Fine Woodworkings Home Furniture

TA UNTON 'S OCTOBER 1 9 9 6

~ 5 1 64537 6

1 0>

$6.95 u.s.$7.95 Canada£4.25 u.x.

EUROPEAN OAK WARDROBE

NEW.. . FROM THE PUBLISH ERS OF HOME FURNITURE

Explore the Golden Ageof Furniture Design!

Capture the spirit...American Furniture of the 18th Century is a brilliant

examination of the evolution of design and building methods thatare still the foundation of furniture making today. Period furnituremaker Jeffrey Greene's rich chronicle of classic furniture links thehistory, craft and construction of the masterworks of Americanfurniture design.

You get 320 pages filled with authentic examples, accuratedescriptions, over 250 black and white and 18 full-color photos

meticulously researched - bursting with informationand insight into furniture making techniques .

authen tic joinery. . .carving. . .construction .turning... and finishing. Plus,Greene shows you how tomake working drawings fromexisting pieces . .. how toincorporate classic designsinto today's construction . ..

and more.

Whether you are a woodworker, collector, furniture lover orjust histo rically inquisitive, American Furniture of the 18th Centuryis a rare combination of furniture history and technique.A special book to own, to read, to enjoy.

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Don't delay. Purchase th is definitive reference to Americanperiod furniture today.

HARD COVE R, 320 PAGES, ISBN: 1-56158- 104-6, ITEM 070236, $45.00AVAILABLE 8/15/96.

To order your personal copy,call 1-800-888-8286and ask for operator 310 now!

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forfellowenthusiasts

Jef frey P. Gr lie

READER SERVICENO. 136

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OCTOBE R 1996 3

hGme·h~_rurruLUre

OCTOBER 19 96 NO .8 44

On th e cover: Cabinetmaker MichaelStreller designed this cupboard afteran early 19th-century original fromhis native Germany. Seep. 75 .Photo by lames Steeves.

Departments

6 Letters

14 Th e Drawing Board

22 The Finish Lin e

96 H ow They Did It

104 Sources

108 About theFurniture Makers

Features

26 Evo lutio n of a ChairBY B RI A N B O GG S

A contemporary chai rmaker expands the Appalachian tradition

32 Architectu ral OrnamentationBY MA RK BELL O NB Y

Borrow the best from classical buildings

36 A Cab inetmaker's DreamBY D O U G M OO B ERRY

Building the Holm es bookcase is as much a challeng e today

as it was 200 years ago

78 The Chippendale StyleBY EMYL JENKIN S

Popularity resulted more from marketing than from his work

84 Is It Ruhlmann, o r Is It Pollaro?BY Z A C H A RY G A U L K I N

A New Jersey furniture maker takes on a legend

90 Animate Your DesignsBY C H A RLE S RA D T K E

Furniture comes to life with 3-D software

t tome Furniture (\SSN 1076-H327) is pub lished six times a year hy The Taunton Press . Inc., Newto w n, CT 06170-5506 . Telephon e (203) 426-H17 1. Pe riod icals postagepaid at Newto wn, CT 06470 -5506 a nd at ad di tioll;l lmaihng o ffices. lJ.S. newsstand dist rihut ion hy Curt is Circulation Co ., ,j 33 Hacke nsack Ave , Hackensack, NJ 0760 1and Eastern News Distrib uto rs, Inc.. 1150 Cleve land Roa d , Sandusky, a l l 'H H70. CST # 1252 109HI.

90

Furniture Collection

CABINETS,CHESTS ANDBUILT-INS

44 Shaker-styleApot hecary ChestBY THOM DUPREX

48 Painted File ChestBY DAN IEL ANDPAT RICIA MOSES

54 Fiery Sideboardin Eng lish Plan eBY JA C K A LBE RT I

60 Carved Mapl eArmo ireBY MIL ES KA RP I LOW

68 Silver ChestBY PA UL H ARRELL

7 5 A German SchrankBY MICHAEL STREFLER

CHAIRS

46 Classic ChineseChairBY RA N D OL PHD EMERCADO

63 Curved Armc ha irBY FRA N C OI S BR ET O N

66 Mahogany RockerBY JA ME S HUM E

72 Japan ese Cha irsBY JUN I SHIBA SHI

BEDROOMFURNITURE

4 1 Cloud Rise BedBY GARY ROGOWSKI

70 Curved Bedin CypressBY BIL L PA LMER

ACCESSORIES

52 Che rry Music StandBY C H RIS BE C K SV O OR T

56 Craftsman-styleWall Cab ine tBY GA RY I .W . SPYKMAN

TABLESAND DESKS

50 Glass-ToppedEnd TableBY DAVID GEER

58 Lacewood Hall Tab leBY ANT HONY BU ZAK

64 Modern Ro llto pBY JAM IE RUSSELL

Postmaster: Send add ress cha nges to H Olli e Furutture. The Taunton Press. Inc., (,3 S. Main St., 1'.0. Bo x 550(,. Ne wtown. CT 0(,-\70-550(,. Printed in the USA

• letters

HOME FURNITURE CHANGES:SIX ISSUES A YEARYou might have noticed a fewchanges on the co ve r of this issue.These changes reflect an increasein the number of issues ea ch yearand a new price. \Ve will nowpublish six issues a year. Insteadof the seaso nal date, we will dateour issues with a Sing le month. For

exa mple, this issu e is October1996 rather than Fall 1996. Thenext issue will be january 1997rather than Winter 1996. Start ingwith the March 1997 issue, we willpublish every other month.

-Timothy D. Schreiner, editor

FURNITURE-PRICE WARRAGES AMONG READERSI would like to respond to the lettersfro m Mr. Svjagintsev and Mr. Sartin(Spring 1996). Mr. Sartin in particularstates : "Whe n will yo u tak e se riouslyyo ur res po ns ib ility to help us learnto pri ce o ur products as well? "Pard on me , but in none of yo ursubsc ription offers have I seen thispromised . I agree with Mr. Adin olfi.Becau se of all the differentcircumstances tha t could affect aproj ect: from skill level togeographics and so o n and so forthyO ll woul d be undertaking animpossibl e task. I believe the bestand perhaps o nly method of pri cin garti san-mad e furniture co mes fromexperience. And even then the o ldtimers will miss o n occas io n. If theywish to justify their pri ce qu ote to aprospective client, I suggest theyacq uire a curre nt catalog of a fine

6 HOME FURNITURE

furniture maker. However, eve n herea lot o f variables can still co me intoplay. I look upon H ome Furniture asa journal and forum wh ere we canex plore, critiq ue , co mpare andothe rwise enjoy and deli ght in theofferings of o ur peers. There is alsothe qu esti on of real valu e versus"perceived valu e ." In othe r wordswhatever the traffic will bear. Whenwe create a new piece from o ne ofo ur designs, a piece wh ere all theharmon y of the wood and artist isb rought to fruition , we have a oneof-a-kind piece in whi ch pri ce wouldlie in the eye of the beholder.

-SoRichardJensen, Minot, Me.

MAKE PRICES AVAILABLETO THOSE WHO NEED THEMAs o ne of the many self-taughtwoodworkers who have ben efitedfrom absorbing yo ur maga zine, I haveto sid e with the "give us prices"crowd. But I also see the point beingmade by the opposition.

I have a simple solution to thedilemma: a fax-ba ck servi ce thatwo uld be similar to those in use byused tool resellers, Call a number (I

would not be o pposed to a 900number with a minimum charge),punch up the issue number and pageof the item yo u would like and thenyo ur fax number. Hang up and waitto see wh at the builder of the piecehas to say ab out the co nd itions o fconstruction, and the pri ce he or shewas abl e to ge t for the piec e and howthey felt ab out the pri ce.

This solution would satisfy bothcamps . The pric es would be availablefor those sh ops who are in need of aprice co mpariso n, while leaving the

hGme·tu. rur111 re

EDITORTim othy D. Sch reine r

ART DIRECTORMark Sa n / A ngelo

A SSOCIATE EDITORSjonathan Binzen. Zacha ry Ga ulk in

C O PY/ PRO D U C T I O N EDITORLa teren ce SheaADMINISTRATI VE SECRETAR YSusa n IV!. Cla rk

DE SIGN DIRECTORSusa n EdelmanEDITOR-IN-CHIEFJohn Liue ly

CORPORATE CIR CULATION DIRECTORDouglas New/on

PUBLISHERfam es P Chiacelli

AD VERTI SING SA LES MANA GERNorman Sippe lAD VERTI SING SA LES MANAGERFINE WOODWORKIN GDick W'es/NATIONAL A CCOUNT MANA GER SBarne y Barrell, Tom Bran cato, Da vid Gray

SENIOR ADVERTISING C O O RD I N AT O RKathryn Simo nds

ADVERTISING SEC RETA RYHilda Fernandes

TO CONTACT HOME FURNITURE

TELEPHONE: (800) 283-7252(203) 426-8171

FAX: (20 3) 426- 3434

SUBSCRIPTIONS:Orders: (800) 888-8286

Custome r Serv ice: (800) 477-8 727

ADVERTISINGSALES: (800) 283- 7252 x 829

TAUNTON TRADE CO :Retail Sales: (800) 283-7252 x 265

Copy rig ht 199() by Th e Taunton Press, Inc. No rep rod uct ionwitho ut pe rmission o f The Tau nton Press, Inc. Sub scriptionrates : U.S . and posse ssion s. $32 for one year , SSG for twoyea rs, 5HZ fo r three yea rs; outside [he u.s. and possessions,$;3H for one year, $67 for two yea rs. $95 for three years (in U.S.do llars. please). Single COP}'. $6.95. Single co pies outside theu.s. and possessions: 57.95. Address all co rres po nde nce tothe appropriate department (Subsc rip tion. Editorial or Advertising). The Taun to n Press. 63 South Main Stree t, P.O. Box5506. :"\ev..-tow n. cr 06470-5506.

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Traditional FurnitureAmerican Furniture of 18th Century (Greene) $39Dunlap Cabinetmakers, A Tradition in

Craftsmanship (lea, Dunlap) $45Period Furniture Projects (faylor) $27Queen Ann Furniture (Vandal) $36Making Antique Fum. Repro. (Gottshall) $14Measured Drawings of Old English OakFurniture (Hurrell) $9How to Build 50 Classic FurnitureReproductions (Burch) $19Measured Shop Drawings for AmericanFurniture (Moser) $18Victorian Cab. makers' Assistant (Blackie) $15Make Early American&Country Fum. (Go<tW1I) $9Masterpieces of Furniture (Salomonsky) $12Make Authentic Penn. Dutch Furn.(Shea)$14Making Classic Carved Furniture:

The Queen Ann Stool (Clarkson) $18Traditional Windsor Chair Making (Rendi) $19Make Colonial Fum. Reproductions (Shea) $14Making a Piecrust Tea Table (Heller) $19

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\S'4-114i,i ii i'i,'i'i1i4Making Authentic Country Fum. (Shea) $14Jack Hill 's Country Chair Making (Hill) $27American Country Furniture (Smith) $27American Country Woodworker (Dunbar) $25Crafting New Mexican Furniture (Hammen)$19Classic New Mexican Furniture (Hammen) $19New Mexican Furniture 1600-194O(Taylor)$46

Shaker FurnitureThe Book of Shaker Furniture (Kassay) $59Complete Book/Shaker Furniture (Abrams)$85Making Authentic Shaker Furniture (Shea)$14How to Build Shaker Furniture (Moser) $14

Arts and Crafts FurnitureFurniture of Gustav Stickley (Bavaro) $19Mission Fum. of L. & J.G. Stickley (Gray)$20Early Work of Gustav Stickley (Gray) $20Making Authentic Craftsman Fum . (Stickley)$10Mission Fum:How to Make It (Pop. Mechanics) $10Green and Green Fum. (Makinson) $24

CabinetmakinBuild Traditional Kitchen Cabinets (Tolpin) $19Cabinets and Built-Ins (Levine) $27Modem Cabinetry: European Designs andConstructions (Christ) $17Display Cabinets You CanCustomize (Oree1)$18

Art of the Lathe (Spielman) $19Woodtuming Masterclass (Boase) $17Turning for Furniture (Conover) $19Beyond Basic Turning (Cox) $27Woodtuming Wizardry (Springett) $19

Sharpening Turning & Carving Tools (Ki nsholl)$25Carving the Female Form (Gonzalez) $29Woodtuming Wizardry, the Video (Springell)$24Dennis White:6 Videos on Woodtuming $21 ea.Videos from "Fine Woodworking" and

"Fine Homebuildin " $16 ea .READER SERVICENO.1 34

OCTOBER 1996 7

• letters tcontinucd)

College. While Philbrick's ana lysis issou nd , he misses a fun dam entalpoint that could be of so me inte res tto your readers .

Rectan gles with ratios of 1:2 o r 3:4or 5:4 are pleasing eno ug h, but whatmakes a p roporti on "go lden" is moremath em atically fundamental .

The short side of the rectanglere lates to the long side in the sa mewa y that the sho rt section (b) relatesto the long sectio n (a). In formula:al a+b=b/a.

That is wh y if a=I, b=.618, and theproportion o f a.a-b is 1:1.618. Thego lden rectangle thu s has an internalharmony whi ch is based uponmath em atical fun ction rathe r thanupon ex te rna l co nsiderations suc h astaste o r fashion.

There is ac tua lly an easier method

-Paul Henry, Carlsbad, Calif.

I will leave it to the mathem atician sto decide whether o r not this is thesame ratio .

ba

a

Submitting an article. Home Furni ture iswritten by its readers, and we welcome man uscripts, photographs and suggestions. We'llacknowledge submissionsand return material we can 't use. We pa y fo r articleswe publish. For details, give us a calt ordrop us a note.------

to find an approximation of thegolden section. Beginning with asq ua re, you bisect the bas e and findthe d ista nce from that centerpoint tothe up per corner with a co mpass .You then d raw an arc to meet thebaseline , thus creating a satisfy ingproporti on:

ba

a

WHEN A PROPORTIONIS GOLDENThanks for the fine article on"Desig ning with Dividers" (Summer1996). I have ad mired Timot hyPhilb rick's work for man y years. Iread this piece at the same time as Iwas organizing mate rial fo r afurniture design course I will teach inthe fall at Palomar Community

magazine untarnished by dollar signs.Many o f us are doing b usiness in a

vacuum. It he lps to have the supportof our peers in p ricing our work. Byseeing the pr ice of these pieces wewo uld have a second opi nion o n o urown estimate. I believe this would:make us mo re co nfide nt in ourpricing; reduce our chances ofunderselling a project; which wi ll inturn make us more profitable; whichwill in turn allow more time topra ctice our sketching and design;whi ch will in turn lead us to bett ercraftsmanship.

So please get the ball rolling bysetting up a means for readers toretrieve pricing o n the pieces that youhave presented.

- John Gillis, Tupper Lake, N. Y.

The Tauruou P r e......: Paul ROI11;1n . chairman. janic-e A. Roman. chidTaunton financial oll1ler: Pe-te-r Chid'>t.,y. prl·~idt...m: Carolyn Kovale-ki. admini...trativc1.. ~ -ecrerarv Corporate F.dilnria l: John Lively. e-ditor in ch tct ~" vin'

P U H L i e A T lO r-.: s pn-stck-m. UnJ;1 Wl ·....!l"\./Iflob. Carolvnxtandamno. mana1-:in!-:nlilor; RlIIh()()h:'>l·\·a~\.· . Pe-ter Chapman. Thomas c. ;\kKl'nna , (k in e Sinil....kv. S('tI '

forfellow enthusiasts Pmdm'-l." Suzanne HOIll,IIl. c..'lhtor:JdTc..'NJrl Kolh- . jenntfcr Rc..·njilLlIl.. \larc..·

Vu.......allo Pt:r~()nnd: Carol vtaront. manager: Linda ltallcn m. Chri ...unc

I.IIlUlin . Accou nttng. \X'ayne Reynold.... controller: jcnmtcr (;Lts .....Patnck Lamontagne. :'1:'-....1- controller. Keith

Chapman. .\tary Sulhvan, Andrea Henchchffc. Carol Du-hm. .\tlrgafil·1 ltatundo. Oorothy Blas!.:o. ~U"';1n Burke.

Lawrence Rice . Gayle Hammond. Karen tc..·wis. I.ydb Krikorian. Harm- Yamin , Co rporate l)cs i).;u: ~1l ,"':'1Il

l-dchnan . din.'l11lr: !.;IUf'.1 Bergeron. Corporate .-In: .\tlry Ternzzi . manager: HIJhen Olah . I k -nrv HInh. Am y Bernard.

Cbn...tl lphc..'rCa ....c..T. Jodie Delohcrv, JoJ)" Hun km so n . JII;m I~ xkhart. t.vnm- Ph illip:.. Carol Singc..·r. / '!lfJl fJP,rlII Jlly :

BoydI IJIo:I,.·n . director: Anlhony Phillip..... ! 'm mOlifJII: Philip :\ Ib rd . Jll;l1lagc..·r: D. J :\me:-ol\. .\lich;ld Ra y. \\'c..·nJy

Bmn·.... KI,.·rslin Ik iJ c..·n . J u lia Brine. .\la ry Be lh Cleary, Fr:.lIlce:-La An n inio . .\lanufac lUriu).; : K;lIhln'n O;l"b,

dlrc..·ctl lr:.Ilwmc..· Bis'MlIl. I ·"el ' res...: Austin ~I~lrhird. managl,.'f :JI 11mG-aflifaili. Steplwn Hilma, P:.Hrid a Sigc..·n i, I )d"wlr:lh

C(wllx'r, \'\"iIIiam Bivon a. D;lVid Blasko. Richa rd BIll Ilh ,Jaml,.·s Chappub. .\ lark Colem:.m. US:1 Ik Fl·o . Tina Foslc..·r.

\\ 'iIIi:ull (;lIdfrey, Florence ~ichob. JO"ic..·ph P<:lr;1I1:li. !.inda H(·d d in Io:to n..\ Ia rth a St:lllllllc..·r, Ch :IllS;Il11

·n\"mm'I\"IlIl~sa. Da\'id K"-'Illl e y. \\'. K:.llh y .\ lanin. .\Iollil"a .\1urp hy . !'nnl I 'm d ud ;o n: Dc..·c..· Flanagan . Lymb Mo rd.....

promot ion : Thomas Greco. Deborah ltaldwm. vtich.u-l (;yuby. books: Philip vankrrk . John C;1";IIr:.ro. Tracie

Pavlik . nugazim:s. l ·ideo : Cr:.lig Umanott . Thoma...xtcnard. Corporate vta rk en ngr Diane Pancoon. Sarah Roman

Fu lfi l lmen t & O peranon s. Thoma...Lu xcdcr . director corporate services.janeTom-nee. Clicltl Scrtk('.,,·P :.ltrida

\\ 'illi:IIll.'M Ill. manager: Carolvn Am cth . Kathryn Dol'Mlll. 1I0lly Obcnhoff Eilee-n ~wir:-ky , 0""('" t roce......\IIlg John

Comerford . manager: :\'Jm'y Brown. Ib rh ;lra 1.0 \ \"1,.' . Dawn Teixeira . .\larylou Thompson. SulJs(-nber \'('rl"in's

P;lIrid a .\ t ill ,ulT. mauagvr: Donna \\ 'c..·illsll'in. PI,.·nnyLeffert....jenrufer Severino. vta rv Ellen Silk. !t1rhaf:.1Smilh . "'iri

w'hcclcr. I Niitl Entrv: Carole ,-\I\(Jo. manager: I~ lIlnk Ik ;m l-k y, .\l:lrg;:lrcl Patner. xtadelatnc Freng.... Tr:'Ky Lcnrun.

De-bra .\ k Co rlll:Kk. Gina P:lh i....Andrea Shorrock. l tistrihuticm. Paul Scipold. manager: .\ I:u y Ann CIl...taghola .

Deborah Greene . Linnea Ing ram . Brian Lcavm. Aaro n Lund. Frederick ,\Ionne:-. Ebie RouriguUo' . Alin' ....axton.

Eile-en ....hcchan. / '/lrdUlsIllR (. Factlitios \\ 'illialll Schappert. manager: Christopher .\ I ~ e r.-; . Lois Be(:k .JI,.·amwuc..·

l';ISl.:a l. lwat n x vangor. Cha rles Hollis. Pcn-r Bi....hop . .\I id u d Capatbo.jeffrev vtcs lm. A3RlIl ;'\;(In...·1. SU."';1Il :,\I,.·rich .

()'M,:ar Carranza . Alvinlack . Lincoln PI,.·II,.·rs. Cllfi'lerill ' ()'lIlna Free man . manager: Ge'.IIJine Ik:nno. baht:! K:tpl:tn .

:"Ilrm:'l-.k:' ln Tay lclr.Da ta Proc~,inJ:: HIllx'n Pelll·rs ..\ I I~ d i rc..· c..l( )r: Brendan 1~ lwe. Arthlir Caf( Ill.Jallll,.· .'" CllUnriIo:ht.

.\ b u rin · Do w rw y. Gahrid Dun n. J !.:Irry Kinnc..·a r. .\larjo ric..· O ma lye\', Rogt:r Seliga. PC APIJlic:tltlOlIs ' Heidi

\\ 'aldkirdl. lllan agl·r; I~ l rh;l r;l D;\iIo:n:'lLlh. Rohen ;,\ il,.·bl,.·n . l'C .~rslems: .\1:.IrgarelArche r. rna nagc..·r: Cri....tina (>..:Lucia.

Usa "\onhrop. ;'\rie\\' .\Iedia : Ho~' SW:lnsoll. dirl,.·("\or. Taun to n Di rect: Cl:tudia Alle n . P'.IIllI..'! :.\ Dun:'lway. Bre m b

Ila m illl l11. .\kgall Sang"'ler, .II':lIlneT(xbfll. Taunwll Tidde Company: Da le Brcm-n. president: ·111Ilrn:l.... jclhn....on.

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8 HOME FURNITURE

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Powerr .ThinkingPowerful thoughts bring powerful

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OCTOBE R 1 9 9 6 9

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10 HOME FURNITURE

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READERSERVICENO. 109 REA DER SERVICENO. 182

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READERSERVICE NO. 161

Since 1860 . wood c rafts men ha ve usedB III WAX to pr otect , res to re and recondition fine furniture and antiques to theiror igina l "pa tina" which cou ld only beduplicated by laborious ha nd rubbing beforethe IlIIIWAX blend . This unique "c rafts man's choice" is now available to Americanprofessional woodworke rs and refinishers ,as well as the quality conscious individualwho simply wants to keep their furnishingsin topcondition.BRI\\'AX is available in Clear. Light Brown.Da rk Brown, Golden Oak , and AntiqueMahogany(Cherry).For more information, or to order, callor write:TRG Produc t s 1-800-3BRIWAX6135 Peacht ree Dunwoody Rd., Su ite 201Atl ant a . Geo rgi a 30328-454 1(~O~) 399- 0776 • (800) 32 7-~ 929


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READER SERVICENO.117

OC TOBE R 1996 13

. thedrawingboard

WHERE TO LEARNFURNITURE MAKING,FROM CRAFT CENTERSTO DESIGN SCHOOLSI am interested in schoolsforfurniture design andbuilding. I have heard ofafeto here and there.What p rograms are outthere and which wouldyou recommend?

-Glen Ray, Alt on, N.H .

The re are many o pportunities to learn furniture making and de sign , fromweek end workshops tofour-year degree programs . Whi ch o ne is rightfor yo u depends on w hatyou wa nt to learn.

For basic technique ,co mmunity co lleges andvocational schools aregood places to start. Man yschools offer eve ningco urses in basic wood working. There are also

Chairmaking in the country.

Students at Drew Langsner's

Country Workshops in North

Carolina learn chairmaking and

green woodworking techniques.

plenty of workshops sponsored by woodwor kingsto res , guilds and co mmunity craft ce nters. You canabsorb a lot in a week endor day long se minar, andit's usually an econo micalway to learn a new skill orhon e an ex isting one .

If yo u are looking fo rsomething more rigorous

and co mpre he ns ive, the reare man y full-time programs to choose from.Amo ng the best-kn own arethe No rth Bennet StreetSchool in Boston an d thefine woodworking program that is run by j amesKrenov at the College ofthe Redwood s in FortBragg, California.

A century of craft. Founded in

Boston's North End in 1885, the

North Bennet Street School

provides vocat ional training in

woodworking and other crafts.

One of the premier furniture-m aking schools in theco untry, North BennetStreet was founded morethan a ce ntury ago and is atrade school in the old-fashioned sense. It otfers co urses in carpe ntry, jewelry,locksmithing, bookbindingand musical instrumentmaking, as well as its highlytouted SO-week program intradition al cab inetmaking .The schoo l also offers seminars and summer woodworking courses.

On a par with (but verydifferent from ) North Bennet Stree t is the woodworking program di rectedby James Krenov. Ninemonths lon g (altho ug hso me stude nts are invitedto stay for two yea rs),Krenov 's p rogram has attracted a devoted followin gof students who have beenmov ed by his furniture and

14 H O M E FUR N I T UR E To p ph otos this lu ge and b eing page: Peggy Ku tcher; bott om ph ot o : Courtesv of Drew l.angsncr

his book s. Krenov lecturesand works alongs ide stude nts , building his ownfurniture. Study ing withKrenov is not only a way tolearn ex quisite technique,but an op portunity to workwith (and be inspired by) arecognized master of thecraft. To learn more ab outthe school and about Krenov's personal approach towoodworking, read hisbooks and visit the sc ho olto see the student work.

