Benjamin Allen, Curly Maple Wall Shelf (WORLD 2023)

Photos:

Jessica L Allen

Country:

United States of America

Video tour:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cou3JfBgaOK/

I wanted to design a case that had clean proportions, included hand cut dovetails, and showcased the beautiful figure of the curly maple boards I chose to use for the shelf. All of the outer sides of the case have a gentle curve across their width, which I shaped using handplanes. The inspiration for the curved sides came from a small box that I made a few years ago that also had curved sides. The shaped sides on both the original box and this shelf appeal to me because it adds a new dimension to the piece, and the facets left by handplaning the curve add a texture to an otherwise flat and smooth surface. All of the dovetails on the case and the drawer are hand cut, and the bead on the shiplapped back boards was also hand cut using a scratch stock. This is the first piece I've made that included hand cut dovetails, which added an interesting challenge to the piece. The drawer bottom features a checkerboard-style parquetry pattern that I designed and made, which is the first parquetry piece I've ever created. The woods are curly maple, curly basswood for the drawer box, and wenge for the drawer pull.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.