Ed Garrett
04-23-2008, 3:47 PM
I enjoy making furniture which challenges people’s sense of physics. No Photoshop tricks here. This little cherry table truly has just one leg and is stacked with 68 pounds of books in the first photo below. Here’s why it doesn’t tip over:
The table top and leg are actually an extension of a small platform residing under the sofa. The core of this platform is a plank resting on the floor which is actually a sandwich of two cherry slats I freed from a discarded palette. I tried to disguise this plank as part of the floor so the table would look like it’s balanced on the single leg. The joint between the table leg and the plank leading under the sofa is an imbedded piece of ¼-in thick angled steel. At the other end of the plank I imbedded a 50-pound 3/4 –inch steel plate as a counterweight and added a ≈ 2” x 3” pine board to widen the stance. Consequently, the center of gravity for the entire piece is under the derriere of whoever sits next to this table and sets a beer on it.
The table top and leg are scraps from a cherry tree my neighbor’s son felled and sold. I did some of the work with hand tools because the cherry pieces were a bit large and awkward. I tried to leave some exposed rot holes, burn marks, and chainsaw damage in hopes of giving the wood a little personality. Some of my ideas for making this type of furniture came from a book I have of George Nakashima’s furniture. I hope you find this interesting.
Sincerely,
Ed Garrett
Tallahassee
The table top and leg are actually an extension of a small platform residing under the sofa. The core of this platform is a plank resting on the floor which is actually a sandwich of two cherry slats I freed from a discarded palette. I tried to disguise this plank as part of the floor so the table would look like it’s balanced on the single leg. The joint between the table leg and the plank leading under the sofa is an imbedded piece of ¼-in thick angled steel. At the other end of the plank I imbedded a 50-pound 3/4 –inch steel plate as a counterweight and added a ≈ 2” x 3” pine board to widen the stance. Consequently, the center of gravity for the entire piece is under the derriere of whoever sits next to this table and sets a beer on it.
The table top and leg are scraps from a cherry tree my neighbor’s son felled and sold. I did some of the work with hand tools because the cherry pieces were a bit large and awkward. I tried to leave some exposed rot holes, burn marks, and chainsaw damage in hopes of giving the wood a little personality. Some of my ideas for making this type of furniture came from a book I have of George Nakashima’s furniture. I hope you find this interesting.
Sincerely,
Ed Garrett
Tallahassee