Category: The Anarchist’s Design Book

When a design idea gets stuck in my head, I need to build it so it doesn’t interfere with other (sometimes better) ideas knocking around in my skull.

This is one such crazy idea.

It came to me one morning this week as I was thinking about the Crisscross mechanism on my leg vise. I love how the Crisscross applies forces in predictable but still surprising ways. In fact, I still get letters about this mechanism, which I featured in my 2007 book on workbenches, from people who claim it’s a hoax and doesn’t work.

This table looks unstable to my eye. Like it would tip over if you merely pressed on a corner of the tabletop. But if you think about it (and then try it) it’s remarkably stable. There’s a foot below every corner, which is what you need to prevent it from tipping over.

Aesthetically, I have work to do. This isn’t bad for a rough draft, but the whole thing is chunkier than it needs to be.

What I like about it is how it changes constantly as you move around it. The legs can look like Xs. The top can look like it’s cantilevered over nothing. Two of the legs can look dead vertical.

Oh, and it’s simple to make. This one took less than a day and was made from maple scraps leftover from the worktable in “The Anarchist’s Design Book.”

Because the forces exerted by the tenons mortised into the top, I don’t think I’d use this as the undercarriage of a chair. The seat might split. But for an occasional table? I think it has potential.

FYI, The top is 3” x 14-1/2” x 14-1/2”. The legs are 1-5/8” x 1-5/8” x 22”. The legs are at a 60° angle to the underside of the top and taper to an inch square at the floor.

When I dry-assembled the table I sent a snapshot to a friend.

“Look what I made this morning.”

His response: “By accident?”

Designing furniture is not a profession for the thin-skinned.

— Christopher Schwarz

A few customers have requested an excerpt from “The Anarchist’s Design Book” to help decide if it’s a book that would suit them.

So I’ve assembled this short pdf. It includes the table of contents, the preface, the introduction and about half of the chapter on making a sawbench. This will give you a taste of the writing style, the book’s core ideas and the level of instruction in the chapters.

You can download the pdf excerpt via this link:

ADB_sample

— Christopher Schwarz

I have a bad feeling in my colon about the following idea. But as I’m listening to my spleen these days, let’s give it a try.

My sketchbook is filled with drawings – made in 45 seconds or less – of pieces of furniture that are at some early stage of development. Some have been revised a few times. Most are just raw thoughts.

But I’d like to use these sketches to encourage you to try your hand at a 45-second sketch.

So here’s the deal. I’ve posted this drawing in our forum here.

If you want to discuss the design, you have to post a 45-second sketch of a piece (in your own hand that shows some effort). Post a drawing and we can talk.

If I (or anyone else) wants to comment on your design, then we’ll have to also post a new drawing.

It could be fun. Or it could go nowhere. It’s up to you.

— Christopher Schwarz

For about the last year I’ve been filling my sketchbook with drawings of staked furniture – applying the idea to a variety of forms.

Some of these ideas made it into “The Anarchist’s Design Book,” such as the bed. Others were dead ends or needed some more noodling. During the last three months several of these designs have really started to take shape, including an ottoman with a curved top, a dropleaf table and a settee (shown above in its still-rough form).

These ideas have all developed using a series of sketches made in about 45 seconds. If you haven’t tried making brief and rough sketches of your ideas, I think it’s worth a try. It’s faster than making a cup of coffee.

Later this month I hope to show some of these sketches on our forum and encourage others to try applying the ideas of staked furniture to other furniture forms. In fact, some woodworkers are already at work on this; Cody Carse showed his staked bookcase sketches here.

— Christopher Schwarz

To prevent “The Anarchist’s Design Book” from rivaling “War and Peace” in word count, I hatcheted a lot photos and words during the editing process. Some of the photos that I removed, however, might be interesting to those considering building some of the projects.

The staked dining table and worktable are probably my two favorite projects in the book, and yet they are so unusual that I’m afraid people might dismiss them. So here are a few alternative views of these projects from the book that might give you a better feel for what they look like “in the round.”

Also, there’s a good shot of the dining table with a tablecloth – which is how the table would have been typically used for eating.

— Christopher Schwarz