W I NT E R 1 9 94

Fine Woodworking's

e.
FOR
~-rru'-"'-
W O
- ---~-re
O D W O R K E R S

OAK SIDEBOARD

$5.95
 Our new sander takes care of details
others haven't even thought of.
Most corner sanders just scratch the surface compared to the
new Bosch B7000. For example, its motor not only delivers 1.1 amps of
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ENGINEERED FOR PERFORMANCE~

READER SERVICENO. 1
 PAINT AND VARNISH STRIPPING GEL
The Color Of Money Is Orange.
Put thisbright oronge stripper on your shelves, ond wotchitbecome your READERSERVICE NO. 68
customer'sfovorite. Citristrip is 0 powerful stripping gelthot'ssofer ond eosy to use.
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Citristrip doesn't horden quickly. It stoys wet ond workoblefor over 24 hours, CRAFTSMAN HARDWARE by CHRIS EfKER
ollowing multiple loyers to be removed Hand-hammered wppe~ brassand bronzebardware
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Citristrip is sofer for indoor use. Most wmpletelineof Artsand crafts
periodcabinetand architectural
It does not contoin hormful Methylene bardware available, including a fullline
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You'll love the fresh, oronge scent.
So give your customers the eose ond
volue they're looking for. Put Citristrip on
your shelves ond discover why the color of
money is oronge. for Catalog and priceUst send$5.00 to:
CHRIS EfKER/CRAfTSMAN HARDWARE
P.O. Box t6t MarceIlne.Missouri 64658
READER SERVICENO. 41 READER SERVICENO. 67

(215) 766-0197 Osborne Wood Products Inc.

8184 Easton Road

WOOD ~ TWIST
Pipersville, PA 18947

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Table Legs ~ I
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Specialty Feet
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Other Woods and Custom
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Send or Call For Free Catalog of Products ':..

Route 3, Box 551 . Toccoa, Georgia 30577

1-800-849-8876 FAX: 1-706-886-8526
READER SERVICENO. 50 READER SERVICENO. 61

W IN T ER 1 9 94 3
hGme
IlfUf lliture
WINTER 1994 N O.1

Departments Features

6 Letters 18 Designing a Small Cabinet

BY CHRIS BECKSVOORT
10 The Drawing Board Shape and stylespring from intended use and furniture
around it
14 The Finish Line
On the cover: Gary Spykmon
combines Balkan marb le and white 96 How They Did It 22 Biedermeier: Modern Furniture from
oak in this Arts and Crafts tabl e. p. 82 . the Age of Napoleon
102 Sources BY OLAF UNSOELD
Scarcity of materials leads to spare elegance
108 About the
Furnituremakers 28 Scaling Furniture from Photographs
BY PHILIP c. LOWE
Creating shop drawings for faithful reproductions

84 A New Perspective on Old Furniture

BY JONATHAN BINZEN
The Metropolitan Museum of Art finds an inspiring way to
storeand display furniture

90 Designing for Success

BY JIM TOLPIN
Self-taught furnituremaker Anthony Kahn moves from
craft fair to gallery

Hom e Furnit ure (ISSN 1076-8327) is published quarterly, Winter, Spring, Summ e r, Fall, by Th e Taunt on Press, Inc., Newto w n, cr 06470-5506.Telephon e (203) 426-
8171 Appli cation to mail at second-class postage rates is pending at Newtown, cr 06470-5506 and at additio na l mai ling o ffices. U.S. newsstand distribu tion by lCD,
Th e Hearst Cor p., 250 West 55th Street , New York, NY 10019and Eastern News Distribu tors , Inc., 1130 Clevela nd Road, Sandusky, OH 44870. GST #RI23210981.
 Furniture Collection

TABLES 68 A Hall Table Inspired CABINETS, ACCESSORIES

AND DESKS bya Bridge CHESTS AND
BY DAVID ERNST
43 WalnutJewelry Box
BUILT-INS
32 Side Table is BY ION FRANCIS

Versatile, Econo mical 70 Curly Maple 38 Cockleshell

BY PAU L D E CA RLO Secretary Corner Cabinet
48 Dish Rack in
BY PAUL Z EN A T Y
Fumed Oak
BY MARK STEBBINS
36 Claro Walnut Buffet BY MICHAEL HAMILTON

BY A LA N M cMA STER 76 Dining Table in the 41 Craftsman Hutch

Shaker Style fora Wall
72 Walnut Blanket Stand
44 White-Oak Veneered BY CEES OTTE BY MAT T K I RBY
BY D EA N DE BENEDET

Writing Desk
BY JOHN G A L LA G H ER 82 Marble Top Accents 46 A Shaker-Inspired
80 Japanese Floor Lamp
BY HAR LA N M ATHEWS
Oak Sideboard Cupboard
52 Details Make New BY GARY I . W . SPYKMAN BY AAR ON HIL TEB EI TE L
Table Look Old
BY MARIO RODRIGUE Z 54 Painted Blanket Chest BEDROOM
CHAIRS BY HA RRY L . SMITH FURNITURE
56 Curly Oak Sideboard
BY ROBBIE ST A PL ES 34 Side Chair 63 Entertainment Center 65 Craftsman-Style Bed
and Armchair BY lAMES D ESA LV O
BY ROBERT ERFLE
58 Desk 's Ge ntle Curves BY DAVID MARGONELLI
Give it an Asian Feel 74 Carved Details
BY AN T H ONY KA HN 50 Chippendale Enliven Bedroom Set
Dining Chairs BY MICHAEL AND
60 Chess Table BY ROB WIGGENHORN REB EC C A JESSE
Shows off
Contrasting Veneers 78 Rocker Designed
BY G REG O RY GUENTHER for Comfort
BY TIMOTHY CLA RK

Postmaste r: Send add ress changes to HOllie Furnitu re, Th e Taunton Pre ss, Inc., 63 s. Main St., P.O . Bo x 5506, Newtow n, CT 06470-5506. Printe d in the USA
letters
PHOTOGRAPHS
CAN TELL THE STORY
Your new magazine may address
areas that have been missing in your
othe r publi cations, es pe cially in
utilizing ph otos or drawings of the
pieces them selves, inside and out.
Woodwo rke rs, part icularly
profession als, rely up on o ne ano ther
for assistance and inspir ation , and we
wo uld rather not wade through
len gthy text wh en a photo speaks
quite eloque ntly itself. A "sound-bite"
form at see ms to be in keeping with
the current inform ation evolution,
and it is one that I prefer, given the
increasing dem ands for my attention.
Furthe r, sources of supply for hard-to-
find hardware and materials, not the
execution, is often o ne of the most
difficult aspects of a project.
Because the inform ation-highway
idea has been broach ed , how about
offering a ge ne ric CAD-base d
blueprint service for those wh o use
co mputers to facilitate their projects?
Your pion eering efforts in this area
may o pe n new dimen sions to the
entire woodworking field.
-Spider Johnson , Mason, Texas
LOOKING BEYOND
SAWBLADES AND GLUE
Metho ds of joinery and finish in fine
woodwork are always of interest but
typically receive more attentio n than
the mechanics of design-the form ,
function, intuition and inspir atio n that
drives a maker toward a part icular
aesthe tic goa l. Because there is never
enough roo m in four or five magazi ne
pages to discuss both me tho ds of
work a nd meth ods of design , a
desig n-focused magazine has the
6 HOME FURNITURE
hGme't-11~
potential to do justice to a powerful
and neglected part of woodworking.
All of us want to underst and our
brethren , to know why the classicist is
. rurrulUJ.e
MANAGING EDITOR
repulsed by the co ntemporary style, Scott Gibson
wh y the conte mpo rary maker is FOUNDING EDITOR
uninspired by the architectural grace William Sa mpson
of classicism and wh eth er "public ART DIRECTOR
j odie Delohery
taste" is an imp ortant consideration or
A SSOCIATE EDITOR S
just a contradiction in term s. Hom e Vincent Laure nce, Alec Waters,
Furniture will meet the challenge if it Cha rley Robin son
looks beyond blade s and glue and the A SSISTANT EDITOR S
j onathan Bin z en, Zacha ry Gaulkin
drafting table to find the desire,
COPY /PRODUCTION EDITOR
dreams, folly and madn ess that lie at 1110mas C McKenna
the heart ofreal design decision s. I EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
look forwa rd to its success. David Roman
-J oseph Bea ls, Marshfield, Mass. DESIGN DIRECTOR
Susa n Edelman
THE LANGUAGE OF DESIGN EDITOR -IN -CHIEF
john Lively
I wa s happy to hear abo ut the laun ch
CIRCULATION MANAGER
of Hom e Furniture. It seems like an Brenda Hamilton
excellent venue to highlight so me of PUBLIC RELATIONS
the be autifully designed and crafted Do nna Pierpon t
furniture currently being made . I also PUBLISHER
envision this publi cation as a place james P Chiave//i
both to receive and to offer ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER
inspiration , and to share ideas and Dick West
NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAG ERS
approac hes to furniture des ign. And I Barney Barrett, Norman Sippel
hope to see in-depth features by and SENIOR ADV ERTISING COORDINATO R
about individual furnitur e artists, as I Kath ryn Simo nds
think there is a great need for this.
TO CONTACT THE TAUNTON PRESS
Once a person 's techni cal expe rtise TELEPHONE: (800) 283-7252
in woodw orking and finishing (203) 426-8171
FAX: (203) 426 -34 34
evo lves to a certain level, the design SUBSCRIPTIONS:
process itself becom es one of the Orders: (800) 888-8286
Custome r Serv ice: (800) 477 -872 7
most exciting aspects of ADVERTISING SALES: (800) 283-7252 x 51 2
furnituremaking. The challenge is to RETAIL SALES: (800) 283 -7252 x 238
achieve the ability to craft the visual
Copyright 1994 by The Taunt on Press, Inc. No rep rodu ction
language, to direct the eye of the witho ut permission of The Taunto n Press, Inc. Subscription
beh old er and to create emo tional rates : U. S. an d possession s, $20 for one year, $38 fo r two
years, $54 for three years; outside the U. S. and possess ions,
respo nses within the viewer. $25 for o ne year, $48 for two years, $68 for three years (in U.S.
dollars, please). Single co py, $5.95. Single co pies o utside the
Furniture design can be as simple or U. S. and possession s: $6.95. Add ress all co rrespo nde nce to
as co mplex as you wish . Profound the appro priate dep artment (Subscription, Editorial or Adver-
tisin g), The Taunt on Press, 63 South Main Stree t, P. O. Box
impac t can be achieved throu gh 5506, Newtown, CT 06470-5506.
 constantine' S ,.........
\'l'l1-'l~ _\,:\; ~
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"'~ ~ ; ~'" CO NSTANTINE

"- Serving Woodworkers for 183 years
2050Eastchester Rd., Dpt.57412, Bronx NY 10461
I I
READER SERVICE NO. 184
j

Since 1860, wood craftsmen have used

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fine furniture and antiques to theiroriginal
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BRIWAX is available in Clear. Light Brown,
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MAKE BEAUTIFUL RAISED PANEL DOORS

WITH YOUR 1/4" OR 1/2" ROUTER OR
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READER SERVICE NO.66 READER SERVICENO. 62

WINTER 1 9 94 7
 letters (continued)

simple as we ll as co mplex means.
And yet trivia, or whimsicality, or jest,
or any number of other effects also
may be rendered in either great
complexity or great simplicity.
And of co urse, if it is a chair, we
must still be ab le to sit in it. (And it
must be comfortable!) If it is a table,
the to p shou ld be flat and of proper
dining heigh t. And it sho uld work
within its environment. In short,
furniture design in its many aspects
turns out to be quite a juggling act
and something worth delving into.
So whether o ne is working within
already established furniture-design
traditions, such as Queen Anne or
Chippendale, o r is bent on pursuing
one's own artistic vision, there is
plenty of room to let the soul fly, to be
creative and to have a good time.
- Gene McCall, Englewood, Fla.
DESIGNING BY EXAMPLE
The magaz ine is to deal with furniture
desig n by prece pt and exa mple. Why
is it not called Furniture D esig n or
Fine Furniture Des ign, the reby
capitalizing on your tradem ark titles?
That would be mo re descriptive and
not necessarily restrictive.
I have reservatio ns whether design
can be effectively addressed in a
magazine. Even peopl e presum ably
we ll-grounded in design-architects
like Frank Lloyd Wright an d
Mackintosh-produ ced furniture
designs that are just (I think) awful
because they are unusable. Some of
the best design innovations- like Sam
Maloof's chair-bac k detail-arose
from fiddling with sticks of wood, not
from pap er designs. It takes so me
sensitivity to recognize these things.
But I wo uld agree that exposure to a
wide variety of desig ns is a great
stimulus, Aesop said it: "Example is
the bes t precept."
-Bill Krase, Mendocino, Calif.
FIELD NEEDS
A UNIFYING AGENT
Whe n I first heard about Hom e
Furn itu re, I thought, "Oh, no. Not
ano ther woodworking magazine."
The newsstan d has nearly a dozen
various publi cations on the subject,
and I already subscribe to four of
the m. But that was o nly my first
reaction . I think the subject of hom e
furnishings- rep resenting a major
slice in the pie of the woodworking
craft-is indeed not adequately
represented, and amateur
woodworkers, as we ll as
professionals (I fit so mewhere in
between), would, in fact, profit from
such a pu blication.
Addressing the topic of design and
the "whys" behind it make it
especially valuab le to many skilled
craftspeople for whom that aspect
represents a major hurdl e.
The furniture produced toda y
ranges from classic reproductions to
all-out modern. While avant-garde
designers and furniruremakers knock
out o ne-of-a-kind artsy pieces-no
quarrel with that as we need these
agents of change-there is also the
need for some unifying agent that
wo uld give the movement a se nse of
direction. That is where I see the
potential of your magazin e.
- Voicu Marian, Alliance, Ohio
Submitting an article. Home Furniture is
written by its readers, and we welcome
manuscripts, photographs and suggestions.
We'll acknowledge submissions and return
material we can't use. We pay for articles
we publish. For details, give us a call or
drop us a note.

The Taunton Press: Paul Rom an , c ha irma n; j an ice A.

'Iaunton
~j .~
Rom an , p resident; Carolyn Ko vale sk i, ad ministrative
sec re ta ry. Corporate Editorial: j ohn Livel y, ed itor in
PUB L Ie AT I O N S c hief & vice president; Scott Gibso n, managing edit or;
j on ath an Binzen, Peter Cha p ma n, Ruth Dobsevage ,
forfellowenthusiasts Zac ha ry Gaulkin, 1110mas C. McKenna. Personnel. Caro l
Ma rotti, man ager ; Linda Ballerini, Ch ristine Lincol n.
Accounting: Wa yne Re yn olds, contro lle r; Patri ck
Lamo ntag ne, mana ger; jeffrey Sherman, Mary Sulliva n, Andrea DuB ois , Ca rol Diehm,
Dorothy Blask o , Susan Burk e , Lawren ce Rice , Gayle Hammond, judith Rivera , Lydia
Krikorian, Elaine Ya min . Corporate Design: Susan Ede lma n, director ; Roben O la h,
Patricia Marmo. Corpo rate A I1: Mary Terri zzi, man ager; Henry Roth, Catheri ne Cass idy,
jodie Delohery , Ro salie Vacca ro. Promotion: Philip Allard , man ager ; DJ. Arneson , Wendy
Bowes, Christo p he r Casey, julia Brine , Mary Beth Cleary, Fran ces ca Armini o .
Manufacturing: Kathle en Davis, director. Prepress: Austin Starbird, manager ; Robert
Marsa la, Patricia Sige u t, Deborah Coope r, Rich ard Booth, Mark Co le ma n, William
Godfrey, j ose ph Petrahai, Chansam Thammavongsa, Usa DeFeo, Margot Knorr, W. Kathy
Man in, Monica Mu rp hy. Print Production : Dee Flanaga n, Lynda Morri s, promo tion ;
Thom as Greco , Deborah Baldwi n, books; Philip VanKirk. Tracie Pavlik. magazin es. Video:
Craig Umano ff, Thomas Men ard. Co rporate Marketing: Peter Chidse y, dire ctor ; Sarah
Roma n. Corpo rate Trade Sales: Dale Brown , dir ector ; 1110mas j oh nso n, Barbara
Buckal ew , Donna Weins tein , Do nna Pier pont , Dian e Patter son , Marcie Seigel.
Fulfillment & Operations: Thom as Luxeder, d irector ; j ane Torrence . Client Services:
Patri cia William son, man ager ; Carolyn Arneth, Kathry n Dolson . Subscriber Services:
Patricia Malou ff, ma nage r; Penny Leffens , Karen Lewis, Barbara Smith, Siri Wheeler. Order
Processing: Megan Sangs te r, mana ger ; Daw n Bartra m, Nancy Brow n, Barbara Lowe,
Marylou Th ompson . Data Entry: Caro le And o, man ager ; Co nce tta Barczak, Bon nie
Beards ley, Margar et Faine r, Madelain e Fren gs, Gina Pabis, Andrea Shor roc k, Denise Zor.
Distribution : Paul Seipold , ma nager; David Illasko , Michael Cap albo , j ames Cha ppuis,
Mary Ann Costagl io la, Maur ee n Flynn, Linnea Ingram, Frederick Monnes, Marcia Pelillo ,
Alice Saxto n, Astor Taylor, Ro bert Weinstein. Purchasi ng & Facilities: William Schappe rt,
mana ger ; Christo p he r Myers, Lois Beck, Cynthia Carro ll, Beatrix Vangor, Cha rles Hollis,
Arthur Williams, Susan Nerich , Oscar Carranza , j ohn Dziadik. Cafe teria: Do nna Freeman,
man ager ; Ge rald ine Benno , Nor ma-jean Taylo r. Data Processing: Robe n Peters , MIS
dir ec tor ; Brenda n Bowe, Arthu r Caron, Gabriel Dunn , Roger Seliga . PC Sy stems: Heid i
Waldkir ch , man ager ; Robert Nielse n, J. Larry Kin near, Rebe cca Fanning, Laurie Yeager.

8 HOME FURNITURE
 It's our feeling that every piece different scroll saws, nine table everytoolwe make. Without com-
of wood is a project waiting to hap- saws, five band saws-the listgoes promise.
pen. Andthat inside every wood- on and on. The toolsyou see here have
worker is the urge to turn that We've spent our entire history the same heft and precision we put
plank of cherry or maple or walnut satisfying the most demanding into our professional tools. Yet
intosomethingbeautiful, if onlyhe craftspeople- buildingquality into they're priced to fitnicely into any
had the right tools. shop. You don't have to be a pro to
That's where we enter the worklike one.
picture. At Delta,we've So before you start
been building pro- whacking away at that
fessionalquality beautiful piece of cherry
woodworking tools witha less than beautiful
for 75 years. The tool, call forthe name of
mostextensive line the nearest dealer, home
ofstationaryand center or hardware store
benchtop tools in carrying Delta tools. Delta
the industry. For International
the professional, ~~ Machinery
the do-it- Corp.,
yourselfer 800-438-2486.
and everyone in In Canada, 519-836-2840.
between. Which is Deltais a Pentair
why we make five Company. DIE
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OFDI
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AA
Delta is proud to nationally
fund these two PBS
A shopful of quality Delta 14" Drill Press,
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WOODWORKING MACHINERY
p rograms for woodworkers.
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hosted by Norm Abram and 12"Portable Planer and 16" Scro ll Saw Type II. FOR 75 YEARS
The American Woodshop
with Sco tt Phillip s.

READER SERVICENO. 31
. the
drawing
board
If you've got a question about
furniture design, The Drawing
Board is the place to get it an-
swered. Drop us a note, and
we'll try to help you. If a photo-
graph or a sketch helps illustrate
your dilemma, send it along.
Mail your queries to The Draw-
ing Board, Home Furniture, The
Taunton Press, P. O. Box 5506,
New town, Conn. 06470-5506.
BASIC DRAFTING KIT
J don 't have room for a
large drawing boa rd in my
shop, but J want to draw
clear and accurate p lans
f or my furniture p rojects.
What drawing supplies do J
need to get started?
- B. Blake, Bowdoinham, Maine
Robert Ferencsik replies: At
a minim um , you w ill need
a drawing board, vellum
(a type of pa per), masking
tape to sec ure the vellum, a
'l-square, a triangle, a lead
ho lder with draw ing leads
10 HOME FURNITURE
and a sharpener, plus a
vinyl eraser and an
arc hitect's sca le. For
drawi ng a circle or a rad ius,
you will need a co mpass or
a circle template . This kit
w ill cos t about $50.
The board can be made
from a smooth piece of
plyw ood or medium-
density fibe rboard (MDF),
and altho ug h it can range
in size , it sho uld have
sq ua re co rne rs so that its
opposite edges are pa rallel.
The short reference edge
of the T-square will ride
along one edge of the
board and is used to draw
parallel horizontal lines.
The triangle slides along
the horizontal edge of the
T-squa re and is used to
draw parallel vertical lines.
A lead holder looks like a
pencil but has a button-
operated clam ping
mechan ism in its tip to
grasp the drawing lead.
The leads are sharpened
eas ily with a sma ll, rotating
sharpe ne r and form a
high er quali ty point than a
pencil. Leads are gra ded by
hardn ess and range from
9B (very soft) to 9H (very
hard). Something around H
or 2H w ill produce a crisp,
dark line that copies well
and won't smear easily. Use
a whi te, vinyl eraser for
corrections; it's easy on
paper an d resists smearing.
An arc hitect 's scale is
requ ired if yo ur board is
too small for full-scale
drawings. It's a simple
device with six scales that
allows yo u to make sca le
drawings.
Drawings are usu ally
done o n vellum. Vellum is
substantial eno ug h to make
permanent drawings that
co py and blu eprint we ll
bu t is transparent enough
for overlays. The two most
popular grades are 916 and
920, with 920 being slightly
heavier and less
transpa rent.
A co mpass can be used
for drawing a circle or a
radius, but you can also use
a circle templ ate , which is a
transparent plastic pattern
of vario us circle sizes ,
ranging in diam eter from
1/ 16 in. to 3 in. The patterns
have ce nte rlines that can
Phot os : Rob ert Marsa la; drawing: Rosalie Vaccarro
be used to position the
template over your
drawing.
(RobertFerencsik designs
computerized woodworking
machinery and teachespart-time
at the North Bennet Street School
in Boston, Mass.)
STICKLEY-STYLE LEGS
I'm thinking about
building a Stickley-sty le oak
lounge chair, and J want it
to look authentic. I've
noticed that on many
origina l Stickley cha irs, all
four sides ofthe chair leg
have a quartersawn look,
that is, displaying the oak's
ray flake. What are the
different ways J can
ach ieve this effect, and how
was it achieved originally?
-F. Thomas, Cambridge, N. Y.
Mark Taylor replies: The
answer rea lly depends on
which Stickley piece you
are referring to and the
year in w hich the chair was
made. With five brothers
and an uncle involved in
the trade, the Stickleys
were a veritable dynasty of
furnituremakers.
For Gustav Stickley, the
o riginator and philosopher
behind the Craftsman style,
it was enough to lamin ate
two pieces of qu artersawn
oa k together and ven eer
over the seam. (In a
qu artersawn board, the
ann ual rings are
QUADRALINEAR
CONSTRUCTION
Quartersawn oak faces
laminated to plain -sawn
oak core
Interlocking miters keep
lam inations aligned .
VENEERED CONSTRUCTION
Two pieces of quartersawn
oak glued together
perpendicular to the face.)
Althou gh there are always
exceptions, the rule of
thumb is that the veneer be
position ed o n the front and
back of the leg. The
lamination allowed a more
massive look while
redu cing the danger of the
wood splitting. Qu ite
frankl y, it was also chea per,
as eve n Stickley by 1909
was be moa ning the cost of
quartersawn oak.
By contrast, Stickley's
bro thers (and main
co mpe tito rs) Leopold and
John George, so metime
after 1910 developed a
technique referred to as
"quadra linea r" co nstruction,
which co nsisted of four
pieces of qu artersawn oak
built around a so lid core of
plain oa k. This was
probably more cost-
effective than Gustav's
meth od because it allowe d
them to use thinner cuts of
wood. Before 1910,
however, qu artersawn an d
plain-sawn oa k showed up
und er the headin g Hom e tions,
Training in Cabinetwork in French
his magazine The curves
Crafts ma n, which was may be
publi shed from 1901 until used to draw
1916. It can be found in a cross
many local libraries. sect ion of a
(Mark Taylor has been studying molding
the Arts and Crafts movement pattern or the
for almost 20 years. A full-time framewo rk of an
woodturn er, he now lives outside arched door.
Wilmington, Del.) To use a French
curve, it is best
USING A to sketch a
FRENCH CURVE freehand curve
What is a French curve, in pencil first,
how does it wo rk, and what adjusting the ske tch so that
should I use it for? it is smooth and pleasing to
- M. Marston, Cleveland, Ohio the eye . Next, pick out a
Frenc h curve that
Seth Stenn repffes: 1\ approximates the
co nstant radiu s can be sca le and shape of
drawn with a circle what you have
template o r a co mpass, but sketched. The
when a curved line with an Fren ch curve
ever-cha nging radiu s is rare ly will fit
required , French curves or the sketche d
irregular curves can be curve in its
used . These plastic entirety, so
templates co me in vario us select a part of
sizes, with curve it that will fit a po rtio n of
co mbinations derived from the sketched line and draw

- ----
1 - - --

---
1-- - -
- .. - - - - -- -_ ,
- - --4 - - _
seemingly indiscriminately,
often on the same piece of
furniture.
I recomme nd that you go
spirals, ellipses and
other curves.
1\ French curve can
be used to crea te a
that in. Then shift the
curve until it
corresponds to the
next portion of the
-~-

--- _...r_- .~ with the veneered

co nstruction. Although
curve that is tangent
to a straight line o r o ne
line. 1\ set of
French curves

----
-- ----
---- -- plans are available in
co ntempo rary publication s,
it is worth while go ing back
to the source. Stickley
that angles away from a
straight line. It can also be
manipulated to blend one
curve into another or to
costs und er $10.
(Seth Stem designs
and builds furnitur e in
Providence, R. I., and
Quartersawn oak veneer provided sho p drawings create reverse curves o r teaches at the Rhode Island
laminated over seam
for much of his furniture ogees. In furnitur e applica- School of Design.)

