Jigs
and More Jigs
Creative, contemporary furniture of one's own design presents
small-scale production challenges. Michael used jigs and
fixtures to overcome these challenges, and improved production
efficiency and reliability in the process. He shone at
this task because of his uncanny ability to think in three
dimensions. His many elaborate jigs were labelled clearly
with a project name, date, instructions and a part number.
Jigs for specific projects were stored in labelled containers
until they were pressed into service again. The use and
organization of jigs provides reliability, repeatability
and efficiency for profitable small-scale production work.
Drawing Skills
Sketching skills are needed for developing designs,
presenting them to clients, and for creating the final
full-scale drawings from which furniture is built. Although
computer technology can be used to aid in the design
process, rudimentary hand-drawing skills are still an
essential part of creating and building beautiful furniture.
I watched Michael draw with the accuracy of a digital
camera, which served him well when communicating his
ideas to clients. To overcome my lack of drawing talent,
Michael suggested using Lawson perspective charts to
turn two-dimensional drawings into three-dimensional
masterpieces. When I first arrived in his studio, I
didn't know how I was going to sketch a full-scale drawing
of a bed; when I left, I couldn't imagine tackling a
project of that size without one.
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