Kickstarter

Quality, hand crafted furniture has certain traits that set it apart from mass manufactured or even overly-machined cookie-cutter custom furniture. 

Cutting wood on a table saw and router table is a skill that can be picked up over the course of a few afternoons.  Setting up and using a jig to machine-cut your joinery (dovetails, box joints, miters, mortise and tenons) can make picture-perfect joints with little to no effort the same way an inkjet printer can make perfect copies of a 17th century painting.  Although these things have their rightful place in the furniture making process, I believe that the artistic aspect of woodworking gets lost.  And the art of woodworking comes from the design and hand crafting of the project.

Pin-point precision with hand saws, chisels, and planes is a skill that comes with repetition, time, and preparation.  Just like a painter or musician practices with his tools, a woodworker must do the same, and precise hand-cut joinery is something that comes with time.

My first project will focus on the hand cut half-blind dovetail joint. As seen in the picture and video, the HBD joint hides its beauty until it's ready to be seen.  In the case of a drawer front, contrasting woods will show off the joint when the drawer opens.  When closed, the joint remains hidden - a secret between the owner and the art. 

For the Half Blind Dovetail project, I intend to build pieces of furniture that incorporate this joint into their drawers.  Nightstands, desks, dressers, and assorted boxes are perfect for this project.  I am unable to front the funds to build pieces "one spec" at this time, and I don't have a large enough collection of finished projects to set up a "buy my stuff" website. The funds from this Kickstarter project will go towards purchasing wood for the pieces the project comprises.

The amount of pieces I build will depend on the amount of money raised.  If I meet the $500 minimum, I will build just enough to meet the rewards.  If I go over, there will be an opportunity for more pieces to come to life.  And everything I build will be custom designed by me - from a rough drawing concept to a 3D computer model of the final piece.

Some pieces (like the cutting boards, the boxes, and perhaps the chess boards and jewelry boxes) will be born from the leftover material from the larger projects.  The journey of the material is as interesting to me as the finished piece - it knows no age, race, gender, or financial barriers.  A board may produce material for a dresser for a child's bedroom as well as a keepsake box anniversary present for a great grandparent or a clock on a CEO's desk.  

I will be working with several different types of wood during this project including white oak, maple, pine, cherry, and walnut.  Premium and Exotic hardwoods can be used at an additional cost, and the pieces are available for local pickup or local delivery.  For orders outside of the greater Los Angeles area, arrangements will need to be made for pickup or shipping at the consumer's cost.

Special orders from the Half-Blind Dovetail project can be met, as well.  If you've got a need and it fits into the HBD project, I can design and build it.  Just get in touch with me at jeff.thomas.films@gmail.com