Milling Comes to a Standstill
About two-thirds of my way through milling the boards to their final thickness, I ran out of room in my dust collector bag. With no extras on hand, I began to think about the overall design of the bookcase. I plan on making the case around 7/8" thick with 3/4" thick shelves. Using that as my starting point, I began to look for some inspiration and ideas.
Thinking Through the Design
I know it needs to be good and strong to withstand my 6 year old daughter's abuse, as well as be reasonably stable from tipping front-to-back (without requiring attachment to the wall). I also prefer a slightly taller height of just over four feet (~52") and just under 3 feet wide (32"). This dimension will allow for up to four shelves set at various heights to accommodate for a variety of books, or other smaller items. Back in Chicago, when I apprenticed with Jeff Miller (J. Miller Handcrafted Furniture), I saw a number of really nice bookcases go together that utilized dovetails. (An exampe of one is in Fine Woodworking #190, including some great tips on "Building Bookshelves to Last".) Dovetails are a really beautiful detail that shows off the wood grain, is incredibly strong for case construction, and keeps your hand tool skills sharp. Some bookcases use dovetails at the top of the case, and then leave the bottom shelf offest from the bottom of the sides with a sliding dovetail holding the bottom shelf in place. I personally prefer a fully dovetailed case all the way around on all sides. This does however present some problems with regards to the overall design of the base. This is where I began to think through the design in a slightly different way.
Base Design
In order for the fully dovetailed case to be completely visible, I want to essentially elevate the case off the ground to give it the appearance that it is floating. Stability is still a concern however, so what I plan on doing is running two (1 1/2 x 1 1/2") strips of wood along the bottom of the case equally placed about 2" in from the front and back edges of the case. Then I will shape two slipper-shaped feet from 8/4 cherry that will run perpindicular to the long strips and extend 2-4" beyond the front edge of the case. This will give the additional front-to-back stability i am looking for, while keeping it solidly connected to the ground. For this part of the design, I will probably use some scrap poplar to determine the final shape and sizes before cutting into the cherry base. I have always found this to be a more reliable way of testing designs rather than going right from paper to final cuts, particularly with a design I have little to compare it to.
Draw Inspiration from Past and Present, Then Make It Your Own
From what I understand, dovetails as a construction technique, pre-date written history, but have been found in just about every culture, all around the world. Chinese emperors, Egyptian Mummys all the way to peasant huts, all use this joint to keep wood strongly bonded. Most recent popular American furniture, specifically Shaker furniture designs of the late 18th Century began to use the joint as a simple element of adornment. Thomas Moser Furniture, is in my opinion one of the top furniture designers today. His elegant designs, and use of dovetails as a design element show how modern design pays tribute to our distant past when working with wood. He also develops some interesting designs that blend some of the simple Shaker aesthetics with a slightly Asian influence.
In particular, his Edo Collection (an example shown here) utilizes a style of foot similar to what I am thinking about for the base of the bookcase. Admittedly, I have never been particularly good at sketching out designs on paper, let alone come up with a completely original design that hasn't been influenced by something I see. But I'm not going to feel guilty about that either. I always try to remind myself at this phase of a project that I am in it for the joy of the construction of the piece and the anticipation of what the final product will look like.
Your Thoughts?
For this blog post, I'd be intereseted in hearing from some fellow woodworkers on their experiences in design inspiration, where it comes from, and how it ultimately manifests itself into the final project in your workshop.