Lauren Wickes, TV Buffet (STUDENT 2022)

Student:

Secondary

Name of school or tertiary institution, and name of woodworking teacher (if you have one):

Narrandera High School, NSW, Teachers Alex Dean & Scott Rowlings

My Grandfather, who passed away in 2011, milled timber for a living along the Murrumbidgee River. Deepwater Station in Matong, NSW is where his mill was located 23 years ago. It is from this property that he fell and milled the timber that I used in this project. As I became interested in woodwork and chose to continue to study it in Year 11, my mum told me I could use the leftover timber from the dining table and the China cabinet that my parents had made as their wedding gifts to build my major HSC project if I wanted to. I couldn’t resist and had to use it. He also milled the Lemon Scented Gum that was growing in the yard of the first house that my parents bought when they got married. After machining the timber from its rough sawn state to work out exactly how much was usable, I decided to build a buffet to complement the existing furniture that my parents had. Combining modern joinery methods as well as traditional techniques was important to me, as it allowed me to showcase my skills and extend my knowledge. Cutting dovetails for the drawers by hand and using a router jig enabled me to experience what my teacher refers to as the “zen of hand tool work” contrasted with the precision of power tools and jigs. I hadn’t used Epoxy Resin before, and it presented many challenges, but the contrast between the black resin and the timber is one that I’m very happy with. The four doors were cut to size and then inlaid with the Lemon Scented Gum, with inspiration coming from photos on Pinterest. Softclose European Hinges were used throughout, and I chose not to use any handles to keep the lines clean and uncluttered. As an added gift to my very patient mum, I stenciled my Grandfather’s signature into the rails behind the left door as a continuing reminder of the heritage of the timber.

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