First I have to do something that I always try to avoid, that is to apologize for the photography. I really don’t have a good place to take pictures of some of my furniture pieces and this attempt was less than satisfactory in my eyes. The truth of the matter is that I am just too lazy to go back and find better lighting to retake the pictures.:nah:
That being said I would like to share with you my first attempt at period furniture chair making. The chair makers in an 18th century cabinet shop were always considered the elite. After building this chair it was easy for me to understand why. There isn’t a square corner or mortise on the entire chair.
My objective was to leave no finger print of modern power equipment on the finished piece. While I will admit to using power tools in building this chair, the power tool marks were all obliterate by hand tools. All flat surfaces were hand planed and all mortise and tenons were hand cut. The detailed beads on the edges of back were scraped with a custom ground blade. No router cutters were used; all trim detail was scrapped, carved or planned using wooden planes. Also no modern nails, screws or fasteners were employed. The few fasteners used were reclaimed authentic 18th century square cut nails. The glue was hide glue. Not even X-ray examination of the chair will reveal any modern tool marks. The finish is milk paint, black over red, with BLO as a final coat. The distressing was done with a hemp rope. My goal was to perplex some antique dealer long after I am dead and gone.:rotflm:
My patterns and measurements came from Norman Vandel’s wonderful book Queen Anne Furniture History, design and construction. The original chair is attributed to Thomas Gaines II an 18th century cabinet maker from Ipswich MA. The Gaines chair is considered to be a transitional chair, one of the first to have an ergonomically curved back seen later on all Queen Anne furniture.
Thanks for letting me share.
Mike
Front View
Side View
Crest Rail
Front Legs
Spanish Foot
That being said I would like to share with you my first attempt at period furniture chair making. The chair makers in an 18th century cabinet shop were always considered the elite. After building this chair it was easy for me to understand why. There isn’t a square corner or mortise on the entire chair.
My objective was to leave no finger print of modern power equipment on the finished piece. While I will admit to using power tools in building this chair, the power tool marks were all obliterate by hand tools. All flat surfaces were hand planed and all mortise and tenons were hand cut. The detailed beads on the edges of back were scraped with a custom ground blade. No router cutters were used; all trim detail was scrapped, carved or planned using wooden planes. Also no modern nails, screws or fasteners were employed. The few fasteners used were reclaimed authentic 18th century square cut nails. The glue was hide glue. Not even X-ray examination of the chair will reveal any modern tool marks. The finish is milk paint, black over red, with BLO as a final coat. The distressing was done with a hemp rope. My goal was to perplex some antique dealer long after I am dead and gone.:rotflm:
My patterns and measurements came from Norman Vandel’s wonderful book Queen Anne Furniture History, design and construction. The original chair is attributed to Thomas Gaines II an 18th century cabinet maker from Ipswich MA. The Gaines chair is considered to be a transitional chair, one of the first to have an ergonomically curved back seen later on all Queen Anne furniture.
Thanks for letting me share.
Mike
Front View
Side View
Crest Rail
Front Legs
Spanish Foot
