Five Connected
Five-Connected is the second of my kinetic
pieces. I built it to participate in the show commemoration the
tenth anniversary of the College of the Redwoods Fine Woodworking
program, focused on the craftsmanship of James Krenov. This show
was open to former students and staff, and I had been an assistant
instructor the first year.
One of the characteristics of the Krenov style
is tight fit around the drawers and doors. The result is that
there is a little air compression when a drawer or door is closed.
I decided to accentuate that quality.
Each of the five little drawers slide in pockets
lined with formic, giving a smooth surface. The back of each drawer
has a gasket, so moving the drawer acts as a piston. There is
a positive stop on each drawer, which prevents it from coming
all the way out. When the center drawer is pulled out, the air
flows through one element of a pitch pipe, sounding a note. When
that drawer is pushed in, a different note sounds.
When any of the four corner drawers is pulled
out, a third note sounds. But when this drawer is pushed back
in, the drawer on the opposite corner pushed out! The air passages
are plumbed through holes drill in the connecting parts. The drawers
can be closed by pushing on both corners, and yet a fourth note
sounds.
This piece is about 10"
x 12" x 8". The drawers are about 2 1/4" square.
The drawer fronts are Broad Leaf Maple burl, the face trim is
Wenge, and the drawer pulls are turned Ebony.
The drawer pockets are 3/8"
Birch plywood, with formic on the inside, and a veneer of Pine
on the outside.
The drawer boxes are Madrone.
The drawer sides are cut down to make it easier to reach inside,
despite the narrow dimensions.
The connections are turned Ebony
posts mortised into Coco Bola blocks. Some of the turned posts
are drilled through for the air passages to connect. I like the
color contrasts of these woods.
This shows more of the connection
details.
The back panels are more Broad
Leaf Maple burl, trimmed in Wenge.
The four feet are pieces on Holly
branches, doweled into the bottom boxes. I like the rough contrast
to all the rest of the fine finished surfaces.
