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Geeking Out Over Daniel Moyer's "Workshop Tables"

...the ones that customers don't see

By Rain Noe - January 9, 2017

in Furniture Design

As a teen I waited tables, and free "server's meals" were provided after each shift. These were dowdy, uninspiring dishes the cooks whipped up using whatever hadn't sold the previous day, and we ate them in the back, unseen by customers. Similarly, inside a furniture making shop you'll see plenty of tables that the clients will never see: The shop furniture that the builders use to create their pieces on. These are often created from leftover plywood and cut-offs, held together with butt joints and screws, sturdy but ugly, pure form-follows-function.

Often—but not always. I have been going through furniture designer Daniel Moyer's self-created Workshop Tables on which he prosecutes his craft, and I can't take my eyes off them. They are fun to look at, utilitarian but playful, mostly made of humble, mismatched woods yet still beautiful, containing a contradictory blend of joinery both refined and raw. And part of the fun is trying to figure out why Moyer built various features into them.

Let's' start with this one:

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The base is primarily constructed of S/P/F (Spruce/Pine/Fir) two-by lumber with exposed knots on the show faces; it's not meant to go in a museum. He's made an X-stretcher on the bottom, and notice how the casters he had on hand were too large to mate with the stretcher, so he created bolting plates out of pine 1x6 cut-offs and sandwiched it, leaving the bolts exposed. I don't know why but I love this.

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Then look above the bolting plate: He's placed "feet" on the bottom of the posts. This adds nothing to the function, but is one of Moyer's signature details, and I'm digging that he couldn't help himself and had to add them.

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Moving upwards we see two stretchers—or are they braces—joined to the posts with oblique half-lap joinery. Are the angles more effective at preventing racking, or did Moyer just feel they'd be more fun to do? Whatever the case, they add visual interest.

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Here's the part that's got me stumped. We see a floating apron supporting the tabletop—whose grid suggests it's a downdraft table used for sanding?—attached to the base by cross-lap joints. Why floating, and why joined in this manner? If I had to guess, perhaps the top is meant to be easily interchangeable and just pops off?

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Check out this next one, which appears to be a rolling clamp rack:

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Again, this alluring mix of elegant and ad-hoc joinery. First off notice the mismatched casters: The ones on the right are swiveling and locking casters, and he was able to rotate the mounting flange to fit the ends of the X-stretcher. But the casters on the left are non-swiveling fixed casters, so in order to get the flanges aligned on the axis of travel, he's had to glue extension blocks onto the stretcher and bolt through those.

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The gusset securing the center of the X-stretcher has mismatched bolts holding it together. Again, I don't know why but I find this charming.

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Notice that the legs have a taper at the very bottom. Another of Moyer's signature details. Also note that this angle is echoed up top, a nice touch.

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That angle is mirrored in the center cutouts. What's that cutout for? On the far side I imagine it's to provide more room to withdraw the clamps hanging on that side, but cannot figure out what the cutout's function is on the near side. Perhaps this was part of a prototype for something else?

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Oh, and I almost forgot the lower stretchers: Joined to the legs with a wedged through-tenon.

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Up top, that floating table again, here with an extra center support. And that same grid, though this table is presumably not for sanding on; I couldn't find a top view, but perhaps the squares are big enough to work the clamp through?

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His sawbench is nice-looking too:

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I can't figure out how he uses it, though; there are no vises or stops, so I can't see how he braces the work. In any case you'll notice the same oblique half-lapped stretcher/braces as in the table above, and the same floating top, but this piece also has drawers.

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Note that while most of the table, including the substantial top, is made of S/P/F, the drawer faces (and the X-stretcher) appear to be walnut. Also note that the drawer faces—and backs—are either cut from a single board or have been bookmatched.

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And check out how he's dado'ed some drawer slides into the legs; the sides of the drawers are presumably grooved correspondingly.

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Moyer has poured a lot of effort into this seemingly simple piece. You'll note that the pine boards making up the lower shelf have been notched at the corners, and the benchtop has been capped on either end, I guess to conceal the endgrain?

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This non-rolling table appears to be where Moyer takes his tea and goes over drawings.

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Again we see wedged through-tenons for the stretchers, and at least one of the legs appears to have been laminated up from multiple pieces. The legs have "feet."

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We see that same trapezoidal cutout in the upper stretcher (secondary apron?) that we saw in one of the tables above; is it a clearance space for legs, is the table meant to be sat at? You can see a little sliver of light that indicates the cutout is also present in the upper stretcher on the far side of the table.

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There are also notches at the exposed ends of the upper stretcher. An aesthetic detail, or were they meant to fit into some type of haunched joint?

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I do wonder if the pieces with the trapezoidal cutouts are remnants from prototypes of Moyer's other furniture pieces. Or just an aesthetic detail.

In any case, these are just the tables Moyer uses to build on; his actual product is pretty killer too. I'll have to save those for another entry.

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Joshua Terrell

7 years ago

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Notice how the hardware and wood gets more expensive the farther away you get from the floor. Wow. So casters wear out, clog, etc, so they are cheaply fastened. But drawers live forever if the carcase does so they are really nice walnut. And the work surface and tool racks are all impeccable but he uses cheap gnarly wood for the legs because of course those are what chip, break,, get dragged, water logged etc in a shop. Functional as hell.

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- Rain Noe
  
  Joshua Terrell
  
  7 years ago
  
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  Well put! I like the pragmatism of this approach.
  
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Matt Harouff

7 years ago

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I wonder if the pieces are symbolic. When Rain referenced the server's meals. It all just made me think, I will produce great things with humble material and functional tools.

