The whimsical designs of an Italian furniture manufacturer were rivaled by separate news reports of OSHA citations and fines lodged against two wood products firms for WWN reader attention last month.

Check out the "I'm a Woodworker Sideboard," left, as an example of the Italian furniture company's playful side. More examples abound within the Top-read September article.

On the other side of the coin, OSHA cracked down on Columbia Forest Products following the death of a worker at the company's Pesque Isle, ME, facility and also fined Art Horizons of Batesville, MS, for combustible dust violiatons. The 14th most highly read article on WWN in September was also OSHA related, as the safety agency fined Phenix Lumber of Phenix City, AL, for combustible dust violations.

Following are the WWN's Top 10 for September.

1. Italian Firm Makes Furniture Fun 
I'm a Woodworker Table, Homesick Fly Bench and Rubik Cube are some of the names of the fascinating furniture produced by Clab4design. (Posted 9-1-10)



2. Columbia Forest Products cited in worker's death
BANGOR, ME -- Columbia Forest Products Inc. was cited for 15 alleged willful and serious violations of workplace safety standards by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration following the March 22 death of a worker at the company's mill in Presque Isle, ME. (Posted 9-22-10) 

3. OSHA fines picture frame maker $228,000
BATESVILLE, MS -- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing $228,320 in penalties for 34 safety and health violations, including combustible dust, its inspectors found at Art Horizons Inc.'s 300,000-square-foot facility in Batesville, MS. (Posted 9-20-10)
 
4. Interstock Premium Cabinetry leases 148,000-sq-ft facility in PA
Interstock Premium Cabinetry Co. has leased a 148,000-square-foot building in Bristol, PA, to serve as a distribution center and assembly operation for its kitchen and bath cabinets manufactured in China. (Posted 9-8-10) 


5. WOOD 100: Plant Expansions A
Building or buying capacity: Manufacturing consolidation, relocation and expansion is driven by reductions in workforce, initiatives to consolidate operations to improve workflow and productivity, or moving to sites to lower-cost labor or nearer raw materials or markets. Despite, or because of, the downturn, the reformation of plants continued apace the last 18 months.  (Posted 9-15-10)
 
6. Video: A Chair Fit for an iPadder
Elite Home Theater Seating joins the iPad revolution with its new iPad Chair. (Posted 9-13-10)

7. WOOD 100: Quality Control
Measure twice, cut once: Quality control is critical to mass production as well as custom applications. Woodworking firms must meet specs for demanding clients — and always get it right. (Posted 9-15-10) 

8. Wood Makes Playhouses More Real
Home builders' elaborate and fun playhouse designs benefit the homeless. (Posted 9-2-10)  



9. Video: Careful with that Ax, Eugene
Australian axemen take their swings at jarrah logs. (Posted 9-7-10) 


10. Corporate memo bears bad news for Mill's Pride employees 
WAVERLY, OH -- Negotiations between Masco Corp. and an unnamed potential buyer of the Mill's Pride cabinetry operations have reportedly broken off. (Posted 9-25-10) 


THE NEXT TOP 5

11. Foliot to open plant in Las Vegas (Posted 9-14-10)

12. WOOD 100: Business Strategies A (Posted 9-14-10)

13. WOOD 100: Sustainable Operations A (Posted 9-15-10) 

14. OSHA fines Phenix Lumber in fatal forklift accident (Posted 9-5-10)

15. WOOD 100: Sustainable Operations B (Posted 9-15-10)

The I'm a Woodworker Sideboard features design pencil traces, saw marks and other characteristics of a piece of custom furniture in process. Below is Clab4design's Rubik Cube furniture.