Carpentry details that complete the whole

The details make the whole. And it's the details that make the difference between good and excellent. Norrgavel's furniture is crafted with classic craftsmanship techniques, using pure natural materials. The passion for sustainable craftsmanship is a constantly present driving force - our carpenters turn, chamfer, cut, chisel, dovetail, groove, and refine every carpentry detail to perfection. All to create perfected masterpieces that endure for generations.

Norrgavel's way of making furniture is rooted in a belief in striving for the very best. Complete feeling and sustainability! The furniture really withstands scrutiny, and sometimes, for example, the underside of a Norrgavel table can make the carpenter burst into song. Take a closer look and discover the details that make the whole. Enjoy passionate craftsmanship that truly endures - both over time and from an environmental perspective.

Have you noticed that Norrgavel's furniture, as far as we find it justifiable, is made without metal fittings? That's why you hardly see any flat packs with us. By choosing gluing instead of metal fittings, we maintain the quality of the wood material, and only the wood is present in the product - instead of the industrial and mass-produced feel that metal fittings provide. The absence of metal fittings also means that you as a customer do not need to do all or parts of the assembly work yourself. At Norrgavel, we want a chair to be just a chair. That is, ONE product. With metal fittings, harmony is not achieved, but the furniture gets several different components that are assembled. Solid wood that is glued gives a completely different feeling, and it is precisely that feeling that we value so highly. Moreover, you get a very strong composition with glue and wood - incomparably high quality. Furniture that lasts a long time and is made to be renovated if needed.

What distinguishes Norrgavel's carpentry then? There are different types of high-quality carpentry with varying approaches. Norrgavel's founder and designer, Nirvan Richter, has always strived for an unadorned approach to furniture. Similar to the relaxed yet meticulous approach that the Danish middle class has long had towards design furniture. Norrgavel does not excel in carpentry details, but they are always there for the best durability and function. Our furniture is not made to stand out but rather to blend in with the context. The techniques that Norrgavel applies have been used in carpentry for many years, and we are proud to preserve these traditional carpentry constructions where each composition has its precise function and adds decoration to the furniture, letting wood be wood - that is, alive.

We have developed a display board featuring carpentry details from our various furniture pieces (currently available to view in the Stockholm store). Here, you can easily and educationally see and learn more about the craftsmanship carpentry constructions that we are so proud of. The display board is intended as a tool to provide a more comprehensive and clear picture of the fantastic quality you get when investing in a Norrgavel furniture piece. Each carpentry detail is briefly described in the text below (each detail has a number).

1. Concealed mortise and tenon joint with visible end grain, straight

A furniture detail with a descriptive name. A common joint with two wood surfaces joined together with a concealed mortise and tenon joint and glue. It provides excellent strength due to the large glue surface area provided by the joint. The mortise and tenon joint acts as reinforcement. The joint has a square and straight finish.
Furniture: Cabinet, Cubic, Bathroom cabinet, Solid, Cube

2. Concealed mortise and tenon joint with visible end grain, rounded

Same principle as no. 1, but with a rounded finish as the final step. The rounding is machined. Nirvan had to argue for the visibility of the end grain, as it is not customary to highlight the end grain as beautiful decoration in traditional furniture making. However, this solution requires greater precision. It cannot be more solid wood than this - a detail that can truly be displayed with pride. The usual practice would have been for the board to cover the entire furniture, but in the Våg furniture series, it is the side that extends all the way up and ends with the visible end grain.
Furniture: Våg

3. Recessed sugar-box frame

Old sugar boxes were made in a similar manner. Sinking provides high durability due to a larger glue surface area but also serves as decoration. With this joining technique, it's possible to work with very thin dimensions. Additionally, it's a material-efficient composition.
Furniture: Bookshelf (corner), Cubic (drawer's corner)

4. Milled handle from solid material

On the Våg furniture series, you'll find this unique furniture handle. The drawer fronts are glued together with materials of varying thickness. The protruding part of the handle is made from a thicker material. During the drying process, the wood takes on different shades depending on the dimensions of the raw material being dried. This means that exact color consistency cannot be guaranteed as they dry. Sometimes, an unusually large color shift can be seen between the materials, as the milling process does not make the color shifts predictable. Therefore, a slightly larger color variation is accepted on the Våg furniture compared to other Norrgavel furniture. On the low drawer, two materials can be seen joined together, while the high drawer consists of three materials joined by glue seams. The shape of the handles is milled with a five-axis CNC milling machine.
Furniture: Våg

