Perspectives

These days, we tend to rely more than ever on specialized tools to solve our specific problems. But the reality is that problem solving can be a very creative process if we pause to:

1. identify the problem.
2. consider current the tools at hand.
3. apply thoughtful (and safe) adaptation.

In doing so, we are not only making better use of our current resources, but we are also excercising our creative abilities for when solving other issues.

The video below is a simple (and safe) example of that adaptation of a simple tool/machine (in this instance, by cutting in an axis different to what’s intended):

Over 20 years ago, a similar (problem solving) mindset was applied when adapting SolidWorks® for our curved stair building projects.

Stair design courtesy of Eric Chase Architecture

Okay okay, so perhaps Solidworks® was never initially intended for stairs, but after carefully evaluating its qualities, it quickly demonstrated what a truly outstanding 3-dimensional layout tool it was and is. And whilst back then it was used primarily for 3D geometry, it’s now routinely used for flattening complex geometries, for 5-axis CNC, part lists, material analysis, costing and many other forms of exported data. It was a good choice then and it is now.

Our toolbox is much more comprehensive because we take the time to work smarter.

Shoreline Parametrics using Solidworks®

We’ve come a long way.

l’ll always love woodworking and frankly, it’s a fundamental part of my being. So when CAD projects slowed, it was time to re-hone my shop skills.

About 9 months ago, I was hired by a company making yurts and my task(s) were those of a joiner, primarily to build its doors, jambs and any specialty components, but it quickly became apparent that the shop’s needs required much more as its existing component designs were defined by previously available skillsets.

It was time for an upgrade.

Initial door leaves were simply tongue & groove plank “shed style” with zee bracing on the backs set into crude curved door frames/jambs requiring LOTS of countersunk plugged screws, excessive handwork and fitting time. The following issues were quickly identified:

• Tongue and groove paneling was outsourced and poorly manufactured resulting in warped boards, excessive machine marks resulting in excessive sanding and wood filling of chipped faces.
• Poorly maintained machines due to lack of training.
• Poor in-house machining practises.
• Excessive applied parts requiring additional processing & assembly time.
• An inability to easily add glass lights (window).
• An inability to hold machining tolerances to avoid hand fitting during final assembly

The Tablesaw

In any shop, the tablesaw is the primary tool and sadly, this one was in a terrible state. What had started life as a very accurate SCM panel saw devolved into something crude with many of its critical components discarded due to a lack of understanding of their application. Slowly, many of them were recovered and restored to enable this accurate and versatile tool.

Machining

An older Wadkin 4-sided planer had been used only for bulk processing of wet timber yurt frames. And much like the saw, a great deal of its potential had lain fallow due to a lack of machine familiarity. It was time to strip it down and take a closer look at its potential.

What we discovered was the remarkable quality of cut from this machine enabled us to consistently batch machine components better than ever before and with a huge reduction in final sanding.

CAD

Next, it was time to address the door design. The challenge being to:

• Make better use of the machinery potential
• Halve the number of parts by using accurate skilled machining techniques
• Improve machining techniques to reduce hand fitting
• Improve assembly & lamination techniques to reduce handwork
• Improve design versatility to enable changes
• Provide drawings and parts lists to better coordinate the shop floor

The drawings below are examples of some of the pages:

Additional Investment

To do this however required some additional tooling:

• A spindle moulder with stock feeder and misc. cutterheads
• Some misc. hand tools

This relatively small investment resulted in the following:

• Improved tongue & groove paneling could be easily made in-house.
• Components were easily & accurately machined instead of the previous cruder technique of applying lots of extra pieces ($$) with glue and screws.

Component Consistency

The other benefit is that we could maintain consistency nearly on par with a CNC, but without the cost as shown below:

Finally, even before jambs were assembled, all curved pieces were cut to size with parts mortised for hinges requiring only the plugging of some screw holes and final sanding. Then the door stiles and rails are glued together, trimmed to size, routed for hinges, followed by final sanding before oiling. All this with NO hand fitting.

When the oiling is done, the finished tongue & groove planking (or glass) is installed in the openings, with the door leaves installed in the frames (for the 1st time with no hand fitting).

Conclusion

It’s been an inspirational 9 months working with some shop mates whom I will miss very much sharing skills, fabrication strategies and some good all around banter. Thank you guys for all your support. Lastly, please be careful working with these older machines and keep up the good work. 🙂

Best always, R

We are Shoreline Parametrics

Because our drawings are truly an extension of the maker’s hand.

Sometimes, simpler is better. The key to this project’s success is maintaining its lines transitioning from the stair through to the wood paneling. The stair’s beautiful french limestone treads bedded on a concealed steel substructure give it an invisible solidity.

Experience and tools make the difference between success and failure.

Our tools begin with 40 years construction experience coupled with 20 years of SolidWorks® solid modeling.

Download

Shoreline Parametrics

We make it look easy, because we know the materials and the process.

