HAILEY VS. A 2x4.

In Environmental Design, we were taken down to the wood shop, handed an 18 inch 2x4 and told to create a system. Every piece of the 18 inch piece had to be used, meaning if you cut a piece off, it had to be incorporated in your project as well. Only the sawdust could be thrown away. Those were the only guidelines or discussion about the project we received. In case you have never worked with a piece of wood in your life, let me assure you, there was not much to work with. 

I knew I wanted to create something functional, something that I could use here at my desk in the studio and that I wanted to use dovetails to do it. I figured there was never a better time to practice than now, when I have to do it anyways.

So I came up with this simple "bookshelf" design. A system of two sides, three shelves, two cubby holes, and a drawer at the bottom. And for the record, we were not allowed to use any adhesives or binding agents, meaning no nails. This entire project is held together through the dovetails and a series of wooden wedge pegs.

Below are the photos of the finished project:

Front view.

Side view.

Back view.

Drawer partial view.

Drawer separate view.

The dovetails proved to be just as difficult as I had anticipated, getting the angles just right for the fit was next to impossible. This is definitely a technique that I want to improve on, for when I make larger scale pieces in the future, but overall I'm pleased with how this ended up turning out.