Furniture Design at WOODWEB's Knowledge Base

Digital Modeling, Furnituremaking, and the Artist's Vision
A question about CAD and CNC for furnituremaking evolves into something much broader and deeper, as some extraordinary creative visualizations knock heads with some hard-bitten practical criticism. Technology versus Art: it's smackdown time for 12 full rounds. December 11, 2007

Table Leg Attachment and Veneer Details
This thread offers good analysis of table structure, veneering techniques for complex shapes, and the business problem of trying to compete with cheap manufactured goods as a custom furnituremaker. October 1, 2010

Designing a Unique Rocker
Inspired by Nakashima's "Conoid" chair, a Woodweb member gets advice and criticism from the Furniture forum before creating, and executing, his unique vision for a custom rocking chair. March 16, 2015

Table-Leg Design Issues
A discussion of table leg thickness and related considerations when designing in the Arts and Crafts style. March 13, 2007

Large Double Pedestal Dining Table Construction
In this interesting thread, a furniture maker first asks advice on an extending dining table concept, then reports back after the project is built. October 19, 2013

Maintaining a Point of Reference
Picking the brain of custom furnituremaker David Fay. July 17, 2002

MDF and fine furniture -- a contradiction in terms?
Do the two go together, or is MDF inherently lower in quality? March 4, 2002

Engineering for Tables
A discussion of the stresses applied to a heavy table in use, and what they imply in terms of appropriate dimensions and construction details. March 28, 2012

The Role of Plywood in Building an Ottoman
A furnituremaker who's learning asks about construction materials for a sofa. October 26, 2013

Is Mahogany Okay in a "Mission Style" Furniture Piece?
The customer is always right, of course. But technically, what types of wood are legit in a "Mission," "Stickley," or "Arts and Crafts" piece of furniture?February 17, 2014

Geometry Problem: Preventing a Heavy Table from Tipping
Furniture makers ponder how to determine the base dimensions required to ensure that a heavy table will not tip over. October 14, 2010

Will Formal Education Help a Furniture-Maker?
Schools offer Master of Fine Arts degrees in furniture-making. Are they worth it? That all depends, say the pros. August 30, 2005

Learning to Design Furniture
Tips on good books and resources for learning the principles of furniture design. November 26, 2006

Furniture Design Information Sources
Recommended books and other knowledge resources for the self-educator. December 15, 2005

Windsor Chair Leg-to-Seat Joints
Furniture makers discuss the logic behind using tapered through tenons with wedges for joining chair legs to seats. July 24, 2006

Glass Table Top Connection Methods
Thoughts on how it might be possible to structurally fasten glass to wood for a custom table design. July 29, 2014

Joints for a HEAVY Tabletop
A tough project has a tricky angle: how to fasten the legs to a heavy table when there's no shelf or apron to control racking. A furniture-maker gets advice from colleagues. July 5, 2005

Guessing Furniture Dimensions from a Photo
Is there a way to estimate the sizes of objects in a photo? April 20, 2011

Wood Movement in Solid Wood Drawers
will movement cause trouble? A furniture maker receives opinions and advice. June 20, 2005

Step-Stool Strength Issues
Furnituremakers consider the stresses on a two-step stool. January 23, 2012

Trestle Table Dimensions
A furnituremaker gets advice about the structural design of a large trestle table. December 31, 2012

Three-Legged Pedestal Table Leg Proportions
How wide should the feet spread for a stable three-legged pedestal table? February 14, 2010

Sources of Furniture Plans
Furniture-makers suggest useful design resources. August 14, 2007

Table Top and Base Proportions
Because table height is generally a constant, the ratio between table top and base needed to provide stability varies with table diameter. October 28, 2005

Handicapped-Accessible Conference Table Specs
Quick info on ADA-compliant table details. February 26, 2007

Building a "Club Couch" from Scratch
A newcomer to furniture building learns on his first couch, and gets feedback. October 19, 2013

Pedestal Table Dimension Limits
A furnituremaker gets advice for making a scaled-up version of a pedestal table at a customer's request. March 13, 2014

Bed Frame Dimensions Compared to Mattress Size
An inch of clearance around the mattress is usual (sometimes more). January 25, 2013

Prototypes for Custom Furniture Jobs
Custom furniture makers discuss whether, when, and how to make a prototype mock-up before beginning a furniture project for real. May 23, 2007

Dining Table Stability
Here's an enlightening, if confused, discussion of the forces required to tip over a table based on its mass distribution. Also, this is a cool looking table. July 16, 2012

Design for a Modern Secretary Desk
The clean modern look creates a tricky problem: support for the desk when it's open. April 14, 2005

Bending wood -- options
Products and methods for bending wood. March 23, 2002

Making Code from Sloppy Drawings
The frustrations of messy drawings, and a parallel discussion of CNC theory vs. reality in terms of function. December 9, 2004

Unstable Cabinet Geometry and Toppling Risk
A furniture maker wrestles with the stability and safety issues of a tall, narrow freestanding cabinet with one heavy glass door. August 21, 2006

Designing entertainment centers
Important considerations when designing and building multimedia centers. August 25, 2003

Converting lines to polylines
Step by step CAD instructions. December 17, 2003

Radius of Convex Wall
Formulas for calculating this measurement. May 19, 2004

Ellipse jig
Making your own jig for ellipse-based arcs. (From WOODWEB's Cabinetmaking Forum) March 5, 2003

Learning to Design With Drawing Practice
Daily drawing practice is the key to developing your gifts for design. December 2, 2013

Laying Out, Routing, or Templating an Ellipse
Here are several approaches to cutting a large ellipse: elegant jigs, slick pencil layout tricks, and sources for paper or MDF templates. May 16, 2008

AutoCAD Dimension Lines
Cleaning up extension lines. December 26, 2004

Look That Up in your Funk and Wagnall's
Is "templating" a word? It is now. March 12, 2009

Springback formula for bent laminations
Calculating springback of laminated parts. October 2, 2001

Figuring Complex Leg Angles for Furniture
You can do the math, you can draw the part full size, or you can make a rough cut and then fine-tune it. November 14, 2014

Distressed finish
Techniques for making new furniture look old and beat up. February 19, 2002

Applying Nosing to Prefinished Plywood
The search for a satisfactory way to treat the seam where nosing meets plywood. May 10, 2005

Long-Span Shelves
Ideas and resources for dealing with long shelf spans. December 30, 2005

Designing Banquette Seating
Advice on seat height, table height, seat back slope, et cetera, for built-in banquette seating at a table. September 25, 2014

Training draftsmen for woodworking
Can an engineer learn the nuances of drawing millwork in CAD? March 20, 2001

Pricing a Furniture Prototype
How do you decide what to charge for designing and building a piece of furniture that will then be mass-produced by others? June 22, 2010

Making Interlocking Shelves
Constructing sets of shelves with fitted parts. October 20, 2004

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