Projects From Our Readers
Many stunning pieces of furniture were entered in the 2006 Texas Furniture Makers Show. In this issue, Show Off pays tribute to some of the winners. All are Texas residents. Many also won cash prizes ranging from $100 to $1,000.
Windsor Settee
Frank Strazza, Waco
Best Classic Reproduction
Mesquite Rocking Chair:
Mark Potter, Columbus
Special Award - Judges’ Choice
Winners whose work is not pictured: second place, Rex White of Fredericksburg; third place, Tim Uli of San Saba; best traditional furniture, Mark Potter of Columbus; best mixed media furniture, Bob Pheil of Llano; best furniture with decorative carving, W. Malcolm Granberry of Houston; best whimsical furniture, Al Carr of Fredericksburg; Woodcraft People’s Choice Award, Bruce Catterton of Boerne; President’s Choice Award, Richard Thomas of Houston; Johnson Merit Award, Dean Storey of Mountain Home; Woodturners’ Choice Award, Gene Volentine of League City; Special Award-Elegant Form, Jim McIlveen of Nassau Bay; Special Award-Functional Relevance, Frank Strazza of Waco; honorable mention: Bruce Catterton of Boerne, Steve Murray of Driftwood, Frank Strazza of Waco, Clark Kellogg of Houston
Coffee Table
David Langley, Houston
Best Contemporary Furniture
Art Nouveau Sofa Table
Fred Thompson, Universal City
Honorable Mention
Tansu Chest on Chest
Michael Hinterlach, Austin
Best Studio Furniture
Bench
Juan Valles, Encinal
Honorable Mention
Writing Desk and Chair
Charles Wiedman, Blanco
Special Award - Classic Interpretation
Native Mesquite Table
Paul Paschal, San Angelo
Honorable Mention
Cradle/Glider
Karson Morrison, Georgetown, Del.
KARSON MORRISON DESIGNED and built a curly cherry/satin maple cradle/glider for his daughter after she announced that she was expecting twins. He later reproduced it in black walnut for his wife to use when the grandbabies came to visit. The walnut version (shown at right) won fi rst place in the 2006 lumberjocks.com woodworking contest. Original design requirements: allow the mother, holding a baby under each arm sound asleep, to lay the babies down without dropping them while using only one arm. Morrison opted for a drop-down side that would allow his daughter to place her arms close to the mattress without having to lean over the side of the cradle. It was determined that a 27" mattress height allowed placement of the babies in the cradle with just a slight bend of the mother’s knees. The drop-down side could then be brought up and latched. In order to make the cradle swing with a 27" high mattress, Morrison determined that the pivot legs needed to be about 65" tall. At that point Morrison decided to switch from a swing to a glider function, partly because he thought that the glider motion would be more soothing. He made two different swing arm lengths to accommodate the 27" cradle mattress height and the 19" glider mattress height. The cradle’s end panels are basic stile and rail construction with additional loose tenons at each joint to provide more strength.
Walnut raised panels are covered with walnut burl veneer with edge treatment on both sides because there is no inside or outside to a cradle (unlike a cabinet door). A double thickness of wood is used where the bearings are attached on the legs and the end panels. All weight applied to the end panels from the mattress is in a compression mode because the cradle is not suspended from the top (the suspension is on the bottom). Therefore, the object is to compress the joints tighter, not pull them apart. Bearings in the legs and cradle ends are fl anged cup bearings – the type used in the ends of a tube to make a conveyer roller or in garage door bearings. The pivot bolt is called a shoulder bolt, like an axle bolt on a lawn mower. The shoulder is the same size as the inside of the fl anged bearing – ½". The glider arm has 3/8"-16 T-Nuts. The assembly has the shoulder bolt going through the bearings and then screwing into the T-Nuts – all snugged up tight but swinging freely on the bearings. Both back and front of the cradle have mortise and tenon joints for the stiles and rails. Spindles are 11" (in the back) and 9" and 2" in length (in the front). A full length piano hinge joins the two-piece cradle front which is latched into the ends with extruded brass door bolts. The cradle bottom is ¾" plywood edged with solid walnut and covered with waterfall bubinga veneer on both sides. Danish oil and then three coats of sprayed amber shellac were applied to the cradle, which was then sanded smooth and topped with French polish. To view more photos visit fl ickr.com/photos/karson.
