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Among the things Queen Anne

Furniture gives you:

a craftsman’s overview of the history

of the Queen Anne style

construction analysis that will help you to

distinguish the authenticity of pieces
®
step-by-step instructions for turning
and carving cabriole legs
e
82 pages of measured drawings for
chairs, tables and case pieces
e
sources of supply for hardware,
finishes, tools and upholstery

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About the Author

Norman Vandal is a cabinetmaker who
builds fine period furniture and architec-
tural components in Roxbury, Vermont. He
is a consulting editor for Fine Woodwork-
ing magazine and is the author of several
magazine articles on related subjects.

Front cover photo: Brian Gulick

Back cover photos: Scott Landis
 Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2023 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation

https://archive.org/details/queenannefurnituO000vand
QUEEN ANNE
FURNITURE
ae sore
 QUEEN ANNE
FURNITURE
History, design and construction

Norman Vandal
 Front cover photo and project openers: Brian Gulick
Back cover and all other photos: Scott Landis, except where noted
Author photo: Susan Kahn
Cover-photo location: Home of Eduardo and Carol Hernandez

“FAUNTON
BOOKS&VIDEOS

...by fellow enthusiasts

©1990 by The Taunton Press, Inc.

All rights reserved

First printing: July 1990

Printed in the United States of America

A FINE WOODWORKING Book

FINE WOODWORKING® is a registered trademark of The Taunton

Press, Inc., registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Taunton Press

63 South Main Street
Box 5506
Newtown, Connecticut 06470-5506

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Vandal, Norman, 1948-

Queen Anne furniture : history, design and construction / Norman
Vandal.
p. cm.
“A Fine woodworking book” —T.p. verso.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-942391-07-1 : $34.95
1. Furniture making. 2. Furniture making--History.
3. Decoration and ornament--Queen Anne style I. Title.
TT197.V36 1990 90-10894
749.214—dc20 CIP
Dedicated to my wife, Betsy; my daughter, Emily; and
my son, Nathaniel. With much love.
7 a
as

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wish to extend my gratitude to many people who have
made this work possible. The following museum people gra-
ciously allowed me to examine furniture in their collections
and unselfishly offered me pieces of hard-won information:
Phil Zea at Historic Deerfield, Janine Skerry at the Yale Uni-
versity Art Gallery, Ned Cooke at the Museum of Fine Arts in
Boston, Donna-Belle Garvin at the New Hampshire Historical
Society and Laura Luckey at the Shelburne Museum.
Thanks also to Motier and Nancy Becque, for the use of
their house as a photo studio; to Paul Kebabian, for his
research assistance; to Tom Tintle, for his help in complet-
ing some of the pieces under the spell of “la musica latina”; to
David Bayne for his enthusiasm and his ever-eager ear; and
to Deborah Cannarella and the editors at The Taunton Press
and Fine Woodworking magazine, for their gentle prodding,
understanding and encouragement.
I’m truly indebted to Heather Brine Lambert for her fine
drawings and impeccable attention to detail; to Brian Gulick
for his caring studio photography; and to my wife, Betsy
Eckfeldt, for her assistance in compiling the bibiliography
and for her patience throughout this project.
I also offer thanks to the friends, customers and competi-
tors who kept me on my toes and made me attempt to live
up to their expectations. I apologize for not being able to
mention them all here.
There is one special person without whose help this book
would remain a jumbled, prodigiously wordy manuscript.
Yes, I wrote the book, but it was he who wrote it well. I am
beholden to my editor, Scott Landis, for his sustaining sup-
port and friendship.
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 PREFACE

In the fifteen years I’ve been making reproduction period Chapters 3 through 5 describe individual Queen Anne
furniture, fellow woodworkers, and sometimes even custom- pieces with historical background, design and construction
ers, have often asked if I wouldn’t prefer to construct inven- commeitary, in-process photographs and measured draw-
tive pieces of my own design. They seem to believe that I’m ings. Included are reproductions of seating furniture, tables
somehow left ungratified by classical furniture, that the cre- and case furniture. All examples are chosen for their classic
ative urge must be bottled up inside of me, writhing and beauty, diversity and importance to the style. They can be
struggling to emerge. copied literally or can serve as inspiration for your own
On the contrary, I'm more than satisfied with my work. designs. The appendices contain supplementary information
Period furniture is as technically demanding as any design I on finishing, scaling furniture from photographs, and
might conceive. Moreover, it usually involves extensive study sources of supply. Finally, the bibliography is of more than
of everything that contributes to the development of the style academic interest. You can use it like a road map, as I have,
in which I’m working. Only a thorough understanding of the to chart a course of inquiry that will take you further into
diverse components of a design will lead to its successful the period and enable you to draw your own conclusions.
execution. My greatest pleasure comes from this experiential Making period furniture raises a number of questions
acquisition of knowledge. I’m also something of a reaction- about the nature of a reproduction. How faithful will the
ary, with an intense love of the past and a perhaps unfounded copy be? Should it be the same size and proportion and
belief that things were better then. So I derive a curious made with the same materials and joinery as the original?
romantic pleasure from working with proven, reliable de- Should it be fashioned entirely by hand, using antique or
signs from those bygone eras with which I identify. contemporary hand tools? Or, if machines are used, will it
Of the several style periods I’ve worked in, I find the be hand planed afterward to appear handmade? Should it be
Queen Anne period to be the most alluringly beautiful. Sim- stained to simulate the acquired patina of a period piece, or
ple lines, graceful curves, unpretentious decoration and will it receive a modern synthetic finish with no staining
delicate proportion all contribute to some of the most beau- whatsoever? The cabinetmaker will need to sort out many of
tiful expressions in American furniture. The range of Queen these questions before construction begins. The choice of
Anne furniture—high style, vernacular and country— make materials and their application play a large part in defining
it possible to integrate the work into almost any decor. The the character of the piece.
pieces present technical challenges in decorative carving, I've developed my own criteria regarding these issues,
sculpture, turning, dovetailing and mortise-and-tenon join- which are not necessarily correct and are certainly not uni-
ery to test any cabinetmaker’s proficiency. versal. I’m a professional woodworker, and I have to sell my
In my years of studying the Queen Anne style, I repeatedly work. The reproduction market calls for furniture that
discovered that bits and pieces of related information were closely approximates the appearance of the originals. They
scattered throughout a great number of anthologies of must be sized and proportioned alike, and the joinery must
American period furniture aimed primarily at collectors. I be essentially the same, if not identical. They need not be
failed to find a comprehensive source of information devoted fashioned entirely by hand. Quality is a given.
exclusively to the Queen Anne period. These same books are I enjoy collecting and using period tools, but I need to
profusely illustrated with beautiful photographs of early fur- earn a living. So I use power tools wherever they prove effi-
niture, but seldom provide dimensions or pertinent con- cient without sacrificing the design or integrity of the join-
struction information, and they never include measured ery. I never allow a machine to dictate a change in design
drawings. I concluded that a single source combining his- or structure. I remove all machine marks, both because I
torical data, accurate measured drawings of classic Queen favor the sublime texture of a hand-planed surface and be-
Anne pieces and information on both period and modern cause I know machine marks spoil a piece of furniture,
construction technology would be useful to cabinetmakers, reproduction or otherwise.
collectors and furniture historians alike. Hence this book. I love antiques, but I really can’t afford them, so I enjoy
The book is divided into five sections. Chapter 1 traces the vicarious pleasure of good-quality reproductions. Many
the historic and artistic development of the style. Chapter 2 of my customers are in the same position. I don’t believe in
is a comprehensive description of the processes used in fab- fakery, and I won’t artificially age or abuse my furniture to
ricating all types of cabriole leg, the single most important make it appear antique. It is never sold as original. I finish
structural and design element of the period. This material is my pieces to be compatible with period furniture in both
concentrated in one place to avoid redundancy, since every color and texture.
piece featured in the following sections has some form of As a maker of Queen Anne style furniture, you will have
cabriole leg. You can refer to Chapter 2 for leg-construction to resolve these questions your own way. I hope this book
information whenever it’s required. will help in the process.
i 1e ma
ae ee ivicntony)
- As ae e
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Queen Anne Furniture 2

Cabriole Legs 12

Seating Furniture 34
Boston Queen Anne Side Chair 42 Gaines Side Chair 52
Roundabout Chair 64 Hudson River Valley Chair 74 Easy Chairs 82

Tables 100
Circular Drop-Leaf Table 106 Porringer-Top Tea Table 116
Oval-Top Table 122 Table with Drawer 128 Tuck-Away Table 134
Tray-Top Tea Table 142 Corner Table 150 Tilt-Top Candlestand 160

Case Furniture 168

Scalloped-Top Chest on Frame 178 Dressing Table 188
Desk on Frame 198 Flat-Top High Chest 210 Bonnet-Top High Chest 222

Appendices 236
Finishing 237 Scaling Period Furniture 240
Sources of Supply 242

Bibliography 244

Index 246

Vy
QUEEN ANNE
FURNITURE
 ll beauty, according to William Hogarth, is de- degree to which a particular piece of furniture satisfies the
rived from the “infinite form and infinite vari- Queen Anne formula.
' ety achieved by the curve.” With that, the 18th- Hogarth may have been among the first to enunciate the
century British engraver and satirist put his importance of the curve, but designers and craftsmen of
finger on the most important design element of ancient Greece and Rome were well aware of its merit. The
fe style of furniture we now call Queen Anne. S-curve is the essential component of the ogee, perhaps the
While the rectangle brings structure and mass to an ob- most classical of molding profiles. The ogee forms the basis
ject, the curve lends it animation and grace. Decoration, in of the urn or vase shape, which has been used extensively
the form of moldings, turnings and carving, is almost wholly for the last few thousand years as a decorative architectural
dependent on the curve. The delicate balance between motif. Hogarth’s theories are helpful in describing the
curved and straight lines is fundamental to an understanding Queen Anne style, but they had no influence on contempo-
of Queen Anne furniture. But curves alone cannot define a rary 18th-century cabinetmakers, who had embraced the
group of furniture. What then are the specific elements that S-curve long before he committed his ideas to print.
distinguish the Queen Anne style?
The cabriole leg, shown below, is the one essential fea- THE QUEEN ANNE PERIOD
ture of all Queen Anne furniture. Apart from its obvious Queen Anne never sat in a “Queen Anne” chair, nor did she
embodiment of Hogarth’s “line of beauty,” the cabriole leg store her clothing in a highboy named after herself. She
represents the ultimate expression of form and gentle ani- never could have guessed that a style of furniture, which saw
mation over decoration. It is accompanied in the drawing by embryonic development during her reign (1702-1714),
several other important elements of the style that are also would eventually carry her name. Historical epochs are sel-
derived from the S-curve: the scrolled pediment, scalloped dom named until well after their time has elapsed, and the
apron, vase-shaped splat and curved chair back. Moreover, Queen Anne period was not identified as such until at least
during the Queen Anne period, simple fan and shell carvings 150 years after Anne’s death. Even then, the term was
replaced elaborate inlays and emphasized the beauty of nat- coined not on her native soil but in North America.
ural wood. And woodwork was built to a human scale, care- In England, furniture bearing the characteristics of what
fully designed for both use and appearance. Americans call Queen Anne is termed “Georgian,” after
When examining a piece of furniture, the question “Does George I, Anne’s successor. (The architecture of that time
this belong to the Queen Anne style?” is largely beside the period—in both countries—is also referred to as Geor-
point. There is more to be learned by asking “What are the gian.) Perhaps American historians and collectors had an
Queen Anne characteristics in this piece?” or “Do certain aversion to the name of King George (we fought George Il
elements conflict with the Queen Anne style?” Only by gain- in the Revolution), or perhaps the gentle, fluid lines that
ing exposure to a broad range of furniture and a familiarity describe this style of furniture are more readily associated
with these hallmarks of design can the reader assess the with feminine qualitities. In any event, furniture in the

Curved chair back

Vase-shaped splat

Cabriole leg

The ‘line of beauty’ illustrated in William

Hogarth’s Analysis of Beauty (1753)
represents the major component of
Queen Anne furniture—the S-curve.
Queen Anne style was not fully developed in England until at Taste in art is curiously elastic. Like its culinary counter-
least ten years after the queen’s death, and about ten years part, it’s an acquired preference that relates less to any uni-
later in the colonies. versal standard of beauty than to the basic human desire to
The Queen Anne period is generally thought to include all be accepted by our peers. In early 18th-century America,
early 18th-century American furniture that exhibits most of colonial cabinetmakers considered London the cultural cen-
the aforementioned characteristics. But there’s a double fal- ter and arbiter of correct taste. Trade with the motherland
lacy in assigning a firm beginning and end date to any style provided the colonists with finished goods, as well as many
period. In the first place, it implies that as of a certain date of the tools and fabrics required to make their own. Very
cabinetmakers ceased working in one style and switched to little English furniture was imported to the colonies, except
another. And it suggests that all furniture produced during in the South. (The Southern colonies had an agricultural
that period was stylistically homogeneous. economy and few hardwoods suitable for furniture.) What
Such literal interpretations are exaggerated and errone- little furniture reached northern ports like Boston, Newport
ous. After all, periods of style, like their historical counter- or Piscataqua (Portsmouth) served mainly as a status symbol
parts, merely provide a convenient structure for understand- for the emerging merchant class and as a model to enter-
ing the past and a context for the future. They are arbitrary prising cabinetmakers.
and imperfect designations at best. With respect to the Given the social, economic and political stature of 17th-
Queen Anne period, it is more constructive to say that be- century and 18th-century London, it’s no surprise that Eng-
tween 1720 and 1760 American colonial design was seriously lish furniture was broadly admired by the population and
influenced by a popular English style, which was inspired in emulated by craftsmen in the isolated colonies. Of course,
turn by Dutch, Spanish, Italian and even Chinese aesthetics. many colonial cabinetmakers were recent emigrants from

j Cae * a

The Queen Anne Dining Room ait the Winterthur Museum in Delaware displays classic Queen Anne furniture in a contemporary
Georgian room, with china, pewter, silver and lighting accessories from the same period. (Photo courtesy of The Henry Francis du Pont
Winterthur Museum.)

——
4 ——
England and would have been well trained in the contempo- Spanish and Italian furniture. Its introduction caused cabi-
rary furniture style. But independent craftsmen, even those netmakers to hone their skills in three-dimensional carving,
who had been trained abroad, were quick to modify these skills that would later be applied to the cabriole leg.
basic designs until their products were as distinct from their Dutch influence on 17th-century English furniture was
English predecessors as English furniture was from its Con- not immediate. English work was reminiscent of ponderous
tinental precursors. This mixing of the old with the new 16th-century Elizabethan furnishings. Oak chests and cup-
didn’t necessarily create new trends, but it clearly illustrates boards were stark and rectilinear, sometimes supported by
the way in which style and taste evolve. bulb-turned, unsturdy legs. Joined wainscot chairs and heavy
turned chairs were the rule. Chests of drawers were nonex-
A BRIEF HISTORY istent. Tables tended to be bulky, although a new form of
The study of period furniture, by definition, requires an un- small gate-leg and drop-leaf table was gaining popularity.
derstanding of both the object and the time in which it was Furniture made during the reign of James I is generally
made. Knowledge of the period provides a historical context referred to as Jacobean. The furniture that crossed the At-
for the material object and can help reveal how and some- lantic with the Pilgrims and that which they made in their
times why it came into being, how it was used and how it early settlements was in this style, although it was subtly
eventually changed. influenced by the Dutch designs, to which the Pilgrims were
Material culture is in constant motion; its only permanent exposed during their brief stay in the Netherlands prior to
feature is change. Style, unlike an individual object, is never obtaining a charter.
the product of an instantaneous invention. Style unfolds with Charles I (r. 1625-1649) Charles I succeeded his
the slow accretion of new ideas, constantly blended with the father James to the throne in 1625. His reign was marked
old. In a broad sense, all design is evolutionary or transi-
tional, blending new combinations of past influences. When
we examine any piece of furniture, we should be able to recog-
nize vestiges of earlier styles as well as suggestions of others
to come, even when the piece is firmly rooted in one style.
We should also note the effects of other decorative arts.
Tracing the origins of the Queen Anne style in colonial
America is a particularly complex task since neither the cul-
ture nor the geographic locale was directly responsible for
its invention. In a sense, the colonists received the Queen
Anne formula thirdhand—from Europe via England. How
they made it their own is, in large measure, the story of this
book. But to appreciate this evolution we must briefly trace
the roots of the design through the century of social and
political upheaval that preceded its emergence in Great Britain.
James I (r. 1603-1625) Successful English coloniza-
tion of the Americas began during the rule of James I. James
was a Protestant descended from Scottish ancestors and the
first of the Stuart line. During his rule, England had not yet
established a successful manufacturing economy. Its primary
products were raw materials—mainly wool, lead, tin and
cheese—which were traded for finished goods from Eu-
rope. The Dutch were the greatest commercial power at the
time, and they traded with Spain, Portugal, Italy and the
West Indies. Antwerp was a leading cultural center, and
much furniture was produced there for export.
Dutch design, like that of Great Britain, was influenced by
the nations with whom the Dutch traded. The literary works
of Italian Renaissance artists were translated first into Dutch
and later into other languages. Sebastian Serlio’s The Five
Books of Architecture, published in Venice in 1584 and
first translated in Amsterdam in 1606, crossed the English
Channel with subsequent translation and publication by
Robert Peake, a printseller and painter to James I.
At about the same time, cane-back chairs like the one
shown at right made their way from Holland to England in The Flemish scroll incorporated into the design of the front
trade for raw materials. Its legs, stretchers and carvings are legs and chair back of this English side chair is a forerunner of
based on the so-called Flemish scroll, an S-curve with a the cabriole leg. (Photo by Richard Creek, courtesy of The
kink at the elbow, which was employed on 17th-century Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities.)

— 5 ——_
by civil strife with both Puritans and Catholics. When affected by Spanish, Italian and Flemish forms, had a great
Charles I was captured in 1646, his son Charles II fled to effect on the work of British cabinetmakers. As in France,
France, where he was protected and pensioned by King the most skillful artisans were appointed to the Crown.
Louis XIV (r. 1643-1715). The elder Charles was eventually The opulent French furniture of the period was based on
convicted of treason and beheaded, and Charles II was pro- Renaissance interpretations of ancient classical architectural
claimed King of Scotland in absentia. proportions, but was nearly overwhelmed by baroque orna-
Meanwhile, the Puritans, under the leadership of Oliver ment. Carving motifs were complex, drawn from floral and
Cromwell, revolted and defeated the Protestant throne in the animal images. Surfaces were profusely decorated with pre-
English Civil War. Under Cromwell, the Puritan theocracy cious inlays, such as brass, tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl.
differed little from the repressive monarchy that preceded it. The ornate commode shown in the photo below, made
Further enmity between France and England was nurtured by for Louis XIV by André-Charles Boulle, is a crowning exam-
Cromwell’s persecution of Catholics. ple of the style. It clearly suggests several prominent charac-
The middle class prospered under Puritan rule. The Brit- teristics that would later flourish during the Queen Anne
ish East India Company grew to be a powerful economic period—namely the cabriole leg and the bulging, bombé-
and political force. The East India Company had its own shaped case.
military, currency and laws. It waged war under the protec- On September 2, 1666, two-thirds of London was con-
tive wing of the monarchy and actually lent money to the sumed by fire. Out of the ashés arose the opportunity to
throne. When Cromwell died in 1658 he was replaced by his rebuild the city in the emerging architectural styles, which
son, Richard, who was unwilling or unable to continue the were heavily influenced by classical forms. The English ar-
bloody policies of his father. A state of chaos ensued until chitect Inigo Jones (1573-1652) had already begun to incor-
he resigned in 1659. porate in his work the classical repertoire of Rennaissance
In the American colonies, Puritan rule had very little ef- designers such as Sebastiano Serlio and Andrea Palladio.
fect on the general state of affairs. The predominantly Puri- Christopher Wren’s (1632-1723) plans to rebuild the city in
tan settlers were preoccupied with their own local govern- the classical mode was rejected for financial reasons, but his
ments and with establishing an economic base that would designs had a major impact on the eventual reconstruction.
enable them to repay their charter benefactors. They exported The flourishing architecture spawned new ideas in the
raw materials, such as lumber, potash and furs, to England related arts, and furniture making was no exception. Classi-
in exchange for finished goods. The Dutch colony of New cal motifs such as urns, cartouches, leafage, scrolls and
Amsterdam traded with the Netherlands and subsequently statuary required skilled carvers and sculptors, and these
with the English colonies. During this period, Colonial furni- specialized artisans emerged from the general ranks of join-
ture had changed little from the Jacobean forms that were ers and cabinetmakers. Grinling Gibbons, the most famous
prevalent in the early days of settlement. The vast lumber carver of the period, often collaborated with Wren on archi-
resources of the New World that helped to build the power- tectural projects.
ful British navy had not yet been invested in an American English furniture was shipped to the American colonies
furniture industry. in small amounts as the colonists had already proved capa-
Charles II (r. 1660-1685) Charles II returned to ble of making their own. The early settlers needed the man-
England and was proclaimed king in 1660, which ushered
in the Restoration of the British monarchy. The country was
in a state of financial ruin, but the relatively peaceful times
that ensued helped to restore much of the country’s former
glory. The merchant class continued to thrive, but it favored
the rule of the new king.
The development of the textile industry under Charles’s
reign is of particular interest. Thousands of workers were
employed in factories, which laid the foundation for the di-
vision of labor and production technologies that were to
bear fruit two centuries later in the Industrial Revolution.
The growth of industry also signaled the decline of the me-
dieval guilds and the apprenticeship system.
During his exile, Charles II had been exposed to the pro-
liferation of the arts, which was fostered by Louis XIV. This
powerful French monarch spent a fortune building colossal
palaces that were filled with the finest paintings, textiles and
furniture. Artisans were recruited from other European na-
tions and appointed to the Crown. Louis XIV’s mother was This French commode (1708-1709), of oak, tortoiseshell,
Spanish and his grandmother was Italian, so he had a spe- ormolu and brass, was made by André-Charles Boulle for the
bedroom of Louis XIV in Versailles. Its curved legs and kettle-
cial interest in these cultures.
shaped carcase suggest the cabriole legs and bombé-style case
The reign of Charles If was modeled after this enlight- pieces that developed in the Queen Anne period. (Photo
ened example. Imports from France, which were themselves courtesy of Museés Nationaux Francais.)

