In order to accommodate its rapidly-growing membership, the Mount Sinai Jewish Center, recently completed a major renovation to the Washington Heights location it has called home since 1959 (though its history in the neighborhood spans more than a century). In addition to structural repairs, the lower level was completely renovated with a number of improvements including an expanded Torah & Tefillah Center.
We were asked to help fabricate the Aron Kodesh designed by Solomon Siegel, a member of the congregation. The ark was to be set into an alcove along the eastern wall of the beit midrash. The design called for the ark to be located within a floor-to-ceiling partition spanning the alcove. Given the constant activity due to the wide variety of programming in the multi-purpose space, we needed to pre-fabricate nearly all elements of the project in the shop.
The CNC router was used to fabricate the bamboo plywood panels forming the surface of the partition. In addition to shaping the surfaces and cutting the panels down to size, the CNC router was also used to add all the rabbets, cleats and slots into the panel minimizing the amount of work that would be needed on site. Care was taken on design details such as the grain orientation for every part, as well as nesting parts efficiently within the stock in order to minimize waste and material costs.
In addition to the panels, the CNC router was used for everything from fabricating components for the ner tamid and engraving the text above the parochet, to carving out the pockets for the invisible hinges used in the access panel leading to the storage area behind the partition. Sliding hardware was built-in for both the parochet as well as the heavy bamboo door panel which slides away revealing the setting for the Torah scrolls.
Images of the finished project provided by Solomon Siegel and the Mount Sinai Jewish Center.