The Formaldehyde Issue explained…
I have continued my research on materials and have ordered samples from Timber Products Company and North Brook Farms. Timber Products makes a similar product to Columbia Forest Products, which they call Green-T they also state they don't ADD formaldehyde to the glues...
Watch this little video to understand a little of the dilemma... I don't endorse just inform...
Lets quote some research on this issue of formaldehyde in plywood and how it affects ambient air quality, in order to get a better handle on what the issue is. According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission formaldehyde is present in the air we breath at 0.03 ppm (partsper million), this is both indoor and outdoor air. Some offices and residences have more than that, depending on how many items that contain formaldehyde are placed inside of these spaces. "As formaldehyde levels increase, illness or discomfort is more likely to occur and may be more serious". <--- This is why any designer making wood furniture should limit the amount if not seal it permanently, or not use any product with formaldehyde at all. In order to not increase formaldehyde levels in indoor air.
Remember the BPA (Bisphenol-A) scandal? That the human population is being exposed to a chemical in just about everything? That BPA can negatively affect their endocrine system functions? Remember that label that showed the type 07 plastic on the bottom of bottles and we went looking for plastics with that designation? Well, wood doesn't have that, and its up to us to make sure you aren't exposed to it (at least its our fiduciary responsibility don't you think?). If you think this is all bullshit and you think Bisphenol-A is actually good for you, then go here, all kinds of data to make you feel good about bathing in BPA... I'm fair and balanced like that...
Both Timber Products Company and Columbia Forest Products state that they don't add formaldehyde to their products. In essence the only formaldehyde is that which is naturally occurring in the wood they use to make plywood (which can't be removed). Urea Formaldehyde resin is used in most plywood because it is does well against the elements and keeps from breaking down rapidly. It works well to protect the warranty of the plywood manufacturer. In other words, if they didn't use these nasty chemicals the products would fall apart, and then you would sue them for doing so. So they use the chemicals to prevent breakage but then the product kills you slowly. Nifty right? We have enough business plans running along this same logic to make it way more confusing to understand who what when and where was the source of your cancer... Brilliant. (I am trying to magnify the hypocrisy through sarcasm)
Northbrook Farms on the other hand makes a material completely free of all this stuff, except maybe BPA (found in the original recycled raw material?) which doesn't add pollutants to indoor air (don't lick it). They make Plastic Plywood, made from recycled polyethylene. It can be worked just like plywood. Although 40% heavier than plywood, and a little more expensive this material might be perfect for some uses in my pieces. I've got the samples and have been studying how to bond them, mechanically affix them, and where to use them. Its not a new product, but the fact that it is recycled makes me want to use it. It comes in the same dimensions as wood plywood.
In this last paragraph I wanted to show a video link that demonstrates how plywood is made from the trunk of a tree. The entire tree gets used, it is basically the best way to use a tree, in its entirety.
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dl.vScrap…
I used three full sheets of 30" x 40"x 1/16" chip board, one sheet of 24" x 30" x 1/2" foam core, and one sheet of 24" x 30" x 1/4" foam core, with about 24 sheets of 8 1/2" x 11" paper. 76 Olfa high angle blades, about 2 oz. of Elmer's glue, a few pipes of brass, a few snips of piano wire, a few drops of Gorrilla glue, three blobs of Gel Crazy glue, a black Pilot pen, a pencil, and a Sharpie marker. After I created all the models, what was left over as scrap?
Here are the piles of every single scrap of chip board, paper, and foam core I collected during the build process. All of this stuff left over is recyclable, and it is important that you understand that because my designs are "curvaceous", there isn't always an efficient way to cut out a shape from the material that is manufactured in a rectangle. What I end up with is lots of crescent shaped scraps, specially given that I didn't study or purposefully maximize my use of the material (@ this stage). When building sketch models, you use what you need. Efficient use of the material isn't part of this phase. One is just focusing on being creative. But this scrap teaches me what can be left over when I "upscale" production, obviously this will be studied in depth. I will have a future posting on what I've learned from this very important issue: efficient/responsible use of materials and recycling of all wood scraps... So what am I going to do with all these scraps? I will keep parts of it for future use, but most will be recycled. I don't have the means to grind this material up or crush it and glue it to use again, I don't necessarily find profit in putting time into transforming this material into something else, maybe later. Its useful life to me was already served... That is the important part of understanding how far I can take a material from one Cradle to the other. I find that I still use materials for a short period of time, and not for its entire life span. I assume its a luxury to be able to use materials in this way, but I then have to make sure that the scraps don't end up in a landfill but rather routed into the proper channel... My responsibility doesn't end after extracting the "useful" part of the material, it continues! I have to make sure the material keeps moving down the pipeline, while extracting profit from the parts I will in turn place in the hands of the consuming public. This same awareness I will "upscale" into the larger operation model of making the furniture pieces.
