More shaping, more finesse, more detail.

Each stick had to be made to a certain measurement. Not so much a
millimetre sort of thing, but a made to fit sort of thing. One of the difficulties I have with timber is the degree of precision required. Not so much that a certain measurement is impossible, but that wood is a natural and ‘living’ substance which moves, shrinks and expands as it interacts with the atmosphere.

It is not difficult to cut a panel on the Altendorf F45 to a millimeter measurement, the issue is really making the bits fit.

And so abandoning abstract absolute numbers and relying on fit and feel, we begin the laborious but somewhat zen process of fitting, adjusting, fitting, adjusting, fitting, adjusting…

The concept of the tenons interest me especially. Since we’re using green timber, we can expect a certain amount of shrinkage. The tenons for the fitting of the legs, stretchers and arm bearers are placed in a hot sand bath to shrink them as much as possible. The tenon is then made to fit in the still green mortice.

As the green timber shrinks, the fitting is naturally tight. Brilliant.