To my great detriment, woodwork didn’t form part of my education back in Ireland, but at the age of eighteen, I discovered the joy of working with my hands and I made my first piece of furniture – a copy of a long-admired mid-eighteenth-century Windsor chair.
I moved to England and worked in the antiques trade there for some years prior to emmigrating to Australia where I continued in the antiques trade for about ten years before retiring.
After a period in the Doldrums (during which time I didn’t own so much as a screwdriver), I rediscovered my early passion for replicating antique furniture, albeit at a very relaxed pace in a small miniscule shed behind our home in Melbourne.
This blog
Q. Traditionally speaking, what are the principal differences between carpenters, joiners and cabinetmakers?
A. Nails, pegs and dovetails!
The main focus of this blog will be on the development and construction of British and Irish furniture during The Long Eighteenth-Century (1688 to 1820 – the pegs and ‘tails eras). From time to time I will make selected pieces of furniture from this period and discuss their progress.
The internet is saturated with discussions and tutorials on many of the elementary aspects of woodworking, woodworking tools, cabinet-making and finishing etc. I find the endless dissection of the fundamentals somewhat tiresome and, as this is not a woodworking blog per se, I will steer clear of these subjects unless an historical perspective crops up that is pertinent to the piece or genre of furniture under discussion.
This blog is dedicated to my wife, Virginia, who tolerates my inexcusable behaviour with fine humour and the patience of a saint.
Jack Plane
Pegs and 'Tails 