——
§ ——
ufactured goods that would make their formidable task less Few economic or social changes took place during the
arduous— mainly tools, hardware and basic textiles. Valu- brief tenure of James II. Support for the arts endured de-
able cargo space was reserved for these staples. Serviceable spite religious and political turmoil. The British navy grew
furniture could be produced here, and it didn’t have to be rapidly, and large quantities of lumber were imported from
stylish. Nevertheless, the popular English forms were copied New England for the shipbuilding industry— particularly
and modified, thus precipitating new trends. Laws protected long pine logs, which served as masts.
English trade, so the colonists had little direct exposure to William and Mary (r. 1689-1702) The reinstate-
goods produced elsewhere unless they first passed through ment of a Protestant king and queen was significant as it
the hands of English merchants. asserted the legislative power of Parliament over the monar-
James II (r. 1685-1688) James II succeeded his chy and declared England irrevocably Protestant. This period
brother to the throne in 1685. Like Charles II, he was a in English history is called the Glorious Revolution.
Catholic with strong ties to Louis XIV. The predominantly William brought with him an entourage of Dutch and Hu-
Anglican Parliament accepted his rule without opposition at guenot artisans whose work had a profound influence on
first, but soon conspired to drive him from the throne. They English craft. (The Huguenots, a French Protestant sect, fled
pledged their support for an invasion by William of Orange, to Holland and America during the reign of Louis XIV.) One
Protestant ruler of Holland. William’s wife, Mary, was James’s of these was Daniel Marot (1663-1752), a Huguenot designer
own daughter and a legitimate heir to the English throne. who moved to England in 1694. In 1702, Marot published a
James fled to France in 1688, vacating the throne, and Wil- design book of engravings that included chairs with bent
liam and Mary became the new king and queen. backs, vase-shaped splats, yoke-shaped crests and embryonic
cabriole legs. These features were probably borrowed from
Chinese furniture, which was imported to Holland by the
Dutch East India Company, but Marot introduced them to
England. His design book is the first published document
that bears a direct relationship to the early development of
the Queen Anne style.
William and Mary furniture reflected the influence of
French and baroque styles. In England, this furniture was
embellished with carved and turned ornaments, while in
America, William and Mary furniture was less elaborate. The
fanciest pieces were chairs, with leaf-carved and _ scroll-
carved crest rails and Spanish feet. Cane-back chairs with
Flemish-scroll legs and stretchers became popular in late
17th-century America. Other new forms appeared as some
colonists began to enjoy the status and comfort of their
newfound wealth. Easy chairs, dressing tables, high chests,
slant-top desks, tea tables and daybeds all originated in this
period. William and Mary furniture emphasizes richly inlaid
surfaces, bold carving and lively turnings.
Though the ornamental elements were well advanced in
the period, form and structure lagged behind. William and
Mary case pieces, for example, are an unbalanced mixture
of thick and thin— massive, bulging cases teetering on in-
congruously small, spindly legs (see the photo at left). The
frame-and-panel system that had been the successful foun-
dation of Jacobean case furniture was abandoned for plain,
wide boards, which often cracked because of a failure to
allow for seasonal movement.
The American colonies prospered under the reign of Wil-
liam and Mary. Coastal population centers grew into large
cities, such as Boston, Portsmouth and New York. Shipbuild-
ing thrived as the demand for British naval vessels in-
creased. Craftsmen began to emigrate to the colonies in
great numbers, and Boston grew to be the largest shipbuild-
ing port. As is usually the case, increased production called
for specialized labor, and the trades continued to expand
Although the decorative elements are well developed on this and diversify. During this period, the occupation of cabinet-
classic William and Mary high chest (Massachusetts, c. 1700- maker came into being in America.
1730), the form is disharmonious. The case is essentially a box
Before long, colonial merchants found they could load
atop a forest of spindly legs, with an oversize waist molding.
(Photo courtesy of the Yale University Art Gallery.) their own ships with locally manufactured goods and set sail

— 7 ——
for ports around the world. Furniture making became a Queen Anne (r. 1702-1714) William died in 1702,
profitable venture, and markets were established in the eight years after his wife, and was succeeded by his sister-
Southern colonies and the West Indies. Seventy-five years in-law, Anne. The economic development that began in the
before they gained their political freedom, American colo- reign of Charles II continued to flourish under Queen Anne.
nists had begun to wield their commercial independence. The British empire expanded in the New World, and open
ports of trade were established in Europe. Ships of the Brit-
ish East India Company returned from the Orient laden with
furniture that had S-curved, vase-shaped spiats, ball-and-
claw feet and japanned surfaces, which augmented the ba-
roque and classical influences.
This exposure to new forms helped inspire 18th-century
English cabinetmakers to abandon the rectilinear forms of
the William and Mary period. Craftsmen applied curves to
both structural and decorative elements of their furniture to
achieve a gentle, fluid sense of movement in the transition
between parts.
Significant changes in ‘construction technology also oc-
curred during the Queen Anne period. The most important
of these was the introduction of the continuous leg post on
tables and high chests (see the classic Queen Anne highboy
at left). This resolved the structural problems that plagued
similar William and Mary furniture, where legs were at-
tached by weak tenons. Other structural developments are
discussed in the chapters that follow.
In the American colonies, the cities continued to grow
rapidly. Trade with foreign ports was augmented by a
healthy commerce between the colonies, with packets ser-
vicing much of the Eastern seaboard. Furniture was an im-
portant cargo, and regional styles developed from the origi-
nal forms that migrated to America from England. English
furniture was still in fashion, though it represented a small
portion of the goods imported to the colonies. It served
mainly as a model to the tradesmen, who had by now diver-
sified into joiners, cabinetmakers, chairmakers, turners,
carvers and upholsterers.
The time lag between the development and growth of a
furniture style in England and its subsequent migration to
the colonies left the colonists a bit behind the times in
terms of European fashion. We know, for example, that
Flemish cane chairs entered England from Holland during
the reign of James I, yet the form did not appear in America
until several decades later. Familiar English forms were
emulated for an extended period and were hardly affected
by the latest styles that crossed the channel to Engiand. This
allowed craftsmen more time to experiment before they
were induced to make more radical changes. Styles were
able to come to fruition, with complete resolution of detail
and the development of regional characteristics.
In England, the designs of Thomas Chippendale brought
about great changes in the Georgian style. In his 1754 book
Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director, Chippendale of-
This fully resolved Queen Anne highboy (Connecticut, c. 1740-
1780) is one of the finest pieces of Queen Anne furniture. Its fered the English cabinetmaker three main styles: rococo,
graceful legs flow effortlessly into the scrolled apron. The Chinese and Gothic. But by the time his designs achieved
upper and lower cases form a nearly continuous vertical line, their greatest influence in England, the American furniture
sweeping into the scrolled pediment at just the right point. The industry was already well established, and these furniture
fan decoration is enhanced by the related sunburst in the plinth. fashions had less of an impact. When they eventually were
The harmony between curved and straight lines, the balance
between motion and stasis and the emphasis of form over adopted by American furniture makers, they were applied
decoration are hallmarks of the Queen Anne style. (Hennage sparingly. Ornament was added to Queen Anne forms, whose
Collection, courtesy of Israel Sack, Inc., N.Y.C.) proportion and scale remained essentially unchanged. Queen

—— § ——
Anne furniture persisted through the early 19th century, re-
flecting Americans’ conservatism and preference for simplicity.
As the 18th century wore on, the curvaceous lines of
Queen Anne and rococo Chippendale furniture gave way to
rectilinear interpretations of Chinese forms, followed by a
brief infatuation with Gothic architecture. With the contin-
ued influence of architecture, a completely new style of fur-
niture emerged in the young American Republic. The Federal
style was rectilinear, emphasizing inlay and marquetry with
little or no carving. Inspired by the Age of Reason, it was a
reaction to the gaudy designs usually associated with the
British aristocracy.
Regionalization Despite extensive outside influence,
America need not apologize for its furniture heritage. In
terms of creativity, it stands alone and contributes more
than its share to the body of international furniture history.
American Queen Anne furniture is dynamic and unique, in-
novative yet simple, without extraneous frills. And it is gen-
erally expertly crafted. What’s more, the Queen Anne style
lasted longer and achieved greater sophistication in America
than the Georgian style did in England.
As furniture in the Queen Anne style developed in North
America, it began to exhibit distinct qualities in each of the
various colonial enclaves. Portsmouth, Boston, Newport,
New York, Philadelphia and Charleston were the major re-
gional style centers of the period. Furniture from each of
these centers exhibits unique and identifiable traits.
Through careful documentation of similar characteristics,
the furniture historian can often assign provenance and may
even identify a specific maker.
Massachusetts Queen Anne furniture, for example, is typi-
cally spare. Legs are delicate and graceful, and designs tend
to be vertically oriented. Newport cabinetmakers were among
the first in New England to make extensive use of carved
elements, such as the ball-and-claw foot and C-scrolls and
shell carvings on the knees of cabriole legs. Flat stretchers
were another unique feature of Newport chairs. John Williams House in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and the
New York pieces tend to be rectilinear and squat, with highboy on the facing page bear witness to the intimate
oversize elements, while Philadelphia furniture is closely re- relationship between architecture and furniture during the
Queen Anne period. (Photo courtesy of Historic Deerfield.)
lated to contemporary English design. The trifid foot, de-
scribed on p. 26, is a trademark of Philadelphia chairs, as
are volutes on back splats and spiral scrolls on crest rails. Finally, a craftsman’s work was affected by the materials
New England furniture tends to be both more conserva- that were available. New England cabinetmakers had ample
tive and more innovative than that of the Middle Atlantic and supplies of maple, walnut and cherry. These hardwoods are
Southern colonies. The complex, independent economy of difficult to work, which encouraged conservative designs.
New England fostered the development of a furniture style Newport and Philadelphia cabinetmakers, on the other hand,
that was more functional and less ornate than the English had access to imported mahogany, which was perfect for
imports. The relatively aristocratic, agricultural colonists of carving, so their work developed in that direction. Generally,
the South tended to accept fewer digressions from the estab- the northern areas used more indigenous woods than the
lished English standard. Southern colonies, which relied on imported woods.
There are several factors that contribute to such regional To some degree, regionalization did occur in earlier style
diversification, the most important being the background periods, but it was during the Queen Anne period that it
and training of the craftsmen. The colonies were settled by reached unprecedented importance in American furniture
people from distinct cultures — Massachusetts by the English design. Regional variations are described as they apply to
and New York by the Dutch—who were predisposed to cer- the pieces in this book.
tain styles and technologies. Popular taste also helped dic- Style Throughout this book, I refer to three different
tate the style in which craftsmen labored. And taste was styles of Queen Anne furniture: high-style, vernacular and
greatly affected by the prevailing religious, political and eco- country. These styles occurred to some extent in all regions
nomic climate of the community. of colonial North America.

SS)
 Parts of the Order x

Pediment

Cornice

Entablature Frieze

Vows. : ae aa ee

Capital

Column

Shaft

Base

+ 4 See
Eehelle pour: lu Tascam rt lr Hurigus Pedestal

The five orders of architecture provided an important

foundation for furniture design in the Queen Anne period. From Base
Pierre Esquie’s Vignola.

High-style pieces are characterized by a well-resolved de- FURNITURE AND ARCHITECTURE

sign and careful joinery. They are usually urban and were The first furniture makers in America were also house car-
directly influenced by English prototypes or design books. penters, jointers and shipwrights. This situation persisted
They are made of high-quality, expensive woods like walnut well into the 18th century, when economic improvements
or mahogany, and are usually finished clear to emphasize fostered specialization. In rural areas, however, joiners and
the beauty of the materials. These sophisticated pieces were carpenters continued to build furniture until well into the
purchased by the wealthy merchant class for their best rooms. industrialized 19th century. (The tools of the 18th-century
Vernacular work is an obvious imitation of high-style fur- carpenter and cabinetmaker were essentially identical, ex-
niture, but it falls somewhat short of its goal. Either the cept for stationary shop tools like the lathe and the workbench.)
joinery or the design is not as well executed, and the piece The relationship of carpenter to cabinetmaker reflects the
is made of less costly native hardwoods. The finish is clear, general relationship of architecture to furniture. The book
but the wood is frequently stained or grain painted to look Ten Books on Architecture by Vitruvius (first century, B.C.),
like mahogany or walnut. the oldest written work on architecture in the western
Country furniture is usually quite distinct from both high- world, demonstrates that the ancients had a system that
style and vernacular examples, although evidence of their could be judiciously applied to produce beautiful forms.
relationship still exists. These might be considered rustic, Italian Renaissance architects, such as Alberti, Serlio and
because of their apparent lack of sophistication, but they Palladio, interpreted Vitruvius’s description of the so-called
express great individuality and a colloquial charm derived classical orders, and they published guidebooks for contem-
from ethnic or rural folk traditions. Joinery on country fur- porary builders (see the photo above, left). In the 17th cen-
niture tends to be straightforward, sometimes crude. The tury these were translated into most modern European lan-
finish does not necessarily imitate expensive materials, and guages and they ushered in a lengthy period of classical
paint is common. revival in Europe, England and the American colonies.
Of course, there are many exceptions to these generaliza- A classical order is a group of architectural elements
tions. Not all high-style pieces are urban, nor are all country combined according to a prescribed formula. The system
pieces rural. Differences between styles are often subtle. dictates the size, location, proportion and profile of all

— 10 —
 CYMA REVERSA

¥4 ROUND

QUIRKED

HYPERBOLIC ARCS

FACE OR FASCIA

This full complement of classical molding

profiles was illustrated in William R. Ware's
The American Vignola, The Five Orders.

members of the order. Mathematical divisions of the base of ters, cornices and architraves were but a few of the other
the column, called diameters, are used to size and propor- architectural elements employed in the design of Queen
tion every element, from the height and width of the largest Anne furniture.
structure to the smallest decorative molding. The principal The architectural guidebooks influenced the publication
members of an order include the pedestal, column, entabla- of new books that dealt with furniture designs, such as Dan-
ture and pediment, as illustrated in the drawing on the fac- iel Marot’s early works. Even books published in the late
ing page. 18th century, like Chippendale’s Director, included descrip-
Moldings are used to enhance the appearance of structural tions and scaled drawings of the five classical orders.
support and to ease the transition between major elements The Georgian architectural style in vogue during much of
of the order. Each member is composed of a molding, or the Queen Anne period is based on a neoclassical interpre-
several moldings, with a unique profile determined by its tation of the ancient forms. The photograph on p. 4 shows a
use or location and the order in which it is found. The typical museum installation of furniture in a contemporary
illustration above shows most of the classical molding pro- architectural setting. The classical elements—cornices and
files that occur in architecture and related furniture. pilasters—are based on Roman examples presented in the
Plain surfaces between decorative members could be em- guidebooks. The tools used by the house joiner to fashion
bellished with carved motifs such as leafage, scrolls or statu- these elements in wood (the ancients used stone or aggre-
ary. The triangular area framed by the pediment (the tym- gate) were applicable to cabinetmaking, where many of the
panum) might carry a cartouche (an ornate, scrolled same architectural moldings were applied.
frame). A panel within the frame could display a painting, In his Director, Chippendale flawlessly summarizes the
the name of the owner or builder, or the date of construction. relationship between classical architecture and furniture, a
At first glance, Queen Anne furniture may not resemble relationship that underlies all of Queen Anne furniture:
classical architecture, but a more careful examination re- “Of all the arts which are either improved or ornamented
veals certain members of the orders. Then, as now, the cabi- by Architecture, that of CABINET-MAKING is not only the
netmaker was looking for ideas, and the guidebooks that most useful and ornamental, but capable of receiving as
were available served this purpose well. The classical orders great Assistance from it as any whatever. I have therefore
provided a vocabulary of design elements that could be ap- prefixed to the following Designs a short explanation of the
plied to furniture. Furniture designs reiterated familiar ar- Five Orders. Without an acquaintance with this Science,
chitectural features and cabinetmakers were encouraged to and some Knowledge of the Rules of Perspective, the Cabi-
follow the rules of proportion, but less dogmatically. The net-Maker cannot make the Designs of his Work intelligible,
scrolled pediment that added an element of grace and dignity nor show, in a little Compass, the whole Conduct and Effect
to front entrances (see the photo on p. 9) could also be of the Piece. These, therefore, ought to be studied by every
used to crown a high chest of drawers, with the same deco- one who would excel in this Branch, since they are the very
rative effect (see the photo on p. 8). Moldings, friezes, pilas- Soul and Basis of his Art.”
CABRIOLE
LEGS
 urniture legs serve several functions. They raise an ax or adz in a stock-removal process that anticipated
the height of a chair or table, making it more modern methods by thousands of years.
convenient and comfortable to sit or work The furniture of ancient Greece and Rome, like that of
upon. A blanket chest or case of drawers, when Egypt, was likewise adorned with animal imagery, although
elevated by legs, provides easier access to its the method of its construction and degree of sophistication
stored contents. Of course, chests can be placed on top of changed with the advent of new technology. The steel saw,
one another for increased height, but legs make a high which was invented by the ancient Romans, largely replaced
chest lighter and easier to move. Legs also help to stabilize a the ax and adz for basic operations and continued to be the
piece of furniture on an uneven floor. primary tool for shaping carved legs until the middle of the
The simple addition of legs also animates a piece of fur- 19th century, when the bandsaw became popular.
niture. Without legs, a chair would be a lifeless mass— The use of sculpted legs and feet in early furniture set the
sturdy and permanent, perhaps, but effectively immobile. stage for the abstract, stylized interpretation of the animal
Elevate the object from the floor with legs, and you bestow leg, which is the essence of the cabriole leg. The cabriole
an open, airy sense of movement. leg appears to have developed in France and Holland during
The design of the legs can greatly enhance this quality. the late 1680s as a feature of baroque court furniture (see
The legs on the William and Mary high chest pictured on Chapter 1). Appropriately, the French word cabriole trans-
p. 7 are beautiful, yet the flat stretchers tie the legs together lates in English to a leap, a caper or a somersault.
like shackles. By contrast, the cabriole legs on the Queen
Anne highboy shown on p. 8 are so successfully integrated THE DEVELOPMENT OF CABRIOLE LEGS
into the overall design that the piece appears ready to The first published reference to the cabriole leg of which I
prance across the floor. am aware occurs in Jacques-André Roubo’s L‘Art du Menui-
For ages, man has been fascinated by the graceful gait of ster, a late 18th-century French encyclopedia of cabinetmak-
wild creatures and relied upon domesticated species for ing. Roubo describes a Louis XIV armchair with gracefully
transportation. So it is not surprising that the legs on much curved legs and armposts as un Fauteil en Cabriolet (see
of the earliest wooden furniture were shaped like the limbs the illustration on p. 14). In another engraving in the same
of animals. The eventual introduction of laboriously carved work (also illustrated on p. 14), Roubo describes the pro-
legs suggests a deliberate decision to embellish and animate cess for measuring and laying out the curved legs, which he
a piece of furniture and shows respect for the animal after calls Jes Pieds de Biche (the feet of a doe). His chair leg is
which the legs were modeled. cabriole shaped, but it has the volute, or scroll foot, that
The use of animal motifs was frequently motivated by was common on French furniture of the period. The scroll
pantheistic beliefs. Among the many spectacular artifacts foot was used frequently on English Georgian pieces, but is
discovered in the tomb of the Egyptian king Tutankhamen rarely seen on American Queen Anne furniture, with the ex-
were several pieces of furniture, two of which are shown ception of occasional Chippendale pieces made in the Phila-
below. The rear legs on the gaming table were shaped with delphia area.

is

The sculpted legs on the gilt throne (left) and the gaming table (right) from tankhamen’s tomb are distant forebears of Queen Anne
cabriole legs. (Photos courtesy of the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Egypt.)
 The earliest known American reference to the cabriole and America—clearly illustrate the source of the furniture
leg appears in the account books of an 18th-century Boston makers’ imagery.
upholsterer, Samuel Grant. Grant refers to “horsebone Of all the elements that compose the Queen Anne style,
round feet,” a term also used in a 1689 bill for the furnish- none is so graceful or so basic to the form as the cabriole
ings of Hampton Court Palace in England, which mentions a leg. Furniture makers of the period emphasized form over
stool of “walnuttree carved all horsebone.” If there were any ornament, so elaborately carved feet were deemed superfluous
doubt, the animal references that describe the S-shaped to the design of the piece. The cabriole leg was meant to
leg—be they of deer on the Continent or horses in England suggest movement, not to describe it precisely with realistic
animal features or ornate scrolls. Because the style persisted
longer in the colonies than it did in Great Britain, American
cabinetmakers were able to explore the limits of cabriole-
leg design. Nowhere else did cabriole legs achieve such sim-
ple and beautiful forms, and in such profusion.
When the Chippendale style became popular, after the
middle of the 18th century, the basic Queen Anne cabriole
leg was embellished with more lifelike carvings, such as
hairy paws and the Chinese motif of a bird or dragon
clutching a large pearl (the ball-and-claw foot). The knees
of cabriole legs were adorned with swirling foliage or styl-
ized shell carvings.
This new style was called rococo, a term derived from
rocaille, in reference to the ornate shell-carved grottos of
Renaissance architecture. It took nearly 75 years for French
rococo influences to percolate through conservative England
and take hold in America. And rather than create a distinct
style, cabinetmakers superimposed rococo ornament over
familiar Georgian and Queen Anne forms. American Chip-
pendale furniture in general, and cabriole legs in particular,
benefited from the refinements made to the Queen Anne
form in this country, so they tended to be more elegant and
better proportioned than English legs of the same period.

