Cottage Woodworkers uses Delcam's ArtCAM to design fruity furniture

Using Delcam’s ArtCAM artistic CADCAM software has enabled Stephen Mosher, owner of Cottage Woodworkers in Nova Scotia, Canada, to create more complex shapes for his unique furniture, including a new range inspired by the shapes of fruits and plants. In addition, the time saved by using the software has allowed him to spend more time on developing new designs.

For the past 28 years, Mr. Mosher has been knee-deep in sawdust: turning pencil sketches and pieces of maple, cherry and walnut wood into dining-room tables, wardrobes and beds. His woodworking career began using his grandfather’s tools at the family’s country home in Pictou County, where he crafted small items such as candlesticks and wooden bread bins. Over time, he received more and more requests for larger pieces such as hutches, beds and mirror frames, which encouraged him to expand and move to larger premises.

With a larger work space and an increase in demand, Mr. Mosher started to invest more in technology. He required a CNC machine that would be capable of anything that he could imagine but, just as important, he says, "software that could do anything too”. With a machine already in mind, he set out looking for a suitable software solution. "I knew from looking at the 3D carving on the ArtCAM website that this software was what I needed,” he remembered. "There is no point in spending tens of thousands of dollars on a machine if you can’t make it do what you want it to.”

"ArtCAM gives me great flexibility,” he stated. "Even for relatively simple things, ArtCAM leaves open different ways of doing the same thing. Where it really makes a difference is in the more complex projects. Many of the pieces I do with ArtCAM just couldn’t be done at all without it.”

Mr. Mosher’s work now includes a mix of traditional styles and unique artisan pieces that have been designed to be handed down from generation to generation. Prime examples of his more creative projects are his recent furniture posts, which were inspired by the shapes of fruits and plants.

"For these designs, I do a lot of lathe work,” he explained. "With the indexing head on my CNC and the rotary post-processor in ArtCAM, my turned work has gone places I could only dream of before.”