For more formal trainingin design, there are manyschools that offer both undergraduate degrees andgraduate cert ificates .Amo ng the institutions thatgrant degrees in furnitureare the School for AmericanCraftsme n at the RochesterInstitute of Technology, theRhode Island Sch ool of Design in Providence , the Californi a College of Arts andCrafts in Oakland, the University of the Arts (forme rlythe Philadelphia College ofArt and Design) and Sheridan College of An and Design outs ide Toronto. Again ,the best way to see whetherany of these programs is foryo u is to look at the studentwork being done there.

Finally, there are numerous opport unities to learnfrom established craftsmenwho run their own worksho ps and seminars. Chairmaker and author Drew

Langsner offers workshopsin rural North Carolina,teaching green woodworking and chairmaking. Recent instructors haveincluded the chairmakersJohn Alexander, BrianBoggs and Don Weber. Another chairmaker and author, Michael Dunbar, runsWindsor chairmakingcourses out of his shop insouthern New Hampshire.In both cases, small classesof students ranging fromnovic e to advanced levelsspend a weekend or weekworking on a project, and

often get to take home afinished piece.

The Center For FurnitureCraftsmanship in Rockland,Maine , directed by woodworker and author PeterKorn , offers numerousclasses on woodworkingtechniques. Recent instructors have included Krenov,Alan Peters, Michael Fortune, and Silas Kopf. TheCenter offers intensiveone- and two-week workshops in all aspects of furniture making and fromnovice-level skills to advanced. Classes are never

Learning from tradition. Each

student at the North Bennet

Street School builds a chair, a

case piece and a table, as well as

their own toolbox.

larger than 12 stude nts .Woodworking programs

like those of the Center forFurniture Craftsmanshipand Langsn er's CountryWorkshops are also offeredby the And erson RanchArts Cente r (Snowmass Village, Colorado), Penland(Penland, North Caro lina),Haystack Mountain Schoolof Crafts (Deer Isle, Maine),and othe r crafts o rga nizations and indi vidual craftsmen. You can learn aneno rmo us am ount in asho rt time at these co ncentrated workshops.

OCT 0 B E R 1 996 15

craftsman's corner

Infonnation availableupon request

CUSTOM

CONTEMPORA RYSOtITHWESTERN

FURNITURE

Hand made finefurnit ure built to order.exact ly as you like it.Worl d wide shipping.

R. C0RKHILLF INE FURNITURE

& C ABINETRY FOR THEH OME & O FFICE

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ERIC FREYERP.O. BOX 48S

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AFTERMATH FURNITUREP.O. Box 7415, Ann Arbor, MI 48107

(313) 332-8750

Handcrafted wooden latt iceworkfor folding screens, free-standingroom dividers, and arch itec turalapplications . Made to or der inyour choice of fine hardwoods.

LimitedEdit ion

Solid Cherry Tablewith Walnut Inlay

'iiInd ividuallyHandcrafted

One-At-A-Time

Brochure Ava ilable

Frank B. Rhodes1522 Round Top Road

Ches te rtown, MD 21620410·778·3993

Frank B. RhodesFURNITURE MAKER


Signed & Dated. IJl.Clwk :s Cc..'Ttifu:are of AUI!k'ncicicy

Ca ta logue 82


Handmade 18th Ce nturyReproduct ions and

Co nte mpo rary Works

R. Conway & Co . • . , "~ 'v ~ J.32 50 Oakland St.• Unit H . ,. . . .

A urora. CO SOC 10 ". ~

~ 888·363.8887 ::5: " " " ,. , "(303) 363·8887 Fax (303) 363-8890 Hf.~::tl-~;~~;~':""

Cabot Chair Shop

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CJ

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• I"f\ 1"1 R: T rt I't '5' • \J I n f. 'i 1'1 tl [} •

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This spaceis reserved

for advertising of hand-crafted

custom furniture for sale.

For more information call

800-926-8776, ext. 829.

READERSERVICENO. 133

You're unique. So it makes sense thatyour furniture is, too. At ManhattanCabinetry, we transform ideas intosuperior custom-crafted solutions.At a price that may surprise you .

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READER SERVICE NO. 10 3 READER SERVICENO. 129

16 HO M E FU R NIT U R E

BRIAN BOGGSCHAIRMAKER STEVEN SiEGEl

ORi<jiMI ,i1 , i'iNS bAsrd

ONtill ARIS ANd Ci'AiJ,

I' ll ilosopi ly

Fi N!: CUSI OM FURNi lU RI

P URE

ART

DESiGN

1747 8 S WANSON 1/(1, DIlil i CA 9 51 15(2 0 9) 65 6-901 b

PlJluAltID" ih "I .I HOd


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FURNITUREMAKERS

Craft ed in th e spirit of grea tN ew England design ...

Dining Table in cherry30" x 48" $595othe r sizes available

Co lor Catalog $ 3Cus tom Furn itu re

288 Gu lf Road. So. Dartmouth . MA 02 ; 48 • (508) 99 3·4800


PAUL DOWNSCABINETMAKERS

QCla161 Rock Hill Rood. Bolo Cynwyd. PA 19004Call {or more in{ormation: (6 /0) 664-9902

BUILT FOR LIFEREAL LIFE

READER SERVICENO.5 3

LeMon I; n dl erry: $455Gladwyne table in cherry a nd ,a pele: $2~50

Choice of woods and fi nishes

Allyallc (all desis" fUrlliture that warhs ill a gol/ery.But if you wOllt jum iture that warhs ill your life,col/ Paul Dow", to discuss a desigll tl"'t fitscverythillg aboutyou. Illd udillg yaur budget.

oouthwcsl Deco.Nouveau . . .817 - 551 - 5940

!I. Beller Dlace 1517 Clarendonrort Worth. TX 76134

UnJque CWitom fUl'l1tturel}zmdcrDDed by

b~VIL Q~fDbU

c.N

Catalog 'Sill

Furniture andaccessories for the

select and perceptivefew. Built by

someonewhounderstands wood.

TREE BEARDDESIGNS


C.H.BECKSYOORTF UR NI T UR EM AK ER

Box 12-HNew Gloucester, ME O.j260

Contemporary Designs inNativ e American Hardwoods

& Veneers

Ray Kelso

720 Black Rock Rd.

Collegeville, PA 19426

(610) 933-1080READER SERVICENO. 97

handcrafted[umirure in solid woodinspiredby traditional designs

C hester Fu rniture Ltd .270 Stanford Lake Road, PO Rox 40

Chester, N .S. ROJ 1JO CanadaFax/Tel: (902) 27 5-5833


Michael StreflerCabinetmaker

11 8 LESTERST. , BEREA, KY 40403(606) 986-4638

Original Designs in theAppalachian Tradition

Dining Chai rs. Rocking Ch airs. Barstools& Settees

READER SERVICENO. 31 READERSERVICENO. 403 READER SERVICENO. 165

OCTOBE R 1996 17

• craftsman's corner

FURNITUREFOR

HOMEAND

BUSINESS

u.s. RO UT E 2. P.O . BOX 279/ DEPT. HF201DANVILLE. VERMONT 05828

F OT TABLE LEGS see o.. r MARK ET PLACE AD

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fo r

your

pleasure...

Call or write for brochure

(541) 687 -701585488 App letree Cou rt

Eugene, OR 97405

Designer andFine Furniture Maker

ExquisiteHandcrafted Furniture

Mad e to Ord er

ROBERT DALRYMPLEMASTER WOODWORKER


Sfudio/Workshop in the beau ti ful Willa mett e Valley

Martin BlackshawContemporary Custom Furniture

Handmade from selected veneersand hardwoods.

(508) 752-38442 New Street, Worcester, MA 01605

Workshops Availab le

"One ofAmerica's200 Best

Craftsmen""-'

EARLYAMERIC AN

HOM ESMAGAZINE

,.Matthew BurakFURNITURE

C u stom D esign Se rvice r-.u Origin al A r tC all Tod ay for O ur Color Cata log

802 684-2156

TREE OF LIFEWOOD-WORKSAPROfESSIONAL WOOD·WORkSCO.

• Custom Ha nd-craftedFurn iture

• Spec ial iz ing ina ntique cy pressa nd pin e

• Q ua lity Co nstruction

TREE OF LIFEWOOD-WORKSBaton Rouge, LA504-272-0877

C USTOM D ESIG N B Y A P P O INTMENT W ITHMI RA N AKASH IMA Y A R N A L L

® G EO RGE N A K A SHIMA W OOD W O R K E R S , S .A .239 AQUETONG RD. N EW H OPE, PA 18938TEL. 215862·2272 FAX 2 15 8 62-2 103

• CUSTOMCABINETRY' FINEWOODWORKING• CUSTOM KITCHENS

JOH N S. SCRANTON · PROPRIETORP.O BOX 828 603 .357.6877KEENE, NH 0343 1 603.876.46 17

READ ER SERVICENO. 114

READER SERVICE NO. 107 READ ER SERVICE NO. 205

David WrightWindsor Chair Makingb tdirjdu a/(v, ba"d crafted . elrgant(y dtngn td Chairs e-S~ttUI.

Furniture andCabinetry, each pieceind ividua lly built tomeet your particular

need s.

Jeff LindFI NE W OO DWO RKING

505 EMERY'S BRIDGE ROAD

SoUTH BERWICK, ME 03908(203)384-2621


III

~) P.O. Box 357~rtsboro, NY 12790-0357

READ ER SERVICENO. 120

718-256-6894914-583-8055 POBox 132, Berea, KY40403 606·986·7962


18 HOM E FUR NIT U R E

Designs by MiladMilad Allaham

316 S. 16th St. , Allentown, PA 18102Tele: 610 434-6455

Fine

Custom

Crafted

Furniture

&

Cabinetry

Wing Chair

Walnut

Walnut Burl


:Af9t Just a 2\gpror£uetionl

Jl.n 'Euolution. .

Origina!'DesiqnsInspired 6y the18th Century

:Masters

'One of 5lmerica 's200 'Best Craftsmen '

'Ear(y 5lmerican L ife

M agazine

:Russ£oomis, 8r.!JI{aster 1"urniture ::Maksr

141311<'<. '1i.J,ad,1I'i{fiam.s6urg, OI(;J01096

'13rocflUrr$I.00413 ·6 28·3813

1.... ....-oiJ (~ ---J


R. S. WILKINSON

Selected as oll e of"Am erica 's 200 Best Craf tsme n "by Early A merican Life Magazine.

Color photos, brochure $3177 Scot land Road « Baltic, CT 06330 203·822·6790


Thomas G loss 6' S onC A B IN E T M A KE R S

-isor R l,,' .l R t' ll ()Ba If i m or r , AI a r y I a n d 2 I 2 I .;

(-I ltJ)J25- 1S89

Traditional, tasteful, beautiful , for you •••

Bench Made Furniture from a small Maine shop.Charles Durfee, Ca bine tmake r

RDI. Box 1132. Woolwich. ME 04579207-442-7049 Bnxhurc $ /

READER SERVICENO. 12S

John McAleveyWoodworker

Fine Furniture Designed & MadeHeR 35 • Box 668 • Ridge Road

Tenants Harbo r, ME 04860207-372-64 55


Thorn Duprex1'=lr;:::=::;r=7i"~ Furnitu re Maker

Fine HandcraftedDesig ns

Shaker1..

Periodi ..

Custom

Tel: 603-78 7-6359P.O. Box 279 . N. Haverhill . NH 03774-0279

Information Upon Request

SP ECI ALI ZING IN

HANDMADEPOSTER BEDS

turn ed, carved, inlaid

NORMAN'S HA NDMADE REPRODUCTIO NS12205 Harn ett - Dunn /I ...y.

/)/1/111 . NC 28334910·892·4349


OC T OB ER 1 99 6 19

craftsman's corner

BEAUTY

FUNCTIO~CRAFTMANSHIP

~UN oCOMINw o o n W OR K S

2875 1h8th Stree tSurrey, British Co lumbia ,

Ca nad a, V4 B 5E7

800 • 828 • 9588D AL E RAMSEY

60.\05.\1 09298FA' 60.\05.\109297


Peter S. Turnerfurni turemaker

traditional design for your lifeP.O . Box 11165, Portland, ME 04 104

phone: 207-65 7-3356 [,lX: 207-65 7-2 480


Los OsOSWoodworkinc;

l'urniturc and Cabinei.ryindividuallv handcrafted 10 IIIthat spec ial placein YOllr tlome Iii lle arl .

(80 5) 528-5528Qichard f arwel l. Cabinetmaker

2129 t'airchild Way. P .O . loa , 6422. Los Osos. CA 93.\12


H ANDCRAFTED FIN E FURNITURESim ple design s with

attention to detail.

TIMELESS FURNITURE

M ,T. Maxwell Furniture Co.715 Liberty Street Bedford , VA 24523

800 .68 6.1844

Michael Gloor51 Green StreetPeace Dale, RI02883

Call for brochure40 1-782 -2 443

FINE F URNITUREFRO~I "l~ST \lRGINL\ HARDWOODS

PROBST F URNITUR E M AKERSRoute 34 · Hamlin, WV 25523 · (304) 824-5916

READER SERVICE NO. 130 READER SERVICE NO. 92

Furn iture For GenerationsInspi red by As ian & Arts & Crafts Trad itions

55 Bro nte 51. , Sa n Franc isco , CA 941104 15-648-686 1

DEBEY ZITOFI NE FUR NITUREMAKING

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Let Reader Service work fo r yo u.Receive info rmation direct from your

choice of advertisers by using theReader Service form located next

to the inside back cover.

MACK&~~P6Dl:::::: T~'··lx,-s LL

, '~. '~ . : ...... - r . ' .~.-

cabin etm ak er sMember o f the New England Arti sans Guild .

For calalog SO lid $5.0044 Leight on Rd.. Pownal. Main e 04069

12071 688-4483http ://www.neagui ld .com/macrod el

Beds a nd tables off ine h a rdtuoodsCUSTOM ORDERSBroc hure Available

272 James Tra il, W. Kingston , RI 02H92401-539-2558

G. R. Clidencel Sth Cen tury Woo dwol"ksColonial Repro duct io ns

READER SERVICE NO. 302 READER SERVICENO. 112

2 0 HOM E FU R NIT U R E

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Show US yourbest work!We know that tho ughtfully designed ,carefully executed furnit ure is being createdall across the country and around the world.And we'd like to see yours.

If you'd like to have your best workconsidered for publication in a future issue ofHome Furniture, send us some photos we cankeep with a br ief description of the project onthe back (no negatives or slides). Pieces forany room and from any period are welcome.We're especially interested in original designs.

Your work will be jur ied by the editors andpubl ishers of Hom e Furniture. We'll noti fyyou promptly if your project is beingconsidered and send you guidelines at thattime. Send your non-returnable photos to:

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Let us know what finishing prob lems you 're trying to solve, and we 'll get a veteran finisher topro vide the info rmation you need. Send yourquestions to The Fin ish Line, Home Furniture,The Taunton Press, P.O. Box 5506, Newtown, CT06470-5506.

DARKENING OAKWITH AMMONIAI che mically dark ened the w hite oa kused in my "Craftsman-style WallCabine t" (p. 56) usin g am moniafum es. Thi s is a tim e-proven processwhi ch relies o n a che mica l reactionbetween wood with a high tannicacid co nte nt (suc h as w hite oa k) andco ncentrated ammonia fum es. Thequality o f the colo r ac hieved byfuming is different tha n that give nby any o the r method. Most sta insleave the pores dar ker than the restof the surface; fume d oak is aco nsiste nt color th rough ou t. Theco lor also goes more deeply into thewood , so light sanding ca n be doneafte r the fumin g and nick s andsc ratches won 't show any light e rwood underneath .

I buil t a "fuming cha mber" o ut o fYI-inch plywood joine d w ith du cttape at the cor ne rs, making it justlarge eno ug h for the cab ine t withab out an inch of clea rance. I pla cedthe co mpleted ca bine t in theenclosure along with a sma ll tray o fammonia and se t a piece of plywoodon top. A stro ng ammonia so lution(a pproximate ly 30 percent) avai lablefro m che mica l sup p ly co mpa niesworks best for this, but do heed thewarning lab els since the fum es arequite toxic. Hou sehold a mmo nia willwork but it will tak e longe r for the

wood to darken .It requires an ywh ere from a couple

of hours to a couple of days todarken the wood and it has takenso me ex pe rience for me to learn toco ntro l the process. Be prepared fora sh ock wh en yo u o pe n thechambe r. The first time I triedfuming a piece I feared I had made abig mistak e when I saw thegreenish-g ray co lor of the wood as itcame o ut of the fuming chamber. Itwas a great relief to see it turn abeautiful warm brown up onapplying the finish .

The finish I used was a hom e brewof boiled linseed o il, be eswax,tur pe ntine and japan dri er. Theproporti ons o f this mixture aren 'tcritical. I use approximate ly twoparts of linseed o il to o ne partturpentine. The amount o f japandrier depends on the quantity o ffinish yo u are mixing (just follow thedirection s o n the can) . I just addchunks o f beeswax by eye. I mixedthe ingredients tog ether, heated themixture to melt the beeswax, thenbrush ed it o n heavily whil e stillwarm . I left it overnight and thenWipe d off the excess.

Because this ca b ine t is adecorative piece , I didn 't feel that itwould need a th ick finish forprot ection. As I recall , it o nly go to ne co at, but that was e no ug h to

Fumed oak cabinet. Rather than relying on a

stain or finish to darken the wood, the author

fumed this oak cabinet with ammonia .

bring o ut th e color and give thewood a dull sh een that se e msperfectly at home with the q uaintnature o f the cabinet.

Although this finish has wo rkedwell for me , I now use a linseed oi land beeswax finish ca lled "Tried andTru e" dev eloped by an othercab ine tma ke r, Joe W. Robson (14Prospect St., Trumansburg, NY14886; 607-387-9280). Th is finis hproduces a similar look but buildsmore quick ly and offers moreprotection. It also saves time. ("Trie dand Tru e" is also availabl e fromGarrett Wade Co. , 161 Avenue o fthe Ameri cas , New York, NY 10013;800-221-2942.)

-Gary J.W. Spykman

MILK PAINT: A VERSATILEFINISH AND EASY TO APPLYWe used milk paint on our "PaintedFile Ches t" (p . 48) to produce a deepred co lor. Milk paint became popularin this country in the 1800s as adurable and affordable alterna tive toimport ed paint s. It was mad e fromnatural ea rth pigm ents and lime with

22 H O M E FURN ITURE PhOIO (his page: Bob Schcllha uuucr

milk products as a binder. Tod ay, milkpaint is available in either a powderedform (yo u mix it with water) or in apre-mixed form.

We prefer the ease and safety ofpre-mixed milk paint and we oftenused Stulb's Old Village "Buttermilk"paint which comes in ab out 20 co lors,all reproductions of paints used inco lonial America.

Unlike ename ls and sa tin finishesthat impart sheen, milk paint canappear from flat to a ve lvety matte.On pieces that will ge t a lot of use , werecommend a protective coat of o il o rvarnish to prevent scuffing (especiallyfor thin gs like tabl e legs). Withou t anycoating, milk paint shows up scuff

Milk, no sugar. A mix of two different red

milk paints produced the the deep color of

this cabi net. A top coat of gel varnish

protects the surface.

marks quite easily, but they can beremoved with a damp rag.

Milk paint can be applied easilywith a foam bru sh and genera llycovers in one co at. It also can bethinned with water fo r a moretransparent color, or layered andsanded for an aged finish. Since it iswater-based, and therefore tends toraise the wood grain (es pecially onso ftwoods), we like to spray thepieces with water first, then sandbefore painting. On our file ches t. wemixed two co lors-Stulb's Salem Redand Blanket Ches t Red-and appliedtwo coats before finishing the piecewith a ge l varn ish.

-Daniel and Patricia Moses

FINISH TO MAKE A DRAWERSMELL GOOD AND SLIDE EASilYI take a minimalist approach wh en Ifinish drawers like those in my "SilverChest" (p . 68). I lightly co at the insidewith shellac po lish and use nothingbut pa raffin on any surfaces that willco ntact the drawer pocket. I don 't usemechanical slides, so the drawer is theslide; finish means friction .

I put two coats of she llac polish onall the interi or surfaces and on thedrawer bottom before asse mbling thedrawer. Shellac polish is o rdinaryshe llac thinned with alcoh ol until it nolon ger ge ts sticky wh en rub bedbetween finger and thumb. Once it'sdry, I sand with 400 grit sandpa pe rand finish with Goddard 'sCabinetmaker's wax. Because theshe llac dries almost instantly, it onlytakes a few minutes to co mplete adrawer. This produces a so ft, mattefinish that also sme lls great years aftel'

Sliding on paraffin. Nothing but paraff in

comes between these drawers and the

drawer pockets they slip into . The insides of

the drawers are lightly finished with shellac.

it is applied. I use the same finish onany surfaces that are closed in. Oil andlacquer produ ce a stro ng ran cid sme llin an enclosed space like a drawer. Ifinish the outside of the draw er frontto match the rest of the piece.

[ never put finish on the outside ofthe drawer sides, whi ch would mostlikely ge t gummy over the years. Afterasse mbling the drawer and planing itto fit, I rub paraffin on the outside andthe bottom of the d rawer sides and onsurfaces inside the drawer pocket thatit will tou ch. [ buy the paraffin in sticksat the grocery store; it's the kind usedfor sea ling jars. I simply rub the stickover the dra wer surfaces. It doesn't goon evenly, so I use 0000 steel wool torub it in and po lish it smooth. The n [buff it with a cloth and the drawer isfinished. This is not a fix for a d rawermade badly to begin with. Theparaffin is just the icing on the ca ke.

-Paul Harrell

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TW O O LD WAYS TO BUILD A CHA IRFAN-BACK W IN DSOR

The seat is th e founda tio n of aWindsor chair, an chor ing th e backabove and the legs below.

Bowing arrows. This arrow-back chair, wit h

its back posts run ning far past th e top rail, led

Boggs to try a cres t rail that capped th e posts

in his new fan-back.

AN APPALACHIAN APPROACHWhen I began building chairs I was living in the Ken tucky co untrys ide withvirtua lly no mon ey and few tools(no ne of them elec tric). My w ife, Pat,was ex pecting our first child . So Istepped into tradition al chairmak ing ina most authe ntic manner , inspired bygood instru ction and motivated by direneed . I worked with what I had , evenwhe n it me ant that my first mo rtiseswere cho pped with a sharpe ne dscrewdriver. But I began to learn howa traditi on al Appalachi an cha ir wa smade and wh y.

Many early mak er s of Appalachiancha irs were n' t necessaril y full-tim e

POST-AND-RUNG LADDER-BACK

The back legs, or posts, ar e th efoundation of a post-and-rung chair.The seat is woven over th e top rungs.

furniture makers. Chairmaking wasjust one wa y to pull in a little winte rinco me. Conseque nt ly, the processand designs stayed simple and werelittle affected by fashi on . Using greenwood-from a fresh-cut tree- offerednumerous ad vantages. Gree n rivenwood is ve ry quick to work with handtools , and the strength of the stra ightgrain stock that result s when yo u rivethe wood allows parts to be cut thin,making for a flexibl e frame that enhan ces co mfort. Another grea t adva ntage , particul arl y in a cha ir, whichmu st ab sorb terrific dynamic stresses,is wet-dry joinery, which pairs slightlydamp legs with bone-dr y rungs. Thetenon on the dry rung is sized to thewet mortise and then ass emblec/. Asthe moi sture content in the two app roa ches equilib rium, the mo rtiseshrinks and the ten on ex pands , making a joint locked so tight it needs noglue . And if properl y made , it is lesssusceptib le to failure over the longhau l than a g lue joint in dry wood.Th ese o ld ad vantages form the foundat ion for all my chairs.

THE WINDSOR INFLUENCEAfter I'd made a hundred or so Appalachian post-and-rung chairs, I tooka two-week workshop with Vermontcha irma ke r Da ve Sawyer to learnhow to make Windsor cha irs. Sawyer,who formerl y mad e post-an d-rungchairs, is o ne o f the finest Windsormak ers around.

While Windsor and post-and-ru ngchairs require many of the sa me sk illsand rely o n round joints and shrinkage o f the wood for joint stre ngth ,they ar e fundam entally different intheir design. In Windsor s a thickwooden seat separates the ba ck andarms from the legs. The slab sea t ancho rs all the ba ck support s, includingthe spindles , which are made thin sothey flex with use for comfort an d toabsorb stre ss . The legs ge t so cketedinto the seat as well , and are splayedto ground the chair firmly.

In post-and-rung chairs, in contrast,

28 HOME FURN ITURE Pho to pp. 26-27: Boyd Hagen : ph o to thi s page: Albe n R Moo ne y: d rawings: Boh Lal'ointe

the rear legs, o r posts, are co nt inuo usfrom the floor to the top of the ba ck ,and they anc hor the stress o f both theback and the lower base. Both the\\?indso r and the post-and-rung haveproven thei r success for ce nturies .

