←
All articles
A walk through our Kathmandu workshop, from the timber yard to the finishing room.
✦
Most of our clients never see our workshop. They see the finished piece arrive at their home, wrapped in padded blankets, and carried through the door by a team of two. But between the first site visit and that final delivery, a great deal happens in a low-ceilinged room on the outskirts of Kathmandu.
From plank to piece: a rough guide
- Timber selection: We buy kiln-dried timber in batches, checking moisture content with a meter before anything is cut. Timber that reads above 12% humidity goes back on the rack to dry further.
- Rough milling: Planks are dimensioned on a thicknesser and jointed flat. This is where we find any hidden defects, a knot in the wrong place, a bow that won't come out.
- Joinery cutting: Mortise and tenons, dovetails, and biscuit joints are cut by machine and finished by hand. Joints are test-assembled dry before any glue is mixed.
- Glue-up: The most anxious moment in any build. Clamps are laid out beforehand, glue is applied quickly, and the piece is assembled, squared, and left overnight.
- Sanding and finishing: We sand through five grits, from 80 to 320, before applying the first coat of oil or lacquer. Three coats minimum, with a light sand between each.
The whole process for a dining table takes around ten working days. A full wardrobe, two to three weeks. We think that is the right pace, fast enough to be practical, slow enough to do it properly.
✦