the chair. The legs are part of the same fabric, here, coming from a single piece. The beauty is also in its joinery, almost invisble and non-existent, emmphasising the main one, the backrest leg slot.
The constant change in timber pattern (in this case through laminated layers), describes a water-like flow, bringing a softness to the chair’s character on top of its malleable
(1) Walnut Contour Chair, Bodo Sperlein,
backrest look. The timber becomes expressed as a cloth-like material, almost like a carpet that has been folded up into a seating stance. This chair is elegant due to its execution in simplicity, achieving a clear concept. Folded into itself.
The
expression of timber pattern in this methods interests me as it is also a good idea to create a large piece for a seating pad or back rest via side by side glueing. The exaggerated 'flowing' timber expresses a severely curated pattern.
(2)Contour Dining Table, Bodo Sperlein,
2.0
PRECEDENT
32
Experimental Design Lab (33)
ExLaB 14.0 Precedent Study
- Polymorph Chair ‘Melt’ The polymorph chair exhibits a contrast of
‘smooth’ curvature
against the orthognal. It’s design juxtaposes orthognal 1920’s de stijl minimalism against the re-emgerging 1970’s organic shaping. Aduatz uses stack lamination with pieces from CNC milling. Hand curving was then used to finish the piece. Although the design process did not have ‘melting’ considered as part of the concept outwardly, it is definitely a display of the timber seemingly changing state and appearing somewhat malleable.
Carving is the technique required to complete the chair’s melting quality. I have discovered that for a chair to express a ‘changing state of nature’, it has to deform in all 3 axis and planes. This
(1) Polymorph chair, Phillip Aduatz, 2017, New York
requirement of sculpting to achieve a three-dimensional melt accomplishes more of a volume heavy change. The thickness of the laminated layers will be altered via the final carving. This was not the expected avenue when I first began designing and has led me to a point of confusion. Though it is possible to create complex curves via lamination, eg. layer manipulations, this is sim ply unachievable without the
advanced technique required as well as the
machinery. The takeaway is the following- The melting appearance requires laminated layers to then be shaped (either cut before lamination or laminated and then cut, achieving the 2d ‘melt effect
(3) My thoughts
2.0
PRECEDENT
(2) Philip Aduatz Process
in figure 3), in a bent form, followed by the final carving of the end product to achieve 3d contours of a ‘molten state’.
33
Experimental Design Lab (34)
ExLaB 15.0 Precedent Study
-
Guarded Through a Vienna Secession style, it was designed for a doctor and portrayed a luxurious comfortability and grandeur for its intended user. The brass capped feet sturdily hold up the curved armrail. The concave maple planes stretch the distance between the legs so as to form a webbing and distinction between the upper and lower body portions, further emphasising its stability. A sturdiness is shown in the chair’s innate structure, composed
of 6 legs that are part of the ribs. It
provides a certain security and comfort to the user that suggests protection. Seeing this chair highlighted my will to create a rather vulerable and exposed seating experience; a directly opposing take to Koloman’s design.
The user’s approach
to this chair would be straight on, having to eventually directly place one’s back to the chair and lower onself.
(3) Armchair, Koloman Moser, Vienna 1903
2.0
PRECEDENT
34
Experimental Design Lab (35)
ExLaB 16.0 Precedent Study Melt Chair
- Concrete
Melting Details Bower Studios 2020 As an exploration of the effects that resemble that of warping via enchantment , the chair seems takes on a supernatural property. The chrome plated structure clad in the concrete encourages a curiosity towards the underbelly of the chair. The joinery details were the parts I took an interest in. The wrapping of the curved concrete over the rigid metallic ‘half-armrest’, is resolved with the filletted profile of the edge. This creates an interesting relationship between the elements. I began to think about possibly chamferring or filleting edges to further convey this similar relationship. Intuitively, I began research on ‘melt’. Looking up precedents, this was one of the first projects to appear. Although it did not directly influence my concept design, it paved way for the possible methods and points of interest in joinery details. The design I had in mind would face similar issues when the curved elements meet the orthogonal. The Concrete Melt chair highlighted these for thought.