5. Concealed dovetail drawer with visible end grain, groove for sliding

Drawer construction - same principle as no. 1, but with drawer bottom and groove for sliding. The drawer front typically covers the entire front of the drawer, so this solution with visible end grain is unusual. Decoration on the front in this manner requires an extremely tight joint. The drawer stops in the slide. The hidden dovetails are perpendicular.
Furniture: Chest of drawers

6. Recessed sugar-box drawer

Drawer construction - milled in a sink machine. A very durable construction that is also decorative.
Furniture: Cubic

7. Half-recessed drawer with glide track

Half-recessed sink with dovetail. A beautiful and highly labor-intensive construction that provides extraordinary durability. Machine-sinked, the grooves are milled in a sink machine. Such a drawer practically never breaks.
Furniture: Small table with drawer

8. Graduated glue joint

Gradation is a joint with a groove in one of the workpieces. The graduated glue joint is used in furniture where there is a free glue joint, for example on tables with extensions, wide dining tables, and wooden coffee tables. Tabletops can move up to 15 mm in width throughout the year, depending on changes in humidity and temperature. Therefore, a solution with a graduated rule is required, allowing the wood to move along it, as the graduated glue joint allows the wood to shrink and swell without cracking.
Furniture: Wooden coffee table, Wide dining table, Extendable table

9. Glue joint

For many pieces of solid wood furniture, wider surfaces are needed than can be obtained from a single plank. Glue joints are boards consisting of several lamellas (wooden slats). In short, a glue joint means that narrower pieces are glued together to reduce tension in the wood. The lamellas with the same wood grain direction are planed and glued together to form a durable and flexible wood material suitable for many applications, such as tabletops, shelves, and cabinet sides. Glue joint boards can be manufactured in various designs, wood types, and sizes. Note that Norrgavel's glue joints are of extremely high quality and cannot be compared to a countertop purchased from a hardware store.
Möbel: I stort sett samtliga Norrgavel-möbler

10. Triple-layered joint

Three-layered joint is an alternative to grading. Used for boards where one doesn't want a rustic feel (no list on the back). The three-layered joint is somewhat similar to plywood but made of solid wood. Thanks to thin dimensions on each layer, a very strong construction is achieved – a dimensionally stable solution without a graded list. The three layers of the joint can be glued either parallel or perpendicular.
Furniture: Kubik (door), Solid (panel door)

11. A sheared coffin

Compare this furniture detail to a propeller. This frame is sheared to connect, without any difference in level, to the front and back legs of the chair, even though they have different inclinations. The blank is produced in one solid piece and has fixed pins in the same piece. As a result of the shear, the frame is thinner at one end compared to the other side.
Furniture: Chair
High-quality joinery - the side frames are propeller-shaped and the seat is concavely glued like a whisky barrel. The chair is polished by hand.

12. Turned leg brace, compressed ends

The shape of the legs is turned and the ends are compressed, which means that the wood is pressed together slightly. Note the grooves in the compressed ends. These ensure that the glue is evenly distributed over the entire tenon, which then swells to maximise the bond. A design that provides long-lasting durability.
Furniture: Norrgavels pin furniture

13. Framework with solid filling

Instead of making a whole wooden disc with a glue joint, you can make a framework. In this way, the filling can move back and forth over the seasons and depending on the prevailing humidity. The filling of the hatch is not at risk of cracking, as it can move freely in the seam of the framework. The infill is made of solid wood (with glue joint), which is extremely exclusive. The installation of Massiv must be done after surface treatment. The infill is finished separately and the frame separately. Otherwise unpainted wood would appear during the winter when the infill is at its narrowest. The infill is fixed with a nail strip in the frame. We use the same construction for the glass filling of the display cases. Therefore, the structure is built according to the thickness of a glass disc.
Furniture: Massiv

14. Framework with half grid

The transverse blanks have half the thickness of the longitudinal ones. The thick blanks have milled grooves on the top side where the thinner mouldings fit perfectly and are glued together. Same construction as in boat decks on boats.
Furniture: Coffee table

15. Framework with dropped spars

Standing framework. Despite the slender dimensions of the bars, two pins are required at each end to prevent the bars from twisting.
Furniture: Multi (shelf)

16. Centre tap, hidden

Most common composition and a standard solution in classical cabinetmaking. This is a simpler solution than having a fixed tenon. Provides a strong bond thanks to a large adhesive surface. Compressed and grooved tenons push the glue out and along the grooves - providing a generous glue surface and causing the tenons to swell. To achieve an optimal fit, very high precision is required.
Furniture: Available in many Norrgavel furniture - ex. Solid, Coffee table 100, Scale, Cube, Bathroom cabinet, Small table with drawer, Cube, Newspaper roll table etc.

