A Break with Tradition

Thinking about a new Shaker piece to show at this years Salon d’métiers d’art in Orléans proved to be a difficult task. I wanted to make something with a relatively small footprint to maximise the stand area and in addition show some cabinetry work to compliment my tables and chairs. The well known and much copied Shaker chimney cupboard seemed to present a form that perfectly fitted my criteria. However I wanted to give it a slightly different interpretation, one based on fine furniture making traditions, rather than the somewhat utilitarian style of the original.

The shape that eventually evolved in my mind, ended owing more to the Arts and Crafts Movement, than it did to the shakers; but in my view this works very well. These two styles quite often converge in a way that is not always apparent. It could even be said that my interpretation looks even more like a chimney that the Shaker design, tapering as it does towards the top, in a classical chimney form. This is perhaps a little unfair as the term is only an arbitrary one. The Shakers didn’t set out to make a cupboard that looked like a chimney; this is simply a name someone at a later date appropriated.

My version is in Cherry with figured Oak panels, Walnut knobs and Walnut pegs to the joints. The back is constructed the same way allowing the piece to stand centre room if required.

What a beautiful finish

Returning from a recent exhibition, I thought about many of the questions I’d been asked and how I might utilise this feedback. Then it struck me that the question that cropped-up most frequently was about the finish and how it was achieved. This is a relatively new phenomenon to me and initially I would give a probably not too helpful answer; like, ‘Oh, in the usual way with shellac and oil’. What I had failed to notice is how far removed a hand worked piece with a hand applied finish had become from commercially made furniture. Once all furniture was finished in the same way or variants of; even after spray finishes became more common there was still plenty of hand polished furniture in most homes. Once Mum’s and Dad’s ‘old junk’ was brought up by antique dealers and replaced with 'nearly wood' flat packs, all point of reference had disappeared. New generations rarely get the opportunity to experience what hand tools can do.

A year or so ago I was teaching a nice chap to make a Windsor chair, I think it was his first serious attempt at making furniture. The only power tool he used in the class was a drill, every other process was done by hand. He stood back looked at his impeccable chair and said, ‘I simply can’t believe I did that with hand tools’ I can still see the look on his face. I know he will never look at furniture in the same way again.

There is I feel a renaissance on the horizon, a getting back to quality, but first the public have to re-learn what that quality looks and feels like and happily they are setting out to do that in increasing numbers.

Moving Furniture. Some do's and Don'ts

There are two period armchairs in the workshop at the moment waiting restoration, besides the normal wear and tear, this pair has suffered from careless moving around. A push here and a pull there probably didn’t seem to be causing any damage, until one day they just toppled over. I thought this a good topic to discuss, because although its important, it’s also so mundane it tends to get overlooked.

Whether you are moving house or just re-arranging a room, moving furniture is not necessarily as straight forward as it may appear. Furniture, even well made furniture can sustain damage if it is subjected to forces for which it was not designed. This easily happens when we are in a rush, or we try to do the impossible on our own.

Furniture is designed to carry weight, either just its own, if purely decorative, or a combination of its own weight and that of something placed on it or in it. Weight is a downward force and a quick look at any piece of furniture will show how it is assembled to counteract force in a downward direction; for instance the position of different components and the direction of the grain running through them. Closer inspection will expose different weaknesses to forces acting from other directions. This is not a fault; after all we want our furniture to be elegant as well as functional, not something resembling a Sherman tank. Therefore furniture is designed to perform it’s designated function and if it is intended to move it will be on wheels.

It’s safe to say that if the piece to be moved is larger than a side chair it will need two people to move it, or some sort of equipment, such as rollers or a trolley as well as a means of lifting. Furniture standing on the floor should never be pushed, especially if on carpet as this will always result in some kind of damage if not breakage, this damage may not be apparent immediately. When lifting always grip a main structural element, never a top or an arm. Remember to empty cupboards and remove drawers, make the unit as light as possible before moving. This is good for your health as well as the health of your furniture. Lift chairs by the lower rail of the back if there is one or by the seat rails, never by the arms or the crest rail. The accompanying photo shows a Louis XV armchair, this would have been a heavy chair when fully upholstered; it has been pushed on carpet and lifted by the arms. I think the picture speaks for itself.

