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Category Archives: Techniques
Grinling Gibbons – The Michelangelo of Woodcarving
Further to a post about Grinling Gibbons a few years ago, St James’s Church Piccadilly in association with the Grinling Gibbons Society, Presents: Grinling Gibbons – The Michelangelo of Woodcarving. Jack Plane
Sticking with Original Recipes
Further to my instruction in L for Leather on the preparation of flour paste for laying leather and baize etc., I was recently looking for something unrelated in The Carriage Trimmers’ Manual (published in 1881) and came across a couple … Continue reading
What One Can and Cannot Do
You may read this as the forward to a book I have a mind to write. When woodworking: One can use kiln-dried timber for most purposes. One can often employ machinery and power tools. One can stick wood together with … Continue reading
In Favour of a Bigger Hammer
My recent production of Windsor chairs prompted a reader – himself, a Windsor chair-maker – to contact me concerning the moisture content of various chair parts. We exchanged several emails, the content of which I have précised and edited together … Continue reading
On the Dismantling and Reassembly of Glued Joints
Having emailed a reply to a plea from a desperate reader at the weekend, I thought I might as well publish it here for the potential benefit of others. Animal glue is mildly hydrophilic which alone, enables it to maintain … Continue reading
Posted in animal glue, Furniture Restoration, Techniques
Tagged alcohol, animal glue, ethanol, methanol
4 Comments
Cross-Grained Mouldings
Mouldings on oak-framed buildings – and thence joiner-made oak furniture – followed the timber’s grain and were comparatively simple to produce. Then circa 1685, a new breed of specialised furniture maker appeared. Cabinetmakers developed more sophisticated techniques for making and … Continue reading
Posted in Antiques, Furniture Timbers, Techniques
Tagged cabinetmaker, composite mouldings, cornice, cross-grain, cushion moulding, furniture, mouldings, oak, shrinkage, veneer, walnut
11 Comments
Drawer and Drawer Aperture Decoration
Since man first made tools, utensils and weapons from wood, he has burnt, carved and scraped decoration into it. Even in their simplest form, the rails and stiles of early joiner-made coffers usually exhibit chamfered edges (fig. 1), though more … Continue reading
Posted in Antiques, Drawers, Techniques
Tagged bookmatched, carcase, chamfered edge, cock-beading, coffer, crossbanding, crossgrain, D-moulding, decoration, double-bead moulding, dovetails, drawer construction, drawer fronts, drawer runners, drawers, featherbanding, frame-and-panel, geometrically moulded, joiner, linenfold, lipping, mouldings, quartered, sacrificial edging, side-hung drawers, veneer, walnut
16 Comments
A Dovetailing Confession
A recent visitor was examining some dovetails I had made in the back of a small mahogany drawer and (knowing I don’t possess a great variety of saws) asked which saw I had employed to make the dovetails. I replied … Continue reading
Where are the Pins?
Fig. 1. Do you see a vase or two faces? I see both the vase (positive) and the faces (negative space) simultaneously. Whilst talking about dovetails, there has been some natter about ‘pins’. I’ve been cutting dovetails for many, many … Continue reading
Distressing News…
…or, advice on mimicking wear and tear on furniture. The most frequent enquiry I receive from readers is on the topic of replicating old patina on new furniture. Patina on antique furniture is a complex layer on and near the … Continue reading
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