TURNING TABLES
Carpenter Allan Lutge has refined the craft of transforming salvaged wood into handsome furniture
You would assume that the most challenging part of furniture making is the measuring, joining, turning and tapering. But for gallery owner, designer and maker allan Lutge, the real test comes before the execution, in the sourcing and selecting of wood – finding the right hue, the ideal grain to give an idea substance.
It’s the organic character of timber that first drew allan to the field. he has, for decades, worked predominantly with reclaimed oregon pine, yellowwood and teak rescued from century-old factories, warehouses, government buildings and railway stations destined for demolition.
his preference for old wood lies in his appreciation for material with soul and a story. ‘I like the fact that it already has a past and I can give it another chance at life,’ he says.
When the old beams and boards arrive stacked in a trailer, allan can often already envision what each piece has the potential to become. although he works closely with clients, he enjoys being given plenty of rope to conceptualise and sketch up designs in his own style, which reflects a shaker-esque tendency towards simplicity and utility, albeit with intriguing distorted proportions. Books and magazines are the artisan’s main source of inspiration, and he admits to carrying a tape measure wherever he goes to size up furniture that triggers ideas.
as a single table or cabinet is often made up of wood from various origins – a ceiling beam here, a bench part there – ensuring all the tones and textures combine in a cohesive way is a complex task. although sometimes, allan stresses, he’s pushed to plan a whole piece around one or two boards that are just too beautiful to divide.
once the timber has been chosen and cleaned, the craftsman and his team assess whether it needs planing and smoothing. allan prefers to leave the original surface intact, complete with its knots, twists and grooves. ‘The age of wood is in the first half of a millimetre,’ he explains. ‘If you put it through a machine and strip off even a fraction, you lose that history.’
Where he can, he uses traditional methods to shape, join and adorn furniture – mouldings are individually cut, inlays are embedded manually, legs are turned with a hand-held lathe and sharp
‘I like the fact that It already has a past and I can give It another chance at life’ Allan Lutge
eye, and table tops are attached using an age-old screwing technique. But to simplify and speed up the process, allan turns to precise german power tools, perfecting cutting and joinery with hardy bandsaws, routers and dovetail jigs.
a unique struggle in carpentry, says allan, is that ‘wood is alive, it moves, and it behaves differently under different conditions’. he has to accommodate this phenomenon by using loose mortise and tenon joints to allow for shift. The reactivity of timber also impacts on how the final piece is finished – typically with water-based varnish and a layer of wax to retain the wood’s natural hue.
allan admits it’s not possible to predict exactly how the completed project will turn out until the last coat has dried, but for a creative mind, that’s the charm of the craft.
His preference for old wood lies in His appreciation for material with soul and a story