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Stan VanDruff

7 years ago

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Thanks for bringing this photo series to my attention. I found it interesting for a few minutes, but then I couldn't avoid the many ill-fitting joints or the low-grade wood that should have stayed in the dumpster. Even for shop furniture, why would a builder put so much time into decorative joinery while using such crappy wood. Was this the work of apprentices that failed to make the grade? Oh, I'm not really such a cynic, but these photos are displayed Prominently on Daniel Moyer's website as if they comprise art. This is neither art nor well-executed craft.

Discussing the last photo of the sawbench, the author highlights a "chamfer" that is actually an artifact of bad photoshopping. You don't have to look very hard to see that everything on the top and left side of the photo (including saw handles, straight edges, and casters) have double images to the left of the real thing. The chamfer is just the double-image of the benchtop edge. And the casters on the clamp table are not really mismatched. Two are straight and 2 swivel, which is pretty common.
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- Rain Noe
  
  Stan VanDruff
  
  7 years ago
  
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  Stan, excellent catch on the distorted photo! Not sure how I missed it.
  
  I disagree with your other points (people disagreeing about woodworking, a shocker I know). This is subjective, but I like these pieces precisely because they use humble woods--it reminds me of us servers eating what was on hand, while the good stuff went to the customers.
  
  As for why a builder would put in the time, in my opinion it’s a personal process loaded with personal choices, and positive or negative I feel our judgments of his work are subjective.
  
  Also, we can try to guess what the function or purpose of various design elements is by studying them; but I think suggesting that the builder has posted them “as if they comprise art” is a bridge too far, as we don’t know what his intentions are. In any case, if you have time please provide some links to work that meets your standards, and comment on them. (That’s not a challenge, I’m genuinely curious.)
  
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  - Stan VanDruff
    
    Rain Noe
    
    7 years ago
    
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    I appreciate that you compared these tables to your restaurant experience. I recently judged turned objects for a local woodworking club with another woodworker and an artist. We woodworkers got lost discussing technical merit while the artist would just pick up a bowl and say "this makes me feel warm and happy" or "this reminds me of...," expanding our appreciation of the work.
    
    I apologize for veering from the premise of your original post, "trying to figure out why Moyer built various features into them" (commenter changing the subject, another shocker, eh?). But since you flattered me by asking for more, here goes...
    
    You say "we can try to guess what the function or purpose of various design elements is by studying them." I think we can also surmise a purpose from the way something is presented. These tables are displayed on equal footing with Moyer's other woodworking. They were photographed on white seamless and underwent Photoshop. I don't really think he intended to present the series as art (that was hyperbole on my part), but more likely "high craft." If I had seen photos of these in his shop, I think I would have had given them a warmer reception.
    
    What meets my standards? Look at Moyer's workshop chic side table: http://design-milk.com/workshop-chic-side-table-by-daniel-moyer/ (I couldn't find these particular photos on his website). Also made from bits and bobs of humble wood, this better fits my imagining of a restaurant server's experience. (Perhaps I give the cook too much credit?) This table includes foundational elements of the workshop tables (heavy top, robust legs, in-curved ankles, cross-grain feet), but with tight-fitting joints. The side table is filled with playfulness in the wild figure of the legs as well as the randomness of the wood selected for the top. But Moyer shows genius in book-matching the federally-inspired feet. The white stripe of table #2 also brings a sense of orderliness while providing stark relief for the black wing nut.
    
    Likewise, Moyer's prizedobject[dot]platform, http://www.danielmoyerdesign.com/prizedobjectdotplatform/ , uses all humble woods, showcasing a knotty walnut platform while surrounding it with an orderly rectilinear frame. The frame is also made of lighter walnut with random, but more subtle, figure that avoids pretentiousness sometimes found in similar objects.
    
    Back to shop furniture, here is Spike's house that Jimmy Diresta's made for his shop cat: https://twitter.com/jimmydiresta/status/576539439746416641 , video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPttGrLqi0g. I don't consider Diresta a craftsman, but the end result is quite appealing, especially considering it is made from dowels with scraps of wood and MDF.
    
    As a final example, here is an outstanding (it makes me feel warm and happy) bench by Hank Gilpin: http://hankgilpin.com/wp-content/uploads/hank/furniture/american-elm-and-cherry-bench.jpg . For me this simple object hits all the right notes. The elm seat, though made of wood, looks soft, inviting, and comfortable; the swirling figure imitates fabric, while the end-grain curve enhances the pillow shape. Dovetails are executed perfectly in the cherry base. Elm and cherry hold a pleasant contrast as does the curved seat with straight legs. This is a visually interesting form with consummate craftsmanship that would fit well within asian, shaker, contemporary or even mid-mod surroundings.
    
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  - Rain Noe
    
    Rain Noe
    
    7 years ago
    
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    Thanks for the links, Stan! Have written up Gilpin, should be visible on the homepage.
    
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Aaron McGinnes

7 years ago

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My take on a couple of points...
- It looks like the tables are placed on the x-brace/castor base for maneuverability. Maybe they aren't permanently attached to the x-brace/castor base.
- The feet are added to the bottom of legs so that the vertical grain of the leg doesn't splinter if its pushed across the floor (if/when its not on the x-base).
- The trapezoidal cut out could be clearance for clamping with smaller clamps?

They all look pretty cool though!

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- Rain Noe
  
  Aaron McGinnes
  
  7 years ago
  
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  All excellent points. Re: 1, that makes sense--we cannot see how or if the legs are attached to the bases, so perhaps the connection is easily reversible?
  Re: 2, that also makes sense, but wouldn't even the feet have a risk of splintering the now-vertical end grain on the two exposed faces?
  Re: 3, it seems plausible, but doesn't explain why the same cut-out appears in the tea/drawing desk. I wonder if these were leftovers from a prototype of something else.
  
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