Thread: Campaign Desk Build - A second attempt

That's a lovely looking piece of furniture Mick. Congratulations.

It does beg the question though, what did you do with the old one now that you have a set.

That is magnificent!! I love the contrast in colours. Wonderful choice of timber’s.

Thanks for sharing the build.

Really nice design and execution, Mick. I particularly like the Georgian simplicity of campaign furniture, and its functionality.

For those who have not seen this genre before, campaing desks came in a range of styles. They had to be shipped to wherever needed and then used, wherever needed. Functionality and shippability were key, the Georgians abhorred ugly. Often wear points such as corners were reinforced with brass plates..

Campaign Desk 1.jpg Antique campaign desk on tressles.

Campaign Desk 2.jpgAntique campaign desk on pedestals.

In the latter design the desk top just sits on the two pedestals. Makes shipping easier.

If you just sit the campaign desk top on a pair of two-drawer filing cabinets, then it will be very functional, but lacking in aesthetics ..... until you start thinking about wooden pedestals. [I have a rather large desk, 2300 x 800 mm, sitting on three filing cabinets, and have been thinking about wooden pedestals for 20+ years.]

Originally Posted by LanceC

That's a lovely looking piece of furniture Mick. Congratulations.

It does beg the question though, what did you do with the old one now that you have a set.

Thanks Lance. If no one in the family wants it, I s'pose I'll sell it to the local antiques dealer in Oberon.

mick

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

Really nice design and execution, Mick. I really like the Georgian simplicity of campaign furniture, and its functionality.

Thanks Graeme,

I thought about the brass corner pieces and also handles on the ends, which many also had. However, I didn't want to make a repro, but rather a piece using native timbers and colours which would appeal to the modern eye but inspired by Georgian design.

mick

We now tend to think of Chris Schwarz as the one who popularised campaign furniture among woodworkers in recent years. He published a book on the topic, along with many magazine articles. My interest pre-dates Chris, back to my youth growing up in Cape Town, and the furniture of a colonial South Africa. There was a company, Binnehuis (translation: inside the house), who made modern versions of campaign furniture or, as it was also termed, military furniture. I loved the streamlined, less ornate versions.

Ten years ago I decided to build my version of a campaign chest, actually two of them (pre-dating Chris). I wrote this up on the forum, step-by-step, and it can be found on my website: scan down this Index page .... Furniture

Not great photos (sorry) ...






Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by Glider

... I thought about the brass corner pieces and also handles on the ends, which many also had. However, I didn't want to make a repro, but rather a piece using native timbers and colours which would appeal to the modern eye but inspired by Georgian design.

mick

It worked!

I just like the functional simplicity, elegance if you like, of the concept. In my eye there is a continuity of this conception of simplicity of line and functionality over the eons including:

• Shaker furniture,
• Georgian campaign furniture,
• Scandinavian design,
• Bauhaus design,
• Modernist minimalism,
• Perhaps Japanese traditional.

All expressed in a few simple phrases:

• Form follows function,
• The line you leave out is as important as the one you include, and
• Eliminate the unessential, and nothing else.

Derek's work epitimises this.

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

I just like the functional simplicity, elegance if you like, of the concept. In my eye there is a continuity of this conception of simplicity of line and functionality over the eons including:

• Shaker furniture,
• Georgian campaign furniture,
• Scandinavian design,
• Bauhaus design,
• Modernist minimalism,
• Perhaps Japanese traditional.

All expressed in a few simple phrases:

• Form follows function,
• The line you leave out is as important as the one you include, and
• Eliminate the unessential, and nothing else.

The displays coming out of the Sturt School of Woodworking and ANU reflect all the qualities of good design and execution to which this untrained amateur can only aspire.

I think Dieter Rams' 10 Principles of Design covers it all. "Less but better". Dieter Rams' 10 Principles for Good Design (3pillarglobal.com).

I think that the much copied Arne Jacobsen Series 7 chair might come out as the most successful design of the 20th century. 65 years later, it's still fashionable.

mick

Originally Posted by Glider

It looks like the website won't let me post the final photo so I'll post again. No, there it is below as an attachment.

I think you are limited to 10 embedded pic per post.

Oh yeah and I really like the desk!