Sylvia Buccatti reviews Thomas Murphy's "The Window Box Bench"

“The Window Box Bench”- Artistic Review

Thomas Murphy has done it again! With this simple design of a bench seat he proves that large scale engineering principals and designs when scaled down to smaller proportions embody both the same economy of material with the emphasis on strength of structure.

But what he adds to this bench is the artistic elements of beauty made into form. Stout legs to this bench bear a resemblance to elevated highway support structures, although he changes the whole tone of the piece with the augmentation of a color that reflects a surreal feeling of “Spring Green” to the artistic aficionado.

He is drawing a most noteworthy contrast to the Reddish Wood bench seat top, in effect he makes a statement, “Our old growth natural Redwoods should be cherished and supported with the most solid structures we are capable of…a creation of form that offers new hope of complement to them.”

He titled this one, “The Window Box Bench” and with love and admiration I see why~

Sylvia Buccatti

About the Author,

Sylvia Buccatti was educated and trained in Renaissance arts and literature in Florence and has recently moved to the United States.

MURPHY'S RELIGIOUS CROSS COMPUTER ACCESORY TABLE

The blended religious motifs that are incorporated into the theme of this table include a cross for Catholicism. The center an Asian symbolism of balance. The four orbiting “sparks” signify or represent the ideal confluence of goodness the power of which radiates atomically through time and space. I got an A in Art History in college and I’m good at gobbledygook.

OIL DERRICK TABLE

The little boats are made from scrap wood from other projects. I made four of them and gave one to the daughter of a neighbor who is sick.
As for the table, the legs are stained green and angled up like an oil rig. Those circles are made from green marble and were cut out by hand from a 3/8" x 12" x 12" square that I bought from the Habitat for Humanity resale store for 69 cents. When I made this table I was trying to symbolize the new standard of green energy cars to come. The green circles representing engine cylinders. But now I see them more as little lakes with the boats on them. It sits in our living room by the window. The boats I often think of as the Santa Maria, the Pinta and the Nina or Mayflower or whatever. If you like the table stay tuned as I plan to post pictures of other tables that I have made. One is like this one but has kind of a church symbol inset in it. The other is a coffee table with and laminated X Wing Pattern. There is a bar table with daisy petal legs, a coffee table made from the wood of my fathers old desktop that was cracked and another table with Turkey feathers inlaid as well as a checkerboard. Plus countless others to list all at once.
Most of the wood I use is "secondhand". It must be cleaned carefully and thoroughly with reference to modular utility once it is cut to size. Once you try it I am sure that you will find re purposing wood as rewarding as I do.
Thomas Murphy

X WING COFFEE TABLE

X-Wing Coffee Table
This coffee table has a laminated through to surfaces X-Wing pattern which contrasts the silliness of its well groomed poodle like feet to today’s technological aspirations. The contrast created here is also a parody of our science and culture.

DAISY BAR TABLE

This bar table is meant to incorporate a dynamism motif experienced when friends meet for drinks.
I initially made the round circle for a boxing speed bag platform but repurposed it with a square spindle cog center.
It embodies a uniquely lathed spindle pedestal post and daisy propeller with Green Bay Packer themed footings.
This was one of my favorite designs.

COPYRIGHT 2009 THOMAS PAUL MURPHY

Hand Made Hammer Handles

Hand Made Hammer Handles 02 25 2010

The head of a hammer will usually outlast the handle. The head gets slight surface rust and some metal fatigue. But the handles tend to rot and corrode around the center of the head.

You can easily make a new one from a piece of hardwood. And it is a good project to do with your son.

You can start by looking for an old hammer you don't like to use because it is old or buy one from a rummage sale.

You can make the handle out of hardwood left on a curb or buy some from a Habitat for Humanity Resale shop. You can even carve a new handle from an old shovel handle. I made more than one handle out of an old shovel handle. The wood in the center of its stock is usually as good as new.

Your working imagination is the limit to your style or design of the handle.

In the pictures you see some of my grandfathers old ball peen heads placed on handles I created. The elongated triangular shape of the smaller handle is very nice to work with. The larger ball peen hammer is made from four pieces of two different kinds of wood, giving it a stronger multicolored handle as the pieces offset in one direction. The effect was created by the way they were glued together.

Clean the metal hammer head with vinegar and sandpaper inside the hole, and outside. Four hundred grit works well. You want to make the head look as shiny as you can to augment your new handle. It is good to file its striking plane straight and smooth with a file also, give a little round off to the edge also.

Make the handle larger than you would expect it to be in the end as you might need to trim off some excess above the head.

Get the piece down to rough size with a band saw or other saw. Then make some marks as to rough size on the stock and freehand sand on a stationary belt sander. Use the iterative process to shape the end to fit the head. Tools needed here are files, sandpaper, small planes etc. If you take a caliper and measure the top and bottom holes of the head you can get an idea of how big that end of the handle should be. Fix the measurement taken from the metal head and hold it to the end of the wood handle. The hole might be somewhat oblong.

When you think you have a good fit when lightly forced on. Use some polyurethane glue and put the head tightly on the handle. When using the vice to hold the piece, make sure you are using a mar free setup, I.e. held in place with wood or/and rags. This is an art.

After setting the head in place wipe it with a thin and tight coat of the same polyurethane glue. This seals in the shine very well and prevents dulling with rust.

Set it in your garage to dry and the next day trim any excess wood off the top. If there are tiny gaps between the head and the handle you can add some sawdust and glue to fill them. Sawdust mixed with polyurethane glue make the glue act differently; use a little less sawdust than you would if mixing with wood glue.

The smaller handle is oak with a red stain. The larger I believe is made from a Poplar snow shovel handle I broke off while heaving 30" lengths of heavy wet snow.

