I
greatly admired the late Western
Australian craftsman Greg Collins.
He was internationally renowned
and received many awards for his
innovative and artistic woodwork^1.When I visited him in his Margaret
River workshop he kindly shared
with me techniques used to make his
beautiful and finely detailed furniture
and objects. I was so inspired that I then
planned to make a table influenced by
him and his body of work.Later on, after discussing my idea with
him, Greg offered me several flitches
of figured bird’s eye Huon pine from
his personal collection together with
some ebony for my table and otherprojects (photo 1). That was just
before I moved to New Zealand. After
eight years and staying in contact
with Greg, I built up enough courage
and skills to make the table using his
veneers in my new workshop.I decided to make a coffee table,
the central focus of a living area and
home, conversation and relaxation.
This would be my first veneering
project using Greg’s enthusiastic
advice. Sadly Greg passed away after
I started, making it all the more
important for me to aspire to his high
standards and for the table to serve
as a reminder of our friendship. I was
very conscious of him looking over my
shoulder during this project.In keeping with Greg’s style, a fine
ebony inlay borders the Huon pine
veneers and both are framed by a
solid Huon pine mitred edge. The
Huon pine is of a bright golden
appearance and the top has the
proportions of the golden ratio.The veneers were laid onto a
marine ply torsion box, which Greg
suggested. This provides a stable
and rigid platform which floats
over an almost black frame. The
top is supported only at the corners
by wenge legs held in position
by a slatted wenge bookshelf
underneath. The wenge doesn’t
challenge the Huon in any way.
Greg often used exotics.56 Australian Wood Review
PROJECT1