(3) Armchair, Koloman, Vienna 1903
2.0
PRECEDENT
35
Experimental Design Lab (36)
ExLaB 17.0 Moodboard
(1) Arch, FINDER,
Stillness; an immense privilege in the midst of a halt in cthe haotic rhythm that is the everyday.
The chair as a character in space.
Exempt from interrupting its background, the chair in its rich dark tone presents itself upon a landscape as a silent piece. It facilitates a calmness brought on by the elegance in its design. The front legs form armrests which then lay atop the backlegs that form the back rest structure. A seat lays in between them, resting with grace. The chair on its own, is personified as the character without the person, behaving as itself.
2.0
MOODBOARD
36
Experimental Design Lab (37)
ExLaB
CONCEPTION. MELTING CHAIR
2.0
37
Experimental Design Lab (38)
ExLaB
Concept Sketch Idea
2.0
38
Experimental Design Lab (39)
ExLaB
Final Product
2.0
39
Experimental Design Lab (40)
ExLaB
PROLOGUE- MELTING To display the ability of timber both to be rigidly orthogonal and malleably bent. ‘Melting’ suggests the transformation of a single matter with varying properties under a new set of circumstances. Timber adheres to its surroundings, hence, melting, as a give to the environment, expresses its flexibility.
The flow of the melt can be expressed more through the grain direction of the timber.
2.0
FINAL PROJECT
40
Experimental Design Lab (41)
ExLaB STEAMBENDING
CURVED LAM
Steambending if successful wil waste the least amount of
There will be little unforeseen circumstances when it comes to
timber and create solid pieces for the final, meaning no time
this method, meaning wastage and failure will not come in large
pent of resawing and glue ups.
unprecedented amounts.
As per previous experiments,
a lot can be done to prevent failure in steamebending, but uncertainties still exist in the nature of the grain leading to unexpected failures that could compromise the entirety of the element. As the grain pattern is very important for the top surface, if the leg fails in the bending and is replaced, the seat will look out of place having a non-corresponding pattern. This means that the set-up and preparation time, would be wasted entirely if the bending does not go as planned.
Another issue is the potential cupping of the boards when subject to steam. The boards in my design are relatively wide (125 MM),which will definitely cup to a certain extent if not addressed.
Spring back overtime could affect the elements as some of them are intended to be the leg structure of the bench (with tips that are carved to a thin radius), leaving room for compromise. My final design requires a lot of bent elements, which poses a risk. The safe option would be to curve laminate.
2.0
FINAL PROJECT
Instead, the wastage comes fully expected. Loss occurs each time the timber is sliced into veneer via the thickness of the blade. The machined saws would consume about half of the timber when producing these thin veneers, meaning the more slices needed out of a single piece, the more waste is created.
The cons.
Instead of springback, creep is the effect that happens here. Creep is one of the concerns with curved lamination when layers begin to go out of their held form and delaminate. Stiff polyurethane glues can combat this effect and hold the pieces well in place.
I also have to be careful when glueing up the laminates to ensure no gaps are left with the glue application as this will be seen when the boards are carved into at the end for that melt effect. This would create a set of hole patterns, which could possibly look even cooler as it signifies a more irregular melt (but could be dangerous for the parts where these are structural).
41
Experimental Design Lab (42)
ExLaB THE IRON
To test out some alternative methods to the usual steambending process, I tried to use an iron. The benefits were that long steaming times were not necessary as the steam created within the alumnium foil would suffice for bending the small parts of the element. This was somewhat similar to hot-pipe bending, essentially heavily dependent on the contact time of the extremely hot iron surface and the timber surface. I tried this both at home and in the lab.
I left the timber piece to soak half-immersed in a container, as only the bottom part was supposed to be bent later. (This was left for 18 hours)
The part was then coated in aluminum foil to keep the heat and steam in. The ends of this were taped shut.
Ironing all 4 sides, each for a period of 6 minutes, running the iron back and forth over the surface constantly. Despite the piece being rather thick (starting at 30 mm tapering out), it was relatively easy to bend after subjecting it to the iron.
The clamping process was very difficult as the piece remained supple for only around 30 seconds. This was not a suitable method for bending larger pieces. Instead, this method would suffice as a back if parts of pieces had sprungback and needed to be rebent and
2.0
reposition slightly.
