Wharton Esherick Music Stand Completed

[cyclopentadiene]

I completed my latest project. This is an interpretation of the Wharton Esherick music stand made from cherry. The dimensions are identical to the original located in the NY Met museum http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/481986 I was not able to locate any plans for the project. Our draftsman at work took photos from the NY met site and scaled these to determine key measurements and I used a piece of MDF to draw out the pieces, make patterns and assembled from the measurements.

I modified some of the features compared to the original made by Esherick in 1962. The lower shelf is elevated by 1/2 inch from the supports and the rails are shaped in a Sam Maloof style as opposed to fitted with through tenons. I also modified the shelf somewhat to capture the overall curve of the top by using a single piece of 8/4 stock as opposed to 4/4 stock. I also did not fit the curved cross members in the same manner as Esherick.

This was the most difficult piece I have ever built as all of the pieces are compound angles on curved pieces. We have no musicians in the family but my wife intends to use the piece as an art stand.

The piece is made of cherry that was fumed with ammonia followed by a Waterlox satin finish.

 

[Mark Gottesman]

Impressive piece of work. Nicely executed. Thanks for posting.

 

[Danny Batchelor]

Beautiful workmanship. You are probably awakening at night with curving pieces of wood not mating properly in your dreams. How many hours do you have in this piece? Absolutely gorgeous!

 

[BeachBoy]

Love the graceful curves. That is a showpiece if I ever saw one.

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Beautiful piece Jeff. Your work continues to inspire me.

 

[nn4jw]

Just gorgeous. Well done!

 

[Hmerkle]

VERY nice Jeff!
GREAT design, Awesome execution!

Are there any versions where the legs "flow" into the angled bars in the music holder?
Just thinking of a variation on your theme...

 

[cyclopentadiene]

If I take away the design phase, I have about 25 hours involved in the build. I cut a set of legs from Lowes SYP and worked out the angles for the legs and a msg solidified for the upper portion. This took a while to work out the angles, curves and the most difficult piece to set the line between the top portion and the front legs in order to have a straight line. This was one of the key design factors of the original Esherick design.

I have been upgrading specific tools to Festool which helps. All of the construction uses dominos so the angles etc were not so difficult. I just finished 6 Maloof chairs so my hands are toughened up so the Shinto work shaping the legs went fast. I have also improved with my spokeshave which helps in shaping the flat curved faces. The recent post regarding a compass plane sparked my interest as I have been looking for one as the new higher quality ones are really expensive. In addition, the Festool rotex 3 1/2 inch sander is a lifesaver for sanding rounded shapes with 120 grit directly from a rasp. I have more time in the finish than anything, 6 coats of Waterlox satin sanding progressively between coats 4,5 and 6 with 800 grit, 1000 grit and 6000 grit.

There is one other esherick item that I want to build, the spiral library stairs. I have it on a to try list at some point as it has exposed dovetails, a shaped center pole and the entire piece is round. It looks difficult therefore a fun challenge. I have a couple of requests from my kids that will take most of the fall to complete.

 

[cyclopentadiene]

I have only seen a couple of builds of the original Esherick design posted anywhere on line. Each of these are nearly identical to the original design with conventional mortise and tenon joiner and round through tennon on the bottom shelf supports.

if you do a google images search for music stands, there are several with more flow etc. that fall more in the modern (funky 70's for the lack of a better description) look as opposed to a post modern Danish style which for some reason really appeals to my taste. These modern type music stands look neat as many use steam bent or bent lamination techniques. This have a steam box but have not used it. I have on my short list to build either a Maloof inspired cradle or if I have the nerve, a Scott Morrison style cradle. Both require steam bending.these look like very complex beasts so I am still refining my skills before attempting.

 

[CrealBilly]

very nice... I do hope that one day you or someone in your family will put it to good use.

 

[Flute Maker]

Very nice piece.Love the curves and lines of this piece.!!!!!!!

 

[Bob Carreiro]

nice work

 

[redknife]

It is interesting to compare yours to the original. I really like the overlay of the Maloof styling on the original design. I would love to make something like this one day.
Are the legs made from a single piece of stock? I was trying to figure out if those curves could be contained within a piece of 8/4 or 12/4. I assume you used the bandsaw in at least one if not two planes to fashion the curved legs. Any comments on this part of the build?

 

[cyclopentadiene]

Response to question by Redknife.

The legs were made from a piece of 8/4 x 6" x 36" stock. I cut the angles and completed all joinery on square stock before cutting any curves. The center music shelf was also a piece of 8/4 stock which was beveled at a 10 degree angle and the Festool domino slots were cut in the bottom. I then cut the curves on each piece on the bandsaw and refined the shapes with a spokeshave (still square). The taper on the legs was cut after the curves and made straight using a spokeshave. Theoretically these two steps could be done in the reverse order, that is just the order I usually proceed with first. The rounded back side was completed with rasps and sanded. The top portion was all made from 4/4 stock. The taper on the legs was cut after the curves and made straight using a spokeshave. The process is very similar to making a cabriole leg on the bandsaw. The key if adding a Maloof influence is to leave the material square at the joinery.

It is not evident from the photos but the arched pieces in the middle of this section only about 3/8 thick in order that they fit into the vertical supports but the vertical supports are still rounded (I did not provide a photo from the back). The angles on this piece were extremely difficult to determine and I essentially made it up as I went (my model was not perfect so this one was my model). Every piece has a curve even down to the front shelf support. It does not show in the photo but this piece is bowed inward with the same radius on the shelf as well.

Although the final product looks really simple, it was much more difficult than a chair. I am building skills and confidence to build more complex projects. This was just a step in the process. The ultimate goal is:

or

 

[chris_goris]

As always, great work Jeff!