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timothy aaron
huston

Furniture Designer


A NEW SINCERITY
at the mill
THE LACEY ACT
TWO TRADITIONS
TRANSITIONS
DESIGNING IN 3D
at the mill

RAW WOOD BECOMES AN ELEGANT OBJECT.
DESIGNER TIMOTHY PHOTOGRAPHS
THE LIFE CYCLE OF FURNITURE.



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at the mill
This view of the road side in Pennsylvania Dutch country, on route to the lumber mill, reveals where SHIMNA materials begin.
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at the mill
The country artisan's landscape, like this windbreak, influences SHIMNA designs. The old craftsmen's ways guide our production.
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at the mill
After harvest, these 500 lb. walnut logs are unloaded by crane at the mill. The mills we use in Pennsylvania are third or fourth generation family-owned and operated.
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at the mill
Unloaded walnut logs are staged outside the mill. Over time, the large pile of sawdust accumulates to many feet in height.
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Raw logs are loaded onto a conveyor, in preparation for the first cut.
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at the mill
These walnut logs will be processed into finished beams, to be used by SHIMNA for (oddly enough) the Beam Furniture Series.
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at the mill
This walnut log is making the first pass through the planer. This is one of the 500 lb. logs to be precisely cut by a very large saw.
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at the mill
The log will be planed on four sides, turning it from a cylinder to a rectangular 8 inch by 6 inch beam.
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at the mill
The blonde area in the log is called sapwood. It was the living, subdermal layer of the tree. Many furniture makers try to steam this color variation out. SHIMNA works with the contrast in color between the dark walnut and its lighter sapwood.
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at the mill
The first-cut walnut beams are cut down to a usable length, typically 34 inches. Notice the large piece of flayed bark on the conveyor (right side) that has been removed.
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at the mill
This is one of the postwar-era planers used at the mill. Some of this equipment has been in use since the late 1940s or early 1950s. This machine further corrects the edge of the beams.
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at the mill
The sawdust from the beam shoots out the front of this planer in action.
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This stack of piled beams includes some cherry and walnut. These beams are ready to be taken to the woodworker's shop.
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These beams are laid out by the conveyor for shipping. In the background, one can spy some 6 inch by 1 inch planks (used for dressers, credenzas and bookshelves).
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at the mill
The the center part of this cherry tree beam is dead. The rotted away part has left a crevice in the wood, and must be removed from the wood before any furniture can be made from it.
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at the mill
These oak, quarter-sawn boards are ready to be sent to the woodworker. They could end up as a case for a console or credenza after being kiln dried and conditioned.
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at the mill
Taken at the woodworker's shop, this detail of a walnut slab, the center of a crotch of a tree, will be used for SHIMNA's Live Edge Coffee and Dining tables.
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at the mill
One of the woodworkers at work. At use is a traditional wood planer. This tool has been in use for hundreds of years. Left in the planer's wake are beautiful walnut wood shavings.
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at the mill
The drill press is used to drill holes into the sides of planks, so that they can be joined together with dowels.
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A C-Clamp rests on the side of the woodworker's bench. The shavings are from a recently worked piece of walnut.
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These walnut drawer faces have recently been finished and placed on a drying rack. They are sprayed with water-based polyurethane coating for protection.
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at the mill
The finished product: a SHIMNA Deacon Bench, mounted with a Spanish rifle, with a barn as backdrop. Photographed on a Pennsylvanian Dutch Homestead.
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at the mill
The SHIMNA Red River Credenza by the firewood pile with log splitter, photographed at a Pennsylvanian Dutch homestead.
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at the mill
SHIMNA traditional Windsor Chairs, with the Pennsylvanian Delaware Water Gap in the background.
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at the mill
SHIMNA Live Edge Dining Table, with Windsor chairs and bench placed in a covered bridge in Pennsylvania Dutch Country.
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FORTNIGHT JOURNAL WISHES YOU

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

AND A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR



WE WILL RETURN TO OUR REGULAR SCHEDULE ON

JANUARY 3, 2011
 
fortnight
Fortnight is a documentary on the millennial generation. Millennials are the first generation raised on the Internet and the last to remember life unplugged. Discover the lives and ideas of 58 individuals coming of age as the world turns digital.