42
Experimental Design Lab (43)
ExLaB MELTOUT
Spotted gum, Walnut and Ash.
As part of my design process, this rough stool exercise clarified my intents.
It became apparent that these techniques did not
suit the overall ‘melting’ aim, creating a stool that seemed to be achieving more of a creature-esque quality such as the previous stool. The legs shift at the end, going from orthogonal to bent.
(2) Anderson Wong on a stool, 2021
The relationship of my leg and the stools leg develops an interesting pathway. The front pair crawls and slides to reach my leg, so as to say
Outwards, I crawl. Outwards I growl.
The stool lives subtly in a frozen motion, which gives its character a somewhat quirky outlook. Wendell Castle’s influence here is seen quite explicitly.
The gum acts as the brace (here as a body) to the legs that reach out in opposing directions. The contrast of the dark and
(3) Leg detail
light exaggerates the differing directions.
However, this made
the properties Rigid and Malleable seem more distant from one another. The chair should be made of elements that encapsulate
(1) (S)Playing
‘melting’ or a shift of state. Therefore, the clear method was to use a single type of timber to express this tone.
2.0
FINAL PROJECT
43
Experimental Design Lab (44)
ExLaB
REGULAR-DISTORTING Beginning thoughts. The regular chair melts and distorts to become irregular. The experiments on steambending had definitely imprinted themselves in the back of my thoughts, with experience with heat and the possibilities of timber property shifts after succumbing to it. The influence of this aspect of the past production method of steambending
(1) Regular
is rather indirect, but has itself, brought a new train of thought to the next design process.
The question comes about as the melting becomes more vigorous and the elements merge into one another to form a joined mass.
What is leg and what is seat?
(2) Deforming Is the backrest now also seemingly the leg?
(3) Renewed form
2.0
FINAL PROJECT
44
Experimental Design Lab (45)
ExLaB
SKIN AND FRAME FIRST ITERATION The duality of the solid and malleable can channel its way through the expression of a melting skin over a solid skeleton. In this case, the typical sturdy chair structure is clad in a layering of a melting timber veneer laminate.
The outcome became more of a decaying chair. This rotted away at the intial concept of ‘melting’ as the main pathway for the design intent. It was more of a play of the elements where the relationship between the ‘malleable and soft-looking’ contrasted the rigid via an abrupt solution of mere superimposition. In this instance, the conversation of the melt is not exactly conveyed as an expression of both ends of the timber’s capability of bent and orthogonal. Instead, it is a mere juxtaposition that appears to have happened rather randomly.
The more theoretical question is -
Why has the skin melted but the skeleton unphased?
Christina’s input
The skin elements wrapping over the structure is interesting and adds to this design iteration as a possible outcome divergent of the original concept. Practically speaking, the joinery of the skin and bone where they meet will be a challenging nightmare.
2.0
FINAL PROJECT
45
Experimental Design Lab (46)
ExLaB
Skin and frame Reflecting that property of humanlike quality, the bone structure remains unscathed while the skin succumbs to heat first and pours itself over, in a distorted fashion. The progress began as an experiment on how melting could be presented in the form of a chair.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7) Expression of the melting skin clad over bone structure
2.0
46
Experimental Design Lab (47)
ExLaB
Backrest -> Seat -> Leg -> Toe In order to achieve the full Melt effect, Three-dimensional distortion is required. Therefore, carving serves as the final touch to allow elements to fully melt together. In this way, the backrest melts into the seat. The seat in Melting Away is made from strips of laminated timber that are also possible legs at their ends (dripping side).
The sculptural expressions made an important issue become apparent. The initial plan was to make the backrest become the leg through laminating many layers- which created a set of problems.
Inefficiency. There is no point to laminate the whole block of backrest.
Weight issue. The back leg will then be holding up the whole backrest in its own element.
Making issue. Too many issues for the mold and fabrication in general.
The appearance of the veneer laminate distracts from the melting effect, emphasising the ‘carving’ more. Contrasringly, the solid block is more in line with ‘melting’. A single element distorting.
