Tag Archives: handles

Can you handle this?

Posted on 4th October 2016 by Jack Plane

I require a set of brass handles of the pattern illustrated above. Strangely, it’s not an uncommon pattern, yet I searched through my boxes of strays for comparable bails and backplates without any luck and I haven’t been able to … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiques, Cabinet Fittings | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Proportion, Formulae and Aesthetics

Posted on 20th October 2014 by Jack Plane

Following on from Getting a Handle on Proportion, it appears that my dismissal of some of the classic rules of proportion (comment 9) has caused upset amongst the ranks. One reader who emailed me attached two pictures of chests with dimensional … Continue reading →

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Getting a Handle on Proportion

Posted on 30th September 2014 by Jack Plane

Chests with equal length drawers can be so easily let down by inconsiderately placed handles. At first glance, one could be forgiven for thinking the chest in figure 1 was ‘cut-and-shut’ to fit within the confines of an alcove or … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiques, Cabinet Fittings | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

Cleaning Brasses

Posted on 12th August 2012 by Jack Plane

Curiously, despite recently counselling against the polishing of brasses in Furniture Brasses, a couple of readers emailed me asking how best to go about polishing them. Instanter I referred to Miss Leslie’s House Book for the unequivocal answer which I … Continue reading →

Posted in Cabinet Fittings | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Furniture Brasses

Posted on 5th August 2012 by Jack Plane

In the early seventeenth-century, furniture fittings – handles, hasps, hinges and locks – were wrought from iron by black- and whitesmiths; often with surprising finesse. Whitesmiths also produced tinned iron fittings which, when new, would have shone like silver, but … Continue reading →

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Chippendale Hanging Shelves – Part Three

Posted on 27th July 2011 by Jack Plane

The two small drawers are made entirely of mahogany and constructed in keeping with period practices. I glued the drawer stops in place, cleaned the shelves up, polished them and attached the Dutch drop handles to the drawers. The finished … Continue reading →

Posted in Case Furniture | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Do these drawers make my arsedine* look big?

Posted on 11th April 2011 by Jack Plane

Today I am in receipt of the brasses for the walnut side table I’m making. The newly arrived brasses. The handles were ordered from Optimum Brasses and quality wise, they are virtually useable as is, with just a few casting … Continue reading →

Posted in Cabinet Fittings, Tables | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Restoration of a Mahogany Chest of Drawers

Posted on 16th September 2009 by Jack Plane

I don’t know the full circumstances behind this sorry chest of drawers other than it came in with both top drawers removed. The two drawers were so twisted they wouldn’t fit into their respective apertures in the chest – and … Continue reading →

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