heap of chip 2 lbs. worth (top and bottom)
This next pile (below) is of the foam core...
and this last pile (below) is of the sheets of plain paper with printer ink on them...
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56 blades later…
The 9 chip models are done! Mounted on faux walls and floors made of 1/2" foam core. Constructed in varying scales but all made of chip, they look neat... Five people have seen them all together as a collection: I'll quote one, "They look modern and stuff..." Lauren Lee
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Where are my samples?
Its been 3 weeks and my samples still weren't in. So I called Dixieply's sales rep and she didn't answer my call, went to voicemail. This was wednesday. Thursday I called "the boss" and within 1.5 hours my samples were in the studio. Guess what? They were the wrong ones... Spoke to the boss today and he said sorry about the hassle, to call him directly when I need pricing or to place an order. Waiting 3 weeks for samples was unacceptable. Moral of the story, order samples from manufacturer not wholesaler even when establishing a relationship. Its better to be already informed on the product so you can just get to the negotiating rather than letting them familiarize you with the product. I am doing more research on materials, I'll post another entry on reasoning for plywood but I need to finish the models first, you'll find out later why.
Receptionist table chip model was completed today. It looks great. I found a few improvements I need to make already, but the proportions and fit are nice! I've been using a new technique by sanding the edge of the chip board to get sharp edges to burr away, it adds a great effect. Again, you'll see later...
I am on track with my schedule! I will reveal the collection to a select group of people in order to gauge reactions and comments. Although very formtastic, the furniture is still modeling quite simply (or at least they look clear and simple when assembled which is what I mean to say)... I've learned that making "things" look simple is very very difficult...
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@ point A wishing I was @ point X
The large shelves chip model was done today! I made some improvements to it that aren't on the full scale prototype, but over all it looks really good... By this weekend all the models will be done! Then I'll post blurry pictures of them all side by side... My next post I'll share my process for making these models, from sketch to model to reveal my low tech approach...
When working on a task that takes a long time (days:weeks:months), it takes a bit of madness to stay on task. I'd say Brain damage but that would not do it justice. During those weeks/months of doing repetitive tasks you think of all the things that maybe you should not be thinking about, our brains (at least some of our brains) have this capacity to multitask, it just wonders off. Where does it go? To all those places you don't want your brain going: to things you forgot (that should have stayed forgotten), to second guessing decisions (that you got right the first time), to other points in our lives (forwards or backwards), or to the end of the current task at hand... The problem with allowing your brain to stray too much is that you loose perspective on what you are trying to accomplish, you become burdened by thought and you loose focus. Repetitive work is dangerous, and should be gotten out of the way or delegated to someone else ASAP.
"Jacob Rabinow, an electrical engineer, uses an interesting mental technique to slow himself down when work on an invention requires more endurance than intuition: “When I have a job that takes a lot of effort, slowly, I pretend I’m in jail. If I’m in jail, time is of no consequence. In other words, if it takes a week to cut this, it’ll take a week. What else have I got to do? I’m going to be here for twenty years. See? This is a kind of mental trick. Otherwise you say, ‘My God, it’s not working,’ and then you make mistakes. My way, you say time is of absolutely no consequence.” " Psychology Today: The Creative Personality
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Conference Table of sorts…
Today the conference table model is finished (in chip board)!!!! It looks kick ass! I've taken pictures of it while I was putting it together, you'll see those in the end... The concept is very straight forward: I envision that most conference tables are a central figure to a corporation (subliminally to most): usually kept in the infamous WAR ROOM the Pantheon of public/private decision making. This table by its proportions, material and shear size conveys a message to all those who use it and see it, meant to be inclusive by nature or intimidating when occupied by a couple... It is a commanding piece of furniture, it has a life a reputation of its own and it is kept in sort of Arena of sorts. Life changing decisions take place around this piece of furniture. We can all remember making presentations on one, being hired, being fired, strategizing our next big move, a simple company lunch, a training session with all the company staff, or gathering us to host an in house movie... The conference table is a mighty beast of furniture. Its design must be well thought out because it speaks by its form alone. Materials, weight, shape, assembly, mass, curvature of its edges, wether you can touch it with your feet while sitting, its underside and if you can see across from it...
