A Positive Note

If you are anything like me you struggle to balance sustainable living with a modern life style. Such as when you simply want to recycle your glass bottles and jars. For me in my community there is no recycling service for glass so I can either throw it in the trash (gasp) or drive it an hour (one way) to recycle it. Now I ask myself "how much non renewable resources am I using to do this"?

A driving factor in my desire to build furniture has been rooted in the need to add something to our community that adds real and lasting value without compromising our natural resources in the process. It pains my conscience to think about building something that I am not totally convinced that it will last a lifetime. A basic requirement in designing and building furniture for me is that it must last as long (preferably longer) than it took to grow the tree from which the wood came from. This is the only way furniture can be sustainable. There is no getting around it. And really we have no excuse as a society not be able to accomplish this simple goal. The design criteria has been established for quality construction for at least a couple hundred years.

What prompted this blog entry was really to share some positive news about the health of our forest here in the US. According to one government agency that keeps records of our forestry, since 1953 there are 199% more hardwoods being grown in the US today compared to then. That was a surprise to me. It makes me feel good to see that in this area of conservation we are getting it right. I hope we continue to do so.

So then buy hardwood furniture. Demand that it be quality built. Then use it and pass it on.

That Cracks Me Up

I am always pleased to hear when someone receives a piece of furniture from me and they are amazed at how well built it is. (Sorry, I know it sounds like I am patting myself on the back but, please read on). However what this tells me is that most people have never really seen properly built furniture. This is not really our fault. Most of us have experienced furniture the Ikea way, screws for joints and particle board for the structure. It reminds me of how there was a time when the average person could buy a used vehicle, look it over, and actually know what to look for to see if it where in good shape. There has alway seemed to be a lose of knowledge as society "advances".

So let me get to the point of this entry.  I just recently had a customers who had previously bought a table  from a "craftsman" and it was cracking down the center of the table very badly. I was unfortunately unable to give her a simple fix. It was constructed inproperly from the beginning. Let me show one way you should expect a solid wood table top to look from the under side when it is properly constructed. This photo is the bottom of a typical table top I build in my shop.

Notice the little blocks attached to the bottom of the top that are then slotted into the rails. Notice that the rails create a frame work. Why go to all this effort, can't I just screw the top to the base and legs? Its true, I could, and some have tried (as in the case of the "craftsman" I perviously spoke of).

Now here is why you shouldn't... First you need to understand that wood moves with moisture change from summer to winter. It moves a lot, as much a 1/8" per foot, depending on wood type. Thats 3/8" for a three foot wide table. Now look closely and you can see that the slot that the block is slotted into is oversized. This allows the top to "float"on the framework under the table top while staying in place and flat. If you where to screw the top on in a fixed position (which might seem the obvious thing to do) then the top will start to split down the length of the table as it expands and contract through out the year. I know, scary.

So bottom line. Buy well made furniture from a craftsman that not only has the tools to "work wood" but also understands wood and how to properly build with it. Century's of tried and true construction methods can't be ignored when using this ancient building material.

Is Design Really Within Reach?

For those of us who have every wanted something custom that was made new for us it has often been a shocker at the price tag. I think of my first kitchen remodel. Everybody wants to save a buck thats for sure, me included. And we sure have become accustom to inexpensive goods made from over seas. At times the quality is quite good and the price is reasonable. But as many are learning there is often an unseen cost to the peoples and environment to those overseas countries that produce these goods.

True, to produce something here in the US under appropriate laws that protect workers and the environment it is often considered expensive by many.

Can we produce quality goods here without breaking the bank? Is there a balance?
Does it make since to purchase a product that is three times the price of one off the shelf if it is quality built?

Consider this first. An Italian mathematician long ago proposed the 80/20 rule. Take for example your carpet. Only 20% of the carpet area gets walked on 80% of the time. Thus the path marks. So you could say that you could vacume only 20% of the carpet 80% of the time and collect the same amount of dirt as if you vacumed the other 80% only 20% percent of the time. I know, you are wondering, where are we going with this?

Big box stores are producing for the 80%. Most of this is products that fit the immediate needs of shoppers but won't do so for very long. Now the other 20% are expected to either deal with what is mass produced or pay for the exclusively priced alternatives. I believe there is a resurgence of a need for products that fall in between those two extremes.

So is quality design within reach? Suppose you buy a piece of furniture for $200 as apposed to one for $600. Now the former is discarded when you move 5 years later because it has not withstood normal use. But the latter was made to last 20, 30 years or even a lifetime. Which is a better deal? 

Where do you fall in the range of the 80/20. If it is somewhere in between then come join www.etsy.com and maybe we will meet.