17. Centre pin, visible

To achieve a decorative effect, the centre pin can be continuous and therefore visible. In terms of design, it would have worked just as well to use a hidden centre pin on the chair. The visible centre pin has to be cut by hand and polished, which involves an extra work step.
Furniture: Chair

18. Bevelled corners, slotted and reinforced

Very special construction. A traditional slot will not work because the sides of the bracket are bevelled, so a straight (angled) slot is required. For additional durability, it is also pin-reinforced.
Furniture: Rounded console

19. Turned seat out of solid wood

The name describes what this joinery detail is - a seat where the bend/shape has been turned out of thick, flat, solid glue joint.
Furniture: 3-leg stool

20. Glue joint curved with angled joint surfaces

To achieve a curved glue joint like the "whisky barrel principle", both faces are milled with a small burr in each individual lamella. For the bonding to work, a special drying template is required here.
Furniture: Chair, Stool

21. Slotted corner, pin-reinforced

Brackets must withstand high loads, so we have chosen to make a slotted corner - which gives a very large adhesive surface. To further secure the construction, there is also a pin (round centre pin) right through both pieces of wood as an extra reinforcement.
Furniture: Consoles (all), Bag shelf (but not spigot reinforcement)

22. Slotted stamen

This is a construction that is really strong, which is required for the load that the bag shelf must be able to withstand. This slotted stanchion solution is much stronger than if it had been centre tapped from the front. A construction that is durable and at the same time serves as a decorative detail.
Furniture: bag shelf

23. Spigot fixed through, wedged

Classic assembly that was common in the past when glue was not available. The tenon that is connected to the bracket has sawn grooves. After gluing it to the stand, wedges are tapped in from behind. The pin expands inside.
Furniture: coat rack

24. Counter milling, coffin leg

Countersinking means having a positive and a negative shape. Counter milling is done to make the round leg fit. The very special Norrgavel construction, where we have glued the table top and the frame together, is possible because they are in the same direction. The wooden top can move along the pull-out rules
Furniture: Wide dining table

25. Counter milling, leg/round bar/filling

Joinery detail that is countersunk around the leg, but also countersunk in the top frame board (which most people probably don't realise).
Furniture: Bed frame

26. Counter milling, coffin leg

Carpentry detail that is counter-milled to the backbone. It requires great precision in production when you have a counter-milling, because you polish the blank after it has been processed. You can't polish away too much because then the countersink won't fit. What is counter-milled is always the facing part.
Furniture: Easy Chair, Coffee table 100, Scale (base)

27. Milled bend from solid material

Backing plate consisting of two blanks joined together with an adhesive joint. The mould is milled concave and convex on the respective sides. The outer ends of this backrest tray become fragile, which is why they are protected by the rear legs (in the example of the high seat).
Furniture: High seat (backrest tray)

28. Layered bend

Laminated wood is really strong and dimensionally stable and allows you to work in thin dimensions. The wood gets its curved shape through gluing in a female and male mould that is clamped together. We have used layer gluing in this back plate with freely exposed ends to avoid short fibre direction in solid wood (compare with detail no. 27).
Furniture: Chair and Chair BAS (back tray), Coffee table (frame)

29. Basic bend

When basing, the wood is steamed to make it pliable. It is then clamped in a metal mould and left to dry for about a week. After drying, the mould is then machined. Only certain types of wood can be bashed successfully. Beech (ideally - the most mobile of all woods) and ash work well, while oak is difficult to base and birch is not at all suitable for basing. The challenge with moulded wood is that it is not dimensionally stable. The curved shapes can always vary slightly from case to case - it's something you can never control exactly.
Furniture: Armchair China Windsor & Lounge chair

31. Loose assembly with sprints

This is a unique Norrgavel solution. A diagonal brace that acts as a bracket, fixed with a loose pin. The inspiration is taken from the load-bearing structure of a barn. In fine carpentry, you don't really do this. The aim is to be able to deliver the coat rack in a flat package without having to use glue or metal fittings. But the construction requires a great deal of precision.
Furniture: coat rack

32. Turned foot with height adjustment

Very descriptive name for this carpentry detail that is turned into a special shape. Has fittings that can be raised and lowered to keep the cabinet or chest of drawers level.
Furniture: Legs Turned (for Solid and Opal)