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Shaper news
Empowering Collaboration: Shaper x Festool x Rubio Build-Off 2024
At Shaper Tools, we love events that allow us to not only collaborate with talented woodworkers, but also give back to the community. Hosted by Festool in partnership with Rubio Monocoat and Shaper, the Festool Build-Off brought together talented woodworkers and creators to build for a cause.
The Festool Build-Off brought together woodworkers to create custom pieces with company tools for a good cause. The challenge? To craft these pieces in just 15 hours across two days.
The participants included Raina Tayson, Clara Kim, Drew Witt, Jevon Cheney, Michael Alm, Brandon Smith, Sam Raimondi, Tyler Shaheen, Logan Newman, Josh Hescott, Matt Weber, and Ben Crawford.
One team crafted a unique 36-inch round table from spalted maple, with live edges and walnut stitching, resting on a walnut base. They combined two live edge slabs, preserving their natural edges in certain areas, and allowing a balance between open and negative space.
Origin came into play to create templates for both the legs and circular tabletop, as well as the walnut inlay - allowing the team to put the table together and add finishing touches with ease.
While the round table was being crafted, the other team worked on a beautiful sitting bench inspired by George Nakashima's iconic conoid benches. Drawing inspiration from his work, they repurposed the front edge of the slab to craft the back and armrest. Using Origin, they tenoned the cherry spindles, shaping them further with drawknives and spokeshaves.
Throughout the piece, they incorporated contrasting cherry and maple elements, with walnut wedges securing the tenons into the slab. Despite the tense glue-up process, teamwork prevailed, pleasantly bringing all the components together. Each team member engraved their signature on the bottom of the bench using Trace and Origin.
Proceeds from an auction of these furniture pieces benefit the Deeply Ingrained Wood organization, founded by Dave Haughs. This non-profit focuses on introducing woodworking to underprivileged children, offering them a creative outlet and valuable skills in the process. It's a cause close to the hearts of many in the woodworking community, and the Build-Off provided a platform to contribute meaningfully.
Overall, the Festool Build-Off 2024 was a celebration of craftsmanship, creativity, and compassion - and Shaper was so happy to be a part of it. The auction can be found at https://givebutter.com/c/build-off