2.0
FINAL PROJECT
47
Experimental Design Lab (48)
ExLaB
Breather- deformed object The chair as an object. The experience of the chair begins mainly at the personal user level. In a first person perspective, the approach of the chair is just as important as the final use (sitting). I thought about deformation and melting not only in the physical form and appearance of the chair, but also in the approach to it and its use. With a side of the chair deformed (melted), this would be the focus of the chair. One's path would circle around that edge due to curiosity. Exploration would consume the user while he/she sits upon it. Bending downwards whilst seated to view the out of place curves and crevices of the melt. In a sense, the seating ritual would show the body also melting towards that edge, drawn to the element under the hot spotlight.
2.0
48
Experimental Design Lab (49)
ExLaB
Expressing melting in form
The intention was to simulate a 'melt' quakity that would be a surprise for the timber's property. Making the timber seem distorted by a mysterious condition to express a 'synthetic melt'.
(1)
Experiments were conducted to view the most common thought when it comes to melting, the first sight, candle wax.
(1) Melt figurines - paper (3)An important aspect of the form was the backrest, a rather sculptural take. Representing this gradual succumb to heat first arised as a 'folding' or crumbling property. But this made the 'voluminous' aspect of the timbernot so clear. A thick object does not fold like paper and would not fold or buckle under heat. It would just morph and melt.
(2) Final sketch model
2.0
(3) Backrest experiment
49
ExLaB
Experimental Design Lab (50)
Final Design
INITIAL DESIGN (1-5) Iteratively, the steps to design took place from starting
1
2
3
4
5
at a regular bench to forming that distortion. I needed to incorporate both the regular
6
8
and the melted. (6)(7)Through
9
feedback in class as well, final adjustments were made to the design. (8) The 'MELT' had initially seemed off, representing more of a mutation than a melt.
7
The forms were adjusted as in (9) for the final.
FILLETED MEMBERS (9) Quick note, the importance of
Sketchover
Final Iteration
the filleted edges (created by router), would be to complement the melting strange other side. A fully straight and orthognal side would be to rigid and the chair would seem so disfunctional.
2.0
50
Experimental Design Lab (51)
ExLaB
MELT FINAL DETAILS The melting bench is represents a visual quality in its
1)
unusual distortion method of timber. 1) The overall bench begins melting at the right side. From normal to abnormal, it stresses that the 'melting' motion is in progress. It is not a Melted chair, but it is a chair that is melting. From this angle, it is very apparent that the seat has distorted to become the legs. The question arises, how long has the melting been happening that the other half of the bench is long gone, melted. The seat which now plays a new role as the leg expresses the small ordered moment amidst the odd entropy.
2)
3)
2) The Backrest molds into the seat and seemingly becomes one piece. This would be achieved by carving out material in a sweeping manner. It is in moments like this, where multiple elements or parts distort and merge into a singular 'gel' that the sculptural quality of the melt is fully achieved.
3) From the left view, the chair appears regular, but with peeks of the transformation on the ends appearing.
2.0
51
Experimental Design Lab (52)
ExLaB
Simpler, core idea 1)
Without the backrest, the bench shows a stripped back idea of the melt. 1) There is no backrest to draw attention away from the main character of the seat molding into the leg. Instead of the backrest becoming the seat, becoming the leg, the initial part of that is taken out. Without the backrest, the bench can be used from both sides, which would change the user's approach to it.
3) The joint, including the complicated mortise has been removed from here. Now, the underbracing merely connects to via the top. In a sense, this is more accurate to the melting as there should not be a joint placed here in 2)
3)
the first place prior to the melting action. This does however compromise a bit of the strength and stability.
2.0
52
Experimental Design Lab (53)
ExLaB
FABRICATION. MELTING CHAIR
2.0
53
Experimental Design Lab (54)
ExLaB
Putting it together 1
The overall arrangement of parts were as followed. The i exploded isometric helped put it together visually in my head before I started making the parts. NOTES 1)The boards would be glued together side by side as the longgrain connection would be very strong. There was no
3
need for joints here except for alignment if it could not be held square and flat for the glue ups.