SCULPTED LEGS
There are two principal types of cabriole legs found on
American Queen Anne furniture. The first, and by far the
most common, is a contour-sawn, sculpted leg that has be-
come the hallmark of the style. The second type of leg was
turned entirely on the lathe and is not really a true cabriole
leg because it was not based on the S-curve. Sculpted legs
were more closely related to ancient Egyptian or classical
Greek and Roman forms.
To create a sculpted leg, a template, like the one shown
in the Roubo engraving at left, was used to lay out the shape
of the leg on the stock. The template was traced on two
adjacent faces of a square leg blank, and the waste was
removed until what remained was the three-dimensional
shape of the leg.
Denis Diderot’s Recueil De Planches sur Les Sciences
(Paris, 1762) illustrates the steps required to produce the
cabriole leg of a sofa. Figure 20 in the Diderot engraving on
the facing page shows the uncut block with the leg pattern
traced on its surface. Figures 21-31 depict the gradual re-
moval of waste and the emergence of the completed leg.
Figures 18 and 19 show the finished leg, independent of the
sofa, which is shown at the top of the illustration.
Roubo’s 18th-century illustration of this Louis XIV armchair All sculpted cabriole legs are similar in shape. They differ
(top) provides an early description of the cabriole leg. Roubo
also shows how patterns are developed for cabriole legs mainly in the design of the foot. There are four varieties of
(bottom), which he calls les Pieds de Biche (the feet of a doe). Queen Anne feet that occur on sculpted legs of American
From L'Art du Menuisier (Paris, 1769-1775). furniture: the turned-pad foot (most common), the slipper

—— 14 ——
 TA
Fig.¢

An 18th-century method of making cabriole legs for a sofa. Cabriole legs, from left to right: with turned-pad foot, slipper
From Diderot’s Recueil des Planches sur Les Sciences (Paris, 1762). foot, Spanish foot and trifid foot.

442
foot, the Spanish foot and the trifid foot (see the photo Variations of Turned-Pad Feet
above right). Of course, individual examples of each type of
foot may exhibit diverse characteristics, and several of these
anomalies will be described later on.
Turned-pad foot The turned-pad foot is round, usu-
ally with convex, sloping sides that terminate in a circular
pad on the bottom. The stock is centered on the lathe and
the foot is turned to shape first. The top of the foot is sub-
sequently carved to blend into the curve of the sawn and
sculpted leg.
Turned-pad feet may be found on pieces made in all of books demonstrate, for example, that they were frequently
the colonies, and subtle individual traits identify certain feet offered to customers of Chippendale furniture as a less ex-
as the product of specific communities. The drawing at right pensive alternative to ball-and-claw feet. It is not uncommon
illustrates some of the variations of the form. These turned- for turned-pad feet to appear on the back legs of case
pad feet are variously called club feet, shoe feet, duck feet pieces, gaming tables or side tables, while the more visible
or Dutch feet. But whatever their profile, they are always front legs have ball-and-claw feet. While such pieces are
circular because they are turned on the lathe. sometimes erroneously labeled transitional, they simply rep-
Turned-pad feet were used on all forms of Queen Anne resent a stylistic preference during the Chippendale period.
furniture—chairs, tables and case pieces. Because they Slipper foot The slipper foot is made entirely by carv-
were common from the early 18th century until the begin- ing and it is the easiest carved foot to make. But like many
ning of the 19th century, they are not very helpful in deter- sculpted objects that appear simple, subtle variations in line
mining the production dates of a piece. Period account and proportion determine the beauty of a well-executed
foot. The pointed foot resembles a sharp-toed slipper or, as between intersecting axes. (The process for making both
I often visualize it, a double-ended fishing dory. It is most types of turned leg is described on pp. 27-30.)
common on furniture made around Newport, Rhode Island, On a piece of furniture, parallel-axis legs have vertical leg
but can be found to a lesser extent on furniture made shafts, while converging-axis legs slope inward from the out-
throughout the colonies. The slipper foot was used on tables side corner of the piece to the floor. Depending upon the
and case pieces, but almost never on chairs. length and profile of the turnings, however, it may be diffi-
Spanish foot The fully carved Spanish foot has been cult to tell these two legs apart, particularly in a photo-
interpreted in endless variations. It suggests the stylized graph. Sighting down the leg shaft will usually reveal the
hoof of an animal, but with S-shaped flutes that resemble characteristic vertical shaft of a parallel-turned leg or the
the webbing between the toes of a bird or reptile. angle of a leg with converging axes.
The foot is usually set apart from the main leg shaft by a Parallel-turned legs are most often used when the leg
carved molding, which forms a band around the ankle on the shaft extends above the pommel, as it does on the round-
two outside faces of the leg. In form and function, this re- about chair. It’s much simpler to keep the leg shaft centered
sembles the classic architectural base molding that separates on one axis when there are decorative profiles to be turned
the bottom of a column from its plinth. Like the base mold- above and below the pommel. Also, these legs are generally
ing on the classical column, the leg molding makes a conve- very long, which would place the top centers quite far apart
nient place to start the flutes, which terminate on the under- on a leg with converging axes, resulting in a wobbly setup
side of the foot. The two inside flutes usually end in a scroll. on the lathe. Parallel axes are also used on short legs, where
The Spanish foot is the rarest type of foot found on legs with converging axes would have to angle radically over
Queen Anne furniture. Used on tables and case pieces, it a very short distance.
almost never occurs on fully developed Queen Anne chairs. Many foot styles can be found on parallel-turned legs. In
It appeared early in the period and is considered a promi- one, the foot even projects back from the leg post. This is
nent William and Mary characteristic, so the Spanish foot is
usually associated with transitional pieces. Spanish feet are
also called brush or tassel feet due to their vague resem-
blance to these objects. They appear to have originated in
Spain and Portugal as a feature of 17th-century court furniture.
Trifid foot Like Spanish feet, trifid feet are fully
carved, stylized interpretations of the hooves of animals.
They are also similar to slipper feet, except for the addition
of two extra rounded toes, or lobes, and a relief-carved
tongue or stocking that runs a short distance up the leg. The
knees of legs that end in trifid feet are usually carved with
shells or leafage.
Trifid feet were used on all forms of Queen Anne furni-
ture and, like turned-pad feet, were offered during the Chip-
pendale period as less expensive alternatives to the elabo-
rate ball-and-claw design. Trifid feet are found almost
exclusively on Philadelphia-area furniture and almost never
on New England Queen Anne furniture. Research into the
origin of these unique feet points to Ireland, whence migrat-
ing Quaker cabinetmakers appear to have carried the form
across the Atlantic. Many pieces of contemporary Irish Geor-
gian furniture have trifid feet.

TURNED LEGS
Turned cabriole legs (shown at right) are made by turning
the foot and the leg shaft on two different axes. This creates
a projecting foot that is similar in appearance to the turned-
pad foot on a sculpted cabriole leg. The leg shaft tapers from
its full diameter at the top, or pommel, to a much smaller
diameter where it intersects the top of the foot, or ankle.
The turning axes can be either converging (as on the
porringer table in Chapter 4) or parallel (as on the three
back legs of the roundabout chair in Chapter 3). Converging
axes intersect one another at a specific point on the leg,
while the axes of parallel-turned legs do not. Legs made
Visual distinctions in turned cabriole legs are subtle. Note the
with parallel axes require larger leg blanks, but are easier to projection of the foot pad on the parallel-axes leg on the left
make because you don’t have to deal with the transition compared with the converging-axes leg on the right.

—— 16 ——
common when the sides of the foot are molded, as on the in this chapter have been revised and improved through the
Hudson River Valley chair in Chapter 3. Careful examination production of hundreds of cabriole legs. They work well for
of the feet and ankles will usually disclose the location of me, but you may discover another approach that you prefer.
the centers. Observing cabriole legs Having a good eye is not a
Turned cabriole legs are found mainly on country-style matter of luck or a blessing some of us have. A good eye is
Queen Anne furniture. The relative simplicity of the turned the product of time-consuming, disciplined observation. To
leg makes it more appropriate to less-elaborate forms, al- produce a cabriole leg that is both strong and delicate,
though the use of turned legs on fully developed urban fur- graceful yet not pretentious, and appropriate to the style and
niture is not exceptional. Indeed, the roundabout chair in proportion of the piece, you must study original legs.
Chapter 3 is a high-style example of a piece with turned Simply looking at a leg is not enough. It must be divested
legs. Turned legs do not require carving skills that may not of extraneous detail and appreciated as an abstract form.
have been in the repertoire of a rural cabinetmaker. Turn- The critical lines and proportions must be examined again
ing shops were numerous in most rural areas because of the and again until they are understood. Before I reproduce a
many practical items they manufactured—from tool handles piece for the first time, I'll spend hours looking at the origi-
and wagon wheels to balusters and newel posts. nal (or a photo or drawing of it)— usually in several sit-
Unlike sculpted legs, turned cabriole legs were not used tings, from different angles and under different lighting con-
on furniture before the Queen Anne period. Turned cabriole ditions. Each time, I’m delighted to discover something I
legs first appeared in the colonies on early 18th-century hadn’t noticed before. When I’m satisfied that I've absorbed
tables. The turned cabriole leg was used frequently on small all I can through careful observation, I make a full-scale,
Queen Anne tables made around Newport, Rhode Island. front-view drawing to verify my impression and get me on
Similar tables are known to have been produced in England the way to making templates.
and Ireland at the same time. Measuring period legs Most of the Queen Anne fur-
Although both sculpted and turned cabriole legs are niture I’ve reproduced has been based on photographs, al-
sometimes called Dutch legs, the term is more commonly though sometimes I’m able to gain access to a piece and get
applied to the turned leg. The leg style may have migrated permission to take measured drawings. Unfortunately, the
from Holland to England and then to America. The Hudson days of simply walking into a museum to measure furniture
River Valley chair, which has turned cabriole legs, was pro- are gone. You may find exceptions, particularly among
duced in great numbers by Dutch colonists in the New smaller institutions, but for a variety of financial reasons,
Amsterdam (New York) area. But since this chair was still museums have become increasingly cautious about allowing
being made in the 19th century, it’s nearly impossible to reproductions of pieces from their collection. (They some-
authenticate early examples. times issue reproduction contracts to large manufacturers,
but the results often bear little resemblance to the origi-
REPRODUCING CABRIOLE LEGS nals.) This is a pity because much could be gained from an
The legs are unique on every piece of Queen Anne furniture. improved rapport between furniture makers and curators.
But since many of them are similarly made, it would be Private collections are a more likely source, but collec-
redundant to describe their construction separately. So the tors are also understandably cautious about allowing strang-
rest of this chapter is devoted to an explanation of the pro- ers into their homes. In any case, if you are fortunate
cess for making each of the basic types of cabriole legs and enough to be granted access to a piece of 18th-century fur-
feet described above. niture, you should exercise extreme caution while examining
Legs with Spanish feet or trifid feet are not found on any or measuring it, out of respect for the piece and for its
of the furniture in this book. They are described in this current Owners.
section because they complete the discussion of all the basic Sculpted cabriole legs are difficult to measure and draw
leg types of the Queen Anne style. The leg discussion is fol- in one plane because they are carved in three dimensions.
lowed by a description of the two basic types of knee brack- I've developed a system for measuring legs that tells me all I
et that form a transition between the top of the leg and the need to know to produce a pattern. I use a caliper rule and
apron or rail. a pair of dividers to measure the diameter of the foot and
the leg shaft. I also carry a wooden folding rule for record-
LEG CONSTRUCTION ing the overall height of the leg and the height and width of
The procedures outlined here will be referred to many times individual parts. A tailor’s cloth rule is handy for taking
throughout the book, so it’s a good idea to familiarize your- measurements where a wooden rule might mar the finish.
self with them now. Once you’ve mastered leg construction, I never use a metal profile gauge, which is a tool com-
you’re well on your way towards making fine reproductions. monly used to reproduce molding profiles, because it might
Any method of construction is appropriate if it results in inadvertently scratch the finish. Plastic gauges can be quite
the correct leg for a given piece of furniture. Speed of pro- effective, however, and they won’t harm the furniture if
duction is only one facet of efficiency; real efficiency has to they’re used judiciously. They come in 12-in. lengths and
do with selecting the right tools for the job, arranging your can measure a longer section of leg than the metal gauges,
work in a logical sequence and feeling comfortable with the which are shorter. To copy the correct leg profile, hold the
process. If you concentrate on making the process more effi- gauge at a right angle to either the front or side of the leg,
cient, speed will take care of itself. The procedures described as shown in the photo on p. 18.

—17—
 Profile tracings must be combined with other leg mea- The drawing (and the template taken from it) is a one-
surements, and any shaping modifications, such as the dimensional elevation of the leg, as seen from either the
rounding of the knee and leg shaft, should be noted (see the front or side of the piece. (See the leg drawings on p. 20
drawing below). On turned legs, you can determine the cor- and p. 27.) You'll note that the curve of a sculpted leg
rect orientation of the axes by measuring the distance be- drawn in this perspective is not as great as it appears to be
tween the turning centers on both ends of the leg. Here is a when viewed from a 45° angle. But don’t worry, you’ll develop
list of other measurements I make sure to get: the correct curve easily enough when you carve the leg.
efoot height; Begin by drawing the foot of a sculpted leg. Fur the
e pad height (if any); turned-pad foot, mark the major diameter of the foot, the
efoot and pad diameters; height of the foot above the pad, and the height and diame-
eleg thickness at 1-in. intervals Avis the shaft; ter of the pad itself. Slipper, Spanish and trifid feet have no
eknee width at the widest point; turned parts to describe, but their overall height and profile
eleg-post thickness, width and height; must be noted. The variations between these styles will become
e knee-bracket thickness, width and height. clear as the procedures for making them are described.
Since I can’t usually carry a piece back to my shop, I like Once ihe foot is drawn, sketch the rest of the leg con-
to take black-and-white study photos of the leg, with de- tour, including the knee, shoulder, shaft and ankle. This is
tailed shots of all areas. I use a small automatic 35mm cam- the most crucial and difficult part of making a leg pattern,
era, and I always ask permission and make sure to explain and careful observation pays off here. Feet are easily mea-
that the photos will not be reproduced. If I can’t shoot pho- sured or deciphered from photos or sketches, but S-shaped
tos, I make on-site sketches, with plenty of notes to explain legs are derived from an infinite variety of curves. For con-
specific details. You can sometimes purchase archival pho- sistency, they must be copied carefully, and a French curve
tos of museum furniture for study, but be prepared to wait a or ship curve must be used.
while for special orders. To complete the pattern, draw the knee bracket and part
Drawings and templates Both sculpted and turned of the apron or rail, as these are integral to the design of
legs must be drawn full scale to enable you to check the the leg. If the apron is contoured, sketch slightly more than
accuracy of your measurements and, in the case of sculpted half its length so you can fully examine how the curved
legs, to generate construction templates. Turned legs are apron will relate to the shaped leg. The size and location of
much simpler to draw because their profile is easily mea- the apron tenons and their respective leg-post mortises
sured. I usually sketch a sculpted leg freehand and revise it should be indicated on the drawings.
many times until I’m satisfied. I then fair my fuzzy lines into I prefer to work the bugs out of my drawings by making
a crisp, concise profile with the aid of various French a first draft on architect’s vellum. This material is easy to
curves and ship curves. erase and less expensive than the yellow oaktag I use for my

Parts of a Leg
(with a Turned-Pad Foot)
Top of knee
(bottom of
Leg post leg post)
Apron/rail

Shoulder

Knee

Knee bracket

Leg shaft

Top of foot

Ankle

A plastic profile gauge may be used to copy the shape of a Major diameter
cabriole knee. Hold the gauge parallel to either the front or side << of foot
Side of foot
of the piece. Pad

— 18 —
templates. When the drawing looks right on vellum, I use handled throughout the drying process. Heavy stock takes a
carbon paper to transfer it to the oaktag, which is stiff long time to air dry—roughly one year for every inch of
enough for a good template. (Since you'll need a template thickness. This formula does not allow for variable drying
for the knee bracket and the scrolled apron, you may as conditions, however, so I usually keep away from air-dried
well make them now.) The oaktag can be cut with scissors leg stock. But every now and then a piece of irresistable air-
or an X-acto knife and is sturdy enough to survive quite a dried lumber, such as a beautiful tiger maple, finds its way
few projects, if care is taken to keep the edges crisp while into my stockpile.
tracing the pattern on the stock. Oaktag and vellum are I always avoid glued-up leg blanks since it’s impossible to
available in most art-supply stores, and can be ordered in hide the joint unless the leg is painted. Although laminated
large sheets. For extremely large surfaces, such as a scal- blanks may be as strong as solid ones, they were rarely used
loped tabletop or a highboy pediment, simply tape or glue on period pieces, and a solid blank has more integrity. Thick
two pieces together. stock is expensive, but so is the time it takes to laminate.
I like to hang the template on the shop wall, usually next I am also wary about buying so-called turning squares.
to a photo of the piece I intend to reproduce. This allows Some are fine, but each one must be examined carefully.
me to observe and compare it to the original many times, They are usually squared at the sawmill before they've been
each in a different state of mind when I might be receptive dried and have a tendency to warp to a diamond shape in
to something new. When I’m satisfied with the template, I the kiln, thus reducing the amount of usable material. I prefer
make a trial leg out of an inexpensive, easily worked wood, to cut my own leg stock out of large planks, which allows me
such as pine or poplar. If the template is correct, this leg to be selective about grain patterns, wane and other defects.
should look right, too. If modifications are required, the Tools for making legs During the early years of the
template is adapted —back and forth, template to leg, leg to Queen Anne period, cabinetmakers would have used a bowsaw
template — until I arrive at the final pattern. or frame saw to rough out the leg blank. Either tool can be
Turned cabriole legs require three drawings—an eleva- used to cut a curved outline, but the blade of the frame saw
tion, showing the profile of the entire leg, and plan views of tends to wander less than the cord-tightened bowsaw be-
the top and bottom of the leg blank, indicating the centers cause it is kept tightly stretched between the frame members.
of the axes. The elevation should include all turned profiles The endless bandsaw, which was patented in 1808 in
and diameters, as well as the location, length and dimen- London by William Newberry, did not see much use until the
sions of the pommels. The locations of any mortises or bor- mid-19th century, when steel rolling mills were able to pro-
ings for aprons, rails or stretchers should also be noted. In duce the long blades without difficulty. It is, of course, the
the plan views, the turning centers must be located on the most efficient modern machine for producing cabriole legs
proper diagonals of the square, or the feet will end up in in the small shop, and I use it to rough-shape all my sculpted
the wrong place. Combining this information on a full-size legs. You might shun the machine and prefer to saw legs the
drawing will let you easily determine the point on the leg old way. If so, you have my blessing, but I’ve yet to meet
where the axes converge. Templates are not required for anyone who does, aside from museum interpreters.
making turned cabriole legs, but be prepared to make a Leg stock is substantial, so the saw must be capable of
couple of trial legs to check the location of the turning cutting tight-radius contours through 3 in. of hard maple. I
centers on your drawings. suggest a narrow blade on a 14-in. (or larger) bandsaw. A
Selecting leg stock Cabriole legs require the finest- good-quality smaller saw might suffice for legs, but it will
quality wood you can obtain in any species. They must be not be ideal for cutting some of the other curved compo-
able to support a load and withstand everyday use without nents that are common to Queen Anne furniture, such as
any structural failure, so the stock must be straight grained aprons and scrolled pediments.
and without serious imperfections. The rough stock must be You'll need a lathe, of course, to make turned legs and
large enough to obtain a dressed, squared leg blank. It must the turned-pad feet on sculpted legs. The longest cabriole
be of consistent thickness, with no major twists, bows, cups, legs, found on high chests, are 36 in. long, so your lathe
checks or cracks, which could prevent milling to the correct must be able to accommodate this dimension. A lathe can
size. These defects should be avoided anyhow, because they never be too massive. Turned cabriole legs are mounted out
usually indicate improper drying techniques. Knots also of balance and can create substantial vibration, so the lathe
should be avoided, because they can create weak areas, are must be heavy enough to withstand this treatment. (If neces-
difficult to work and detract from the design. sary, you can beef up a light-duty lathe with sandbags or
Try to avoid using sapwood in cherry and walnut. The concrete, or by bolting it to the floor.) A ball-bearing tail-
light-colored new growth will not work as well as the darker stock center will allow you to turn for hours without burn-
heartwood, and it will never stain to match. Sapwood was ing, and you won’t need to mess up the end of the blank,
nearly always avoided in period pieces. This may be partially which becomes the bottom of the foot, with lubricating oil.
due to the abundance of heartwood lumber, but I believe For turning tools, you'll need a set of spindle-turning
that cabinetmakers who worked entirely by hand would not gouges, skews, scrapers and parting tools (see the photos
have wasted their effort on sapwood, regardless of availability. on p. 23). I also use a small, round-nosed scraping tool
Green wood or wood that has been stressed in the kiln (shown on p. 29), which I ground out of an old -in. firmer
will be unstable. I prefer lumber that has been carefully kiln chisel. Its elliptical point is excellent for turning the top of
dried, but air-dried stock is fine if it has been properly the foot on turned cabriole legs.
Sculpted Cabriole Legs Note: These patterns are for the sculpted legs shown on p. 15.
Dimensions will vary for other sizes of furniture. See p. 16 for
examples of turned cabriole legs.

