Who's the king of wood?

Worthless and cracked logs may not be the material of choice for carpenters, but these disused tree trunks are the best experimental material in the eyes of a creative breed of artists called “artist carpenters”. These professionals create excellent furniture masterpieces using such discarded chunky pieces of wood.
“Good wood shouldn’t go to the hearth as charcoal,” master artist carpenter Saiyart Sema-Ngern says while leading a carpentry workshop as part of a competition organised by TOA Paint Thailand.
It’s possible to revive dilapidated logs and turn them into nice pieces of furniture. That’s what young carpenter artists were doing in the Chiang Mai section of the ongoing nationwide “TOA the King of Wood” competition. Teams of contestants were required to create various kinds of knockdown furniture using disused logs – no nails or glue.
The competition has drawn contestants from the North, Northeast, East, Central region and the South.
Winning teams representing these regions are coming together for a showdown in the final round that takes place on October 24 in Bangkok. Up for grabs are prizes worth up to Bt1 million. Contestants include both students and professional carpenters.
 The contestants must create furniture masterpieces that can be assembled without the use of nails and screws. But they are required to use different kinds of mortise and tenon joints.
TOA executive vice president Pongcherd Chamikornkul says the contest aims to promote folk carpentry wisdom in the art of nail-less furniture making, which is part of traditional carpentry that needs to be preserved. The question is whether the contestants can outperform traditional carpenters by mastering this ancient technique.
“The use of mortise and tenon joints is not so popular these days, but the technique has been used for ages,” he says. “It looks like the prizes will go to students. They are quite talented and skilled carpenters.”
In the Chiang Mai contest, teams were asked to create a chair based on the model called “Simple Life” which was designed by Silpakorn University student Suparat Taweekoonsap. They had 16 hours to finish the job.
The winning team included Narongsuk Kaenanun, Prasert Soemruk and Choowong Booncherd of the Bang Sai Arts and Crafts Centre.
“They have not just the award, but the satisfaction that they can share their traditional carpentry technique with other contestants too,” says Saiyart.

 FINAL ROUND
 The final round is scheduled for October 24 and sees the winning teams from each region competing for the prestigious award in Bangkok.

 Find out more at www.ToaGroup.com/ TOATheKingofWood