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Season 2: Project #44 Zigfeld brollies - Anything I Can Do
A twist on the classic umbrella stand!
When you look at woodworking magazines you don't see many curves.
I'm not talking about attractive female models, I'm talking about
the furniture. Most woodworking articles are written by guys, for
guys. And guys' designs are often manly and angular.
Many guys eliminate undulating, sensual curves from their designs,
which is a complete mystery because men do think about undulating,
sensual curves. Quite a bit, I'm told. But apparently not when they're
doing carpentry. What a waist, er, waste.
So let's declare this International Curve Month, and envelop wood
in the smooth, softly rounded expressiveness of our imaginations.
How? Two words: 'snake ply' (also known as 'wiggle board' or 'wacky
wood'), a wonderful kind of plywood that's supple and sinuous and
can be formed into curvy shapes; For example, my post-modern umbrella
stand.
TIP: (You might have to hunt a bit for this material. I've
found it at RONA / Revy / Lansing, some Home Depots and plywood
specialty shops.)
Artisans'
work featured on this Episode
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Materials:
- 4' x 4' piece of 3/4" plywood
- 4' x 4' piece of 3/8" snake plywood
- Wood trim/moulding - about 3'
- Many 1-1/4" pan-head screws
- Carpenter's glue
- Wall-patching compound
- Pictures cut from magazines
- Paint
- Metal leaf from art supply store
- Shellac
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Tools
- Jigsaw
- Drill and driver bits
- Clamps
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Cut List:
- Bottom - 4" x 17-1/2" (rigid ¾" plywood)
- Front and back - Two 17-1/2" x 21" (rigid ¾"
plywood)
- Sides - Two 5-1/2" x 48" (snake plywood)
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Steps:
Draw and cut out the shape for the umbrella stand |
Determine the depth of the umbrella stand and cut correct length
of wiggle board |
Be sure the grain runs across the short dimension so the wiggle
board will bend |
Verve to Curve
Cut out all the pieces. When you're cutting the snake ply, make
sure the grain runs across the short side of the piece, rather
than running lengthwise: otherwise it won't bend. Draw a curvy
pattern on the back piece and cut it out using a jigsaw. Be
careful not to make the curves too tight because there is a
limit to how much the wiggle board will wiggle. A three-inch
radius is about max. Trace the same shape onto the second piece
and cut it out too. |
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Finish the interior of the umbrella stand before assembly |
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| Stain and seal the inside surfaces so that moisture from wet
umbrellas will not penetrate the plywood, making it split and
crack. I used peacock-blue aniline stain followed by two coats
of water-based urethane. |
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Clamp one sidepiece in a vise |
Apply glue, clamp and attach the wiggle board with screws |
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Nice attachments
Next, attach the first strip of wiggle board to the side edge
of the back using glue, clamps and screws. First, secure the
rigid piece in a vise and apply glue to one of the curvy edges.
Starting at one end, line the wiggle board up neatly with
the outside edge, then clamp it in place and drive in a screw.
Continue driving in screws about every half-inch along the
length of edge. (There will be a bit of excess wiggle board
left hanging over the end.)
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If the radius is too tight, make some shallow cuts on the inside
of the radius |
Make four or five shallow cuts with a handsaw to ease the curve |
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TIP:
If you find that one of the curves you've made is too tight
for the snake ply, use a hand saw to make five or six cuts across
the snake ply over the tight spot. However, saw JUST to the
centre layer of the snake ply, but don't saw THROUGH that center
layer or the darn piece will snap. |
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When the glue is dry, remove all the screws |
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| Glue and screw the bottom in place.
Let the glue set up for about thirty minutes and then cut
off the long bits and remove all the screws.
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Apply a coat of plaster or wall repair paste, embedding pictures
from magazines |
Pull the plaster over the edge of the picture |
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Spackle Ho!
Using wall-patching compound ("spackle"), fill the
holes left by the screws and even out rough spots. Patching
compound can be sanded smooth or left deliberately rough to
add character and texture.
Add small pictures cut out of magazines to the wet plaster,
coaxing the plaster over the picture a bit to disguise edges.
Rub down any high spots in the plaster with a damp cloth.
The first layer usually shrinks a bit, so the screw holes
may need a second coat.
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Paint the plaster with milk paint |
Examples of various kinds of metal leaf |
Deep gold leaf |
Seal the surface with shellac |
When the shellac is just tacky, apply the metal leaf |
Use a shaving brush to texture the metal leaf |
| Next, paint the umbrella stand (I used barn red milk paint)
covering all the plaster but avoiding the pictures. Coat the
surface with shellac. Wait until the shellac is almost dry to
apply the leaf, using a soft brush to pat it into place. If
you brush it a bit more, the leaf will break up showing the
surface below, which is kind of a cool effect. |
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Trim the top with readymade moulding, gluing it in place
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Detail of the base |
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Finally, apply wood trim to the top edge, then seal the entire
piece with a coat of satin water-based urethane.
Your umbrella stand is an emphatic endorsement of curves,
so invite a few friends over on a rainy evening to celebrate
International Curve Month and your new umbrella stand.
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Artisans'
work featured on this episode:
(click pics for Artist info and larger
images)
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