2M-in.
dia. foot

“AGin. With a Turned-Pad Foot—25" in. Phcin. Wein,

7k in. Leg blank is 2 in. square, post is 1'2 in. square. apron dia. foot Pattern for
turned-foot
profile
he in.
Ga Front re
¢ a Back a

% 7in. .
With 5
a Slipper °
Foot—24' in. aan Pattern A: Pattern B:
+ os Leg blank is 2’ in. square, post is 1‘ in. square. Sprertle Top of foot Rein

Saw kerfs define ankle

She in.

Cut pattern
on these
lines.
With a Spanish Foot—24"2 in. ~<— 5 in. apron a=!
Leg blank is 22 in. square, post is 1' in. square. Flute pattern

Note: All posts have 1 in. extra length

to be removed after fabrication.

Pattern A: Pattern B:
With a Trifid Foot—17' in. apron Footprint Footprint
Leg blank is 27% in. square, post is 2 in. square.

Most of the other hand tools required for making cabri- ers have air-filled, cylindrical bladders covered with a sand-
ole legs are found in most cabinetshops. They include a ing sleeve. The air pressure of the bladder is adjustable, and
drawknife, a spokeshave, assorted chisels, carving gouges, bladders are available in different diameters to conform to
cabinet scrapers and sandpaper. One hand tool in particular various leg contours. Balloon sanders are useful and can
deserves special consideration: the pattern-maker’s rasp. It make short work of shaping or sanding a leg, but they can
cuts quickly, but without leaving the deep scratches that are spoil a delicate design just as quickly. They are particularly
unavoidable with common rasps. It is ideal for shaping all destructive of the area around the top of the foot if you’re
kinds of wood, even curly hard maple. I can’t imagine how I the least bit careless.
made cabriole legs without one. I have a balloon sander that mounts between centers on
There are three grades of pattern-maker’s rasps: second my lathe, but I use it very sparingly, especially on softer
cut (#49), smooth cut (#50) and extra-smooth cut. I use a hardwoods like mahogany, which is easily sanded by hand.
smooth cut #50 and have never needed the other two This tool can be indispensible in a high-production shop
grades. It’s expensive—around $25—but well worth the and in the hands of a careful operator, but it is usually
cost. Mine is made by Nicholson and is available from unnecessary for most small shops like mine. Small, hand-
Woodcraft Supply (see Sources of Supply on p. 242). The held balloon sanders are very effective for getting into the
pattern-makers’s rasp is also known as a cabinetmaker’s tight areas of a leg, and are much easier to control since
rasp, so ask for the latter if the former is not available. you can see the surface you’re sanding. But even these small
Balloon sanders, or pneumatic sanders, are commonly sanders are quite expensive, and are hard to justify for the
used to shape and sand sculpted cabriole legs. These sand- small cabinetshop.

—20 —
 MAKING SCULPTED CABRIOLE LEGS tions are removed by cutting off the extra inch after the leg
The process for making the four basic styles of sculpted is completed.
cabriole legs begins the same way. Follow the general steps I have measured many original pieces of Queen Anne fur-
described here for each type of leg, and then proceed to the niture and have arrived at a few average leg sizes for each
specific instructions on pp. 23-26 to complete the legs with type. Case-piece legs usually call for 12/4 (3 in.) square
a turned-pad, slipper, Spanish or trifid foot. stock. (Depending on the shape of the leg and the diameter
Mill the leg blank Joint and plane the leg blank. of the foot, you might be able to get away with 10/4 stock
Make sure it’s square and large enough to accommodate the on lowboys.) Table legs, unless they are on large dining ta-
largest leg you plan to make. Cut the blank cleanly and bles or work tables, can usually be gotten out of 10/4 stock.
square at both ends. Front chair legs always require 12/4 stock. Stock 16/4 is
I always add an extra inch to the top (leg-post) end of a almost never necessary, except for bed posts, and beds are
sculpted leg. This addition solves two problems: in the pro- the scarcest form of American Queen Anne furniture. Check
cess of making legs with turned-pad feet, the lathe drive the leg dimensions for each piece in this book, or whatever
center cuts into the sides of the finished leg post; and scrap- piece you are reproducing, for more specific information.
ers, planes and sanding blocks tend to dive off the end of Lay out the leg Draw layout lines in pencil across the
the stock, altering the shape of the post. These imperfec- blank to mark the top of the foot, the top of the knee (the

a" eg POT
ae,
THe

On turned-pad feat(left),ES compass to draw the diameter of the foot and pad on the bottom of the leg blank. To lay out a trifid
or slipper foot (right) use two templates. The larger template defines the top of the foot; the smaller defines the bottom of the footprint.
 bottom of the leg post), the length of the shoulder where
the knee bracket will attach, and the exact finished length of
the leg (plus one extra inch at the top of the leg post).
Clamping the four legs together will speed the process and
ensure that they will be identical. Use a marking gauge to
lay out the width of the leg posts. The incised lines pro-
duced by the gauge are more accurate and easier to follow
than pencil lines, which can be easily smudged and are usu-
ally too thick.
Trace the template Hold the back of the leg post
and the back of the foot flush with one edge of the blank,
and trace the complete template on two adjoining faces
(shown in the top photo on p. 21). The intersecting corner
will become the inside of the leg, so orient the pattern to
accomodate any grain features that you wish to expose on
the outside of the leg.
Outline the foot For the furned-pad foot, draw diag-
Define the bottom of the leg post with aisawcut in the
onals from corner to corner on both ends of the blank and
adjacent outside faces of the leg blank. mark the center with an awl or punch. Most turned-pad feet
are centered on the square end of the leg blank, but on
some examples the foot is located off-center, toward the
outside corner of the leg. This gives the foot a bit more
projection but requires a larger blank, particularly for a
large-diameter foot.
Use a pencil compass to draw the major diameter of the
foot and the smaller pad on the bottom of the blank (bot-
tom left photo, p. 21). Make sure the lines dark, so you can
see them while the stock is rotating on the lathe. This will
enable you to turn the feet to the correct diameters without
using calipers.
To lay out carved slipper or trifid feet, draw the diagonal
lines and transfer the appropriate templates to the bottom
end of the blank. Two templates— representing the top and
bottom profiles—are included with the drawings on p. 20
for each type of carved foot (except for the Spanish foot,
which does not have a sawn profile). Then the diagonals are
used to orient the templates on the feet, which are sawn and
then carved.
Define the leg post Make a single cut into the two
After tracing the template, cut the leg shape out of the square adjacent outside faces of the blank to define the top of the
blank on the bandsaw.
knee and the bottom of the leg post. Use a radial-arm saw
or table saw to produce a crisp, straight cut.
Do not cut out the rest of the leg post until after the leg
is carved. The full top of the leg will be easier to hold in the
vise and to turn on the lathe, as the drive center is often
dangerously close to the edges of a fully sawn post. Also, the
full-dimension blank will be better balanced on the lathe,
and the leg post is less likely to become marred by some
carving operation.
Cut the leg shaft profile Follow the template pat-
tern you traced earlier to bandsaw the leg shape out of the
square blank (see the middle photo at left). Cut the inside
and outside contours on one face first. Save the waste and
tape it back on the blank, then cut out the other face (bot-
tom photo at left). Some people use brads to reattach the
waste, but a misplaced brad could blemish the leg or even
touch the bandsaw blade. (Again, the Spanish foot is an ex-
ception; you have to define the ankle molding on the saw
Then tape the waste back on the blank and cut the other face. before cutting the leg-shaft profile.)

—22 —
 SCULPTED LEGS: MAKING A TURNED-PAD FOOT

t
onan
a *

2. Mark the height of the foot pad on the cylinder, turn the pad to size and shape the
sides of the foot to the correct profile. Scrape the pad with a parting tool—it's difficult to
cut with a gouge or skew in such a small area. Make a shallow groove at the top of
the foot with a skew to define the top edge when you carve the foot and the ankle. (You
re
ME” ye can also turn a small shoulder above the incised line, which rounds off the arris at the
1. Center the bandsawn leg on the back of the ankle and causes the three other thin corners to flake off.) Shape the curved
lathe, with the foot at the tailstock end, profile of the foot, and use the point of the skew to turn a crisp corner between the
and turn the major diameter of the foot. upper part of the foot and the pad. Finally, sand the foot on the lathe.

3. Shape the lower leg, from the knee

to the top of the foot, with a drawknife,
followed by a spokeshave, a pattern-
maker's rasp and cabinet scrapers. This 5. Saw out the leg post, and keep the
may be done right on the lathe, as sawn face as smooth as possible. You can
shown here, or by clamping the leg in a use a table saw, but you'll have to finish
vise with V-blocks. On the lathe, an 4. With a chisel, carve the ankle | the cuts with a handsaw or bandsaw. You
indexing pin could be used to keep the beyond the bandsawn line to give the can also remove the waste by making
leg from turning. Sand the leg. foot more definition. successive cuts on the radial-arm saw.

6. Pare the sawmarks off the knee with a

chisel and smooth it with a pattern-maker’s
rasp, a file and sandpaper. Leave the
shoulder crisp where the knee bracket will be
applied. The inside curve of the leg,
underneath and behind the bracket, is simply
pared with a chisel and carving gouges
and need not be sanded. Photos 5 and 6 in
this sequence apply to all four feet types
found on sculpted cabriole legs
 SCULPTED LEGS: MAKING A SLIPPER FOOT

2. Use a chisel or pattern-maker’s

rasp to carve the sides of the foot from
the top edge of the sawn line to the
inside layout line on the bottom. You can
use a coping saw for this, but it’s easy
ee to make a mistake. Smooth the profile
1. Cut the outside profile with a coping saw. with a file and sandpaper.

3. For a graceful curve, file the top of the foot where it meets
the ankle with a pattern-maker’s rasp.

ss

4. Use a pair of V-blocks to hold the leg post securely in the

vise during all of these operations.

—— 24 ——
 SCULPTED LEGS: MAKING A SPANISH FOOT

Note: The ankle molding must be

marked and sawn before the rest of the
leg shaft. The profile of the Spanish
foot is indicated on the full-leg drawing
on p. 20, and should be bandsawn at
the same time as the leg shaft.

1. Make two sawcuts on each of the

adjacent outside faces of the leg blank ¥ sa

to define the ankle molding. Bandsaw 2. Cut out the individual flute patterns from your full-size drawing to lay out the flutes.
the rest of the leg post, including the foot Note that when you hold the bottom of a pattern to the bottom of the foot and bend the
profile. Smooth the surface of the oaktag around the curved edge, the pattern is too short to reach the molding. Simply
sawn foot with a flat cabinet scraper. extend the top of the pattern by sketching to the bottom of the molding.

eae ee i 7 eae

4. Cut the flat fillet between the astragal and the cove on the radial-arm saw. Then
carve the ankle molding to its astragal/cove profile with a small gouge.

- 5. The carved flutes form a symmetrical

pattern on the foot bottom.

3. Carve the flutes and the outside

scrolls. Make the face of the scrolls
slightly concave to accentuate the effect.
 SCULPTED LEGS: MAKING A TRIFID FOOT

Le

3. Using chisels and gouges, carve the

1. Flatten and define the top of the foot with a rasp. Cut out the toes with a coping sides and between the toes from the top
saw, following the larger profile drawn on the bottom of the foot. Smooth the sawn of the sawn line to the smaller pattern
surface with a rasp. drawn on the bottom.

4. Lay out the tongue on top of the foot. Some of the length of the flexible oaktag
pattern will be taken up by the curved surface of the leg, so you'll have to extend the
tongue slightly by sketching to a measured point on the face of the leg.

5. Use a sharp knife to define the edge of

the tongue to a depth of about '/i6 in. Then,
with a carving gouge, relieve the area
Kiceeaen around the tongue and shape the flutes
between the toes. (Rub the carved surface
lightly with sandpaper to find the high spots.)
After the carving is finished, sand the foot
smooth.

2. Round the back of the foot with a

drawknife or a rasp, then sand the foot
smooth. (Wrap a '/a-in. dowel with 80-
grit sandpaper to get between the toes.)

— 26 ——
Turned Cabriole Legs
Converging Axes
Leg shaft axis is 4 in. from foot center Leg shaft axis is “%4 in. from post center
7 in. Axes intersect here

a 6'” in.
Bottom View 25% in. Top View
Y%-in. dia. Note: Leg blank and p ost are 27% in. square.
foot

Leave full 2% in. square Parallel Axes

for turning larger foot
Remove excess material Axes are parallel and
with jointer or bandsaw "6 in. apart (approx.)
2"e-in. dia. foot

19% in.

Note: Leg blank is 2'/ in. square. Leg post is 1% in. square.

MAKING TURNED CABRIOLE LEGS The axis for the foot is generally the center of the square
The process for making turned legs is poorly described in blank, and the diameter of the turned foot is usually the
books about period furniture. And most wood-turning books largest that can be gotten out of the square. Draw diagonal
concentrate on faceplate turning at the expense of center- lines between the corners on both ends of the blank to lo-
work. But if you wish to become proficient in making cate the turning centers for the foot. Then extend these cen-
Queen Anne furniture, you must learn to turn between cen- ters down the length of the leg blank.
ters at least moderately well. Again, you may want to make a Locating the offset leg-shaft axis is a bit more complicated.
trial leg of pine before tackling an mahogany blank. Begin by marking the bottom of the pommel on all four
Turned legs are much easier to make than sculpted legs. faces of the leg blank (6’4 in. from the top of the leg, as
No bandsawing or hand shaping is required, and most of shown in the drawing above). Draw a second line around
the work is done between centers on the lathe. What’s the blank, parallel to the first and about 4 in. below it. The
more, turned legs are easy to duplicate. You can use a lay- point at which this second line intersects the centerline rep-
out stick, taken directly from the drawings, to mark out the resents the point where the two axes converge. Draw an-
turnings on identical legs. The most difficult thing about other line across the centerline on the elevation, indicating
making turned cabriole legs is locating the correct axes, so the height of the ankle (1’4 in. from the bottom of the foot
extra time spent measuring your pattern legs and refining in the drawing above).
your drawings will really pay off. Next, draw two circles on the plan view, one representing
Prepare the blank for a leg with converging or parallel the circumference of the foot (1% in. dia. in the drawing)
axes by milling it square and cutting it to exact length. I cut and the other for the ankle (% in. dia.). The latter should
my turned-leg blanks to their finished length at the outset, be centered on the A-axis and tangential with the circumfer-
because their top ends are not reduced in size like the leg ence of the foot, as shown in the drawing. Project the center
posts of sculpted legs. Consequently, the drive center on the of the ankle to the elevation and use a straightedge to con-
lathe will not damage the end of the blank, and no further nect it with the point below the pommel where the two axes
planing, scraping or sanding is required on the leg post. converge. Then extend this line to the top of the leg blank
Converging axes The first step in making turned legs to find the other offset turning center.
with converging axes is to determine the point where the The foot center will be at true center on both the elevation
axes converge. This can be obtained by transferring the in- and the plan drawings, but note that the offset turning centers
formation from your full-scale drawing to the jointed and fall on the same diagonal on both ends of the blank, but on
planed leg blank. The drawing must include the major diam- opposite sides of true center. The location of the offset cen-
eter of the foot, the diameter and height of the ankle, the ters must be projected from the elevation to the plan views
location of the pommel and the diameter of the leg below because their distance from true center on the ends of the
the pommel. blank is actually greater than it appears on the elevation.
 TURNED LEGS: CONVERGING AXES

1. With the blank mounted on its true (foot) center, use the
skew to turn the pommel. Then turn the rest of the leg below the
pommel to a cylinder. Try to maintain the maximum diameter
of the leg shaft below the pommel, but don’t waste time truing
the shaft because it will be turned later. On a turned cabriole 2. Remount the leg on its offset centers to turn the leg shaft.
leg with converging axes, the transition occurs just below the Rotate the leg by hand to be sure it clears both the lathe bed
pommel where the axes cross. and the tool rest.

3. The fuzzy cone-shaped outline you'll see

when the lathe is running represents the
shape of the finished leg shaft. The
unbalanced blank will cause potentially
dangerous vibrations on a lightweight
lathe, particularly when turning heavy legs, so
be sure the work is fastened securely
between centers.

4. Working from the pommel to the foot,

use a roughing gouge to remove material
quickly. (The vibrations will become less
intense as more wood is cut away.) Be careful
not to come too close to the foot, as the
eccentric foot is difficult to see and can be
easily spoiled by an accidental nick of the
gouge. Then smooth the turned leg shaft with
s a skew chisel and sandpaper.

5. After the leg shaft is shaped, rough 6. Turn the ankle to define the top of the foot. This is the most difficult part of the
shape the foot. process, and many legs are ruined at this point. The round-nosed scraping tool at left
will not catch a corner as a gouge might, but the process is still delicate. When the
ankle is faired into the leg shaft, sand the entire leg, maintaining a crisp edge at the top
of the foot. Finally, remount the leg once more on the original foot centers and use a
skew chisel to scrape the foot clean.

