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Thread: West Australian (Perth) Wood Show 2019

  1. #16
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    Derek,

    Thanks so much for sharing pictures of your show – all the work was extremely impressive! I've followed your build thread of the Harlequin chest with great interest and , and as usual both the design, wood selection and build execution of your chest set a high standard for the rest of us to aspire to.

    I very much admire your competitive spirit and willingness to put your work on display by submitting it to jury judging at the show. Seems incredibly intimidating to me ------but I guess if I had your talent, it might not be so bad!

    Cheers, Mike

  2. #17
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    Thank you all for your kind and supportive comments.

    Mike, you are too kind and far, far too modest of your own amazing work - quite frankly, your builds demonstrate skills I do not possess. I follow them in awe.

    What is evident from you and others is that we all here may differ in our personal tastes for furniture style, but we share a love for traditional joinery.

    I wrote the following (well, part of it) at WoodCentral, where the forumites were voicing there disagreement with the judges rankings. It may be worth commenting about here .....

    As to the furniture piece that was awarded first place, the maker is a very good woodworker, and he wins every year (except for 2017, when I won ). He works exclusively with veneer on chipboard or MDF. His veneer work is stupendous. We are good mates and I tease him that it is kitchen ware. We have an agreement that I will teach him dovetailing, and he will teach me veneering.

    My wife argues that there should be one category for veneer work and another for solid wood. The competition rules state that they aim to reward design and craftsmanship, and to do so regardless of whether power or handwork is used. History tends to indicate that veneer is king. My view - which makes it difficult to avoid sounding like sour grapes - is that veneer used extensively can hide a multitude of sins and is not fine woodworking. It is just fine veneering. In my world, craftsmanship is about joinery and proportions and choice of materials.

    Rather than become frustrated with this, I have made it my mission at my club to educate members about joinery and hand tools. I use machines as well, but I see how their over use can limit expression. Wide veneered panels look sterile. Machine joinery is not the enemy, but it can discourage flights of design fancy. A few weeks ago I gave a talk on the bow-fronted apothecary chest I built for the 2018 Wood Show (and which did not get a place). I think that it only dawned on members just how complex the joinery was. Many do not think about these aspects, or that many of the technical challenges of design were met by woodworkers over 200 years ago.

    On to next year!

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Last edited by Derek Cohen; 08-10-2019 at 8:40 PM. Reason: spell checker changes my wording

  3. #18
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    In addition to presenting on joinery you could also begin to add veneer work into your pieces. Veneering requires an additional skill set and understanding. Veneer work makes a lot of things possible.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  4. #19
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    Brian, veneer or inlay? Perhaps both?

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  5. #20
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    Both, but veneer more so. I’m not saying every surface needs to be decorated but I have not regretted the ability to veneer panels and work around a panel that doesn’t move for many designs.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  6. #21
    Idk

    Personally I’m really not a fan of the winning piece at all.

    Its just my opinion, we all have our preferences.

    Your piece shoulda won imop. I agree those boxes oh man, maybe those shoulda won honestly.

    I do a bit of veneer work at work from time to time, “nothing like that piece” but for whatever reason it doesn’t do much for me when put side by side with a solid wood piece of say the likes of Chris Hall.

    I do agree having the skill is valuable if for no other reason to be well rounded..

  7. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Geoff Emms View Post
    Thanks for the photos Derek, you even managed to get my ugly mug in one. To answer your question Jim Mathews, the Gandalph bearded bloke at the shave horse is HTPSWA member Peter, at 7' the tallest man I've ever met.
    Cheers,
    Geoff.
    I'd originally thought that was the photo that went with the caption: "Where else do you see kids having so much fun with a shave horse!"


    Any idea why the first-place cabinet didn't use undermount slides?

    Matt

  8. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Patrick Walsh View Post
    Idk

    Personally I’m really not a fan of the winning piece at all.

    Its just my opinion, we all have our preferences.

    Your piece shoulda won imop. I agree those boxes oh man, maybe those shoulda won honestly.

    I do a bit of veneer work at work from time to time, “nothing like that piece” but for whatever reason it doesn’t do much for me when put side by side with a solid wood piece of say the likes of Chris Hall.

    I do agree having the skill is valuable if for no other reason to be well rounded..
    Chris' work is just incredible, leaves me constantly in awe. Chris' work is the style of work I most admire, I certainly prefer it over veneer work on the whole.

    Veneer comes in very handy at times and there are certainly varieties of work which are suited to it. As example, I make a box top with a 'locked in' panel, it's impossible to make in solid wood but very possible in veneer and actually I use veneer work most often in box making. Martin's work, shown above is most likely veneer work and I think that's quite beautiful.

    For perspective on veneer check out the work of Craig Thibodeau, Craig is a master of veneer work.

    This is just my opinion, but show's seem to lean toward a bit of extravagance. Last year I put a black lacquered chair into a local show, it was accepted and it sold. However it didn't win anything. I tended to think that if I gone with an exotic wood that was heavily figured it would have been a contender for a prize.
    Last edited by Brian Holcombe; 08-11-2019 at 12:40 PM.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

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