Nakashima music stand

[Thomas Crawford]

https://wyeth.nyc/products/14092-001

This is now on my build list in the coming months. Just wanted to throw out here what I think all the joinery is and see what you folks think. I'm just making up names for pieces hopefully it makes sense.



bottom of base - I would have thought 4 pieces glued up with miters to create the hollow, but it looks solid in the picture from the bottom. thoughts?
top of stand to top back - lap joint
on the floor, legs to main cross member, lap joints, appears to be screwed in
bottom of base to legs cross member - lap joint screwed in there too Wondering if a pegged lap joint makes sense. Or is it screwed to be able to break down?
Attaching the top to the base - long mortise and tenon glued?
sheet music holder on top - just inset the whole piece into the top?


Have not chosen a wood species yet. Cherry would probably match the cello the best. A nice dark walnut would be a good contrast and I can get some kind of disk from the local sawmill for the top.

[Jim Koepke]

The hard part for the bottom of base is to boar a straight hole through the length of a piece. This could be followed by a morise chisel fashioned from some square tubing.
Top of stand to top of back - Like the old song, you call it lap joint, I call it bridle joint.

Much of the other joinery also appears to be lap or bridle joints, some using screws. Draw boring would work but might detract. It might also enhance the look with a contrasting wood.

Top to the base - This could also be a sloping, sliding dovetail joint.

Sheet music holder on top - This depends on the top. The music stand at the link looks like the grain is situated so there isn't much problem with wood movement. With a more rounded top you may need to compensate for movement when crossing grain.

jtk

[Chris Schoenthal]

bottom of base - I would have thought 4 pieces glued up with miters to create the hollow, but it looks solid in the picture from the bottom. thoughts?


You could always split the post, make the appropriate dado for the rising shaft and then glue the two pieces back together. Done properly you would hardly notice.
Looking closely at the side of his, some of the cathedrals look un-naturally pointy. Could be what he did as well.

[Edward Weber]

Lap joints (halving joints) are not the same as bridle joints.
GN also quite often makes his bridle joints with a step on the shoulder, which you can see on the photo of the feet, this is not the standard way most people would make them.
GN did not rely too much on glue for joint strength. A good mechanical connection was always foremost in the joinery, glue was there for insurance.




bottom of base - The main body of the pedestal is made in halves, it is book-matched in the front, the back is more noticeable.
top of stand to top back - bridle joint, Nakashima
on the floor, another bridle joint, Nakashima
bottom of base to legs cross member - standard bridle joint due to curvature in the stretcher.
Attaching the top to the base -
sheet music holder on top Agree with Jim, sliding dovetail

Slide the sheet music holder up and out, undo three screws and the entire thing breaks down, easy.

[Mel Fulks]

Any wood is appropriate ,but I think the design is lacking . Take a look at the ones Robinson Crusoe and Gillian made from Island Wood.

[Tom M King]

Just buy the original, and you won't have to bother to make one.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

It's all pretty straight forward, the images are as good as a plan. Except! for the deep square hole. There may be a trick. Not my favorite Nakashima Piece, but I still love it. The presence of a wood screw gives me hope.

[Edward Weber]

It's all pretty straight forward, the images are as good as a plan. Except! for the deep square hole. There may be a trick. Not my favorite Nakashima Piece, but I still love it. The presence of a wood screw gives me hope.

The column was made from one board, cut and opened up, making a book-match in the front. You can clearly see the two halves if you look closely.
He is another of the many he made where you can more obviously see the halves
https://www.freemansauction.com/auction/lot/146-george-nakashima-1905-1990/?lot=564827&sd=1

[Maurice Mcmurry]

For only $85 everyone should have one.... Oh wait a second. I need to connect the little Mac to the big screen via hdmi.

I think its time for this piece of Koa to hit the classifieds. price $8500.00

490823

[Ben Ellenberger]

That looks like a great project!

To me, it looks like the legs cross member is actually shaped like a dovetail and it slides through the bottom of the base. The screw is to locate it side to side.

I would definitely be satisfied with joining a piece like this with bridle joints, but he may have used dovetails for almost all of the joints in the original.

[Thomas Crawford]

The column was made from one board, cut and opened up, making a book-match in the front. You can clearly see the two halves if you look closely.
He is another of the many he made where you can more obviously see the halves
https://www.freemansauction.com/auction/lot/146-george-nakashima-1905-1990/?lot=564827&sd=1

Thanks for that link, so its split with basically two giant stopped dadoes cut and then reglued to keep the bottom solid.

Sliding dovetail to attached the top makes sense so it can break down.

Also ya'll are correct should have said bridle joint rather than lap. I doubt I'll be able to get it quite as nice as his but doesn't seem too hard.

[Thomas Crawford]

Any thoughts on the dimensions of the bottom post? Pulling into photoshop the bottom post is about 20% of the width of the bottom rail.

4" post = ~20" base
3" post = ~15" base
2.5" post = ~12.5" base

[Edward Weber]

Thanks for that link, so its split with basically two giant stopped dadoes cut and then reglued to keep the bottom solid.

Sliding dovetail to attached the top makes sense so it can break down.

Also ya'll are correct should have said bridle joint rather than lap. I doubt I'll be able to get it quite as nice as his but doesn't seem too hard.

Technically it would be a groove, not a dado, but yes.

As to proportions, you also have to account for the size/weight of the sheet music platform. Many times these are extremely asymmetric and the base neds to be able to accommodate that imbalance.

Example has different base
https://www.designmiami.com/product/unique-print-music-stand

[Mel Fulks]

Looks like something John Bulushy might have made late at night. Woke up in the morning , saw it, then threw through an unopened
window.

[Tom Bender]

It just doesn't seem refined. The base is nice but it will wobble on an imperfect floor.

The music board is very pretty but it's too massive for the stand and the stave it's mounted to just looks clunky.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Not my favorite Nakashima piece. The Robinson Crusoe and Gilligan's Island comment does carry some weight.

Our Son has a music stand on his Christmas list. If I can talk him into wood I might plagiarize the work of SMC contributor Bradley Gray. Here is a snip from Mr. Gray's homepage.

491304

[Peter Mich]

Wyeth lists the stand for $85,000. Was the same stand sold by Freeman Auctions for $18,500 in 2020?

https://www.freemansauction.com/auction/lot/146-george-nakashima-1905-1990/?lot=564827&sd=1