You will be proud of making these handles that exemplify the art of fine craftsmanship. You might even think them too good to use, but don't do that. As you use them they will impart their fine craftsmanship into your works.

God Bless,

Thomas Paul Murphy

Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy

Unique Outdoor Bench Design

Unique Outdoor Bench Design

I designed this out of old cedar from a prior picnic bench. The cedar was sound. When designing weight bearing structures it is important to have lateral supports that prevent sway and add greatly to long term stability of said structure. This is a key component of my designs. I just don’t understand those tables’ people make with the skinny legs that sway leading to a toppy center of gravity. Despite their prized mortise and tenon joints. They make no sense to me in terms of utilization. You can see that in the triangular pieces that support the vertical uprights. The “feet” on this bench are made from treated lumber, because they contact the ground soil and would be prone to rot. All outdoor furniture should bear this aspect in terms of practicality. It is coated with purple paints and is designed to be a “shrine” to my boat. In addition to being Catholic I am a Noahist, a self named religion that believes in keeping your boat nearby. Not that I think there will be a flood but because it is the proper thing to do in terms of Noahism.

Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy

The Green Utility Bench

The Green Utility Bench

I patterned this one after one the industrial arts (shop) teacher “John Buttenhoff” at my father’s school gave him. It was in need of repair. I redesigned it with the slat in the center that also functions as a handle and reinforced this design with more wood. It serves as a stable step stool. When designing things it is important to take into account proportions of various components. The proportions are the basis of form. The coating is Rustoleum John Deer Green a favorite of mine.

Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy

The Footstool

The Footstool

I made this footstool for my father. It has 6 legs giving it the abstract representation of a California fishing pier. As you look at it from the top it looks to have more than six legs, I call this the “Picaso effect.” Where you think you see the legs from looking at it from the top does not correspond to where they are on the bottom. This is another one of my favorite designs. The legs were made from an old wooden garden/yard tool handle. Thereby allowing me to categorize it in this blog and not my AmericanIngenuity-ThomasMurphy.blogspot.com sit, which deals with more unique industrial engineered items.

The Desk

The Desk

I designed and created this desk top for my room. I feel it is nicer than any desk I have ever seen. The top is made from 2x4 construction and darkly stained. Once again threaded rods hold it together and prevent separation. It is finished with bar top epoxy for a hard durable finish capable of being written on top of without indenting through the paper. It is finished with oak sides.

Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy

Utility Cart

Utility Cart

This upright’s of this cart were made from bed frame angle iron that was being thrown out, it is very strong. The bottom “Bucket Part” was made from an army surplus metal bin purchased at National Ace Hardware for about $5. Castors were added to this. The table top is threaded rod laminated 2x4’s with inlaid cedar chess board. A little too nice for a shop utility cart but that’s ok. I made it level with my workbench so that I could balance longer “works” between the two of them. The bottom of the drawer was made from sheet metal cut from the side of our discarded and dismantled stove. This cart is very sturdy and a nice addition to my work shop.

Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy

PRIMARY COFFEE TABLE

This coffee table was built from repurposed wood from my father’s antique desk that was in ill repair, as a tribute to him and his teachings to me but also with the Milwaukee Public School system.
The contrasting cross sectionals of this old growth oak and poplar make this one of the most beautiful pieces in our house.
The legs of the structure came from wood bought at the Habitat for Humanity Resale shop.

HARDWOOD COFFEE TABLE

The wood in the top of this table made from oak, cherry and poplar, which contribute to the piano key effect of this table.
The wood was cast away when a neighbor moved. The cherry headboard some of the piece being derived from, was a real catch.
The legs are of 2x4 and 2x6 design. The contrast is meant to be an abstract comparison to modern industry versus antique craftsmanship in terms of materials and design of structure.

The Trough

The Trough
This is meant to be a side table to a chair. The reservoir top was designed and inspired in favor of pragmatism. How often do little parts fall of a table top and lose themselves on a dark carpet. The border created through the “carved out” center prevents this. I don’t see tables like these for sale; it follows the “If you want it done right, do it yourself” principle.
The solid block of wood was reclaimed and purposed from an old bench.
Symbolism of a carved our Indian canoe was well as farmland motif inspired by the way some younger girls are prone to dress today as influenced by our culture.

COPYRIGHT 2009 THOMAS PAUL MURPHY

END TABLE

This end table was made from poplar bedposts a resident discarded when a heavy rain deluged the village and “waterlogged” many basement.
The legs of the table are skinny buy solid and stained red.

Rough structure with plane shavings

This picture shows a series of boards that have been roughly cut to length, height and laminated together with threaded rods. These shavings planed off had a warm feel to them and looked kind of artistic so I took this picture. The table top structure will be a dining room table. It is about 6ft by 3ft and 2.5 inches thick. The 3/4" boards were part of mock beams on a ceiling structure of my neighbors house. The rough boards were around 14ft long and I could not resist re purposing them. The knots in the edge grain, often seen as imperfections by others, are placed somewhat like a florist would arrange a bouquet, with symmetry in mind.

INTRODUCTION

Hello I started this blog to share some of the beautiful and creative things that can be made from recycling wood.

I intend to post pictures of some of the many beautiful things that can be made from wood that no one wants anymore.

I hope I can inspire you to initiate similar endeavors.

Best of luck.

Thomas Murphy

Freeware Like Donation

This art gallery of furniture is sponsored by me for your viewing pleasure and enjoyment. If you were inspired or saw something you could relate to artistically please consider making a donation for the written and graphic freeware. If you were so inspired to create one like these also consider making an ever so small non tax deductible contribution to my PayPal account. How much does a movie cost today and what do we get out of them? Just click'ums that donate button a few spaces below this paragraph and it will take you to my authentic PayPal account.