—28 —
 TURNED LEGS: PARALLEL AXES

1. Locate the centers on both ends of

the leg blank, and use a marking gauge 2. Remove the waste from the top of the leg to a layout line just a couple of inches
to lay out the area for the leg post. above the foot. This can be done on the bandsaw, table saw, radial-arm saw or jointer.
The top photo shows both centers on the Mount the blank on its foot centers (true center on the bottom and off-center on the
top of the blank, as well as the excess top of the reduced leg post), and turn the foot to its finished diameter (top). Rotate the
stock that will be removed. The bottom leg by hand before you start the lathe to make sure that it will not touch the tool rest.
photo shows the height of the foot The foot is turned a bit tall at this point; define its height and ankle after turning the rest
marked on all four faces of the blank. of the leg. Mark the '/2-in. height of the foot with pencil, as shown above.

fe *

3. Recenter the blank for the leg-shaft turnings (true center on 4. Shape the ankle and the top of the foot with the small
the end of the leg post and off-center at the foot). Then use a round-nosed scraper. Sand the finished leg on the lathe. Then
skew chisel to cut the pommel shoulder. Rough out a recenter it on its original centers and scrape the side of the
cylindrical leg shaft with a gouge and turn the tapered shaft, foot lightly with a skew fo clean it up.
from the pommel to the foot. Then use the point of the skew to
define a crisp corner below the pommel.
 I usually turn a trial leg to make sure my calculations for centers have been resolved in the drawings, transfer the in-
the centers are correct. If they are, the transition from the formation to the leg blank and follow the photo sequence
foot to the ankle and below the pommel will be smooth. In on p. 29 to make a trial leg.
geometric terms, a sloping section of a circle, or an ellipse,
joins a true circle, so a perfect transition is impossible. A KNEE BRACKETS
little sanding should be all that’s necessary to fair the two Sculpted cabriole legs are cut from a square block of wood.
together so any aberrations are nearly invisible. But minor As the contour of a leg is developed, the leg post, which
adjustments of the centers can result in major improve- receives the apron or rail, is significantly reduced in size.
ments, so it’s worth a little experimentation. The knee protrudes to one side of the post, creating an unbal-
With the converging axes thus determined, follow the anced form and a graceful curve that terminates in an abrupt,
photos on the facing page to make the leg. vertical line. This imbalance is effectively resolved with the
Parallel axes A leg with parallel axes is easier to addition of a knee bracket on the other side, which eases
make than a leg with converging axes because the stock is the transition between the curved knee and the flat apron.
balanced on the lathe for most of the turning. Only the foot Two types of knee brackets were developed to make this
is turned with the blank out of balance. Also, there is no transition. They are found exclusively on Queen Anne and
crucial point of intersection between the two planes, as Chippendale furniture and on their derivatives. The two
there is on a leg with converging axes. brackets differ mainly in their shape and in how they are
Compared to a leg with converging axes that has the attached to the leg and apron, and consequently in the visual
same size foot, shaft and pommel, a parallel-axis leg must message they convey. A third style, or mock bracket, is a
be turned from a larger blank to accommodate the project- part of the leg itself, and does not require any extra appen-
ing foot. Rather than laminating extra wood at the bottom of dages. (Mock brackets are described for the oval-top table
the leg, which might waste less material, I prefer to start on p. 123.)
with a blank that is large enough for the full diameter of the The first type, which I call an applied bracket, is shown
foot. (This is slightly larger than the actual diameter of the in the top photo on the facing page. It is applied to the
foot, as shown in the drawing on p. 27.) Above the foot, on corner formed by the protruding leg shoulder and the face
the front of the leg, the blank will be reduced to the fin- of the apron. Applied brackets, like the one in the photo,
ished dimension of the square leg post. usually terminate in a point or a scrolled bead, pointing
As always, determine the axes on the full-scale elevation down and away from the apron. The bracket visually sepa-
and plan drawings of the leg, and transfer this information rates the leg from the apron, even as it eases the transition
to the leg blank. (The elevation is not as important for between them. It also reinforces whatever scroll work or
turned legs with parallel axes as it is for those with converg- scalloped carving is employed in the design of the apron.
ing axes, but it is still useful for laying out the pommel and Sometimes an applied bracket runs the full length of the
transferring information between the plan views.) Begin the apron, between the knees of the legs at both ends. This type
drawing by laying out the square to the size required to turn of bracket is commonly found on tea tables, such as the
the foot. tray-top tea table in Chapter 4, or sometimes on the ends of
Next, draw the reduced dimension of the leg post on the a lowboy or highboy base. The bottom edge of this full-
elevation and both plan views. To locate the turning centers apron knee bracket is generally scrolled.
for the leg shaft, find the center of the reduced leg post and I have dubbed the second type of bracket, shown in the
transfer it to the bottom view. Then mark the location of the bottom photo on the facing page, a buttress bracket because
pommel, any mortises in the leg post and, finally, the height it bears a strong resemblance to the architectural device of
of the ankle. the same name. A buttress bracket fits into the corner
Use a compass to sketch the circumference of the ankle formed by the shoulder of the leg and the underside of the
on the bottom view and a straightedge to draw the front and apron, rather than the face of the apron. Unlike the fully
back tapers of the finished leg shaft from the ankle to the carved applied bracket, the buttress bracket is shaped on
pommel. The leg shaft will blend smoothly into the back of only two planes. The large, exposed surface of the bracket
the foot behind the ankle. lends itself well to carvings of acanthus leaves and other
On the bottom view, the leg-shaft circumference at the motifs. Indeed, this type of bracket is used whenever the
ankle should appear as a small circle within a larger circle knee bracket is included in the detailed carving of a leg.
describing the foot. Without changing the position of the leg The underside of the buttress bracket describes an
shaft, play with the adjustment of your compass on the bot- upward-curving ogee profile, terminating in the bottom of
tom view until the circumference of the foot is tangential to the apron. It appears to lend physical support to the hori-
the back of the ankle, as shown in the drawing on p. 27. zontal apron and is therefore much more visually integrated
Position the lead point of the compass at what will be the with the apron than is the applied bracket. For these rea-
back of the ankle shaft and move the center point of the sons, the buttress bracket has a more formal. architectural
compass so that the foot will fit within the large square. If impact than the smaller, more subtle, applied bracket.
the foot won't fit within the square you’ll have to increase Although both types of bracket were used throughout the
the size of the leg blank or decrease the size of the foot. Queen Anne and Chippendale periods, they tend to be found
Transfer the foot center to the top view by drawing a line on different kinds of furniture. Applied brackets, which
parallel to the leg-shaft axis on the elevation. When both were most common during the early Queen Anne period,
are usually found on early tables and case pieces. Except for
a few rural examples, early Queen Anne chairs with sculpted
cabriole legs usually employed buttress brackets.
In general, the buttress bracket was much more common
during the Chippendale period, and it can be found on every
form of furniture made in that style. Part of its popularity
was undoubtedly due to the large surface area the bracket
provided for the ornamental, rococo relief carving that
flourished at the time.
Making knee brackets In the years I’ve been build-
ing period furniture, I’ve seen and used several different
techniques to make knee brackets. They all have to account
for two basic problems: how to fit the bracket to the leg
contour and how to hold it while it is cut and shaped. The
method I now use solves both of these problems rather nicely.
Applied knee brackets are generally more difficult to
make than buttress brackets. Applied brackets are curved in
three dimensions and require some hand shaping (curves
on two of these planes can be sawn) and are generally quite
small and hard to hold onto. Buttress brackets are curved
on only two planes, both of which can be sawn, so they
require no hand shaping.
The size and proportion of the knee bracket are impor-
tant to the overall design of a piece of furniture, so draw-
ings and templates of the bracket should be made as the
rest of the design is developed. You'll need two templates
for each bracket, the first of which is taken directly off the
elevations, as is the template for the cabriole leg. The sec- The applied knee bracket is glued to the leg shoulder and the
ond template will be traced from the vertical shoulder of the face of the apron.
completed leg.
Begin making the knee brackets after the legs have been
fully shaped, sanded and attached to the apron. Some wood-
workers prefer to apply the bracket to the leg and carve it
before the leg is joined to the rest of the piece. While it’s
true that the individual legs are more easily held on the
bench, I prefer to fit the bracket to the leg and the apron
after the two adjacent surfaces are permanently joined.
I make all the knee brackets for a piece of furniture out
of one piece of wood. The large stock is easy to grasp when
bandsawing the bracket profiles, and it enables me to keep
my fingers away from the blade. The thickness of the bracket
stock is easily determined. For applied brackets, measure
the distance that the knee protrudes beyond the face of the
apron. For buttress brackets, simply add that dimension to
the thickness of the apron. I usually add another ‘4 in. or
more to these measurements to account for any variation
between the other knees on the piece.
The width of the bracket stock is determined by the
width of the brackets, as indicated on the elevations. Make
the stock at least four or five inches longer than the total
height of all your brackets to provide a handle when you
saw the last bracket. Try to match the bracket stock to the
legs in both color and grain pattern. (The grain in the
bracket must run in the same vertical direction as the grain
in the leg.) You may need to go through a bunch of stock to
find a piece that will match a highly figured wood like tiger
maple, but knee brackets don’t amount to very much material.
Follow the photo sequences on pp. 32-33 to make both The buttress knee bracket fits between the leg shoulder and
kinds of knee bracket. the underside of the rail.
 MAKING APPLIED KNEE BRACKETS

Seo

1. Hold the stock against the apron and the vertical leg
shoulder and trace the contour of the knee. Trace all the 2. Use an oaktag template taken from your front-view
brackets at the same time against their respective knees, and drawing to transfer the bottom curves to the bracket. Then
number the brackets and leg shoulders accordingly. bandsaw along the two traced lines.

4. Cut a shallow groove on the back of the bracket about ‘/s in.
3. Use a chisel to shape the curve on the outside of the from the top edge, and apply glue inside this channel and to the
bracket. A thin drywall screw holds the tiny knee bracket to a other vertical face that attaches to the leg. (Do not apply glue
small carving platform, which is clamped in the vise. Don't to the apron or leg.) Excess glue will be trapped by this groove
prebore the platform with an oversize hole or you won't be able and will not squeeze out onto the apron when the bracket is
to adjust the screw up or down to accommodate thicker or applied. Press the glued bracket in position for a few minutes
thinner brackets. Twist the bracket onto the fixed screw. Smooth until it doesn’t fall off. If you've made a tight-fitting shoulder,
the curve with a file, and finish the bracket with sandpaper. the bracket should stay put without any fastenings.

6. Use a gouge to smooth the concave

area of the joint on the underside of the
5. When the glue has set, use a chisel bracket. Textures are important in 7. The completed bracket forms an
to pare the joint between the bracket period-furniture reproductions, so don't integral part of the leg and apron and is
and the leg, and sand it smooth. make this surface machine perfect. finished with the rest of the piece.
 MAKING BUTTRESS KNEE BRACKETS

1. Hold the squared end of the stock beneath the apron and
the long face of the stock against the vertical leg shoulder. Trace
the contour of the knee on the bracket stock. Next, draw a
square line from the bottom point of the traced knee across the ie ee a Se a- se
stock to the back face, where you'll trace the front-view 2. Make an oaktag template from your elevation and use it to
template in the next step. (Because the end of the stock must be transfer the bottom curve to the bracket. Saw along the two
square, you'll have to mark and cut the buttress brackets traced lines, separating the bracket from the stock. Then
individually, resquaring the end of the blank for each one.) square the end of the stock before tracing your next bracket.

GZ
Hii 4 2 j i
4. Apply glue to the right-angle surfaces of the bracket and
; , : secure it with two 1'/-in. cut nails. Prebore the nail holes in the
3. Screw the bracket to a carving platform and smooth the bracket to avoid splitting the wood, and set the heads to avoid
outside curve with a file, pattern-maker’s rasp or chisel. nicking them when you smooth the underside of the bracket.

4 Z 6. Smooth the underside of the

5. Use a chisel to pare the joint bracket with a gouge, and lightly =
between the bracket and the leg. chamfer the inside edge with a knife. 7. The completed buttress bracket.
 SEATING
FURNITURE
42
Boston Queen Anne Side Chair

52
Gaines Side Chair

64
Roundabout Chair

74
Hudson River Valley Side Chair

82
Easy Chairs

vy
 he first and most important requirement of any comfort has been, and continues to be, the primary factor
chair is that it be sturdy enough to support the in the development of modern seating furniture.
weight of the person for whom it is designed. The two most significant design characteristics of the new
But beyond this obvious prerequisite, the de- Queen Anne style were the vase-shaped back splat and the
sign of a chair is complicated by functional, cabriole leg, shown on the Boston side chair on p. 37. A
economic and aesthetic considerations. It must be suffi- chair must have at least one of these features for it to be
ciently durable to justify the time invested in its construc- considered Queen Anne. Like the cabriole leg (described in
tion, yet light enough to be moved and small enough that it detail in Chapter 2), the vase-shaped or baluster-shaped
doesn’t take up too much household space. It also must be splat was heavily influenced by elements of classical archi-
comfortable for persons of different sizes and shapes, yet tecture, which were the focus of renewed interest in early
not so massive that the person sitting in it feels lost. 18th-century Europe and America.
Aesthetically, a chair must appeal to a subjective and elu- In Chapter 2, I mentioned that the first American refer-
sive sense of beauty, which evolves differently in every gen- ence to the cabriole leg can be found in the documents of
eration and culture. Prior to the 17th century, chairs were Boston upholsterer Samuel Grant. (Grant billed a customer
considered luxuries reserved for nobility. Their design was for a chair with “horsebone round feet.”) A 1729 invoice
typically ornate and massive, as befit gentlemen of royal lin- provides the first reference to what Grant called a “new
eage. Lavish crest rails reflected heraldic symbols, and stiff fashion round seat.” This could only mean a compass seat,
banister backs suggested military bearing and medieval like the one on the Boston side chair, since no other chairs
weaponry. (A friend once observed that the elaborate banister- with round seats are known to have been made during this
back chairs remind him of Miles Standish, who is usually period. (The construction of this chair is discussed on
portrayed as a gallant Elizabethan soldier with shining ar- pp. 43-46.) Although the chair was made with a rectangular
mor and a plumed helmet.) As we’ve already seen, many seat, Grant was clearly referring to the compass-seat form.
early furniture-design periods were named for the king or In this archetypal Queen Anne side chair the contradic-
queen who ruled at that time. Likewise, the earliest colonial tory characteristics of strength and lightness are exercised
turned chairs were named after their putative original own- in the relationship between positive and negative space.
ers, William Brewster and John Carver, who were among the Positive space is defined by the mass of the chair, and nega-
first leaders of the Massachusetts colony. tive space by the open areas between related masses. The
In the early 17th century, a more egalitarian concept of outline of the negative space on either side of the splat sug-
chair ownership began to emerge. Class consciousness be- gests a pair of lovebirds. Whether or not the lovebird profile
gan to break down, and access to luxury goods was based was intentional, the shape of the splat calls attention to the
more on income than social status. While the price of a chair’s dynamic tension and the overall curvilinear aspect of
chair was still beyond the reach of most Britons, chairs the design.
were more available to North Americans. The colonial econ- Early chair evolution When cabinetmakers began to
omy was based on a more direct barter of goods and ser- produce chairs for the masses, they naturally turned to
vices, with little exchange of hard currency. For a couple of court furniture as a model, as demonstrated by the selection
bushels of corn, a farmer with turning skills might be per- of late 17th-century and early 18th-century chair styles
suaded to leave his fields to turn a chair for his neighbor. shown in the photo sequence on p. 36. Although the fea-
As the economy further diversified, chairs became socially tures of these chairs evolved in roughly chronological order,
acceptable for the emerging middle class. Yet even in the it is important to remember that there is often considerable
privacy of the home—a man’s traditional castle—the ar- overlap between design periods.
rangement of seating furniture around a table continued to The first chair in the sequence is a classic William and
derive from the courtly fashion of European royalty. Only the Mary cane-back chair. It is clearly derived from earlier im-
patriarch could sit in his great chair, a kind of household ported English chairs with Flemish origins, like the one
throne, while other subordinate family members sat on shown on p. 5. English chairs adhered closely to the forms
joined stools, benches or less pretentious chairs. Even after that were popular in court furniture of the period and tended
chairs became universally accepted, the armchair (usually to be much more baroque than North American examples.
considered a man’s chair) dominated more lowly side The second chair is a common example of a New England
chairs. To this day, correct decor calls for an armchair at banister-back chair. Although the form is less ornate than
the head of the table. And modern references to “the chair- that of the cane-back chair, certain similiarities are appar-
man of the board” and “the seat of government” are obvi- ent in the crest rails and turnings. Compare the turned pro-
ous allusions to the chair’s symbolic importance. file of the banisters with the rear posts on the William and
Comfort is a relatively modern concept, developmentally Mary chair.
tied to leisure and wealth. When people have no time to The third chair represents a hypothetical evolutionary
relax, the object they sit upon is unimportant —a tree stump link between early cane-back chairs, banister-back chairs
or a crude bench may suffice. As American colonists began and the Boston leather chair (fourth photo). The rear posts
to discover more leisure time, they became increasingly on the carved-top leather chair resemble the posts on the
aware of and interested in comfort. This manifested itself in banister-back chair, but the split banisters have been re-
the houses and furniture they created—most of all, in their placed with a more comfortable leather panel. The cushion
chairs. It could be argued, in fact, that the search for greater of the cane-backed chair is incorporated in a more sedate
 Banister-back chair (Boston, c. 1700- Carved-top leather chair (Boston,
William and Mary cane-back chair 1730). This turned chair is typical of c. 1700-1720). This chair forms a
(probably Boston, c. 1700-1710). Many of many made in early 18th-century New transitional link between cane-back
the earliest colonial chairs were close England. The carved crest rail derives chairs and the Boston leather chair
copies of English prototypes. from earlier cane-back chairs. (below, left).

