George Nakashima studio by soulellis, on Flickr

“A tree is our most intimate contact with nature.” This is a quote from George Nakashima (1905–1990), the influential Japanese American woodworker who was a leading innovator in twentieth century furniture design and the father of the American Craft movement. Nakashima’s contribution to woodworking design came through his early life, early woodworking experiences, and his work at his studio in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

George Nakashima was born in 1905 in Spokane, Washington, to Japanese American parents. After becoming trained as an architect at the University of Washington and M.I.T., he began to travel around the world and live as a bohemian. After living in France and North Africa for a time, he went to Japan. There, he met American architect Antonin Raymond, who had collaborated with Frank Lloyd Wright on the Imperial Hotel. He began working for Raymond and traveled around Japan studying Japanese architecture and design.

Nakashima’s woodworking began with his work with Raymond in Asia. In 1940, he returned to the United States to make furniture and teach woodworking in Seattle. During World War II, he was sent to a Japanese internment camp in Idaho. It was there that he met a traditional Japanese carpenter named Gentaro Hikogawa, who taught him to use traditional Japanese hand tools as well as joinery techniques. It was also at this time that Nakashima became a perfectionist in his craft and began to develop his signature piece — the large table made with a smooth slab top with unfinished edges, composed of multiple slabs connected with butterfly joints.

In 1943, Raymond sponsored the release of Nakashima from the internment camp and invited him to his farm in New Hope, Pennsylvania. It was there that Nakashima founded his own studio, designing furniture lines for Knoll and Widdicomb-Mueller and doing private commissions. Drawing from Japanese and American and International Modern styles, Nakashima’s work flourished and was at the forefront of American Art furniture in the twentieth century.

George Nakashima’s training as an architect, early travels, studying of Japanese carpentry, and studio in New Hope went toward molding him as a formidable woodworker. A true passion for the medium was the foundation of his contribution to woodworking design.

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Are you looking for an easy woodworking project with a plan? Look no further! I found this simple project from an e-zine article by Rick Bergin. An easy woodworking project is a rustic oak coffee table that can be done in four simple steps without any nails, screws, glue, or joints.

The first step is to acquire the oak beams for the table. You will need four rough cut kiln dried oak beams, each one meter long and 120 mm x 180 mm. These measurements do not have to be exact but can be adjusted according to your own preference. You should be able to find the oak beams at any lumberyard, but you should shop around before you buy to make sure you get the best deal.

The next step is to cut one of the beams into two 430 mm lengths and make a cutout on each of them. Cutting one of the beams into two 430 mm lengths will leave 140 mm of that beam unused. After you have the two 430 mm beams, pick one 120 mm side of each and measure 25 mm from the short edges of them. Then draw a line at those points. Then, preferably using a router, make a 25 mm deep cutout in each of the beams between the two lines. If you do not have a router, you can set a circular saw to 25 mm depth, make several cuts across the lumber, and use a chisel to make the cutouts.

The third step is to finish the oak beams by sanding them with a belt sander that has a medium grit belt. The cutouts on the two support beams should be finished well so that the table beams will have a steady surface on which to rest. After sanding, you may want to apply a couple of coats of Danish oil to enhance the wood grain.

Lastly, you are ready to put the remaining three one-meter length beams onto the two 430 mm support beams. First space the 430 mm beams about 600 mm (or two feet) apart. Then, place the three one-meter beams across them into the cutout spaces. You will not need to fix them in place because of their weight. There will be small spaces between the beams. You may place wedges or dowels in these spaces to keep them in place, but that is not essential.

By getting the oak beams, cutting them to the correct sizes, finishing them, and placing them together you will have created a rustic oak coffee table that will look great in the right setting. See the plan above for help with the directions. It should be a fun, easy woodworking project to cut your teeth on.

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Have you ever been in part of your home and thought, “I could really use a place to sit down here” but not had one? If so, an easy woodworking project for a small bench from PopularMechanics.com may be for you. An attractive bench with storage space inside can be built in seven steps using pine, plywood, and a number of tools and hardware.

The bench seat is 14 by 36 inches with a hinged top and storage space underneath. The legs are slanted boards with semicircles cut at the bottom. The bench has a single 30-inch hinge for the top and a spring-loaded lid support to prevent it from slamming down onto fingers. It can be painted whatever color you wish or dressed with stenciling, wallpaper, or a poster or print on the seat.

The article explains how to assemble the bench in seven steps. The first is to prepare the two 34-inch long aprons by cutting them from 1”x6” pine. Then the curves are drawn on the edges with a cardboard template for the second step, which is cutting the aprons with a saber saw with a fine-toothed blade. Besides the curves, the saber saw is used to cut grooves into the aprons that will hold the plywood bottom of the box used for storage. The third step is to cut the two 10 1/2-inch wide legs from 12”x1” pine and cut dados into them that will support the bottom of the storage box. The fourth step is to use a compass to mark the bottom of each leg and cut the semicircles into them with the saber saw. The fifth step is to assemble the aprons, legs and bottom with drywall screws. The sixth step is to plug the screw holes with dowels, sand them, and apply putty to them before priming and painting the bench. The seventh and final step is to attach the 14”x36” seat with the 30-inch hinge along with the lid support.

The project does require a number of materials and tools. The materials needed are the 1-inch thick pine boards for the aprons and legs, the 1/4-inch thick plywood for the storage box bottom, the 3/4-inch thick pine for the seat, twelve 1 5/8-inch drywall screws, twelve 3/8-inch diameter dowel plugs, a 30-inch long continuous hinge, and a toy box lid support. The tools needed are a saber saw, a table saw, a router, a 3/8-inch diameter countersink bit, a pencil compass, a drill or driver, an awl, 80-grit sandpaper, a 3” foam trim roller, and a foam brush.

For the complete woodworking design instructions and plans, see the How to Build a Wooden Bench article on popularmechanics.com. We could all use an extra bench to sit on and some extra storage space.

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The hardest part of doing many things is simply beginning. Approaching the craft of woodworking is no exception, but if you have an idea of how to start, it is easier. An online article by Nash Wendin outlines one plan for beginning woodworking. A good way to begin woodworking is to start with easy woodworking projects, be prepared and use plans, and add to your skills as you progress.

You do not want to tackle something very complex when you first start out. In fact, you should keep it very simple. Instead of building a cabinet or a bed frame, try creating a doorstop or a napkin holder. There are a number of good woodworking books for beginners and free easy woodworking plans on the web to help get you started.

You should also be prepared when you approach a woodwork project. That means using plans and knowing how to use the equipment. Plans make projects simple by giving step-by-step instructions and explaining terminology. Most beginning woodworkers are surprised at how simple and easy to follow woodworking plans are. Knowing how to use the equipment is also very important and you should not proceed with a project if you are unsure of how to safely use the tools.

As you progress as a woodworker, you will find yourself becoming excited about taking on new projects and will be able to add to your skills. You may take the scrollwork from one plan and apply it to another plan that has different or no scrollwork in it, thereby making that project uniquely your own. You may also want to take woodworking classes at a local community college or hardware store to broaden your knowledge. You may not be able to do the project of your dreams right away, but you can make that a goal and work toward it.

Starting simply, being prepared, and progressively adding to your abilities are good steps to beginning woodwork. Just as having a plan is an important part of a woodworking project, it is an important part of starting out in any new endeavor.

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