The All-ply table design is about efficiency in materials and production. Of course it is made from our favourite plantation hoop pine – a native pine grown in Queensland. It has an ‘E0′ rating, this being the lowest formaldehyde emission; E0 is a measure of less than 0.5mg/L, lower than the current Australian standard E1. This means healthier indoor air in the spaces where our ply products live.
Ply is efficient in converting a log into boards – thin layers are pealed off a spinning log like a giant pencil sharpener and these layers are then glued and pressed together (laminated) to form a strong stable sheet material.
Our All-ply table design produces minimal waste when cut out – the 1800 x 800mm table with no drawers comes from one sheet of ply (2400 x 1200mm). All the rails and legs are rectilinear so there are not many off-cuts. This design is scalable – we’ve done 3000 x 900mm top tables, the base design works well at 2400 x 900mm which means no joins in the top; this seats 10 people easily if used for a dining table. usethings likes to support this kind of gathering.
All the edges are exposed – even on the leg join. We like the look of ply and use Multiply, a furniture grade panel with minimal voids and even layers. Ply is such a great material – why hide it?
Production is with standard machines enabling us to make the table simply and locally using available technology. Ply itself is easily obtainable. We like to design without exotic materials and technology.
The legs are formed by joining ply in an ‘L’ section. One of the issues this addresses is the difficulty in getting big dimensioned, seasoned timber for table legs. The ‘L’ section leg forms a strong and light column to support the table and also enables a strong connection to the top and rails. The leg assembly features a unique detail you’ll have to come into the store to appreciate. We use a small piece of hardwood on the foot of the leg so the ply is not damaged if the table is dragged.
Keeping in the spirit of lamination the table is designed to glue together, this is supported by screws internally that aid assembly and give a physical aspect to the joins, although the glue is stronger than the wood. This simple assembly and production keeps our All-ply table affordable.
We love linoleum – a proven renewable material made from linseed oil, pine resin, and wood dust… the old fashioned stuff. The furniture linoleum we use comes in 20 colours though the gutsy ‘salsa’ colour is very popular and works well with the hoop pine colour. We use a wax finish that doesn’t yellow the ply for the exposed parts or a bare ply top.
We are about to prototype an All-ply table with an ironbark veneer on the top – given we live in ironbark country, and it will form a tough top surface.
The optional drawers replace one side rail and enable two big storage drawers hidden away. We use top grade ball bearing, self closing runners on the drawers. How you physically interact with a piece of furniture is important to us – in design it’s not just the look.