Transitional leather chair (Boston,

Boston leather chair (c. 1720-1735). c. 1730-1735). This hybrid chair displays
This is a typical example of many both William and Mary and Queen Anne
‘crook’d back’ leather chairs that were elements in a rather confused
produced in Boston for export throughout ensemble. (Photos courtesy of The Henry
the colonies. Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum.)
upholstered seat frame, while the carved front stretcher is a
throwback to earlier Flemish designs.
The leather chair, fourth in the sequence, is typical of
many that were made in Boston and shipped throughout the
colonies during the Queen Anne period. Indeed, most of the
approximately 750 chairs sold by Samuel Grant between
1728 and 1740, which he called “crook’d back chairs,”
were probably of this type. Although the three previous ex-
amples have sloping backs, the sculpted, spoon-shaped back
posts on the Boston chair replaced the turned leg posts of
earlier William and Mary chairs and became an important
element in Queen Anne chair design. They were sawn from a
2-in. thick plank to conform to the human torso, and their
front face was molded along both edges.
The intricately carved crest rail of earlier periods was
greatly simplified on the Boston leather chair and decorated
with the same molding used on the leg posts. And the caned
and split-banister backs gave way to an upholstered leather
panel. The padded leather seat and back panel were un-
doubtedly inspired by the new emphasis on comfort. Note
that the wooden splat that eventually replaced the padded
back (shown on the Queen Anne side chair at right) re-
tained the same sculpted contour.
Although it has neither cabriole legs nor a vase-shaped
splat, with its carved feet and contoured back, the Boston
leather chair clearly represents a bridge between the Wil-
liam and Mary and the Queen Anne style periods. Grant’s
account books don’t tell us much about the origin of the
design, but the chair’s popularity and Grant’s sales records
help to date the transition between the two periods.
The amalgam of styles in the fifth chair in the sequence
suggests a design in a confused state of transition. The em-
bryonic cabriole legs resemble those on the transitional easy
chair on p. 89. The typical William and Mary profile of the
bulb-turned stretchers was retained on many New England
Queen Anne chairs. The ogee cutouts on the front seat rail
are similar to those found on William and Mary easy chairs,
but they also relate to the aprons on Queen Anne tables and Queen Anne side chair (Boston, c. 1730-1760). This classic,
case pieces. The molded rear stiles and the crest rail are fully developed side chair has all the definitive features of
like those on the Boston leather chair, but the vase-shaped seating furniture of the period: sculpted cabriole legs, a vase-
splat is pure Queen Anne. shaped back splat, curved rear leg posts, a gently carved crest
While certain vestiges of these chairs may be found in the rail and a compass-shaped seat. (Photo courtesy of the Yale
University Art Gallery.)
fully developed Queen Anne chair at right, it surpasses them
all in its lithe, graceful animation and the coherent relation-
ship of all its parts. Compare it with the transitional leather phia Queen Anne chair on p. 39, even the turned stretchers
chair at bottom right on the facing page. The vase-shaped were eliminated. Of course, turned elements continued to
splat on the transitional chair is truncated by a top-heavy appear on joined chairs in the Queen Anne period, as they
crest rail and a horizontal back rail. And the heavy front have throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
stretcher, stiff cabriole legs and rectangular seat frame re- Turned chairs are less complicated to build than joined
sult in a relatively rigid, lifeless stance. chairs and represent an earlier stage in the development of
This sequence of chairs also illustrates an important tran- the form. They require less stock, usually riven or split out
sition from turned chair to joined construction that took of an unseasoned log, which is why turned chairs have re-
place during the period. Note that all of the major structural mained popular in rural areas even today. In the 18th cen-
members of the William and Mary chair, the earliest ex- tury, joined chair stock had to be cut at a sawmill or with a
ample in the series, were turned on a lathe. By the time the pit saw and carefully seasoned to prevent undesirable
Boston Queen Anne side chair came along, only the stretch- shrinkage in the joints. Turned chairs, on the other hand,
ers were turned. The rest of the parts were contour-sawn could be engineered to take advantage of the shrinkage of
from rectangular blocks and joined with rectangular tenons green materials. (See the discussion of the Hudson River
and chopped mortises. Later on, as shown on the Philadel- Valley side chair on pp. 75-77.)
 REGIONAL STYLES Another form of country chair became popular and was
A great number of chairs appear in 18th-century household produced in most areas of the colonies. It combined a sawn
inventories, and chairs are the single most plentiful form to and molded, spoon-shaped rear leg post, a vase-shaped
have survived the Queen Anne period. This must be due, in splat, and a carved, yoke-shaped crest rail with a William
part, to the sheer number of craftsmen who specialized in and Mary front stretcher and turned front legs terminating
the trade. At least 38 chairmakers worked in Boston be- in Spanish feet. (The Spanish feet are related to those on the
tween 1725 and 1760. And, like all good businessmen, they Boston leather chair on p. 36.) Partly carved and partly
based their work on popular designs they knew to be mar- turned, the seat of this hybrid chair was woven with rush or
ketable. But new techniques in sawing and shaping furniture wooden splints, in the tradition of earlier, 17th-century
parts inspired chairmakers to explore their own modifica- turned Brewster or Carver chairs. (See the Gaines chair fea-
tions to these designs, some of which were likewise copied, tured on pp. 52-57.)
until new, related styles were created. By now, it should be obvious that stylistic purity is unusual
Although by 1730 Boston had become the unsurpassed in Queen Anne chairs——or in a piece of furniture from any
center of the colonial chairmaking industry, there was a other period, for that matter. Just as many early Queen Anne
thriving chairmaking business in several other widely scat- chairs display characteristics of William and Mary furniture,
tered colonial cities—from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to chairs made toward the end of*the period begin to exhibit
Philadelphia. Boston’s ascendancy is surely due to its early features associated with Chippendale furniture.
establishment as a principal colonial port and the rise in The parallel rear leg posts of Queen Anne chairs, for ex-
commerce that attended the shipping industry. While Boston ample, evolved into the spreading leg posts found on Chip-
chairmakers continued to be the most prolific in the colonies, pendale chairs. Wider at the top than at the bottom, this leg-
the most high-style examples were made outside of the conser- post orientation emphasizes the pierced splat and the
vative Boston area—in Newport, Philadelphia or New York. characteristic Chippendale eared crest rail. Chairs with par-
Rhode Island chairs most closely resembled those made allel leg posts are easier to construct because all the tenons
in Boston, although fully developed Newport chairs are gen- have square shoulders. On Chippendale chairs, the shoul-
erally more ornate than their northern cousins. Newport ders on seat-rail and stretcher tenons must be angled to
chairmakers sometimes added carved shells to the crest rail correspond to the spread of the posts, and the faces of side
and knees and rounded sections of the rear leg posts for a seat rails and side stretchers are shaped with a twist to fit
cabriole effect, as shown on the chair at top left on the between the vertical front legs and the sloping rear legs.
facing page. Another feature of some Newpoit chairs is their Throughout the colonies, Queen Anne chairs were even
use of flat-sectioned stretchers to reinforce the base. made with ball-and-claw feet, a decidedly Chippendale in-
The boldest and most complex innovations of the period gredient. (See the Newport side chair at top left on the fac-
were carried out on high-style chairs made in Philadelphia. ing page.) Wherever the cabriole leg or the vase splat and
Philadelphia chairmakers tended to adhere more closely to yoke-shaped crest rail are present, however, they clearly
English trends in design and construction. The trifid foot place a chair within the Queen Anne style period.
shown on the Philadelphia chair at top right on the facing
page is a hallmark of Philadelphia Queen Anne chairs, tables DAYBEDS, SOFAS AND EASY CHAIRS
and case pieces. It can be traced directly to British and Despite the large number of extant Queen Anne chairs, they
Irish furniture. Ornament was commonly employed in the were not the only form of seating furniture constructed dur-
form of carved shells on knees and crest rails, and curlicue ing the period. Daybeds, sofas and easy chairs were all
splats. Stretchers are almost never found on Philadelphia made occasionally throughout the colonies.
chairs of the period, which makes them more elegant and Daybeds, which were perhaps originally intended for in-
more likely to need repair. valids, were first built during the William and Mary period.
A substantial number of chairs were produced in New Typical of the period, the earliest examples had turned legs
York. Unfortunately for modern woodworkers and furniture and caned or split-banister backs. As these designs were
historians, these are stylistically close to New England and updated to the Queen Anne style, cabriole legs, vase-shaped
Philadelphia examples and are more difficult to identify. back splats and crest rail yokes replaced the earlier conven-
With the development of regional style centers and the tions (see the bottom photo on the facing page).
proliferation of urban, high-style designs, rural craftsmen Many of these new daybeds were equipped with an ad-
were quick to imitate successful forms. They mixed ele- justable reclining back, which was held in position by metal
ments more freely, combining features from earlier periods chains. The seat frame was usually stretched with canvas
with those of the new style. The turned cabriole leg, for and its edges laced with rope, which was pegged in a rabbet
example, which was popular on many small tables in the on top of the frame. The canvas was then covered with a
period, but was never used on high-style urban chairs, be- padded cushion.
came a main ingredient of a prolific country chair built in In period inventories and account books, daybeds were
eastern New York and western New England (see the Hudson often referred to as “couches,” a term that today is inter-
River Valley chair on p. 74 ). Unlike most other Queen Anne changeable with sofas. Another contemporary term, “settee,”
chairs, which were joined of sculpted rectilinear members, was also applied to both daybeds and sofas. Because of this
the major structural components of the Hudson River chair semantic confusion, it is often difficult to determine which
were turned on the lathe. form is being discussed in written documents of the period.
 4

iFd
X
Queen Anne armchair (Philadelphia, c. 1745-1760). This chair
Queen Anne side chair (Newport, c. 1750-1765). The ornate represents the highest stage of development in the Queen Anne
shell carvings and cabriole-shaped rear leg posts are signatures style. Formal elements include carved shells, volute scrolls,
of a high-style chair. Note the ball-and-claw feet—a common cabriole rear leg posts, sculpted arm posts and armrests and
Chippendale feature—on an otherwise purely Queen Anne form. trifid feet. Note the absence of stretchers, which is a
(Photo courtesy of The Society for the Preservation of New Philadelphia trademark. (Photo courtesy of The Henry Francis du
England Antiquities.) Pont Winterthur Museum.)

Queen Anne couch or daybed (Connecticut

or Rhode Island, c. 1740-1780). The leather
cushion of this fully developed daybed
rests on a foundation of stretched canvas
laced to the seat frame. (Photo courtesy of
The Metropolitan Museum of Art.)
 Although what we now call a sofa or couch—an elongated, product. This convenient arrangement has two important
fully padded bench with a padded back and arm rests, as implications for furniture making of the period: first, it in-
shown in the photo below— originated during the Queen dicates that there was limited contact between many wood-
Anne period, very few appear to have been made. Chair- workers and the people who used their products, and sec-
makers were certainly capable of producing them, but the ond, that styles were probably influenced by upholsterers
prohibitive cost of imported fabric placed sofas beyond the who doubled as designers and salesmen.
reach of all but the wealthiest merchants. The high tariffs This specialization in the marketing of furniture parallels
imposed on goods imported to the colonies from countries the division of labor in the trades themselves. We know, for
other than England protected the English textile industry and example, from various account books, inventories and maps
sharply increased the cost of foreign fabrics. of early 18th-century Boston that the city had a large com-
Sofas made in England, with pad-footed cabriole legs, are munity of joiners, cabinetmakers, chairmakers, upholsterers,
more plentiful than American pieces, as a larger wealthy carvers, turners and japanners. It was not uncommon for
class was already firmly entrenched there, and locally manu- these tradesmen to combine their specialized talents to pro-
factured or imported continental fabric was less expensive duce a final product. One enterprising Boston cabinetmaker,
than in the colonies. Very few American Queen Anne sofas Nathaniel Holmes, employed ten joiners and cabinetmakers,
survive, and those that do are stylistically closer to the Chip- three turners, two bed-bottoni makers and a japanner to
pendale period, with horizontal arm rolls and straight, recti- produce the furniture that bore his name.
linear stretchers. The trade card of another Boston upholsterer, Ziphion
Like daybeds, the first easy chairs were made during the Thayer, shown on the facing page, suggests the extensive
William and Mary period. These usually had turned legs and merchandizing that was part of an upholsterer’s daily busi-
stretchers, with carved Spanish feet and bold profiles, simi- ness. Thayer’s card lists over 30 items for sale, from looking
lar to those found on side chairs. The oldest documented glasses to easy chairs, bedsteads and even shoes. Most of the
American easy chairs were made in Boston, one of the few fabric he lists would have been imported, but it’s likely that
colonial areas to support a thriving upholstery trade. his furniture was locally made.
During the Queen Anne period, the front legs on easy Today we use the word “upholstery” to apply to the fab-
chairs evolved into carved cabriole legs with pad feet. The ric or leather covering of furniture. But in the 18th century,
transition between William and Mary and Queen Anne easy it was generally used to describe various domestic applica-
chairs can be appreciated by comparing the photos for the tions for fabric. These included such items as window cur-
Newport and transitional easy chairs on p. 84 and p. 89. tains, bed hangings or bedcovers, laces and, of course, the
covering of padded furniture.
UPHOLSTERY The fabric used in curtains and bed hangings was usually
The 18th-century upholsterer was the equivalent of a mod- chosen to match that of the furniture in the same room.
ern interior decorator. We know from early account books Two of the most popular colors were green and red. Docu-
(like those of Samuel Grant) that chairmakers and cabinet- ment fabrics (period fabrics upon which authentic repro-
makers relied upon upholsterers to market their work, ductions are based) that were originally green appear blue
which they frequently produced on speculation. The uphol- today because the green color was achieved by overdyeing
sterer often supplied the woodworker with raw materials, yellow onto blue. The yellow dyes have long since faded to
the cost of which was deducted from the sale of the finished reveal the blue we now confuse with the original color.

Queen Anne sofa (Philadelphia area,

c. 1740-1760). This piece is one of the few
surviving examples of its type and represents
the earliest form of sofa produced in the
American colonies. (Photo courtesy of The
Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum.)
 The first imported fabric for covering furniture was
called turkeywork. For a long time, this coarse woolen fab-
ric was erroneously believed to have been made by needle-
workers, but it was actually based on a method of knotting
like that used on Turkish oriental rugs.
One of the earliest and most common materials used by
colonial upholsterers was Russian leather, imported by way
of England. Russian goatskins and calfskins were subjected
to a complex treatment of hammering in two directions,
which made the hides less likely to shrink, split, rot or be
eaten by insects. The faint cross-hatched pattern produced
in the process was deemed attractive and was imitated on De,
: tin oot
c aay
Sold yy
br
other European and North American hides, though the actual
tanning process was different. When European materials be- WON SHAYC
came prohibitively expensive, North American upholsterers UttheGlen toa Ovvidelle Dy bone
switched to native leathers, usually sealskin or goatskin. a. compdleat Gfocrinent of Lijhebhi Goods, es
Samuel Grant purchased hundreds of raw sealskins, which Toes tach are he feller i, Ope
Lift, Crlatte, 0.
he had locally tanned and dyed black or red. COWCC by)prorlicoe hic?
cn
ler Mons
ped. Daarmah?
Domestically manufactured fabrics eventually were used ies Cn wma PCRS ve!
for upholstery, but probably more so in rural areas, where
the population had less money and less access to imported
textiles. Also, the needlework skills of local artisans were
often proudly displayed on rural upholstery. (The original
fabric on the Newport easy chair on p. 84 is an excellent
example of rural expertise in the needle arts.) Plain-woven
cotton cloth was sometimes spread over more expensive
! k& ae Malnul GPar,
eeuy a
eles
tan
fabrics to protect them from light and wear, much as furni-
i | Pectatecds.<Bed Cords, beh
cz $<
ture slipcovers are used today.
AOE nt ewln.
Curled horsehair was used for the heavy padding of the
arms, seats and backs of sofas and easy chairs and for the The trade card of Ziphion Thayer of Boston (engraved by
Nathaniel Hurd, c. 1765) illustrates the vast range of goods and
padded slip seats of arm chairs and side chairs. It provided services offered by an 18th-century upholsterer. (Photo
a soft, resilient cushion, and regained its shape when the courtesy of the Worcester Art Museum.)
seat was unoccupied. The side wings of a sofa or easy chair,
which called for a stiffer, more defined material, were pad-
ded with rolled marsh grass bound with twine. The prickly watered finish, where the dampened fabric was embossed
horsehair and marsh grass were covered with a tightly woven with heavy scorching rollers. Later in the Queen Anne period,
linen cloth that prevented their migration to the expensive damasks (solid-colored fabrics with contrasting glossy and
finished fabric and protected the sitter. Webbing spanned dull woven designs) became less expensive to produce and
the open areas of the seat frame and side wings, giving a gained popularity as an upholstery material.
foundation to the horsehair and marsh grass stuffing. The Very few Queen Anne easy chairs have survived with their
seat was covered with a separate cushion, loosely padded original finish fabric intact. The Newport easy chair on
with down or feathers. p. 84 is one such example. Another famous chair, in the
Most of what we know about period fabric comes from Brooklyn Museum retains its original covering of vermicelli-
the advertisements of contemporary upholsterers. In the early embossed wool moreen.
18th century, a surprising variety of linens, cottons and There are a lot of excellent reproduction 18th-century
woolens were offered for sale, almost all of them imported. fabrics available, but most of these are based on continental
(The American textile industry wasn’t fully operational until document fabrics, with florid baroque or rococo designs.
the first quarter of the 19th century, when the colonists be- These saw little use in the American colonies, where the
gan to harvest sufficient quantities of wool, cotton and flax.) more conservative English fabrics were preferred. Wool is
Ziphion Thayer’s trade card lists many of the most popular curiously absent among today’s reproductions. More infor-
imported, 18th-century woolens, such as moreen, cheyney mation on upholstery materials and sources of supply for
and harrateen. These were available plain or treated with a quality reproduction fabrics is provided on p. 242.

—— 4] ——
 Boston Queen Anne side chair. This mahogany reproduction is
based on an original walnut chair built in Boston, c. 1730-1750.

142
 BOSTON QUEEN ANNE SIDE CHAIR

hen speaking about Queen Anne chairs, I al- I use a radial-arm saw to cut the tenons at the top of the
ways think of the example pictured on the fac- rear leg posts, as shown on p. 45, although this could be
ing page. Completely lacking in gratuitous orna- done quite easily by hand or by using a table saw. Next, use
_ ment, the beauty of this chair relies solely on a table-saw jig (shown at top right on p. 45) to cut the flat
_ its form. Each component is shaped to conform face on the inside of each post where the side stretchers
to the Animated nature of the design. Its compass seat and will attach. A hardwood cleat, mounted to the underside of
cabriole legs are derived from the classic S-curve, a hall- the jig, slides in the miter-gauge slot to the left of the blade.
mark of the Queen Anne style. The vase-shaped splat and A wooden fence, screwed to the jig surface, determines the
yoke crest are found only on chairs made in this period. position of the leg blank and enables you to make identical
Aside from the turned stretchers that reinforce the leg frame cuts on both posts or on all the legs in a set of chairs.
(borrowed from ancient turned-chair design) there is noth- Next, cut the mortises in the rear leg posts for the seat
ing here to remind one of previous styles. The chair is rails, side stretchers and rear stretcher. The mortises can be
clearly in the “new fashion” described in period account cut by hand on the drill press, or you can use a hollow-
books, which has come to be called Queen Anne. chisel mortiser.
The side chair described in this chapter is based on two The curved portions of the leg posts are shaped on the
nearly identical and extremely fine examples I’ve examined: bandsaw and smoothed with a spokeshave, scraper and
one at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the other (shown sandpaper. Use a chisel, a drawknife and a spokeshave to
on p. 37) at the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, chamfer the back legs, as shown in the drawings. A router
Connecticut. Similar Queen Anne side chairs were also made with a chamfering bit will also suffice, but be sure to cut the
with rectangular seat frames, and in greater numbers than ends of the chamfers by hand, because the router bit makes
compass-seat chairs, but the latter are more fully resolved in too tight a radius.
the style and are therefore more desirable as antiques and Mortises for the front and side seat rails and the side
reproductions. stretchers are also cut into the front legs while they’re still
rectangular blocks. With this joinery completed, saw out the
MAKING THE CHAIR legs and turn the pad feet on the lathe, as described on p. 23.
To make this chair, you’ll need a set of full-scale templates Then square the leg post and finish shaping the sculptured
for the front and rear legs, the splat and crest, and the seat- portion of the leg. Be sure to leave the flat area intact where
rail members. I use carbon paper to transfer my full-scale the side stretcher will contact the inside of the leg.
drawings onto oaktag. The templates should provide not only Next, make the rear seat rail (without the shoe, which
the curved patterns, but also any other information about will be installed later) and turn the rear stretcher. Then cut
the size and location of mortises and tenons. Refer to the the mortises for the leg posts and splat on the unshaped
drawings on pp. 47-51 for specific information on this chair. crest-rail block and cut the tenons on both side rails and
Legs and seat The tenons and mortises on the rear the front rail before bandsawing the seat contours. I cut the
leg posts are best cut while the stock is rectangular, before angled tenons for the side seat rails on a single-end tenoner,
it is bandsawn to shape. Note that all the joinery is localized but they can be roughed out on the bandsaw and cleaned to
in the flat, uncurved areas on the rear legs, which greatly the layout line with a sharp chisel. Or you can simply cut
facilitates fitting the tenons. them with a backsaw.
 Test fit the chair assembly, minus the side and center on the lathe. (It’s easy to cut the rear tenons later because
stretchers. If all the joints fit well, take the chair apart and there is a square portion beyond the pommel to work
bandsaw the seat rails and shape the front legs to their final from.) I use a radial-arm saw or a table saw to cut the
contour. If you saw the cutouts under the seat rails before tenons, making sucessive saw kerfs close to a knife-scribed
sawing the outside contours, you'll be able to hold the stock line. After the excess material is removed, I pare the sides
flat on the bandsaw table during both operations. The front of the tenon to the lines with a sharp chisel.
leg posts are hand carved to conform to the compass- The stretcher blank is then centered on the lathe and
shaped outline of the seat. Most of the material can be turned. The tenon runs the full width of the stock, so don’t
pared away with a chisel, and the rounded face of the leg cut into it while turning the stretcher. If you’re careful, a
post is then filed, scraped and sanded smooth. Final sanding small flake of wood will remain between the turned portion
for a perfectly flush fit will be done after the chair is glued of the stretcher and the tenon. This is simply cut away with
up. The knees are shaped to conform to the contour of the a chisel, and sanded to the turned contour.
leg posts. When the stretchers are completely turned, the block
After all the bandsawn surfaces on the seat rails have used to center them at the front is cut off, and the angled
been smoothed with a scraper and fine sandpaper, cut the tenon is cut on the other end of the stretcher. The rear
rabbets for the seat frame. I rough them out with a router tenons must be cut with a compound angle to accommodate
and pare to the line with a chisel. Round the top outside the splay of the seat and the sloping leg. I prefer to cut
edges of the seat rails to the profile shown in the drawings. them carefully by hand with a backsaw. Keep the sawcut
Assemble the chair again and make sure that the front leg slightly outside the layout line and pare the joint with a
posts are faired into the seat rails in one continuous, grace- sharp chisel.
ful curve. Next, use a drill press to bore the %-in. dia. by ‘/-in.
Stretchers Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this deep holes for the center-stretcher tenons in the side
chair’s construction is the least obvious, hidden in the join- stretchers at about an 80° angle. Then reassemble the chair
ery of the base stretchers. Notice in the bottom left photo with all seat rails and side stretchers in place. Any further
on the facing page the rather curious use of a rectangular fitting should be done now, and the length of the center
tenon to join the turned stretchers to the front legs. Why stretcher can be measured from the chair. Turn it, and
didn’t the maker turn a round tenon on the end of the check it for proper fit.
stretcher—a much simpler and more natural process? To simulate the surface texture found on original period
Some historians have suggested that the rectangular tenon pieces, I like to plane or scrape the chair smooth and use
and its respective mortise was intended to leave more wood as little sandpaper as possible. But because many of the
across the thin ankle of the leg, thereby retaining strength in curved parts of this chair can only be faired together after
the joint. But having made quite a few of these chairs, I final assembly, there’s no escaping a fair amount of sanding.
believe there are two more compelling reasons why 18th- I believe this was done on the originals. I begin by using
century craftsman preferred this joint. 150-grit sandpaper on the roughest areas, and then finish
In the first place, it is easier to fit the angled stretcher sand the whole chair with 220 grit. When all the parts fit
shoulders to the splayed legs if they are sawn rather than well and have been smoothed and sanded, the chair can be
turned. But perhaps the explanation lies in the specialization glued up.
of the trades that took place in the early 18th century. It Assembling the chair First, glue the rear seat rail
was typical at the time for a chairmaker to complete the and stretcher to the back leg posts and clamp the assembly
joinery for a set (or many sets) of chairs in his own shop with bar clamps. Don’t glue the crest rail on now, and for-
and then deliver the parts to a turner. By employing a sawn, get about the applied shoe and splat. Then, in a separate
rectangular tenon, the maker could have standardized all the assembly, glue the front legs to the front seat rail.
stretcher joinery before sending the parts out to be turned, After the front and back assemblies are set, they can be
along with the front feet. And the chairmaker would not glued together. First, glue the center stretcher in position
have had to rely on the turner’s skill in making a series of between the side stretchers. Then quickly glue these into the
perfect tenons. Likewise, the corresponding mortises would rear leg mortises, and glue the side seat rails into their
have been cut into the front legs while they were still square corresponding mortises on the rear legs. Now, butter glue
and easier to lay out and clamp to the workbench. on the front tenons of the seat rails and stretchers and at-
I make many of my Queen Anne chairs in this manner, tach the front assembly. Hold the whole chair together with
and I can testify to the advantage of laying out and cutting web clamps until it dries.
all the joints on rectangular parts. It seems highly unlikely I spread glue on the tenons and in the mortises, but I’m
that 18th-century chairmaking specialists were unaware of extremely careful to use just enough, so I avoid messy clean-
such techniques. ups later. For chairs, which frequently require lengthy glue-
Making chair stretchers fit well is tedious work. “Mea- up procedures, I use a slow-setting aliphatic resin glue.
sure twice and cut once” is a good rule of thumb. Begin by After the seat frame is permanently assembled, use a
making the stretcher stock about 2 in. longer than the fin- chisel to extend the rabbet for the slip seat in the top of the
ished length, as shown in the drawing on p. 48. Then cut front leg posts and shape the top edges of the posts to match
the front tenons near one end of each side stretcher, leaving the radius of the rails. The rabbets are partially and carefully
a full, square portion at the end for centering the stretcher routed, then pared to the line with chisels and gouges.
 Re
ates,

The distinctive crest rail and the vase- Cut the tenons at the top of the rear
shaped splat help to make this chair one leg posts before sawing the leg profile Use a plywood table-saw jig to cut the
of the finest examples in the Queen on the bandsaw. This will make it flat face on the inside of each leg where
Anne style. easier to standardize both legs. the side stretcher will attach.

After the front tenons have been sawn

and the stretchers turned, you're ready
to cut the angled rear tenons by hand.

A rectangular stretcher tenon is easier To saw the front tenon on the stretchers,
to fit to the leg than a turned tenon, and make a series of cuts with an angled
it makes it possible to complete the sawblade, and pare to the scribed line
joinery before shaping the legs. with a chisel.

The shoe and splat Before making the splat, the The specific angles and blade depths will vary with different
shoe must be completed. Most Queen Anne chairmakers equipment, so use a test block to check all of your settings
made and attached a separate shoe on top of the rear seat before you cut the actual shoe.) Then hold the cove face
rail, rather than making the shoe an integral part of the rail. down on the bandsaw table and saw the radius at each end
Some modern cabinetmakers feel that an attached shoe is of the shoe. If you clamp the molding tightly against a
weak and indicative of shoddy work. They consider chairs square block, as shown at bottom right on p. 46, it will ride
with integral shoes to be more refined. Separate shoes were correctly on the saw table. I use a molding plane to cut the
popular, however, because they make it much easier to fit small ovolo molding around the splat mortise, but it can be
the back splat. And made properly, they look every bit as easily carved by hand.
professional as an integral shoe. In any case, I try to make When the shoe is shaped, cut the mortise for the back
my chairs like the originals, relying on time-tested proce- splat in the top of the shoe. I use a hollow-chisel mortiser
dures, and I’ve never had a shoe come unglued. for this, but you can prebore the mortise on a drill press
To make the shoe, cut a strip of cove molding the length of and chop it out with a chisel.
the shoe stock on the table saw, with a fence clamped at an Now the splat can be bandsawn to its S-shaped contour.
angle to the blade, as shown at bottom left on p. 46. (I set (The back splats on some New York and Philadelphia chairs
my fence to a 21° angle, and use a 10-in. blade raised ‘% in. have fancy veneered faces, but the splats themselves are
sawn out. I’ve never seen a veneered splat on a Boston Gluing the back together is the last major procedure.
Queen Anne chair.) Then use a spokeshave, scraper and Glue the shoe to the seat rail and let it set. Then glue the
sandpaper to smooth the surfaces, and scribe the length of splat into the shoe and the crest rail onto the splat and leg-
the splat from the assembled chair. Cut the tenons on both post tenons. The crest rail can be held in place with bar
ends, leaving the splat about % in. too long, so it can be clamps, using rubber pads to protect the top of the crest
pared to fit. Note that the splat has single-shouldered ten- and the underside of the seat rail. When the glue has set,
ons, with the shoulders reversed on each end. This retains scrape and sand the entire chair until all curves are smooth
plenty of wood in both the crest rail and shoe. to the eye and hand. Pin the joints together with '4-in. ma-
Test-fit the top of the splat in the crest-rail mortise and hogany pegs, as shown on the drawing on p. 48. Unless
the bottom in the mortised shoe. Then slide them into posi- otherwise specified, I always use ‘4-in. dia. pegs made from
tion. By making the splat a bit long, you can pare the shoul- the primary wood of the piece. On chairs, the pegs do not
der of the bottom tenon until the shoe slides in tightly go completely through the joint. I let the pegs protrude a
against the top of the seat rail. Remember that the splat bit, as they do on period chairs as a result of the seasonal
must be strong enough to support the back of the sitter, so wood movement that takes place over the life of the piece.
the tenons should fit snugly in their mortises with no play. Woods’ Nearly all surviving Boston Queen Anne chairs
When the splat fits correctly, remove it from the chair and were made of walnut. Newport chairs were usually made of
bandsaw the lovebird profile, as shown in the drawing on walnut, too, but mahogany pieces are not uncommon. I
p. 51. (Note that because the drawing is flat, it will have to make my reproductions of mahogany, because it’s hard to
be “stretched” slightly in the neck of the vase to fit the find walnut without streaks of light-colored sapwood, which
three-dimensional splat.) Clean up all sawmarks and cut the would be completely out of place on an 18th-century repro-
chamfers on the back edges of the splat with a spokeshave duction. I also make the slip-seat frame of maple, as it is on
and a scraper, and finish sand the front and back surfaces. most originals.
If in the process of all this fitting, the splat becomes too Finishing I prepare the surface of this chair by first
short, you can shim beneath the shoe with a thin strip of staining it with a water-based aniline dye in a red-brown
wood or veneer. Alternatively, you could cut the splat to mahogany color. Finally, I sand it lightly with 400-grit sand-
length and fit it by shaving material from the underside of paper, and finish it with several coats of the oil/varnish mix-
an oversize shoe. Clearly, these options would not be avail- ture described in the appendix on p. 239.
able if the shoe were an integral part of the seat rail. In that Upholstery The perimeter of the slip-seat frame is
case, you might be tempted to alter the height of the leg bandsawn to shape after it has been joined, glued and
posts if the splat became too short in the fitting process. But pinned together. A little more than o-in. clearance around
this would disrupt the curves that fair into the crest rail, all edges is generally a sufficient allowance for the thickness
and you would be better off making an entirely new splat. of the upholstery.
Assembling the back Now the crest rail must be re- Original Boston chairs were covered in a number of ma-
moved and shaped so that it flows smoothly into the splat terials: leather, wool or silk damask, wool moreen and even
and leg posts. This is accomplished with the bandsaw and handstitched needlepoint. The chair shown on p. 42 is done
by hand, using whichever tools will get the job done. I use a in Peyton Randolph damask made by F. Schumacher for the
spokeshave, a pattern-maker’s rasp, chisels and sandpaper. Colonial Williamsburg collection.

You can cut the cove molding for the

shoe on the table saw. Fiddle with the
angle and position of the fence and
the depth of cut to get the right radius.
Use a fence on both sides of the stock Clamp the cove molding to a rectangular block and bandsaw the radius on both ends
to prevent it from dropping on the blade. of the shoe.
 BOSTON QUEEN ANNE SIDE CHAIR
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

SLIP SEAT
Top View

Top View
Note: Slip seat is 1% in. thick.

Note: Slip seat tenons are “is in.

thick x 11 in. wide x % in. long,
centered.

Note: Allow 4s-in. clearance on all sides of

slip seat for upholstery.

Note: All joints are pinned with %4-in. pegs,

except for front of side stretchers, which are
pinned with %6-in. pegs.

Front View Side View

SIDE AND CENTER STRETCHER ASSEMBLY
Scale: % in. = 1 in.
Scale: % in. = 1 in.
Note: Side stretcher shoulder-to-shoulder measure equals
15%s in. on top and 15% in. on bottom due to the 78° angle of the eo
rear leg. Determine stretcher lengths from the partially assmbled
chair.

Note: Side stretcher blank is 11 in.

square x 18% in. long.

PARTIAL SIDE VIEW

Scale: %6 in. = 1 in.

Note: Rear leg blank is 11% in. thick

x 5/4 in. wide x 39 in. long.

Side-rail mortise, *s in. T.

x 1% in. W. x % in. L,
located % in. from outer edge

Note: Center stretcher blank is 1% in. square

x 16% in. long. Tenons are % in. dia. x 2 in. long. SUGSEREES
41

Note: Side stretcher pommel is counterbored for

center-stretcher shoulder.
BGiaa

a
et
ee

Note: Dimensioning shown gives both length

from 0 and diameters.

Note: 18%-in. long side-stretcher blank allows

for waste (shaded), which is removed after
turning is completed.
PARTIAL REAR VIEW
Scale: %s6 in. = 1 in. Scale: % in. = 1 in

Ver bead

Shoe glued to
rear seat rail

REAR STRETCHER
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

ee el ees eae
LY Grid square = 1% in. HHH
ttt tt ttt
Co
Pity N

Y-in. chamfer
(4 corners)
Rear seat rail 5%

Note: Rear stretcher blank

is 1% in. square x 13 in. long.

11”

Tenon, *d x % in. L. ee
FRONT LEG/FRONT RAIL ASSEMBLY
Scale: Y% in. = 1 in.

Ae a 16%
< Slip-seat rabbet
]-in. waste .

<+<—+ fi Grid-. square

AAG = einer
iN
Knee bracket, 1% in. T. x 2 in. W. x 2 in. L. (4)
Note: Thickness of seat rail and
shoulder will vary with profile.
Note: Leg blank is 2’ in. square x 171% in. long.

Side stretcher mortise, As in. W. x %4 in. deep

Note: Leave a flat area surrounding mortise

for good contact with tenon shoulder.

Note:
Ankle dia. = 1% in. Tenons (both ends),
Foot dia. = 2%c in. 5/6 in. W. x % in. L.
Pad dia. = 1% in.

2%

ee
Rear rail,
2 in. H.x 1¥%in. W. x 12% in. Lb.

SECTION A
Scale: %6 in. = 1 in.

Rear leg at seat level,

1% in. sq.

Note: Side seat rail blank is

17% in. thick x 2% in. wide
x 15% in. long.

Note: Knee
bracket is glued
to bottom of
rail and
side of leg.

ee Front leg post,

Note: Right of centerline 2 in. sq.
Front seat-rail blank, 174 in. T. x 2% in. W. shown prior to
x 187% in. L. final profiling.
 CREST RAIL/
SPLAT ASSEMBLY Top View, Crest Rail
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

SECTI ON AT
CENTERLINE
(crest rail
removed)

FH
Grid square =P in,
Tenon, 41% in. W.

Note: Crest rail blank is

1% in. thick x 2% in. wide
x 14’ in. long.
Splat blank is 1% in. thick
x 5% in. wide x 22 in. long.

Bottom View,
Crest Rail

19'4e (actual measurement should be SECTION

taken from partially assembled chair) Scale: % in. = 1 in.

ok
i
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

\
Necpresanes BE |\ Note:
|\ Typical both
Grid squa
VY in.
re
| ends.

a +

seas 8

Tenon, 5 in. W.

Front View
Gaines side chair. This reproduction is based on a period chair
made in Ipswich, Massachusetts, or Portsmouth, New Hampshire,
c. 1730-1740, by John Gaines Ill.

52
 GAINES SIDE CHAIR

he Gaines side chair is closely related to the and American caned chairs. The molded scoop in the center
early 18th-century cane-back chair and to the of the crest rail is common on later, “pure” Queen Anne
Boston leather chair, both shown on p. 36. The chairs, which are free of carved embellishments. And the
Gaines chair was often referred to as a “crook’d rush seat can be found on country furniture in all periods of
back chair,” because of its ergonomically American history. Despite these checkered origins, the char-
Bined rear leg stiles. It is distinctive not only because it acteristic Queen Anne vase splat is so dominant that the
brings together urban and vernacular features from several chair may be placed solidly within that style period.
design periods (many chairs do that), but also because the The Gaines chair is not unique. Many similar examples
Gaines chair blends these elements tastefully and captures were made throughout New England around the same time,
the foundation of the Queen Anne style, while being graced although most of them pale by comparison. They lack the
with a signature all its own. complex carving on the crest rail, the sculpted seat rails and
John Gaines II (1677-1748) was the first of a family of the exquisite Spanish feet. Gaines chairs are bold and com-
woodworkers from Ipswich, Massachusetts. Tax records de- manding, with a strong outline. Their elements are clear and
scribe Gaines as a turner, yet the majority of his income was slightly exaggerated. The carving is almost folkish in character,
derived from making chairs— 1,183 of them by his own ac- but high in the order of vernacular furniture.
count. He also produced buttons, fans and handles, standard Gaines chairs were also made as armchairs, although side
fare for a production turner. Working mainly in the first chairs are much more numerous. The seats and backs on
half of the 18th century, it seems likely that Gaines was armchairs are slightly wider, and the arms terminate in
required to make both turned and joined chairs, like the rams-horn scrolls. The front leg posts extend above the seat
one in this chapter. rail to provide support for the arms.
His two sons, John III (1704-1743) and Thomas (1712- There are many variations of the carvings used on the
1761) were likewise employed in chairmaking and turning. crest rails of Gaines chairs. The one shown here, with the
And John III, who moved to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in scoop at the top, is most common. The shape of the back
1724, is credited with having built this particular style of splat also varies, but this one is typical. I’ve even seen it put
chair. But Portsmouth and Ipswich are not far apart, so it is in upside down, probably by a later “restorationist.”
impossible to determine the influence these family crafts- To my knowledge, no signed Gaines chairs are extant, but
men may have had on one another. the provenance of this chair, which has been traced through
The Gaines chair has many features that will be familiar generations of family ownership, points to the Gaines makers.
to students of period furniture. The ball-and-ring front Also, since Gaines chairs are so distinctive, similar examples
stretcher is often found on high-back caned chairs in the were almost certainly the product of the same hand. The
William and Mary period and on Boston leather chairs. Later chair in this chapter was based on a great example in the
stretcher designs were simplified with elongated baluster collection of the New Hampshire Historical Society, whose
profiles. The transitional Spanish feet (see the photos on p. 55) curatorial staff graciously allowed me to take measurements.
developed in earlier periods, but were used on early Queen Furniture historians relish Gaines pieces because of their
Anne chairs, tables and lowboys. The carved crest rail, with ample documentation, despite the lack of signed examples.
both scroll and leafage motifs derived from Flemish furni- The Gaines Account Book, housed in the Joseph Downs
ture, was a predominant feature on 17th-century English Collection at the Winterthur Museum, shows how men who
were trained as turners were able to diversify their skills to than required, and don’t bandsaw its vase-shaped profile
perform the joinery and carving on these fine chairs. Be- until after the tenons are cut. Smooth both front and back
cause of the increasing degree of specialization in the faces of the splat.
trades, one might have expected the Gaines craftsmen to With the seat back assembled and clamped together, hold
have produced only turned chairs, but they obviously saw the splat against the back of the crest and splat rails and
some advantage to entering the joined-chair marketplace. A trace the location of the tenon shoulders onto the splat with
fascinating report based on the Gaines family account books a sharp pencil. Since both tenon shoulders are on the front
was written by Robert Hendrick as a master’s thesis for the face of this splat, no measurements are required. Remove
University of Delaware (see the Bibliography on p. 244.) the splat and scribe the tenon shoulders again, only this
time with a knife instead of a pencil. Add the tenon length
MAKING THE CHAIR to each end and cut the splat to its final length. Lay out the
The Gaines chair is a challenging project, combining skills tenon thickness on the ends of the splat with a marking
in turning, carving and complex joinery. It would make an gauge and cut the tenons with a backsaw. Saw the tenons a
ideal thesis in period-chair construction. The results are ex- bit large and pare them to the scribed lines with a sharp
tremely rewarding, because the chair makes such a bold chisel. Finally, bandsaw the profile of the splat, and smooth
statement in such a pleasing form. and chamfer the edges. ‘
Begin by making a full-scale drawing of the entire chair, Seat rails and legs The front seat rail is relatively
taken from the drawings on pp. 58-63. This is essential to easy to make, because it has no angled tenons. Make the
determine the shape of all curved and turned parts, as well tenons, then cut out the contour of the rail on the bandsaw
as the critical angles of seat-rail and stretcher joinery. and scratch and carve the bead along the lower edge.
Where so many curved parts meet up with straight ones, The side seat rails are more complex. The rear tenons
everything must be clearly resolved in the drawings. Make (and their corresponding shoulders) must be cut at an angle
oaktag templates of all curved members, including the rear to fit the sloping leg posts. This angled tenon is peculiar to
leg posts, back splat, crest rail, seat rails and front legs. Gaines chairs. Other makers altered the leg-post pattern
Back and splat Trace the template onto the rear leg slightly, which made their chairs easier to produce. Perhaps
stock. Align the template so the mortise for the side seat rail Gaines used it to give the rear legs a bit more forward mo-
and the shoulders of the tenon at the top of the leg are at a tion, thus accenting the curve of the back. I make my chairs
right angle to the edge of the 4%-in. wide blank. This will like the original.
allow you to cut the mortises for the rear stretcher, all seat Use your full-scale drawings to lay out these difficult side
rails and the splat rail before bandsawing the leg contour. seat rails. I cut the tenons by hand with a backsaw, and
Cut the tenons on top of the leg stiles at the same time. (For clean them down to the scribed lines with a chisel. When
a description of this process see p. 43.) The long flat that the joints are complete, bandsaw the bottom profile of the
defines the bottom of the leg is ripped on the table saw rails and cut the seat-frame rabbet on the table saw or router
using a jig like that shown on p. 45. After ripping the flat, table. The top outside edge of the seat rails is shaped with a
bandsaw the legs and smooth the sawn surfaces with a quarter-round molding, though the actual profile is more
plane, spokeshave and scraper. Then cut the mortises for like a thumbnail bead. I simply cut these with a block plane,
the side stretchers. and smooth them with a scraper and sandpaper.
Above the seat, the front of the leg stiles are molded with Joint and plane the front-leg stock to a 2%-in. square
a raised bead on each edge. I use a scratch stock for this blank to accommodate the foot. Then bandsaw the area
and then carve the convex area between the beads. Begin above the foot to the reduced 1%-in. square dimension.
the molding just above the side seat rails and stop a couple Plane and scrape the upper leg smooth and cut the appro-
of inches short of the top of the stiles, in case you have to priate mortises for the seat rails and stretchers. Then turn
alter them a bit to fit the crest rail. The convex area should the molded parts on the lathe and angle the square sections
be scraped and sanded smooth after it is carved. on the outside of the leg post to match the 79’A° splay of
Next, make the rear seat rail, the splat rail, the crest-rail the seat. A chisel works well here, since the leg post is not
block, and turn the rear stretcher. When the tenons are all very long. You'll note when sighting down the leg that the
done and the mortises are cut in the underside of the crest- turnings will project a little beyond the post, but this is
rail block and the top of the splat rail, test fit the entire characteristic of the Gaines chair.
seat-back frame. Don’t forget to shape the front of the splat When the legs are turned, you are ready to carve the feet.
rail. I do this with molding planes, but it can be easily Follow the directions on p. 25 for more detailed informa-
carved or scraped with a scratch stock, as described for the tion on carving a Spanish foot.
stiles. Incidentally, the splat-rail molding profile and the Stretchers Turn the front ball-and-ring stretcher, and
molding profile on the rear leg stiles are common to this take pains to make it bold and crisp. When it is done, as-
type of Queen Anne chair and not just to those made by the semble the chair and clamp all the joints together. Now
Gaines family. Their use is almost universal, which makes measure between the front and rear legs to determine the
me wonder how such relatively minor details became ac- lengths of the side stretchers. Because the rear leg posts are
cepted standards. angled, I’ve found that this is more accurately taken off of
Original splats were sawn with either a bowsaw or frame the assembled chair than from the drawings. What’s more,
saw, but I use a bandsaw. Make the splat stock a bit longer the rear leg posts are seldom exactly alike on a handmade
 RADE
Raa
haeta

The Spanish foot (above), the carved

crest rail (right) and the rush seat
(below) are the distinctive features of
the Gaines side chair.