WINTER 1994 11
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READERSERVICENO. 73

12 HOM E FUR NIT U R E

the
finish
line
Questions on finishes? Our experts will help.
Let us know what finishing problem you 're
trying to solve. We'll get a veteran finisher to
provide the information you need. Send your
questions to The Finish Line, Home Furni-
ture , The Taunton Press, P. O. Box 5506,
Newtown, Conn. 06470-5506.
MATCHING
NEW WOOD TO OLD
As a person who restores period
American furniture, / am frequently
faced with matching wood that has
ga ined a ha rd-to-match patina over
years ofuse. / am interested in
techniques that can age new wood to
match old wood. / am particularly
interested in techniques for aging
cherry to simulate the darker patina
ofold cherry. Ca n you recommend
some treatments to create this effect?
- David Bushey, Hopewell j unction, N. Y.
Bruce M. Schuettinger replies: Patina is
not on ly the changing color of the
wood itself but also the subse quent
layers of po lishes, cleaners , dirt and
grime , as well as the original coat ing.
The finish appearance can change
du e to ultravio let-light degradation,
surface crazing that red uces light
reflectability and the darkening of one
or more of the coa ting compo unds.
All of these factors need to be taken
into account when trying to dupli cate
an appearance. I try to use old wood
and veneers for patches in veneer and
replacement parts. This eliminates the
need for add ing foreign materials,
such as acids or alkalis, which can
change color at a different rate than
the original finish.
A colleague of mine has tried
solutions of potassium pe rmanganate
to darken cherry or mahogany. This
14 HOM E FUR NIT U R E
effect is sho rt-lived and fades quickly
due to its expos ure to ultraviolet light.
My colleague also has attempted
aging che rry with lye, but results have
been poor. The one system he
approves of is a solution of one
teasp oon of potassium dichromate in
3 oz . of water. Apply liberally to the
surface and allow to dry. The
potassium dichro mate, a strong
oxidizing age nt, reacts with tannic
acid naturally present in the wood to
result in a lasting, darkening effect.
This techn ique wo rks only with
woods that have tanni c acid in their
fibe rs. Woods that do n't contain
tann ic acid, such as pine, can be
treated with a solution of tannic acid
prior to the application of potassium
dichrom ate. Allow to dry and then
use the recipe previou sly mention ed .
(Bruce M. Schuettinger is president and
wooden -artifacts conservator for
Antique Restorations, Ltd., of New
Market, Md.)
LOCATING NONTOXIC
DYES AND STAINS
/ hope you ca n help me a nd a lot of
other woodworkers. We are always
looking f or ways to produce brighter-
colored items to sell but are mindful of
safety, especiallyf or children. Are
a niline dyes a nd other stains safe for
ch ildren who m ight chew on the
things we p rodu ce?Also, are there a ny
safe dyes we may use?
- Andrew Puskas, Bentonville, Ark.
Chris A. Minick replies: It is impossible,
or at least very foolish, to make
blanket statements regard ing the
toxicity of an entire class of finishin g
materials. Some woodwo rking dyes
and stains are toxic when ingested;
others are not. Using federa l Food
and Drug Administration (FDA)
certified food dyes in your
woodwo rking business will ensure
that your projects are safe. The FDA
has evaluated and certified severa l
dyes and pigments as safe for use in
foo ds, drugs and cosmetics. One
source for these FDA-approved dyes
and pigmen ts is Pylam Produ cts Co.,
Inc., 1001 Stewart Ave., Garden City,
N. y. 11530; (516) 222-1750.
These approved dyes are only
available as primary colors (yellow,
blue, etc.) with catchy names like Red
#3 or Blue #1. Intermediate shades
and wood tones are not normally
available but can be obtained by
mixing primary dye colors.
Naturally occurring vegetable dyes
also may be useful as wood stains.
Beet juice will turn light-colored
woods blood red. Red-cabbage juice
yields a lovely purple. Yellow stains
can be made by boiling onion skins in
water, then concentrating the
resulting liquid by evaporation.
Finally, a nice brown dye can be
extracted from walnut husks. Deeply
colored fruit juices like grape or
cranb erry also may stain wood .
Identifying a nontoxic stain for your
projects is only half the battle. The
finish coa t must be equally nontoxic.
She llac is probably the best choice in
this case . Shellac has been used for
years as a shiny glaze coa t on so me
candies, cookies and other food
items. It is also used as a time-release
coa ting for certain drugs.
Finish films of pure tung oil also are
considered safe to ingest. Tung oil
does not require the addition of
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READER SERVICENO. 40 READER SERVICENO. 22

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 the finish line (continued)
,
2 3
Dyes and pigments safe for use in foods
also can brighten up woodworking projects:
(1) raw basswood, (2) grape drink, (3) orange
dr ink, (4-6) food color ing. Although food
coloring produces bright colors, it will fade
quickly when exposed to ultraviolet light.
metallic dryers to polymerize the
finish. But check the label. If you're in
doubt, call the manufacturer. Raw
linseed oil, tho ugh it dries slowly,
likewise does not co ntain metallic
dryers and will also produ ce nontoxic
finish films. Incidentally, boiled
linseed oil co ntains meta llic dryers
and therefore is considered toxic.
(Chris A. Minick is a finishing chemist
and woodworker in Stillwater, Minn.)
REPAIRING SCRATCHES
IN LACQUER
I have a solid-pine din ing-room table
finished with lacquer on top ofstain.
The top has a few scratches that
penetrate the lacquer but not the stain
or the wood. Can these scratches be
repaired?Is this a do-it-yourselfjob, or
16 HOM E FUR N I T U R E
should I get professional help?
-James R. Gettys, York, Pa.
Mitchell Kohanek replies: A
professional touch-up artist will get
the job done quickly. If you want to
tackle the job, you must determine
how thick your finish is, how deep
into the lacq uer those scratches are,
and you must match the sheen of the
existing table once the scratches have
been removed.
Commercial lacquers are basically
of two types. The first is an alkyd-
nitrocellulose lacquer. It is fairly
durable and can be reflowed. Repairs
are usually not too difficult. The
second type of lacquer is hardened
with a catalyst and is very durable.
But it cannot be reflowed, and repairs
are more difficult. Removing scratches
can sometimes be easy, but matching
the sheen on the repair to the sheen
around the repair is the challenge. If
it is imp o rtant for the sheen to rema in
exactly the same, a professional
sho uld be called. If it doesn't bother
you that the sheen on the entire table
can be modified either up or down,
then go for it. You have three options.
Option #1 is to remove enough
finish until the scratches are gone. If
you merely have surface scratches,
the n Scotch Brite pads or steel wool
with water and dish soap may do the
trick. Pumice and mine ral oil with a felt
pad may be perfect for what you need.
Simply rub in the direction of the grain
until the job is done. If this does not do
the trick, then an abrasive paper such
as a 600-grit wet-dry sandpaper
wrapped around some felt, or a
chalkboard eraser with some water,
will cut the lacquer a lot faster. Do not
sand too far, or you will compound the
problem by sanding into the wood.
Both types of lacquer can be sanded
down, but one obviously is easier than
the other. A coarser-grit sandpaper is a
consideration, but use it carefully.
Option #2 is to reflow the existing
lacquer with another lacquer. You will
not be able to use this option with
catalyzed lacquer. If it is not a
catalyzed lacquer, reamalgamation
can be accomplished with a padding
lacquer, such as the one sold by
Behlen's Finishing Products (H.
Behlen & Bros., 4715 State Highway
30, Amsterdam, N. Y. 12010; 518-843-
1380). Lightly dampen a lint-free soft
cloth (such as cheese cloth) with the
padding lacquer and carefully rub in a
circular mo tion (about the size of a
silver dollar) . In essence, you are
reflowing the lacquer while taking the
scratches out. You may also use a
pendulum motion if the circular
motion is too aggressive for the finish.
Option #3 is to fill the scratches.
This can be done with either type of
lacquer. This wo uld be more of a
professional technique using a hot
knife and a clear shellac stick. The
object is to melt the clear stick into
the scratch and remove the excess.
Earlier I mentioned the problem of
sheen control. The professional has a
variety of padding lacquers and
aerosols of different sheen lacquers to
match the repair to the surrounding
sheen. More than likely you will have
to modify the ent ire sheen of your
table , meaning that you will have to
rub the entire table out yourself.
(Mitchell Kohanek is a wood-finishing
instru ctor at the Dakota County
Technical College in Rosemount, Minn.)
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WINTER 199 4 17
 Designing a Small Cabinet

Shape and style spring from

intended use and furniture around it
BY CHRIS BECKSVOORT

18 HOM E FUR NIT U R E


I en joy the kind of furniture project
where a client gives me a list of speci-
fications and asks to see what I can
come up with. The client 's list may be
sho rt, wh ich gives me lots of leeway,
or long and detailed , which restricts
me. In either case, a successfu l design
melds the client 's preferences with my
own sense of proportion and shape.
Not long ago , a client for whom I had
built seve ral pieces called to discuss a
cabine t that wo uld house a compact-
disk player and other electronic equip-
ment. Her hou se is decorated with a
tasteful mix of antiques, family heir-
looms and custo m furniture . So the
first requirem ent for the new cabinet
was that it not look out of place. Then
there were the nuts-and-bolts req uire-
ments. The cabinet would be set
against a sho rt sectio n of wall, giving
me no more than 54 in. with which to
work. Because of a light switch on the
wall, the cabinet would have to be less
than 48 in. high.
Two pieces of electronic equipment, Highly functional interior. Two flat-paneled
a CD player and an amplifi er, would doors swing open to reveal an interior
be stored inside the cabinet. Each des igned for stereo components and CDs.
piece measures 4112 in. by 17 in. by Three of the shelves are adjustable.
17 in. The client wanted enough room
inside for additional equipment later, Efficient CD storage. Each drawer holds 40
and she want ed enough drawer space CDs. Held in place by plastic dividers, the CDs
to store CDs (bo ttom photo, right).
are easy to store and easy to find.
In addition to the functiona l require-
ments for the new cabinet, there were
questions of proportion and style to be
settled. Some of them were easy to un-
derstand , and others a bit more nebu-
lous. We took a tour of the two adjacent
rooms to look at some of the design el-
ements that were particularly pleasing
in the existing furniture. I noticed some
pieces had bracket base s, with cutouts
neither too plain nor too ornate. There
were pan eled doors and mushroom

Photos: Author
WINTER 1994 19
knobs, and I took no te of the different
molding profiles I saw.
Before I left, I had roug hed out the
basic req uireme nts with the client. The
cabinet was to be painted (co lor to be
determined), mo lding sho uld be in-
sta lled along the o utside edge of the
cabinet to p, and the cabinet sho uld
have two flat-paneled doors with
mushroom knobs. A bracket base
wou ld add visua l interest to the bot-
tom of the cabinet, with the exact
shape of the cutout to be determined
later. I agreed to have an initial ske tch
in a few days .
Purpose dictates asymmetrical back. The
size of the CD d rawe rs and the dimensions of
the electronic components resulted in an
asymmetrical frame-and-panel cabinet back.
Missing pan els in the upper right-hand corner
allow air circulation.
20 HOM E FUR NIT U R E
SHOP PLANS THE NEXT STEP
Back in the sho p, the design began to
take shape . I had a list of specifics-the
cab inet's max imum height and width,
for insta nce, and a good idea of what
had to fit inside. I tried to distill desig n
elements I had seen in the hou se into
a list of features that I wo uld use in the
new cabinet.
I started by firming up the dime n-
sions. Figuring on two rows of CDs per
drawer, two liz-in. drawer sides and a
center divider plus the spacers to hold
the CDs, the total drawer width wo uld
be 1311z in. The 3J4-in. cabinet sides and
center divider added up to 2 1/ 4 in. To
that, I added the 17-in. width of the
electro nic co mponents plu s 314 in. on
each side for ve ntilation. Allowing
7/8 in. for mo lding o n eac h side of
the case, the total cabine t width came
to 36 in.
In de term ining the height, I had a bit
mo re flexibility because I antici pa ted
lots of open space in the lower section
of the cabine t to allow for future ex -
pansion. No net heless, I had to keep
the height be low a light switch and at a
reasonabl e height for a diction ary
stand I had been asked to make for the
top of the cabi net (photo facing page).
I tried for the maxi mum height to
avo id a square, boxy appearance. Us-
ing a scale ruler and some scrap pa per,
I ske tched a few optio ns and thou ght
that 451/ 2 in. looked like a good co m-
promise for the height. An inch in ei-
ther direction probably wo uldn't have
mattered mu ch , but 2 in. wo uld have
made a big differen ce to the eye .
The cab inet depth was the easiest di-
mension to se ttle o n. It co ns isted of
door thickness, 17 in. for the compo-
nents, 2 in. for wiring an d 1/2 in. for the
back. In all, that was about 20 in.
DOOR PANElS
FOR A TALL LOOK
Once the crucial dimensions had been
established, I had to fill in the de tails.
Those included mo lding profiles, the
sha pe of the cutout o n the bracket
base, widt hs of the stiles and the rails
on the door-all of the elements that
wo uld determine the look or character
of the cabinet.
I starte d wit h the biggest surface
area , the doors. We had agreed on flat
pa nels with 1/4-in . quarter-round mold-
ing applied to the inside edge of rails
and stiles. The first question was the
num ber of pa ne ls in each of the two
doors. I wanted the cab inet to look as
tall as possible, so I ruled out a center
rail, which wo uld have added a hori-
zo nta l ba nd to the doors and dimin-
ished their vertical impact.
The thought struck me tha t I might
ge t an eve n more vertica l loo k to the
doors by dividing the sing le panel in
eac h doo r into two narrow pan els. I
ske tched it out. With three 23J4-in. stiles
on a 17-in. door, eac h of the two pan -
els would measure on ly 41/ 4 in. wide.
This co nfiguration wouldn't work be-
cause it made the stiles appear too
wide and the door ap pear too busy. It
was not the look I was after. The single
door pan els won, and I decided to
leave the stiles and the top rail 2314 in.
wide. The bo ttom rail wo uld be 3314 in.
wide to make the doors stronger visu-
ally and structurally.
Originally,I intended the knobs to be
large mus hrooms roughly 2 in. in di-
ameter and 1 1/ 4 in. deep. Obviously,
you can 't put a 2-in. knob on a 2-in.
door stile because you wo uldn't be
able to ge t your fingers between the
knobs. So in ad dition to increasing
the stile width slightly, I decreased the
knob size to 1314 in.
CHOOSING OVERLAY
DOOR STYLE
I had deci ded early o n that the doors
wo uld be overlaid instead of inlaid,
mea ning that the doors cover the front
of the cabinet instead of being set in-
side a face frame or the cabinet sides.
Whe n using butt hinges (the style of
hinge more in kee ping with the look
of this cab inet tha n Euro pean hinges
wo uld have been) it's a real advantage
to use an ove rlaid door. First, the hinge
ba rrel ex tends out to the side of the
 MOLDING CHOICES
Nos ing and bead Shaker curve
piece , no t to the fro nt, whic h keeps
the look cleaner. Second, there's a real
advantage in the function of the door.
It only has to be opened 90 to pull out
0
the drawers. An inlaid door must be
opened 180 for the drawers to be
0
opened. For closures, I used 1/ 4 -in. bul-
let catches. I like the positive engage-
ment and commandi ng click these
catches make when the door closes .
The on ly othe r co nsideration for the
doors was what to make the pan els
from. I ordina rily use so lid wood, but
beca use this cab inet was to be painted ,
I settled on 1/4-in. birch plywood . The
plywood is dimen sionally stable, so
the door pan els won 't shrink and
sho w paint lines during the wint er as
solid panels might.
BASE, MOLDING
AND WOOD CHOICES
The bracket base for the cabinet was
fairly simple. I decided to use 1 1/4-in.
stock with a %-in. cove cut out of the
top edge. The cuto ut section feature d
two intersecting curves at the corner
that resulted in a sma ll poi nt. The
shape was not too plain and not too
busy, in kee ping with the rest of the
furniture in the client's house.
I gave the client six o ptions for the
molding profile (d raw ing above) that
wo uld cap the cabine t. I thou ght any
of them wo uld be suitable, so I left the
final choice to the client.
Drawin g: Rosalie Vaccaro
Wall Nosing
Ordinarily, I build in che rry. But I just
couldn't bring myself to cover up che r-
ry with paint. I also wanted a light-col-
o red interior (to p ph ot o , p. 19) to
offset the black electro nic co mpo-
nents, some thing with no co lor strea ks
and so me thing that wo uld have mini-
mum seasonal movem ent. The wood
had to be readil y ava ilab le because I
didn 't want to travel a long distance for
it or pay high shipping cos ts. Soft
mapl e met all of my criter ia, and I
picked throu gh my supplier's pile to
find pieces that wer e e ntirely sa p-
wood, not the darker heartwood.
PAINT AND FINISH
CONSIDERATIONS
When I sent the ske tch and the paint
co lor card to the client , I recommend-
ed Stulb 's Old Village Paint , a satin
sheen oil base in w hat I co nsider au-
thentic colors for period and repro-
du ction work. The paint is ava ilable
fro m most paint and hardware stores
in my area o r from the Stulb Company
(P. O. Box 597, Allentown, Pa. 18105;
215-433-4273).
Whe n I sto ppe d by the client's hou se
a few days later, we look ed over the
area whe re the new cabinet wo uld be
placed. Behind it would be a w hite
wa ll, and ab out 6 ft. away was a fire-
place sur rounde d by gray tiles with
just a suggestion of gree n. She chose
forest gree n for the cabinet co lor and
Og ee ba se Bed m olding
Color suits the location. Aforest-green paint
helps the cabinet blend with the house and
complements a cherry dictionary stand and
cherry knobs on the cabinet doors .
se ttled o n a molding just like the o ne
o n a side board I had design ed and
built for her. The paint co lor blended
well with the roo m and with the che r-
ry knobs o n the doo r and the che rry
diction ary stand.
When the cabi ne t was built, I fin-
ish ed the back, the inte rio r surfaces
and the drawers with a 60-40 mixtur e
of satin polyur ethane and citrus thin-
ne r. Citrus thinner is an alternative to
p etrol eu m- b as e p a int t h i n n e r o r
turpentine. It's a pleasant-smelling
product mad e from citrus fruit, and it
wo rks well.
Chris Becksvoort is a furn ituremaker in New
Gloucester, Ma ine, and a contributing editor
at Fine Woodworking magazine.
WINTER 1994 21
 Photo thi s page: Robert Marsala; fu rniture cou rtesy o f Riner Antik
22 HOME FURNI TUR E
 Biedermeier:
Modern Furniture from
the Age of Napoleon
Scarcity of materials leads to spare elegance
b iedermeier furniture has a direct
appeal to the modern eye. Its line ar
shapes and e lega nt proporti ons, su-
perb but unfu ssy craftsmanship and
lack of flashy hardware give it a pres-
ence as potent as any furniture built to-
day. And yet the day of Euro pea n Bi-
ede rmeier furn iture, which took its
name from a fiction al German charac-
ter satirized for shortsightedness, end-
ed more than a century and a half ago .
The spare , geometric style of Bied er-
meier furniture was a sharp departure
from the more sculptural and orna -
mented furniture that preced ed it. But
the shift wasn't simply a matter of taste;
it was one of necessity.The Napoleo n-
ic wa rs deprived Bied ermeier crafts-
men of resources and raw materials. In
resp on se, they crea ted furniture re-
duced to the barest minimum. At every
Striking sim plicity in a n a ge of
orna mentatio n. Created when carved and
gilded furnitu re was the norm , Biedermeier
work is notable for its flat surfaces and lack of
decoration. This waln ut desk is typically spare .
Photo this page: Rob ert Marsala; furnitur e co urtesy of Ritter Antik
BY OLAF UN SOE LD
step they substituted ingenuity for ex-
pensive and exo tic materials until the y
had developed an entire style around
wh at was available and what their pa-
tron s could afford.
Most prominentl y, Biedermeier fur-
niturem akers made a virtue of venee r-
ing. Inste ad of seeking ex otic solid
wood and veneer, they used wh at they
co uld find loc ally and became skilled
at staining and finishing it to imitate
sca rcer materials. They built cabinets
in architec tur al forms that best suited
being veneered and dispensed with la-
bor-inten sive carv ing, with marquetry
and with exp ensive hardware. in the
process, they developed a style that
see med purer the more strippe d down
it became. Bied ermeier furniture does-
n't all look the same. Case pieces can
be rec tilinear, w hile beds, chairs and Making a case for wild veneer. Biedermeier
eve n desks can incorporate flowing craftsmen cut veneer from local woo ds and
curves and co mplex shapes. de signed ca binets that wou ld best show it off.
Veneers we re book-ma tc hed and applied
ORIGINS OF A PURE STYLE
symmetrically around a central axis, often
Early Biedermeier furniture was pro- yielding eerie imag es.
du ced while Napo leo n ruled . Life was
difficult for man y, and the new style
of furniture reflected that adversity.
Napo leo n's empire included present-
day Euro pe, and the cos t of the war
was borne by these co untries. Mon ey
WI N T ER 1 9 94 23

Veneer was the lifeblood of Biedermeier
furniture. Specialized two-man saw teams,
likethe one in the drawing above , could cut
uniform sheets lf1 6in. thick.
Biedermeier craftsmen were experts in
ebonizing . With supplies of exotic woods
scarce, craftsmen found various ways of
imitating them . Pulls,escutcheons and
drawer dividers on this desk were pro bably
stained originally (and have been repainted).
24 HOME FURNITU RE
was in sho rt supply, and much of Eu-
rope was cut off from imported mate-
rials. England, one country Napoleo n
co uld not co nque r, contro lled ocean-
go ing trad e and squeezed tradition al
cabine tmaking supplies, suc h as ma-
hogany, ebo ny, ivor y and probably
shellac. High tariffs within Euro pe lim-
ited trade further. With no real alterna-
tive, cabine tmakers turn ed to native
wood s for their veneers and stained
pearw ood to imitate ebo ny.
Although the trade in goods was
pinched, the exchange of design ideas
continued. Biedermeier's smooth, classi-
cal lines have their roots in English fur-
niture of the late 18th century. Bieder-
meier cabinetmakers were expose d to
English design in part through books
on furniture styles, espe cially those by
George Hepplewhite and Thomas
Sheraton. These eng ravings were re-
peatedl y co pied and reprinted across
Europe, becoming more linear and
simpler in the proc ess.
Bied erm eier design was influen ced
as well by French Empire furniture, de-
signed by Napo leo n's court architect,
Charles Perci er. Percier 's wor k was
also derived from English furniture
forms and reflects architectural ideals
of classical antiquity. Percier ran an ar-
chitectural school, and his ideas and
de signs were spread abroad by stu-
dents who took assignments in royal
courts throughout Europe.
EMPLOYING
ARCHITECTURAL FORMS
In its purest form, Biedermeier is dom-
inated by flat surfaces. Rather than at-
tracting attention with carving or mar-
qu etry, cabinetmakers relied on the in-
herent beauty of figured veneers (see
ph otos on preceding pages). Bied er-
meier case pieces were often large and
blocky, but by running the grain of the
venee rs vertically and cove ring the en-
tire face, the craftsman co uld make a
heavy, mon olithic piece look lighter.
Like much of the furniture of the
time, from Chippendale to American
Fed eral, Biedermeier echo ed the de-
Phot o this page: Rob e rt Marsala; furn iture courtesy of Ritter Antik
 sign elements of classical architecture. puddle of ink and termed it Kleckso-
Painted faux-eb on y columns co uld graphie-splotchography.) Biedermeier:
flank the sides of a fall front desk, and Veneered surfaces in Biedermeier
anything from a miniature rotunda to a furniture dominated eve n the smallest What's in the name?
gabled or arched form rem iniscent of details. Typicall y, no draw er handles
ancie nt Greek or Roman buildings or escutcheon plates protrude. Keys Monarchs and designers are
could. crown the piece. The armo ire served both to unlock and open doors usually first in line when it's
in the ph oto on p. 26 was clearly de- a n d drawers , and ke yh ol es were
signed with a Greek temple in mind. framed by flush inlays of faux ebony, time to pick someone's name
But eve n in pieces wh ere the archi- bon e, or when available, ebony or for a style of furn iture. Not in
tectural imitation isn 't ex plicit, the ivor y. Biedermeier furnituremakers
squared-o ff, vertical forms of Bieder- used locks that disappeared into a the case of Biedermeier furni -
meier case pieces are often suggestive mortise in the edge of a solid drawer ture, though. Gottlieb Bieder-
of buildings. front or desk front instead of being
flush-mortised or screwed to the face. meier was a poet and village
MAKING A VIRTUE This enabled both sides of schoolmaster, and a fictitious
OF VENEER the door or fall front to
Venee r was the primary be veneered completely, one at that. Appearing in the
orname nt in Bieder- leaving the face unin- satirical German weekly
meier furn iture. To terrupted. With fully
maximize the veneer's mortised locks, a key F1iegende B/aetter in the 1850s,
impact and give the could be used to open he was a caricature of the sim-
face of a cabinet an ar- and close even heavy
chitectura l symmetry, drawers with no danger pleminded, gullible, law-abiding
veneers we re usually of tearing out the lock.
citizen in the period before
book-m atched aro und
the central vertical axis of JOINERY AND 1848. His last name was a play
the piece. Ideally, the ve- CONSTRUCTION
on words, implying that he
neer was figure d in some Early Biedermeier furniture
way-crotch, quilted , ribbon was made with veneers sawn cared for noth ing beyond the
stripe or burl. by hand. Sawing veneers was
comforts of home, hearth and
In a distinct break with tradi- a highly specialized job per-
tion , Biedermeier craftsmen ap- formed by two-man teams garden. When Biedermeier was
plied veneer over the entire (drawing facing page) capable
first used to describe the era
face of a piece, so the grain ran of sawing veneers to a thick-
co ntinuo usly over rails and ness that rarely exceeded from roughly 1810 to 1848, the
stiles, dr aw er front s and 1/16 in. By the late 1820s, ve-
meaning was derogatory, and
doors, and even over neer-cutting machines
moldings, as show n in, began to appear, mak- the furniture of the time was
the photo on p. 22. ing it easier to cut wide
The images created logs , figured woods seen as plain and unstylish. But
Elegance without ornament.
by the book-matched and burls and thereby as time passed, the comfortable
veneers were carefully This cherry veneer and ebony expanding even fur-
contro lled. Some pat- ' freestanding shelf shows the ther the possibilities preindustrial life seemed more
tern s we re abstract, sinuous side of Biedermeier. for creating wide and appealing, and the furn iture
others formed fantastic unusual sh apes and
or gho ulish figur es, images with veneer. more impressive. - 0. U.
heads or eyes, ee rie precursors of the Beneath the veneer, Biedermeier
Rorschach test of modern psychology. case pieces were usuall y constructed
(In fact, it was during the Biedermeier of so ftwoods, such as spruce, pine or
era that ]ustinu s Kerner, a ph ysician , fir. The fall front desk in the photos on
writer and occultist, developed the pp . 22 and 23, made in southern Ger-
idea of folding a piece of paper ove r a man y around 1810, is typical. Its top,

Photo this page:John Hall; co urtesy or Abbevil le Press WINTE R 1 9 94 25


Classical architecture inspired Biedermeier
furnituremakers . The lines and proportions
of Greek and Roman buildings underlie much
of Biedermeier furniture. Sometimes the link
was subtle; at other times it was exp licit, as
with the tem ple at the top of this birch-
venee red armoire. Called a blender(German
for dece iver), th is piece was made to
resemble a secretary.
26 HOME FURNITURE
bottom and sides are STAIN AND FINISH
made of glued- up soft- ElEVATE THE WORK
wood boards, dovetailed Staining wood was second nature to
togethe r and ve neered Bied ermeier craftsmen. Because they
with European walnut. The often couldn't obtain mahogany, their
des k's writing surface is al- veneer wood of choice, they substitut-
so made up of glued-up ed local woods, like cherry, walnut,
softwood boards, ve- ash, elm, birch , alde r, map le, apple,
neered on bo th faces plum, po plar and pear, and stained
an d along the three them to imitate mahogany.
ex posed edges. A recipe book published in 1836 de-
Many Bied ermeier scr ibes using qu icklime dissolved in
case pieces had ta- urin e for staining che rry to make it
pered or square legs at- look like mahogany. After drying, the
tach ed to the case lime was brushed off, and the wood
bottom with ten on s. was coated with linseed oil prior to
Legs we re made eithe r polishing with shellac. Many Bieder-
of solid hardwood that meier-era stains were very light-sensi-
matched the carcase tive a~d would fade quickly, so even
veneer, or they we re Bied ermeier pieces that are now light
made of venee red soft- co lored may we ll have once been
wood. The feet on the stained to imitate mahogany.
fall front desk, pro ba- Ebonizing wood also was com mon
bly repl acem ents, are practice amo ng Biedermeier furniture-
veneered. makers. One often-cited recipe called
The backs of Bied er- for presoaking pearwood in a heated
meier case pieces were brot h made from gall apples and vine-
left fairly roug h. The gar. Th e wood was subseq uently
back of this desk is a cooked in a so lution of logwood (lig-
frame with one wide num campechianum) shav ings and
panel. The frame sits in iron sulfate. This pro cess yielded a
a rabbet in the carcase ve ry co nv incing e bony su bs titute ,
and was attache d with though the chemical remn ants embrit-
woode n nails , a com- tied the wood over time.
mon practice. With the staining complete, Bied er-
Veneered moldings meier craftsmen might have sanded a
were glue d across the piece with bundles of horse-tail (equi-
grain of the sides and setum), a primitive plant co ntaining
tend to tear loose or wa rp, the weak silicates, with sharkskin or with san-
link in an ot herwise we ll-tho ug ht-out dleather (a precursor to sandpaper,
design. The struc ture of the desk 's made of leather coa ted with hide glue
gallery is a miniature version of the ex- and sprinkled with sand). Often , to
terio r carcase. The unit is inde pe ndent give depth to the wood's figure , the
and just slides into place. surface wo uld be treated with linseed
The drawers are dovetailed and have oil prior to finishing.
thick softwood bottoms beveled along Finishes we re gene rally resin-based
the edges to fit into grooves in the mixtur es and co uld includ e shellac
drawer sides. The grain of the drawer and plant-based resins like co pal and
bottom s is parallel to that of the sanda rac. The mixtur e wo uld be ap -
drawer fronts. The bo ttoms are pinned plied with a brush or pad and then
with woode n nails only at the back , leveled between coa ts with slaked
allowing them to move freely with pumi ce, brick dust, crushed porcelain,
the seasons. charcoal, clay or calcin ed hartshorn.
Photo thi s page: Robert Marsala; furni ture courtesy o f Ritter Antik
Geometric forms with architectural
overtones. Like many Biedermeier case
pieces, this cherry-veneered Viennese writing
desk uses pure geometric forms. Here, they're
curved rather than rectilinear. The elliptical
desktop has a leather writing surface.

These are fine abrasive powders, akin

to modern-day rottenstone. Final pol-
ishing might have been done with
chamois, deerskin or silk.

THE END OF BIEDERMEIER

Towa rd the end of the Biedermeier
era, bo th mechani zation and special-
ization transfo rme d man y European
cabi netmaking sho ps into sma ll as- A chair at the end of an era. The sculptural
sembly lines with a distin ct division form of this Viennese side chair at left
of duties. As shops explored the possi- suggests it was made near the end of the
bilities presented by the newly de- Biedermeier era, when bentwood furniture
velope d machinery, the furniture was in vogue.
bega n to change. Late Bied erm eier fur-
niture became increasingly orna ment- Blending the forms of Biedermeier.
ed with applied turnings and carved Elements familiar from Biedermeier casewor k,
elements that machin es co uld produce figured -veneered surfaces and ebonized
in great numbers. columns, are evident in the Viennese
The architec tura l fo rms of Bied er- armchair shown below.
meier wer e slowly hidden behind
sculptural ones as the Victorian era be- ,
ga n. At the turn of the 20th-c entury,
there was a brief revival of Bied er-
meier furniture. But the seque ls tended
to be less so lidly built than the o rigi-
nals. A passion ate collector of true Bie-
dermeie r rem ark ed that o nly one
finger was need ed to pick up a Bieder-
meier revival chair, wh ere the real
thing required two hands.

Olaf Unsoeld, a furniture conservator at the

MetropolitanMuseum of Art in New York City,
servedan apprenticeship in conservation in
Munich, Germany. Whilethere, he helped
prepare furniture for a 1987 exhibitionof
Biedermeier furnitureat the Munich
Stadtmuseum, organizedby Dr. Hans
Ottomeyer.

Photos this page:John Hall: co urtesy o f Abbeville Press WINTER 1994 27

 Scaling Furniture
from Photographs
Creating shop drawings for faithful reproductions
BY PHILIP C. LOWE

P eo ple ofte n co me to my sho p

Starting with a photograph. The author
makes a scale with a known dimension, in
this case the 29-in. height of a Queen Anne
drop-leaf table .
Each tick mark represents 1 in. By dividing
the distance representing the table height
into 29 equa l parts, the author establishes a
unit that will represent 1 in.
with ph otographs from a book
or a magazine tucked und er their arms ,
They're looking for a piece of furniture
like the o ne in the ph oto. The photo-
graph is a good start, bu t it doesn 't
have the kind of information I need to
mak e a reproduction. So before I ge t
into the shop, I may have to start with
some desktop detective work.
My approach is to lay out on paper a
full-size drawin g of the piece of furni-
ture I'm go ing to make. The drawing
allows me to calculate stock and hard-
ware lists, as we ll as to develop pat-
terns for co mplicated profiles and
shapes. Before I can translate the pho-
tograph into a set of drawings, howev-
er, I need accurate dimensions of all of
the co mponents that will go into the
piece. An esse ntial tool in that process
is an accurate sca le-a modified ruler
that helps me translate dim ension s in
the photograph to actua l dim ensions
o n my drawings.
The technique I use to make a scale
do esn 't require any complicated or ex-
pensive drafting tools, and it can be
used o n any furniture style, not just the
peri od reproduction s that I usually
mak e. On ce I have the: inform ation
pro vided by the scale, I can make shop
drawin gs, patt erns, stoc k lists and ,
eve ntually, the piece of furniture.

28 HOM E FUR N I T U R E
MAKING A SPECIALIZED SCALE
ot too long ago , a client came in with
a book showing a Qu een Anne drop-
leaf table. "Can yo u make me o ne of
these?" she asked. The ph oto sho we d
most of the elem ents of the table: the
elliptical top, two drop leaves, cabriole
legs en ding in a slippe r foot, two legs
that swing on a knuckle joint to hold
up the open leaves and o ne d rawer,
possibly two . But the boo k gave o nly
three dimen sion s: height , width and
depth. My first step was developing
the scale so that I could take measure-
ments directly from the ph oto. The on-
ly tools I needed we re pencil and
pap er and the kind of architect's sca le
you can buy in most station ery sto res.
I stan by foldin g a piece of paper in
half and aligning the fold line with a
known dimension in the ph oto. In this
case , I knew the he ight of the tabl e
was 29 in., so I lined up the pap er
against the front left leg (to p p ho to ,
facing page). I made two marks o n the
fold line to indicate the floor line and
the height of the table. I unfold ed the
paper and drew ho rizontal, par allel
lines across the pap er thro ug h these
two marks. The distan ce between
these two points represe nts 29 in.
To divide the distan ce evenly, I held
an architect's scale diagonally o n the
paper and found a set of reference
marks that let me divide the distance Finishing the new scale . At left, parallellines
evenly into 29 parts (botto m photo, drawn through each of the 29 tick marks
facing page). For this tab le, the lis-in. extend the l-in . divisions to the paper 's edge
scale worked fine, so I marked off 29 and make the scale easy to use.
equal spaces along the diagona l line .
Then I drew a horizontal line through All dimensions can now be found . With the
eac h of the marks (left ph oto , ab ove). sheet of paper refolded (above), th e aut hor
Now, folding the paper back along has an accurate scale with which to measure
the crease, the sca le can be applied to furniture components.
the picture . Each line on the scale rep-
resents 1 in. By applying the sca le to
different parts of the ph otograph (right
ph oto, above), eithe r vertically o r hor-
izont ally, I can get all of the measure-
ments I need for my drawing.
YOU AY NEED
A SECO D SCALE
On e thin g to keep in mind is that
pieces in the background of the ph oto
will look small er than the y really are.
You may need to make a second scale
to meas ure parts in the background,
but you wou ld use the same technique
that I've just described .
For instan ce, let's say you are making
full-scale drawin gs for a chair. It might
be imp ossibl e to get all of its dim en-
WIN T E R 19 9 4 29
A simple trick fo r drawing ellipses. To make
a full-scale d raw ing for one qu arter of the
elliptical top, the auth or lays ou t half th e
major axis and half the m inor axis on
centerlines, then uses a woode n batten to
mark the perimete r.
Making plywood patterns for legs. Onc e
he 's dra wn the leg profile full-scale, the
aut hor 's next step is to make a plywood
patt ern by stip pling throug h th e drawing into
his pattern mater ial.
sions with a sing le sca le if the cha ir
was photographed only from the front.
The height of the seat from the floor is
the same at the front and back of the
chair, but the two dimensions would-
n 't look the same in the photograph
because o ne was farther from the cam-
era. One sca le co uld provide dim en -
sio ns at the front of the cha ir. If a
seco nd scale were made to represent
the height of the seat at the rear leg ,
o ne would be able to use it to deter-
mine the dimen sions of the upper por-
tion of the chair back accurately.
lAYING OUT
AN ELLI PTICAl TOP
To draw the tabl e 's elliptical top, I
needed tw o ce nterline s, o ne vert ical
and one horizontal. The pattern I made
30 HOM E F UR N I T U R E
/
/~
is actua lly fo r o ne qu arter of the to p,
but because this tab letop is symme tri-
cal alo ng its ce nter line , that was all
I needed .
For any elliptical sha pe, I lay out one
half the major axis o n the hori zontal
line and one half the minor axis on the
ve rtica l line. The n I mark out the el-
lipse with a thin woode n batten that
has half the major and min or axes
marked on it. The outline of the ellipse
is traced by kee ping the mark for the
major axis o n the ve rtical ce nterline
and the mark for the min or axis o n
the ho rizontal ce nterline (left photo ,
above). The ellipse is developed by
mak ing a series of mark s at the end
of the batte n at evenly spaced inter -
va ls b et w e en th e h orizont al a n d
vertical ce nteriines .
/
/
Once the ellipse has been drawn , I
can add a line dividing the top and the
two leaves. On this table , I used three
solid pieces of waln ut for the top, and
the width of my stock had some bear-
ing on where these lines would be
drawn . I dev iated somewhat from the
measurements I had taken with my
sca le from the photograph. With the
to p d rawn and the leaves planned, I
co uld lay ou t the frame for the table
using the dimensions I cou ld gather
from the photograph and my scale.
DUPLICATING A lEG PROFilE
To draw the cabriole leg on this table,
I started with a rectangle that repre-
se nted the finish dimension of the
stock I was going to use. I started with
12/4 walnut stock and knew that when
 the wood had been milled, I wo uld be
work ing with material 2% in. thick.
The gen era l rule is that roug h thick-
ness minus 1/ 4 in. will yield the finish
thickness. This rule should be applied
to all parts that are drawn on the deta il.
Withi~ the rectangle I had drawn to
rep rese nt the size of my finish stock, I
began to draw in the curve of the leg
and the slippe r foot, mak ing sure my
. line didn't wand er outside the 2%-in.
wide box. When drawing the curve for
the leg , I had to rem ember that the
ph oto showed the leg from an angle,
and the curve appeared greater than it
actually was. So whe n trying to repro-
duce the curves, it's a good idea to use
some restraint and keep the curve flu-
id and free of facets . Rem ember, pat-
terns will be taken from the drawing.
Once the drawing of the leg was fin-
ished, I transferred the profile to a ply-
wood pattern that I wo uld use to cut
the legs from the walnut stoc k (right
ph oto, facing page). To do this , I
placed the d rawin g ove r a piece of
1M-in. plywood and stippled through
the pap er into the wood. Then I co n-
nected the dots on the plywood with a
pencil and cut along that line, smooth-
ing the co nto urs with planes, files or
sandpaper. Then I had my leg pattern .
tise and ten on for the frame, and dove-
tails in the drawers. So I chose to use
pinned morti se and ten ons for the
back rail, the inside rails, the swing leg
rails and the bottom front rail. Dov e-
tails were used o n the top-drawer rail
between the tops of the legs. The
swing leg rail was drawn with a knu ck-
le joint , which is a wood hinge with a
wood o r metal pin o n wh ich the extra
leg and rail can swing.
Another detail that needs evaluation
is wheth er some stoc k dimension s can
be altered for econo my without sacri-
ficing the overall appearance of the
de sign. This tab le, for instance, ha s a
top 1 in. thick in its finish ed state. To
yield a I-in. thick top, I had to start
with 5/ 4 lumber. The lumber yard
cha rges by the board foot, which is the
equivalent of a piece of wood 12 in. by
12 in. by 1 in. thick , o r 144 cu. in.
There 's 1.25 bd . ft. of lumber in a piece
of 5/ 4 stock 12 in. squ are , and the yard
charges more per board foot for thick-
er lumber because it uses more of the
resource and may be harder to ge t. If a
designer were to choose % in. as the fi-
nal thickn ess of a to p , however, the
cost of the piece co uld be reduced. It's
an o ption worth co nside ring.
THE BID WILL BE
ACCURATE, TOO
In the case of the Queen Anne tab le I
was asked to make, I felt co mfortable
giving a written proposal to the client
after I had completed the drawin gs. At
that point I had all the information I
need ed to determine the len gth of
time it sho uld tak e to build the table
and the cos t of materials. The planning
process can take anywhe re from a
co uple of hours to a co uple of weeks,
depending o n the magn itud e of the
p roject. I cha rge fo r the design work
se parately. The result of all that prelim-
inary work, thou gh, is a piece of furni-
tur e very nearly identical to the o ri-
ginal (photo below).
Philip C. Lowedesigns and builds furniture in
Beverly, Mass. Photos by Susan Kahnexcept
wherenoted.

DETAILS NOT IN THE PHOTO

One thin g that is not ap parent in the
photograp h of the Qu een Anne table
is the joinery. Yet all of this will have to
be drawn and evaluated. This dilemma
calls for an und erstanding of co nstruc-
tion detailing from whichever period
of furniture you may be dupli cating .
Generally speaking, most table join-
ery on 18th-century furniture was mor-

The resu lt is a faithful reproduction.

Although he had little information to start
with, the author used a shop-made scale and
full-scale draw ings to re-create this New Yor k-
style Queen Anne table.

Photo this page: Stevenson -Janus Photograph y

WIN T E R 1994 31
 Side Table is Versatile,
Economical
BY PAUL DE CARLO

Clean lines and gentle curves distingu ish this table . The dark earlywood in the curly red oak
aprons and the top panel complements the walnut legs.

32 H O ME FURNITURE Pho to: Frank Martin

as I was nea ring the end of my res-
iden cy at the Worces ter Center fo r TALL TABLE
Crafts, I had a solo exhibition co ming
up and need ed to make a few pieces
for it.One of the pieces I wanted to de- Walnu t
sign was a small, limited-production
table that I could build quickly and ef-
ficiently, o ne that co uld becom e a
bread-a nd-b utter item for me down 14 '/ 2 in.

~-j-
the line. I also wanted to use up so me
of the material that had been accumu-
lating in my sc rap bin over the past
year. The result was this table, as we ll
as a couple of othe r sho rter ones like it
but with solid top s. IE 14 V2 in. I % in.
The size and clean lines of this table 1 EO 12 % in. I )

make it quite versatile, equally suitable

as a ph on e table, a plant stand o r a
display table. It's also an econo mical
table: There are less than 5 bd . ft. of
wood in the who le tabl e. Finally, be-
cause it's such a straightforward piece,
I'm able to go from rough stock to fin-
ished piece in just abo ut 16 hours.
I se ttled o n a frame -and-panel top
rathe r than a so lid piece after ex pe ri- 32 in.
menting with both approaches . I liked
the way th e tw o d iffe rent woods
worked together in the base, an d I
wanted the top to reson ate with the
base. I used solid-wood butt on s with ,
"

elongated screw holes to co nnec t the ( \\;

top to the base . I: w
'\l
I designed the legs, as well as the rest
of the table, sho rtly after reading a lot
.
\i,
by James Kren ov, the furn iture make r ,t SIDE VIEW \

who's now running the College of the

.
Redwoods Woodworking Program in 1< 13% in. >1
Ft. Bragg, California. I find man y of his
pieces appealing and think so me of his
table-leg designs are particularly nice. I
drew the legs for this tabl e based o n
one of those designs, modifying them SPECIFICATIONS
once I'd gotten into the sho p, just as I
DIMENSIONS
always do . The transition o n the legs
Top, 14'12 in. sq uare, % in. thick
just below the aprons, fro m shar p and 32 in. high .
edges to softly rounde d edges , gives
the piece a relaxed yet precise fee l. MATERIALS
Walnut and curly red oak.
The aprons reinfo rce that sense with
their convex botto m edge and slight FINISH
taper in thickness from % in. at the top Watco Danish Oil Finish, varnish
to 1/ 2 in. at the bo ttom. and beeswax.

Drawin g: Vince Bubak

WINTER 1994 33
 Side Chair and Armchair
BY DAVID MARGONELLI

Serpentine aprons blend with curving legs.

Coherent and fluid lines are the hallmarks of
the furniture of the author and his partn ers.
The low, swooping arms of the armchair slide
easily under a table's apron .

34 HOM E FUR N I T U R E
 To create soft, flowing lines, the author
rounded over the inside corners of the legs.

Hand-cut dovetails jo in th e arm to the front

leg and signal that the piece is handmade.

designing a chair is time-consum-
ing. Mypartners, Scott Conrad and Rob
Nicoll, and I found this to be true even
though we started with just three goa ls.
First, we wanted a chair with the look
and feel of our other furniture. Second,
we wanted the arm chair to fit under
the apron of a standard dining table.
And third , we wanted to make each
chair from a single board to ensure
consistent grain and color.
The legs and the aprons look like
many of our other tables, desks and
The armc hair retains the clean, flow-
ing lines of the side chair, and the low,
sweeping arm slides easily under a
dining table . A han d-cut dovetail at the
arm- to-front-leg joint provides maxi-
mum strength at this critical juncture.
Each chair is made from a single 8-in.
wide by 12-ft.long piece of 8/ 4 cherry.
We were ab le to ge t all of the neces-
sary curved shapes for the chair parts
from 2-in. thick stock, and we used a
shaper to cut angled tenons. Barbara
Meyer was the up ho lsterer.
SPECIFICATIONS
DIMENSIONS
(Side chair) 17 in. w ide, 15 in. deep,
40 in. high; (armchair) 19 in. wid e,
15 in. deep, 40 in. high .
MATERIALS
Chenyand olefin-nylon weave upholstery.
FINISH
Blend of tung oil, linseed oil and
polyurethane topped off with a coat
of satin wax.

case goods . The apron blends smooth-

ly into the curving legs, and the inside
corner of each leg is gently rounded.

Photos: Rob Nico ll

WINTER 1994 35
Color, figure and grain equal be auty, at
least for the claro walnut used for the drawer
fronts, the case sides and the top of this
buffet. Legs, drawer dividers and case back
are black walnut. Pulls are ebony.
Claro Walnut
Buffet
BY A LA N M c MAS T ER

36 HOM E FU R NIT U R E
Macassar ebony pulls (above) complement
the clare-wa lnut drawer fron ts. Routed
recesses on the und erside of th e pulls provide
a good finge r g rip.
A sing le black -walnut board makes up
the back of the carcase (above right ),
showing the ca re that we nt into even th e
hidden port ions of th is buffet.
Simple lines and subtle decorative touches,
such as the crisply beveled edge on the to p
(rig ht), keep the focus on the wood .
t; claro-walnut buffet was de-
signed aro und two bas ic co ns ide ra-
tions: the functio n of the piece and the
bea uty of the wood.
As a buffet, the top of the piece had
to be at a comfortable serv ing height.
Storage was secondary, so I built in just
eno ugh space for some silverware,
place mats and so forth : Long legs di-
minish the closed-in effect you get
with buffets or sideboards that go al-
most all the way to the floor. By kee p-
ing the floor visible, the roo m appears
larger, an important consideratio n in
many dining roo ms.
I also had to figure out how to high-
light the striking claro wa lnut I had for
the project. I kept the lines simple to
Photos: Ro b Vanmarter
emphasize the beau ty of the wood
rather than diverting the eye to so me
stylistic flourish . I used claro walnut for
the aprons, the drawer fronts and the
top, which is a so lid plank. I used
cabinetmake r's buttons, small wood
bloc ks tongu ed o n o ne end, to keep
the to p firmly attac he d to the carcase
while allow ing it to ex pa nd and co n-
tract with humidity cha nges . The cabi-
netmaker 's button s are screwed to the
und erside of the top. The ton gues fit in
a groove routed inside the apron.
I used eas te rn black wa lnut for the
legs, the frame and the back panel be-
cause I had o nly so much of the claro
SPECIFICATIONS
DIMENSIONS
60 in. long, 20 in. deep and 36 in. high.
MATERIALS
Primary woods : claro walnut, eastern
black walnut, Macassar ebony. Seconda ry
woods: mahogany, maple, clear pine and
birch plywood.
FINISH
Sam Maloof's Oil/Wax Finish
and paste wax.
an d be cause I wanted a definite but
subtle contrast in woods. Birch -ply-
wood panels divide the inter ior of the
cabinet into three sec tions, and maple
d raw er runne rs (and kick ers o n top)
are screwed to these panels. The draw-
er sides are mad e of mah ogany I had
left ove r from ano the r project, and the
d rawer botto ms are mad e of clear
white pine.
I mad e the pull s fro m Macassar
ebony, ba ndsawi ng and filing them,
then ro uting a recess in their un de r-
sides fo r a finger grip. Custo m pull s
help person alize a piece.
WINTER 1994 37
 Crisp ca rvings give the au thor's corner
cabinet a st ro ng presence. This was the first
major carving the auth or had attempted. The
block-front d rawers were carved from 12/4
walnut, the cockleshellfrom stack-laminated
basswoo d.

W hen I design a piece of furniture,

I always try to incl ude so me features
or techniques I've never attempted.
This cockleshell co rner cabinet offered
more than eno ug h challenge. I spent
16 months working on the piece. I'm
not sure how many hours it too k in all,
but it wouldn't bear close scrutiny by a
marketing analyst.
I designed the cabinet for my dining
room. The roo m is small, with a cof-
fered ceilin g that is only 84 in. at the
perimeter. I decided to make the piece
a co rner cabinet so that it wo uldn't
dominate the room. I had to sca le
down the features of what is tradition-
ally a larger piece while maintaining a
balance of prop ortion s.
The furniture in my dining room is
Qu een Anne , so the ove rall style-a

Cockleshell mix of Qu een Anne and Chippe n-

dale-was a natural choice. I drew the
det ails from a number of pieces I'd ad-

Corner Cabinet mired ove r the years. The lower case,

with its blo ck front and ogee bracket
feet, is an adaptation of an 18th-centu-
ry fou r-drawer chest byJohn Goddard
that I saw in Williamsburg's DeWitt
BY MARK STE B BI NS Museum. I particul arly liked the she ll
carvings on the or iginal, and as I
carved I worked closely from ph otos
I'd taken of the Goddard chest.

38 H OME FURNITURE Photos: Geo rge Beck er, Becker Stud ios
 COCKLESHELL CORNER CABINET

Cornice
mOldin:J

~~:7
Cockleshell

I'