\\forking wi th Dave Sawyer was anexcelle nt ex perience and a great introductio n to working with compou nd a ngles. But about 20 chairslate r. I real ized that it wa s too mu chfo r me to o ffe r both Appalachi anpost-and-rung cha irs and Windso rs.Choosing between them was difficult .but I felt more at home with the Appala chian style. I didn 't want to dropeve rything I had learned with DaveSawyer. I liked a lot of things ab outWindsors, es pecially the splaye d legsand the verti cal lines in the ba ck. So Idecid ed to incorporate those featuresinto my post-and-rung chai rs.

FINDING COMFORTIN A BANNISTERMy atte mpt to merge what I liked inWindsors with post- an d-run g chairsresulted in w ha t I ca lled an arrowback (see pho to facing pa ge). I hadlook ed through some book s of an tique furniture to see what had alreadybeen done with thi s idea and foundbannister-back chairs with steam-be ntvertical ba ck sup ports and sp laye dlegs built in the 18th ce ntury. I adaptedthese forms in my arrow-hack.

A big advantage with thi s de signwas that I co uld easily adjust the exactlocati on of the lumbar support. I bentex tra lon g spind les to a sha pe that feltgood o n my back . Th en, in a dr y-fitted back frame cla m ped to a stool, Itaped the ve rtica ls to the bac k and adjus ted the m up and down until theyfelt just right o n my back. When I builtthe cha ir th is way, I discov ered tha t almost everybody found the samecurve comfortable. O nce I had th isright. I bent the back legs fo r all myfuture chairs to the same cu rve ,w he ther I was making a ladder-ba ck ,woven-back o r a rro w- bac k. I eve ndid this with an early se t o f bird-cage

\Vind sors. In fact. virtually any cha irca n be design ed to incorporate thesecurves to grea tly inc rease comfort .

Appl ying these curves to my ladderba cks not only imp roved their comfort b ut gave the m a bit more pizzazz.Build ing the chai r essent ially aroundthe human fo rm rea lly brings it to life,an d adds wa rmth to the stra igh t-linedarc hitec tural e nvironme nt most folksca ll home.

A BETTER PLACE TO SIT\'i?ith the back s o f my cha irs gettingmore co mfortable and more refin ed , a

pr oble m with the o ld seat cons truction became clearer. Following theexample of centuries of Ap pa lac hia nchairmakers, I had been weaving thesea t over a top set of rungs. And as inthe o ld chairs. the tops of the frontlegs stuck out above the seat. Thiskept the top rung joints away from theend of the leg. where it would be susceptible to failure: but it a lso meantthe protruding leg always poked youin the thig h.

I had seen another construction onso me early Queen Anne and Chippendale chairs that I thought might

Phot os (his pa,ge and foll owing page: Scott Phillips OCTOBER 1996 29

Tying back and base together. Rounding

the backs of the spindles made a visual link

with the rounded legs and rungs.


solve thi s problem. It had a flat rail atth e front instead of a rung , a pi ecethi ck enough to conta in both th etenon at th e to p o f th e front leg andth e tenon o f the side rung. I decidedto try out some thing similar o n o ne ofmy ladder- back s.

In ad ditio n to converting th e fro ntrung I made the side rung a rail as welland gave it a rectan gul ar tenon. I mad ethe tenon long e nough so the legtenon came up th rough it, locking theside rail in place (see dr awing fac ingpage). I cut a ste p into the leg tenon togive it more resistan ce to stress witho ut resorting to a larger tenon thatwould have weake ned both the siderail tenon and the front rail.

Th is new arra ngement made mychai rs stro nger and made them look abit more refined. It incr eased th ecomfort in two ways, first by removing the protruding legs and second byp utting th e side rails in th e sameplan e as the front rail, mak ing the seatless slung. Wh en I sa w how well th eseat wo rked on my ladder-b ack s, itmigrated to all the othe r cha irs I built.

A MORE FORMAL CHAIR

A year ago, a woma n who ad miredmy ladder-back cha irs as ke d if I cou ldmak e a set of cha irs that would havethe sa me spirit but be mo re su ited to afor ma l d ining room. I decid ed I wouldd o an update o f my oid arrow-backchai rs, inco rporating the new seat I'ddeveloped for the ladder-b ack.

Th e re were a co up le of deta ils o nthe arrow-back tha t I wante d to imp rove. O ne was the arrows th e mselves, th e sp ind les. I liked th ei rshape, w hich is traditional , but Iwa nted so me thing mo re contempora ry. Another was th e offse t wherethe ve rtica ls met the top slat. Th isrid ge hit th e shou lde r blades o f tallcustomers , inte rrupting th e conti nuous comfort o f the arro ws. It also created a visual interruptio n in the flowof th e back. O ne mo re thi ng tocha nge was the way the posts contin ued past the top slat. I thought it

made the chair look to o ta ll.For the contemporary fee ling, I tried

using straight-sided spindles. The firstones I mocke d up wer e straight-s ided,pa rallel to each other, and rectangularin sectio n (see botto m photo facingpage). Th ere was something interesting about th em, b ut they seemed fatand clunky in contras t to the rest of thecha ir. Afte r seve ral more experimentson the dr y-fitted mock-up , I arrived atthe cur rent design, with the spindles tapered and fanned (see photo at left). Tomake them flow bette r w ith the chair'srounded elements , I ro unded the backof each spindle while leaving the frontflat. Thi s mad e them loo k thinner andmore o rga nic, and produced a singleline at the side, so mething I'd admiredin Sam Maloof's cha irs.

Elimina ting th e o ffset between thearrows and the ba ck rails meant usingdifferent joinery. In my oid chairs, thearro ws slipped full thi ckn ess into themortises in th e c res t rail. To producesp indles and ra ils th at were flush, Iput shouldered teno ns on both e ndsof th e ve rt icals. To fix the problemw ith th e legs extendi ng to o high, Ibo rro w ed from th e past again andmade a crest rail that ex te nds over thelegs like a fan -back Windsor.

STYLE MEETS TECHNOLOGY

I have a lways tried to work as muchas p oss ibl e by hand as I bui ld mycha irs . This is partl y becau se I enjoyworking simply, b ut also because Ithi nk that to unde rst and trad itio nalcha irmaking you m ust unde rstandthe tr ad itio nal ways of workingwood. But I find th at some designsare just impractical to build by hand .Add ing ro u te rs and o ther powerto ol s to my o pera tion has enabledme to bui ld fresh vers ions of oldchai rs effic iently and have plenty o ftim e for hand work, too. In this newfan-back, for exam ple , I wouldn'tconsider cu tting th e shoulderedte nons o n the spindles by hand, Onepass w ith a route r cuts them all ato nce in p e rfect a lignment. Then,

wi th the ro ute r quiet , the o rga nicflow o f swells and curves in the backis a good home for handwork.

A BARK SEAT

The rus tic look of a woven bark sea tis one element in my cha irs that keepscoming into question as I refine mydesigns. As an alte rnative, I havemade seats w ith woven cloth tape ,and I mad e o ne se t of ebonized fanbacks wit h a padded leath er se at. I also have plans for using real rush onmy new designs. A carve d woodenseat is also in the works.

So far, howeve r, all these diversionshave only se rved to reinforce my loveaffai r wi th hi ck ory ba rk. It is ve rystrong and makes a comfortable, resilient seat. I love th e way it looks,and it gets more beautiful with age.And I like the way it ties me and mychai rs to th e Ap palachian tradition(fo r a descrip tio n of har vesting hickory bark, see How They Did It, p . 96) .Bar k was used by indigeno us tribesfo r baskets and lashing materi al, andby ea rly w hite se tters as harness material, substituting for leather. A logging frie nd to ld me he has usedhickor y bark to pull his log truc k outof a mu d hole when he didn 't have achai n. Bark ca n subs titute for man ythi ngs-but it's hard to find a subs titut e for bar k.

I'll keep loo kin g, but I thi nk I'll always have a preference for bark. Barkseats are o ne of the things that attrac ted me to thi s kind o f cha irma king tobegin with . Besides, I just want topu sh the Ap pa lac hian tradition a bit ,no t leave it behind. •

Brian Boggs is a chairmaker in Berea, Ky.

Fan-back unfo ld ing . Boggs designed his new

chair by mocking up the back; the base

staye d the same as his ladder-back's. This

early mock-up shows thick, straight-s ided

sp indles , rectangular in sect ion.

Photo thi s page :Jonath an Bi nzen

A STRONGER SEATBoggs 's frame seat, inspired by Queen Anneand Chippendale examp les, eliminates theprotruding front leg that compromises th ecomfort of traditional post-and-ru ng chairs.

Leg tenongoes upthrough siderail tenon,locking it inp lace .

DETAIL: MORTISE SECTION

Side rail Legtenon tenon

Front ra i/~shallowlymortised toaccept topof leg

OCTOBE R 1996 31

FURNITURE DETAILS ON A FACADE

SOME ORNAMENTATIONDATES TO ANTIQUITYWhat I call "the wave" had been ca ptivating architects and furniture desi gn e rs for ce nturies before I not iced itoutside the Pe king Restaurant. It is apattern traceabl e in man y variations to

nary neoclassic struc ture that forme rlyhou sed the basement Chinese restaurant wh ere I often ate lun ch. Most surfaces of this relief are sc ulp te d , withprecious little nat sur face . Th e profileon my glove tabl e is similar to this example. I chose a less modeled carving,becau se my backboard allo wed foro nly a nar row ca rv ing band and I

want ed eno ug h plain surface so that itwas co mpatible with the tabl e top.

The author found severa l examples of a favorite style of ornamentation near hisoffice. The evolute spira l band, wh ich resembled a wave, fit th e subtle nauticaltheme of his table. He chose the complex pattern shown in th e bottom drawing .

Renwick Gallery, the recenrly ren ovated Evening Star bui ldin g, the Department of Comme rce and the AmericanBar Association building are all prorninent buildings adorne d with variantson this spiral theme. The border patterns on these buildings are elegantlyproportion ed. The Renwick Galleryhas the 1110st strai ghtforward relief, anat diagram with little shaping and detail. Its simplicity gives it graphicstrength. The National Gallery has perhap s the more elegant example, a castbronze grille at the entryway with aleaf-and-flower configuration closelyrelated to the wave.

My pr eferen ce , howe ver, was for alimestone entab lature at the secondlevel of a som ewhat worn and o rd i-

£ nirure design has lon g been inJ~~:enced by arc hitec ture . Breakfronts are often reminiscent of formalclassical building faca des. Pilasterswith capitals o ften flank the doors ord rawers of a secre ta ire Pedimentsan d corn ices top man y cabine ts, giving them a lo ok of miniature monumerits o r temples. As a standa rdprac tice in the 17th ce ntury, Ge rma ncabinetmaker ap pre ntices were requ ired to make pieces of furniture inthe style o f b ui ld ings to reach themthe beaut y of arc hitectural proportionand deta iling.

As a practi cing architect, I have always been fasc ina ted by so me of there peat-pa tte rn reli ef designs on oldsto ne facad es. One of my favorit es isthe flowing wave motif seen on man ybuil dings fro m the late 19th and ea rly20th ce ntu ries. Wh en I needed aca rved border design for the ba ckboard of a g love table I was designing , I decided to use the wa vedecoration . It seeme d the perfect ac ce nt because the tabl e backboard featured a sc allo p she ll above apronounced ebony "wa te rline." As abasic motif, I found the wave to be anappealing and flexibl e geome tricform, one that could be adapted witha modern twi st fo r use on a co nte mporary piece of furn iture.

Architecture and furnitu re design meet.

The author used architectural decoration on

his glove table. Pediments, moldings, friezes

and reeded pilasters are often bo rrowed from

build ings for use on furniture.

LOOKING FOR A PATTERNTo find my wave , I made a brief photographic survey of some examples inthe downtown area where I work inWashington, D.C. The city has manyfine traditi onal neoclassic buil din gs,and it was not difficult to find gracefulexamples o f the re peat wa ve pa tte rn,many of them not far from the Whit eHou se. The National Gallery of Art, the

Photo s: Timothy D. Sc-hrei ner. except w here noted : room co urtesy o f AI1I1 Duff drawing: Micha el Gd latly OCTO BE R 1996 33

Catching a wave. A survey of patterns on

buildings produced a wide variety of wave

motifs . The moderately complex example

used on the table leaves some flat surface to

mim ic the tabletop.

1990s Etch-A-Sketch. Acompute r aided

duplicat ion of the wave and prod uced a full-size

sketch, wh ich helped the autho r carve a mock

up and eventuallythe real cherry backboard.

carver in his youth. Other sch ools hadme chanical drawing classes. We studied furniture design. \'V'e were ex pec ted not only to produce plan, elevationand isometric drawings but also tobuild the piece . It wa s great trainingand I use it today, although now my final designs are worked out o n a co mputer. I use a drafting table in the earlyconce ptual phase of designing buildings and furniture . Nevertheless, muchof th e tedium of drafting already defined co nce pts can be alleviated bythoughtfu l use of compute r drawing.For example , in the development ofmy glove table design, once I got onewave design I liked it was easy to repeat it again and again.

Computer drafting also allowed meto develop half of a symmetrical frontelevation, then "mirror" it to create theother half. But perhaps best of all, thecomputer permitted me to qu ickly du plicate individually intricate decorativeitems such as the scallop she ll and thewave motif, and to rescale each untilthe best size resulted.

anc ient civilizatio ns, and probablywa sn 't symbolic of water originally,but was simply an ab stract geometri cdesign . One book in my architecturallibrary shows it in the forecourt of thetomb of Agam emnon at Mycenae ,which dates to 1325 Be. A ve rsioneven appears more than 1,000 yearsearlier as the common "rope and feather" ornament of Egyptian bas-reliefstonework and painted de coration.

Fourteen similar relatives of this pattern, called "Evolute-Spiral Bands," aresho wn in the Handbook ofOrn a ment ,first published in 1888.

ANTIQUE DESIGNS MADE EASYBY MODERN COMPUTERSAs a 16-year-old student at Hill Schoolin Pottstown, Pennsylvania, I had thepri vileg e to study under Carl A.Pacanovsky, who was a Slovakian altar

DETAILS MUST ACCOMPANYGOOD BASIC TABLE DESIGNThe co m positio n o f the g\ove tab\ewas well developed before the wavedesign for the backboard was evenstarted. The top was planned in ashallow arc with a rounded edge detail so that the tab\e could fit in a narrow hallway. I decided to grace thefront with three drawers-two for

34 HO ME F UR NIT UR E Bo ttom ph o to (h is p age: Author

gloves, one for keys-a nd the backwith a backboard to keep mail an do ther small ite ms from slid ing o ff.The first version of my hallway tabl ewas more rectangular an d modernthan the final one. The final ve rsio nhad a more tradit ional ex pressio n,one that has some resemblance toSheraton tables of the late 1700s beca use of the reeded legs-an othe r architectura l e lement ofte n borrowedby furn iture makers.

I kept joinery des ign highl y tradition al with pegged mortise-and- teno njoints where the sides an d lower frontrail meet the legs , and dou bled -dovetail jo ints co nnecting the upper rail tothe legs. I finished it w ith severalrubbed coats of tung o il and varn ishthat highlighted the de pth of the curlygrain figure in the to p and ke pt theca rving from being overly shiny.

DESIGN SUBTLETIESUNIFY THE COMPOSITIONJu st as in furni ture , successful arc hitectur al faca des are unified by good design tec hniques. Ho rizo nta l moldingscan visua lly tie togethe r strong verticalelements suc h as piers or co lumns .Sma ll moldings on wi ndows anddoors can reinfo rce the form of a larger co rnice above.

I spent considerable time working atthe compositional uni ty o f the glovetabl e , becau se I believe that many furniture designs fail to connect disparate elements. My leg ree ds in partrelate to the lobes of the scallop she llabove them. The curved ebony waterline mol d ing at the backboard to pbrings the eye to the carved band below, and ca uses the she ll to floatabove . The dark mold ing term inatesw ith a sma ll scroll flo ur ish atop acherry b lock that aligns w ith the legbelow. To rei nforce the ebony at thewaterline, curved ebony inl ays o ndrawer fronts provide a backdrop fo rthe polished brass pu lls. The pullswere chosen for their sca lloped profile. which mimics the she ll above andreeds below.

A MUTUAL INFLUENCEArchit ecture and furniture are relatedmore than is ofte n recogni zed. I believe that both are arts co nstraine d byfunctional req uireme nts, which may bece leb rated or hidden by the design er.Often the two arts are thou ghtfully synchronized, as in the work of Cha rlesRennie Mackintosh , Frank Lloyd\'Vright and Ge rrit Rietveld. Som etim esthey meld co mpletely, as in the Califor-

An architectural leg to stand on. The table's

Sheraton -like legs bo rrow from reeded

co lumns, which, like the wave patt ern , are

also borrowed from architecture.

A nautical theme. The backboard of the

glove tab le feat ures a carved scallop she ll

floating on an ebony waterline atop the

carved wave.

nia hou ses and furniture by architec tsCharles and Henry Gree ne.

Usually, if there is any borrowing todon e , furn iture design accepts a loanfrom architecture- as in my glov etable. But New York City's co ntemporary AT&T building with the Chippendale top shows tha t the influence ca nflow in both direction s. •

Mark Bellonbyis a Washington, D.C. architect.

OCT 0 B E R 1 9 9 6 35

Pushing the cabinetmaker's art . With its serpent ine facad e and stunning marquetry and carving, thi s reproduction of the historic Holmes

bookcase is sma ller th an the Sout h Caro lina o riginal (p ho to on o ppos ite page) but ce rta inly no small undertaking.

36 HOM E FUR NI T U R E

A Cabinetmaker's DreamBuilding the Holmes bookcase is as much a

challenge today as it was 200 years agoB Y DOUG MOOBERRY

"'ears ago, while o n aJ ~rip to Charles ton,South Carolina, I mar veledat the craftsma ns hip that Isaw there-wonderful entran ces , carved mantels,orna te windows. But whatca ug ht my eye most o f allwas a piece of furniture, alibrary bookcase built inthe 1770s by a craftsmanunknown. It was th eHolmes bookcase , o ne ofth e most stun ning piecesof ca b ine tma king I hadever seen.

Much late r, when a co up le w ho had been int er-es ted in o ur work as ke d us ab outdining room furniture , my thoughtsret urned to th at grand o ld bookcase .The cl ie nts had in mind a cabine t tostore and d isplay silve r, some thingbigger than a sideboard, and a fancyboo kcase seeme d just the thing. But aco mmiss io n like thi s had to be appro ach ed in jus t th e right way. "The

museum at Yale has a nice librarybookcase ," I suggested . "The re aresome good Eng lish designs fromChippenda le." Pause. I had o n my lapa co py of Milby Burton 's well-knownbook o n Charles to n furniture , whichhas a picture o f the Holmes book caseo n the frontispiece . "The n there 's thisCha rlesto n piece."

A mahogany col ossus. The

original Holmes library

bookcase is spectacular not

only for its size (11 feet high)

but also because of its superb

craftsmanship and detailin g.

THE NEWPORT OFTHE SOUTHThe Holm es bookcase saysas mu ch about th e city ofCharlesto n as it does aboutthe craftsme n who made it.Like Philad elphia, Bostonand Newport, Cha rles to nin the 1700s was a thri vingpo rt city and a destin atio nfor European ca binetma kers eager to ca te r to thegrowing bu siness class.Stand ing 1I feet high, theboo kcase is conside redone of th e finest p ieces o fAme rica n furniture evermad e . It is a form taken

right fro m Th omas Chippenda le's design boo k, The Ge n tlema n a nd Cab inet-Maher's Director, a hu gelyinfluential so urcebook for 18th -centuryfurniture makers in America.

The design from the Director reflectsthe balanced, stoic symmetry of Po mpeii and Herculan eum, the arc hitec tura l remain s o f which were bei ng

Photo facin g page: Bill Ik L'ring : p hot o this page: The Cha rleston "-'IUSl't1I11 . Cha rles to n, s,c. OCTOBER 1996 37

Some details had to go. In scaling down

th is piece, marquetry had to be rearranged

or eliminated, as in the case of th ese inlaid

flowers in the scrolls on th e original (right).

Miles of marquetry. Nearly every surface on

the Holm es bookcase has some form of

decoration. The reproduction bellflowers in

the pedim ent (above) are made to resemble

the original ivory (right).

unearthed in the 18th ce ntury to inspire a generation of design ers, amon gthem Chippendale . The craftsme nwho made the Holmes book case usedthe Chippendale drawings as a startand added curves, marquetry, inlayand co lor to temper its eno rmo us size.The serpentine facade invites the eyeto investigate othe r features, like thefloral and geometric inlay framing thefigur ed veneers. Ivory inlays and therippled hand-blown glass add co lorand texture. The magnificent cartou ch e , or ce ntral carving, in the pediment-in this case a carved basket oftlowers-retlects an agrarian theme relating to the local eco no my. To us, ascabine tmake rs, this piece is spectacular, its technical artistry as cha lleng ingtoday as it wa s 200 yea rs ago.

A MATTER OF SCALEIn the Heyward-washington Hou se inCharleston where the Holmes bookcase stands, we arrived one day withcame ras, tape mea sures and drawingtabl ets . Steve Latta (who was go ing totake the lead in building the reprodu ction) and I were left alon e with thebook case . We had mad e a number ofChippendale pieces over the years, butthis was to be by far our greatest cha llenge . Sunlight reflected o ff the ma hogany and the grand antique seemedto say: "So yo u're ready, are yo u?"

Our first task was to scale the casedown to 8 feet to fit in the clients'home. The original , built for a library,had a central desk whi ch we decid edto leave out. Our cabinet would havethree sectio ns : the base , which haspull outs for serving; the ce nte r cabine tof glass doors; and the elabo rate, flowing pediment.

Back home in the shop, Steve playedwith numbers. Our first plan-rem oving the de sk section and reducing theremaining sec tions by an equal perce ntage-seeme d de ceptively simple .After scaling everything down, we realized that the pull outs would be roolow for serving.To make up for this wehad to borrow height from othe r

38 HOME FURNITURE Pho tos: Boyd ILigell . except wh ere not ed: top and bo ttom p hoto s this pa ge: Th e Char les ton Muse um. Cha rleston. S.c.

places, d rawing ea ch section in de tailto save inches without upsett ing thestate ly proportions of the o riginal.Every su rface has decoration , so scaling down (if possible at all) meant removing o r rearrang ing inlay pa tternsand marqu etry. We were trying tosqueeze a grea t paint ing onto a smaller ca nvas; w e hung o ur draw ings onthe wa ll, eac h time ste pping back for afiner critique .

THE WORK OF MANY HANDSAn ex trao rdinary antique suc h as thiswas not the product of o ne lonelycraftsman. Cab ine tmake rs in co lonialAmerica routinely farm ed out specialized jobs, like carving an d marqu etry.In reproducing th is mas terp iece, weworked mu ch the same wa y.

Kevin Arno ld, our ca rve r, tack led thepediment, reinventing the carto uchebecause the or igina l foliage see med tobe missing (carto uches tend to be de lica te and break easily) . After trips tothe Wint erthur Museum in Delaware

and co nsultatio n with period ex pe rts,Kevin copied the basket and rose fromthe o rig inal but mad e it smaller. Heused acant hus leaf foliage-a co mmonap point me nt of the peri od-becausewe felt it harmoni zed with the classicalfeatures of the book case.

Li ke the carving, the marquetry onthe o riginal probabl y had been subcontracted to a specialist and the qua lity of the work was exceptional. Steve

Crafting a cartouche. Some of th e foliage in

the original basket (be low) may have been

replaced . Carver Kevin Arnold had to research

the form befo re carving his version at left.

Improved, not just new. The serpe ntine

doors we re the only feature made in a new

way. To keep the veneer from cracking, the

doors we re laminated rat her than coopered

out of solid wood .

mad e sample afte r sample ; each timethe flowers go t a little bett er , the geometric patterns a little tighter.

Fitting the blown glass - ma de inGe rma ny-was no less a challenge.Hand-blown glass is neither flat nor ofuni form thickn ess, which mak es cutting it a delicate task. With our deadline around the co rner and th e ex traglass we orde red still in a wa rehousein Ge rmany, we coerced a friend ,John

Top right ph oto this pa ge : Th e Cha rleston ~111 .seu11l , Cha rlesto n, S.c. OCTO BE R 1996 39

Rush , to cut and fit the 80 pieces ofwiggly glass . The Holmes Bookcase: A Colonial Treasure

j. Thomas Savage is the directo r and curator of th e museum division of th e Historic Charleston

Foundation.

was owned by Holmes's heirs

until it was given to The Charleston Museum in 1947; it is now on display at

the Heyward-Washington House (above) in Historic Charleston .

The history of the bookcase has not always been so dignified. The

pioneering furniture historian Esther Singleton, who photographed and wrote

about antiques at the turn of the century, recorded in her 1906 boo k The

Furniture of Our Forefathers that "two or three of the orig inal drawers were

used by the British officers for horse-troughs. Their places have been supplied

by 'new ones' made directly after the Revolution. " Damaged or not, a 178 3

probate inventory of John Edwards' property lists a "large Mahogany Book

Case" valued at 100 pounds, quite a large sum at the time.

What makes the bookcase unique, among other features, is the lavish use

of floral inlays and "strapwork"-the geometric inlay in the pediment above

the doors. This type of decoration represents a synthesis of British and German

influences, and while research hasyet to reveal the names of the craftsmen

involved, it is tempting to suggest a German im migrant, Martin Pfeninqer, as

a candidate. In the South Carolina Gazette of Apr il 13, 1773, Pfeninger

advertised "Cabinet-Making in all its branches, Also Inlaid Work in any Taste,"

a remarkably early reference to inlay in America.

