Dado Bench

We intended to build a bench that would preserve the massive characteristics of the original timbers while producing something tectonically elegant. Using simple methods of wood joinery, compound dado cuts were made in each component, allowing each plank of the bench to affix to another. Hopefully this created an inherently strong structure (though, glue and screws help). The bench was designed with Rhino, a 3d modeling software. Using a boolean difference operation, which subtracts overlapping volumes, the individual pieces and the location of the dado cuts could be accurately modeled.

Here are the first schematic designs:



What resulted was a combination of each scheme. Prior to construction I made a sheet that details the assembly:




And the final product: