Coke Development is a collection of woodworking projects.

Background

Incredibly high in carbon content with few impurities, coke is used as a fuel to produce steel. The lack of impurities means that it generates incredibly high temperatures without much smoke.

There are a number of industrial processes that are used for creating coke, but they all revolve around baking off impurities from coal.

One of the main reasons why coke is interesting is because the coal industry in recently years has been very much maligned. I’m not saying the general large scale production of coal is good, but there are a number of very important industries that rely on the production of at least some coal. Steel production would be impossible without coke.

The interesting thing is that very few people know or understand why coke is important in the steel making process. Just like many things, coke is hidden in plain sight. It’s an absolutely essential part of the modern world that few people would be able to name. Many things come in this form of “plumbing”, where you don’t notice them until they stop operating normally.

Woodworking

So what does this have to do with woodworking? Just like coke, most things in woodworking are hidden from view. High quality mortise and tenon joints are invisible when looking at a piece of furniture, but absolutely crucial to the structural integrity of a piece.

The ethos of Coke Developmentis to create pieces of furniture that serve a practical purpose. Furniture should be of high quality and stand out to people who understand and appreciate this quality. However, for most people a piece should be practical enough that they don’t think twice about it as they go about their lives.