The Heyward-Washington House (87 Church St ., Charleston, S.c.) is open

to th e public year-round. For more information, call The Charleston Museum

at (803) 722-2996.

- -

III

BY J. THO MA S SAVAGE

Long mistaken for a post

Revolutionary neoclassical

piece, the commanding

Holmes bookcase was actually

made in the 1770s for the

British emigre John Edwards.

Edwards's daughter, Elizabeth,

married attorney John Bee

Holmes in 1783. The bookcase

Doug Mooberry is the proprietor of Kinloch

Woodworking Ltd . in Unionville, Penn .

A masterpiece recreated. Steve Latt a (rear)

spent six months building this version of the

Holmes bookcase, w ith help fro m Doug

Mooberry (seated) and Kevin Arnold (at right).

DASH T O THE FINISHThe book case gradually came together until our deadline-our annual ope nhouse-was less than two we eks awav,Suddenly it seemed like there were notenough hours in ea ch day. The pediment work had only just begun: Kevinwas still working on the basket carvi ngwhile Steve was pu tting the pedimenttogethe r and sta rting o n the painstaking marqu etry. Everyone was showingsigns of stress. In the fina l two weeksbefo re the o pe n ho use , the shoplogged 456 hours of labo r. We wererunning out of time.

Five minutes before the gu ests wereto arrive at the open hou se , Kevin tookthe basket of flowe rs off his ben ch forthe last time and placed it o n the case.\X1e met our deadline , probably undersimilar circumstances as the original200 years ago. •

40 H O ME FURNIT URE Draw ing : 1\ l id u l'l Gc-ll.u ly

Cloud Rise BedB Y G A R Y RO GOWSK I

An image fit for slumber. The cloud

rise form , seen in the gently stepped rails of

the headboard, adds lift to the strong

horizontal/ines. ~ating clouds risin g in the sky.J ~ist in the hills. What better formth an th e cloud rise to sha pe a bed?What better image fo r sleeping? Usedby the Chinese for ce ntur ies in theirfurniture , th e cloud rise gave me justthe subtle accent I wanted for th is bed .No blustery posts o r g ilded cherubsstaring down at my slee ping cus tomers; just a refined form with a fewdetails wa s e no ug h to satisfy my design sense and the ir taste .

This des ign , as with all othe rs eve r

dream ed of in slee p o r while awake ,springs from several so urces. The taperof the legs, flaring like trees as they desce nd to the ground, is a basic architectural form. Cha rles Rennie Mackintoshused it successfully in so me of his furni ture design s, and I liked the way it gavea so lid and stable look to the bed posts.This became one of my starting forms.

Anothe r dominant form-the overhan ging rail in th e headboard-is afeature I have always e njoyed in Chinese furnitu re . This same sha pe also

Photos: Zac hary Gau lkin. except where no ted OCT OBE R 1 9 9 6 4 1

Asian inspiration. The cloud rise, seen here

in the footboard, is a common feature in

t raditi onal Chin ese furn iture.

can be found in Japanese temple design, parti cul arly in th e gates th atfro nt those sac red spaces. I felt thestrong ho rizo ntal line co ntras ted nicely with the taper o f the legs. It alsoseemed to fit well with the broad expan se of a futon o r mattress thatwould fill the bed.

With my horiz ontals in place and theleg shape defined, I now had a fram ewithin wh ich to design so me pleasing

42 HOM E FU R NIT U R E

shapes. The cloud rise (a lso called a"cloud lift" in Greene and Gree ne furniture) becam e a foca l point for bothpositive and negative shapes. I coulduse it in the head and foo tboards. creating shapes that would also de fine thenegative space between these rails. Inothe r words, the positive cloud rise inthe head and footboards gives the negative spaces the same sha pe . I also

used the cloud rise in the long bed railsin two ve rsions of this design, and leftthem square in a third version with aslightly d ifferent headboard (see photos facing page).

A beautifu l fea ture of a design likethis is the freedom it allows when filling up the space w ithi n the structuralframe of the headboard. There were. Idiscovered, man y ways to divide anddecorate this space. In the first re ncli-

Headboard is a canvas. The open-framed

headboard can be divided and decorated in

different ways. In this one, the central field is

no longe r solid, and th e orb is larger.

Similar design , d ifferent details. This

variation on the cloud rise bed stresses the

horizontal. The central image, a stylized seed

pattern in rosewood, provides contrast.

tion, I used tapered columns in boththe foot and head boards, similar inshape to the be d legs, to help supportthe long top rails. Then I decided that astro ng co ntrasting sha pe-a rosewoodo rb- wo uld be a wonde rful co unterpo int to all those horizo nta l lines. Inanot he r version , I used three narrowho rizonta ls, and in a third I decoratedthe headboard with two stylized seedfo rms (see ph otos above). •

Top phot o (his page : Harol d \'\'000: hottom ph oto: Phil Harr is

SPECIFICATIONS

DIMENSIONS84 in. long, 66 in. wide and 36 in. high .

M ATERIALSCherry and rosewood.

FINISHOil and varnish mixture .

OCTOBER 1996 43


t; apothecary ches t was design edas a sewing storage chest and worktable . It provides a large work surfaceat a comfortab le height with plenty ofconvenient sto rage .

As the name suggests, the apothecary chest was a staple in old ph arma cies. It often had rows and rows ofdifferent ly-sized d rawe rs in which apharmacist ke pt all h is powders andche mica ls. Those cabine ts are things ofthe pas t, but the name has survivedand remains a co mmon descripti on ofa chest with a lot of small drawers.

I dec ided to us e this form for ase wing che st in part because my wife ,Faith, had taken up qu ilting and needed sma ll storage spaces. She sugge sted a la rge , walk-aro und se wingsurface at standi ng height with lots ofd rawers (s he not o nly sta nds to cutfab ric bu t prefe rs to sew stand ing up ).I adapted the design (mostly thedrawer configura tio n) from a 19th ce ntu ry Shaker apothecary chest. Thepiece is a utili tari an success not o nlyfor qu ilting but also for stashing yarns ,crochet cotton, e mbroidery floss ,

stenc ils and patt erns.The chest is unmistakably Shake r in

pedigree, and I used highl y figur edbird 's-eye mapl e to give its plain formso me distinction. Because the piecewas designed to be placed awa y from

Pulls grow with the drawers. The turned

cocobolo drawer pulls are graduated in size

vertically, as are the drawers.

the wall , I used bird 's-eye mapl e pane ls on the ba ck as well. Graduateddrawer sizes (and pulls) provide verti cal balan ce, which I thou ght would beimportant on such a wide chest.

I used bird's-eye maple ve neer overa medium-density fibe rboard substratefor the side and back pa ne ls. The top isalso ve neered and surrounded by aso lid maple frame. Using veneeredrathe r tha n so lid panels made it easierto match the figure and added st rengthand stabi lity. The drawer fronts an dco rner posts are so lid maple. •

SPECIFICATIONS

DIMENSIONS55% in. wide, 26 in. deep and 36 in. high.

MATERIALSMaple, bird's-eye maple veneer, poplarand cocobolo.

FINISHShellac and varnish.

Veneer makes it stable. Using veneered

panels instead of solid adds stabil ity and

allows the maker to consistently match the

striking bird's-eye figure.

Photos : Charley Frl' ihl'r g O C T O B ER 996 45

We'll have your chair ready in 2,000 years. The design of the

author's reproduction 17th-century Chinese chair is the culmination

of millenia of unbroken development.

Classic Chinese ChairB Y RAND OL P H D E M E R C A D O

Sweet, bu t not simple. The grace and flu id ity of its lines belie the complexity of

this chair, wh ich is the most difficult piece th e author has ever made.

•I came to building Chinese furnitureby way of bonsai tre es . As I studiedbonsai in books I was impress ed bythe tables the mini ature trees were displayed upon. Unfortunately, the goodChinese tabl es I found were expensiveand the less expens ive ones werepoorly made . With no real backgroundin woodworking, I decided to makemy own. Little did I kn ow, as I co nsidered these piece s whose lines hadbeen refined over several millenia , thatI was start ing out by building some ofthe most co mp lex furniture ever made.

My mento r in Chinese furni ture making was Gustav Ecke. I found him in anold , diml y lit bookstore in New YorkCity. I didn't know what I was lookingfor, but whe n the owne r heard my story he pull ed a copy of Mr. Ecke's classic book Chinese Dom estic Furniturefrom the she lf. I sta rte d to thumbthrou gh it and with eac h Hip I becam emore excited. Here were photographsof this beautiful furniture along withfull measured drawings and detaildrawings that clearly revea led how thepieces we re put tog ether.

I took the book home and charted adecade of woodworking in an afternoon. Since the n I've made a caree r ofb uilding Chinese furniture from theclassic Ming and Ching dynasties , o rroug hly from the 14th to 19th ce nturies.

It was severa l years befor e I madethis chair, even though it was the

Ph OlOS: Jon ath an Bin zen

piece that struc k me most strongly thatfirst da y. It is lucky I waited , because itturned out to be the trickiest piece I'vemade. Its fluid lines be lie some ve ryco m plex joinery that requires extremely precise measuring and bench work. Marki ng an d cutting the scarfjoints that co nnect the five pieces ofthe arm bow was pa rticul arly ex actingwork. As with all the Chinese piecesI've made, however, the involved joinery recedes once the piece is ass embled. The jo inery is not there fo r show,but in the service of the strength andthe How of the piece. Only the craftsman (and Mr. Ecke) know how hardwon this furn iture 's simplicity is. •

SPECIFICATIONS

DIMENSIONS

24!1s in. wide, 19 in. deep and

40 in. high.

MATERIALS

Padauk.

FINISH

Tung oil.

O CT OBER 1 9 9 6 47

Painted File ChestBY D ANI EL AND P A TR ICIA M O SES

Detaile d files . Poplar g uides hold th e

han g ing folders. The lid is held o pen by a

sing le black, braided co rd .


P erso nal necessity can cause o neto recogni ze a mor e unive rsa l

need, whic h in turn can inspire a newcreatio n. Such was the cas e wit h ourfile ches t. Growt h of the ho me-basedoffice (including our own) and our de si re to make o ffice furn iture artful as

well as function alwere the motivating forces be hindthis project.

One of the moststriking featuresof this piece is thecolo r, w hich wasinspired by thered and blackco ntrast ofte nfound in Navajo,Turkish and Orie ntal textiles.These co lors, likethe textiles them se lves . e ndureand tran scend thewhims o f the desig n industr y. Wemixed two differe nt co lors of red

milk paint-one that was ve ry boldand o ne more mut ed-to get just theright hue . and we used an eho ny stainfor the stand. (For more abo ut the milkpa int, see The Finish Line, p. 22.)

We chose popl ar becau se it takespaint we ll but used hirch plywood forthe lid to prevent seasonal movem ent,whi ch co uld crack the paint. The construction is simple, with the front and

back connected to the sides with rabbe ts and co unte rsunk screws co veredby poplar plu gs. Two popl ar guideshold the standard-sized file folders .

The legs of the stand (w hich is separate from the cabinet) have a gentlecurve, givi ng the squarish chest ashape ly pe rch. The so ft lines of thelegs arc reflected in the handles of theches t, creating a balance between hardand soft edges.

The hardware is particularly important to the aes thetics of the piece. Blanket chest hinges are trad itionally usedon the inside of chests. but this pair ofhin ges was design ed to fit outs ide tosho w its rust ic, han d-forged beauty.The fro nt and side han dles are an tiqu ed brass and were chosen fo r theirelegant shape and tooled design . (Fo rmore information ab ou t the hardware,see Sources, p. 104.) •

SPECIFICATIONS

DIM ENSIO NS

Overall: 36 in. wide, 16 in. deep and

36 in. high .Chest with out stand: 33'1. in. w',oe,

14Y. in. deep and 13Y2 in. high.

MATERIALS

Poplar, birch plywood , steel and brass.

FIN ISH

Milk pa int, ebony sta in, gel varnish and

wat er-based polyurethane.

Phot os : Sc-ott C riSW(lkl

Decoration resides in the hardware. The

hand-forged stee l strap hinges and antiqued

brass handles add text ure and ado rnment to

a spare, simple form .

O CTOBER 1 9 9 6 49

•t designed and built thi s simp letabl e for myself ove r a yea r and a half,whi le ) was doing o the r woodworking and building a house . Lookingback o n it, exte nd ing the co nstruc tionp ro cess was a reward in itself. As )worked o n it, ) cont inua lly examinedmy motives fo r haste , and ) gavegreate r atte nt io n to the wood, thetoo ls, and the creative process.

Looking down o n the table , theapron forms a golden rectangle. Thiswonderful p roportion, ) fee l, lends auni versality and an historical legacy tothe piece .

) deve loped the as ym metrical arcsof the aprons through trial and error,using a full -sized drawing. This tookseveral hours ove r a few days beforethe p roporti ons loo ked and felt right.

) cut the diamond-shaped bevel onthe legs at 75°, tapering to approximately Y2 inc h by .3f4 inch at the foot.The apron tenons are pinned with YHinc h mapl e dowels.

Th e gent le arcs o f the Y2-inch glasstop were int ended to pla y off the

SPECIFICATIONS

curves of the apron. The top is held inp lace with ·%-inch maple dowels,whi ch protrude through holes drilledint o the glass. ) used cocobolowedges in the dowels to hold theglas s se curely. •

A D IAMOND -SHAPEDTAPERED LEG

TOP VIEW

Va.in. mapledowel

Outline of foot

SECTION VIEW

1511 6 in.

15/16 in .

'/] -in. glasstop

DIMENSIONS28 in. long, 17% in. wide and

22Y4 in. high.

MATERIALS

Map le, glassand cocobolo.

FINISHOil.

Pho to: Erik Borg: draw ing: Mark Sam'A ngclo

Cocobolowedge

Maple dowelfits intoholes inglass top .

OC TOBER 1 9 9 6 51

looks and lightness. The author sought to make his music sta nd better-looking, lighter and less costly tha n the sta nda rd folding metal stand . He

succeeded in making it light er and prettier, but he could not make his less expens ive tha n $48.

52 H OM E FUR NIT U R E

Repeating arches unite. After giving up on a design for the to p,

the author cut arches for the base. When two cut -offs fell across

each other on the floor, he instantly saw the design he needed.

myaim in designing this musicstand was to improve o n the look ofthe standa rd fold ing metal mod el andto make it as light o r lighter than a typical 2Y2-pound metal stand. In terms ofcost, at $48 the fo lding meta l standco mes out miles ah ead, but two out ofthree isn 't bad.

The U-shaped foot (ac tually aparabola ) wa s not an original idea. Ihad it fil ed away from something I sawyears ago. However, I did clean it upby tap ering both the hei ght and thethickness. I then decided to attac h athin tap ering post-with a slid ingpiece insid e-leading up to the topsection, where the sheet music sits(see How They Did It, p. 96).

The upper sectio n proved to bemore difficult. I had nothing specific inmind, so I filled a whole page with intersecting lines and curves . In frustration I started working on the base. Twocut-offs fro m the ban dsaw fell to thefloor , landing on top o f each ot her.That was it! I tried two intersectin gparabola s, then four. It tied the top and

Photos: Kip Brund age

base together visually and it also allowed me to use one form for laminating the parts.

With a design I liked and a finalweight of 1% pounds, the standachieved my goa ls. One of my earliestcus to mers, famili ar with my Shakerwork, commented that it look ed Californian. Another noted the intersectingarches and dubbed it "baroque." •

SPECIFICATIONS

DIM EN SIO N S

19 in. wid e, 13 in. deep and 43 in.

to 59 in. high.

MATERIALS

Cherry.

FINISH

Tung oil.

OC TOBE R 1996 53

Fiery Sideboardin English Plane

BY JACK ALBERTI

m uCh of the furniture I build isdecorated with eye-ca tching , repetitive-patterned marquetry. But I knewas soon as I entered the antique-filleddining room whe re this side board wasto stand that I'd have to des ign in amore trad itional ve in to make thisco mmissio n work.

Still, I co uld n' t see making a piecethat didn 't have so me fairly stro ng visua l activity. So o nce I had the designrou ghed out, I began look ing fo r interesting wood. My clients had ex presseda pr eference for so me thing reddish brown, suc h as mah ogan y. I try toavoid usin g rain forest woods in mywork, so I investigated othe r optionsand came up wit h two fascin atingwoods I had never wor ked with:mesquite and English plan e.

The mesquite , hard and dense , hadthe co lor we wa nted, and I decided tobuild the frame of the side board with it.Then there was the Eng lish plane veneer for the doors, top and sides. English plan e is in the sycamore family,and up close it shows the lace-like figure characteristic of syca mo re. But thisHitch had ex traord ina ry co lor as well.By book-matching co nsecutive shee ts,I obtaine d a flam e pattern, whi ch,along with the torrid color, gave thesideboard its nam e: Inferno. •

SPECIFICATIONS

DIMENSIONS

62Y2in. long, 18% in. deep and38 in. high.

MATERIALSMesquite, English plane veneer andmedium-density fiberboa rd .

FINISHLacquer.

Flames in frames. Mesquite legs, rails and

lipping provide frames wit h muted contrast

for the fiery plane ven eer.

Hidden hardware.

Touch latches and

co ncealed hinges

keep the sideboard's

exterior free of

hardware.

Grooves that bind.

Legs and molding

stand proud of the

doors and panels

but a V-groove

(above) provides a

visual binding to

the ca rcase.

Photos: jonathan Bi nzen OCTOBER 1996 55

Craftsman-styleWall Cabinet

BY GARY I.W. SPYKMAN

No need for bulk. Much of the grace of this design

derives from the use of thinly milled quartersawn

oak. No surface is thicker than half an inch .


SCALE ~Or' INCHE5 ~

o 3 " l' 1;1. I~ ~ 'fI I I I I I I

~E~IGN ~ f~ ~A~

\/VALL ;) CABINET~

te lltale rays-mixe d in with the regularstoc k. One of these boards had attractive stripes of dark er wood (usua llyca lled min eral streaking) whi ch ranthrough one end. [ chose this piece fo rthe cabine t and featured the streakingas a highlight , whi ch is es pecially noticeab le in the door panel. (For informati on ab out how the cabine t wasfinished , see The Finish Line, p. 22.)

I made one major change from thepublished design: In the o riginal plan ,the doo r is a single board hung with"long strap hinges, whi ch are good in

I:

II IIII t

I II I

~ -= -:.-:.-_-::...-------jL ___ -- -'=1--------

~j

design and clever in constructio n." Ididn 't want to pay for custom hard ware(this was not a co mmissione d piece)but without the hamm ered brass hingesI felt the single-board door would lookincomplete. Because I have lo ng admired Arts and Crafts fram e-and-paneldoors with wide stiles and rails and relatively small panels, I decided to usethis type of door ins tead. Rather thanhard ware being a major cleme nt, I keptit as min imal as possible, us ing thestructure of the door itself to add to thecharacter of the piece. •

~ ~I I

II

I 'poo~ I

~- - -7/'f- --I I I

---l~- -.It- - - --I 3 />- -- - --I I

I I

u r ~

~ ~- - --

-[III

a-,IIII

_.t.

ifII

II

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t 1e plan s that insp ired this cabinetwere published in the Nove mbe r, 1905issue of Gus tav Stick ley 's maga zine ,"The Craftsma n ," as part o f a se riescalled "Ho me Training in Cabine tWor k." It is described as "very co nvenient as a sto rage place for valued trifles and also to hold a few favorit ebook s,"The design er is not named , butthe scale and p roportions are so per fect and the curves show suc h gracethat it is clearly the work of a master,perhap s even Har vey Ellis, Stickley' Schief design er .

I find myself pondering this designoften, trying to learn its less ons. Theform is bold , ye t there is refinement init, with go uged curves betr aying an ArtNouvea u influen ce. Part o f this delicacy derives from the use of thin material (all the parts are \12 inc h o r less ),

Thou gh I wanted to make a cabine tlike this since I first saw the simple lined rawings , the d iscovery of the perfectmaterial finally gave me the imp etu s tobuild it. I live on the island of Martha'sVineyard, wh ere there is o nly one supplier of hardwood lumber, so it waswith grea t delight and surp rise that [discovered two planks of exceptionalwhite oak- qua rte rsaw n to reveal the

<r_---- - / {,, 0.~ -- --~

SPECIFICATIONS

I iI II III 1

I

I I

~---- - --.,.- -- . - -! ----- --"L... ___. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __.J

DIMENSIONS330/. in. wide, 10 in. deep and 16% in.

high.

M ATERIALSQuart ersawn white oak and brass.

FIN ISHMixture of boiled linseed oil, tur penti ne,

beeswax and japan drier.

~ .o....I

IJIo.

r-.- - - - - - - - - -.3 ;, 7.4 ----- ----~

Photo s: Bob Schellhammer: d rawi ng : repri nted from ,Hti ki l1MAntlunu tc Craftsman Furniture (Dover. 19H(l) OCTOBE R 1996 57

twowin dows and a door det e rmined the shape of this table . My customers wa nted to have a tab le forthe ir entryway, but their fro nt doaropene d into the space where thetab le was to stand. I decided to makeit a shallow tabl e and curve the top,taking adva ntage of what room th edoo r allowed me.

The table 's length was also a function of its placem ent. It would standbe tween a pair of windows that were60 inches apa rt. I made th e tab le 54inches long, using nearly all the spacebut sto pping sho rt of mak ing it loo klike a squeeze.

My approach to furniture design is tokeep it simp le; this was the simp les tso lution I co uld find . •

Spangled sim plicity. Lacewood and an arched

front give a plain table presence. (To learn

rnore about lacewood, see Sources, p. 104. )

SPECIFICATIONS

DIMENSIONS54 in. long , 14 in. wide and 29 in. high .

MATERIALSLacewood, lacewood veneer, medium

density fiberboard and bend ing plywood.

FINISHOil and varnish mixture and wax .

OCT 0 B E R 1 9 9 6 59

CarvedMaple

ArmoireBY MILES

KA R P I L O W

Ambidextrous armoire. Karpilow's maple

cabinet divides the entry hall from the dining

roo m and serves both . It has drawers for tabl e

linens on the dining room side (left) and a

coat closet on the entry side (right) .

•In1991. some o ld frie nds of min elost their house in th e Oa kland Hills(Ca liforn ia) fircstorm. They decid ed tobui ld a new hou se o n the foundation sof the o ne they had lost. When the yas ke d me to design an armoire fo r it.the new hou se ex isted o nly o n pap er.Still. the const raints o n the design ofthe armoire wer e qui te real. The househad an open plan and the armoire wasto se rve as a ro o m d ivide r. Eventhough freestanding. it wa s integral to

the design of the ho use . It would standbetween two Tusca n colum ns andhelp se parate the entry hall fro m th edin ing area. The side o f the ca b ine tfacing the entr y wo uld be a closet forcoats; the dining room side wouldhave two d rawers fo r ta b le line ns. Icould go wh ere I wa nted with the design from there.

My furni tu re designs a re o rigina lex cept for some Greene and Greenereproductions-but I ca n o fte n trace

Pho tox.lo nathan Bin/ ell ; drawings: Autho r OCTOBER 1996 61

Abstract irises. The carv ing design blends the

author's interest in Russian Constructivist art

wit h his dr awings from nature (at far left).

my ideas to hist ori cal sources. Thispiece has a variety of suc h link s. TheTuscan co lumns brought the early Renaissance to mind. And although thewide crown molding ma y resemblesom ething by Charl es Renni e Mackin tosh , for me it has a Quattrocento feeling. The idea of usin g bun fee t ca mefrom som e 17th -century northe rn Europ ean furniture and so me Pennsylvania Dutch wardrobes I had seen andliked . But the particu lar shape I arrivedat was actu ally suggested by a grape fruit-shaped English lawn-bowl ing ballI picked up so me whe re.

Two more disparate intlu encesshaped the carving. I had been lookingat Russian Construc tivist art and wanted to use so me of its sharp, e ne rgizedforms in co nt ras t with the classica llines of the piece. I then incorporatedorganic curves derived from my natu redrawings to soften the design . •

62 HO M E F U R N IT U R E

SPECIFICATIONS

DIMENSIONS

42 in. wide , 27 in. deep at case and

87 in. high .

MATERIALS

Maple and ebo ny.

FINISH

Waterborne polyurethane.

Curved ArmchairB Y F R A N C O I S BR E T O N

Chair gets a second chance. The chair

show n at left is the author's seco nd and

im proved version, with an up holstered sea t, a

wider front stretcher and stronge r joinery.

W lking up one morning , I had aclear vision of this chair. Inspired, Imad e a few sketches and then a fullsca le drawing. I mad e four chairs atfirst. using templates for gluing thecurve d pieces. I carved the seats out ofbasswood and used thro ug h-teno nswith rounded sho ulders. which create ashado wline at the joint.

[ liked the look of the rounde d sho ulders on the ten ons, but they were too

])IHl{(>S: Martin Boudrcauf

small and un wield y and, as a result , theframe racked. So I made all the piecesa bit bigger, ge tting rid of the rounde dtenon sho ulde rs and replacing the twofront stre tche rs with a sing le , w idero ne to reinforce the wh ole asse mbly.

I also replaced the carved wood se atwith a more co mfortable upholsteredone. I think the second version is simpler and more so lidly built. •

SPECIFICATIONS

DIMENSIONS22 in. wide, 26 in. deep and 32 in. high.

MATERIALSYellow birch and synthetic leather.

FINISHAniline dye and lacq uer.

OCTOBER 1 996 63

Modern RolltopB Y JAMIE RUSSELL

Fresh slant on tambours. Descended from the 18th-century roll top desk, th is one flattens out the rounded lidand removes the drawer case below.

64 H OM E FUR NIT U R E

S ome ideas come at the d raftingtable . Others come on the high way.The idea for the or iginal version of thisdesk came while I was be hind thewheel. I'd been asked to make a fallfront secretary, but I couldn't come upwith anything . Then, whi le cru ising onSaskatch ewan 's highway 12 late onenight, I remembered a tambour deskI'd seen with a slide -out writing surface concea led in its interior. Why no tuse the same idea?

Th e first ve rsio n I built was in the"Califo rn ia roundover" sty le exemplified by the work of Art Espenet Carpenter, a man whose work I great lyadmired and wit h whom I later ap prenticed. O ve r the course of eightve rsions, I moved away from thosevoluptuous curves to something mo reaustere and better suited to my pe rsonality and my surroundings.

The things people make tend to reflect their environment. I love the lushveg etation of California , but it won'tgrow in Saskatchewan. Here, the eli-

SPECIFICATIONS

DIMENSIONS

44 in. long, 24 in. wide and 40 in. high.

MATERIALS

Cherry, whi te birch, plywood, plastic

laminate and canvas.

FINISHWatco oil mixed with urethane.

Open for business. The tam bour and the

wr iting surface of the desk are linked : pull out

the writ ing su rface and th e tambour retracts.

mate is fairly harsh, with lon g, bitte rlyco ld winte rs, hot summe rs and reg ulardrou gh ts. The plants and anima ls thatsurvive here all have a definite place inthe ove rall sche me . I think this ru le ofsurviva l is also a key to good design .Every element in a piece sho uld havea practical reason for being there .

Details like the swelling of the tape red legs whe re they meet the railsand the slope d drawers with integ ralcarved pulls might seem mere decoratio n, bu t there 's a practical purpose forthem. The swelling in the legs makesthe joine ry eas ier and stro nger. Slopingthe drawers gives me a tad more roo min the lower drawers and harm oni zeswith the slanted sides , making it moreinvit ing to sit at the desk. And carvingthe pulls, while giving the piece a flairthat store-bought pull s never would,uses wood tha t otherwise would besliced away as waste whe n the frontswere cut to the slope (see How TheyDid It, p. 96) . •

Photos: Grant Kernan OC TOBER 1 9 9 6 65

MahoganyRockerBY JAMES HUME

Reforming a Windso r rocker. The mass-produced Windso r on which

the author based his first rocking chair is a faint memory in his current

chair, above, which is loose r, more personal and mo re comfortable.

t; first time I made a rocki ng chair,I used measurements, angles and proportions from an old Windsor-stylerocker co mme rcia lly made in the1950s. I mad e a co uple of mod ifications and dove in.

In that first cha ir, I rem oved siderungs between the legs, as we ll as extra uprigh t spindles under the arms. After I finished the cha ir, I fou nd that mymodifications had brought ou t the olddesign 's weaknesses. I suddenly sawan imbalance between the negativespaces above and be low the sea t.

When I mad e my latest cha ir, Ichanged the ang le of the post benea ththe arm, tilting it backward until it wasmo re or less in line with the front leg. Ialso moved the rear posts back so thatthey are above the rear legs, makingthe framed space above the seat morebala nced with the one below it (see thedrawing below).

I also was d isturbed by the te nselook the straight backslats gave thatfirst chair. So for this ve rsion I curvedthe ba ckslats to ac hieve a more relaxed ap pearance w hile imp rovingthe co mfort.

Though it's not often used in rockers ,I chose mahogany for my current chairfor the grea t co lor it takes on, especially after a year or so, w he n the purple

ROCKER EVOLV I NG

tones strengthen. I used edge toolsplanes, scrapers, gouges, spokes havesand knives-to finish all the surfacesof the cha ir. The resu lt is a spa rklingqu ality that I much prefe r to the dullglow of a surface that has beensmoothed with sandpape r. •

Gouging makes the sea t glint. The field of

go uging on the rocker's saddle seat (above)

draws the eye and pleases the hand .

FIRST VERSION CURRENT VERSION

SPECIFICATIONS

DIMENSIONS23 in. wide, 38 in. deep and 41 V2 in. high.

MATERIALSHonduras mahogany and walnut.

FINISHVarathane oil and paste wax.

Photos:Jonathan Bin zen OCTO BE R 1996 67

68 HOME FURNITURE

a few pieces of sawn bub inga veneer left over from a tab le I had madeseve ral years earlier were the inspi ration for this silver chest. I first made theches t's top, with its ends bowing slightly o utward , from the largest pie ces ofve neer. I imagin ed I would make asmall side table of some kind, but I really had no clear plan. I was just lookingfor a way to use the last bits of this exceptional wood .

The top sat in my shop for a long timewhile I was involved with other projects. When I returned to it, I sketched atwo-drawer chest with veneer on theends running verti cally. This allowedme to use all the veneer I had and showit to better advanta ge than the end tableI had planned at first.

When I mocked up the piece I had inmind, with its tap ered legs and gentlyco nvex ends , I began to realize that thecurve on the ends was perhaps too subtle. Becaus e the top was alread y madeand I had to follow its curves, I neededa way to emphasize them. The solutionI came up with was making the legsfairly wid e as se en from the side , and Iplaned this wide surface to the shape ofthe curv e of the top. I added bowedstretchers at the very bottom of the legs

to bring the curve down to the floo r,and used the crosspiece connecting themidpoints of the stretchers to emphasize it a bit more. (See The Finish Line,p. 22, for a description of how I finishedthe drawers.) •

Sandwich board.

Bub inga veneer

faces the drawer

fronts inside and

out. Rosewood

accents appear on

the to p, the pulls

and the tenons.

SPECIFICATIONS

DIMENSIONS20'12 in. wide, 16 in. deep and26'l"8 in. high .

MATERIALSBubinga venee r, mahogany, rosewoodand Baltic birch plywood.

FINISHKaldet resin oil.

Veneer determines the design. Some

leftove r bubinga veneer suggested the size

and shape of this silver chest (left). Mahoga ny

legs and frame com plement the bubin ga

instead of competing .

Photo s:Jon athan Bin zcn

Bubing a waterfall . The author extended

the pattern of the venee r from the chest's

top down its tall sides .

OCTOB ER 1 9 9 6 69

Curved Bed in CypressB Y B I LL P ALME R


A low-profile bed. Supported on slats rather

than a bo xspring, this mattress is only 19

inches off th e ground .

Shaped like a chair. Nobody likes a stra ight

backed cha ir, so why should a bed be any

different? The curved headboard (below)

adds co mfo rt for sitting up an d read ing.

SPECIFICATIONS

DIMENSIONS86 in. long, 64 in. wide and 28 in. high.

MATERIALS

Cypress and cypress veneer, Jamaicadogwood, plywood , brass and steel.

FINISH

Varnish sealer and satin polyurethane gel.

b ecause I build my designs morethan once, I usually find something Ican improve up on. In this piece, it wasmodifying the design into a co llectionof soft curves . The material itself, cypress, is quite so ft and made it necessary to stay away from hard edges thatcould be marred eas ily.

I origina lly designed this bed for aloft bedroom with a low ce iling. It is

low to the ground (19 inches to the topof the mattress) and has hardwoodslats to support the mattress, ratherthan a box spring, whi ch would haveadded to the height.

In my view, a bed sho uld be strongbut should not appear heavy. It shouldblend masculine and feminine featuresand invite lounging and reading, as wellas offer a visual focus to the bedroom.The matched veneer panels give the

headboard prominence, and inlaid decorative squares of Jamaica dogwoodgive detail to the relatively fea turelessfootboard and side rails.

Beds, of course, must be co llapsible,In this bed , the bolts holding the siderails to the footboard are hidden, attaching to threaded brass bars buri ed inthe legs of the footboard . •

Photos: Zachary Gaulkin OCTOBER 1996 71

Peo ple ofte n say to me , "Yourchairs are about to dash o ut." Or

they ask , "Have yo u made this in theimage of so me animal?" When I de velop a design, I usually don't have an image of a galloping antel ope o r a giraffelingering around the savanna. I juststart from the angle of the fun ction orobjective that the chair will have to fil l.

My Triang le Chair is not for taking along relaxation but to have a sh ort sitting , such as just long e no ugh for a cupof tea . Therefore, I ad opted a triangular base as a starting point so that theseat would not to uc h the thigh . Thenthe ba ck board was designed to hu gthe wai st to give a feeling of stab ilitywhile sitting in the cha ir. The actualstability of the chair is e nhanced byfour legs, whi ch se em irregular giventhe shap e of the seat.

I chose eithe r mapl e or black che rryfor material because the mild figure inthe grain does not ge t in the way of thetotal form of the chair.

It is not unusual for me to compromise between struc tural design and

OCT 0 B E R 1 9 9 6 73

A wide berth. The Agura Chair uses an

expansive seat, wide arms, a so lid sta nce

and dark foot acce nts to enhance th e

feeling of stability.

A leg up for short sittings. The Triang le

Chair (above) , with a three -sided sea t and

only one front leg is designed so th at the

thigh does not touch th e seat.

Twisting convention 90 degrees. Most

chairs have two front legs and two back legs.

The author's Triangle Chair (right) has a front

leg, a back leg and two side legs .

aes thetic design. Wh ere and howmu ch I should compromise dependson how the chair is to be used. In making the Triang le Chair, I gave up just abit of the slee k look I wanted to maintain stre ngth in the front leg , which rece ives most of the weight and stress . Inmy belief, the best furni ture is that

which has a harmony between structure and beau ty.

The Agura Cha ir is named for theJapan ese word that refe rs to the cro sslegged way a person sits for Zen meditation. The seat is widespreadhori zontally with a mild dishing in themiddle . Its armrest is extende d so thatyo u can lean on it almo st hori zontally

SPECIFICATIONS

DIMENSIONSTriangle Chair: 19V,6in. wide, 18V2in.dee p and 23% in. high.Agura Chair: 39% in. wide, 23% in. deepand 24% in. high.

MATERIALSTriangle Chair: Black cherry or maple.Agura Chair: Beech and blackwalnut.

FINISHTriangle Chair: Polyurethane resin.Agura Chair: Wax.

with yo ur feet off the floo r. Stabilitywas the most important design objective of this chair. The second objectivewas to leave the beech as open to direct exploration as possible . I wantedto leave it with no finish , but I had tocompro mise with a wax coating fordurability. •

74 H O ME F UR NI T UR E Phot os: Maruyam a Studio

Schrank shrunk. The author red uced the proportions of a mu ch larger ea rly ' 9th- cen tury Germ an orig inal when he designed his schrank.

A GermanSchrank

BY MI CHAEL STREFLER

C abinets like this one were made inmy native Ge rmany between 1700 and1900, and flour ished as well in Austriaand Switzerland. Their ornamentation,moldings and profiles ranged widelyfrom region to region. I borrowed mydesign from one built in 1830 by ananonymous cabinetmaker in Germany. It was not of o ne particularsty le, but combined elements of the

OCT 0 B E R , 9 9 6 75

Upright sideboard . Schranks we re ofte n

outfitte d as closets, with coat hooks and

finen shelves inside. This one is made to

store d inne rwa re.

late ba roque style-the tremendouscrow n molding and powerful ca rvings-with the ne oclassical style-theplain form of the pan els and the back.

Working from ph otos, I estimated thehe ight o f the or iginal to be more than105 inc hes. Such great size was not unco mmo n amo ng these pieces. They often rea ched 4 feet in depth and 9 feetin he ight. Many of the houses th ey

we re destine d for were lavishly built ,with ce iling heights of 12 feet or more.A small ca bine t in such an enormo usroom would have cause d the impression of miniature furniture .

My piece was designed fo r a housew ith ii-foot ce ilings, so I scaled thepiece down co ns iderab ly. For aesthe tic rea sons as well as p roportional

76 HOME FUR NIT URE Photos.j ames Steeves

o nes I cha nged the bulky crown ofthe o rigina l ca binet to one with a fine r, more flowing p rofi le and addedthe frieze of upright flute s be neat h thecrow n to achieve a balan ced ove rallappear an ce . Th e open-book moldings o n the front stiles, nearly Y4-inchdeep, add to th e overa ll appearan ceof power and solid ity.

A comb ina tio n of wedged te nonsand mortised cleats make the 550pound cabinet easy to knock down fortransport. Putting it back togethe rtakes about 15 minutes.

The interior of my piece is co mpletely different fro m the o rigina l, whic hwas divided down the middle. On theleft side we re three she lves and on therigh t side we re four wooden hook sfixed to the back. It was probably usedfor sto ring clothes .

I desi gne d my cabine t for storing china, croc ke ry, tabl ecloths and everything else needed in a dining room.The she lves are graduated with thedeepest shelf at the bott om so thatitems on the top she lf can be reachedco nveniently. •

SPECIFICATIONS

DIMENSIONSOverall: 77 in. wide, 26Y2 in. deep and

80 in. high.

Case: 63 in. wide and 20 in. deep.

MATERIALSWhite oak.

FINISHStain and lacquer.

Adapted detailing . The mold ing s and

carvings are scaled down but retain the

power of the originals.

OCT 0 B E R 1 9 9 6 77

C hiPpe ndale . The na me has a romantic, even noble, aura about it. It is areputation that seems well-suited tothe man reverently refe rred to as "theShakespeare of Eng lish cabine tmakers." Flowing lines, graceful decoration , so lid construction and rich finishdefine the work of the man whoserenown is so great that his name standsfor the attributes he es pouse d. Chippendale is the most widely recogn izedname in the annals of furn iture designand manufacture, an d continues to bea force in furniture design to this day.

How co uld one man have mad e allthat furniture? How could one ma nhave worked in so many different motifs-Gothic, Chinese and Rococo?How did Chip pendale's famed work,The Gentleman a nd Cabinet-Maker'sDirector; ga in its worldwide reputationwhen other design books were also inthe ma rke tplace?

Thomas Chippenda le did not buildall tha t furni ture, but he d id wo rk inmany sty les, and, yes, othe rs' design swere as good as his. To put Chippe ndale into his proper an d we ll deservedplace in history, it is time to look atChippendale, the entreprene ur. This18th-century Englishman not onlyachieved widespread fame, but he alsosucceeded in making "Chippendalesty le" as popular in 1996 as it was in1766. The secret boi led down to th is:Chippendale captured a great look andthen marketed it for all it was wo rth.

LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUTCHIPPENDALE THE MANThomas Chippenda le was born in OteIy, England, in 1718, the so n and grandso n of furniture craftsmen, join ers andcarpenters . He moved to Londonw he re, in 1748, he married Cathe rineRedshaw. As was the norm in his day,Chippenda le was a furniture design erinvo lved in the diver se skills requiredto fur nish a house-fro m win dowtreatment to fireplace design to upholstery to fu rniture se lec tio n. Invoicesfor various homes he furnished testifytha t he was a craftsman, designer , se-

A mixture of mo tifs. This George III mahogany

bureau-cabinet combines man y different

Chippendale motifs: bracket feet, gothic

arched mullions, pierced escutcheons and

Chinese-style fretwo rk and quarter-columns.

One drawing, many options. Each drawing

in the Directorgave differen t ornamentation

options on eac h side of a piece, and most

bu ilders chose eleme nts from several d ifferent

drawi ngs . The 176 5 side table (bottom photo)

is a rare near-replica of a sing le plate (below).

Top ph o to this page: Christie's New Yo rk botto m ph oto : Sothebv's of London OCTOBE R 1996 79

Chippendale 'sMotifsMost of th e designs in The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker 's

Director were based on three most popular furniture sty les of

the time: Rococo, Chinese and Gothi c. Ch ippendale wa s not

the only designer to use these styles, nor did th ey origin ate w ith

him. But th e Director publ icized th em as no other publication

had- for ever associat ing Chippendale's name with the se sty les.

Ornamentation overload. This 1755

mah ogany commode's C-scrolls, ap ron cartouche and

carved ribbon- tied flowers and foliage characte rize the Rococo style.

ROCOCO

Rococo had its origins in Parisduring the early 18th century. Full

of scrolls, shells, jagged surfaces and robust curves, the design

was intended to imitate "rugged nature." Though the designs

looked great on paper, craftsmen found the patterns difficult to

execute, and the more sedate English public found the look too

frivolous and sensuous when carried to the extreme. Rococo

ornamentation was definitely best when used in small doses.

Though Chippendale's Rococo-inspired sketches are visually

thrilling and probably his best known designs, little furniture of

this sty le copied line for line was ever made.

CHINESE OR CHINOISERIE

This variat ion was by far the most popular of Chippendale's styles

featured in the Director. The English had fallen in love with the

exot ic Oriental look much earlier in the 18th century, and

frequent ly employed pagodas, lattice and fretwork in their

architectural designs. William Linnel, another English furniture

designer, had already brought the style into favor in furniture for

lector of woods and an e mploye r ofcraftsmen and special ists from carve rsand gilders to joi ne rs :1l1c1 ca rpente rs.In 1754 the first ed ition of his now famou s Director was pub lished .

How co uld a you ng I11:ll1 fro m theprovinces produce the greatest andmost influential furn iture design bookin hist or y? The an sw e-r, according toChippenda le 's biog raph e r. Christo phe r Gilbert, goes hack to a chancemeeting be tween Chip pe ndale an danother young Eng lishman, MattiasDarly, an eng raver. p rint se ller and political car icatur ist. These two ambitiousEnglish cha ps-one a furnitu re make rwith a sha rp eye for design , the othe r atalented artist aware of fas hion andstyle of the day-came up with a grea tidea: a furni tu re desig n hook with a

new and inn ovative loo k. To give theboo k cred ibility, they found a hungr ywrite r who penne d a suitab ly e rud itep reface with ex ube rant references toart history and classical design . Armedwith yo uthfu l bo ldn ess, Chippenda leand Darly used th eir co nnections toro und up an impressiv e list o f subsc ribers whose nam es are published atthe back of the book. Th e resu lt: amonumental o pus, The Gentlema na nd Cabinet-Ma leers Director byTho mas Chi ppenda le , w ith 98 of the147 drawn pla tes by Darly,

TH IS DIRECTOR HADSOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

Actua lly, p ictures and pamphlets o ffurn iture designs had been aroundsince the 16th ce ntury, but they were

primari ly intended for a small, e litistau dience . The Director was different,and that's what made it so successful.Chippenda le carefully inclu ded d iffere nt styles for different tastes and fea tu red almost eve ry typ e of do mest icfurn iture kno wn at the time. Sho wnalongs ide e labo rate, grandiose and imp ractica l (but great-looking) furniturewere simpler pieces suitable for townand country houses. Instead of sho wing only o ne furniture style , as was thecustom, Chippenda le 's boo k includedpieces in all three o f the most popularstyles of the da y-the Rococo , Go thicand Chine se fashio ns . Finally, whileso me of the design s sho wn in the Director were to be made of mah ogan y,othe rs were intended to be fashione din a softw ood and then gilde d or

80 H O M E F U RN I TU RE l)h( 110 this page: Sorhcbv's of L()11U<>!l

G OT HIC

Medieval memories. In th is 1770

side tabl e, the pointed arches and qu atrefoils in

the apron fretwork as we ll as the cluste red-colum n legs show

th e medieval influences in the Gothic style.

- E.j.screens and especially bookcases.

The "gothick" taste, as it was called at the time, o riginated in

England during the 1730s and reappeared in the 19 th centu ry

when archeologists unearthed medieval artifacts and writers

conjured up medieval memorie s. Pointed arches, q uatrefoil

panels, clustered columns, tracery and all types of architect ural

finials adorned beds, chairs, tables, even lanterns, stands, fire

themes---light, feathery landscape elements, fully opened flowers,

pagodas, lattice railings and bridges-and combined them with

restrained Rococo scrolls to create an unforgettable look.

th e home. But Chippendale carried the Oriental decorative

elem ents to their fullest and most attractive state. He took basic

The look of the East . Chippenda le he lped popularize Asian details .

This library cabinet of the pe riod sports a pagoda-form ped iment and

Chinese deta ils in the fretwo rk and latticework of th e top moldin g .

English genes. Free of orname nta l scrollsand

fretwo rk, this mahogany chest still has the

strong linear desig n, shaped bracket feet and

bail brasses that today we dub "Chip penda le."

japanned (painte d, then varnis hed tosimu late lacq uer).

The Director o utsho ne all competitive design books wi th its var ie ty,compre he nsiveness and innovativedesigns , as well as the qu ali ty o f thee ng ravings . It became a best se ller.

The pu blicat io n's fame spread sorapidly that a second edi tion was pr inted in 1755, an d Chippenda le co nt inued to pu blish more designs that werecombined into a third , larger ed ition in1762. Chippenda le 's nam e was soonsynonymo us with the fines t, mos t e lega nt furniture money co uld bu y.

The Directo r's unparalleled po pularity insp ired a rash of new designbooks. Some even slavishly copied theDirector in for mat and design, butno ne equa led Chippenda le 's success.

In March of 1763, a Fren ch ed itio n waspublis hed . The "Chippendale look " inthe form of the book, ske tche s and thefurn iture itself was soon found worldwide. It even traveled with e nte rp rising European settlers to Brazil.Venezuela and Argentina.

AMERICANS EMBRACED THECHIPPENDALE STYLEMeanwhile, Eng lish furniture craftsmen and designers co ntinue d to flockto Ameri ca, the land of new o ppo rtunity. They took with them the latestand most so phisticated English styles ,the very designs that Chippe ndale exto lled in the Director. Some of the itinerant craftsme n left England 's shoreswith no more than memories o f thestyles they had mad e or had seen be-

To p ph ot o this page: William Doyle Galle ries. New York. N.Y.: right ph ot o:Sothc bv's of Lon do n : botto m p ho to : Ne al Au ct io n Co .. New Orlean s, LI.

O CTOBER 1 9 9 6 8 1

Someth ing borrowed . While this 18th-century

Philadelphia high boy is in the Chippendale

style, the only elements adapted directly fro m

Chippendale are the finials (above right) and

the scrolled pediment (top).

ing mad e stored away in their heads.Others had rou gh , freehand sketch eson scraps of paper.

Wealth y Amer icans wh o traveled toEngland returned home with stylishnew furniture purchased in London 'schic ca bine t sho ps, plus co pies of thenew design books , including Chippe ndale 's Director. Sketches derived fromthe books soon circulated throughoutthe co lonies . Newspa pe rs advertisedthe se rvices of the newl y arrived craftsmen and featured articles describingthe curre nt trends in furniture design .Americans' appe tites were wh etted.

Th ose well -to -do co lo nists whocould not travel abroa d co mmissione d

chairs, ches ts andtabl es like thosein ske tches theyhad seen. Thisfurniture made inAmerica naturallytook on a slightlydifferent lookfrom the originalEnglish designs.After all, the localcraftsme n wereworking withinthe co nstraints oftheir shops and,equa lly impor

tantl y, in the freer, less grand and lessrigid soc ial atmosphere of America. Ultimately American craftsme n interpreted Chippe ndale's basic designs andorname nts to suit 18th-century Amer ican lifestyle and phil osophy.

THE STYLE WAS NEVER OUT OFFASHION FOR lONGFurniture based o n Chippe ndale's Director became the furniture of cho iceduring the second half of the 18th century. Chippe ndale' s o riginal intenti onhad been to promot e himself andbuild up his bu sin ess. But the bookwas more powerful than even heimagined. The Director broad castChippe nda le's nam e before the publicfrom the Baltic to the Mississippi to theAmazon . Had he not published the

book , and had the book not been sowell received, Th omas Chippenda lewould p robably be no bett er knownthan his conte mporaries \Villiam Hallett ,John Cobb and Thom as Haig.

After the book was published, Chippendale 's busin ess thri ved. He expanded his Maid en Lan e storefrontand w as elected to The Society of Arts.Robert Adam, England's great architectand fellow furniture design er, co mmis sione d Chippendale to furnish manyof his finest rooms. Chip pe ndale'swork continued to receive accoladesafter his death.

I3ut styles come and go . By the endof the 18th ce nt ury even the Fede rallike designs of Hepplewh ite and Sherato n had seen their day. Regen cy andEmpire were on the horizon, as wasBiedermeier , and soon the various Victorian styles would eme rge .

Howev er, Chippe ndale 's na me anddesi gns had stay ing power. Eng lishwrit er J,T. Smith predi cted in 1828 that"as most fashions co me round aga in, Ishould not wonde r ... if we were to

see th e unmeaning scroll and she llwork ... re vive; w he n Chippe nda le 'sbook will ag ain be so ug ht afte r w ithredoubled avidity."

THE MAN BECAME A lABELWith the dawn of the Victo rian e ra,those Rococo scrolls and shells, as we llas the Gothic pinnacles and turre ts,and the Chinese-infl ue nced latticework and ca rving once again ad de djust the right decorative tou ch. Thanksto the Director , Chippe ndale's name aswell as his designs were revived .

Th e truth is, it was Chippendale 'sname, more so than acc urate knowl edge of his designs and furniture, thatbecam e revered a ce ntury afte r hisdeath. Furniture histori an Joh n Gloagdescrib ed it best. "Respect for the magic of his name was far more potentthan the example of his wo rk. To thelate Victorians and Edwardians he hadce ase d to be a man-he had become alab el." And so the all-incl usive lab el"Chippendale" was co ine d. It became

82 H O M E FURNITU RE Photo this page: Th e Metrop olit an .\ IUSt:'lIIll of Art .John SIL'w:t11Kenn edy Fund, 19t H ( IRl lO.4). Photograph by Richard Cheek

CHIPP ENDALE 'S CHAIR BACKS

such a widespread term that a turn -ofthe-century writer scornfully reportedthat one woma n, upon seei ng a ske tchof a da rk-finishe d piece of furniturewith the note tha t it should be "madein Chippenda le," asked, "What woodis Chippe ndale?"

Chippenda le's influence was almostas strong in the late 19th ce ntury as ithad been in the 18th. The differencewas that "Chippendale-inspired" furniture was being churned out by furn itur e companies and facto ries insteadof the craftsman 's works hop.

By the ea rly 1900s, machines didmost of the work, cutting and shapingthe parts that were the n fitted togethe r.That cut down o n tim e and cost. Tothe basic machine-made frame theea rly 20th-century craftsma n skillfullyad de d ornamentation and a han drubbed finish . Best of all, the moderate ly prosperous working man co uldafford e legant-appearing furniture ,sturdy e no ug h to last a lifetime and as-

sociated with that magi cal nam e thathad co me down thr ou gh the agesChippe ndale.

How magical? In 1930, Emily Postwrote in her book , The Personality ofa House. "A perfect key fo r one who is

American Chippendale. This chair, made in

the Mid-Atlant ic states, is considered to be in

the style of Chippe ndale because of the

curved crest rail and the carved and pierced

back splat, but it is not a direct copy of any

chair design in Chippendale's book.

building a new interior would be aChippenda le mirro r. ... His fretworkrimme d tables and China cabinets, andthe long-beaked bird amidst thescrolled "C's" of his nam e ornamentinghis gilt mirror frames, are dreams ofCelest ial loveliness."

The dream continues today. •

Emyl jenkins is a senior member of the American

Society of Appraisers and is the author of Emyl

Jenkins' Reproduction Furniture: Antiques for

the Next Generation (Crown, 1995).

Photo this page: Neal Au cti on Co.. New Orleans, La. OCTO BE R 1996 83

•J acq ues-Emile Ruhlm ann, the mas-

te rful designer of Art Deco furnitu re. might be amused at the up startfrom New Jerse y keeping his nam ealive . Youthfu l. handsome and overflowing with raw rust belt charm,Frank Pollaro co uldn 't seem more diffe rent than the fussy French design er .o ne of the g iants of the furniture worldwho has been described as "a littleman with bright eyes peering out frombehind thick tort oisesh ell glasses."

The co ntrast goes deeper. Ruhlma nnwa s an arti st , a wi zard with the penwh o would draw co mplex designs andtell his disbelieving craftsmen to inventways to bui ld them. Peo ple wh o makefu rniture today view Ruhlmann theway aspiring ac to rs think of Lauren ceOlivie r: a legend whos e work was sostriking that few try to co py it. FrankPollaro , on the other hand, is no artist(altho ugh his co nfident bearing-somemight ca ll it a stu d ied swagger- is anart form in itself), Pollaro 's wizardry isreproduc ing those design s to exactingsta ndards , and he 's not shy ab out hisskill. Not lo ng ago he purchased a fullpage advertiseme nt in A rcltit ectural Diges t sho w ing a Ruhlmann chiffonie rwith ivory and shag ree n inlay.Over thepho tograph (in suitably bold typ e) itreads: "Ruhlmann or Pollaro?" It's definitely Pollaro.

Few, if any, qu estion his ability. "He' sa craftsman o f 80 in the body of a 29year-o ld ," says Leonard Cuoz zo , a selfdescribed Art Deco lover and o ne ofPoll a ro 's cus to mers. "Peop le are abso lute ly b lown away by his furniture ."In fact. the o nly criticism o f Po llaro 'swork is that it is too perfect. But yo uget the fee ling th e o ld ma ster wouldbe proud of his d iscip le's skilled handand faithfu l eye. "I've found the perfect mate ," Poll aro says. Sir LaurenceOlivier. meet Jo hn Travolt a.

ADVENT OF ART DECOTo unde rstand the chemistry at workhe re o ne must go back to 1925 and thefame d Expositio n Internationale desArts Decoratifs, th e ex hibitio n that

would, mu ch late r, give birth to th eterm "Art Dec o ." Ruh lmann was quiteaccomplished and respected as a furniture designer before 1925 , but theexhibition was his international debut.Visito rs by the thousands saw hissumptuous rooms and exquisite furniture in the Hotel du Collection neurpavi lion. which e pitomized the sheerluxury of Frenc h interior design of the

A little man with a big name . Although he

never bui lt a piece of furniture himself,

Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann crafted a reputation

asone of the last great French ebenistes.

Still made the old way. After designing and

building a number of Ruhlm ann reproductions,

Pollaro now leaves some of the cabinetwork to

oth ers in the shop. Here Clifto n M. Watts fits

amboyna doors to the twi n chiffoniers.

early 1920s. "Eve n at the time .Ruhlrnann 's furniture was ve ry ex pensive and was being co llected by museum s," sa ys Tony Fusco , p reside nt ofthe Art Deco Society of Boston.

Ruhlmann and others were ca rryingo n the traditi on of the 18th-centuryFren ch eben istes by producin g highl yrefined , exquisitely formal and ex pensive work. Iro nically, the exhibition

Phot o !;H:ing page : Sco tt Ph illips: to p photo this page: rep rinted fro m Rnhlmaun: .HasterofA rt /) ('co. co urtesy o f Edition s du Rega rd. Paris; bottom ph oto: Zachar y Oa ulktn OCTO BE R 1 996 85

Opulence the order of the day. Ruhlmann

designed inte riors, not just furniture . The se

Deco-inspired roo ms, bu ilt by on e of Pollaro's

customers, show how th e furniture was

meant to be displayed .

Preview of modernism. This bold , sq uare

cabinet (above) is a rep roduct ion of a 1927

desig n. Although the form is rectilinear,

Ruhlmann cou ld not avoid pu tting a subtle

curve in the do ors and th e base .

Ruh lmann used the finest materials.

This original d ressing table and cha ir,

designed in 1930 and recent ly so ld at

auction, are w rapped in amboyna burl with

ivory and shar kskin.

86 H OME FURNI TURE Photos:Jeff Kilpatrick. unless otherw ise noted. bottomph oto th is page: Co urtesy of Christie 's New York

marked the beginning of the end forthis type of modern court furniture. By1925 , mu ch of Ruhlmann 's most ce lebrated work had already been designedand the luxuriant style he championedwas giving way to spa re forms designed for mass production. Keenl yaware of the shrinking market,Ruhlmann aba ndoned his most opulentdesigns in the second half of the 1920s;he died of a sudden illness in 1933.

A HUNGER FOR LEARNINGTheir obvious differ ences aside ,Ruhlmann and Pollaro do share a realkinship. Ruhlmann grew up in a familysteepe d in the buildin g trad es. His father ow ne d a pa inting and wallpap erfirm w hic h under Ruhlmann blosso me d into a deco ratin g and renovation co mpa ny employing 600 peopl e.Ruhlmann did not attend fashi onableart schools bu t rathe r learned at the feetof the workers themselves and, althoug h not a craftsman himself, appar-

ently always felt at home among them.Polla ro 's interest in craft began ea rly.

The so n of a dem olition worker , he recalls as a child asking his father to cutup boards so he co uld join the piecesback together. He started making money at woodworking with the help ofhis high school shop teach er , BillWelch (w ho m Polla ro ca lls "TheChief"). Welch used to give the yo ungwoodworker jobs in high school evenif it me ant hiding out in the school'sshop instead of in class . "He go t focused ea rly," Welch says. "I told him ,'Don 't stay in one place too long. Themore yo u move around, the more yo ulearn and the faster yo u learn."

Polla ro took his advice. ("Whateve rThe Chief says , I do ," he tells pe opl e .)After graduating from a high schooloutside Newark, New Jersey, Pollarowent to the Philadelphia College of Artto study interior design , but theor y heldno interest for him. A year later he wasback in New Jersey, working in cabine t

Exquisitely simple. Pollaro's version of the

Cabanel chiffonier (above) was made without

having seenthe original. The difficulty, he says,

is not in making the piece but in establishing

the delicate proportions and deta iling.

sho ps and promising each employerthat he would have his own business bythe time he was o ld e no ug h to buyliquor legally. "When I was 15, I thou ghtI could do this on my own. As it turnedout, I had to wait unt il I was 21."

MAKING THE MASTER PROUDPolla ro decide d to take on the legendwhe n he was just 26 yea rs o ld and run ning a successful sho p makin g customfurniture and inte riors. He had discovered Ruhlmann in high sc hool whenhe saw a pho tog raph of a fam ous cabinet with a basket of flowers inlaid onthe front-an object that has co me tosymbolize a gene ration of French de sign. "I saw that ph otograph and I sa id,

OCT 0 B E R 1 9 9 6 87

An ambitious start. This reproduction of the

kidney-shaped Cabanel desk (above) was one

of Pollaro's first. Ruhlmann's original desk

(right) conta ined more than 1,000 pieces of

ivory inlay, cut and fit by hand .

Rigid form, f luid decoration. Ruhlmann 's

"Meuble au char" in ebony and ivory was

first displayed in Parisin 1919. Pollaro's

rendit ion (below) is faithful to the precise

geometry of th e original.

'That 's it. That is it. '"His first pieces sold almost immedi

ately. "Whe n we started makin g th isstuff, we had no idea it wo uld se ll," saysone of Pollaro 's longtim e employees."We didn 't even kn ow if peo ple hadheard of Ruhlm ann. "

Still, yo u can alm ost co unt Pollaro' sRuhlmann cus to mers on one hand.His reproducti ons account fo r lessthan a quarter o f his sho p 's outputnot a sur p rising statistic wh en a chesto f dr awers can go for $40,000 and thecrate to ship it in might take a co upleo f days to build. But Pollaro 's decisionto reproduce Ruhlmann was a savvyone despite the limited marke t. In the1960s , when th e cur rent Art Decowa ve was just a ripple , Ruhlmannoriginals were scarce bu t not o utrageous ly expens ive. Today the p ricesca n be astro no mical. Few peo ple havethe millions it would take to decoratea home-or even a room-in Frenc hArt Deco , so they go to Pollaro .

BEAUTY IN TECHNIQUERuhlmann's appeal, both then and now,has to do with the untl agging level ofdet ail co mbine d with enormous tec hnical cha llenges. "Ruhlmann's se nse ofdiscipline was the mark of his superiority," writes Floren ce C linard, author ofRuhlmann: Master of Art Deco. Thedelicate, torpedo-shaped jizsec z. leg- aRuhlmann sig nature- is a technica lmarvel and emblematic of his approachto design. Ven eered and fastened to theo utside of a case or tabl e, the leg hasshapely co ntours with hairline inlaysseparating the tap ered facets. It some times took his craftsme n mo re than aweek to make one leg and mo nths toco mplete o ne piece of furniture. ButRuhlmann-who probably never built apie ce of furniture in his life- seldom letengineering interfere with his ideas. Hesket ch ed furniture as an artist wo uld.letting his draftsmen and artisans figureout how to build it.

What Pollaro sees in Ruhlmann is anexc iteme nt about furniture, a des ire topush th e craft to luxurious levels . "I

88 HOME FURNITURE Middle ph oto : The Metropolitan Museum o f Art. Purch ase , Edgar Kau fman.jr. Gift. Bequest of Collis P.Hun tington. Bequ est of Mr . and Mr s. G raham F. Bland)', Bequ est oljeanne King til' Rham . in mem or y o f her

father, David King. and Gift of Vera Bloom , in mem ory of her father, Congressma n Sol Bloom . by exc hange. 197j

love this fu rn iture because the guidelines a re so rigid," he says . "To buildthese pieces is hard enough. Then yo uhave to clad them in veneer ." In the Caba ne l desk. designe d in 1918, there are1,000 p ieces of ivory inlay cut and fit byhan d . The desk surface is shagree n, thepolished skin o f a shark o r ray."Ruhlma nn pick ed the finest materialsavai lab le o n the planet. When yo ubuild o ne o f these pie ces, yo u end upwith a co up le hundred dollars worth ofsawdust o n the floor.'

Th ere ar e few woodworkers in th eUnited Stat es remaking Ruhlmann,says Frank Klausz, an other New Jerseycraftsman, as well as a tea cher and au thor. Poll ar o 's furniture "is ve ry closeto the o rigi na ls and eve n bett er insome ways," Klau sz sa ys. "Ruhlmannis the most diffi cult to reproduce . Ithas to be precise and perfect-it is because it is perfect that people say it isbeautifu l."

Poll aro is not bashful about this kindof pra ise b ut he a lso rea lizes that hehas an edge. Eve n th ough he mu strecreate subtle curves and delicate detai ls, usu all y with little more than aphotograph, the furniture itself has already been proven. Th is gives a craftsman the luxury, as Klau sz says, "to bemore critica l and more fussy ab out thework ." It fre es Poll aro to focus o nwhat he does best. "I am not an artisto r a designer," Pollaro says. "Mystrong point is as a craftsman, to interpret what I see. It's not me againstRuhlmann, it's me against Ruhlmann 'sbest c raftsman and I don't haveRuhlmann looking over my sho ulde ran d ye lling a t me ."

Pollaro 's zea lo us effort to rem ain trueto his he ro is also a curse . Usua lly, reproducing someone's work is flatteryan d , sometimes, besto ws a kind o f immorta lity. Antiques dealers, howeve r,are sk ittish of reproductions bein g represented as originals. Pollaro addresses thi s by mak ing his work ind eliblyhis o w n, by inlay ing or ca rving hisnam e , th e date and the words"Ruhlmnnn Reproduction" o n eve ry

piece. Still, those in the antiques trad ea re relu ctant to give his work their imp rimatur (o r even to talk about it fo rpublication).

For so meone so deeply in lo ve withthe furniture Ruhlmann created , this ishard to understand. "The o nly thing I

Ruhlmann inspired. This cupboard melds a

number of Ruhlmann design s from the 1920s,

in wh ich he put d ifferently-shap ed boxes o n a

pedestal with cast legs an d lock plat es.

An Art Deco icon . Now in the Metro pol itan

Museum of Art, th is ebony and ivo ry ca binet

(below) is on e of Ruhlmann 's most

recognizable designs and the o ne most often

associated with 1920s Fren ch Art Deco.

enjoy mo re than bui lding this furni tu re is lo o king at it." Poll a ro says. "Iwould rather lo o k at a Ruhl mannpiece tha n make it." •

Zachary Gaulkin is an associate editor at

Home Furniture .

Bo!t OJ1l pho to th is pa ge: The Metropol itan Museum o f Art . Edward C. M oore Jr . Gin Fund. !1)2 S OCTOBER 1996 89

t 'PiCallYI begin de signing a piece offurniture by first envisioning the mainsurface- the part o f the pie ce thatgree ts yo u. A tabl e begins with the top,a cabinet sta rts with the doors. I produ ce shop drawings that are often assimple as a rough sketch on a scrap ofpaper o n my workbench. In the caseof this ca b inet , the eight-way bookmatch ed walnut door s with curlymaple fram es were fabri cated first.

But the design of this parti cular piecerepresented a deviation from my usualroutine. Instead of constructing a mode l out of sh op scraps and refining itthrough alterations in the materi als, I"built" the cab ine t in a three-elimensional computer animation program

first and then refined the "mode l" almost without setting foot in my sho p.

As an experiment, two architectsand my collabo rato rs in this adventure-named Tho mas Kubala and JoelKrueger helped me to crea te an animated 3-D model to see w het he r itwou ld enhance "real world" designde cisions. It did. I believe that someda y many furniture designers willwork at least partially in this medium,be cause the flexibility to digitally apply color and realistic grai n patternswas, frank ly, seduc tive . And , unlikemost CAD drafting programs, the animation so ftwa re we cho se gave us theabi lity to rotate the model and see itfrom all sides.

UNLIKE SHOP MODELS,3-D CAN EMULATE GRAINIn addition to testing whe the r the 3-Dmodel led to bett er design work, Iwanted to see how well the relativelysterile digital imag es, however so phisticated, would translate to living materials and to a design pro cess thatce leb rates the unique cha rac te r andsubtle nu an ces o f the chosen wood.When a design e r sketches a piece ofwood furniture without the figure ofthe grain, he lea ves o ut some o f themost important design lines o n thepiece. Grain-use de cisions ca n make apiece loo k either integrated o r sc attered. Although grain figur e ca n bestudied by making an in-sh op mockup with real pieces of wood , suc h amodel is instru ctive only if it is mad efrom the precise wood species intended for the ac tua l piece . In this instance , I had very little curly mapl e tospare, and non e that I cared to squa nde r on experiments.

In our somewhat crude experiment , during which we did not us ethe full capa bi lity o f the softw are, wewere able to reproduce th e g rain figur e o n my cabi ne t by "pa in ting " itonto the 3-D model. The technol ogyis available to even more accura te lyportray the real gra in by taking acrisp ph ot o o f the w ood a nd sc anning it into the co mpute r. Thi s wouldhave given us an accurate renderingof the grain patt ern , texture and colorin exac tly th e co rrect places o n themodel. It seems clea r that in th e nearfuture , design e rs w ill sca n a pho tograph of the specific room for whichthe piece is being crea te d. th en insertthe de signed piece into the image of

No 3-D glasses needed. Although a few of

the details lacked refinement on the

computer animation sketch (opposite page)

of the author's cab inet, he was able to judge

final design and grain patterns (left).

Draw ing s: Auth or with Th omas Kubala and )0(.'1Krue ge r: pho to this page :J\X'. \'\'eissma n OC TOB ER 1996 91

the room to see how the piece w illlo ok. We e lecte d to save tim e bychoosing g ra in patterns that wereavail ab le within the software , th enmodifying them gr eatly to sim ulat ethe wood I had already chose n. Beca use the piece was a speculati veo ne, we had no parti cular room totest its fit in a context.

3 -D LETS YOU VIEW ITFROM ALL SIDESIt becam e clear ea rly on that the 3-Dmodel was helpful in establishing thestan ce of the cabinet prior to begi nn ingmajor co ns truc tion. The mod el alsohelped to determine how much spa cethere should be between the floor andthe cabi ne t bottom, as well as proper-

The 3-D Software

Spin the top-and front and sides.

Animation software allowed the author to

rotat e his cabinet 360 degrees before building

the real thing. But he warns that it is only a

tool, not a substitute for good design sense.

92 HOM E FU R N I T U R E

design sets and mock up shots. The

software, which sells for $369-$495 ,

The author first "built" his cabinet in includes some stock wood grain

VirtusWalkThrough Pro, software for patterns that can be applied to models.

architects and interior decorators that It requ ires 8 megabytes of RAM, but 16

lets them create an object or a space is preferred. The more powerful your

and walk through it and around it. It machine (Mac or Windows system), the

is also used by movie directors to faster you can rota te you r design.

tions and dimensions in ge ne ral.One of the most important ben efits

was that the tec hnology allowe d us tose lect var ious points of view, 'w alkingaround" the cabinet and viewi ng itfrom a variety of perspectives.

\Ve were also ab le to ana lyze finescale details. For exa mple, we lookedat a number of options with rega rd to

WalkThrough Pro is available from

Virtus Corporation, 114 MacKenan Dr.,

Suite 100, Cary, NC 27511; (800) 847-

8871 ; or e-mail: [email protected].

To expand his ability to achieve more

"photo-realism" in his design models

and apply more realisticgrain, the

author took the added step of exporting

the we dged ten on s that peek throu ghthe veneer top. Should I wedge thetenon diagon ally or straight-with twowedges o r possibl y thr ee? All thesesma lle r de ta ils were cons ide red andmocked-up on the 3-D mod el pr ior tofinal glue- up.

EVEN COMPUTERSHAVE SHORTCOMINGSThe model was less he lpful in es tablishing the weight of the e lementsthemselves. For example, the actu allegs are far more delicate tha n wewe re able to perceive in the co mputermod e l, and the top of the finish edpiece is actually abo ut 4 inches sho rter. Ju st as in the case of ske tches, thesati sfyin g p roporti ons ge ne rated bythe co mpute r needed to be modifiedto varying degrees wh en shap ing thewood itself. This may have been a result of the nature of the materials, thefact that co mputer mod els are in reality "tlat"-or both. With that in mind, Idid not rely on a 3-D co mpute r modelto dictate the final p roporti ons of thepiece . Those decisions we re andshould be made through out thehands-on woodwo rking process.

It is param ount to keep in mind thatcomp ute r 3-D desig n is merely a visio n that needs to be mol ded to thedesign-altering qu alities of eac h pieceof wood. While it is possib le to mockup grain to be e ithe r flat or qua rte r-

his WalkThrough Pro file into Specular

Infini-D, marketed as modeling,

rendering and animation software (for

Macs only). Forexample, Infini-D lets

the user import a photo of the actual

grain pattern on wood in the shop and

"apply" it to the computer model in the

desired place. It pretty much takes a

sawn, I fee l that grai n should be pa inted into the mod el only after wood hasbeen se lected. Th ere is no sense inmock ing up a wood or grain pattern ,no matter how beautifu l, that is not inyo ur inventor y of materials o r is no tava ilable on the market.

Clearly the exercise did de monst ratethat the 3-D images supported the excha nge and development of designideas. As a com mo n frame o f reference, it allowed us to conceptua lizeand try a range of possibilities prior toco mmitting them to wood. Digitalimaging is a powerful tool , and onethat I believe will be used increasinglyby the computer- lite rate des ignersamong us. They wil l show how thistool ca n be used not only to wr ite co rresp on dence and draft o rthographicsho p drawi ngs of ou r creations but also to bring our designs to life . But likeany tool it should be used appropriately and with care. I base my decision sin the co mpute r or on the d raftingboard - on decades of ex perience anda we ll-developed design eye. I do notnow, and never will, consider myself aco mputer designer. The wood andyo ur eye have to be paramo unt in thedesign of furni ture. And in the e nd thepiece mu st be we ll-crafte d. The computer doesn 't help you the re at all. •

Charles Radtke designs and builds furniture at

his shop in Cedarburg, Wis.

Power Mac with 8MB RAM (20

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94 HOM E FU R N IT U R E


DEEP DOWN INSIDE THISPIECE OF CHERRY

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. hovv theydid it

PULL CARVED INTO DRAWER FRONT

Touch me . Carved pulls can make a drawer

inviting instead of ordinary.

»:>

.~

.r:3. Areas relievedwith spokeshave

2. Bevel cut ontable saw

- Jamie Russell

7. Grooves routed withcore- box bit

co nsiste ntly repeat the curve thatco mes natu rally to it, locat ing thece nte r is the o nly layou t I need to do.Any minor variatio ns in the pu lls [regard as ev ide nce of humaninvo lveme nt, a positive at tribute, Irem ove the ro uter and tabl esawmarks with sandpaper, HO grit through400 grit. wrapped aro und a thinsanding block with o ne edge roundedto fit the routed groove.

Some furniture makers in this issue have developed unusual or innovative techniques that areimportant to the success of their projects. HowThey Did Itillustratesthose techniques.

CARVING INTEGRALDRAWER PULLSThe integral pu lls add about ha lf anhou r of labor to eac h d rawe r in my"Modern Rollto p" (p , 64). Th ey morethan pay for themse lves in addedappeal. I begin after the d rawer isassembled and has had its fina l fitting .

My carving method combines handand power tools . To begin , I cut around-botto med groove in the topedge of the drawer front with a Y2-inchco re-box bit. Then I cut a groove inthe face with the same bit. Th e lastmachin e process is to tilt my tabl esawblade to the slope of the drawe r frontand rip off the face. Th is leaves asloped face with a ridge projectingacross its top. I work the ridge downfro m the ce nter to the ends with aspokeshave, lea ving it high in thece nter. Because the spokes have will

96 HOME FURNITUR E P!lotos (his pag v: Gram Kenla n: drawi ngs: Mark Sant'Angc lo

MUSIC STANDJOINERY DESIGNAlthough the join ery for the topsection of my "Cherry Music Stand"(p. 52) looks the most difficult , itrea lly isn't. It's simply a matter ofprecise layout, cutting accuracy andrepetition. There are four Yz-incharches co nnected by 16 tiny lap joints,no ne of wh ich are squa re . I use arazor blad e or surg ical knife to markthe joint, then saw it very carefully.