Frie~
molding

Quarter
column

84 in.
~ Waist
molding Drawers to fit the case. The author joined
the che rry sides of his six-sided d rawers
~~~~~~~~&) with mitered dovetails. The half-blind
do vetailed walnut d rawer fronts were
,?>--,~';:---'-: Block-front
carved with a safety planer, a plunge router,
ls~1 d rill bits and chisels.

Drawer
dovetails

Bracket
foot

For the upper case, I drew o n a china
cabinet by John Hallam , a co nte mpo -
rary furniture make r in Californi a. I
liked the quarter co lumns and the pal-
ladian mullion s o n his china cabinet
for the classical flavor the y added. Hal-
lam 's cabinet had a broken pediment
with heavy molding and three flame
finials. Because of the low ceiling I was
Drawing s. Author
working with, I substitut ed an un-
adorned bonnet.
I made the lowe r case from solid
wood, but I used ven eered panels for
the upper case. I wanted vertical grain-
ing on the curved rail over the doors,
but I didn't want the problems of sea-
sonal wood movement and sho rt-
grain weakness that would have re-
suited from using so lid wood. I cut my
own lis-in. ve neers and laid them up
o n plywood .
I did the draw ings with co mputer-
aid ed design (CAD). I used AutoCAD
(Autodesk, Inc., 2320 Marin ship Way,
Sausalito , Calif. 94965; 800-228-3601).
As an enginee r, I use CAD all the time.
When I started using it for furniture
\
WINT ER 1994 39
 OVERLAID PLAN SECTIONS
OF CORNER CABINET

UPPER CASE Strip lights are mortised

into upper shelf.

Lower case
51 in.
~f- -- Cockleshell
circumference

upper case ) ~ Waist molding

\
Upper shelffront

LOWER CAS E
~ Baseframe

Drawerside
)
29 in.

Btacke: foot ~

Cockleshell in a spray of lig ht . Half-inch strip lights mortised into the

,
top shelf of the a ut hor's corner cabinet illuminate the cockleshell and ~ Base molding
em phasize the pearlescent lacquer finish .

design, I found it ver y well-suit ed to I made the drawers six-side d to max-

the task. Now I'd be hard-pressed to
return to the drafting board . In design-
ing this cabine t, it was real hand y to
draw all of the layers o n top of each
o the r and turn different laye rs o n and
off to see ho w they fit together. For
mold ings and other de tails, I zoome d
in to create a profile and then reduced
it to sca le. I p rinted out a number of
parts fu ll-size for mak ing templates. I
also ge nera ted my cutlists with CAD.
It took mo re than a few phone calls
to find 12/ 4 walnut of a quality suitable
for the block- front d rawe r fro nts .
When I finally found so me, I roughed
out the shell carvings with power tools
and did the finish carving by han e\.
imize their ca pac ity. This also maxi- SPECIFICATIONS
mized the join er y, thou gh , and after
DIMENSIONS 51 in. wide, 29 in. deep
hand-ch opping a few dozen miter ed
and 84 in. high .
dovetails, I started qu estion ing my de-
cision to use cherry for the sides. MATERIALS Walnut, cherry and
Poplar or pin e wo uld have don e just basswood.
fine and wo uld have been a lot easie r FI NISH Case: French-polished shellac.
o n my wrists . Cockleshell: eggshell-white lacquer
When it came time to choose materi- undercoat and clear pearl lacquer
al for the cockleshell, I was softer topcoat.
on myself. I used basswood, which,
tho ugh technically a hardwood, is soft
unde r tools, has a ho mogen eous, al-
mos t invisible gra in and is virtua lly
kno t-free: an excellent carving wood
(for mo re o n making the coc kleshe ll,
see How They Did It, p. 100). .

40 HOM E FU R NIT U R E

Translating Arts and Crafts-style lines into
a wall-hung cabinet. The author combined
clean lines with straightforward joinery for an
elegantly practical cabinet. Handmade ebony
pulls highlight surrounding woods.
Photos: Dou g Koch
Cabinet for aWall
B Y MATT
hen I began design ing din ing-
roo m furn ishings and trimwork fo r
so me friends who were finishing a
house in eas tern Kansas, I fretted over
just what style would be appropriate.
Quite frankly, this hou se was designed
by its owner to emphasize efficient en-
ergy use and traffic flow rath er than
stylistic co nce rns.
I thou ght about the design of the
hou se and how it eme rges from a ge n-
tle hillside with lon g, hori zontal lines
and low, wide overha ngs. The struc -
ture look s like a Frank Lloyd Wright
Prairie hou se. I began to por e over
books on Wright , Gustav Stickley, the
KI RBY
Greene brothers and the Craftsman
period. This wa ll-hung cabine t be-
ca me mu ch like the upper part of a
hut ch , with the lower part mod eled af-
te r the dining-ro om se rve r in a 1907
Gree ne brothe rs' hou se.
The center cabinet is deep enough to
stac k plates o n she lves and to place
two tall Wright candlesticks in front of
the shelves. The doors ride on cup
hin ges , and the pull s are handmad e
fro m ebony. The hard squareness of
the ebony o rnaments balances the ran-
do m black strea ks of the spalted-
mapl e doo r panel s.
WINTE R 1 994 41
 WALL-HUNG CABIN ET

TI
1 0 0 0 0
f- >--
;..! ;..!

lilll Uil
I-------!- ---=-
U[
I - - "-- I I ~ 22 '/2
in.
37 in.

c;;:'"
0
u u ~
. ~ " ~

fJ
-----i
II '"
0
N

f---- 6 ~ in.
~ .
I
'" . B

0
1
~ 7 4 in.~ f-- 77 in.::r
76 in. IE 86 in.

VIEW FROM TOP

i-'- 75 in. -----I -

/
/
JJ U U U UU -,
-U'V

To me, cherry is a wood that is both

majestic and very dem ocratic. It's per-
fectly in sync with Stickley's writings
abo ut the Craftsm an ideal , so I used
che rry for the main carcase and the
book-match ed end panels, stiles and
rails. The cro wn mold ing is caved on
the table saw, and it is based on a 1910
mantel clock des igned for Stickley.

SPECIFICATIONS

DIMENSIONS
16 in. deep, 31 in. tall and 86 in. wide .
Crown molding coved on a table saw. The
MATERIALS shallow caving and the large overhangs of
Cherry, spalted maple, walnut and ebony. crown molding fo r the cabinet help give it the
FINISH Prairie-house look th e aut hor intended .
Oil and wax.

42 HO ME F U R N I T UR E Dr aw ing: Au thor
 Walnut Jewelry Box
BY JON F RANCIS

m y w ife's burgeoning jewelry

collection was the reason I made this
practical and beautiful box. Although I
usually favor traditional design, most
traditional furniture attempts to hide
the joinery. I think exposed joinery is
very attractive, so I chose highly fig-
ured wood and used the joinery in the
box to show it off.
The top is Y4-in. thick , book-matched
crotch walnut glued to a %-in. thick
walnut substrate. To minimize cup-
ping, I cut a %-in. tongue on each end
of the top and pinned the tongue in
breadboard ends. The middle and rear
dowel holes in the tongue are elongat-
ed to allow the top to move, but the
front pins are glued so that wood
movement is toward the rear.
The ribbon inlays on the sides of the
case are YI6-in. wide hard maple. The
tray is cherry.

SPECIFICATIONS
\
DIMENSIONS
16 ~8 in. lon g, 11% in. deep
and SY4 in . high.

MATERIALS
Walnut, cherry and maple .

FINISH
Tung oil and varnish.

Photos: Russ Wills

WINTE R 1 9 94 43
 White-Oak Veneered
Writing Desk
BY JOHN GALLAGHER

Chamfering the slats lightens them
visually. The author made his desk's slats
d iamond-shaped in section to make them
appear lighter. The center slats on both sides
are slightly wider than the flanking ones to
un ify each side.
I wanted a place for writing long-
hand. I didn't need a lot of space for
co mputer eq uipment or storage, just
room enough on top for a few sheets
of paper and to spread my elbows. I al-
so need ed some shallow drawers be -
low for stationery. I made the desk in
w hite oa k because I wanted to use
readily available wood instead of turn-
ing to something exo tic.
I hoped to give the desk an intimate
feeling, the sense of privacy that many
desks achieve with so lid-pa ne l sides.
But I wanted to avoid the boxiness and
the heaviness solid sides create. I did-
n't wa nt the piece en tirely open like a
table, either. So I used vertical slats on
three sides, which gave me an enclo-
sure witho ut add ing mu ch visual
we ight. I had been looking at pho tos
of Craftsman furniture before I de-
signed this piece, and I liked the wide
slats I saw there. But I'd also been ad-
miring James Krenov 's wor k, which is
much lighter, more delicate and plays
curved lines off against straight ones.
When I sized the slats, I kept the
breadth but lightened them visually by
milling rea lly wide chamfers on the
faces of the boards. The chamfers are
so wide that sections through the slats
are elo ngated diamon ds. The facets al-
so crea te a nice pattern of highlights
and shadows whe n light strikes the m
side long.
I used curve s in the legs and the edg-
ing of the top to moderate the straight
lines in the desk. With the bowed-out
legs, I hoped to give the piece a plant-
ed feeling. I bandsawed the legs from
large blanks of solid stock, with the
growth rings running diagon ally from
the inside corner to the outside corner
of the leg. That wa y I avo id ed c u t-
ting through any growth rings when I
sawed the curve. The grain app ears to
follow the leg as it curve s.
The desktop is a veneered panel. I
had intended to mak e a so lid-wood
top, but I didn't have eno ugh stoc k
with good figure. So I sawed the
plank' s nicely figured section into ve-
neers and glue d them onto a piece of
lumbercore plywood. I rimmed the ve-
neered panel with solid edging and
gently rounded its underside to give
the top a lighter appearance.
SPECIFICATIONS
DIMENSIONS
38 in. wide, 22 in. deep and 31 in. high.
MATERIALS
White oak, maple drawer sides
and bottoms.
FINISH
Chapham's wax and Bartley's Gel Coat
for the top .

44 HOME FUR N I T URE Photos: David Welter

 A gallery of slats creates a feeling of
privacy. The auth or used wide ly spaced
vertical slats to give his writing desk a sense of
privacy witho ut the weight of solid pa ne ls.

Pulls carved to fit the piece. The desk's

white-oak pulls combine the facets and the
curves found elsewhere in the piece. The pulls
show end grain on the front, creating da rk
accents against the lighter face grain of the
drawer fronts .

W I N T ER 1 9 9 4 45
A Shaker-Inspired Cupboard
BY AARON HILTEBEITEL

CUPBOARD WITH SHAKER ROOTS
I designed this cupboard in a Shak-
erish style but added some decorative
detail s, suc h as raised panels, and
UPPER-DOOR DETAIL

: Gla ss
curved lines for a little flair. The curves
and the large, ope n serv ing area help

~u"ml"'''
CROWN-MOLDING DETAIL
-I ligh ten the ove rall appearance of the
piece. The two wide d rawe rs at the
Door fra me j' ~ Glass
retaining bead
bottom of the cupboard provide stor-
age for table linen s.
I selec ted solid che rry for all exposed
SE TOP DETAIL surfaces o n the basis of its figure and
color match. The interior of the cabinet
is mad e of cherry-veneered plywood
so that wood movement would not be
CORNER-POST DETAIL a problem . The top and the base were
bu ilt as two se parate units so that the
LOWER-DOOR DETAIL Panel cupboard wo uld be eas ier to move .
European hard ware was my choice
for hanging the doors and the drawers.
This hardware works we ll and imparts
a quality fee l to the piece. Also, this
style of hardware is easy to install and
Doo r frame
adjust. But the thing I like most about
Euro pean hardware is that it doesn't
show on the fron t of the cab inet, leav-
SPECIFICATIONS ing an ultra-clean loo k with uninter-
rup ted lines.
DIMENSIONS
741;2 in. wide, 24 in. deep (base),
16 in. deep (top) and 76 in. high .

MATERIALS
Cherry and cherry-ven eered plywood .

FINISH
Low-luster polyurethane.

This cherry cupboard combines trad itional

Shaker styling with curved lines and a
large, open center serving area for a light
and airy effect.

46 HOME FURNITURE O riginal dra win gs: Autho r; renderin gs: Rosalie Vaccaro
PhOIO: Jay E. Reed
WINTER 1 9 9 4 47
 Dish rack has European influence. Racks like
this one are commonly used in Europe. The
author styled it with Art Nouveau details .

Blending two styles. Leaf-shaped cutouts in

the end panels are similar to late 19th-century
Art Nouveau motifs. The rounded pegs that '
cap screws, which join the rails to the end
stiles, resemble joinery used by Arts and
Crafts designer Gustav Stickley.

48 HOME FURNITURE Photos: Paul Boyer

 Dish Rack in Fumed Oak
BY
Shelves and racks for drying dishes
are co mmo n in Euro pe an kitchens and
pant ries. This dish rack is pattern ed af-
ter a rack that was designed to accom-
pany an Arts and Crafts-style buffet.
The original rack was finished so that it
would match the patina of the buffet,
wh ich had see n years of service. Simi-
larly, this rack is mad e of wh ite oa k
and was lightly fumed (see How The y
Did It, p. 96) with ammo nia and then
lacquered to achieve the co lor.
In des igning this dish rack, I had to
co nside r the height of the plates that
wo uld be stored in the rack, and I had
to think abo ut the size of the dinner
set to be stored. This rack accommo -
dates a reaso nably sized plat e and
holds a decent -sized set of dishes, in-
cluding cups, sauce rs and salad bowls.
The rack's end panels are co mprised
of 5/ 16 -in. thick slats pierced with motifs
derived from the Art Nouveau style-a
late 19th-century to early 20th-century
Fren ch ada ptatio n of the Arts and
Crafts movement . (For more abo ut the
Art Nouvea u influen ce o n furniture,
see America n Arts & Crafts-Virtue in
Design by Leslie Gree ne Bowman, Los
Angeles County Museum of Art, in as-
socia tion w ith Bullfinch Press/Little,
Brown & Co.)
MICHAEL HAMILTON
The end panels are surrounded by
1-in. thick frames, which are joined to- SPECIFICATIONS
gether with dowels. The top and bot-
DIMENSIONS
tom rails, both front and rear, are
36 in. wid e, 10 in. deep and 17 in. high.
joined to the end stiles with biscuits
and wood screws. The screws are MATERIALS
co unte rbo red and capped with hand- White oak.
tooled square pegs. FINISH
Because cylindrical elements, such Lightly fumed with ammonia and
as dowels, turnings and plugs, were then lacquered.
not co mmo n in the Arts and Crafts pe-
riod , I mad e the ve rtical dish dividers
square in section. I used a single row
of divid ers at the front, between top
and bottom rails, to eliminate the busy
appearance that dividers on the front
and rear would have created. Along
the back , the top of the bottom rail is
angled to receive p lates and saucers.
Dom ed pegs (buttons) prevent the
dish es from pivoting. The cup hooks
are made of cast stainless steel.
The rack is suspended on a French
cleat, whi ch co nsists of two interlock-
ing pieces that resemble a sort of half-
sliding dovetail. One piece is anchored
to the wall framing, and the other, at-
tached to the back of the shelf, hooks
over the first. This arrangeme nt allow s
the dish rack to be rem oved easily
from the wall for clean ing.
WIN T E R 1 9 9 4 49
 Chippendale
Dining Chairs
B Y RO B WIGGENHORN

We had always wanted a set of

Chippendale dining chairs, but those
store prices...WOW! As virtually my
first serious furnituremaking project , a
set of four dining chairs seemed like a
bit of a challenge. But after studying an
article on making Chippendale chairs,
I was confident I could do it. The pro-
ject took me many months. But more
than any project I've tackled since,
these chairs provided a genuine edu-
cation, specifically in the use of hand
tools. And in retrospect, this was an ex-
cellent first project.
Before starting, I looked through
countless books on chairs to find the
right design. There was no single chair
that had all of the features I was look-
ing for : a pierced Gothic back , a
carved scroll crest rail, a serpentine
front seat rail and Marlborough legs.
Marlborough legs were either straight,
square legs or square-tapered legs,
and they usually terminated in a block
or plinth. Chippendale occasionally
wou ld use Marlborough legs instead of
cabriole legs. After combining these el-
ements into a design I liked, I created
full-sca le drawings and templates us-
ing art board and heavy Mylar. The
templates let me trace each part with
assured repeatability.

Chippendale d ining chair. By combining

elements from a variety of different
Chippend ale-era cha irs, the maker was able
to create a style that he found pleasing and
true to the era .

50 HO M E FURNITURE Photos: Autho r


Sculpting the crest rail into the back posts
required lots of wo rk with a rasp after the
chair had been glued up . Although nerve-
racking, the aut hor fou nd this work to be the
most rewarding aspect of building the cha ir.
The steam -bending of the back splat,
done with a unique setup of furnace
pipe, camp stove and PVC plumbing,
actually was quite fun (for more on
the steam box, see How They Did It,
p. 96). However, the task that proved
to be the most interesting was the
hand-shaping of the crest rail and the
leg posts. There is something qu ite un-
settling about taking a wood rasp to
the back of a chair and aggressively re-
moving material. Much of this work
cannot be done until everything is
Back splats are steam-bent. The ma ker
carved details into the back splats after splats
were bent to shape in a simple steam box.
The serpentine front seat rail is mortised
and teno ned to the Marlborough leg. The
straight, square shape of the Marlborough leg
ofte n was used in place of a cabriole leg on
Chippendale furniture .
glued up , when there is no turning
back. The crea tive sculpting, smooth- SPECIFICATIONS
ing and blending of the crest-rail con-
DIMENSIONS
tours into the back posts was a very
20 in. wide, 18 in. deep
rewarding fee ling, like no other pro-
and 39'12 in. high.
ject I have completed since.
The upholstery work was straightfor- MATERIALS
ward. Seat frames of eastern maple Walnut and woven cotton upholstery.
were fit into rabbets in the cha ir, leav- FINISH
ing about liB-in . clearance all around Sam Maloof's oil/wax.
for the upholstery. In spite of my bes t
efforts to make all chairs identical, I
had to custom-fit each seat frame .
WIN T E R 1 994 51
 Re-creating an old look. The maker needed
a table for his 18th -century farmhouse, so he
built this William and Mary table, which fits
comfortably in his Colonial dining room .

W ile re novating my 18th-century

home, I decided to make a sm all Wil-
liam and Mary-style tabl e for the din-
ing room. The William and Mary
pe rio d influe nced American furniture
design in the late 17th ce ntury. In this
tabl e, the style is typifi ed by the ele-
gant drop pulls, the box stre tchers at
the bott om, the small, hoof-sh ap ed
bun feet and the exaggerated over-
han g at the top. The pull s were sam-
pl es I fo und on a bargain table at
Ga rre tt Wad e . Th e co mpa ny doesn 't
ca rry these exact pulls but does have
so me th ing simil ar (Garrett Wade, 161
Avenue of the Americas, New York,
N. y. 10013; 800-221-2942.)
The tabl e's stylish looks derive from
its sim ple design and straightforward
constru ction. The tabl e has tight-fitting
joiner y, a bit of turning and de tailing ,
such as the bead on the bottom of the
apron and stretch er pieces and the ra-
diu sed p rofile on the top. I used most-
ly hand to ols. Slight sur face irreg u-
larities add character to the piece.
Th e primary wood for this tab le is

Details Make New qu artersawn red oa k, with pine for the

drawer box. The join ery is mortise and
tenon o n the tabl e frame and half-
blind dovetails on the drawer. Because

Table Look Old I w ant ed the piece to have an antique

appearance, I attached the to p directly
to the rails to encourage a bit of split-
ting du e to wood movem ent. The cop-
BY MARIO R ODRIGUEZ p ery, reddish-brown stain is similar to .
the w ood tone fou nd o n so me earl y
Pennsylvani a-German pieces. I also
ap p lied two coats o f Behl en 's button
lac, an impure , deepl y co lored form of
she llac used p rim arily by antique re-
sto rers who want to height en the aged
look of th eir furniture . I topped the
button lac with a coat of raw umber
antique glaze (for more on button lac,
see Sources, p. 104).

52 HOME FURN ITURE Pho to this page: Alec Waters

 William and Mary details enhance the
TABLE DETAILS table's form. The pendant pulls (above left)
add simple ornamentation to the
quartersawn red oak. Shaped edges on the
2- in. square
stock overhanging top , the drawer front and the
bottom of the apron give the table the look of
7% -in. an original.
dia. ball

Period turnings and an antique finish give

an old look. The spindle profile and hoof-
shaped foot of this leg (above right) are
typical of William and Mary furniture.

'iB-in. dia . reel

SPECIFICATIONS

DIMENSIONS
26 in. wide, 17 in. deep and 28 in. high.

MATERIALS
Box stretcher
Quartersawn red oak and pine.

FINISH
Stain, button lac and raw umb er glaze.

Willia m and Ma ry
penda nt pull

2 -in.
hoof foot

Drawing and photos this page : Author

WINTER 1994 53
 Painted Blanket Chest
BY HARRY L. SMITH

Hand-painted traditional decorations are

the focal point of this Pennsylvania-German-
style blanket chest. Two coats of varnish
protect the paint.

Photos: John Bender

54 HOM E FURNI T UR E

I have always loved the painted fur-
niture of the Pennsylvania Ger mans,
and the ir painted blank et ches ts are
my favorites. Not being able to afford
an antique one, I decided to build my
own. I bo ug ht a book on decorated
chests, stud ied it and decided w hich
one to build.
The ches t is made of so lid w hite
pine. Its sides are joined at the corne rs
with through-dovetails. The mold ing
on the lid is attached by a ton gue-and -
groove joint . The bracket fee t are
mitered at the corners with molding
applied on top. Drawers are dove-
tailed at bot h front and back and have
solid-wood bottoms. I chose Chippe n-
dale pu lls, esc utcheons and locks of
solid brass. The hinges on the lid are
handmade reprodu ction fishtail hinges
(for more on these hinges, see Sources,
p. 104). Inside the ches t is a storage
area on the left-hand side .
A big part of the design are the paint-
ed motifs on the outside of the ches t. I
applied a clear sanding sea ler first.
Next were two coa ts of an oil-base
paint to the main part of the ches t, then
the ivory-colored panels and the trim.
After letting the base co lors dr y, I
sketched on the design s. Using oil-
base paints, I painted the designs free -
Underneath the paint is solid joinery.
hand. The last two coa ts we re satin
varnish. The interior was spraye d with Drawers are dovetailed front and back, and
one coat of lacquer sanding sealer and the entire case is constructed with through-
two coats of satin lacqu er. dovetails .

Traditional details, inside and out. The

chest features reproduction hinges for the lid.
The solid-brass Chippendale hardware is
SPECIFICATIONS
deftly incorporated into the painted designs.
DIMENSIONS
48 in. long, 24 in. deep and 28 in. high.

MATERIALS
White pine.

FINISH
Oil-base paint and varnish.

WIN T E R 1 9 9 4 55
 Curly Oak Sideboard
BY ROBBI E S TAPLES

Subtle curves and reverse tapers make

visual impact. Wanting an eye appeal that
most rectilinear case pieces do n't have, the
aut hor used several simple strategies.
I mad e this relatively traditi onal-
looking sideboard from rare curly red
oa k. Its overall proporti ons and di-
men sion s grew out of my eq uipme nt's
Iimitation s-I can resaw and joint stock,
o nly up to 8 in. So the pan els, the
drawer front s and o the r members are
8 in. wide or less. To keep this side-
board fro m appearing squat and
blocky, I tried several subtle things.
First, I gave an extra measure of ele-
gance to the piece by shaping each leg
into an irregular hexagon al cross sec-
tion. The tap ers give the 2-in. square
leg stoc k a muscular look. The legs al-
so seem to be splayed, an appearance
that 's enha nce d by the curved inne r
portion of eac h leg at the bottom .

56 HOM E FUR N I T U R E
 BEVELED AND TAPERED LEGS

Cross section at top

Adjoiningrails

These legs were shaped by

first making a pair of bevel
cutsat 30 and then tapering
the unbeveled faces from
bottom to top. This results in
a largersection at the bottom
of the legs, visually anchoring
the piece.

Cross section at bottom

The second thing I did to relieve the
rectangularity of the piece was to cut
curves on the bottom side rails and the
bottoms of the doors. Even the vertical
face-frame member that divides the
doors has a small curve at the bo ttom.
To get the book-matched panels for
the case and the doors, I resawed 5/4
curly red -oak boards. I face-jo inted
and planed the boards to a thickness SPECIFICATIONS
of % in. Joi nery for all of the frames is DIMENSIONS
mortise and tenon. Inside the case are 43 in. w ide, 18 in. deep and 43 in. high.
adjustab le shelves sup po rted by shelf
MATERIALS
pins. The turned walnut pu lls contrast
Curly red oak wi th walnu t pulls.
nicely against the oak.
FINISH
Polymerizing tung oil.

Photos: Gemini Photography: drawing. Kathlee n Rushton WINTER 1994 57

 Desk's Gentle Curves
Give it an Asian Feel
I designed this desk fo r a 1992 show
at the Terce ra Gallery in Los Gatos,
California . I want ed a desk that was
large eno ug h for an executive office
yet sma ll eno ug h for a hom e office .
And I wante d the piece to have a de-
tailed loo k wit h a tightness and im-
probability to the structural eleme nts.
I call the piece the samurai desk. It go t
58 HOME FURNITUR E
BY ANTHONY KAHN
its nam e whe n one of the guys work-
ing fo r me at the time said the legs
looked like samurai swords.
The desk is made of so ft map le with
ebony accents (the pin s and the mid-
dle layer of the pulls) and we nge (the
band all around the work surface and
the trim cleat betw een the top and the
desk's base rails). The desk's work sur-
face is medium-den sity fiberboard
(MDF) topped with a curly maple ve-
neer. The bottom has a popl ar veneer.
For this desk , I edged the MDF
sa ndw ich with a 3/ 16-in. wide ba nd of
we nge and then biscuited on a 11/4-in.
wide edging of so ft maple. Then I ran
the who le pan el th rough a wide -be lt
sander to ge t everything perfectly flat.
Photo: J. Patrick Cudahy
A st rip of wenge above the top rail he lps
make a visual separa tion between the base
and the desktop.
The wenge and the map le both stop
at the legs, which protrude slightly
above the work surface.
For the legs, I wanted a different
shap e, something crafty but not too
difficult to build. The legs are made of
two pieces of 8/4 soft maple laminated
top to bo ttom so that the glue line is
hidden. I shaped the legs with a band-
saw and a belt sande r.
The fron t rail and two drawers are
cut from one board to crea te a contin- SPECIFICATIONS
uous, unbroken face on the business DIMENSIONS
side of the des k. The pu lls are lamina- 36 in. wide, 30 in. high and 72 in. long.
tions of maple and ebony, bandsaw n
and coved all the way aro und; they're MATERIALS
Soft maple, MDF, poplar and curly map le
coved deeper on the underside for a
veneers, wenge and ebony.
good finger grip.
To prevent the top from sagging, the FINISH
sides of the drawer boxes go from Pearl gray stain and lacquer.
front to back and are glued to a we b
frame, which is screwed to the front
and rear rails. The we b frame is fas-
tened to the trim pieces. The setup
suppo rts the top like two girders.

SAMURAI DESK DETAIL: SECTION THROUGH RAIL,

TRIM CLEAT, TOP
FRONT VIEW
MDF ~6 in. ~ f-'<1 '/4 in.~

-
J----J [ , J
Back rail is slightly
-) 'As-in. curly
maple veneer
lower than front.

Rail

// 72 in. ---------------;~ ~I
Wenge trim cleat

DETAIL: TOP VIEW, CORNER

SIDE VIEW
Maple

r~I~I-
edg;ng \

30 in. Leg
T
l ~ in.
2'/2
in.

~
t 1
r-,
1/
~----- ~I
36 in.- - - - - - - - - ; ; -
Veneer
surface
Wenge
band ing

Drawings: Kath lee n Rushton

WINTER 1994 59
 Three kinds of veneer. Madrone and walnut-
burl veneers make up the playing surface for
the table . Maple veneer accents the legs.

60 HOME FURNITUR E
 Chess,Table Shows off
Contrasting Veneers
BY GREGORY GUENTHER

a collector of carved chess pieces

Drawers disguised as aprons. Drawer fronts
are designed as full aprons without pulls.
When opened, the drawers reveal
compartments that hold carved chess pieces.
req uested a chess tab le that would be
compatible with her ant iques. She
wanted the table 's drawers to hold the
chess pieces in fitted compartment s.
Beca use the checkerboard pattern
suggested contrasting woods, I decid-
ed to follow this theme in the overall
design. Contrasting woods in geom et-
ric forms , especially in ven eers, was
widely used in American Fed eral furni-
ture based on Hepplewhite designs. I
used traditional joinery: morti se and
tenon co nnections in the fram e and
dovetailed drawers. The dr awers ap-
pear as full aprons without pulls.
The co llector wanted a table with au-
thentic detailing, so the ve neers mak-
ing up the top are glued to a substrate
of so lid ma hogany rathe r than med i-
um -den sity fiberboard (MDF) or an-
othe r wood composite (for an ex pla-
natio n of how the ve neer checker-
board pattern wa s mad e , see How
They Did It, p. 97). Solid wood is not
something I wou ld normally use be-
cause it's less stable dimen sion ally

Photos: Tim Rhoad

WINTER 1994 61
 VENEERED CHESS TABLE

Boxwood Tabletop measures

Burl 3/4 in . by 32 in. by 32 in.
lin e inlay surround
'rr-tn. overhang

4% in.

~ Legs, 1 1/ 2 in . square
on top, taper to % in.
square just above the
Hepplewhite feet.

than composi tes like MOE As a result,

the tabl et op may eve ntua lly show SPECIFICATIONS
so me slight cracking or chec king. The
DIMENSIONS
client, however, wa nted so me thing
32 in. long, 32 in. wide and 30 in. high.
that would look old, so some cracking
and checking sho uldn't be a problem . MATERIALS
Because the top is of so lid wood, it's Walnut with burl walnut, madrone and
maple veneer, boxwood and rosewood .
attache d to the frame in a way that al-
lows it to move seasonally. FINISH
Legs are so lid walnut with an inlay of Shellac, with varnished top,
maple veneer, boxwood and rose- and paste wax.
wood. The upper leg panels we re in-
laid with mapl e. The mort ises were
chopped while the leg stock was rec-
tangular, so the legs wo uld be easier to
align for machining. After tapering and
line-i nlaying the leg stoc k, He pple-
white feet we re adde d with ce nter
dowels. I made the fee t with a router
and a table saw using long stock; ex-
cess stock was cut off after shaping.

62 HOME FURNI TURE Drawing: Kathleen Rushton

 Entertainment Center
BY JAM ES D ESA LVO

ed with severe space constraints,

J ; y clients had searched in vain
thro ugh commercial furniture sources
for an entertainment center that wou ld
satisfy their need s. They had lots of
electronic equipment, including a tele-
vision, a VCR, a turntable, a tun er, a
tape deck, a CD player, a cab le box
and switch box, not to menti on CDs,
videotapes and audio cassettes, that
they wanted to fit into the cabinet. Yet
the space available for an ente rtain-
men t center to hou se all this equip-
ment was less than 3 ft. wide.
Price was impo rtant, so I co nce ntrat-
ed on finding the right balance be-
tween fine furniture and production
furniture . The result was this Shaker-
style cherry cabi net. I used dowels to
create a strong carcase with simple
joinery. Because this was a limited pro-
duction piece, I wanted to wo rk as ef-
ficiently as possible, so I used the same
thickness stoc k wheneve r possible to
minimize milling and increase yield.
Simple frame-a nd-pa nel co nstruc-
tion keeps production cos ts low. To
give the case some substance , I used
raised panels. But to get the flat, re-
cessed look typical of man y Shake r
pieces, I put the raised portion of the
panel inside the cabinet. The panels fit
into rabb ets in the frame and are held
in place with woo d strips. This allows
panels to be stained and finished prior
to final assembly.
I used I2-in. thick cherry-veneered
plywood for the top and the back pan-
el. The back panel has a full-length
cutout for ease of wiring. The full-

Photos: Putnam Photo WINTER 1994 63

Convenient storage on roll-out shelves
and drawers is accessible behind fully
retractable doors. This unit houses nine
electronic components.

A back panel with a full-length cutout

makes it easy to connect all the electronic
components in the cabinet. A slightly larger
hole behind the television lets it protrude
slightly through the cabinet back.

length retractable doors ride on rack-

and- pinion typ e hardware to elimi- SPECIFICATIONS
nate any racking when sliding the
DIMENSIONS
doors in or out. The bottom drawer
35 in. wide, 21 in. deep and 76 in. tall.
and the turntable shelf pull out on
full extension slides, and the television MATERIALS
sits on a hea vy-duty pullout swi vel Cherry and cherry-veneered plywood.
she lf. Included is storage for 120 CDs FINISH
and more than 36 videotap es and Oilfinish with a light stain.
audio casse ttes.

64 HOME FURNITURE
 Craftsman-Style Bed
Blending old forms with new t ech niq ue.
The maker drew many details from Craftsman
furniture in designing his bed but departed
from tradition in joinery and finishing. He
used router -cut loose-tenon joinery in the
headboard and the footboard to speed and
simplify construction and a light stain to give
the piece a bright appearance.
Ph OlOS: Robert Schlechter
BY ROBERT ERFLE
his bed started out as a chair. In the
months just before I designed the bed,
I mad e several reproduction s of Gus-
tav Stickley'S Morris arm chair. I liked
the lines, the detailing and the heft
of the Morris chair, and the design of
the bed followed.
The Morris is an easy chair with
squa re leg s, large cus hions, slatted
sides and back, and long, flat arms
w ide eno ug h to hold a plate o r an
o pen book. On the o rigina l Morri s
chairs, the arms were either straight or
formed ve ry shallow inverted Vs, but
in so me later versions, the arm s were
arch ed ge ntly. This long, sweep ing
curve wa s the inspiration for the
arch ed cap pieces o n the bed's head-
board and footb oard .
WINTER 1994 65
 CRAFTSMAN-STYLE BED
Slat, !YJ6 in. by 3 in. -----..
49 'h in.
RAIL-AND-BRACKET DETAIL
My bed's wide vertical slats , square
legs and long corbels under the ends
of the arched cap pieces also are de-
rived from the Morris chair. In fact, the
headboard and the footboard can be
seen as enlarged, adapted versions of
the side elevation of a Morris chair.
I made quick sketches to decide on
the amount of arch for the cap pieces,
66 HOME F U RNITURE
~~~
Slat
the spacing of the slats and the place-
ment of the corbels. Instead of doing a
lot of laborious drafting , I sketch free-
hand on graph paper. The paper is
inked with lis-in. squares, enabling me
to draw to scale quickly. I don't bother
drawing every version completely, ei-
ther. To compare the look of a head-
board with evenly spaced slats to one
with grouped slats, for instance, I drew
LOOSE-TENON DETAIL
Corbel
Loose
tenon
Corner post,
2 J/< in . by 2 Y< in.
the left half one way and the right half
the other.
I decided to make the arches in a
bent lamination, resawing solid planks
into thin pieces and gluing them back
together in sequence. This way I go t
continuous face grain along the top s of
the arches. I made the cap pieces a
couple of inches narrower than the
Draw ing: Linda Erne
 SPECIFICATIONS

DIMENSIONS
73 in. wide, 85% in. long
and 49 V2 in. high.

MATERIALS
Redoak.

FINISH
Lightoak stain and polyurethane .

Morris chair's 6-in. wide arms because

I tho ught a very wide cap wo uld look
preca rious and top-heavy.
Corbe ls are common in architecture.
They 're used to brace a roof's eaves.
Stickley adapted them to furniture to
give the impression of solid co nstruc-
tion. In the Morris chair the corb els are
structural as we ll as deco rative. They Make a bed fro m a chair. The head board
project from the sides of the ch air 's and the footboard of the author's bed are
legs and support the wide arm s. For
adaptations of a Stickley Morris chair seen
the bed, I thou ght they would look
from the side.
much better turned 90 so that their
profiles wo uld be more p rominent.
Turne d this way, the corbels do ve ry
little structurally, but visually they pro -
vide a resoluti on at the ends of the
arche d cap pieces, and they tie the
thin arches to the heavy, rectilin ear
members below.
Although I used a lot of Stickley de-
tails in the piece, I made so me modifi-
cations in the joinery and in the finish.
Instead of cutting true morti se-and-
ten on joints, I used floatin g ten ons.
You lose so me of the structural hon -
esty of the Stickley pieces, but the sav-
ings in time is co nsiderable. I used
Corbels are common in Craftsman
plain-sawn red oa k, rea dily available
locally, in place of the quartersawn furniture. Borrowed from architecture,
white oa k Stickley often used . And I corbels impart a sense of solidity even whe n
opted for a very light stain to bring out they' re mostly decorative, as they are here.
the beauty of the red oa k rather than
trying to match the dark fumed finish
of Stickley originals.

WIN T E R 1 9 9 4 67
 Strength without bulk. The laminated
arches that link the legs are only % in. thick by
1 in. wide, adding strength and rigidity to the
table without adding mass.

68 HOME FURNITURE
 A Hall Table
Inspired by a Bridge
B Y DAVID ERNST

I made this table while I was a stu-
dent of architecture at the Univers ity o f
Michigan. At the time I was studyi ng
the work of b ridge designe r Robert
Maillart. The tab le's design brou ght to-
gether my interests in both arc hitec-
ture and furnit ure design.
Maillart's elegant bridges we re well-
known throug hout Switze rland . One
particular bridge, tile Salginatobel Bridge
in Schiers , Switzerland, led me to this
design. Maillart's bridge, built in 1930,
is essentially a concrete slab supported
by an arch that spans tw o mountain
ranges in the Swiss-Austrian Alps. I
wanted the table to have a similar feel,
so it is co mprised of tw o ma jor ele -
ments, the to p and the legs, linke d by
delicate, arched supports. The pure
whiteness of Maillart's br idge contrasts
sharply with the green mountains
aro und it. To mimic th is co ntras t, I
Dovetailed leg connections. Dovetails
paired the wa lnu t top of my tab le with
connect the ash legs to the walnut top
ash legs.
The arched rails on the two long for a clean design the author says is
SPECIFICATIONS surprisingly strong.
sides of the tab le are made from four
V8-in. thick pieces of wa lnut 1 in. wide DIM ENSIONS
that are lam inated together. The tw o 49 in. long, 12% in. deep and 34 in. high.
arches were slightly sprung when they
MATERIALS
were set in the mortises, so they exert Walnut and ash.
an outward force on the legs and help
stabi lize the structure , FINISH
Oil.

Photos; Autho r
WINTER 1994 69
 Curly Maple Secretary
BY PA UL ZEN AT Y

b e ing of Czech descent, I've lon g

been exp osed to the elegant , form al
lines of central Euro pea n furniture. My
familiarity and apprecia tion for these
classical forms led me to becom e a
cabine t- and furniturem aker and in-
stilled in me a love of both Euro pea n
and early American antiques .
The inspiration for this piece came
while viewi ng an exhibit of 18th-cen-
tury Portsm outh, New Hampshire, fur-
niture. The fine lines of a breakfront
with Sheraton window bars and a little
kne e-h ole desk sparked my imagina-
tion and con vinced me to set to work
on this secretary.
I chose curly maple and used a flat-
top design as opposed to a bonnet top
be caus e I live in an 1870s farmh ou se
with 7-ft. ce ilings. I used shiplapped
boards fo r the backs of both the top
and bottom pieces of the secretary be-
cause shiplap ping is in keeping with
the spirit and era of the sec retary and
because the back is visible throu gh the
glass doors of the upper case.
The upper case is attac he d to the
desk with solid brass straps mo rtised
into the backs of both pieces. I bread-
board ed the ends of the desk lid to
keep it flat whil e still allowing fo r .
cross-grain movem ent. The drawers in

Simpleyet refined. The maker's secretary in

curly ma ple is a trad itionally inspired case
piece. Elements from several 18th-century
Portsmouth, N. H., antiques found their way
to his creation .

70 HO M E FUR NIT U R E
Richly figured wood and skillful
execution create a harmonious whole.

the desk 's work area sweep back twice

from the vertica l drawers o n the o ut-
side. The two Doric co lumns that
frame the fan-carved door at cente r are
the fronts for secret drawers, which are
release d with touch catches.
The five lower draw ers all feature
hand-cut dovetails (as do the sma ll CURLY MAPLE SECRETARY
drawe rs behind the desk lid) and have SIDE FRONT
cocked beads around them. The draw- ~ 1 2 % in. ......j <E--
1-1 - - - - 47% in. ------~
... 1
er runn ers are attached to the carcase ---.-- ---.--
~\tVll~1 IIGf![il
sides with sliding dovetails and are ~ ~ I I II
mortised into the dra wer dividers,
which are dovetailed to the carcase .

SPECIFICATIONS 32 in.

DIMENSIONS
45'1'8 in. wide, 20% in. deep st wt
and 81 Va in. high .

MATERIALS ~._ ~ -..

-=.-.--::'--

Curly maple, with secondary woods o

of pine and poplar. 13 % in. '
FINISH

tr
Minwax colonial maple and red
mahogany stains; nitrocellulose lacquer
81 ~ IC - ~ ....

]~
and lemon oil.

