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