low tables & stools benches boxes & chests chairs
Recently my cleft stools have evolved into small low-tables. The height is lowered towards 40cm and there is no forward inclination for seating posture. I like the sculptural variations and spend a lot of time making legs shapes and keeping some of the textured riven surfaces. They're each treated as small sculptures ... simplicity with a lot of individuality and subtle detail.
Some of these 2-piece low tables have a central joint where two thick edges meet. The meandering core of a tree is preserved to the outside edge on both sides. The inner soul of the tree becomes a visible feature. I'm spending longer and longer on the intricacies of these simple looking pieces.
Demo of an adzing technique, towards a small table or stool top.
It's just one tool in the bag, but it has a mystique in the wood-working world and to me a special relevance to my work with hand-tools and closeness to materials. It's one time use was in flattening a rough surface such as the decks of ships, but it has grown to be used decoratively. I use it occasionally as a means to smooth a surface and leave a subtle light reflecting effect.
It's just one tool in the bag, but it has a mystique in the wood-working world and to me a special relevance to my work with hand-tools and closeness to materials. It's one time use was in flattening a rough surface such as the decks of ships, but it has grown to be used decoratively. I use it occasionally as a means to smooth a surface and leave a subtle light reflecting effect.
This low table/stool has adze strokes and water-based dyes used together. Each area of colour is separated by a sweep of the blade and gradually the effect is built up. Medullary rays and rippled patterning are each emphasized by shifting light direction.
Stools were once my default choice of cleft item to experiment upon. Pieces are smaller and construction simplest, with always the gentle curves if natural split lines are followed. Colouring effects with Gall-ink and dyes sometimes combined with tool-strokes such as the adze or spoke-shave. The concavity goes 'upmost' for comfort and the option of a slight tilt forward for good sitting posture. The riven wedge-section creates a natural front and back edge. A simple oak stool was my first cleft product sold in 1992.
