Angelo Manglaviti, 1960s Coffee Table (Student Awards 2017)

The design brief was to create a coffee table that evoked the spirit of the 1960s and to compliment my parents’ home that was built in the late 1960s. With the focus being placed on free form shapes to represent the creativity and events of the 1960s. Bent lamination was used to create “half-moons” for the legs, creating a homage to the space race encapsulating the era of the innovation in materials and design. I was quite excited trying bent lamination and found it amazing that as woodworkers we can manipulate wood to create such wild exciting shapes. The wood selected needed to represent the colours and patterns of the Australian environment so bookmatchedjarrah was chosen to create the coffee table top and aprons out of two boards. Dark grey grain streaks ran through the boards giving direction to the tabletop and to the aprons, which were mitered and reinforced with biscuits to look as through the grain seamlessly transitioned from the tabletop into the curved aprons. The coved breadboard ends were created out of straight grained Tasmanian oak to represent the lighter colours of the Australian environment such as its sandy beaches with a consistent texture. A router was used to create these coves by taking multiple passes with a straight bit following a pattern. A round bodied plane and goose neck card scraper was used to finalize the shape. The most difficult aspect of the build was matching curve of bent laminated legs in to the bracket with no gaps that required a lot of sanding and patience to get a tight fitting bracket. The finishing process was the most enjoyable aspect as you can see your work come alive as long as you prepped well beforehand making it worth every moment of sanding when you have produced a super flat surface sanded to 240 grit. The first coat of wipe on polyurethane was applied reviling the hidden beauty of the wood followed by five more coats before the beeswax that gave an exceptional gloss finish. Overall I am extremely happy with the final product as it encapsulates the beauty of Australia and the era of the 1960s giving me a chance to try new processes and techniques to develop as a woodworker. Angelo Manglaviti, Year 12, St Monica's College Epping, Vic. Teacher: Michael Moorhouse

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