In England, of which I am not from, at the end of a hard day of recreational hunting, of which I am not a fan or advocate, the men used to gather around the 'huntboard' for the serving of drinks and the toasting to the best shot of the day. A host's position in the societal level was influenced by the quality of ale or liquor which was metered out from his huntboard. I was attracted by the role this piece of furniture had,..........and thesix legs got me to thinking.......... |
What I wanted was to highlight the six verticles by a strong contrast to the rest of the body. I used purpleheart, not only for the legs but for the other accents as well. |
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From whatever position in the room, this piece pulls the eye toward it, if only for visual substantiation. Maple, both solid and ply, forms the chassis and the top. |
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Along the hinged edge of the doors I created a small checkerboard feature, which when viewed with the door closed, looks like a minor detail but makes a stronger impression when the door is fully openned.
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An underlying idea in this piece was to attempt a complimentary symbiosis between strict sharp-edge forms ...and unrestricted organic lines. Only the viewer can decide whether it worked or not. For me, I felt I came close. |
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Oak pegs handle the stresses on the front of the drawers.
I should have used better slides. These drawers are wider than deep and the wheels should be captured on both sides, not just on one. |
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I searched far and wide, ...and then far again, to get unique pulls. I settled on these (and the ones in the next photo) and am happy with the way they draw just enough attention. As you can see, I love 'asymmetry'. |
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During construction I was always looking for corners and edges where I could add a line or textural feature which wouldn't complicate the overall look. Here I simply added a verticle, square rod of Maple into the corner (where the shadow of the door pull falls). |  |
Inside the cupboards, I added a strip of purpleheart into the corners.
If this huntboard gives someone a good feeling on the outside, I want it to continue on the inside. |  |
The top is three boards butt-edge glued, and finished with wipe-on gloss poly. I was quite happy with this new product although I had to repeat the term "wipe-on GLOSS" a few times before it sunk in. The final finsh was steel-wooled and waxed, for a 'controlled' satin appearance.
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A simple tablesaw cut for an accent becomes an eye-pleasing variation when a file is used to increase the cuts width at the corners. I am already thinking of stronger visual treatments for this small design effect, in future furniture: ...exaggerations, both in shape and number.
That is one of the ways I try to
'push design'. |  |
There's nothing like a fine quality brew to help initialize the purported purpose of a freshly-built huntboard.
Thanks for taking the time. |  |
I have always adored the non-homogenous quality of wood and I love to 'read' the marks and defects in the wood like words on a page (or beauty marks on a face). I didn't try to avoid ANY of the character of the Maple when constructing this piece.
I hope you like it. :)
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