Core77

As the Wood Turns: Watch Soren Berger Make a Wooden Lampshade

By Ray Hu - January 30, 2012

in Video

File under the time-worn craft category: New Zealand-based woodturner Sören Berger knows his way around a lathe, and—inasmuch as his son Rikki knows his way around a camera—he's pleased to offer "a small glimpse into making one of my [lamp] shades."

It's cool to see the shavings stream from the bit like tickertape, but it seems like an awful lot of scrap for want of a hollow cylinder, beautiful though it may be...

As for Berger's story? For starters, he's spent just under three and a half decades in the business and, as a proponent of the ancient art, he's embraced modern tools and technologies that facilitate the craft.

Per Berger's website:Modern woodturning has some new materials and technologies which make the processes quicker and more pleasant. But when it comes to the way to get the best results from our tools and raw material then there are very few skills and disciplines that have not already been developed by the masters of many cultures hundreds of years ago.

My interest over the last eight years has been focused on teaching wood turners to understand in detail the actual turning process. This develops the ability to make sensitive and beautiful objects.

I have over many years had a fascination with the simplicity with which the Japanese woodturners work, they do with out many of the rather tight rigid tools and processes. On my first trip to the USA in 1993, I came in contact with John Fox who introduced me to the gentle ways of Japanese woodturning. They use free moving tool rests sliding on a flat table rather than a restrictive fixed bed, this freedom of movement can teach us new skills. The simplicity of both the way they work and the things they make, have had a strong influence on my work and teaching.

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Natalie Roberts

11 years ago

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I'm a biology major concentrating in botany and ecology and honestly this is really not a big deal. First of all, sure veneer could get the same effect, but the craftmanship and work behind each of these is fantastic, plus I'm sure the chips and scraps get used, AND honestly of all the things we are using up and running out of, tree's are not one of them, despite what people may thing. So relax. We have plenty of trees, and we need more people willing to craft beautiful unique pieces such as this. Plus again, I read on his video he uses all of the waste for various uses. So relax. RELAX. And think before you judge people, he never says it goes to waste, you all just assumed.
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DDDJ

11 years ago

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While the craft is amazing, wood turning for a product like a lampshade is incredibly wasteful. As a furniture maker wood and the trees they come from have a sacred place. It's much like the incredibly wasteful mass manufacturing process involved in making a single toothpick.

For lampshades you can achieve the same effect using veneers made from planks instead hollowing out a whole stump.

Carpenters like the Shakers or Japanese woodworkers would never waste so much, it's not a tree hugger thing, it's an appreciation of that which you make your livelihood from.
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powers

11 years ago

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Yet 0 comments on the FOXCONN article. lol.
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powers

11 years ago

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Wow, you really got the tree huggers fired up there, didn't you!
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Ryan Alden

11 years ago

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I would have expected Core 77 to take a little more of a stance on this than just "It's cool to see the shavings stream from the bit like tickertape, but it seems like an awful lot of scrap for want of a hollow cylinder, beautiful though it may be..."

Are you kidding me? This is a GROSS misuse of material and a horrible production method. "beautiful though it may be". It's ugly, and not just because it's wasteful.

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Ken J

11 years ago

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You don't have to cut down a tree to get that timber. Come to my neighborhood in Connecticut. We still have plenty of fallen old timber from the freak October snow storm. Besides, this is a limited run product. You're not going to see this at Walmart. I don't think much needs to be fretted about conservation here.
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Ray Jepson

11 years ago

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Holy material waste Batman! Why don't you just post about arsonists setting fire to forests...wow!
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Sonrisa

11 years ago

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It is a beautiful and precious talent that turns those by hand. And for those worried about the waste.... the neighbors far and wide love the free wood shavings for mulching and chicken coops, so not really wasted. Also most of the timbre is taken from trees that were being cleared locally for various reasons and most would have just been turned into firewood, so its nice to have some art out of it too.
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Velganesh Subramanian

11 years ago

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It is beautiful but I am concerned about the amount of wood that is wasted in this process. The wood that is turned in the video should be not less than 1.5 ft in diameter - the tree would be at least a decade old. If only 10 lampshades can be made from a 10 ft tall bark, I would say that this is waste of precious natural resource.

I have seen bamboo strips being pasted together to yield a similar result. Bamboo grows very fast but why cut a tree.
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ignacio

11 years ago

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I really like the final product. However, wouldn't using bent veneer get the same effect? Only wasting less effort and materials of course.
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Jon Foss

11 years ago

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I found this article very interesting because of how original the design was of the lampshade. In todays society design has become more and more about new technology. However in this case Berger uses technology such as new tools to help him create things that are already part of earth. I also like the design because someone took the time to make something with their hands and you don't see that often anymore.
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Noah B

11 years ago

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I love the way the unit's strength is based on the ring structure of the log's grain. No way this work work as well with a standard piece of timber.

I am worried about how the ring would fair in the long term. I have a great table, but it wasn't kiln dried, and it develops new cracks every winter. That log looks pretty green, and now it's being exposed to the heat of a light bulb. I wonder how many are lost to checking...

As far as wood waste goes, I am reminded of this classic Simpsons moment...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pkHmVGjpvc&feature=player_detailpage#t=9s

Also, kudos on the video pace while leaving the sound intact.

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troy

11 years ago

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this entire process is very interesting. most would not chose too use a laid to make a lamp shade because of the incredible amount of wasted material.it is not very easy to use a laid with such a big piece of wood. the process seems long and tedious.despite all of these flaws the finished product is amazing. it will leave most people wondering how the maker hid the seem when really there is no seem.
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Stephan

11 years ago

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What a waste. A veneer peeling lathe would have probably made 10 lampshades out of that same piece of wood.

Yeah there would be a seam. But I'd rather have 10 lampshades with a small seam than one seamless lampshade. Maybe that's just me.
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troy

11 years ago

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i appreciate this video very much because of the difficult process. in order to get the wood that thin you have to be willing to waste alot of material. when using a laid it is usually easier to to use smaller peices of wood for balancing issues, how ever you seemed to have little trouble keeping a huge peice of tree balanced. the final product is spectacular, people will wonder how there is no seem thinking you took a thin sheet bent and glued it.
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