Coffee Table, Furniture Design

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This was a truly educational experiment in bending wood into strong and elegant forms with hickory and glue. I built this table with brute force, clamps and determination. It needs some help to be leveled. This was a truly educational experiment in bending wood into strong and elegant forms with hickory and glue. I built this table with brute force, clamps and determination. It needs some help to be leveled. This was a truly educational experiment in bending wood into strong and elegant forms with hickory and glue. I built this table with brute force, clamps and determination. It needs some help to be leveled. As it often happens in design, I was inspired by something very simple. Bent reeds being held together by zipties impressed me with their tension. I had a vision of a flowing loop or möbius in space. As it often happens in design, I was inspired by something very simple. Bent reeds being held together by zipties impressed me with their tension. I had a vision of a flowing loop or möbius in space. I knew that this would be an opportune time to teach myself 3D modeling as I headed into sophomore year of the industrial design program. I asked my co-workers how to get started and quickly got the hang of modeling in Rhinocerous and rendering in 3DS Max. This is the final form I modeled in my day long experiment. The process gave me a firm three dimensional understanding of the form and allowed me to communicate my design intent with all. The form reflects many of my interests: circles, waves, and triangles. At this point I knew that the form was going to be successful. 3D modeling was invaluable in realizing my vision. After consulting with my father, I decided on using hickory for its strength and flexibility. It was the ideal species of wood to use for this structure. The construction process was directed, but experimental. I used the clamps in the way I saw the zipties acting on the tensioned reeds and relied on the glue between the laminations to hold the form. Two halves were joined with subtle details of ebony and holly. I used an angle grinder to rough the form, rasps to refine, and finished with sanding and coats of tung oil. The final piece of the puzzle was figuring out the table top. I had long known that the form of the base was elegant and I wanted it to be very visible. The glass being completely transparent really completed the table. I'm very proud to say that it was my first attempt at furniture design.