It is more d ifficult to ge t a Yz-inchby %-inch shaft to slide flawl esslyinto a thin post. Tha t thin postactua lly sta rted as a piece 2 inches by4 inches. I dr illed a se ries of Y4-inch

aligning holes down both sid es , andcut it into two pieces of 1 inch by 4inches. With a sp ecially groundcutte r- Yz inch by '1'6 inch , with YHinch radius shoulders-on a tabl esaw, I cut a groove 24 inch es downthe ce nter of ea ch piece , fencin g offthe same edge (see drawing bel ow).Then I carefully oiled the grooveswith linseed oil to keep the glu e out,and glued up the mat ching faces . Ipounded Y4-inch dowels into theholes for realignment and clamped ituntil the glue was dr y. I cut a tenon atthe bottom to fit a morti se in thebase. After gluing the base to thepost, I bandsawed it to tap er it

Adjustable sliding

shaft. The top section of

the music stand slides

into the bottom post,

which is tenoned into a

mortise in the base.

upward , rasp ed it to a fina l shapeand sa nde d it smooth to give aperfect tran sition fro m the parabolicfoot into a shaft tha t is only Y. inch byYH inc h at the top.

-Chris Becksvoort

MAKING THE ST A N D FOR THE SLIDING SHAFTHICKORY BARK SEAT: APLEASURE TO USE , ANADVENTURE TO HARVESTA hickory bark chair seat just may bethe best there is: comfortab le, resilient ,long-lasting. It is good-looking fromthe day it goes on and the more youuse it the more bea utiful it becomes.But while you may find using one apleasure, making one from scrat ch ,like those shown in "Evolution of aChair" (p. 26), is so mething else. Aftercutting ove r 15 linear miles of hicko rybark for chair seats, I still have n'tfound a meth od for making splintsthat qu alifies as easy. I still do it,tho ugh, because I like the seat somuch and because it is central to theApp alachian tradition I work in.

A tree 's bark is anything outside thecambium layer, the thin, live ringwhere new ce lls are formed. The barkused for chai r seats is not the tree' srough outer bark, but its inner bark,the leathery layers between the outer

Fence offthis side

-:Glue ,/

./

/-fd-

Oiled withlinseed oil

The post starts asa piece 2 inches by4 inches. Theauthor drillsalignment holes,saws the piece inhalf, cuts a groovedown the center ofeach piece andglues it backtogether using thepre-drilled holes foralignment. Thenth e piece is taperedwith a bandsaw,rasped to a finalshape and sandedsmooth.

Photo this page: Kip Brundage OCTOBER 1996 97

• howtheydid it (continued)

bark and thecambium.

It is possible toharvest bark yearround, but the mostpra ctical time of yearto harvest is in thespring and earlysummer. During this

pan of a tree 's growingcycle the bark peels easily because thecambium, wh ere you se parate the barkfrom the tree, is slithe ry with growth.

I usuall y fell my o wn trees. I look forstraight-tru nked hickories with at least15 feet of clear trunk. I go for smallertrees , at most 12 inches in diameter,because the bark of more mature treesis not as supple. I cut trees where theforest needs thinning o r trees thathave suffered fire scar or othe rdamage but still have good bark.

I often leav e the trees o n the forestfloor to decay wh en I've peeled thebark. Som etim es hickories as small as12 inches in diam eter are used for toolhandl es or pallets , and this is an idea lsituation, because the wood also ge tsused . But usuall y the wood is just notwort h the trouble . I don't like to usewood from such small trees in mychairs, because it is apt to warp andhas poor co lor (a lthoug h it makesexcellent spindle and bow stoc k forWindsors). If this sounds wasteful , I'dsay that it's a matte r of perspective . Ona 12-inch diameter log the value of theprocessed bark is abo ut four times thevalue of its lumber kiln-dried. To me itseems more wasteful to use such treesfor pallets and discard the bark.

Once I've found and felled a tree , Icut inch-deep incisions along thelength of the log with a chain saw. I

98 HOM E FU R N I T U R E

BARK SAFARI: GOING INTOTHE WOODS AFTER A WOVEN

HICKORY SEAT

1. Unzipping a hickory. Brian Boggs harvests

and weaves hickory barkfor the seats of his

chairs. Rem oving the barkstarts with incision s

made wit h a chai n saw.

2. Working with the upper crust. The

hardest wo rk co mes here, drawknifing th e

stiff, crusty o ute r ba rk to reveal the pliable,

leat he ry inner ba rk.

3. Point of departure. The cambium layer,

where new ce llsare ge ne rate d, is the d ivid ing

po int be tween the wood and the bark.

4. Beginning the peel. Boggs nudges his

d rawknife in at th e cam bium and uses the

blunt edge to spring the bark from th e log.

5 . Sloughing off . Once the peeling begins,

the ba rk slides right off the log .

6 . Slit to width. A hom em ad e utility knife

with a pa ir of blades X-inch apart ma kes

quick, even strips.

7. A bark seat-the best there is? A woven

hickory ba rk sea t is ha ndso me, co mfo rtable

and lon g-lasting .

mak e the incisions about six inch esapart. The next job is to remove thecrusty outer bark with a drawknife ,ex posing the inner bark. This is veryhot , hard work. You straddle the logand go after it. On ce the outer bark isrem oved, I go to the butt end of thelog and ease the drawknife into thecambium layer and under the inn erbark. The bark separates easily in along, floppy strip. I roll it up, tie it, andit's ready to go back to the shop. ThenI turn the log and attack the next six-

inch wide strip. There 's not a lot oftechnique invo lved here, but it takespractice to get to a point wh ere yourproduct is worth your pain.

I like to let the bark sit under a tarpfor several days before working it. Theinner layer is not as sticky then andthe outer layer softens from themoisture given up by the inn er layer.By tying the bark in tight rolls 1keep itfrom warping as it sits. When the barkis ready to work I roll it out, cambiumside up , and cut it into strips by hand. I

have made a double-bladed utilityknife that cuts nice, even widths.

Nex t the strips must be sliced intolayers thin enough for weaving. Thereare all so ns of wa ys to do this-fromdrawknifing to thickn ess on the tree,to splittin g by hand, splitting with aknife-blade bandsaw, or soaking thebark so long that it se parates naturall y.I have tried everything I have everheard of and am still ex pe rimenting.

Currently I am using a machine bu iltfor me by an ingenious basket maker

and mac hinist, Dave Nash. I just feedone end of the strip into this splittingmachine like feeding a thicknessplaner. The machine slices the ba rk tothickness. It is possible to ge t three tofour sp lints from a single %.-inch strip,but after the second sp lint, the barkquality diminishes .

As soon as I sp lit the bark , I roll it uploosely and hang the rolls to d ry. Oncedry, the bark will keep for many years,needing only a hot ba th to return it tosuppleness . I soak the dry splints for

about 30 minutes before weaving .Sometimes I wonde r about the

practica lity of making my own barksp lints . Bark season co mes at one ofthe busiest and most chaotic times ofthe year. But I love ge tting out to thewoods and even enjoy the hard work.And cutting my own bark is the onlyway to ensure the quality I want. Butyes, a pan of me en joys seeing myba rk knife hung on the wa ll, signifyingthe end of another bark season.

- Brian Boggs

OCTOBER 996 99

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930 A shb y Ave.Berkeley, CA 947 10(5 10) R43-4390FAX SlO-843-937R

CHESTNUT LUMBERwormyor clear

Furni ture Grade Antique WoodsChestnut, Oak. Pine & Hemlock

T & G, Custom Millwo rkCalf far Samples and Prices

(860) 6 72-4 300CHESTNUT WOODWORKING

~." . ..

~.


READER SERVICENO. 5

LOGS* PLANKS * SQUARESOver 50 species in stock, Custom milling available.

WE STOCK, Lumber 1" to 6". Squares to 12 x 12, Logsand Burls. Thin Woods. Sample Sets & Assortments.

WOODS FOR Furniture, Boxes, Musical Instruments,Carving, Paneling, Turning.


Traditional s upplies fo r finishing, r esto r a ti o n andconservation. Six grades of d ry shellac, d ye powders,dr-y pigments, h id e gt uc, waxes, and Behl e n p roduc ts .

Excellent brush se lection , To uch -Up Kits , FrenchPolishing supplies. Milk Pa int. Satellite City G lues , etc.

Techn ical support. Ca ll o r write fo r free ca talog.

503-274-1271 Gilmer Wood CO. FAX 503-274-9839

22 11 NW St. Helens Rd" Portland, OR972 10Call Today for Prices

11929 Abbey Rd. Unit G, N. Ro ya lto n , O H 44 13 3 21 6/582.8929

READER SERVICENO, 4

WOOD LATHE ACCESSORIESOurs is the • BIG TREE::::\Precise~ TO OLS, INC.;Va~:::le. O~. I @weh ave alln ew

~ types or Spur

Free Broc hure ~:~~~~t~~d§takeCall:1-888-T URNING Tool Rests. more,

P AXTON. thr::mWAm, LTDPO Box 256 , Dept. HFIO, Up per Falls, MD 21156

Phone: HOO-24 1-9741 76 Page Catalog $4,00

READERSERVICENO, 406

PC PROFILESANDERSUPPLIES

•

H&LDiamondsS17.50/50

2'h' x5yd.P.S.AS500

• Flexible paperbacked veneer• Specializing in exotic & burl woods• 75 species in stock• Sheet sizes up to 4' x 12'• We sell direct. I sheet or 100

FREECATALOC! FREESAMPLE!3642W. IIMile Rd. ' Berkley, M148072

(800) 426-6018 (810) 542-9979

BLUE ZIRCONIABest In the World

DISCS (P.SA) BELTS

5' 35¢ 1' , 42' S1.75S' 40¢ 3',21 ' S1.508' 85¢ S', 48' 55.50


CURIO LIGHT FIXTURESCORD SETS, AND OTHER HARDWAR E

Same as used by most major curio manufacture rs.

Catalog $3 :5: e &Refunded with first order HE UER~\VOODS

803-689 -5505 P.O . Box 22227Fax 803 -689-9805 Hilton Head Island, SC 29925

READER SERVICENO, 2

~~®SANDPAPERHOOK& LOOP

•

4'1, 8 Hole $10.00/505' 5 or 8 Hole $12.50/506' 6 Hokl $17.50/505' Solid "E" $15,00/506' Solid"E" $18.00/5012' Solid"E" $12.00/6

REO mLL CORr. I FREE 28 PAGE CATALOGr .o. BOX 4134 & Incredible close-out sheets.

GrnYSBURG, FA 113 2. 800·822·4003READER SERVICENO, 81

Safety glasses & goggles· Faceshields & HeadgearHearingprotectors (muffs & plugs) • Respirators (olsposable,cartridge half mask&ful~ace, airline systems)· Gloves

• FREE CATALOG •Gebler Assoc Inc Vestal, NY 13851POBox36 1-607·729-9337

We make the world plane

For complete booklet on all E.C,E loo ls & theiruse and care, write: David Warren Direc t,PO Box 542. Crystal Lake, IL 60039Dealers Invited, Special discounts to schools .

READERSERVICENO, 11 9 READERSERVICENO, 207 READER SERVICENO, 50

I 00 HOM E FUR NIT U R E


BIRDSEYE MAPLE 6.00.8.00.10.00BUTTERNUT .4.00CHERRy .4.00CHESTNUT used 6.00 new 12.00CURLY MAPLE 6 .00CURLY CHERRY 7.00ELM .2.75PHILLIPINE MAHOG A NY .4.00POPLAR . . .2.25SASS AFRAS . . 3 .00WALNUT 5.00

More Species Available. Quant it y Discounts Avai lable.

rOll FREE _ Price Per Board Foot Rough '

OHIO. PA, and NY Gre8t wid t hs & thickneeeee.1-8 00 -241-3770 All Prices Subject to Change With out Not ice

330-889-3770 Person alized Service Z <:


Grain MatchedTable Legsin Solid Stock

In Stoc k forFast Del iveryT O O RD ER CA L L

802748-9378

Classic DesignsbyMATTHEWBURAK

Box 279,DEI'T. HFIOIDANVIl.l.E, VERMONT 05828


WIDE SELECTION OF HARDWOODSCherry, ma ple. cu rly, bird 's-cyc.walnut , oak, poplar. ·y,.. to 12/ 4

Turning SquaresQUllrtersllwn White 0,,11

800-758-0950

Mica Plates forCraftsman Lamps

and ProjectsFor samples &.. information use $2 Reader ServiceChuck McCoy. 117 Opal Drive, Verona, PA 15 147

41 2/ 79 5-75 12

• l ..

AIRMATE 3S369.00

FREE SHIPPING


Excellent for all woodworking jobs which create dust.

Call for FREE Info 18years experience sellingCredit Cardsaccepted only- RA CAI. F.A I.T11

1-800-328-1792 - & SAFEH

AIRWARE AMERICA (formerly A irstream)

Box 975, Elbow Lake, MN 56531



ROBERT DALRYMPLE, Master Wood worker

Will be teaching advanced theory and practice ofclassic furni ture construct ion, tradi t ional joi nery,

natur al f ini shes and design/ layout.One to two students per session.

Call Bob at 503 -687-7015 o r w rite :85488 Appletree Court, Eugene, Oregan 9 74 05 .


1996 APRIL-OCTOBERWORKSHOPS

Full Week Hands-on SeminarsFeaturing some ofthiscountry'sbestteachers,artistsand

authors: MarcAdams,WayneBarton, Bob Rexner,Dr.BruceHoadley,FrankKlausz,AlanLacer,MonroeRobinson,

Stephen Proctor, SethStem,JimTolpinandseveralothers!Topics include: Cabinet-making · Carving

Chair-making ' Finishing ' Furnil ure-making • JoineryRestoration· Veneering

Fully equipped- Fullsize Workshops.Call or write for brochure. Local lodging available.

MARC ADAMSS<:HooL OF WOODWORKING

5504 E, 500 N, FRA N KLIN, IN 46131317-SJ5-40n

ALVA HARDWOODSGRANd OPENiNG!

Bringing you high quality, availabi lity andfair prices on DOMESTIC HARDWOODS

Call or come visit our new location:ALVA HARDWOODS, 7307 State Rte 80

941-728-2484 Alva, FL 33920A division of Homestead Hardwoods, N, Bloomfield, OH.

READERSERVICENO. 33



Lower Shaker Village, PO Box 707-HF IEnfieid, NH 03748 80(H22-S036

READER SERVICENO. 6

DANA ROBESWOOD CRAFTSMEN

ROFF & HEARNE LUMBER, INC.1+ Curly Cherry 4/4 to 16/ 4. ~ Birdseye & Tiger Maple

PremiumWalnut& Cherry, etc.& Mony Unusuol Species!

MOlching Hhches, slobs 1040" wideK.D. N atio nwi de

Z C' & lnternotionol Shipping" 0 - .. No Order Too Large or Too Small

• (800) 342·0001, (7171 284-0001' Fox (7\7) 284-2400

858 Scotland Rd • Quarryville, PA 17566

Exper ience a one week workshop whereyou learn 10 build Shaker-insp ir edfurni lure wilh one of our fin est cra ftsmen.One-on-one ins truct io n in a superb shoplocated in a restor ed Shaker village. SeeFine Woodwork ing, May '93 for profil e.Call for details.

MAPLE BENCH TOPSNew,solid, kiln dried1·%" thicklaminated maple

Solid - nosoftenre.3~~ize_s from 24" x 48" to 4X" x 144"

Competitive prices - Freightcollect to YOUf doo r.CIJSfOM BRANDING IRONSCallor write for more information

BRAND-NEW Phone/Fa, 1·800·964-8251or i ·R05·964-R251612 ; Pedernal Ave., Dept. 0; ; , Goleta, CA95117

"The SmartSwitch"--DCS-IOOTMGives YouWireless Control Of YourCentral Dust Collection System ,----,Des· 100 switchesyour Collection System fromany location tn the shop With a small~ket transmitterBa SIC starter kif r~tres no oddiliono wIring ' •• Components - p ug directly mto standard outlets

~

~~• Tokes minutes 10 install.• Extra transmitters are available.

STARTER KITS fOR:for 1 phose 110/220 & 3 phase

FERNBROOK ~ "'=-J105 Rockl<>ke RoodOtto, NC 28763 (7041524·6125 VISA/MC occepted! ~

~, " ~Acous'Iex. ..

SPEAKER FABRIC.OURFABRICSMAKESOUND L00K BElTE R'

'- .. ' t

Entertainment Center Gr ille Cloth II/ Qver 50 Colors

4 Engineered tomaximizeacoustical performance ofspeaker'" Idealforhome theater, enterta inment centers and •

speaker grills, etc, • "4 Designed tnr residentialandcommercial applications

send $5. 00 for sample card ofa ll 50 co lo rs

AcousTex Speake'r Fabrics •1 Garfield Circle, Burlington, MA01803

Phone: (617) 229·2100 Fax: (617) 229 -2101



~- . J. _~'1, .._,I · __

/? -_.. ,':

... .. - "" . '---I


•

The Veneer WorksCustom Ven eer Faces/Press ingdetailed matching a speciality

any Core, Pattern, or Sizecurves and piece work

303-571-5798READERSERVICENO. 71

FVLL IN f O RMATIO N PACK,Myr csidc mternano nel School of Furniture, Giffonl E}-t -l1 -I'A . Scotland

Tel : 0 1620 810 0 80 FdX: 01620 81 0 701

STUDY IN SCOTLANDONEYEAR PROFESSIONAl. FVRNllVRERESTORATION AND MAKINej COURSE

OCTO B E R 1 9 9 6 W I

• marketplace

Free brochure available

Quan tity discounts available

Rap id shipment via UPS

THt TOOL CHtST ~ff~J~AN... lor both the professional and amateur.

III • :.. •

FLOORING& PECANL UMBER

The company also offers hardwood doll ies and steel tube panelc arts

KARDAE SUPPLY CO.3 t Cedar La ne . Hillsdale, N,! 07642

Ph : (20 1) 664-1 787 • Fax : (201) 664- 1429

WESTSV5rTEM®

BRAND


FREE EPOXY MANUALUse strong, waterproof WEST SYSTEM®epoxy for laminat ing wood, gluingjoints and seating hardware, Orderyour free 33-page illustrated manualtoday.

Gougeon Brothers, Inc., Dept. 43, Po. Box 908

Bay City,M148707' 517·684·7286

$109.00 per dozen

lIeB l 'i))' qujUcd wtrh C8m 'a!! bindi.n w,. Si.z~ 72" x 80"

READER SERVICENO. 9

with

NEW MOVERS BLANKETS

PROTECT YOUR FINISHED WORK


A SHMAN TECHNICAL LTD.351Nash Rd. N, Hamilton, Onlana. CANADA L8H 71'4

Phone905-560-2400' FAX: 905-560-24M · 1-800-668·5721

MESQUITE WOOD PRODUCTS

~FU RNITU RE

T URNINGBLAN KS

Mesq uite Produ ction Co.P.O. Box 636

B la k e Wernette Hondo. TX 78861 210-426-3000


IGENERAL IWOODWORKING EQUIPMENTQUALITY AND PERFORMANCE FEATURES REQUIRED FOR

SERIOUS WOODWORKING MADE IN CANADA,WITH WORKMANSHIP AND PERFORMANCE GUARANTEED,

special pricingTo order your own copy of the

G ENERAL W OODWORK IN GEQUIPMENT CATA L OGUE

Wr ite or Call :The greatestone-of-a-kinditems for thewesterner at

heart.

Visit ourFrontierSurplus

Showroom.


OVER t 20 SPECIES O F FI:-<E HARDWOOD AND VENEER

,; ; H Eagle Str eet No rth . Cam b ridgeO nta rio . Canada ;\l31f 5M2

(5t9) (,5.\·9.\22 Fax (519) 65.H 44 I

A Co nnnitrne nt to QualitJ' and Sen -tce Sin ce / 9 73

WOOD YOU CAN TRUSTfrom

PEOPLE YOU CAN TRUST-------~-------

~I&' ~g~D

'. ." SPECIALTY- IN C


Di me store Cowboys, Inc.614Second St., S.\\'. 505-2+\- 1493Albuq ue rq ue , NS1 87102 Fax 505-244- 1496


Wide Lu mber · 118through 16/4 , Hi gh Qua l it y -Figured >Large Selection. A ll A t Reasonable Pri ces.

Q,.~0~ :E e~~ V NO MINIM UM

WALNUT PRODUCTS ORDER

5~~~:'~I~~t~;3~~ ' (54 1) 926-75 16

Fine Pewter HardwareH andcrafted Spanish Colonial and Southwestern I l ardware.

11M ~lJke'~ RESTORERS (4;WEOFFER A WHOLESALE CATALOGFOR ARTISANS WITH ' ,••_."ITEMS YOU CANNOT FIND FROM ANY OTHERSINGLE SOURCE:INCLUDING OIL LAMPS AND PARTS, LARGESTSELECTION BRASSHARDWAREINU.S" WOODFINISHING, CANING, BASKETRY MATE·RIALS, CARVINGS, MOLDINGS, HARDWOOO LUMBER, VENEERS,ROLLTOPDESK PARTS, CURVED CHINA CABINET, GLASS, ETC.CATALOGUNLIKE ANYOTHER!

CATALOG: $1.00VAN DYKE'S,Depl.R1329B6, P,O. Box278, Woonsocket, SD57385


Summer,

Fall

Wint er &

Spring

Sessio ns

Week-long

Intensives

in tradit ional

woodcar ving

For Information, Wri te or Call:See Athena Cabinet P.O . Box 302

in Crafrsrnan', Corner Newfa ne Vi llage. VT 0 5 34 5and Hom" Furniture=5.p. 83. (8 02) 365~ 7255


Stu dy Carving in Vermon tw ith Thomas G o lding


PETER LANG COMPANY1 -80 0 -6 1 6 -B O W L (2695)


WESTERN HARDWOODSTURNING BLANKS, LUMBER, BURLS

Cl aro Waln ut / Eng lish WalnutBiglcaf Mapl e / Black A cacia

CA Bay L aurel / Re dwood Burl . ..Huge In ventory of pre-cut turning blanks

or cu t to order:"Live-ed ge" piece s . spulted wood . burl . tur n ing spindles .. .

L ar ge seq ue ntial slab s fro m 3" to S" thick I i' to 20 ' longKiln-dr ied lum ber . TltG floorin g, w a ll panel. etc .

DYNAMIC INV ENTORY WITH MONTHLY SPECIALS

CAL L FOR OUR FREE BROCHURE

America 's Prem ier Sour ce ofHardwood Venee rs and Exotic lumber

O ur exper t staffw i ll work w it h

you on an y sizevenee r requireme nt,

qu ickl y sh ipp ingon ly A-grade, full

lengt h vene er .Tha t 's A Promise!

FREE CATALOGHighest Quality veneers~~'.!:,'::!.\':lLowest Pr ices, Full Length .,,;,J

Large Select ion . ~Exot ic Hardwoods

11753 Big Tree Road 0 East Aurora, NY 14052Ph: (7 16] 655-0206 Fx: (7 16) 655-3446

Our Wood Certainly Makes A Difference


VINTAG E TOOL HOUSEA n t iqu e. New & U sed H and T ools

~,~,~~L~, ~/' ~~~~... -~,:---..y Buy/Sell oll

Ill ustrated catalogs publi shed 6 timesper year.$2 Single Copy ' $ 12 Subscription U.S. ($ 17 Foreign.)

_ Box 1155 · Su ffern. NY 10901- Q 914-352- 1347 0 FAX 914-352-2606 ¢


SELF-ADHESIVE FELT70% WOOL

TAP ES . STR IPS . TA BS . R IC-O- BACDOTS • SO FT BOTTOM S

11 800 796 23331 APPROX, Yo,' & Yo THICK- - - BROWN, GREEN, BLACK,WHITE, AND SILVERGRAY

~~UIN 3905 W, 64TH PLACE~"'"ft CHICAGO, IL 60629PRODU CTS, INC . _ 312-735-2344 . FAX 312-735-2390


(914) 3+4 ....4450 - SeTIiing the In dustry for~ver 10 Yeilrs - Fax (914) 343-7056

..Proven Wood Finishes

80 years of use by...Woodworking Professionals

For A Catalog Call

1-800-321-0377

We Manufactu re & ServiceSHAPER KNIVES

MOULDER KNIVESWilliams & Hu ssey Profile Knives

FO LEY BELSA\Xl . ;\10 UL D ER H EA DSRBI & \\ 'O O LHvIAST ER K :--JIVES

LO C K EDGE COL LARSROSEn E CUlTERS

CUSTO M RO UT ERS &

CUSTO~I CUTlERSQu ick Tu rnaroun d Ti me

Top Q uality Productsat Co mpetitive Prices

W. Moore Profi les LTD.17 Mon tgomerv St. -=

Middletown, N Y' 10940 1-8 00-228-8151 ~

and laminateflat &curved panels.• Vacuum bags• Vacuum pumps MERCURY VACUUM PRESSES• Venturi generators 1-800-995-4506• Vacuum clamps Box 2232, Fort Bragg. CA 95437Call for a catalog Fax 707-964-7606

READER SERVICENO. 1S6 READERSERVICENO. 126 READER SERVICENO. 192

.,.-specializing in 5/1 W11th.

