Lattice Bench
The brief for this project was to create a two person bench that incorporated both thick and thin pieces of wood. I experimented with several different patterns and methods of joining thin wooden slats before coming up with the design. The seating surface is made of 1/8 in thick White Oak slats which have been joined to create a lattice structure that is both rigid and visually striking.
Photo: Scott Smith
Early Prototypes
I began the design process by experimenting with different grid patterns and ways of joining thin wooden slats. I stumbled upon a method for creating a square grid out of the slats by half lapping them and pressing them together. I decided to laser cut some small test strips so that I could experiment with different arrangements and create interesting patterns. Ultimately I decided to go with a simple symmetric design.
Construction
Cutting and gluing the thin slates of Oak proved to be very challenging and required a number of clever solutions and setups. In order to prevent the slates from splintering when they came in contact with the table saw I had to attach thin sheets of MDF to both sides of the lattice using double stick tape. Keeping the small wooden triangles in place while gluing was also difficult until I discovered I could use rubber bands to secure them.
