Yet another intro

[flynnsart]

I guess I better introduce myself. My name is Donna, and I like to make things. All sorts of things. I love looking at other peoples work too, it is inspirational.

Here are a couple of pics. One is of a setting I made out of Ironbark sapplings and Red ash (Alphitonia excelsa) regrowth. I saw this style of funiture in an American book and experimented with various local plants and found these to work well. I havent made any of this style for a while now, it is very hard to get enough of the whippy saplings. One pic shows some of the other things I used to make at the time. I made everything in the pic except for the guitar:rolleyes:

The other pic is of a rocker that my hubby made my granddaughter. I am weaving the seat with rushes. That was fun, but took a long time. I dont think my rushes were as long as the ones they use overseas, so there were lots of joins underneath.

At the moment I have a queen sized bed gathering dust in the shed half finished which I am making for my son. (bluegum and ironbark). I have been busy lately as we are building a house, mostly out of recycled hardwood (with mudbrick infill walls). I dont seem to have enough hours in the day, nor enough energy if there were enough hours!

Donna

[Wood Borer]

Welcome to the Bulletin Board Donna.

Fine work you have done in those photos.:2tsup:

[AlexS]

Welcome Donna. I like the shape of the round backed chair - looks really elegant. Can you give us a bit of a description of how you went about bending, please. Did you bend it while it was still wet then dry it?

Not exactly traditional, but there's a thick string made from recycled paper that can be used instead of rushes. Might be easier than lots of joins.

[flynnsart]

The saplings are bent while they are still green, and then attached to the frame with nails with a helical thread.

I cut the saplings (can take up to 30), cut the little branches and leaves off them. Working with one at a time, I look for the best side to put to the outer of the curve. I usually put one end on the ground with my foot on it and slowly force the curve. As soon as i have done this i attach it to its position on the chair, predrilling and nailing it in place, starting with the widest end.

I make the frame first, then the arms, then the back arch, then the seat.

I have seen lots of pics of them made out of willow.

Donna

[RufflyRustic]

Hi Donna
Welcome to the Forums.

Your work is very intriguing. I'd be very interested to see some progress shots of your work in making your rustic bent chairs if possible.

What's a helical thread?:?


Looking forward to seeing you around the forums and more photos of your work :2tsup:

cheers
Wendy

[munruben]

Welcome to the forum Donna, thats really nice work. Would be nice if you could make your pictures a bit bigger.

John

[watson]

G'day Donna,
Warning though....The forum can be more addictive than woodworking.
Good to see your pics.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Welcome aboard, Donna. I'm a tad envious of your pieces... they make my most delicate items look like two railway sleepers nailed together. :(

(I guess that's what I get for making furniture from railway sleepers! :p)


What's a helical thread?:?

You know what a conc. nail looks like?

[flynnsart]

Thanks everyone for such a nice welcome. If you will notice, I registered back last year, but on the first couple of visits found I was spending waaay too much time in front of the computer, so banned myself from the forum:wink: Here is my photobucket site if anyone wants to waste some time. The pics are under the heading Our crafts. If you click on the thumbnails you will get to see the pics bigger than what I have on here. Peter likes to play with wood as well. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v482/flynnsart/

Some time down the track I will make another couple of chairs and take some pics of the progress. Helical nails have a twist thread, stops them pulling out. When the saplings are bent around and nailed they are under a lot of outwards pressure.

[spring]

Hi Donna

Nice work :2tsup:

[RufflyRustic]

.....
You know what a conc. nail looks like?

Err, not by name :-



snip...........Helical nails have a twist thread, stops them pulling out. When the saplings are bent around and nailed they are under a lot of outwards pressure.

Oh - now I get it :doh:

thanks Donna

cheers
Wendy

[Andy Mac]

Hi Donna,
Welcome, and thanks for the photos...great work. Was that American book by Dan Mack? I find his stuff pretty inspirational.
Does Kingaroy have any Privet growing there? Tons of it around Toowoomba (pest), and it works well for chair making. The young straight growth has a fair bit of flex. Also good is Cotoneaster, much stronger, but both of these are good to work when green. They peel easier than Eucalypt branches too.

Cheers,

[s_m]

Oh wow - at first look (little thumbnails) those chairs are a great shape but the detail of your work is just fantastic!

Welcome back and I so know what you mean about spending too much time in front of the computer. Don't whatever you do make the mistake I did last week and download Google Sketchup :B...

Steph

[flynnsart]

I downloaded Google Sketchup a while back, but wasnt quite sure what i wanted to do with it. Looking at this site and what people are doing with it, I can see yet another thing to gobble into my time:p

I wonder if I can design my staircase with it?

The book is the one by Daniel Mack, and is what caused me to take up woodwork in the first place. Unfortunately lost it in a house fire.

Donna

[lubbing5cherubs]

Very nice and welcome to the board.
Toni