4
2) This mortise was a bit challenging to do. Perhaps consider building a jig or CNC'ing some parts. 3) This was an additional 'cosmetic' to the overall aesthetic of the chair. Not a crucial part. I decided this would be dominoed it later on if time allowed (Instead of using a mortise/tenon connection to the bench as it would be too time consuming) 2
4) The backrest could be left out provided the back leg had its higher bit cut off. This was a thought to save time and still keep the main idea of the melting bench.
2.0
54
Experimental Design Lab (55)
ExLaB Joint Tests
The most challenging joint part was the mortise in the curved section of the laminated leg. A test lamination was made in the same angle of the final product, in order to test this. Hand-drilling the holes and then chiselling out the mortise to square it up was the first instinct. I then used the CNC cut out of the mold that was used to fabricated the curved lamination, as a jig to hold it in place while I drilled it. This lead me to discover that I could make a full jig hold out of it, so that I could clamp it to the table better.
2.0
55
Experimental Design Lab (56)
ExLaB Cut List
The adjustments made to the final bench.
Including tenon calculation
Including tenon calculation
Including tenon calculation
2.0
56
Experimental Design Lab (57)
ExLaB
The pattern Puzzle
The stages of the timber block slicing to prouce the intended pieces with corresponding grain pattern required some planning for calculation.
The seating pad (20 mill thick) needs its surface to correspond to the part that will become the melting leg. The following part for the leg has to become veneers to allow for curved lamination and hence will make a large loss of the material. Essentially, half of the material 1 57 mil thick with knots and in-
will be lost The underside of the harvested surface and its grain
2
Milled reveal grain
2.0
pattern does not matter as it cannot be seen.(Only on the
3
edge which will also be carved off at the end)
4 Sliced to ensure two parts have fol-
5
Hence the highlighted (green) parts show the most important parts. Underneath veneers can be harvested from anywhere
6 Parts made into the chair
57
Experimental Design Lab (58)
ExLaB Backrest
The backrest was very important to the design as it was made to be a large display aspect of the 'MELT' from the front-on direct view. It acted as the visual guide for the melting to begin. Starting out regular from left, and distorting towards the right, it signalled the transformation. From the left view, it was completely hidden by the thicker Back Leg which held it out of sight, as to hide the melting entirely if it were photographed from that perspective. The backrest was glued together out of 3 maple planks with flat edges. A nice feature was the dark knot in the top piece. This corresponded with the melting idea, as it showed imperfection and seemed to distort the grain. Visually, it was arranged to be placed with the knot towards the right melting side. The glue-longgrain connection was incredibly strong and did not require any separate reinforcement. Extra allowance was given in size to account for making the tenons in the bottom and side of the backrest.
2.0
58
Experimental Design Lab (59)
ExLaB
Veneer and laminations 1) Bandsawing veneers with the guide. Making veneers was very time consuming. After each bandsaw trip, the board had to be thicknessed to keep a flush surface.
2) Thicknesser ate up the ends of the board due to lifting.
3) Josh made a special jig for the thicknesser to keep the veneer suctioned and not lift at the ends. This jig still occasionally did not work, and the boards still got eaten.
4) I reverted to using the sander, but because the boards
(1) (1)
(2)
(2)
(3)
were sometimes cupped. Edges were higher and caused burn abbrasions on the board. This was okay as long as I did not use those in particular to be the outside final faces. Maple also burns easily.
5) Testing the thickness possible for bending. Bold ones were chosen,
4 MM - TOO THICK (CRACKED)
(4)
(5)
(6)
3 MM - Cracked if it was the lower pieces (tighter radius), but worked for the outside ones. 2.5 MM - Checking occured for some parts. 2MM - Easily bent, no cracking at all.Lowest risk. 1MM- Perfect, but would be a waste in material.
2.0
59
Experimental Design Lab (60)
ExLaB
Finishing off
7) Malletting the push block in to make the surface flush.
8)Epoxy leftover kept to check the next day. The hardened
(3) (3)
(4) (4)
quality of the epoxy was a good checker of the consistency of the mixture used in the laminations. If it had remained sludgy or rubbery, it meant that the laminations were failed and held together not so strongly. 9) Epoxy mess, difficult to scrape. Requiring lots of sanding
(7)
as well.