25 in.
11 te1 $ ]
* ~ ]
~ $J
~
;. " ,.... ;"" -

~ 2 0 % in.~
I"
.------- - 45 'is in.

Drawing and ph otos: Auth or

WINTER 1994 71
 Flowing lines show off blanket and wood.
Full-scale pat terns helped the aut hor shape
walnut into an org anic-looking blan ket stand .

t 1is blank et stand got its start when

my wife, Teresa, and I visited Annap o-
lis, Maryland. We happen ed up on a
delightful sho p that specializes in
weavings from Ireland and found a
number of hand-woven blankets we
couldn't resist. So we bought them as
mem entos of this trip. Once home, we
tried various methods of displaying the
blankets, such as placing them at the
foots of beds . But what we needed was
a functional, graceful way to hang the
blankets, some thing that would n't take
up too much space. That's whe n I de-
cided to make this stand.
To make the stand grace ful, I chose
to depart from a hard-ed ged , totally
machined struc ture. Instead , I de -
s ig ne d so me t h ing th at w as mo re
sculptura l and freeform and devel-
o ped full-scale drawings to refine the

Walnut co ntours in all planes. The last step be-

fore fabricati on was making plywood .
patterns so that I could duplicate the
piece in the future.

Blanket Stand I se lected Americ an walnut for the

stand for a number of reason s. First, .
walnut works well with hand tools and
has excellent finishing qu alities. Sec-
BY DEAN DE B E N ED E T ond, walnut's co lor co ntrasts we ll with
our blankets. Third, I had a healthy
supply of 4/4 and 8/4 boards that came
from an "All you can haul for $50" deal

Photos: Leslie de Benedet

72 HOME FURN ITURE
 CURVES FROM STRAIGHT STOCK
2 in. by 6 in. by 15 in.
2 in. by 4 in.
by 8 in.
Side-elevation
pattern
Before he could carve the contours of his blanket stand, the author had
to make up a blank from straight stock. Pieces were assembled in two
separate gluing operations.
in Southe rn Tennessee over 20 yea rs
ago . I can still re me mber loading the
pick up until it was ove rflow ing with
1,400 bd. ft. of rich walnut!
For my stand, I needed enough
wood to form the co nto urs of the two
sides, so I co mb ine d two thicknesses
Drawin g: Mich ael Ge llatly
2 in. by 6 in. by 37 in.
A sculptural structure. The author used three
struts to connect the sides of his stand: an
upper rail to hang a blanket or quilt and two
lower stretchers to join the feet.
SPECIFICATIONS
DIMENSIONS
24 in. wide, 12 in. deep and 36 in. high.
MATERIALS
Walnut.
FINISH
Front-elevation pattern Tung oil and wax.
of 8/4 stock. I bond ed seven pieces to
make the blanks for the sides. Three
struts (an upper rail and two lower
stretchers) connec t the two sides. The
joints are glue d and doweled.
WINTER 1994 73
 Carved Details Enliven
Bedroom Set
BY MICHAE L
O ur clients as ked us to design a
bedroom set that wo uld be in keeping
with the clea n, co ntempo rary look of
their new hou se. They also wa nted the
set to match the built-ins and the trim-
work in the hou se. The result was a
co llaborative effort, involving us and
a third craftsma n who carved the flo ral
mo tif that deco rates the pieces.
74 HOME FURNITURE
AN D R EB E CCA
This bedroom se t includes a king-
size bed, two nightstands with draw-
ers, a dresser and a che st with lots of
dra wer space, all made of oak stained
to match the existing built-ins. We
chose wenge as the accent wood to
co mple ment the grain patterns in the
oak and the color of the granite tops
o n the nightstands. The solid-wood
headboard and footb oard are set into a
J ESS E
II2-in. deep by I-in, wide mortise cut
into the corner post. The headboard
and the footb oard are held in place by
three 5/ 16 -in. by 5-in. lag bolts wh ose
heads are countersunk into the post
and covered by a seco nd piece of oa k.
Allowan ce for wood movement is ac-
co mplished by the use of elongated
holes and washers for the bolts.
Photos: Steve ViaIe
 HEADBOARD DETAIL
1;;'8 in.
;;'8 in.

% -in.
washe r ---<.c,' "

Outside
piece is
pinned and
spot-glued
to post. lh in.

Drawers that work smoothly. All of the

drawers in this bedroom set run on bottom-
mount, self-closing slides with pulls of oak
and wenge.

A band of intarsia flowers adorns an

otherwise undecorated headboard.

SPECIFICATIONS

MATERIALS
Oak, wenge and holly.

The drawers run on bottom-mo unt,
self-clos ing slides . There is a jewelr y
tray in a top drawer of the dresser. The
door chest features adjustab le shelves
for sweater storage and doors with
hidden hinges for a clean look. All of
the pieces have finished backs.
The dogwood flower des ign sculpt-
ed in the headboard and the footboard
was chosen by the clients from among
several options. Tom Allen of Silver-
FINISH
Medium walnut sta in, Watco oil and
polyurethane.
ton, Oregon, mad e and installed the
intarsia decoration s, whic h are shaped DIMENSIONS
pieces of holly, wen ge and w hite oa k King-size bed :
that fit togeth er like a jigsaw puzzle. 85 in. long, 83 in. wide, 42 in. tall.
We ofte n work with other wood- Nightstand :
wo rkers, and we think it provides ex- 22 in. wide, 16 in. deep, 26 in. tall.
citing o pportunities that broaden the Small chest:
clients' visions as we ll as our own. We 54 in. wide, 20 in. deep, 42 in. tall.
also think it results in better wo rk. Door chest:
60 in. wide, 21 in. deep, 58 in. tall.

Drawi ng: Vince Bubak

WINTER 1994 75
 Shaker styling suits modern din ing . The
maker designed this table to seat up to eight
people. Its drawers hold utensils for all of the
place settings.

Divided drawer won't fall ou t . Extra-long

sidepieces on the table's two drawers allow
easy access to all of the compartments.

y rath er sha bby pine table

need ed to be repl aced . But the new
table had to be cat-resistant. My feline
co mpanions were the main causes of
the demi se of the old table. For the
new table I decided to try hard maple
because I guessed it was hard enough
to resist the cats' nail sharpe nings and
be cause the co lor was in the same
range as Euro pean pine.
At first, I was inclined to copy a Shak-
er table from a photograph o r a book.
But on second thought, non e of those
de sign s wa s ex actly to my liking. I
found the Shaker style very attractive,
though , so I opted to draw a table of
my own design in a similar style.
The top, at 1 1/4 in., is thicker than

Dining Table many Shaker tops I had see n, and the

3 1/4-in. wide aprons are narrower. The
table had to sea t six people with ease

in the
and eight maximum. I also wanted the
table to have drawers because I like to
have the cutlery at hand when I'm set-
ting the table. I placed a drawer at each

Shaker Style end of the table, and I made one draw-

er with dividers for silverware.
I bou ght the wood in Amsterda m at
o ne of the wood wh arves, a sort of
lumberyard at the docks. tl had the
BY CEES O T T E
wood dimensioned at a carpe nte r's
sho p because I have a small shop with
no room for big surfacing machin es.

76 HOME FURNITURE Photos: Henk jm Karnerheek

TAB L E" CON 5 T Rue T ION

3 /4 in.
'

The tabletop is glued up from four

boards and has breadboard ends. To SPECIFIC TIO S
accommodate wood movement, I at-
DIMENSIONS
tached the top to the aprons using 72 in. long, 33 in. wide and 29 in. high.
wooden buttons, and I con nected the
breadboard ends using thick sp lines, MATERIALS
glued only at the middle. The tab le Hard maple .
frame has mortise-and-tenon joinery. FINISH
The drawers use half-blind dovetails Linseed oil, turpent ine and beeswax.
at the front and full dovetails at the
back. What's unusual about the draw-
ers is their length. The drawers are as
long as about half the table's length, or
rough ly 32 in., with the' divided por-
tion at the front and a bo ttomless part
at the back. This allows the drawer to
be pulled out far enough for access to Meticulous dovetails. Because the maker
all of the silverware bins , and strips of likes tra ditio nal joinery and tools, he cut
wood screwed to the underside of the do vetails by hand.
top prevent the drawers from drop-
ping very far.

Drawing: Bob La Point e

WINTER 1 9 9 4 77
 Rocker Designed
for Comfort
BY T I M OTHY CL ARK

Flexibility fo r com fort. The arms are independent of the back in the author's elegant
ash-and-cherry Windsor rocker, leaving the back free to flex.

78 H OM E FUR NIT U R E

" d bee n making Windso r side chairs
and armcha irs for so me time before I
finally desig ned a rocke r. One of my
ob jectives was to retain the flexible
bac k of a Windso r side chair even
though I was adding arms. The rocker
I came up with has arms that float:
They 're not connected to the back
spindles, giving the chair the comfort
of a flexible back as well as an appear-
.ance that I like.
The rocker's tapered spi nd les and
legs are of ash. Instead of using a lathe
to make the spindles and the legs, I use
a tenon cutter, a hand plane and a spoke-
shave. I don 't like using a lathe for the
turnings because it's noisy and dusty,
Pho tos: Susa n Kahn
and I think using hand too ls makes for
a nicer job . SPECIFICATIONS
I glue up thin strips of che rry in a
DIMENSIONS
bending form to make the roc ker's 30 in. wide, 33 in. deep and 41 in. high.
curv ing crest rail. When the piece
co mes out of the bending form, it is MATERIALS
Cherry and ash.
square in section. Before shaping the
crest rail, I drill the throu gh-mort ises FINISH
for the back spi nd les. Then I use a Oil, citrus thinners and paste wax.
hand plan e to give the co nvex side a
half-round profile.
I make my own oil finish, using lin-
see d oil and citrus thinners. I apply
three coa ts of my oil finish , then rub
on a coat or two of paste wax and send
the chair out into the wo rld.
Composition in contrasts. The author used
cherry for the seat, the arms and the crest rail
of his rocker and ash for the spindles and the
legs because it's strong and easy to hand-tool.
To accentuate the contrast in color, he used
cherry wedges to secure the through-tenons
in the legs and the spindles.
WINTER 1994 79
 Japanese Floor Lamp
BY HARLAN MATHEWS
Rice paper stays tight and can be replaced.
To keep the rice paper flat, the maker glued it
to the inside of the lattice slats, as shown
above . The strips are screwed to the posts so
that they can be easily removed.
Floor lamp has Oriental qualities.
Resembling a Japanese shoji screen, the
author's purpleheart lamp, left, has maple
latticework and rice-paper panels, which
diffuse the light.
80 HOME FURNITURE
t; floor lamp creates a soft back-
ground of light. It is inspired by shoji
- Japanese rice-paper screens that
serve as walls, partitions and sliding
doors. The rice paper acts as a diffus-
ing shade for the light. To create visual
interest, I varied the lattice pattern on
each of the four sides of the lamp.
The legs, reminiscent of tapered
archways common in Japan, were
chosen for their simple yet elegant
lines. Purple heart posts and rails make
up the frame. Wedge-shaped pieces of
purpleheart are laminated at the base
on the two outside faces of each post
to form the flared legs.
The sho ji lattice cons ists of 1/4-in. by
1/2-in. map le slats that interlock to pro-
duce a grid of 4-in. squares. Rice paper
is delicate, and I planned my patterns
to minimize areas where the screen
would be unsupported. I beveled the
ends of the slats where they do not
meet the frame for a finished look.
Where the slats meet the frame, I
notched the inside of the posts and
rails so that the screens sit flat against
the frame. Inside the lamp, sycamore
and maple slats secure the screens .
around the edges and help ho ld the
rice paper taut. I glued. the rice paper
to the lattice to form the screen, then I
screwed the screens into the frame .
They can be removed to rep lace any
torn pieces of rice paper.
Photos: Author
 LAMP ASSEMBLY

I used rice paper because of its Rail

variations in texture and figure , but
/ /
Mylar drafting pap er, whic h is more
unifo rm and durab le, can be used fo r a Lattice slats are
notched into post.
different effect.
~-I-----:>'~---- ,, ----_. _ ..
The light fixture sits on a syca mo re
brace attached to the lower rails of the
frame, high en ough not to be visible. I
used an ene rgy-saving fluoresce nt
light, wh ich emits a so ft, yellow glow
through the rice paper.

Maple and sycamore slats

SPECIFICATIONS around edge of screen inside
lamp hold screen flat .
DIMENSIONS
14 in. wide, 14 in. deep and 41 in. high. Rail
MATERIALS
Purpleheart, maple, sycamore
and rice paper.

FINISH
Watco oiland Watco paste wax.

LATTICE PATTERNS
I I I I I I I I
Side A Side 8 Side C Side D

Tips of shorter slats are beveled 30.

Drawings : Autho r
WINTER 1994 81
 Marble Top Accents
Oak Sideboard
BY GARY I.W. SPYKMAN

Small overhangs didn't look right on

this piece, so the maker took a page from
Prairie-stylearchitecture and made the
overhangs big.

t; sideboard, which also would

serve qu ite we ll as a hall table, was
orig inally made for co nsignme nt in a
gallery featuring decor ative arts and
furniture. But my wife insisted that we
keep it. So now it stands in our living
room, below a qua rtersawn oak wa ll
cab inet I made for her.
Qu artersawn white oa k, the domi-
nant wood of the Arts and Crafts
move ment, was the obvious choice for
this piece. The secondary wood is ash,
used for the drawer guides an d the
drawe r sides . The pulls are made by
Acorn Manu factu ring (457 School St.,
Mansfield , Mass. 02048; 508-339-4500).
I adde d a bottom shelf because the
side board would have look ed to p-
heavy witho ut it. The shelf also is func-
tional, providing storage for table
settings, books, bowls or other decora-
tive items.
To offset the rectilinea r look of the
side board, I added distinct profiles to
the skirtboa rd and the backsplash. The
slightly rounded profile on the skirt-
board was inspired by the designs of
Harvey Ellis, who had worked for Gus-
tav Stickley. Ellis revo lutionized the
Arts and Crafts style by adding flowing,
natural curves to his furniture .

82 HOM E FUR NIT U R E

Quartersawn oak married to marble.
This sideboard combines the traditional
quartersawn white oak of the Arts and Crafts
style with a gleaming Balkan gray marble top.
The backspla sh design is a detail
used in Arts and Crafts architecture, es-
pecially in exterior trim over windows.
What looks like a curve is actually two
lines that intersect in the center, with a
slightly rounded peak.
The top of the sideboard is made of a
wo nderful marbl e called Balkan gray
(see Sources, p. 102). Although it's not
an authentic Arts and Crafts motif, the
Photos: Robert Schellhammer
Straig htforward jo inery m akes sideboard
sturdy. From the dovetailed drawers to the
tenons pinned with ebony, this sideboard is
built to last. Mach ine-cut dovetail s were an
Arts and Crafts standard .
use of marbl e is in keeping with the
spirit behind the furniture of that peri- SPECIFICATIONS
od. Natural materials, such as tile and
MATERIALS
leather, often we re integrated into fur- Quartersawn white oak, ash, ebony
niture designs. The marbl e top looks and Balkan gray marble.
good and makes the side boa rd unique.
The top was made to my spe cifications DIMENSIONS
47 in. long, 18 in. wide and 36 in. high.
by Rob Cimen o , a local marbl e and
granite fabricator. FINISH
Ammonia fuming, linseed oil
and beeswax.
WINTER 1994 83
 A New Perspective
on Old Furniture
The Metropolitan Museum of Art finds
an inspiring way to store and display furniture
BY JONATHAN BINZEN
 A library of furniture. Like the stacks of a
library, open storage in New York City's
Metropolitan Museum encourages browsing
and comparison . Here, an early 20th -century
linen press in elm by Gustav Stickley stan ds
beside two late 18th-century corner
cupboards in pine . The corner cupboard just
to the left of the Stickley cabinet illustrates the
pragmatic approach of Colonial
cabinetmakers toward the parts of a piece
that wouldn't show.

I 've been wre stling with a blanket-
chest design fo r quite a whil e. I had
ripped thro ugh magazines and books
on furniture, lookin g for anything that
might offer an interesting pattern , tex-
ture or structural so lution. But noth ing
sparked until I walked into the Henry
R. Luce Center in the American Wing
of New Yor k City's Metropolitan Muse-
um of Alt .
The Luce Cente r, a publi c storeroo m
for fine an and decorative art, is like an
enormous attic for the Met's American
Wing. In row after row of floo r-to-ceil-
ing cases, you can see eve rything from
teaspoons to tester beds. Some 10,000
objects are on view that wo uld othe r-
wise be locked in deep storage. The
furnit ure section co mma nds about a
third of the facility and includes more
than 500 pieces of furniture .
The third case I look ed into was
brimming with lidd ed ches ts (p ho to
p. 86). There, in fron t of me, were all
the options I'd been mulling over for
my ches t: so lid-plank sides vs. frame-
and-pa ne l with co rner posts; a plinth
base vs. fee t and so me clearance be-
neath; o ne big, o pe n box vs. a box
with a drawer or two below. All were
right in front of me in beautifully exe-
cuted ve rsions. It was a feast of ideas
and inspirati on. What I design proba-
bly wo n' t end up looking exac tly like
any of the ch ests I saw, but I filled a
few notebook pages with drawings of

Photos: Rob ert Marsala

WINTER 1994 85
Arranging by type offers design solutions.
On the left, three variations on the lidded
chest present options in size, construction
and decoration; on the right, four chests
design and construction details, and
of drawers and a pair of writing boxes do
I'm sure some of them will work their
way into my piece.
the same.
The Luce Center is everything that
more formal gallery rooms can 't be.
The unceremonious arrangement of
furniture lets you get close to every
piece, lets you see the guts of some
and gives you views of others from be-
low and from behind. Although label-
ing is minimal, a computer system
offers more information. You can look
up a specific piece by name, by period
or by maker. And though it may look
more like a storeroom than a gallery,
the center is open to the public when-
ever the American Wing is open.
SEEING FURNITURE IN SERIES
Furniture in the Luce Center is
arranged chronologically and by furni-
ture type .Just as one long case houses
86 HO M E FURNITURE
a range of lidded chests , another holds
a dozen or so scroll-back side chairs
from the workshop of the early 19th-
century New York furnituremaker
Duncan Phyfe. The chairs stand front-
to-back, and their proximity lets you
compare the differences and the simi-
larities among them quickly. You can
see in progression, from a lyre back to
a harp back to a lozenge-splat back,
how Phyfe used the same basic skele-
ton and produced quite different
chairs by changing the leg and the
crest rail, as well as the splat (top pho-
to, facing page). Chairs by other mak-
ers in the Phyfe style are included in
the case, so you can compare the
craftsmanship of the real thing to the
imitation. Across the aisle, six Rhode
Island Chippendale chairs stand ear-
to-ear, showing six types of feet. One
aisle over, you 'll find five variations on

Chair legs at eye level let you see details.
These Chippendale chair legs, both made
between 1760 and 1790, are easy to
compare. The leg on the left, in mahogany
with carved acanthus leaves on the knee,
has a claw with retracted talons clutching a
flat-bottomed ball. The leg on the right, in
walnut with simpler carving, has a claw with
less widely spaced talons and a nearly
spherical ball.
Comparing pieces by a single maker. These
scroll-back saber-leg side chairs from Duncan
Phyfe demonstrate how he took a design
through a series of permutations. These
chairs, made between 1805 and 1815 , share
the same structure but show variations in the
splat, the crest rail and the leg.
a cabriole leg. The re is furniture in all
states of repair and at all levels of
craftsmanship, and the mixture makes
the display dynamic.
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
ON CONSTRUCTION
You see the pieces o n lower she lves
from a familiar point of view -just as
you wo uld in any display are a. But up -
per shelves provide a different van-
tage. Seeing pieces there is like having
them on your bench. The lower half of
a piece of furniture is up near eye lev-
el, so the detailing and the wo rkma n-
ship are easy to inspect an d compare.
I'd never closely inspected ball-an d-
claw feet before, for instance, but here
dozen s of them co mpe ted for my at-
tention . I found one ball-and-claw foo t
with a round ball and moderately
spread talons; ano the r, right beside it,
has a flat-bottomed ball, and its talo ns
sprea d far aro und the side of the ball
(p ho to left).
Details hidd en ben eath a piece of
furniture also are in full view. For a fur-
niturem aker, that's irresistible. Look
up , an d yo u can see w hic h way the
gra in runs o n a chair 's corner blocks,
how we ll the blocks are holdin g up or
how a tabletop is fastene d to its frame.
Fro m be low, yo u can ins pect how
drawers we re hun g. The dressing tab le
in the top ph oto on p. 88, with a wid e,
shallow drawer between two narrow-
er, deep er ones , has high and low run -
ne rs ten o ned into the front and back
aprons. The maker left a gap between
the o utside run ners and the side
aprons, pr esumably to keep the run -
ners fro m showing th rou gh the high
scallop in the side apron. On the same
piece , you ca n see that the elegant
WIN T E R 1 9 94 87

It's rough around back. The Colonial
craftsman's priorities are obvious when his
work is seen from behind: He didn't fret over
something that wouldn't be seen. This rare
clapboard back and rough frieze molding are
on the unseen side of a 17th-century kast, or
wardrobe, that is finely painted on the sides
and the front.
88 HOME FURNI TURE
The view from below is eye-opening. This
Queen Anne dressing table stands on an
upper shelf, inviting a view of its underside
and the arrangement of its drawer
dividers and runners. The difficulty of
applying a decorative bead along the radical
curves of the scalloped apron is evident from
the number of nails the maker used.
bead mo lding following the tight
curves of the sca llope d apron was
mad e by nailing a narrow strip to the
apron's bottom edge. From above, the
molding follows the scallops flawless-
ly, as if it had been carved right out of
the apron. But fro m below, you see
that the strip doesn 't even cover the
thickness of the apron an d was frac-
tured in many places whe n it was bent
and nailed in place. That kind of infor-
mation is usu ally hard to co me by in
furnitur e books and styled displays.
A CASE FOR SEEING THE BACK
Most of the furniture cases in the Luce
Center are deep eno ugh to hold pieces
on both sides, but several are shal-
low-onl y o ne piece deep-and yo u
can see eac h piece from the back as
well as from the front. Positioning my-
self behind the Gustav Stickley linen
press in the ph oto o n p. 84, I was sur-
prised to find it had a back co mposed
of ton gu e-and-groove boards, each
finish-n ailed in place.
In the same case I found that a bea u-
tifully painted 17th-century kast, or
large wardrobe, had a very rough , un-
painted clapboard back, so met hing I
had never see n befo re (bottom photo,
left). Knobby-headed cleat nails pene-
trate adjace nt pairs of boards where
they ove rlap. At the lower ends, the
clapboard s run past the case bottom
and we ren' t cut off eve nly-anyw here
within a co uple inc hes of whe re its
nei ghbor ende d was OK, evidently.
And wh o's to argue? Will anyt hing I
make hold up as lon g?
From behind you also can often see
the exact cross section of moldings that
wrap the front and sides of a piece and
the way a co mplex molding was built
up out of seve ral smaller mold ings.
WHAT'S UNDER THE
UPHOLSTERY?
A number of the upholstered pieces in
the Luce Center are stripped, so you
can see just how they were pu t togeth -
er and how they've been re paired.
One Philad elphia came lback sofa
strippe d to its frame really opened my
eyes . I was asto nishe d to see the
rou gh , pieced-togeth er co nstruction
that underlies one of the most graceful
fo rms in furniture (photo facing page ).
The back of the sofa was made as a
se parate, re movable frame , and the
stre tchers are significantly bowed to
allow the seat to sag in use. On several
chai rs stripped of their upho lstery, I
noticed that the outside co rne r on the
top of their front legs was left high .
These horn s, I learn ed, we re left to aid
the upholsterer in securing the seat.
It surprised me how perforated many
of these pieces are from reupholster-
ing. But the holes can be instructive.
One balloo n-frame side chair stripped
of upholste ry bears a pattern on its
front rail of holes ringed with stipples.
Amid the anarc hy of other nail holes,
these ringed holes show a series of in-
verted arc hes across the fro nt of the
chair: the swag pattern of the origina l
up holsterer 's brass finish tacks.

