Skip to content

salt and wood

“Re use it or lose it”

Tag Archives: street found

July 5, 2013 ITEM 61: NOW PLAYING LP

1 Found
2 Found
3 Found
4 Sketches
5 Heartwood angle cut
6 Sketches
7 Black orange wax plugs
8 Fine wedge
9 Growth ring angle cut
10 Wedge
11 Plan view
12 Face detail
13 In place
14 In action
15 ITEM 17 behind.

After the surprising success of ‘ITEM 17 Now Playing’ comes ITEM 61 Now Playing LP. Item 17 was a CD case display that turned out to be very handy and commented on with approval by many! I was subsequently on the lookout for an appropriate piece of drift or street wood to do an upscale version for LPs.

 

I came across this wedge of tree trunk, chainsaw cut on the perfect angle with the heart wood core creating a great form across the face (looks a bit like the soccer world cup trophy). The sides were hit with a stiff brush only and the face orange spray coloured then sanded back. Some dry rot was drilled out and wax filled in black and orange. Two holding pegs were doweled into the final varnished face. Much work went into a base stand that in house design control advised against using in the end. Even more so than CDs it is an opportunity to display album cover artwork as a rotating exhibition.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

March 30, 2013 ITEM 33: Newtown Alps

1 The source
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Lengths of street recovered hardwood decking were re purposed into a bathroom window fascia and in the process of mitering the corners I ended up with all the character packed little triangles of various sizes. It was almost impossible not to fiddle with them and keep reconfiguring them into little arrangements and stacks. I shttps://saltandwood.wordpress.com/?p=1230&preview=trueoon realized they were worthy of being there own item. I varnished the face and painted one edge white.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

January 22, 2013 Item 31: DB 11 5

1. Found
2. Restored
3. Original hinges
4. Front before
5 Front after
6. Restored door
7. uncovering the stamp
8. Knocking the joints out
9. Corners
10. Add mounting bracket
11 ITEM 31
12. D B 11 5 Makers stamp
13. Previous 60’s resto work
14. Internal before
15. Internal after
16. Discover HQ EC stamp
17. HQ EC
18. Door joint and 70s paint

This was probably a medicine cabinet complete with spilled iodine stains. Guessing from the craftsman’s stamp found under the paint it was put together in either May 1911 or September 1905? By DB? The other mysterious stamp is the ‘HO EC’ on the left side.

I found this in a back lane in Petersham Covered in layers of old paint and full of a colony of insects including Redback Spiders. After some meticulous stick flicking the cabinet was declared non-deadly and mounted on the back of my motorbike with a couple of ocky straps.

Just to be clear this was a rescue mission rather than a sculptural re purposing of accumulated components, as would generally be the intent of the item projects. And thus the character of the piece is more akin to its original intent and crafting some 100+ years ago!

Basically I was able to knock many of the joints apart and give it all a sanding. It still had what are probably the original hinges and screws though the door handle and latch were long gone with the housing rebate the only clue. The inside face of the side walls have multiple shelf slots but only two shelves leading me to guess this is a mass produced component to suit different uses.

The back panel was badly cracked and thus replaced. Where the wood was badly stained for various reasons I spray painted white and set up a contrast with the natural timber grain components. The whole unit seems to be a combination of pine and some sort of White Cedar? I put together an additional component that was fitted into the top rear to stabilize the whole structure and provide a secure mounting area to wall hang the unit. A little extra half shelf was incorporated into this. The white knob was some random street find.

Tags: , , , , ,

July 26, 2012 Item 25: LD2

1 Before (right) 2
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

Long drawer was the first item posted on this blog. It had a brother piece that was found with it and has now finally been converted into a companion CD shelf. Unlike Long Drawer one that was shelved with sides from other drawers, this one is shelved with restored driftwood boards and has a white painted internal surface rather than the paper lining.  

Tags: , , , , ,

July 26, 2012 ITEM 26: Ratio 3 to 1

1 Before
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
14
15
16
17 After

This 4 drawer modern beauty on legs was discovered on the streets of Surry Hills in May 2012. A Circa 1965 piece? It was complete with all drawers and these stunning concave copper handles. Except, frustratingly ‘1’ of them. Even the screw was still in place. So as you can see the 4th or bottom handle is a ring in from another street find. The handles and chrome socks were removed and the entire unit was cut back to timber. Then the sides and front were given a fresh coat of gloss white. With the legs, drawer faces and top of the unit retained as exposed timber and varnished. The drawer internals were spray painted bright orange and the fittings all cleaned and reattached.

Tags: , , ,

March 4, 2012 Item 21: Crest

I don’t know what sort of timber this is or where it came from. But it looks like it is just a by-product of some chain saw clearing somewhere in the world. It looks like it had been in the sea for some time. I set it to dry on our front porch and with each week a few more little bits of shells fell out of the cracks as it dried and shrank. I finally drilled the side of it and fitted a piece of street found dowel as a ring holder on what was to become a soap bottle stand for the bathroom. I fitted a small dowel foot to the base to both level the top and minimize the amount of base in contact with wet bench. I left all the sides as they were found and intensely sanded and varnished the top to create a great contrast. My wife questions the practicality of this item but I am quietly pleased with its sculptural nature and the mystery of the origins of this piece of tree.  

Tags: , , , , , ,