Wood a Sustainable Energy

Timber for furniture making is only one of the many different and varied products produced by woodland. Saw mills, who convert trees into planks and other dimensioned timber, are only interested in the tree trunk. Once this is carted away the head of the tree, usually all that part above and including the first branch, is left. This can amount to a considerable amount of wood, in the case of a mature oak tree almost half of the total timber. This timber is too misshapen to use economically in the workshop, although choice pieces may be of interest to a bowl turner; it does however make excellent firewood.

I’m very enthusiastic about this other side of woodland use; it’s a truly sustainable way of providing cheap fuel for those living in the countryside and to a lesser degree even for those in towns. Townies may need to invest in smokeless wood burners making a larger initial investment necessary and additionally the firewood will be more expensive, because of distance. Add to this the messy business of stacking logs and dealing with fire ash and one may wonder if it’s worth the bother, but only until you have enjoyed a real wood fire. The smell, the crackle of the logs, even the heat is different and if you ever cook with it you will be sorry when summer arrives.

Being a real hardcore wood addict, I not only work with it, but do most everything I can with it. It heats my workshop, cooks the family meals and runs the central heating; if only I could power a generator…humm?

Being fortunate in living next to woodland I cut and fell my own wood February/March and haul it back to the house after 1st July, the day I pay the forester. This amount is a fraction of that charged by commercial sellers, but then I have invested in equipment and time and they have to make a living. However, I have to tell you that it is one of the nicest feelings to sit in a warm home eating a meal you have grown yourself all heated and cooked with wood that you cut and hauled.

Nearly all forest woodland has been tended by man for thousands of years, providing tools, furniture, houses, boats, charcoal for industry and of course firewood. Sadly most of these activities went out of fashion after the first world war resulting in many neglected forests and woodlands; more so in the U.K. than in France where many traditional trades still survive. As many people are now discovering, the modern age demands that an exacting price be paid and those who sold it to us do not have the currency. Now many people are themselves looking to alternatives in our tried and tested heritage.

Those in the UK can find more information on forestry here : http://www.woodlandheritage.org.uk/

There are other side benefits gained from all this activity, not least the care of the woodland itself, providing many kinds of resource for the community,in addition to this working woodlands will support more wildlife than those left to dereliction.

Shaker Rocking Chair

A friend of mine recently asked me to make a few replacement parts for an impressive French walnut armoire that he is restoring. By way of compensation he suggested he gave me a rather sad looking # 7 Mount Lebanon rocking chair that he had acquired locally. Looking at the condition of the chair, most people would probably think this was not much of a deal. It’s true the rockers are missing along with the shawl rail, the bottoms of the legs are rotten and woodworm have been feasting on other parts. If this was not enough, someone thought it a good idea to hide the original ebonised finish with white paint. Then cover the seating tape with calico, in fact they did this in reverse order so that they could paint most of the calico at the same time. Never the less I was delighted and immediately agreed, it’s probably the best chance I will ever have of owning a real Mount Lebanon Rocker of this vintage, c1880. I imagine a good one would fetch about $3000, but I couldn’t be sure in the present economic climate. Its not likely that another would turn-up locally, so crating, shipping to France with insurance maybe half as much again. Then again this aspect doesn’t really interest me so much as the chance to work on an iconic chair that I have copied so many times; I find this prospect more exciting than owning a new one. It’s going to make a really interesting project and I shall be featuring it here, as work progresses. The other items in the picture are a few pieces of Shaker ephemera and more about this later. My friend, Roy of the wardrobe, is researching Shaker history and has turned-up many interesting artifacts and as yet unknown facts about the Shakers and France. Unfortunately I'm sworn to secrecy until he is in print, so I must ask you to be patient.