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Project Proportions & Dimensions

5K views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  scottb 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hey Fellow Lumberjocks:
Have you ever decided to start a new project, or build something for someone, where a specific sized item was to be built? Of course, we all have.

However, what does a lumberjock do when they are faced with making up the dimensions of a project by their own choice? How big should the Hutch be on a China Hutch in comparison to the base unit? How many doors should flow across an entertainment center? Have you ever made something that seemed the right size in the shop with the high ceiling and wide wall space, only to look monstrous in your bedroom?

Another "for instance" could be: should all five drawers on a tall dresser be the same size, or would it look better if they were proportioned differently?

Making all the drawers the same size sure speeds up production, but is there an overriding principle that is more pleasing to the human eye, that high-speed production efficiency leaves out?

I am starting to think that there is. For instance, the thing that bugs me about modern kitchens, is that it is just row after row of repeating squares and rectangles, all the same size so that the factory could make them efficienctly. I don't know how to do it differently, but maybe somebody out there has been pondering this already, and has some ideas for me.

Obviously, there are many factors involved in what size something we build should be. First, in my mind, we should consider the ergonomics, or the process of fitting the human body to the item being used by the body for support or work.

Modern sculpture can be of any size the artists envisions. But a chair, must first fit the body it is intended to support, or it is not a chair, in my mind.

Second, there is tradition, or the underiding power of familarity, the love and feeling for what has been done in the past, that the human eye accepts as "correct" due to it's previous common exposure. Sort of like thinking about the "common knowledge" feeling we get about subjects most of us know something about.

Then, there seems like there must be some space and weight limits. How tall, or wide something is to be built must surely depend somewhat on how the item will be moved and carried, or fit through a door, or up a stairway.

I once made a one piece entertainment center that would take a piano moving crew to move. I only delivered it with 3 other friends helping me. In my mind, that was not good design on my part, eventhough I thought of including hand hold holes in the back of the cabinet.

Today, I try to build things in smaller sections, each piece able to be moved by reasonably strong adults.

But, am I just trying to be too practical? I would like your input.

Maybe I am just all "wet" here because my back is sore from moving a heavy thick slab dining table top I'm building in my shop by myself lately.

Or, here is another question: am I losing some of the "art" when I worry about engineering problems like this?

But, here is the point that I was hoping to get to: I have been using the "Golden Rectangle" formula for almost all of my work in the past 3 years or so, and I think it just looks better than the work I used to do.

The "Rectangle", for those that don't know, is a ratio of repeating rectangles, all related to each other through a mathematical formula. These same ratios are found in nature in repeating forms also.

According to the article I read, this ratio has been used throughout human history, and has just been seen as good design whether for buildings, pyramids, skyscrapers, or dresser drawers.

What are some of your thoughts on proportion, sizing, and deciding what length to cut the first board of a new project? I would like to learn from you all, making my work better.

Thanks,
Mark DeCou www.decoustudio.com
 
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#2 ·
Ah… your talking PHI my friend. The golden rule, rectangle, and so on. (everyone please google it for all the math, and technical exp) I'm pleased to hear your using that in you design, we all would benefit from this in our designs.

FW did a good bit about that a few years back, probably about the time the DaVinci Code came out, and re-introduced the priciples of design in the natural world. Evident in every plant, animal and man.

I'm especially drawn to furniture with drawers of increasing size. Typically the height of the first drawer stile = the second drawer. the second drawer stile = the third… and so on.

As a graphic designer I find myself using the proportions of PHI in my layouts, and this really makes things look "right."
 
#3 ·
Also… to address another question you brought up. A friend of mine had a gorgeous enteretainment center, they had the foresight to put wheels under it. to move it, as well as access the back when new components were added.

The pub table I built, I made sure that it was as large as possible to meet our needs of the piece, but also that it could get moved in and out of the house. No good making something that will end up stuck in the room it's built in.

I think it's practical and considerate to your customers, yourself and the piece to consider those practical concerns. Also as you mentioned, we don't want to force early retirement by killing our backs!

But, I don't think we should limit our designs to specific joinery techniques or other limitations imposed by the real world. We should design the pieces we like, the way we like them… and then figure out the logistics.
 
#4 ·
I just notice the math portion of my first post accidently was intepreted as code

i was trying to type that the height of the first drawer and one stile height should equal the second drawer height. the second drawer plus stile should equal the third… and so on.
 
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