The Technique of FURNITURE MAKING

WOODTURNING LATHES

Most furniture-makers require turned components from time to time, from chair legs to turned drawer knobs, so it makes sense, if space permits, to undertake this within the workshop. The woodturning lathe can also be a useful source of income, and bowls and platters, often from the waste products of furniture- making, can keep apprentices and trainees gainfully employed between orders. It is preferable to purchase as heavy a machine as
120 A medium duty wood turning lathe by T. S. Harrison & Sons

121 A short bed lathe primarily for bowl and handle making

one can afford, with a bed long enough to take dining or sidetable legs.

COMPUTER CONTROLLED MACHINERY The CADCAM system

Computers have become well established aids to financial and stock control systems, but now they are being used to assist in the preparation of drawings and in the direct control of special types of machinery. Manufacturers who use CADCAM, or Computer Aided Design Computer-Aided Manufacture, are still relatively rare, but if computer hardware of this type continues to fall in price and increase in versatility the number of users is bound to increase. Although most large manufacturers are willing to invest in any type of technology which reduces costs and increases their production capacity, it is unlikely that the furniture industry will become totally automated while there is a growing demand for individual, craftsman-made pieces.

The electronic pencil

Computer-aided design systems are most useful where large numbers of similar drawings are used. Office and kitchen layouts, where identical items of furniture are laid out in different ways for different clients, are a good example of an area where CAD can save time and money. Outlines of the individual pieces can be stored in the computer's memory and then recalled and positioned on the display unit with ease. The designer can then move the images around on the screen until he is satisfied with the layout. The resulting screen image can then be passed to a micro-chip controlled drawing-board and turned into a high quality tracing, complete with any comments or measurements required. The electronic image of the completed drawing can be stored, recalled, and altered very easily.

More sophisticated systems are being developed where specially prepared working drawings fed into the computer can be shown on the display unit as composite images. These

122 A very minimal woodworking shop showing a normal progression of work. What could be added beyond the mortiser is the spindle moulder/shaper with tenoning facilities, or separate tenoner in the larger workshops

composites are a good 3-D likeness of the finished piece of furniture. Solid modelling systems like this are used to assist in the development of new designs at lower cost than traditional methods.