Improvising at the TABLE SAW

Design as Jazz

- Ken Burton

One of my favorite aspects of woodworking is designing new objects. Most of them start out as sketches, but bringing them to life sometimes takes more than just paper and pencil. I liken the process to playing jazz. You start out with a simple concept, or melody, then improvise the design.

Take for example the vase on page 45. My sketchbook yielded the idea of framing a copper tube between two opposing coved moldings, but the exact proportions and interplay of curves and angles wasn’t something I could coax from the end of my pencil. It was time to hit the shop.