10) The final piece shown with epoxy edges. I tested its strength by standing and jumping on it. In comparison with the veneer glue ones, this simply did not give whatsoever. It
(5)
(8)
2.0
was so hard that I couldn't feel any flex at all.
(6)
(9)
(10)
60
Experimental Design Lab (61)
ExLaB
Lamination Cleanup 1) Equal pressure used to clamp 2 part mold together. The top surface was then malleted down with a timber block the width of the total laminations to make a flush surface on both top and bottom. Using epoxy gave us more time to do this process.
2) Mold released and replaced with loose blocks so that air
(1)
(2)
could pass through the bottom parts.
3) Instead of using the scraper to get out the remaing tough epoxy on the edges, the decision was made to simply bandsaw the edges off as they were not flush anyway. This was a bit sketchy on the bandsaw as it required tough manouvres to keep the curve in contact with the base of the machine.
(3)
(4)
4) Planing the legs was a bit dangerous as the radius meant that the planar blade had to be fully exposed to work. Christina and Josh helped me with this.
5) Not the actual position as pictured, but Josh had done this part to make the member edge squared. This was by far one of the more dangerous processes. Tilting members for table-sawing was very tricky.
(5)
(6)
6) The final legs aligned, with minimal sanding required to achieve a flush seat/leg surface.
2.0
61
Experimental Design Lab (62)
ExLaB
Matching Patterns
The surfaces were now aligned, having their patterns flow continuously. This was one of the most detrimental aspects of the bench as it made the 'melt' feature be expressed properly.
If the
patterns had not aligned, carving it would create differing appearances in a strange out of place way. Some of the laminations were thicker than the seat board's final thickness due to the fact that the boards had to be planed off after cupping (unexpectedly) when left around. I had initially wanted to make adjustments in the under brace so that it would include setdowns to accomodate the differences, but this proved to be unnecessary. The solution was to simply sand it down with the spindle sander.
2.0
62
Experimental Design Lab (63)
ExLaB
Mortise tenon
1)Bandsawing cuts to for tenons. 2)Guide use to make cutting the tenon into the brace. 3)Tenons roughly cut, excess pieces used as shims.
(1)
(2)
(3)
4)Graphite marking (Pressing into the mortise to show the gage mark of the squeeze). The smudged graphite indicates where the mortise is too tight for the tenon. This part is the handplaned/filed/ sanded. 5)Mortise and tenon. Using the handplane to size the tenon down to a perfect fit. 6) 2 tenons filed at the same time so that the file remains straight and does not round of the corners.
(4)
(5)
(6)
The process is repeated until the tenon can be pushed in by hand without hammering, and can be pullled out without too much struggle. The mortises are also checked to be straight and not angled, chiselling out any extra fluff inside.
2.0
63
Experimental Design Lab (64)
ExLaB
UNDER BRACING
The most time consuming part up to this stage was definitley getting the tenons to fit in adequately.
(1)
(2)
Cleaning up the tenon shoulders with a chisel was relatively easy. (7) Though I had missed photographing this stage. (8)I had initially thought that the bottom leg area also needed a bracing. And though this would have added a lot of strength to stop it from moving laterally, I chose to leave this out due to the time constraints.
(3)
(4)
Mortises for these had already been marked out, as well as the tenons made. Christina advised that this was not super-detrimental, though would be a great strength reinforcer.
(5)
2.0
(6)
(7)
(8)
64
Experimental Design Lab (65)
ExLaB
Seat To Leg Joint to One Piece
Both seat plank and curved lam leg were checked and mitre sawed to be completely flat and striaght to prevent gaps in the final product. Lines were then marked out to guide the domino jointer.
(1)
(2)
The clamping process of glueing these parts was challenging as the shape of the elements meant that securing it to a table was not possible. The clamps were required to be placed on itself as Christina suggested. The force required was to push both the seat plank and
(3)
(4)
the curved lam leg together, allowing for adequate security on the domino joint area.Sandpaper was glued to flat faced timber blocks
to increase friction. They
were clamped to the blocks and then these were then clamped together to pull the two elements together.
