Ethan Hansford, Skeleton Lounge Chair (Student Awards 2018)

For my year 12 major work I constructed a lounge chair inspired by a ribbed design. To construct the product the 'spine' had to be laminated hence a mould was created. To get an ergonomic shape lots of research and testing occurred. In order to create a ribbed design 26 identical ribs were cut out on the bandsaw and a router jig used to trim the edges to ensure all were identical. Both of these components were made from blackwood. In a lighter hardwood, 26 identical blocks with perpendicular housing joints on each end were constructed. These were used as connector pieces to house the ribs and connect them to the spine. These blocks were then shaped prior to gluing. The job was then glued with West System and once dried, holes were drilled and dowels were glued in to reinforce the joint. To join the ribs to the spine the same process occurred but prior to gluing housing joints were cut into the spine using a jig in order to create a flush finish on the curved surface. All up 208 dowel joints were used to connect the components together. To create a base, two identical rods were turned on the lathe with a pre-cut housing joint in the centre in order to slide over the base of the spine. Once turned legs were slipped over the ends which had a smaller diameter. The legs were simply just cut out on the bandsaw and shaped. The front legs were slightly smaller then the back legs due the the shape of the spine. Once glued together with West System pre-drilled pilot holes were used as guides to screw the legs to the base of the spine. Once completed the job was given four coats of oil. Year 12, Trinity Grammar School. Teacher: Micheal Spratt

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