Is it the tidied desk? Well perhaps that too. But the reality is that for families of different nationalities, their lives are always faced with the underlying consequence due to being “from away”. We shouldn’t underestimate how much this underlying sense impacts people’s lives.

We naturally take our nationality and all that comes with it for granted. But only when we have to truly dedicate our energies (and resources) to secure it does its preciousness become apparent. With heartfelt thanks to:

• the business members who supported us in this massive move
• to the community
• and of course to our family

It’s been a long road.

We are Shoreline Parametrics

Proudly assisting bespoke manufacturers both in the US & UK

Being in the construction trade, for good and/or bad our designs are influenced by our gender.

The neo-classical stair in the video below was one we did a few years back complete with iron balustrade. All work was performed to closely follow the detailed orthogonal elevations as provided by a truly outstanding architectural firm. As always, we generate the model as per their details, then flatten any regions as required and finally, generate the necessary drawings for submission/fabrication.

It was in the balustrade flattening phase, that Pauline said to me:

“you can’t be serious! Don’t you see the problem?”

Sometimes the most obvious things are right in front of our eyes

Okay, silliness aside, obviously the design was revised, but the point is that it took a woman’s perspective to see what had crossed many (assuming) male eyes prior and yet went unnoticed.

My business partner also happens to be my beloved wife and we are Shoreline Parametrics Ltd. Proudly assisting architects, builders and manufacturers in both the US and the UK for 20 years.

This is the original cast iron stair in a decommissioned lighthouse on an island off the rocky northern coast of Maine. The stair is virtually free standing and sadly due to excessive movement, the 100 year old metal castings and/or fasteners are most likely fatigued and brittle.

Working on rocky islands is always challenging as the limited access affects the logistics. In this instance, we’ve generated a study adopting the original design coupled with modern fabrication techniques using CNC plasma/water jet and robotic welding of standard components to produce sub-assemblies which are easy to transport and install:

To download our study, click here:

I once worked in a cabinet shop which completely avoided working with metal. To my amazement, even the sharpening of hand tools was outsourced. I found this very difficult to accept because as an apprentice, sharpening my chisels, planes and scrapers was one of my FIRST lessons. When in any discussion involving metal, the classic response was to back away, palms up saying “oh no…we don’t DO metal here”.

*heh heh* Okay then guys…so this is your worst nightmare…..

I believe that to have a well-rounded knowledge of woodworking, one has to understand the basics of metalwork. Our modern designs require it, as does our tooling and hardware and this level of understanding doesn’t even scratch the surface for there are so many other materials, agents and finishes required to complete most contemporary projects.

For this particular project the client had chosen blackened steel. Needless to say however that the weight of a cabinet door alone wasn’t practical or safe, so we opted for blackening aluminum thereby reducing weight by 40%. The cabinet components are 1/8″ thick, skived and folded to give sharp edge details. And to keep all lines looking as crisp and straight as possible, we avoided welding (as heat causes distortion), opting instead for all components to be machine fastened.

If all this sounds like alot of work, it was. Being a woodworker, naturally I’d have preferred it was made in wood and sprayed with a Liquid Metal finish, but that wasn’t the criterea which the project called for and the end result was quite stunning.

The part drawings give an indication of the sheer number of bespoke parts required. Every part fitting and machine screwed together.

Photos courtesy of BLUBLK LLC

The fitting of these parts, represents the merging of experience, knowledge and CAD/CAM technology. There were no remakes, no costly delays to disrupt workflow.

Why?

Because our 20 year experience is dovetailed with thought, dedication and of course….SolidWorks®.

So, trolling the web I saw this photo. “Hmm… unusual ” you may think… “interesting shaped pieces….gnarly hand….”

To me, the recognition was instantaneous because it’s unmistakably the hand of someone very special in my life, that of my former boss with whom I worked alongside for years. Together, we sawed, clamped, sprayed, installed and burned much midnight oil. This is the weathered hand of someone incredibly gifted, mechanically brilliant, strong and yet patient enough to stop and share his knowledge (and sometimes frustration) with me. As I grew older, near the end of our time together, we collectively discovered my skill sets while building our in-depth understanding of CAD, CNC and the developing technologies, often-times into the wee hours.

I could never thank this former boss for his time, patience and (yes even) friendship. He just wouldn’t have it. Perhaps this was because words are just too hollow and that a life chosen because of our love for woodworking requires sacrifice, a pursuit of something deeply personal which seems to transcend dialogue.

Anyway whatever your profession, perhaps you too were fortunate to have a boss so generous with both his/her time and confidence in your abilities. You are a product of his/her good deeds. Please, remember them and share your time liberally with that next eager apprentice. No doubt, it may not be easy and some days won’t be stunning, but with patience, the rewards will eventually exceed the risks. In his words, I can still hear him say “Ruf, no guts, no glory…”.

Thanks Ken.