yoonki lee shapes raw chair by gluing branches with liquid epoxy

yoonki lee shapes raw chair by gluing branches with liquid epoxy
(above) the chair was motivated by the abandoned branches the designer found
all images courtesy of yoonki lee

seoul-based yoonki lee is currently a sophomore at hongik university, majoring in woodworking and furniture design. for a small chair-making project he has designed the ‘raw chair’, a seating object made of tree branches sticked together with liquid epoxy. the idea came to the designer as he encountered abandoned boughs. the method for forming the shape was simply cutting branches into a specific length and heaping them up. in order to create a strong structure, a liquid form of adhesion material was required in order for it to permeate along the branches and hold them. liquid epoxy was the perfect solution suitable for this function.

the founded wooden branches were cut into a specific length 

by doing several experiments, yoonki lee saw how the epoxy forms a drop at the bottom when poured on a still object due to gravity. because the purpose of the work was to fairly spread epoxy on the erratic surfaces, the gravity effect on the chair needed to be cancelled. therefore the solution was to keep the chair spinning. a strong wooden pole was placed in the center of the chair and then fixed to a motor, allowing the chair to whirl. the result is a glossy chair, with a strong structure made of branches.

the video shows the complete process of making the chair
video courtesy of yoonki lee

after being cut, the wooden sticks were casted into the desired shape

liquid epoxy was poured to the branches to glue them together

the structure was placed on a spinning motor that whirl it so the glue would be fairly spread 

by rotating the chair, the glue was able to reach spaces left by the uneven surfaces of the branches

once the epoxy has dried, the frame was removed, revealing the chair

the pole used to rotate the chair is finally cut into the length of branches, becoming one of them

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: juliana neira | designboom