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JOEL Joel's Blog

Summertime and the Living is Easy - Except You Might Want To Sit Down

06/28/2011

This is the first of several posts I plan to do about simple furniture that can be easily built. Even if you have a very basic kit of tools the following links are to projects that you can build easily and get great results fast. I'm not trying to say you should not do top end fine joinery, or that I think just putting stuff together any which way compares with the fine art and craft of classic furniture. What I am saying is that the path to craft is multifaceted and you can have loads of fun and satisfaction learning fine woodworking but also making utilitarian stuff quickly and easily.

Every year thousands of people including some friends of mine go off to Burning Man, an annual art and music event in the Nevada desert. They come every year, build a city, enjoy the event, and then take the city apart, leaving no trace. Tons and tons of furniture is quickly built using plans from Playatech. Check it out. All sorts of designs, for all kinds of furniture. You can download loads of plans for free - although a donation might be in order if the plans prove useful. Here is a link to a Playatech Chair. It's easy to build, it's clever, modern looking, and while it may not be as elegant as a Windsor chair (which were designed for mass production using hand tools), it beats the pants off of sitting on the floor.

These are all great summer projects where you can quickly get something made for yourself, your kids, gifts for your friends, your summer bungalow (if you have one, I don't), or as a pack flat project for the beach. And painting them can be a fun outdoor project. Go ahead. Make some stuff and have fun!
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06/29/2011 Richard Law http://www.flyingshavings.co.uk
Interesting - kind of a modern equivalent of the stick stool!
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