(5)
2.0
(6)
65
Experimental Design Lab (66)
ExLaB
Seat To Leg Joint to One Piece The clamping process of glueing these parts was challenging as the shape of the elements meant that securing it to a table was not possible. The clamps were required to be placed on itself as Christina suggested. The force required was to push both the seat plank and the curved lam leg together, allowing for adequate security on the domino joint area.Sandpaper was glued to flat faced timber blocks
to increase friction. They
were clamped to the blocks and then these were then clamped together to pull the two elements together. Domino problem. I misaligned one of the domino slots, making the hole too close to the surface. Maple shims were made from offcuts and old veneers, used to make sure that the domino joint would be secure. Additionally, the shim chosen was one that had a similar grain pattern to the actual timber face, just in case any final sanding would start to expose the shim.
2.0
66
Experimental Design Lab (67)
ExLaB
Midpoint The UNDERBRACING and the CURVEDLAM LEG are completed. It should be noted that the member sizes kept changing throughout the design process due to both failures, errors as well as mere reconsiderations. The intial member size of the underbracing were
(1)
changed. It was reduced greatly simply because being so thick was not necessary as it would have also made the design look more clunky. This process of member size shift was done through strength testing. Little to no deflection was seen and the process continued. The change of this one beam meant changes to the rest of the structure as there was a end treatment to be considered via chamfering (routering) the corners off. The beam could not be thicker than the post. 2) This stage was a loose fit up, to see the whole product without glue first. All the mortise and tenons were fitted rather well, without having to mallet-smack in and being easily pulled out by
(2)
2.0
Chapter Name
hand. Bailey had given this advice earlier before I began the Mortise-tenon(ing).
67
Experimental Design Lab (68)
ExLaB Seat Angle
To test out (physically) the optimal seat angle. Blocks were cut sawed at the select angles to test out a good posture. The initial angle was rather too high and restrictive. Angles totalling 98, 103, and 105 were tested, finding that 103 was the suitable angle for my posture specifically. This was required for my legs to touch the ground comfortably.
CONCEPT (1)
(2)
Starting out, I had imagined a possibility for the chair to be purposely higher than normal. For example 510 mm and above, to make the feet hang slightly above the ground. This would promote the idea of the chair providing a last moment of refuge before the complete melt and demise of both the user and itself. However, this would make the chair not very
(3)
2.0
(4)
comfortable.
68
Experimental Design Lab (69)
ExLaB
Seat to Backrest Leg There were many considerations when it came to the detailing of this particular area. Should the seat wrap around the leg entirely? Would it be more naturally chair-like from the side view if it were stopping at the edge of the leg?
(1)
(1) This detail was out of place, it looked a bit awkward in that now there would be an extra corner of leftover seat. How about fabrication? What steps would be needed to make the seat hole if it were wrapping entirely? (2) This detail had a strange setdown in that the underbracing was exposed. This edge would be uncomfortable to sit over.
(2) (3) Ultimately, the final option chosen was (3), which represented more of a regular chair especially from the side profile. This edge of the chair was meant to be as normal as possible to contrast with the edge.
2.0
(3)
69
Experimental Design Lab (70)
ExLaB
REFLECTION. OVERALLS AND SUSTAINABILITY
2.0
70
Experimental Design Lab (71)
ExLaB Veneering
Before I began veneering, the initial ends of the timber had to be cut off so that I could see the grain properly within. The marking ink blocked it.
Cutting thin strips of out of the timber created a base loss of 50% in sawdust by the thickness of the blade as well as the blade's vibrations that resulted in the need to flush the surface via thicknesser. This, combined with the occasional unexpected destruction via thicknesser surpise, or handguided failure at the bandsaw, created an additional 10% waste in flawed whole pieces. Of course this 10%, could be somewhat salvaged and reused (though not with the best and most efficient use), eg. covering up flaws in aspects like shims, top veneer coatings, and or used as guiding clamp blocks.
2.0
71
Experimental Design Lab (72)
ExLaB
Veneer Glue (Titebond) VS EPOXY The normal veneer glue is definitely more environmentally friendly than epoxy due to the fume release aspects. However, with the quicker curing time of about 15 minutes, using veneer glue means a larger possibility of error due to having a much shorter amount of time to get everything in order. This may lead to more wastage of entire pieces of timber.