Dept. HF96Pt.11f1geks, ll il

98362(~60) 452·2292

READERSERVICENO. 41

$21 .50

includes5 & H

CALL (800) 462-6660• FullLine of Basketry & SeatweavingSupplies

1+.1+. PE:RKINS CO. Est. 1917

10So. Bradley Rd., Woodbridge. CT 06525

INCLUDES• Cane(s)• Pegs• Awl• Easy to fo llow

in structi ons

Q uality scarce, olde r and complete ready to uschandto ols of all k inds. i\ I any planes & ot heredg e tools. Hundr eds of i te ms on each l ist.S IJIISC IUI'TIO~> ~ 12. 0 0/ )" 5-ILL USTItATE D LISTS

(CI JIUlE1IT UST> S~ .50 ) IS., . au dlCllI'~lactlOll arm ltee

HAND CANING STOOL KIT

BOBKAUNE

• Western Walnut (Claro) • Figured Maple

• Curly Maple' Birds-Eye Maple' Myrtewood

• Ebony' Honduran Mahogany. AID Rough ConlS

¢ ::EAll Dimensi on Lumber . BookoMafc /led sets For raps . Also Micro-Thin Lumber.

LewisJudy, Manager Finest Quality No Minimum Order

503-327-1000 800-238-8036 Fax: 541 -327-321 5


WB2000 SYSTEM WATER·BASED WOOD FINISHESTarget's water-based coatings offer a wide range of topcoatfinishes and stains to meet your needs. Our system is moredurable than varnishand safer than lacquers.Send $2.00 ~

~B~~~g~:s~~ CataIOgto t TARGET-P.O. Box 1582, Rutherford , IIIJ 07070 USA

FAX: 201·939·0518 -1-800-752-9922 • !no.: 201-804-0993



POOTATUCK CORPORATIONP.O. Box 24, Dept . HF959

Windsor, VT 05089 (802) 674-5984

A good miter

is hard to find.

Made inNew England

Now youknow whereto look!

SAWMILL DIRECT • BEST PRICESOVER 70 QUALITY SPECIES INCLUDING :

• COCOBOLO • EBONY·BOCOTE• PINKIVORY. MEXICAN KINGWOOD. ROSEWOODS

• FIGURED MAPLES. MAHOGANIESLARGE INVENTORY OF:

• LUMBER· SQUARES. TURNING STOCK• SLABS· LOGS. BILLETS

WE HAVE WHAT YOU WANT!SA SE FOR LIST

TROPICAL EXOTIC HARDWOODSof Latin America

MITCH TALCOVE 619·434-3030 DIRECT

~~~is~~~,lg~692018 ~ FAX611~:~~~~~READER SERVICENO. 47

Arts & Cr aftsHardwareD esigns by Stickley,Limbert, and more. T hesecopper pull s and hin ges arehammered and hand fi nisheddark to create a str ikingl yauthenti c look .

Call or write for afree brochure



READER SERVICENO.3

800-248-1919SAVE ON: G• Blades • Hinges ~:~ Go• Bolts • Screws ....,I\..~~~\.oO• \fI{ood Parts n~' ~C~• Bits ~:V ~\;

~~~I\..Pc..\)~ • Lots~~ r ~~ More!

PROFESSIONALZ ¢~ HARDWARE

Bruce Szopo3860 Ellamae Oakland, MI 48363(810) 652-7652

YOU CAN1T GET THE BESTCUTTING TOOLS UNTIL YOU

GET THE BEST CATALOG.• Over 900 of the fine st Am erican made cutt ing

1* *.--d tools for so lid surface , plastic or

wood • New "Stay Sharp ToolProgram " • All tools guaranteed

~"'7< -. "• Great service . Immediate

1996delivery Call for free catalog

CUTIINGTOOLS WESLEY TOOLS LTD.CATALOG_Dio.. ,~ ·..". .. _ Cwrtroro T",",

346 Map le Avenue.__...._.....'"w~TOOIl lld

Westbury, New York 11590"'-:~E':'":-; "-

TOLL FREE:1-800-397-6867

OCTO B E R 1 9 9 6 103

. sources

LACEWOOD

Dow n und er th ey call itSouthern silky o ak. In th eUnite d States we call itlacewood. Thi s ma gnificentand ab un da nt timber isGreu illea robusta . Th e y saythat if yo u eliminate d th eub iq uito us e uc alyp tus fromAus tra lia, thi s tre e wouldbe th e p rominent specieso f arborescent plant life o nthe co nt ine nt. Whil e it isnative to Australia , it ca n befound growing in tropicaland subtro p ica l cl imatesthro ug ho ut th e world . O nemay e ncou nte r it as a streettree in so me of th e gr eatcit ies bordering th e

Rife with ray fleck. Lacewood's

prominent rays are evident anyway you slice it.

Mediterranean. And if yo uhappen to be working inth e heat o f the tea plantatio ns o f th e Ken ya High lands or th e hi lls o f SriLanka yo u can rest in thesha de o f th e la rge , fernlike , everg ree n leaves o fthi s tree . Th ey are p lanted

th er e to protect the d eli cate tea leaves from

burning in th etropi cal su n.

You ma y findthat yo u

actuallyo w n o ne - in

th e form o f a ver ypopular houseplant

known sim ply as g rev illea .Th er e are many plantati onsof lacewood trees in widelysca tte red part s o f th eworld , including SouthAfrica , Sam oa and Hawaii.Th e trees rise up 100 to 150fee t w ith di am eters o f tw o

to four feet. Man y lacewood tre es wi ll yie ld tw o16-foot saw logs clear ofkn ot s. Th e specific grav ityo f th e wood is in th e 0.5 1ran ge but th e p lantati ongrown wood from Haw ai iis sa id to be a bit heavier.

When fresh ly cut, th ewood o f th e luccwood is apinkish ye llo w hu e , butwith age it wi ll turn ye llowor reddish brown . It is pepper ed with flecks o n allsurfaces because o fits wide rays,whi ch seem to

twist and tu rn . On the qu arter sawn (radia l) surface theflecks are sma II and uni fo rmly close, crea ting a pattern not unl ike th e clothfro m whi ch th e na me lace w ood was derived. Ah! b uto n th e flat-sawn (tangential ) sur face th e ray fle cks

104 H O ME F U R NI TU RE Drawings: Bobhi Angell

really exce l. Here th eystand o ut like e mbeddedand sa nded sto nes. You areapt to ge t mesm eri zedlook ing at them.

Notwiths tand ing thestructure of th e wood,which co ntains som e of thelon gest fibers in hardwood salong with the meandering

rays, it is relativcl y easy

to work. Anunpubl ish ed

report o n file atthe U.S. Forest Prod

ucts Laboratory ca llslaccwood one of thebest woods ever tested in the lab for allaro und ma chinab ility.

..... Still, ther e are somethings to keep inmind. Th ere is so metenden cy for the woodto chip at the rays whe n

plan ed ; sharp toolssho uld remedy this p roblem . Also, the rays tend tobe harder than th e surrou nd ing wood and co nsequ ently it is advisa ble, ifyo u are trying to achi ev e atrul y flat surface with abra sives, to sand cross-grainbefore sa nd ing alo ng thegrain. On the downsid e , thewood is susce ptib le topowder- post beetl e and te rmite atta ck and is not recommende d for ex te rna l useunl ess it is treated . Further,sawdust and green woodmay cause sk in inflamrna-

tion . The finished wood,however, is safe to ha nd le.

Lacewood is a greatwood for fine furn iture .ve nee r and tur ning whe rean unu su al gra in pattern isdes ire d. (For an exa mple .see the "Lacewood HallTabl e" o n p . 58.) It is oftenpaired with p laine r woodsto prevent the lucewoodsattractive g ra in from beco ming ove rpowering . It isstocked by man y hardwood deale rs throug ho utth e United States, but onemu st be carefu l w he n asking for it, as the re are ot herwoods descr ibed as lacewood in th e marketpl ace.Our Eng lish frie nds wouldproba b ly be shown European plane , whic h is muchlike o ur America nsyca more, if they inquiredabo ut lace wood (see the"Fier y Side boa rd in EnglishPlane" o n p. 54). It, too, hasthi s lacy loo k, but mu chsub d ued. To complica tematt ers, the Aus tra liansiden tify two lacewoods:Southern silky oak (GreLJillea ro busta y an d No rthe rnsilky oak (Ca rdwellia sublimis ). Although from d iffer e nt ge ne ra, th ey arenearly identi cal , and e ithe rwill p lease the d iscrimina ting woodworke r.james H. Flynn is th e edito r af

A Guide to Useful Woods of

th e World (King Philip Publi sh

ing Co., Portland, M e., 7994).

STRAP HINGES CUSTOM -MADE FOR THEOUTSIDE OF A CHESTDaniel and Patricia Moseshad the stra p hinges for their"Painte d File Chest" (p. 48)custom-made by blacksmithand fo un dry owne r DaveMitchell (8E Hadco Rd.,Wilming ton, DE 19804; 302998- 1181). Because the

Strapped to the outside.

Custom strap hing es of

hammered stee l were placed on

th e outside of th e chest to

display their hand-forged beauty.

hand-forged hinges aremade to be seen and felt ,they fit on the outs ide of thechest rathe r tha n on the inside, which is a more trad itional method.

Mitchell also dar kened thestee l with his own linseed oilso lutio n to create an almostblack co lor, much dark e rthan the light to mediumgray of hand -forged steel. Although o ften ca lled han dforge d iron, Mitch ell says thematerial used today to rese mb le tradit iona l methodsof blacksm ith ing is technica lly stee l in its compositio n,rather than iron.

The han dles o n the chestare made of b rass and areavai lab le from WhitechapelLtd. (P.O. Box 136, Wilson,WY 83014; 800-468-5538).The handles also were dar kene d by using an ac id antiquing so lution. Althoughthe an tiquing was done byWhitechapel , the co mpanyse lls a pre-mixed solutionfor darkening b rass.

Phot o this page: 'scott Griswold OCTOBER 1996 105

Tel : 201-478·7070Fax: 201·478·2106

1·800·227·6243

VISA

NEW MINIREFRIGERATORS TO THE TRAOE

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106 HOM E FU R NI T U R E

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. about thefurniture makers

Home Furniture prints the addresses and telephone numbers of thefurnituremakers featured in each issue, unless the maker requests thattheybeomitted.

RANDOLPH A.DEMERCADO(above) first e ncounte redwoodworking when hewas growing up in Jamaicaand his father hired acraftsma n to build a suiteof furn iture. The man did itall with hand tools in thefamily's garage . DeMe rcado later emigrated to theUnited States and he nowmakes reproductions andinterpretations of Chinesefurn iture (306 Lakes Rd.,Warwick , NY 10990; 9]49H6-28]5). "Classic Ch ineseCha ir"on p. 46.

JACK ALBERTImade his way from aerospace engineering to fulltime furn iture making byway of home building andpipe organ co nstruction.His furniture often featuressurfaces decorated withrepetitive-pa tterne d marquetry (P.O. Box 236, Poquonock, CT 06064; 860683-8805). "Fier y Sideboardin English Plan e"on p. 54.

CHRIS BECKSVOORTis a write r, ga rde ne r, speedskater and p rofessionalwoodworker. He is also aco ntributing edito r forFine Vvoodwork ing maga zine (P.O. Box ]2, Ne wGlouceste r, ME 04260;207-926-4608). "CherryMusic Sta nd" o n p. 52.

MARK BELLONBYgraduated from The HillSchool in Pot tstown , Pennsylvania, whe re he took athree-year program in furniture design. He then pursued a caree r in arc hitect ure, studying at Dartmo uth and the Univers ityof Pennsylvania. He is apartne r in a firm in the nation 's ca pita l, but has continued to design and buil dfurn iture for 25 years (6626\Xfea theford Court, McLean,VA 22101;703-506-0640;5co [email protected]). "A rch itectu ral Ornamenta tio n"on p. 32.

BRIAN BOGGSis a cha irrna ke r who condu cts workshops aroundthe co untry and is workingto se t up a cha irma king operation for stude nts inHonduras (118 Lester St.,Berea, KY 40403; 606-9864638) . "Euolution ofaCha ir"o n p. 26.

FRANCOIS BRETONhas been designing andbuilding custom furn ituresince 1983. He se lls hiswork directly to customersand throu gh retail stores inMontreal (999 d u College,Room 36, Montreal, Que .,Cana da H4C 253; 514-9891447). "Curved Armchair"on p. 63.

ANTHONY BUZAKspe nt 20 years running anaudio and video electronicsrepair co mpany before d iving into furniture makingfull-time . Afte r several yea rsworking in othe rsho ps , hese t up his own custo m furniture bu siness in 1991 (60Dexter St., Ton awan da, NY14150; 716-693-1749). "Laceuiood Hall Table"on p. 58.

THOM DUPREXbegan a sec ond caree r as afu rniture maker in 1989 after 25 years in telecommunication s. He now runs aone-man shop in northernNew Hampsh ire and bui ldscustom furniture in Shakerand 18th-cem uFJ ' stytes(P.O. Box 279, BrushwoodRd., North Haverhill , NH03774; 603-787-6359)."Shaleer-style Apotheca r yChes t"on p. 44.

DAVID GEERhas been a full-time woodworker for about 10 yea rs.He bu ilds houses, is inte rested in drawing and design and co llec ts and usesJapanese hand too ls (158Stage Rd., Monroe, NY10950; 914-783-0117)."Glass-Topp ed End Tahle"on p. 50.

PAUL HARRELLstudied furniture makingunder James Krenov. Since1990, he has been mak ingfurn iture in his one-manshop in central North Carolina. His article "DesigningAlong the Grain" appearedin the Sprin g 1996 issue ofHome Furniture (87 Mantis, Pittsb oro , NC 27312;919-542-2743). "SilverChes t" on p. 68.

108 H O M E FUR NIT U R E

JAMES HUMEworks wood in the larg e ,clea n sho p he built besidehis ho use . He also worksme tal there , fab ricatingfue l tanks, air foil s and alu minum bodies for dragste rs and funny cars. Hisprepara tion for this du alca reer included work incabine t sh ops and a stintas an ass istant cartoon animato r with Hanna-Barber a(2040 Prairie Rd ., SedroWoo lley, WA 98284; 360856- 1646). "Mahoga nyRocker " o n p. 66.

JUN ISHIBASHIis a professional fu rn iturecraftsma n w ho gradua tedfrom the Woodwo rkingDepartme nt of the H annohProfessional School in 1985and then worke d fo r twofurn iture manufacturingco mpa nies . He has beendesign ing and building furniture at his sma ll studiosince 1992 (Wood CraftHan e, 28 Mornono ki

Tokigawamura, HikigunSa itn rna . J:1F ln 355-03:0493-65- 1506) . "[apa neseCha irs"on p. 72.

MILES KARPILOWstudied painting at TylerSchool o f Art in Philadelphia and at New York University. After working eightyears as a frame carve r andgilder in New York and SanFrancisco, he began making furniture in 1961. Henow makes custom furniture , cabine ts and entrydoors (999 43rd St., Oakland, CA 94608; 510-6555272). "Ca rved Map leArmoire"on p. 60.

DOUG MOOBERRYis the proprietor o f KinlochWoodworking Ltd., whi chspec ializes in 18th- and19th- century American furnitur e (Kinloc h Woodworking Ltd., Rt. 82,Unionville, PA 19375; 610347-2070). '/'I Cabinetmaleer's Dream" o n p. 36.

DANIEL ANDPATRICIA MOSESowned a go urmet restaurant before going into thefurniture business in 1989.Daniel got his start as awoodworker by buildingcustom accessories forboats during co llege . Patricia's studies in anthropology and art influence muchof their wor k (Ame ricanFurniture & Fine Craft, 197W. Meyran Ave., SomersPoint , N] 08244; 609-6532016). "Pa inted File Chest"on p. 48.

BILL PALMERlearned woodworking inCanada before moving toKey West, where he builthis home and workshop.He can often be foundkayaking through mangrove islands in the Florid akeys (Designs: Fine Furniture, 1026 Truman Ave.,Key West, FL 33040; 305294-9570). "Curved Bed inCyp ress" o n p. 70.

CHARLES RADTKEplunged into furnituremaking at St. Paschal Friary,Oakbrook, Illinois , in 1982,and now creates pie ces forco llectors worldwide (N70W5334A Bridge Rd., Cedarburg, WI 53012; 414-3758703). "An i ma te YourDesigns" o n p. 90.

GARY ROGOWSKIpoured co nc rete andworked as an auto mechanic before becoming a fulltime wo odworker. For thelast 20 years he has beendesigning and building custom furniture, teachingwoodworking and co ntributing to Fine Woodworking magazine (1104 N.E.28th, Portland, OR 97232)."Cloud Rise Bed" on p. 41.

JAMIE RUSSELLhas been o pe rating a o ne person shop specializingprin cipall y in furnituresince 1977. He is largelyse lf-taug ht, helped alongby symposia of the Saskatchewan WoodworkersGuild (Box 157, Vanscoy,Sask ., Canada SOL 3.10; 306934-008 2). "Modern Rolltop"o n p. 64.

GARY J.W. SPYKMANspecializes in furniture inthe Arts and Crafts trad ition, inspired by the workof Harvey Ellis, CharlesRennie Mackintosh and theGree ne brothers. He livesand works o n the island ofMartha 's Vineyard (G.j.W,Spykman , Cabine tmaker,P.O. Box 2273, Edga rto wn,MA 02539; 508-693-6402)."Craftsma n-style Wall Ca binet" o n p. 56.

MICHAEL STREFLERlearned woodworking inhis fath er 's shop in Ge rman y. In 1987 he ea rned aGe rman master's d iploma.He and his fath er havesince immigrated to NovaScotia , wh ere they run atwo-man furniture shopspecializing in tradit io naljoin er y and design (ChesterFurniture , 248 StanfordLake ReI. , P.O . Box 40,Ches ter, N.S., Cana da BO)1J0; 902-275-5833). '/'I German Schra nk "o n p . 75.

OCT 0 B E R 1 9 9 6 109

READERSERVICENO. ' 64

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INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

A&:M Wood Spec ialty, Inc. 10,) The Craftsman 13 Bob Kann e Antique To ol s 102 D. P. Peterson 21Acous'Iex Speak er Fabric 101 Robert Dalrymp le IH.101 Keller Doveta il Systems 9'1 Steven Pistri ch 21Marc Adams Schoo l o f JB Daw n Felt 102 Kwick Kleen 100 Poot.nuck Co rp. 103

\'\'o()dwo rking 101 Delun cev In novation s 102 Laguna Tools 9 Pro D iscount I lardwa re 103Ad riance Fur ni turcmakc rs 17 Delphi S'tained Glass 110 Peter Lan g Co m pany 102 I im Prohst 20Afte rmath Furnitu re IG Delta 95 Lavin ia Interio rs 100 'Q uality VAKuum Prod ucts 25Airstream 101 Design er Furniture Plans 24 Leigh Industries 11 Dale Ramsey 20Alva Hardwoods 101 Design s b y Milad 19 Libe ron Star Sup plies 100 Red Hill Abrasi\'es 100Amer ican Craft Mar keting 13 D imesto re Cowbovs, Inc. 102 Lie-Nielsen Toolworks 2·-, Frank Rhod es, Furn irur cmukcr IGAm erica n Furniture Desig ns 3 Paul Dow ns. Cab itietmake rs 17 l.ign om at USA 24 Dalla Ro bes 101Ashm an Technical 102 To m Dup rex 19 j eff Lind Woodworking IH Sandy Po nd Hardwoods 103Auton Motoriz ed Lifts I II Cha rles Durfee, Cab inetmake r 19 Linden Pub lishin g 3 Safrane k/ ! Ie r Saf 11Ball &: Ball Hardware 25 Chr is Efke r Hardware 24 Russ Loomis ,J r. 19 Shake r Worksho ps 11Bar-Maid Minibars l OG Euba nk Lifts 10 Los Osos \Xlo odw o rk in g 20 Steven Siegel. Pure Art Design s IGBarr Specialty 24 Fe rnbroo k 101 Maclk-ath Hard woods 100 G.J. W. Spykrnan, Cab ine tma ke r IGBart lcv Collection 10 Fo rrest Manufuctu rin g lOG Mack &: Rode! 20 St. Jam es Bay Too l Co. 10C. H. Becksvoort , Franklin Ace Hardware 110 Manhattan Cab ine try IG Szo po Arts &: Crafts Hardwa re 103

Furn i turemaker 17 Freyer IG Mann y's Boo ks 7 TRG Produ cts 13Berea Hardwoo ds 12 Fur n iture Design s l OG M.T. Maxwell 20 Target Enterpr ise 103Big Tree Too l 100 Dave Gaddis 19 John McAlevey 17 Taunto n Press 2.25. 106Martin Blacksha w IH Geb ler Associates 100 :-!cCov Mica Plates 101 Too l Ches t 102Blue Ox Brand Hardwoods 101 Gilme r Woo d 100 :V1cFe~ lys Square Drive Scre ws 94 Tree lx-ard Design s 17Brian Boggs Cha irmakc r 17 Mich ael Gloor 20 Mercu rv Vacu um Presses 103 Tree o f Life Woo d-Works IHBosch Power 107 Thom as Gloss &: Son 19 Mykl Messer 21 Tro p ical Exotic IIardwo ods 103Bran d New 101 Gobv \Valnut Produc ts 102 Mi cro Fen ce 24 Tuck uwav Timber Co. 101Larry &: Faye Brusso Co.. Inc. 12 Thol l la s Go ld ing 102 Modern Postcard 12 Vacuu m }>ressin g Systems 3Matthew Burak Furniture IH Gou geo n Brothers 102 W/. Moo re Pro fil es 103 Van D vk rvs Restorers 102CMT Too ls 94 Ge rry Grant Furni ture 100 Arkadv Mo ro z, Furniturem akcr IH Th e Veneer Works \ ()\Cabo t Chair Sho p 17 Groff S: Hearn e Lumber 101 Mr. Sandpaper 9 Vintage Too l Ho use 102Cen ter l.ine To o l 7 The Guild 13 Myresidc In terna tional Sc ho o l lOt \X1C\X' .\ lL's 'l ll ire 102Certainly Wood 102 She rwood Hamill 17 Geo rge Nakash ima IH WGB Glass 7Ches te r Furni ture , Ltd . 17 Heue r Woods 100 No ruums Handmade Garre t \Xfade 2·'!Ches tnut Woodworki ng 100 Hida 'I()o l &: Hard ware 25 Rep roduct io ns 19 Wallace/Hinz 3CitiStrip 12 High land l lardware 12 Peter Turner 20 \Var ren Direct 100Class ic Designs by Matth ew Ho mestead linish ing Prod . 100 Northwe st Ti m ber 103 Wate rIox 103

Burak 101 Ho mestead Hardw oods 10 1 Nylc Dry Kilns 10 Wesley Tools. Ltd . 103G. R.Clide nce 20 Ho rton Brasses, In c. 7 Oa kwood Veneer 100 Wet Paim IHCo ndon Lum ber 10 Im po rted Euro pean l lardwarc 13 Old Village Paint U Whitee hapcl IICo nover Lathes 10 Inca Lifts 9 On eida Air Systems 91 R.S. Wilkin so n 19Conover Wo rkshops 100 j apan \X'()()dw ()rker 5 On srud II \X!ood Fashi ons 2 1Co nstan tine 12 j o intech 110 Osborne \'(/o od Prod ucts 5 Wood Shed 9R. Co nway Co. 16 Jonah 's Cabine t Shop IH Paxton Hardware, Ltd . 100 Woo dwor king Shows 7R Corkhill Fine Furni ture 16 Karda e Sup p ly Co. 102 H.I I. Perkins 105 David Wright IH

110 H 0 M E F U R N I T U R E

Ol!tJ1ISweet's 11457/AUT _"'0""""0' ,.

Inll!'fOOl'De~'-s

~ pray Hide & SeePop-Up Speakers in Home Theatre

~

~~~

Since 1955, the AutonComp any has serve d thede sig n commu ni ty wi thq ual ity lift sy ste ms thatutilize remote contro ls.

Auton has develop ed auni que "rac k and p in ion"

sys te m th at rai ses and lo wers TVs ,ceili ng pr oj ector s, "sma rt waite rs ",com puters , ba rs and panel lifts. Unlikethe wobb le-prone "old fashioned" scissorlifts, Auton has produ ced a motorizedplatform that glides smoothly and quietlyon four racks and p inions, which willa llow lifting un even load s. all at th etouch of a button ,

The Au ton Company manuf actures acomplete line of custom and standardmotorized lifts.

MOTORIZED LIFT SYSTEMS

No w bu i ld e rs , a rch itects , inter iordesigners and spec ifiers, furniture andcabinet make rs , can d eve lop the irc reation s in homes , offices , ship s ,aircraf t. conference and hotel facil ities .Auton known world -wide for the systemsth at you ca n recommend wi thconfidence.The Auton CompanyBox 801960 • Valencia , California91380-1960 ' (805) 257-9282 ' Ask ForMr. Homer ' FAX (805) 295-5638Beverly Hills (310) 659· 1718Honolulu (808) 734-1260e-mail: [email protected]: http://www.auton.com

)

~/V- Variable HeightPanel Lift Table Pop-Down Projector

Some of the many uses for the Auton Lift System :

MotorizedSwive l Base

Pop-Up Computer Pop-Down TV Mon itor Pop-Up TV/Bar

iid1ii~

Auton does not manufacture furniture. Made in USA. US and Foreign Patent Pending Pop-Down Ceiling TV


hGme·tu_rurru re

A sampling of the pieces featured in this issue:

84

56 50 ---'

Fine Woodworkings Home Furniture

Documents

americanperiod furniture

furniture lover

foundation of furniture

american furniture design

s mfojfftsthet furniture

furniture of qljjtav

golden ageof furniture

s thediamond