KAVI
KAVI - Designed and Crafted by Sanjiv Sirpal
Design to Craft - A lesson in Imperfection.
I’ve always wanted to design and build furniture. Its a smaller scale to designing architecture.
I had imagined a work space (something I do quite a bit) before I endeavour on an actual project. Saws, mitres, benches, chisels, planers, drills, chisels - the list goes on. In my mind I envisioned a well crafted place to - well, craft.
Reality sunk in. Even though I was living in a detached home, I didn’t have the space to put something together. It seems like I was more invested in the idea, then the actual making of things.
I took a more pragmatic view. I signed up for a furniture building course at a local Arts centre (Mississauga Living Arts Centre).
I had a design in mind - a table I sketched out over the course of a few sessions. I then selected a warm hardwood - walnut - and began the process of determine how much I needed.
Through this course I learned the basics of taking rough lumber, and planing it down to planks. From there I embarked on joining these larger pieces of wood together to form the major pieces (top surface, sides and legs). I then had to use mortise and tenon joints to put this together. This was the most interesting component of the process. Learning to assemble something without the use of screws. The final assembly was extremely rewarding, even though i had to do it months after leaving the course.
Now this table which weighs over 100lbs sit in my entry way. I suspect it will outlast me, and I hope one of the kids will keep it with them for generations to come.
And yes, its still a little bit unfinished, but thats a story for a different day.
Imperfectly Perfect
Material
Mortise and Tenon
Details
Expansion Details
When Analog Watches were in Vogue
Details - Sanjiv Sirpal