In the beginning, I tried using this, but ended up creating a set of errors (eg. not having enough time to set the veneers in the desired place before it cured). This lead to timber wastage at the end when I had to slice and plane off the inaccuracies.
The crucial parts (most exposed and obvious to the eye), were done in epoxy to allow and ensure for minimal errors with the provided extra time. The epoxy setting time is about 30 minutes for it to initially set. This gave us a lot more time to set up the laminations in perfect order and position.
Even with the epoxy, I always needed at least another person to help me with applying glue and clamping it. This just establishes that using epoxy was the most efficient way in terms of production, to get the laminations done properly. The only way to get it done in the veneer glue time frame would be with more experience and skill, as well as a better set of clamping mechanisms and jigs.
2.0
72
Experimental Design Lab (73)
ExLaB WASTE TYPE
AMOUNT
AREA PRODUCED
REUSABILITY
PREVENTABILITY
SAW DUST And knicks
Estimate 1.5 kg
Tablesaw, Bandsaw, Thicknesser, Planar. Handsaw, Sandpaper, File
None in my project. (could be used to fill gaps when combined with glue)
Reducible with more accurate planning, but mostly inevitable.
Knicks - Drill Press, Hand drill, Mortise chiselling, Tenon Hand Planing, Finish scraping
2.0
Whole timber waste
1 kg
Unforeseen circumstances.
Still reusable as scrap wood
Inevitable despite prevention measures.
Epoxy
300 ml
Laminate glue-up
None. Cured epoxy cannot be reverted.
Increased calculation, perhaps better estimates.
Tape
1 roll
Taping over molds. Taping over clamp blocks Taping down objects
None.
Mostly inevitable, Besides getting specific clamps and using non-stick smooth surfaces
MDF MOLD
(600mm x 900mm) 2 boards
Making the molds and jigs for curved lamination
Indefinitely reusable for to produce the same designed element
This object will not be wasted, but will only be useful if reused. To make it seem less wasteful, perhaps is a design challenge. To integrate the mold with the design itself. Making it a one use for both creating elements and as an element itself.
OVERALL USE
73
Experimental Design Lab (74)
ExLaB Takeaways
The design fabrication processes are not exclusive of each other. Instead, it is a constant negotiation and back-forth conversation between the two. Limitations in the physical fabrication means a redesign of an aspect of the product. A lot of the challenges could be accomodated for in working out new jigs or methods for fabrication. But at times the negotiation of making, made the result stray further from the design. It is a constant conversation. The size of the members changed with the new aspects accounted for. And with this, their viability was constantly tested. The final size of the under bracing (longest element), was tested out. Almost no deflection in the beam was shown, therefore it was more than adequate. The final physical process faced a setback due to the lockdown affected timing. But with this, the main focus of the chair began to show. A few joints had to be removed in order to reach closer to the completed product in the remaining 5 days I had.
2.0
74
Experimental Design Lab (75)
ExLaB Takeaways
The design fabrication processes are not exclusive of each other. I approached the beginning of designing a piece of furniture with a lot of simple-mindedness, wanting to delve in exploration and feeling as though I had thought out every corner, without knowing that there a many factors unbeknownst to myself. Perhaps this raw desire to explore was the biggest drive of achieving the experimental nature. The largest challenge was the feasibility of the jointing nature of some of the more complex parts such as the curve. Throughout the process, I had done numerous things thinking it was the best idea to achieve an outcome, only realize 4 hours later that there was a better, more accurate and somewhat easier way to do it. I messed up a lot and made a lot of mistakes. Along the experiments, many tenons did not fit many mortises. A lot of ideas were binned, but a lot was gained through this experience, and hence, a lot of oppurtunities had to be wasted for me to afford new ones.
2.0
75
Experimental Design Lab (76)
ExLaB Fin
A big thanks to Josh, Christina, Sam, Bailey, Pamela and all the Ex:Lab classmates. The product is as much as an outcome of the surrounding teachings as it is of my learnings.
2.0
76