ONE -OF -A -KIND PIECES

In creating period-room displays in the
reg ular ga llery, curato rs may select a
particular piece becau se it matches or
complements othe r pieces o n display.
If nothing matches a particular piece, it
may remain in storage, and the public
wo uldn't see it. Atthe Luce Center, you
can. One ge m on the she lves is Samue l
Gragg's curve d-back "elastic chair" of
1808, one of o nly a few extant ex am-
ples of this strikingly mod ern-l ooking
chai r. Gragg was a pion eer in bent-
wood furn iture, and his chai rs are a
touchstone of the ge nre . I'd seen ph o-
tos of his chairs , but I was n't prep ared
for the playful painted fringe of foliage
Coarse work underlies smooth fabric.
or fur at the tops of the legs and at the
Stripped of its upholstery, th is Philadelphia
ankles just above the chair's mod est
camelback sofa demonstrates a split
goat's hoof feet.
um has set up co mputer term inals co n- personality. The fluted mahogany legs and
Othe r pieces in the Luce Center add
information about related exa mples nected to a database listin g all of the stretchers are shaped and finished to a high
that are o n display in the galleries and objects in the mu seum's Americ an polish while the poplar and pine railsand
in the period roo ms. For exa mple, an wing. You key in the referen ce number frame are shaped strictly for function.
innovative sofa by Geo rge Hunzinger, a of that elegant lyre-back side chair
furniture maker who immigrated from with the fluted sabe r legs, for instance,
Germany to Brooklyn in the 1850s, is and in a few sec onds you know its
on display in one of the galleries, and a overall dimensions and its history. In
chair in the same vein is in the Luce many cases, you're provided with par-
Center. Both pieces use slim, co tto n- ticulars about a maker or a style.
covere d steel bancls in place of springs I'm easily outfoxe d by co mpute rs, so
and cushions. The beautiful grid crea t- it wasn' t my first impulse to cozy up to
ed by the cross ing bands is evide nt in the ones in the Luce Cent er. But after I
the gallery, but only in the Luce Center spent five minut es pecking away, I was
can you see, as you look up at the chair hook ed . The adde d information the
from be low, exac tly how the ba nds co mpute rs p rovided was useful , but
were attached to the seat. the stro nges t ince ntive for using them
is the mobility they give you. You can
SLEUTHING WITH A COMPUTER becom e yo ur own cura to r, followin g
The Luce Cente r's format was very re- your own path throu gh the co llection.
freshing, but there were times whe n I If you find so me thing yo u like, yo u
wa nted mo re infor mation than was key in its mak er and loc ate othe r
provide d on the rudimentary lab els. pieces by the same hand.
The museum dispenses with more in-
volved identification to strea mline the Jonathan Binzen is assistant editor at
system. But for the curious, the muse- Home Furniture.

WIN T E R 1 9 9 4 89
 Designing for Success
Self-taught furnituremaker Anthony Kahn
moves from craft fair to gallery
BY JIM TOLPIN

A successful shop far from the city. Anthony

Kahn' s decision to live in a small community
in northern Californ ia hasn' t slow ed a thriving
furn iture business.

90 HOM E FUR NI T U R E

a nthOny Kahn makes furniture in
Arcata, California, a small town 250
miles north of San Franci sco. That
see ms unremarkable enough until you
co nside r that Kahn makes an exce p-
tionally good living creating fine furni-
ture for custo mers up to 2,000 miles
away. He has done so with increasing
success since 1979, and he now sells
an ave rage of 65 pie ce s of furniture
a year. Kahn has a few secrets: an
un failing ability to produce durable
and appea ling pieces of furnitur e effi-
cie ntly an d an un canny ability to de-
sign furniture even for fussy clients.
It's what o ne ga llery o wne r calls the
"Kahn Phe no meno n."
EARLY SUCCESS AFTER
A CRASH EDUCATION
On the day he decided to leave hou se
construction and borrow woodwork-
ing space from the accomplished fur-
nituremaker Joseph Amaral, Kahn
Photos: J. Patrick Cudahy
made these commitments: to make fur-
niture a full-tim e living; to work for
himself and build his own desig ns; and
to make decent mo ney. He refused to
let his lack of professional woodwork-
ing experience stop him.
Kahn learned from Amaral and read
voraciously, then taught himself how
to design and build furniture . By the
time of the first local craft fair of the
seaso n, he had made several small end
tables in white oak and a chest of
drawers. Not only did the pieces sell at
the fair, but he also took an order for a
large armo ire.
Although he had barely begun, Kahn
felt the exhilaratio n of instant success.
He was making furnitur e full-time (and
then some), he was working for him-
self, and he was building his own de-
signs. Unfo rtunately, reality settled in
along with the bills at the end of the
month. Kahn realized he was working
for peanuts.
Lena dressing table. Curly maple and
ebony; 22 in. deep, 40Y2 in. long
and 29 Y2 in. high.
WORKING SMARTER
AND HARDER
Kahn suspected that the easie st way
ou t-raising prices-wasn't going to
do the trick. He sensed that his market
on the nort h coast of California, sepa-
rated from urban centers by a 250-mile
wide "redwood curtain," could not ful-
ly underwrite a fine furnituremaker.
Kahn knew he had to learn how to
make furniture faster without compro-
mising quality or style.
It did not co me easy. "I found 1had to
give absolute disciplin e to the work it-
self, in the earl y days sp ending un -
counted hours getting every line of the
piece right visua lly and working o ut
the kink s in each phase of the co n-
struction procedures." Rath er than
making each piec e of furniture more
complex and more difficult, Kahn
soon learned he had to simplify his
de signs and streamline construction.
It paid off. "To my delight, the be st-
WINTER 1994 91

Pacific dresser. Quilted maple and bubinga;
16 in. deep, 28 in. w ide and 42 in. high .
selling pieces were most often those
with simple lines, subtle detailing and
straightforward joinery-the easiest
pieces to build."
As certain styles and types of furni -
ture began to dominate his output, it
dawned on Kahn that he could be
more efficient and perhaps save some
money on materials by making more
than one "one-of-a-kind " piece at a
time. For him, a limited-production run
means three or less. "Up to three,"
Kahn says, "the quality see ms to actu-
92 HOM E FUR NIT U R E
ally inc rease with eac h successive
piece. I'm ab le to refine so me of the
mor e sub tle design ele ments and im-
prove my hand work as I go along. But
I rare ly see much imp rovement in a
fourth piece, pe rhaps because I simply
lose interest."
When a design seems to have a good
potenti al for findin g more than one
bu yer, Kahn takes the time to make
layout patterns and route r templates.
"Besides saving me an eno rmo us
amo unt of production time during
co nstruc tion, the patt ern s provide a
permanent record of the piece of fur-
nitu re. Down the road I often look at
the patt erns and see ways to further
evo lve and refine the design."
ASSISTANTS ALLOW HIM
MORE TIME TO DESIGN
Within his first yea r as a profession al
furniturem aker, Kahn realized that it
was going to be impossible, wo rking
alon e, to meet the steadily increasing
demand for his furniture. He found he
cou ld keep prices down by hiring peo-
ple to do less-demanding tasks such
as sanding and applying finishes.
"With sanding and finishing taken care
of, I devoted my time to developing
de signs, des igning and ope rating the
more complex production pro cesses
and de aling with my clientel e."
Kahn's sho p soon became popul ated
with local college stude nts wo rking
part-time. Then he hired a full-time
furnitur emaking assis ta nt, Geoff
Gahm. Kahn now finds his skilled
cowork er indispe nsable. Gahm gives
Kahn even more time to devote to his
craft and to his busin ess.
FROM CRAFT FAIRS
TO GALLERIES
After several years of selling furniture
through local craft fairs, Kahn realized
it wo uldn 't take long to saturate this
small market. To reach farth er afield,
he submitted photographs of his work
to American Craft Enterprises (ACE),
hoping to get into its annual trade
show at the Pacific States Crafts Fair in
San Francisco . His work was accepted ,
and Kahn's attendance at that and sub-
se que nt ACE sho ws was the catalyst
for success.
Unlike those wh o simply walked
throu gh the local craft fairs near Kahn's
hom e, attendees of region al trade
sho ws aren' t there on a whim. Many
are buyers and sco uts for fine art gal-
leries and fine craft galleries from
across the country. At that first show,
seve ral representatives requested one
of Kahn's pieces.
 Today, ga llery sa les an d ga lle ry-
genera ted commissions comprise the
bulk of Kahn's market. Because these
ou tlets are widely scattered aro und
the cou ntry, overall sales tend to re-
main stea dy. While sales may be de-
pressed in one area , they may be
unaffected in ano ther. Even though
he's no lon ger tied to the eco no my of
his small hom etown, Kahn still can
continue to enjoy its low overhead and
relaxed lifestyle.
Spindleback chair. Curly maple with ebony
DEFINING THE tenon wedges; 24 in. deep, 26 in. wide and
KAHN PHENOMENON 42 in. high .
Kahn has succ ee de d bec ause he was
able to hon e his business skills as well Steiner desk. California and eastern walnut
as his furniture designs. Dealing with with ebony pulls; 42 in. deep, 84 in. long
gallery ow ners is a key part of the mix. and 29Y2 in. high.
Bill Zimmer of Gallery Fair in Mendo-
cino, California, recalled a story when
descri bing his dealings with Kahn.
"Some years ago I had a co uple
come in here looking for a desk. They
didn 't know what kind of desk, what
kind of style, what kind of wood-or at
least they weren' t capa ble of telling
me. In no un certain terms, they in-
formed me that nothing on my floor
and not hing in my artist's portfolios
would suit them.
"Remembering that Anthony liked to
do commissioned wo rk, I decided to
sic them on him , though I didn't har-
bor a w hole lot of hope that much
would come of it.To my astonishm ent ,
within a week Anthon y had figured
out just what these people wanted. He
had come up with a mutu ally acce pt-
able design (for twice the mon ey they
told me they wanted to spe nd, by the
way) and was alrea dy cutting up the
wood. Whe n all was said and done, Elsa Latini, owner of The Gallery of ny's designs are so appealing, without
the couple was ecstatic with the piece, Fine Woodworking in Sausa lito , Cali- being trendy or artsy, is immensel y
and by association, with my gallery. fornia, credits Kah n's success to his he lpful to us in selling his work. " Latini
Enjoying the pleasure of a satisfied style of doing business. "Anthony earns also appreciates Kahn 's integrity in
customer and taking in a percentage of his success, always goi ng forth in a paying her commission on any gal-
the commissio n: What mo re co uld a positive manne r and always being a lery-ge ne rated work, even if a client
gallery ow ne r hope for? I've co me to professional. His ph on e calls, follow - may have only seen a piece on the
rely on Anthony to come through with up letters and clear co nce pt drawings, floor and contacted Kahn direct ly.
even the most off-the -wall clients and all very profession ally don e, instill our
projects. It's the Kahn Phen om en on clients with co nfide nce and co mmit- Jim To/pin is a writer and cabinetmaker in Port
at work!" ment. Of co urse, the fact that Antho - Townsend, Wash.

WIN TE R 1 9 9 4 93
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WI N T E R 1 9 9 4 95
. how they
did it

Some furnituremakers have developed unusu- After two hours of stea ming, I sprang back, it was just right. After
al or innovative techniques that are important removed the splat and clam ped it overnight clamping in the form , the
to the success of th eir projects. When we spot imme diately in a form made from sp lats wer e read y for carving. I could
such an approach, we'll share it with you in
this column. If you have comments or sugges-
2x6s. The radius on the form was do one splat at a time , so the bending
tions on techniqu es you 've read about here or tighter than what I wanted on the for all four chairs took four eve nings.
elsewhere in th e maga zine, let us know. Send finished splat to allow for a little -Rob Wiggenhorn
your comm ents to How They Did It, Home spri ngback after the wood came out
Furniture, The Taunton Press, P. O. Box 5506,
of the form. The deflection on eac h FUMING OAK WITH AMMONIA
Newtown, Conn. 064 70-5506.
finishe d sp lat neede d to be 112 in., so I White oak has a yellowish hue, which
cut out the 2x6s for the form with a can be compounded by applying a
A SIMPLE STEAM BOX deflection of 7/ 8 in. Whe n the wood clear top coat. To diminish this effect
I decided to steam-bend the bac k
sp lats of my Chippendale chairs (see
p. 50), rather than make the sp lats
from glued-up laminatio ns, because I STEAM BOX FROM STOVEPIPE
didn't wa nt layers of wood to show in
Removable 2x4
the relief carving. The splats we re
wooden end p lug
made from 1/2-in. thick wa lnut. I cut
o ut the profile before putting the
splats in my shop-ma de steam box,
Back splat
but I didn 't do any carving until later.
The steam box was easy to make.
The box itself is a sec tion of sheet-
meta l stove pipe that I fo rced into a
rectangular shape with the help of 2x4
plugs at eac h end (drawing right). I
also needed a good gas camp stove,
two new l -gal, paint cans, one with a
lid, and about 6 ft. of %-in. dia. PVC
pipe . The lid has a hole in the top for
the PVC pipe and goes on the paint
can over the cam p stove . The pipe
sho uld fit snugly.
Drain tube
Inside the box, the chair splat reste d
on two 112-in. thick blocks so that
Water level New paint
steam co uld flow freely aro und the
can with hole
wood. The steam-inlet end of the box cut in lid
was propped up slightly to allow
water condensing inside the box to
dra in down to the other en d. Duct
tape keeps the box from leaking
stea m, and I added water periodically
to the can over the camp stove.

Draw ings. Mich ae l Gella tly

96 HOME FURN I TURE
on the plate rack shown o n p. 48, I
exposed the piece to ammo nia vapo rs
before applying any finish. If you try
this techni que, use extreme caution .
The aqueo us ammonia I used is 28%
pure, far stronger than househ old
ammonia, so use rubber gloves, eye
protectio n and an ammo nia cartridge
in a resp irator. Work outside or in an
area with good ventilation.
Before fuming your finished piece,
experiment with a few scraps of wood
from your pro ject. Enclose the scraps
inside an airtight co ntaine r or a plastic
tent. Then add aqueous ammo nia to a
clean glass dish and place the dish
inside the chambe r. Fuming with
ammonia can lead to a variety of
results, depending on the durati on of
exposure and the tannic-acid conte nt
of the material. The plate rack, for
example, was exposed to ammo nia
fumes for only three minutes. This is a
very short exposure time, and you' ll
have to use trial and error to achieve
the effect you're looking for. As you
experi ment, co mpare a scrap from the
chamber with a sample of the same
wood that isn't be ing fumed.
The ob ject to be fumed should be
enclosed in the chamber after finish
sanding . To prevent uneven co lor
changes in the wood, the tent material
should not touch the finished piece.
And don 't put metal ob jects inside the
chamber because metal will discolor
the wo rk whe n it's exposed to
ammo nia. If you've wo rked with scrap
material first, you' ll know just how
long to leave your piece inside the
chamber for the desired result.
When you' re don e, you can carefully
pour the ammonia back into its
original container. Soak the dish in
water and then wash it with soap and A CHECKERBOARD
water. To locate a so urce for this FROM VENEER
powerful stuff, check with chemical-
supply hou ses in your area. Most STRIPS OF CONTRASTING VENEERS
blueprint sho ps also use ammo nia and
may be willing to sell you some.
-Michael Hamilton
MAKING A VENEERED
CHESS BOARD
The checke rboard patt ern in the top
of my gaming table (see p. 60) is made
of contrasting veneers of walnut and
madrone that are glue d to a solid
mahogany substrate and then banded ASSEMBLED STRIPS GLUED
with more veneer. Working with TO BACKER
individual squares of ve neer would
have been difficult and may not have
produced the result I wanted. So I
devised a way of gluing up the top in
stages, working with strips of veneer
to make larger and more manageable
pieces (drawing right).
To cut the squares , I made a simpl e
template out of a piece of hardwood
cut to the desired width of the squares.
CROSSCUT ROWS OF VENEER
The template must have straight and
parallel sides. The template is clamped
ove r the veneer sheet to be cut.
Venee r strips are cut precisely with a
venee r saw by using both sides of the
template as a cutting guid e. This
produces long ven eer strips of
uniform width.
Strips of venee r are alternated (o ne STAGGERED AND
strip of wa lnut, then a strip of REASSEMBLED ROWS
mad ron e and so forth ) and glued to a
ven eer backer, which is a seco nd layer
of qu artersawn walnut veneer. The
two layers of vene er are glued
togeth er with the grain in opposite
directions, which minimiz es checking
WIN T E R 1 9 9 4 97
 how they did it (continued)
in the top layer of veneer. Once the
glue has dried, I use my template
again and cut strips in the other
direction, across the grain . By
staggering these strips by one square,
I create the checkerboard pattern.
The strips are taped together and
glued to the substrate. After
completing the surface, I squared and
trimmed the top with a router and a
straight guide, using the checkerboard
face for alignment.
The checkerboard top is surrounded
by a border of walnut burl veneer,
which is also glued to a layer of
backer veneer, and the edges of the
top are banded with veneer. I cut
rabbets on the upper and lower edges
of the top for boxwood strips . After
allowing the surfaces to dry for at least
24 hours, I leveled the top with a
hand-held cabinet scraper and sanded
. A N ADJUSTABLE FENCE FOR CUTTING COVES
Table saw
Workpiece
98 HOM E FUR NIT U R E
with a cork block, starting with 150
grit and ending at 220 grit. Don' t
forget to veneer the bottom side of the
tabletop to balance the forces that are
exerted on the substrate.
-Gregory Guenther
A TABLE -SAW JIG
FOR CUTTING COVES
The hanging wall cabinet I designed
(see p. 41) is reminiscent of the Prairie
school of architecture and the work of
Frank Lloyd Wright. One element that
gives the cabinet that feel is the broad
crown molding. I cut the cove on my
table saw using an adjustable jig.
The design for this eminently simple
jig grew out of a system I had devised
for Clttaching featherboards to my
table saw. The jig consists of a board
with a 12-in. wide slot cut down the
midd le. This fence is held tight against
Fence with
Ih-in. slot
Washer
%-in. bolt
brazed to
washer _==----limm::=~;::;::::::=~llIL---..L.
Table-saw -------t~+-----
top
I
l- in. washJ I
ground to fit
T-slot in table I,
the table by two %-in. bolts that grip
the T-slots milled in the top of my
table saw (drawing below) The jig
makes it easy to adjust the angle at
which stock is cut, and the bolts
ens ure that the jig won 't move during
cutting. If your table has square slots
instead ofT-slots, you could attach the
jig with the same kind of expanding
plugs that hold down featherboards.
Or you could make your own
expansion plugs from wood or
aluminum stock that is split so that it
widens as a screw is inserted.
Coves are created by running stock
over the saw blade at an angle . A cross
section of a cylinder at an angle
greater or lesser than perpendicular to
the vertical axis will appear as an oval.
This means that if you run the stock
perpendicular to the blade (or parallel
to the shaft), you will get a section of a
Fence
 how they did it (continued)
circle. At an ang le, o ut of para llel with
the shaft, the sec tion will be ova l. The
shape of the cove can be varied by
adjusting this angle. You can use
different -size blad es to put a tighter
curve in a smaller area .
-Matt Kirby
MAKING A HALF-DOME
FROM SQUARE STOCK
The blank fo r the carved she ll in the
cabi ne t pictu red on p. 38 is made by
stac king co nce ntric half-rings, eac h
with a progressively smaller diameter.
The inside steps of this half-do me
struc ture are then reduced to a
spherical surface on which the flutes
can be drawn and carved. I used
basswood because it has excellent
carving qu alities. Rou ghly 42 bd . ft. of
8/ 4 stoc k we nt into the she ll.
Before drawing the ring profiles, I
drew the front view of the shell
co mplete with carved flutes. I drew an
arc just outside the flutes to indicate
the ope ning in the cab inet and the
visible portion of the she ll. The end of
eac h rib between flutes represented
the inside radius of the she ll, 15 11z in.
The n I d rew the side view of eac h
ring (d rawing above). The top inside
edge of eac h ring was placed o n the
arc. The location of the outside edge
of the ring was n' t imp o rtant as lon g as
the re was eno ugh surface contact for
eac h ring to be screwed and glued to
the one be low it. It took 10 rings to
co mplete the half-dom e. By arrangi ng
the half-rings carefully, I co uld ge t all
but o ne of them from a single glued-
up plank 17 % in. wide by 102 in. lon g.
The rings were carefully aligned,
clampe d and drilled in pairs before
100 HOME FURNI TUR E
GLUING UP
A CABINET SHELL
SECTION OF SHELL 4/4 face fram e
Radius of shell
75 '/2 in.
I workpiece to rest on . The support is a
I
t 7'l's in.
~ inches wide , with its top face beveled
~ Concentric half-rings glue d
and screwed together
gluing all of them togeth er. Once the
glue had dried , I rem oved the screws,
turned the asse mbly up side down and
clamped it to my ben ch. To rough out
the inside of the shell and remove the
stair-step pattern , I used a rotary
chainsaw attachme nt on my grinder.
To smooth the inside of the she ll, I
made a sanding block by mounting a
12-in. wood disk on the lathe and
turning a spherica l surface with a
rad ius slightly tighter that the one on
the she ll. I glue d 40-grit cloth sanding
strips 2 in. wide to the surface, leaving
l/ s in. between strips for dust removal.
After an hou r of stren uo us sanding ,
the she ll was smooth inside.
- Mark Stebbins
ANGLED TENONS ON
THE SHAPER
Cutting angled ten on s o n the table
saw is a headache. I find it much
eas ier to cut angled tenons on the
shaper. Using a pair of shaper cutters
shimmed apart by the thickness of the
ten on , I can cut both cheeks in one
pass. That's the process used for the
chairs pictured on p. 34.
I make the cut with the workpi ece
clamped to the shaper's sled. The hard
part is locating and securing the
wo rkpiece in just the right place. I
accomplish this by hot-gluing an
ang led support to the sled for the
block 6 in. lo ng or so and several
to match the tenon ang le. When
making the chair, I ripped the 10
bevel on the support block with the
table saw just after crossc utting the
apro ns to len gth , so I knew the angle
wo uld be correct.
Before gluing the suppo rt block in
place, I clamp a scrap to the shaper's
infeed fen ce well away from the
cutters to act as an end stop for the
wo rkpiece. The front face of the scrap
piece is set back from the plane of the
cut by the len gth of the ten on . With
the sled's fence set at 90, I move the
suppo rt block until the wo rkpiece lies
flat agains t it, with one end butted
agai nst the scrap piece. Then I glue
the support block to the sled. Once
I've set up the support block, I can cut
the ten ons without any further
adjustme nts. I clamp the workpiece in
place with a cam clamp directly above
the support block and a C-clamp
somewhere along the sled's fence . To
minimize tearout , I score the
shoulde rs with a marking gauge and a
razor knife befo re cutting the ten ons.
- Scott Conrad
Embossed Wood Mouldings and
Carvings from Victorian Dies, Eliminate Hand
Homemade in the
Early 1900's Sanding, Sawing
We emboss on birchor your choice of oak,
walnut, cherry, mahogany, or pine. We also
Scraping &
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Rt2 Box40B
Imperial, NE 69033
(308)882-4873
(800)621-3992
FAX (308)882-5507

