Corner shelf unit
Lee Hurley
Otorohanga College
Year 13 Design Technology
20 week project
Teacher: Ram Chetty
Lee's client – his mother – wanted a way to display family trophies, photos, and other items in pride of place. Lee proposed a corner shelf unit as the best option. His client agreed and requested a design that would display items as effectively as possible with an unobtrusive aesthetic that, while stylish, would highlight the items displayed rather than overwhelming them. Lee came up with a three-legged design that would fit neatly into the corner with a curved front that offered the maximum display space.
Lee made a mock-up of the design from scrap wood, leaving finer details to later in the project – both to get further client approval and to explore aspects of construction. Lee used the opportunity to ensure that each joint would interlock, even without glue, to ensure its overall structural integrity. His mother was pleased with the mock-up, so Lee moved onto making the final product. Macrocarpa was the chosen material as it was one of his mother's favourites.
Lee drew several designs of leg shapes, and his mother chose one for him to produce on the school lathe. In the construction of the shelves, careful planning ensured a truly flawless finish – Lee glued the panels together thicker than necessary, then put them though the thicknesser to ensure both sides were completely even and remove any residual glue. Lee wanted to avoid using glue again, so he mortised square slots in shelves to secure them to the legs.
However, not everything went completely to plan, as he ran out of macrocarpa to complete the curved rails along the front of the shelves. To remain within budget, his only choice was to use MDF which he covered with macrocarpa veneer. The construction was then secured with screws at each of the six joins of shelf and legs and finished with a varnish and linseed oil treatment for waterproofing and a smooth finishing gloss.
Lee's teacher feels that his effective planning for practice and use of available time contributed to the high level of finishing and construction of the project.
Teacher comment
Lee thought really hard about the joints he used in this design because he didn't want to see different faces meeting together, end grain into the face grain – as occurs in a finger joint or dovetail joint as he thought it would reduce its visual appeal. As all of the students needed to use the machines throughout the year, Lee had to manage his time well to be organised enough to finish his project in the 20-week time slot.
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