In September our we began thinking/planning/designing this unique custom desk.
The original vision was a desk that is made from and looks like a tree. It took a while (a month or so) to align our work/slab inventory with the client's vision. Finally, when I remembered this sassafras slab, we were off to the races.
Ever want to see just what it takes to make a custom piece of furniture. Here you go. Follow the links below to see the process of this custom sassafras and walnut desk.
The Sassafras Slab
The Top
The first lemon
The Leg
Togetherness
The Parts
The Whole
A perfect time to use one of our dimensional joints. The chainsaw that cut thru this limb years ago, of course, didn't cut it a the perfect level angle of our, soon to be, tabletop. We at the same angle as the original cut (notice in first pic the saw is climbing uphill a bit).
A new client in Winter Park Florida needed a desk and had something in mind. Something connected to/by/around a tree. After a month or so of looking for a slab (from our inventory) I finally ran across a sassafras slab that looked interesting. The client agreed, and we got going. Now that the slab was chosen, the next step was choosing a leg style. Typically I go with a few options of straight line, simple legs. I set the slab upright, and placed it in my visual plane at work, making sure I'd "see" it. Sometimes this works, . . .
The only Frank Lloyd Wright home in the state is only a couple of blocks from downtown Florence. It's a wonderful museum that i seem to visit or at least drive by at least drive by every other week or so. The most striking form I see just as the home is in view, is the extreme modular cantilever carport/entrance. Cantilever designs are fun when we can pull them off. This seemed to be a prime candidate because one of the ends of the sassafras slab was quite light and thin compared to the other.
This beauty of this single leg didn't "reveal" itself easily. I must have removed over 15 pounds of walnut (in chips and dust) while looking for it. The design morphed from two legs, one of the with "flowing grain", to five independent, rigid with vertical lines an bark, to a beautiful dark flowing mass.
