#HTE

Tools & Craft #8: Rapidly Deployable Lifestyles, Built With Your Own Hands

Those of you that went to ID school learned to make things with your hands. For those of you that didn’t, or for those of you that did and miss having access to a full shop, this post is about simple furniture that can be easily built—even if you only have very basic tools.

Remember that the path to craft is multifaceted, as is the satisfaction of making something useful with your own hands. Don’t let a lack of equipment or instruction stop you, and don’t be intimidated by what you see master craftspeople doing. While you can have loads of fun and satisfaction learning fine woodworking, it’s also gratifying to make utilitarian stuff quickly and easily.

Summertime provides a great excuse for this latter bit. Here’s why.

Every year thousands of people, including some friends of mine, go off to Burning Man in the Nevada desert. They come every year, build a city, enjoy the event, and then take the city apart, leaving no trace. Before they depart, tons of furniture will have been quickly built using plans from an organization called Playatech.

Playatech’s motto is “Better living through art” and their catchphrase is “Rapidly deployable lifestyles.” To those ends, the company sells plans (ranging from free, to $5, to $10, to $35 for their most elaborate) for simple knockdown furniture that you cut out of plywood and slot together with no fasteners; it’s “a complete line of DIY period furniture for the 21st Century maker,” in their words. 

Here’s a link to some of their chairs. They’re easy to build, clever, modern-looking, and while they may not be as elegant as a Windsor chair—which was designed for mass production using hand tools—they beat the pants off of sitting on the floor.

These are all great summer projects where you can quickly get something made for yourself, your kids, gifts for your friends, your summer bungalow (if you have one, I don’t), or as a flatpack project you can easily transport to the beach or a cookout. And painting them can be a fun outdoor project. So go ahead. Make some stuff and have fun!