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turnerrossa
designs
how it's made:
Every piece of furniture is made by John Turner with a recipient in mind.
The following six steps have been drastically summarized, and a general way I make things.
1
Starting with dry rough lumber from the mill, I run the wood through three machines to achieve flat, straight, parallel, and square stock. This wood is then dimensionalized into the pieces of whatever I'm making. The wood now waits in the shop stacked carefully so it can acclimate. This is important because if you take off too much while milling the wood it can bend or cup, so my process avoids that...
3
After all the joints have been cut, I sand or hand plane them smooth. Then I like to lay them all out and smile at all the hard work. This step is not essential but it's necessary for a gratified craftsmen...
5
Now that the woods been milled, joints cut, and pieces glued, it's time to assemble what we've made. This is also the time I would install handles, do any final sanding or scraping, and finish any odds and ends...
2
When the wood is ready to work, I'll straighten it out once more taking off a minimal amount and to the desired dimension. With a hybrid between hand tools and power tools, I can be efficient as well as precise. Now it's time to cut the joints, traditional joinery such as hand-cut dovetails, mortise and tenons, wedged through tenons, and breadboard-ends are often called upon where strength and beauty are essential...
4
After dry fitting everything to be sure they fit nicely, it's time to glue together the parts. I use a strong waterproof wood glue that bonds together harder and stronger then the wood itself...
6
There are several finishes I like to use on my furniture. Depending on the application, a film finish may be necessary. However, I gravitate to oil rubbed finish, it's easy, beautiful, and lasts just as long if not longer with the right product.