Yes, I'm thinking of all that, and then some... Wait till you see it... 
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Airplane bits
Air show this weekend in Homestead Air Force base... If I wouldn't be designing I would have been flying you all on a commercial airliner. Airplanes totally and completely fascinate me: assembly, design, handling, science, mechanics, discipline required to fly, how unforgiving they are, freedom they give, how they encapsulate you from the elements and through shear domination of physics they allow us the privilege of gliding through an invisible gas to altitudes no vertical contiguous mass of earth could afford us... But most amazing is how similar the human body, ships/boats and airplanes share in design proportions, curves/arcs, and in connections/joints. The way we are put together (all three) share many similarities: Feel free to play connect the dots with the symbolism...
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Inspiration : a list
If you've never visited www.ted.com go, its an awesome place to hear some excellent lectures. One of my favorites is from Stefan Sagmeister, he is a designer. In one of his lectures he shares a list of things he has learned in his life, here is the list:
"helping other people helps me
having guts always works out for me
thinking life will be better in the future is stupid. i have to live now
starting a charity is surprisingly easy
being not truthful works against me
everything i do always comes back to me
assuming is stifling
drugs feel great in the beginning and become a drag later on
over time i get used to everything and start taking for granted
money does not make me happy
traveling alone is helpful for a new perspective on life
keeping a diary supports personal development
trying to look good limits my life
material luxuries are best enjoyed in small doses
worrying solves nothing
complaining is silly. either act or forget
actually doing the things I set out to do increases my overall level of satisfaction
everybody thinks they are right
low expectations are a good strategy
whatever I want to explore professionally, its best to try it out for myself first
everybody who is honest is interesting"
I like his reasons for making the list, and on a subsequent lecture he talks about how the list has taken a life of its own. All of us create things that take a life of their own (all of us), no matter who. Some of those things become inspiration to others...
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PS. I spent 5 hours cutting chip to make bases for the conference table model. My hands hurt. But they (bases) look good...
Elmers + Chip
For making sketch models chip board, along with plain old Elmers Glue is the best. I have models I made back in 1994 that are still holding up entirely made with chip and Elmers (wow thats 15 years I'm getting old). I have 3 models done so far, these pieces really come to life when placed in your hand... I like to sketch out all of my ideas, make notes in my sketchbook as to what order I would like to continue to work... Sometimes I make a dozen lists all of them taking a new thing into consideration, sketch:concept:detail:material:joint:finish etc, sometimes I'll grab post it notes and scribble a sketch with a red wax pencil and throw it in the sketchbook. Documenting these spurts of ideas as they come along... Then I'll pull them out each creative session to let them soak in...
- idea <--- usually the entire form + concept come together here
- sketch <--- @ this point I get excited and start annoying my wife with how cool it looks
- concept statement <--- usually very short and in bullet form
- scrap model/chip model <--- proves if the forms come together (proportion)
- computer model in rhino <--- Lets me mess around with dimensions & fit
- etc
With this project much like Architecture you get more and more excited as you begin to see your idea in 3d, seeing the forms come to life and seeing instantly what you can change where.... You can visualize the connections, how materials interact with each other, where they get along and where they don't.
Marcus is @ home, alone in the office: nothing like listening to KCRW ECLECTIC24 online with the sun setting outside coming through the store front to get a little inspired... When you get inspired as any other person who does you go into this creative trance, you go into this fit. You are totally in your own world, its your ideas, skill and tools... No bullshit... No phone no interruptions just cranking out those shapes, even when your fingers hurt from years of doing the same thing... Just looking for the satisfaction that comes from cutting that last piece... Liberating it from that larger piece... Its weird but I'm sure anybody that works with any material can relate... The end result is always rewarding, then you just sit there staring at it knowing all the work you still have ahead... Anxiety ridden.. 
