Expandable Wooden Geared Table Modeled on Dutch Windmills
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Photo By Vincent Hartman

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I have had always had a fascination for old wood connections, especially the connections in old Dutch windmills.

Often I hear people of a certain generation say, “Back in the day, all furniture used to be better, you bought it for the life after you got married."

At the present time you can find much furniture manufactured in bulk, furniture that is perfected in terms of price and quality due to modern manufacturing processes.

This furniture is designed and produced to go along with current style period, and then to be replaced. In my opinion, this furniture lacks in inspiration, and it has little story to tell.

Reflecting on this, I wondered whether people of previous generations might say about whether anything can be achieved in the present time like those items that used to be better. Can furniture with a sense of quality, solidity and an emotional value be created, but all of this including a modern twist?

 I think it’s really amazing how something can be automated using traditional techniques. Wooden gears with a bridging technique and pin and hole connections are just a few highlights of what you can find in these mills.

These techniques fascinate me so much that I wanted to use it in my brand new design. With this concept I have designed a table named “craft 2.0”.

In the design I had two rules of thumb. I wanted to use only one material and no modern techniques like for example screws. The table of 230 – 270 cm is made of oak and is only to put together by old style joinery. To slide out the table I have used gears and tooth hills. These gears are to operate by some kind of a ratchet, made from oak wood. And finally, the table looks really very cool!

Photography by: Vincent Hartman.

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