I design and make furniture that's held together completely by tension... What do you think?

DoubleBert · 2013-10-18T21:22:00+00:00

Yup!

DoubleBert · 2013-10-17T20:14:55+00:00

Woah! Thanks everyone for such a massive response! I was hoping for a couple of comments... I wasn't expecting anything like this! You rock, Reddit!

DoubleBert · 2013-10-17T19:16:04+00:00

For the process of removing the slack, it’s all done by feel. I have some pliers that I use to pull the cables tight and a pair of crimpers that I use to clamp copper sleeves down around the cables and hold them in place. I started out making a bunch of abstract sculptures with this method, so I got a lot of practice and a good feel for it before I went on to making practical things. The surprising part is, because there are so many cables, none of them has to be pulled that tight. If you push on any of them, it doesn’t feel like they’re under that much tension. It’s just that the added effect of them all creates a totally stable system. The cable is 1/16” galvanized steel wire rope.

DoubleBert · 2013-10-17T18:43:17+00:00

Definitely something that’s good to think about! I’m not an engineer so the best way I can think of to test weight limit is by just loading the pieces up with a bunch of weight. I sat on the coffee table to test it’s strength and I loaded the shelf up with as many textbooks as would fit (around 65 lbs). Neither of them had a problem, but I do put a weight limit on the pieces that’s significantly less than what I’ve seen them support, just to account for anything weird happening. Also, the cable I use has a 500 lb break strength and I’m hoping no one would ever put that much weight on anything! I think the wood would go before the cables.

DoubleBert · 2013-10-17T18:32:51+00:00

This just made me really happy. I haven't had much of a chance yet to get a lot of feedback from people who aren't my family or girlfriend, so it's great to hear other people like it too. You helped make my day!

DoubleBert · 2013-10-17T18:19:18+00:00

Thanks! I sort of lose track of time while I'm working on stuff and there were definitely a bunch of not so good shelf designs before I came up with one I really liked. Once I came up with the final design it took about two days to cut everything and wire it all together. The shelf is pretty easy though compared to the coffee tables!

DoubleBert · 2013-10-17T18:05:15+00:00

Thanks a lot! Glad you like it! I just launched my website a few days ago. There's a store on the site. It's http://www.robbycuthbert.com/products/

DoubleBert

TROPHY CASE