Later
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More on Materials…
Thinking about using the right stains and sealers was a huge deal when I originally made the first prototypes. I wanted surfaces that had a matt varnish look to them or entirely natural, all I knew is that I didn't want to use any harmful solvents to stain. We had a brand new baby in the house, and I knew that eventually he would start touching, gnawing, and sucking on parts of the furniture (its inevitable, they do that kind of thing...).
So I started my research and came to the conclusion that Natural Soy was the best non toxic stain sealed with natural Beeswax! I found all I needed on this website, I quickly ordered the Timber Soy Stain
and tried it out... Not that easy to work with, it takes a few applications but the end result is beautiful! The wood looked natural, all the detail in the wood stayed intact and the smells weren't there after it dried... I don't get paid to talk/use these products, I just want to talk about why I chose them. I read the white sheets and specifications and instantly liked the way the product was made... I encourage you to always read the white papers of anything you purchase.
The Beeswax I used for finishing was from DaddyVans! Which of all crazy things its actually a polish not a sealer. But since the soy is non toxic I've learned the wax does a great job at sealing it and polishing the wood. The wax is very hard to put on, and to get a polish it takes lots of work... The wax dries perfectly, and the finish is very very nice, depending on how much and smooth you sand of course... No smells, and works on mixed wood found in butcher block, red oak, and standard plywood (all the materials I used for the prototypes). 
The more higher end materials I'll be using on these 9 pieces will do very well with my choice of stains and sealer/polish. I'll speak later to the actual preparation of the materials for finishing, but for now the decision to use these materials was partly experimental, driven by the need to leave behind toxic alternatives.
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Materials Part 2
Post consumer recycled materials should be used for non food packaging, I'll be making that choice: I think pre consumer recycled materials are good for more sterile applications, meaning for the interior of buildings, a kitchen cabinet, flooring, wall partitions, etc. Post consumer, who knows what is in that stuff. I figure even if they are washing it or treating it that would add chemicals to it (or activate some already dormant), and it would waste more resources, so I might as well use it only for boxing, shipping, and protecting... Debating against the millions of dollars put into the marketing of these recycled raw materials is beyond me, I'll consume as logic tells me. For example this image below is from the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers:
Yes, you can make a plastic bottle into Berber carpets, but Berber is a type of WEAVING: Berber can be made from an assorted group of materials. The industry would love for us to use materials as they like, using marketing like this I'm sure they'll continue to convince a few. But Berber weave is best felt on your feet when made of Wool (PETA doesn't like any use of Wool). What a dilemma: for everything you encourage, there is another group opposing.
With the intentions that what ever I use for wrapping will be made of Post Consumer Recycled Materials, the public will then take to the recycling bin where it will enter the cycle once again... We'll only use it for a little while...
to be continued...
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Material Theory Part 1
I like the idea of Cradle to Cradle (less the certification part: do good cause its the right thing to do, I can't knock their business plan it is brilliant). As a small business owner with very little resources to certify anything taking a grass roots approach to C2C is better than nothing.
I am considering:
- Material Sourcing
- transportation distances and method
- post consumer recycled packaging
- wood/metal waste recycling @ 100%
- non toxic stains and sealers
Carefully thinking about that list, studying and researching where materials come from, how they get to the studio, how I use them and where the scraps go. Interestingly I'll share how little the regional suppliers care about anything I've described above...
Thinking about what wood I'll be using to build these pieces I've looked up local wood suppliers, and Dixie Ply moved to the top of the list. Last week I packed up my son Marcus into the wagon and headed to their warehouse to see for myself how they operate (located about 7 miles from the studio). When we got there we saw a large warehouse with doors wide open exposing huge stacks of wood to the Southern Sky, the smell of fresh cut wood and glue filled the air... I noticed that next door to the warehouse were rail road tracks so I was excited at the prospect of actually having wood that was transported from the middle east coast forests to this warehouse by train! So I quickly wrote the "green expert" on the Columbia website and this is the reply I got (read on to know why Columbia).