READE RSERVICENO. 70

~~~~~~!!!!!!!!HARDWARE

Reproduction Brass and Iron Hardware

Lighting Fixtures Fireplace Accessories
Furniture Hardware Builder's Hardware

Call or write for details or

send $7.00 for our 108 pag e
catalog. (Catalog purchase 463W. Lincoln Highway ' Exton. PA19341
refund ed on tst orde r.) Phone: 610-363-7330 ' Fax: 610-363-7639
Please say you saw this ad inHomeFurniture. Orders: 1-800-257-3711

READ ERSERVICENO. 27 With the Fein " Tr ia n gl e " Sander, time consuming,
s or efi n g er, bloody knucklesanding, sawing, scraping
and polishing are a thing of the pa st.
Ima gin e u sing a p ow er tool t o san d all t hose areas
The Tool That Your where before, yo u had to f ol d up a p iece of paper
and " fi n g er san d ." Wi th the F ein " Tria ngle"
Workshop Needs ... Sander, y ou ca n sa n d r ight up to, into a n d along
ed ge s & corners witho u t dulling the edge or
altering t he prof il e. Plus , th e F ein S ander won 't
With 208 pages of full-color, our Free Catalog is the biggest r un away fro m or b ounce off of the edge li ne .
in the business. Wealso think it's the best. But It Will Do More Than Ju st Sand
We have the high quality woodworking suppliesand rools You can r emov e t he triangle p ad and re p la ce it with
that are nearly impossible ro find anymore. Everything from a speci a l circ u lar saw blade . The saw blad e is on ly
traditional old-style hand planesand saws ro the very latest 1/32" t hi ck , a nd perfect fo r deta il wor k . Beca u s e
in power rools and accessories. We've got Precision Measur- the tool osc illa tes t he blade w on 't cut yo ur s ki n!
ing rools, Chisels, Carving rools, Turning rools, Sharpening NEW Scraper Blade
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and much more. from tiles & r ugs . It cuts t h r ough old harden ed
Send us a POSt cardor letter with ca u l k . You won 't h a v e to t ape yo ur knu ckles t o
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address below. Or Call roll-free NEW Polishing Pad
800-221-2942 ro receive your P ut a mi r r or p olish on chr ome , buff a lo ng edges
Free 1225 Garrett Wade Catalog. a n d into co r ners . . vy ou n ame it and the F ein
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P olishing P ad w ill put a shine on i t.
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NEW Sanding "Fingers"
New Yotk, NY 10013 Sma ll exten d ed p ads r each into the t i gh t est of
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It's easy to get more
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And It's Free, (800)441-9878
FEIN Power Tools Inc .
From Garrett Wade 3019 W. Carson St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15204
READER SERVICE NO. 71 READER SERVICE NO. 37

WIN T E R 1 9 9 4 101
 sources
HOW TO FIND MARBLE
If you want to incorporate
marble into a furniture
project, start by locating a
stone fabricator in your
area. They're listed in the
phone book's yellow pages
under "marb le- natu ral."
According to Rob Cimeno,
who fabricated the marble
top for Gary Spykman's
oak sideboard (see pp. 82,
83), you may find it most
convenient to work with a
small shop. A small shop
often can give more
attention to your piece of
stone and work with you
to shape the marble to
match the furniture. Local
tile shops and kitchen
cabinetmakers will
probably be able to
Numerous edge profiles can be
fabricated using spe cial stone-
sha ping rout er bits th at are made
of d iamond-impregnated metal.
To polish the rough edges of
cut marble, a fabricator uses a
g rinder and abrasive disks.
102 HOM E FURNITURE
recommend a small
fabricating shop.
Fabricators often have
remnants of stone from
previous jobs that might
be suitable for small
projects, and they can
locate slabs of specific
types of marble if you are
doing a larger project.
Although we often
associate marble with Italy,
it in fact comes from every
continent in the world. The
various colors and textures
reflect its diverse origins.
After marble is quarried, it
is cut into slabs, usually
measuring 5 ft. by 10 ft.,
and shipped to
wholesalers, most of which
are located near port cities,
such as New York and
Boston. These wholesalers
then sell the marble to local
retailers and fabricators .
Like wood, marble can be
cut to almost any shape .
Numerous edge profiles
are available, from a square
Marble is available in many colors and textures from quarries all
over the world: (1) Ita lian Breccia Classic, (2) Spanish Crema MartH,
(3) Pe rsian Tea Rose and (4) Turkish lilias. Other types of stone with
different textures, such as g ranites or Verde Pietra limestone (5), also
can be fabricated and incorp orated into furniture projects.
edge to a 1/4-in. bevel, $200 per sq . ft., depending
a bullnose or an ogee. on the quality of the stone
Marble is available in two and the complexity of the
standard thicknesses, % in. shaping and edge profile.
and 1'/4in. The %-in.
marble weighs roughly BUYING VENEER
10 lb. to 12 lb. per sq. ft., The following companies
depending on the density offer a variety of veneers,
of the stone, and 1 1/4-in. including the walnut burl ,
stock weighs about 20 lb. rnadrone and maple that
to 22 lb. per sq. ft. There is Gregory Guenther used on
no set formula for pricing his chess table (see pp. 60-
marble, but 62). All sell by mail.
the cost is Veneers range in cost from
usually based 50 to $8 per sq. ft.
on the cost of A&M Wood Specialty,
the stone plus Inc., Box 32040,
labor costs for Cambridge, Ont., Canada
cutting, edge N3H 5M2; (519) 653-9322.
work and Sells 120 species; price list
polishing. For on request.
finished Certainly Wood, 11753
marble, Big Tree Road, E. Aurora ,
expect to pa y N. y. 14052; (716) 655-0206.
from $45 to Sells 135 species; free
more than catalog available.
Photos this pag e: Sco u Gibson
 YOUR CRAFT DESERVES
OUR CRAFTSMANSHIP.

n ou ca n feel th e purr fro m th e
moment you turn it on - but
you wo n't hear it! Heavy cast
iro n construction a nd a timber bed
absorb a ll vibration an d noise.
This is no ordinary lath e!
We've refin ed the woodturning
lat hes of yesterday by blending th eir
finest design qu alities wi th mod ern
a lloys a nd pr ecision man ufac turing .
The resul t is a rob ust but elega n t 16"
lathe wh ose bed len gth is unlimited .
Gua ra ntee d to please a nd com ple me nt
the craft of eve n th e m ost discerning
of cra ftsmen .
The Cono ver La th e. A lon g
tradition of pride in Ame rica n-made
quality. Call for your fre e catalogue .
1:CoNOVER
800-433-5221
P.O. Box418 7785 Mentor Ave., Mentor, OH 44060
FAX 216-942-6790
FISCHER
GlASSWhy use ordinary glass?
Imagine a glass pallet of over 500 colors of
authentic German blown glass ranging from
textured clears , delicate opals to vibrant, rich
colors to enhance any door , window or cabinet.
A.C. Fischer RealAntique Glass Isentirely mouth-blown
and fashionedby hand. This 1000 year old process gives
A.C. Fischer Glassthe unique optical quality, clarity and
depth of color that a machine-made process can never
match. Eachsheet contains provocativeelements ofcolor
and textural variations seen only in real antique glass.
With it's distinctive surfaceappearancesandcolors,A.C.
Fischer Glass is the finest available lor use in any glass
application, whether it beauthenticrestoration, remodel
or contemporary to modern architecturalsettings.
Send $7 for a catalog and two 4"x 5" framed
samples of glass . VISA and Me accepted.
800 -996-3939
C&R LOO, IN C.
1085 Essex Ave. Richmond . CA 9480 1

READER SERVICE NO. 182 READER SERVICENO. 9

For woodworkers SolvingDifficult

short on time ' Sawing'Problemsl
The newDURAIlNE ill -A(f
is your answer tocutting Low
Pressure Laminates
andPly Veneer.
Eliminate ragged
& chipped out
bottom edges!
Special Sale Price
10" Diameter only Horton Brasses, Inc.
list SALE mfrsof
$207 $159 antiq ue reproduction
Mosl otherpopularsizesavailable.
Queen Anne New Tooth DesignStops BoUom Chipping Allowing furniture hardware
PorringerTable $198 for Faster Feed
Originalat the Extra-Durable Super Abrasive-Resistant CarbideTips
She/bume M useum, Increase Bladelife and ReduceMachineDowntime
Longer Bladelife ImprovesLaborEfficiencyand OIlers simply the best
Inventory Savings
Winds or Chairs, Harves t Tables,
With today's increasingly difficult-to-cut always in stock
Chippendale Chests , Armoires, materials, you need DURAllNE m -A(f blades
4-Posters , much more. Affordable, to make perfect cuts, improve efficiency
precision cut, finish sanded , and realize cost savings.
ther lines of blades are available to perfectly cut: solid
Horton Brasses, Inc.
premium che rry, maple , clear pine
oak and pine, solid surface material s, aluminum and
kits or custom finished. plastic of all kinds.
Nooks Hill Rd.

Yjolw&reb Yjolmuok m ;@1 (8~~! Zv~~;?a~ 1 1

Callto order a blade
or for more information
PO Box 120, dept. HF
Cromwell, CT 06416
J
32-page color catalog, $3.00 MANUFACTURING COMPANY , INC. Clifton, NJ 07014 203-635-4400 catalog: $4.00
CA,A..NJ, NY,PAR ..-ls"..... (201)4 73-5236
1-800-288-2389 Dept. 714K ... s......"."'" Fax (201) 471-3333
READER SERVICENO. 302 READER SERVICE NO. 29 READERSERVICE NO. 401

W I N T ER 1 9 9 4 103
 sources (continued)
Constantine's, 2050
Eastches ter Road , Bronx,
N. y. 10461; (800) 223-8087.
Sells 130 species; two -year
catalog subsc ription
available for $1.
Wood Shed, 1807
Elmwood Ave., Buffalo,
N. y. 14207-2492; (716) 876-
4719. Sells more than 200
species; free catalog
available.
WHERE TO FIND
BUTTON LAC
Button lac is the darke st
and least-refined of the
four grades of shellac.
Many yea rs ago this
unrefined she llac was
so ld in so lid drop s that
resembled button s, hen ce
the name button lac. Like
other form s of shellac,
butto n lac is dissolved in
alco ho l for use as a sea ler
or finish top coat. Button lac
is not co mmo nly used and
can be very difficult to find
be cause , accor ding to
furniture-maker Mario
Rodriqu ez (see pp. 52, 53),
toda y's woodwo rkers are
enamored with the look
of natural wood and
therefore are mo re
interested in water-clea r
finishes and more refined
grades of shellac. Button
lac, which imp arts a darker
color to the wood than
more refined grades , is a
good choice for restorers
who are trying to match
104 HOME FURNITURE
the dark-brown co lor of
older pieces. Button lac can
still be bought in the older
button form in 4-oz., 8-oz.,
I-lb. and 5-lb. qu antities
from Woodfinishing
Enterprises, 1729 N. 68th
St., Wauwatosa, Wis. 53213;
(414) 774-1724; free catalog
available. Most button lac
tod ay, though, is found in
flake form, which
woodworkers may find
more co nvenient than
butt on form be cause the
flake s dissolve much more
easily. Rodriguez uses
Behlen's button lac,
which is sold onl y in
flake form ( H. Behlen &:
Bro ., 4715 State Highway
30, Amsterdam, N. Y.
12010). Button-lac flakes
co me in I -lb. co ntaine rs
and can be purchased
from the following sources ,
all of which offer free
catalogs .
Garrett Wade Co.,
Inc ., 161 Avenue of the
Americas, New York, N. Y.
10013; (800) 221-2942.
Merit Industries, Inc.,
1020 North 10th St., Kansas
City, Kan. 66101; (800) 856-
4441.
Wayne's Woods, Inc.,
39 North Plains Industrial
Road , Wallingford , Conn.
06492; (800) 793-6208.
Woodworker's Supply,
On e Woodworker's Way,
Seabroo k, N. H. 03874;
(800) 645-9292.
~------~
LOCATING
HAND-FORGED
IRON BLANKET-
CHEST HINGES
Harry Smith purchas ed the
hand-forged iron blanket-
chest hinges , what he calls
reproduction "fishtail"
hinges, for his painted
ch est (see pp. 54, 55) from
Ball and Ball (463 w.
Lincoln Highway, Exton ,
Pa.19341;610-363-7330)
Blanket-chest hinges are
mounted inside chests with
lifting lids. The shorter end
of the hinge , which is
1 1/ 2 in. long, is made with a
%-in. offset (photo above)
and is mounted vertically to
the inside of the chest's
backboard. Securing the
hinge to the inside of the
chest counteracts the force s
that are exerted on the
hinge when the lid is
raised and lowered. The
longer end of the hinge is
attached to the underside
of the chest's lid. To the
best of our knowledge ,
other than having a
blacksmith forge similar
hinges, Ball and Ball is the
only large mail-order
supplier of these particular
iron blanket-chest hinges.
Hand-forged iron blanket-
chest hinges, available from Ball
and Ball, are made with a %-in.
offset and are attached to the
inside of the chest's backboard
and to th e underside of the lid.
Most hardware
companies carry iron
T-hinges or strap hinges,
made for cabinet do ors
rather than chest lids. These
hinge s have a long strap
similar to a blanket-chest
hinge but have a shorter
end similar to a butt hinge.
Although T-hinges could
be used by mortising the
butt-h inge end into the top
edge of the chest's
backboard, they 're not as
sturdy as the chest hinge s.
The blanket-chest hinges
from Ball and Ball range in
price from $62 to $71 per
pair, depending on the
length. The longer end is
available in lengths of 9 in.,
10 in., 12 in. and 14 in. The
standard offset is % in., but
other offsets can be made if
you are using wood of a
different thickness. A
catalog costs $5, which is
refundable with an orde r
over $50.
Photo th is page: Rob ert Marsala
 Attention Furniture Makers
SPIMILE SAMtER Home Furniture magazine gives you a brand-new marketing tool.
Reach dedica ted readers who are enthusiastic about well-designed
quality furniture by placing your ad in Home Furniture now.

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contact the Home Furniture Advertising Department at
1-800-926-8776, ext. 512, or write to:

Advertising Department
MODEL HomeFurniture
hGlTIe
. ruflliture
014
63 S. Main St., P.O. Box 5506
Newtown, CT 06470-5506

The Model 14 Oscillating Spindle Sander is ideal

sanding machine. From the inside radius of a small
craft job to larger contour or beveled edge sanding,
the Model 14 provides a smooth, scratch-free
finish. Features such as the cast iron tilting table
and the built in dust collection shroud truly set the
Model 14 ahead of the field.
Call For Info: 310/471-7432
AngleWright Tool Co.
McMinnville, TN 1-800-248-0144 P.O. Box 25632, Los Angeles, CA 90025
READER SERVICE NO. 47 READER SERVICENO. 19

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WIN T E R 1 9 9 4 105
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M ESQUITE WOOD PRODUcrS

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106 HOM E FUR NIT U R E

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WINT ER 1 9 94 107
about the
furniture makers
MARIO RODRIGU EZ
(above) is a cabinetmaker and
per iod furniture co nsultant. He
teaches woodworking and
antique restoration at the
Fashion Institute of
Techn ology in New York City.
He offers wo rksho ps in 18th-
ce ntury woodwork ing tools
and techniques at his sho p in
Warwi ck, New York, wh ere he
lives. He also is a co ntributing
edito r to Fi ne Wood wo rking
magazine. Pag e 5 2.
108 H OME FURNITURE
TIMOTHY CLARK
runs a woodworking sho p and
teaches woodworking part-
time at Shelburne Craft School
in Shelburne , Vermon t. He
worked in a cabinet shop for
severa l years but otherw ise is
self-taught. Page 78.
DEAN DEBENEDET
is an aerosp ace project
man ager. He graduated from
San Diego State University in
1963 with a degree in
mechanical engineering. A
self-taught woodworker, he
learn s by reading and makin g
furniture for his hom e in
Conifer, Colorado . Page 72.
PAUL D ECARLO
is a custo m furnituremaker in
Worcester, Massachus etts.
After finishing the two-year
program in furniture design
and con struction at the
Worcester Center for Crafts, he
was a woodwo rking artist-in-
residen ce at the craft ce nter in
1993 and 1994. Page 32.
JAMES D ESALVO
has run an architectural
millwork sho p since 1980 in
Brew ster, New York. Five
employees help him produce
kitchen cabine ts, van ities and
library shelving. In 1992, he
started anoth er co mpa ny
specializing in high-quality
produ ction furnitur e. Page 63 .
ROB ERT ERFlE
is a manufacturing enginee r in
the aero space industry and a
self-taught woodworker.
Althou gh he has work ed in a
variety of styles, rece ntly he
has focused on furnitur e of the
Ame rican Arts and Crafts
period. He lives in Placerville ,
California. Pag e 65.
DAVID ERNST
has been woodworking for
12 yea rs and is largely self-
taught. He recentl y graduated
from the Univers ity of
Michigan with a degree in
architec ture. He is currently
living in Ann Arbor, Michigan,
whil e co mp leting a three-
yea r intern ship in architecture.
Page 68.
JON FRANCIS
is a high school biology
teacher and self-taught
furnitur em aker in Fayetteville,
Arkansas. He builds custom
furnitur e in his free time,
se lling a few pieces a year.
Pag e 43.
JOHN GALLAGHER
attende d the prog ram in
cabinetmaking at the College
of the Redwoods in Fort
Bragg, California, whe re he
now lives. He has built houses
and cabinets in West Virginia
and hewn-l og hou ses in North
Caro lina , where he learned
from broad ax master Peter
Ga tt. He has also made
stringe d instru men ts, Page 44.
GREGORY GUENTH ER
builds custom furniture and
does co nse rvation work in the
sho p he's owned since 1980 in
Savannah, Georgia. Page 60.
MICHAel HAMILTON
has operated a one-man shop
in Port Hadlock, Washington ,
for 16 year s. Having learned
woodwor king from his
grandfathe r, a Swe dish-bo rn
millwright , Hamilton refined
his skills working at custom
sho ps. He builds custom
cabinets and tradition al
furniture , using tools acquired
from his grandfather. Page 48.
Photo this page: Alec Waters
AARON HILTEBEITEL
is a custom furnituremaker in
Boston, Massachusetts. A se lf-
taught woodworker, he has
been woodworking
profe ssionally for 16 years and
has mn a o ne -ma n shop for
the pas t five yea rs. Page.46
MICHAEL AND
REBECCA JESSE
design and build furniture in
contemporary and traditional
styles. They established Jesse
Wood works in Salem, Oregon,
in 1979. Michael trained in
industria l arts. Rebecca stud ied
interior design and furnit ure
histo ry. Page 74.
ANTHONY KAHN
designs and bu ilds furniture in
Arcata, California, for a
nation al cliente le. He is se lf-
taug ht and has been building
furniture since 1979, ave raging
65 pieces a year in recent
yea rs. Page 58.
MATT KIRBY
is a freelance woodworker in
Baldwin City, Kansas. He
graduated with a degree in
sculpture from the Kansas City
Art Institute, whe re he learned
woodworking under the
tutelage of Jo hn Kriegs hauser.
He also is a musician and
designs and builds Celtic
musica l instruments, Page 41.
DAVID MARG O NELLI
began mak ing furnitur e in
1971, inspired by the delicate,
flo wing lines of the Queen
Anne style as we ll as by the
functional simplicity of Shaker
fu rniture . He was later join ed
by Scott Conrad and Ro b
Nicoll. Their three- man sho p is
located in Edgecomb, Maine.
Page 3 4.
HARLAN MATHEWS
is an electrical engineer, living
in Boulder, Colorado . An avid
furniture maker in his free time,
he finds inspiration in Oriental
des igns . Page 80.
ALAN McMA STER
is a woodworke r living in
Dexter, Michigan. He is a
former mec ha nical engineer
and has been woodworking
professio nally for seven years.
He prefe rs designs with simple
lines that let the wood speak
for itself. Page 36
CEES OTTE
is a hobbyist woodworke r
w ho lives in the Nethe rlands
and works for a foun dation
that helps victims of World
War 11. Born in Holland, he
attended Erasmus University in
Rotterdam . He taught himself
woodworking by trial and
error and by wa tching a frie nd
whose father is a
furn ituremaker. Page 76
HARRY L. SMITH
we nt from building kitch en
cabine ts to crafting
Pennsylvan ia-German painted
furnitur e and acce ssories,
which he markets primarily
throu gh craft sho ws . He lives
in Kunkletown, Pennsylvani a.
Page 54.
GARY J. W. SP YKMAN
spe cializes in furniture
designed in the tradition of the
turn -of-th e ce ntury Arts and
Crafts movem ent. He lives in
Edga rtow n, Massachusetts. His
heritage includes Old World-
trained craftsme n o n both
sides of his family. Pag e 82.
ROBBI E STAPLES
has been building fu rn iture fo r
15 years. Once a carpe nter in
Maine , he now run s a o ne -man
furn ituremaking sho p in
Acushne t, Massachusetts. A
self-taught furnituremaker, he
was influen ced by George
Nakashima's idea of de signing
aro und the wood. Pag e 5 6
W I N T ER
MARK STEBBINS
is an engineer in Palm Bay,
Florida, w he re he works wood
in his spa re time. He became
interested in woodworking
whil e study ing ea rly
ph otography in co llege, w he n
he needed custom frames for
so me dagu erreotyp es he had
made. Pag e 38.
ROB WIGGENHORN
is a civil engineer for Boeing
Aircraft. He started
woodworking in 1989 and
intends to turn his hobby
into a part-tim e bu siness. He
lives in Everett, Wash ington.
Pag e 5 0.
PAUL ZENATY
makes custo m cabinets and
furniture in Richm ond,
Vermont. He wo rks
pred ominantly in the
Chippe nda le and She raton
styles and occasiona lly makes
Fede ral pieces. Page 70.
19 94 109
Send us your bestwork
We hope that the collection of
furniture featured in this issue of
Home Furniture will inspire you to
start that special project of your own.
We also hope that you'll be inspired to
have your own project featured in a
future issue.

As you can see, the selected pieces

have two things in common;
thoughtful design and careful
execution. Pieces for any room and
from any period are welcome.

What we'd like you to do is send some

photographs (not negatives or slides)
of your best work with a short
description of the piece written on the
back of the photo. We can't return the
photos, so send us only those you
can spare.

All entries will be juried by the editors

and publishers of Home Furniture.
We'll notify you promptly if your
project is one we'd like to consider for
a future issue, and we'll send you
guidelines at that time.

Send your photographs to:

Home Furniture entries
63 S. Main Street
P.O. Box 5506
Newtown, CT 06470-5506

hGme
- rurruture
 Pop -Up Speakers in Hom e Theatre

~ p{ay Hide & See ~

Sinc e 19 5 5, th e A uto n four rac ks and pinions, wh ich will complete line of c us to m and
Company has served the allow lifting uneven loads, all at a standard motorized lifts that help
des ign c o m m uni ty with touch of a button . builders , architects , inter ior
quality lift sys te ms that The Aut o n Co . manufactures a des igners and specifiers , furn iture
utilize remote controls . and cabinet makers , develop their
Auton has developed a creations in homes, offices , ship s,
uni que ' rack and p in ion ' sy stem a ircraft ,c o nference a nd hot el
that raises and lowers TVs, ce iling facilities.
projectors, ' s m a rt wa iters ' , Auton has become known world -
computers , bars and pan el lifts . wide for the systems that you can
Unl ike the wobb le -p rone "o ld recommend with confidence .
fashioned' sc issor lift s, Auton has Auton Company Box 801960
produ c ed a mo tori zed platform Valenc ia, CA 91380-1960
that glid es smoothly and qu ietly on MOTORIZED LIFT SYSTEMS (805) 257-9282FAX (805) 295-5638

Some of the many uses for the Auton Lift System:

Pop-Up Computer Pop-Down TV Monitor Pop-up TV/Bar

& Keyboard

~~ ~
IeJ
-. _
"" ''' '' ' /1
" n l i l / N l tA
. #"" "" , 111'" ,..
~" """ I I I " ' I I I~
.,, ,, , , , , , 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1
""IIIIIII"/ ~

--
r ll" I II I ,,~
INI"~
Motorized Variable Height
Swivel Base Panel Lift Table Pop-Down Projector

Auton does not manufactur e furniture. Mad e in USA. US and Foreign Patent Pending Pop -Down Ceiling TV
READER SERVICENO.6
hGme
IIllirruture
A sampling of the more than 30 pieces featured in this issue:

36