Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Details of construction of classic pieces
bill tindall
>It would seem that someone has "disected" some classic/famous pieces, that is, probed them to reveal joinery and tools used, analyzed the finishes, etc. Does anyone know where such studies have been/are published? Seems the kind of thing museum staff would do and they must publish somewhere.
Re: Details of construction of classic pieces *LINK*
Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX
>John Alexander has done some great research on traditional chair making.
Re: Details of construction of classic pieces
Ed Mulligan, Cape Cod
>Bill -
Furniture joinery varies depending on geographic area and time period. A book detailing all the regional variations of furniture construction would be mighty big!
Some helpful authors: Charles Hayward, Jeff Greene, Andrew Marlow, Ernest Joyce, Norm Vandal, Tage Frid, Sam Allen for traditional finishes. Carlyle Lynch published many furniture plans.
American Furniture, edited by Luke Beckerdite, is an annual publication that touches on your subject matter.
There are publications and periodicals in the furniture conservation field but I'm not familiar enough with them to make a recommendation.
I think it would be easier to approach your inquiry by starting with a particular piece or form and then collect information on that particular item.
Ed
Re: Details of construction of classic pieces *LINK*
Tom in Tipp
>This is one of the better reproductions around. The museum uses it as an educational tools in their exhibit. Places like this might be a start in your investigation of 'how and why' in furniture construction.
Lee Valley
Garrett in Victoria
>publishes old furniture design/construction plans and portfolios. I have a couple stashed away, and was able to find one on measured drawings for colonial furniture by Donald Millar originally published in 1925. The ISBN is 0-921335-31-8. I believe I have a similar set for classical furniture, but can't put my hand on it at the moment.
Ysed book stores are good places to look. I've picked up several books on classic joints, finishing and re-finishing, upholstery etc in the past couple of years. Very inexpensive.
Cheers, Garrett
Re: Details of construction of classic pieces
ThomD
>Norm Vandal's book is great if you want Queen Anne.
I have a couple of books that have been out for about 20 years that are measured drawing of american furniture, some old guy. Help me...
The is also American FUrniture of The 20Th C by Greene, kinda details instructions and exploded diagrams byt TP
And Country Furniture by Buchanon. Also by TP.
There are so many sources for Shaker stuff and Mission, I assume you aren't after that
They are in the kid's room right now.
Greene
Adam Cherubini
>I really really like Jeff Greene's book. I bought mine from LV CHEAP! Its a great book- those exploded views are gold- the project plans books never seem to communicate the construction concept quite so well.
Adam
What are you interested in?
john jesseph
>Re: Early American (and some European) Furniture...Lots of old books by Lester Margon, Charles Hayward, Franklin Gottshall, etc- do a search. Individual plans are available, from Toolsforworkingwood.com, by the late Carlyle Lynch. Individual plans are also available from Allan Breed, Old Mille Cabinet Shop, Phil Lowe, probably lots of others. All the other recommendations so far are really good.
Re: What are you interested in?
john jesseph
>Here's a quote from Allan Breed's website, about his plans:
"These plans, although not necessarily representing a specific piece of existing period furniture, are exact in all details for a typical example of the cabinetmaker or cabinetmaking style represented. Details have not been scaled from photographs, but are from my more than 30 years experience dealing with original 18th century furniture. In no instance have details of construction or design patterns been "adapted" or modified. Any details that are optional modern methods, such as the fastening of table tops, will be noted on the plans as such. Optional variations found on period pieces of similar style will be given where possible."
I don't know anything about his plans, escept they are very expensive- 575 dollars for the Newport secretary. I am waiting to see Robert Whitley's plans, probably the same price range. The books are cheaper, but leave some work for the maker to work out details...
Re: Details of construction of classic pieces *LINK*
Tom Price
>One book I can recommend is 'Old Furniture: Understanding the Craftsman's Art' by Nancy A. Smith. It's a Dover reprint now and available from Amazon, see link below. This is a book geared towards educating the antique collector with regards to constuction details, wood movement, finishes used, etc.. She doesn't have measured drawings, but there are some pretty good closeups of joint detail and carving and construction details. Not the only book you will need by any means but one that is worth reading.
She makes a point of saying that the old guys used abrasive media in one form or another long before it was produced as machine coated modern cloth/paper. They strived for the best surface they could get and apparently weren't hung up on having to produce a finish right from a handplane, unlike (ahem) certain modern hobbyists. Oh yeah, they also weren't into spending a lot of time finishing surfaces that couldn't ordinarily be seen. Krenov would have been given short shrift by that bunch.
- Tom
Old Furniture
clarification
bill tindall
>I guess what inspired the question was a book I have been reading on Chester County Furniture and cabinet makers. It has been interesting reading about their shops and businesses as well as pictures of their work, but no details of how it was made, finished, etc.
I was not particularly looking for plans to build something. The interest was more academic curiosity. I suspect people at museums, and the like, on occasion investigate a piece in their collection in an academic sort of way. They might study joinery, analyze the finishing materials, investigate surfaces to discern how they were formed, poke into hardware and fasteners, etc. Such an investigation might seem likely for pieces by famous cabient makers. Having done so they would likely publish somewhere like "Annals of Museum Research" (made up name). I don't move in these circles and have no idea where such work might be found, or if it exists. Anyway, I thought it might be interesting to read about the "disection" of a piece by some famous cabinet maker if such an exercise has ever been published somewhere.
Chester County
Tom Colligan, Peoria
>Hi Bill, do you have a reference book in mind about the furniture in Chester County? Tia, Tom.
The Book of Chester Co. Furniture
bill tindall
>The book I have is Furniture and Its Makers of Chester County PA, Schiffer. It is a curious book which includes all the court house records of cabinet makers in Chester Co. as well as a few dozen pictures of furniture. Included in the court house records is inventory of various shops. It is interesting to see what possesions these shops had as well as their value at the time. Also included are advertisements from the various shops. They offered free delivery for 25 miles! At 1800 the common domestic lumber is all about the same price-$1.50/100 ft but mahogany is several times more. Walnut was the lumber of choice with very little mention of cherry.