"...The green plywood products sold at are Miami location are transported primarily by truck. The non-formaldehyde plywood comes from North Carolina and Virginia. We use standard diesel fuel in the delivery trucks..."
There goes that idea, but diesel is better than gas (I guess), so I'll take that! Hopefully its a fully loaded truck, filled to the gills! Making best use of all that fuel... Hopefully... Again, I must have faith in the system, I can't tell them how to do things but I can ask... How does LEED approach this? Do you demand that the 100 sheets of plywood you need come by train? Do you demand that this train be filled to capacity thus maximizing its efficiency? Ok, I think I made my point.
Back to the other point: Being an Architect with a wood shop I am allowed to purchase from Dixieply, and they have a pretty good selection of "Ecoplywood" which is made by Columbia Forest Products. The glue is non toxic, and the wood itself comes from certified forests... Again, I have faith that this is the case. Getting in my car and driving up to North Carolina and Virginia isn't gonna happen till early next year... I'll take a road trip up there burn all that fuel to document for you guys what the forest looks like or maybe someone up there will take some pictures for me... Again, part of documenting where it all comes from...
So my material sourcing theory is pretty responsible I think, no complicated theory just very simple: know where it comes from, know if its toxic, understand how it performs, and brace yourself for the price! Yes, anything labeled GREEN is expensive. Its a brilliant business model I can't knock it, but I am suspicious. In order to tell me something was done well someone spent lots of resources to do so, but the supply chain doesn't adhere to the same principles as was the development team of the product, so in the end it all must balance out... I was told, checked, verified, guess hope.
After my responsible wood sourcing venture, I am still waiting for my material samples which have been mistakenly delivered stained, rather than natural finish. So we have to wait for another week until another correct set of samples is sent. These samples are critical in determining my over all costs, you see once I have the pieces entirely modeled on the computer I will have an exact idea of quantities, which will be inputted into my spreadsheet and a magic number will appear: Material Costs. <--- a very loaded definition, but I will let it rest.
to be continued...
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Yes, dlvstudio is still here…
I think I should make clear that dlvstudio is still here! Exploring the realm of furniture making is just another creative outlet. Treating the process of furniture making in exactly the same way I approach the building process, except I have much more control over the end product. I don't have to convince anyone of what I want, there are no limits...
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Why?
Well, I'm embarking on a new adventure. Although I have built furniture before, I've never thought about going all the way and making it commercially available. With this blog I'd like to share/document with you all this process, of making something out of nothing. Now this is something we do as Architects all the time, but we don't do a good job at showing those around us (cause its usually really really late @ night). So I want to share "How I Think", and all the thoughts and decisions that are going to go into each of these 9 pieces of furniture...
The truth is, I've always been mystified by the design process too... I still think its so neat that I go into a design problem not knowing exactly what is going to be there, I mean there is nothing there but a set of requirements, rules laws, budget, demands, limits, time, wishes, likes, dislikes, etc, then all those weeks and months later and boom! You have something... Best way to describe it is like creating a child: a little of this a little of that then blam! Sleep less nights, nothing but worrying, extreme highs and lows, etc.. Then suddenly as if by magic this incredibly satisfying feeling washes over you and you realize you made this incredibly complicated "thing", that has a life of its own...
This blog is going to document the process of me doing just that: sketching/designing/naming, building scale modeling, computer modeling, producing shop drawings, and then building full scale prototypes of a collection of 9 pieces of furniture with these two hands of mine... I'll be writing without giving too much detail (at first), 
not until I've filled out the Design Patents, so you'll all be held in suspense until then! I will say this: I know what they look like already, I know what some of them are named already, and I've already built a few full scale functioning prototypes (much like Architecture they become your little children)... I'll be showing you all blurry pics, and scraps of materials, in order to reveal (slowly) the immense effort that goes into putting together this line of 9 pieces all by myself (oh yeah and hopefully a money guy)... I'll maybe share the names of the pieces or maybe the concept... Who knows... I'm gonna have fun with this, and you all are welcome to join me on this journey either up or down who knows...
dl.v
No, 76 blades later! (found 20 more on the floor)