chair. A stretcher that’s too long or too short will put stress
on the seat-rail joints, causing weakness in a crucial area.
Also, I’ve noticed that the side stretchers on many period
chairs often vary in length on opposite sides of the same
chair, while the seat rails are usually identical. This leads
me to believe they were measured in the same way.
Use a backsaw and a chisel to cut the side-stretcher ten-
ons, as you did on the side seat rails. With these completed,
the entire chair can be assembled. You have only to shape
and carve the crest rail, rabbet the top of the front leg posts
and make the slip-seat frame.
Crest rail Trace the tops of the leg posts onto the
bottom of the crest rail to determine where to begin the
cut-out area on the underside of the rail. Compare this to
your full-scale template and adjust for any slight discrepancy
in the distance between the posts. Then bandsaw the under-
side of the rail and the upper scoop, and cut out the
pierced areas indicated on the template. Bore a hole in the
center of each pierced area and use a scroll saw or coping
saw to cut them to shape. It’s a good idea to leave the rail a
bit long at each end. This provides a place to tap the rail off
of the leg post without marring it, and makes it easy to
clamp it to the bench.
To lay out the crest-rail carving, I glue a photostat of the
full-scale drawing directly to the front of the rail, as shown
A photostat of a full-scale drawing (top)
may be used as a guide for carving the crest
rail. Note that the rail is left long and
square on both ends to make it easy to clamp
between bench dogs (above). After the
scrolling and the central portion have been
fully carved (left), begin carving the beads
and convex area that adjoin the leg posts.
 ~ Fair the crest rail into the leg posts. Do as
. * much carving as you can before bandsawing
the outside contour.

in the top photo on the facing page. This is quicker and dew and facilitate cleaning. Two coats of slightly thinned
more accurate than redrawing the pattern on the stock. spar varnish work well.
With this system, both sides will be symmetrical, and it’s Woods_ Every Gaines chair I’ve examined is made of
easy to duplicate the carving on other chairs in a set. You'll more than one variety of wood. Hard and soft maple, cherry
have to remove portions of the photostat as the relief carv- and yellow birch are indiscriminately combined. The Span-
ing proceeds, but you can always apply additional photostat ish feet are always solid and never laminated, as they some-
sections, so make a few more than you think you’ll need. times are on similar chairs in the period. (Even the turnings
When you’ve done all the carving you can at the bench, on other chairs are often padded with glued-on blocks
mount the crest on the leg tenons and begin fairing it into where they are particularly bulbous.) Laminated feet are in-
the beaded and molded surfaces of the leg posts, as shown visible when painted, waste less material and simplify the
above. Bandsaw the outside curves on both ends, then turning of the leg post. But perhaps for reasons of structural
chamfer the back and sides of the rail and upper legs with a integrity, the Gaines makers avoided this operation.
chisel and spokeshave, and sand them smooth. The piercing Like the originals, my reproductions are made of either
in the crest can be chamfered with a knife. hard or soft maple, cherry or yellow birch, in various com-
Assembling the chair The entire chair is now ready binations. Hard maple or birch makes a strong rear stile
to be permanently assembled. Glue up the back and front and seat stretchers, while soft maple or cherry is more suit-
sections first, let them dry, and then glue the whole chair able for the carvings on the crest rail and front legs, and for
together. After the glue has set, bore holes for all the 4-in. all the other parts. (Hard maple or birch would make for
dia. maple pegs and pin the chair together, as shown in the crisp turnings, but they’re difficult to carve.)
plans. Then chisel the slip-seat rabbet in the tops of the Finishing When the chair is completed, I stain it with
front leg posts and nail a cleat to the inside of the rear seat a water-soluble brown aniline dye and sand it lightly. It is
rail to support the frame. then painted with red milk paint, followed by two coats of
The slip seat The slip-seat frame is mortised together, slate-green or black milk paint. When the paint is dry, I use
but the front and rear frame members must be reduced steel wool to rub some of it off in areas that are susceptible
between the corner blocks to accommodate the rushing. to wear, like the stretchers, seat and crest rails. This ex-
You can rough these out on a radial-arm saw or table saw poses the red primer coat (and sometimes even the stained
and shape them with a chisel and a drawknife. The side wood beneath it), which simulates age and gives the chair a
members have rectangular tenons, but are shaped along well-deserved character.
their entire length. When these parts have been carved, the Although every Gaines chair I’ve seen shows evidence of
frame should be glued together. (Pegging isn’t required be- having been painted with black and sometimes red paint, I
cause the rushing will help hold the slip seat together.) know of none with its original finish intact. It’s a pity so
I prefer natural cattail rush, but I have used imitation many of these chairs have been stripped. The painted finish
fiber rush made of twisted paper on chairs that will see serves two purposes: it camouflages the assorted woods with
hard use, such as the daily wear and tear of young children. one surface color and helps to accentuate the dramatic lines
The fiber can be replaced with the more appropriate natural of the chair. I always paint my Gaines chairs, but if you
rush when the time comes. In any case, the rush must be decide to use a clear finish instead, be sure to make the
sealed to retard abrasion, protect against moisture and mil- chair of one type of wood.
GAINES SIDE CHAIR
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

END VIEW, FRONT SEAT RAIL

Scale: % in. = 1 in.
FRONT RAIL/ FRONT LEG ASSEMBLY
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

\ 79%"

Note: Front leg post is rabbeted for slip seat frame.

ae
Centerline of leg post
in. W. quirk bead, for turnings

Pista
Grid square = ‘in.

ea aco e Saeeieny
Note: Front stretcher blank is
2% in. square x 17 in. long. Tenons
are % in. dia. x % in. long.

ee 26

10% to floor |

Qed

1"/ed

FRONT LEG LAYOUT

Scale: % in = 1 in.

Note: Front leg blank is 2% in.

Leg post, 1% in. sq. square x 177% in. long.

Note: Al! pommel sections follow

angle given in the top view.

Note: Bandsaw pattern for foot

is shown as a dotted line.

square _
= Win.

—~<— Foot, 2% in. sq.

 PARTIAL SIDE VIEW
Scale: %6 in. = 1 in.

Scale: % in. = 1 in.

—> he
|

Face of leg is
molded to this point ——\,

% typical, front and back

Rear stretcher mortise,

5% in. dia. x % in. deep, centered

84°

eae
his Signtypical, front and back

Note: Rear leg blank is 1' in.

thick x 4% in. wide x 38% in. long.
PARTIAL REAR VIEW
Scale: %s6 in. = 1 in.
ELSON
: Grid square = %
[ in.
|_| Grid square = % in. ! | -

Cleat, '’s T. x 1 W., fitted

between side rails and nailed to
inside of rear rail

11
REAR STRETCHER
Scale: % in. = 1 in. 9% Tenon, % in. dia.
E iex % in. L.

Note: Rear stretcher blank is

1'% in. square x 12'% in. long.

— 61 ——
 SECTION A
Scale: %6 in. = 1 in.

Cleat nailed
to rear rail

SECTION B
Scale: *6 in. = 1 in.

15'%a

SLIP SEAT
Scale: % in. = 1 in.
ae oe "% Ray oe SECTION
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

1% (1'e on
front and
rear rails)

Note: Shave rails between corners with drawknife

and chisel.

—— 62 ——
 CREST RAIL/SPLAT ASSEMBLY
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

| f Pt

Grid square = 2 in.

| |
ee

SPLAT SECTION AT
CENTERLINE
Scale: ¥% in. = 1 in.

Beaded and molded areas

Bottom View, align with those on leg
fare
Crest Rail

This surface is flush to

Note: Chamfer back edges of splat, face of splat.
crest rail, leg posts and splat cutouts. |

SECTION
Scale: % in. = 1 in.
= Gad
__ square Ne \ 346 chamfer
= Ain. \ \ | |

Note: Shoulder-to-shoulder measure

of the splat should be verified by
dry assembly and measurement of
the rear legs, crest and splat rails.

Note: Tenon dimensions

below are typical for
both ends.

Note: Crest blank is 1 in. thick

x 3% in. wide x 15 in. long. Splat
blank is 11% in. thick x 41 in.
wide x 19 in. long.
Roundabout or corner chair. This mahogany reproduction
is based on an example that was probably built in
Boston, c. 1740-1760.

— 64
 ROUNDABOUT CHAIR

few years ago, while rummaging through the chairs.” Although the roundabout was less common than
furniture collection of the New Hampshire His- other contemporary chairs, quite a few have survived. Their
torical Society in Concord, I came upon a cur- survival is undoubtedly due to the fact that, unlike the
ious little stool. It was square with rather wide joined stool, the roundabout is a fully developed chair, with
aprons, offset-turned cabriole legs and a hinged purposes other than toiletries.
top. When I raised the top I was surprised to discover an The roundabout’s projecting front leg and its overall
18th-century toilet. Commonly referred to as a “close(d) mass suggest a masculine design; clearly, a woman in skirts
stool” in early 18th-century inventories, it was designed to would have found the chair unflattering, if not uncomfort-
hold a ceramic chamber pot beneath the lid. able. Eighteenth-century household inventories, which were
This stool (shown at right) and one other, which I later conducted room by room, show that it was often used in the
saw at the Shelburne Museum in Ver- sitting room in conjunction with a
mont, are, to my knowledge, the only desk or secretary. When not in use,
such pieces extant. Improvements in the square chair would have been
plumbing technology spelled the end conveniently stored in the corner of
of the closed stool, and its odd size the room.
precluded its conversion to other The reproduction described in this
household purposes. chapter is based on a beautiful corner
Like the closed stool, the rounda- chair in the collection of the Society
bout chair, or corner chair, was com- for the Preservation of New England
monly designed to hold a chamber Antiquities, in Boston. It was owned
pot. Beneath its upholstered slip-seat by Jonathan Sayward, a wealthy judge
frame, a ceramic pot was concealed in York, Maine. Sayward is known to
by the aprons of the chair. (Some cor- have purchased furniture in Boston,
ner chairs had unusually wide aprons where he probably acquired this
for this purpose.) Eventually, the chair. It was fitted for a chamber pot,
board that held the pot was discarded as evidenced by the support cleats still
from most corner chairs, but the nailed to the aprons.
cleats that were nailed to the apron to Sayward’s roundabout is a classic
support it were often left intact. These high-style, urban example, fully devel-
may be seen by removing the slip seat. oped in the Queen Anne style. The re-
The term roundabout may be lationship between the positive space
found in numerous period documents. occupied by the chair and the negative
In 1741, for example, Boston uphol- areas between the legs, splats and arm
The closed stool was commonly used as rail is extremely well balanced. De-
sterer Samuel Grant billed a customer
an 18th-century toilet, a function
115 shillings for “a round about wall- frequently assigned to the roundabout spite the square design of the seat,
nutt Chair,” and inventories of the pe- chair. (Photo courtesy of the New nothing about the chair is rectilinear.
riod include entries for “round about Hampshire Historical Society.) Moreover, its maker effectively over-
The ample curves of the roundabout chair help offset its square stance. Note in particular the ogee-shaped crest rail, the cabriole leg
post and knee and the turned-pad front foot with nicked ankle.

came the chair’s eccentric, rather rotund demeanor with the to control than a gouge. Refer to the photo sequence on p. 29
successful integration of curved lines. for a more detailed description of how to make a parallel-
A similar roundabout, made in Newport, Rhode Island, is axis leg.
housed in the Winterthur Museum in Delaware. The Win- With the leg still mounted on the leg-shaft axis, turn the
terthur chair is more complex, with the addition of stiles, upper post above the pommel to the correct profile. Be
another splat and a second crest rail above the arm rail. The careful when cutting the round tenons at the top of the legs.
result is confusing and attempts to gild the lily. These must be the right diameter and the same distance from
the floor on all three legs for the arm rail to sit properly.
MAKING THE CHAIR The sculpted front leg has a turned-pad foot in the classic
The roundabout chair is nearly square at the seat, with an Boston nicked-ankle style, as shown in the photo above.
arm post at each of the three back corners. But this appar- Refer to the discussion on pp. 21-23 for a thorough de-
ently simple design is a challenge to reproduce, requiring scription of how to make it. You can round the leg to just
diverse skills in turning, carving and mortise-and-tenon below the knee, but the knee and leg post should be left
joinery. As usual, you'll need to make a full-scale drawing of square until the chair is assembled, with the curved seat
the chair and cardboard templates for the splats, front leg, rails in place.
arm rail, crest rail and front seat rails. Seat rails, stretchers and knee brackets The two
Legs Begin by turning the three rear legs. (Apart from back rails are straight, with tenons fitted at a right angle
the mortise locations, they are identical.) The projecting into the three turned leg posts. The outside surface of the
foot is created by turning the leg on two parallel axes. When front rails is contoured, so the tenons are easier to cut be-
the leg stock is squared to dimension and cut to length, lay fore these rails are shaped. Don’t be surprised if the curved
out both sets of turning centers, along with the mortises for seat rails remind you of those on the Boston side chair
the seat rails. Next, reduce the two outside faces of the leg pictured on p. 42; account books of the period show they
above the foot by bandsawing along the dotted line indicated were often made together in sets.
in the drawing on p. 27. By removing this extra material, Once all the seat-rail joinery has been cut and the front
you'll have less wood to waste on the lathe, and the leg will rails have been bandsawn and smoothed with a spokeshave,
be better balanced when you turn the main shaft. a scraper and sandpaper, rout the slip-seat rabbet on the
Place the leg blank on the lathe, mounted on its foot two front rails. Set the router to the depth of the rabbet and
centers, and carefully turn the foot. I leave the foot about carefully guide the bit inside your layout line. Trim to the
twice as tall as it should be, as shown in the photos on the line with chisels and carving gouges, then assemble the legs
facing page. The foot will be trimmed to length when the and seat frame.
ankle is defined in the next steps. In the top left photo, Measure between the legs to determine the exact stretcher
you'll note that the axis of the upper leg is out of line with lengths at this time. You'll note that the front-to-rear
the center of the foot, but this, too, will be resolved once stretcher is slightly shorter than the other. This is because
the leg shaft is turned. the shaft on the sculpted front leg curves backward from the
Now remount the leg on the leg-shaft centers. Turn both knee to the ankle. To make up the difference, simply shorten
pommel shoulders and the shaft from pommel to foot. As the neck on the vase section of the turning by about * in. at
the ankle tapers, the leg will begin to take shape. Carefully the front end of the front-to-rear stretcher. The rear half of
turn the ankle and top of the foot. I like to use a small this stretcher and both halves of the side-to-side stretcher
homemade, round-nosed scraper for this job; it’s a lot easier must be exactly the same for the two stretchers to intersect
 Turn the foot to its correct diameter, but leave it about twice as tall as it should be
(top left). Recenter the leg and turn the leg-shaft to the top of the ankle (left), then trim
the foot to its correct height as you turn the ankle (above).

properly at the square pommel in the center. A full-scale Back splats and arm rail Many roundabout chairs
top-view drawing of the stretchers is useful in comprehend- of the period have had extensive repairs to the arm rail,
ing this relationship. because of the inherent short-grain weakness and seasonal
When the stretchers are turned and the half-lap joints instability of such a long, curved member. The arm rail is
have been cut on the radial-arm saw, bore the insides of the made of three pieces, two on the bottom and a crest rail on
legs for the stretcher mortises. Use a V-block to support the top, which holds the whole thing together. The lower por-
legs on the drill press and a spur bit, being careful to keep tions are glued to the underside of the crest rail and are
from boring through the front of the legs. butted together directly over the center of the rear leg post.
Once the joinery is complete and all parts fit correctly, Again, a full-scale drawing or template will help locate the
the base of the chair can be glued up. To accommodate the leg-post holes and the splat mortises on the underside of the
lengthy assembly time of most chairs, I use a slow-setting arm rail.
aliphatic-resin glue (sold by Garrett Wade). That way, if The crest rail is beautifully shaped and molded, mostly by
everything doesn’t come together just right, I can take the hand, using a drawknife, a spokeshave, carving chisels and
time to straighten it out. I use two web clamps to hold the scrapers. But first, saw its circular shape on the bandsaw,
glued chair together—one at the seat frame and the other and glue and clamp it to both sections of the arm rail,
at the stretchers. These can be reinforced with small bar making certain that the butt joint is tight. When the unit has
clamps at the seat rail, if necessary. Don’t forget to glue and set, remove the clamps and carve the crest. (Patterns for the
clamp the half-lap joint on the stretchers. Then make and ogee-shaped ends of the crest are provided in the draw-
attach the buttress knee brackets that flank the front leg, as ings.) The ends can be rough cut with a coping saw and
described on pp. 31-33. then carved and sanded to final shape. Set the completed
Before turning to the back splats and arm rail, chop the arm unit atop the three leg posts and check their location
rabbet for the slip seat in the top of the leg post. Then use a against the marks from your template. If they don’t line up
chisel and a pattern-maker’s rasp (followed by a file and perfectly, you can alter them slightly without any visible ef-
sandpaper) to fair the front leg post, knee and brackets into fect. Bore the holes and check the fit, then chop the mor-
the curves of the seat rails. These elements should be pleas- tises for the two splats.
ing to the eye, so compare them frequently to the photos The bottoms of the splats are housed in separate shoes
and drawings in this chapter as your carving progresses. that attach to the rear seat rails, following the same process
Finally, round the top front edge of the seat rail with a file described on pp. 45-46. Both splats and shoes are identical,
and sand it smooth. so they can be made at the same time. Begin by cutting the
Next, install the buttress knee brackets on the turned legs cove on one side of a 1%4-in. by 1%-in. strip of molding,
and shape them to the curve of the seat rails. It’s unusual to about 30 in. long. This is easily done by running the mold-
find knee brackets on turned cabriole legs, but the original ing strip over the table saw at an angle, as shown on p. 46.
maker saw their necessity for balancing the prominent knee- Use a test piece to ascertain the correct angle. After the cove
bracketed front leg. is done, cut the strip in half to make two shoes and band-
saw the cove miters at each end. Lay out and chop the splat The slip seat The slip seat is built as a 17-in. square
mortise on top of each shoe. Then carve the molded edge mortise-and-tenon frame, pinned with '4-in. dia. pegs. Once
around the front and sides of the top of each shoe and glue the frame is glued and pinned, place it on top of the seat
them onto the rear seat rails. rails and trace its outline from the underside of the chair.
The mortises for the splats are plumb in both the top of (Allow about '/s-in. clearance on all sides to accommodate
the shoe and the underside of the arm rail, but the tenons most upholstery materials.) Cut the curved profile of the
on the splats must be angled so the splats will lean outward frame on the bandsaw and check its fit. Smooth the edges a
from the seat to the arm rail. The single-shoulder tenons are bit with a file or 80-grit sandpaper.
the same thickness, length and angle, but reversed at each end Perhaps you intend to use your roundabout with a cham-
of the splat. It’s easiest to cut them on the table saw before ber pot, for those cold nights when it’s tough to grope your
the splats have been bandsawn to their vase-shaped profile. way to the bathroom. If so, just nail a couple of cleats to the
Set the arm-rail unit in place on top of the leg-post ten- inside faces of the seat rails to support a wide board. Saw a
ons and take the final measurements for the length of the hole in the center of the board for an enamel pot and
splats. To do this, I rip a few '/o-in. thick pieces of pine, you’re in business.
and I trim these with a scissors to the correct angle, until Woods The reproduction shown in this chapter is
they fit snugly between the shoe and the arm rail. Add the made of mahogany (the slip-seat frame is maple), although
height of both tenons to the length of the pine board to the original piece is made of walnut. I use mahogany for
arrive at the total splat length. most high-style pieces because it’s difficult to avoid the sap-
Cut the splats to their final length on the table saw or wood on walnut and I don’t like the wood’s purple cast. If I
radial-arm saw. (The ends of the splats are cut to an angle could consistently find walnut without sapwood, I would cer-
of about 16°, as shown in the drawings on p. 70, but this tainly use it, particularly where it was the original primary
may vary slightly from chair to chair.) Use a mortise gauge wood. But mahogany works easily and stains well, and many
to lay out the tenons on the ends of both splats. Install a high-style Queen Anne pieces were made out of it, too.
dado blade on the table saw and attach a wooden fence to Finishing [ stained the roundabout chair in this chap-
the rip fence. The height of the dado determines the thick- ter with Lockwood’s water-based aniline dye (standard
ness of the tenon; the distance between the fence and the brown mahogany), then sanded it lightly with 400-grit paper
outside edge of the blade determines its length. Check your to knock down the raised grain. Next, I brushed on five
settings with a scrap of wood and then cut the shouldered coats of rubbing varnish, sanding the chair lightly between
face on all four tenons, as shown below, left. Use a block dried coats. The final coat was rubbed out with 0000-grade
plane to bevel the other face of each tenon down to the steel wool lubricated with Wool Lube to prevent the steel
layout line on the end of the splat (below, right). Saw the -in. wool from scratching (see Sources of Supply on p. 242).
shoulders at both ends of each tenon with a backsaw. Upholstery I chose a reproduction wool damask for
When the joints are tight, bandsaw the outer profile of this chair, called Peyton Randoph Damask and made by
the splats, and chamfer and smooth the edges. Then glue the F. Schumacher for the Colonial Williamsburg Collection (see
splats and arm rail to the seat assembly. When the glue is Sources of Supply on p. 242). Leather would also be in
dry, pin all the joints with -in. dia. mahogany pegs and keeping with the chair’s masculine design. Choosing an at-
sand the entire chair with successively finer grits of sandpa- tractive and historically faithful material can be a fascinat-
per to prepare for the finish. Nail the cleats to the rear seat ing, but perplexing endeavor. For more information on this
rails to support the slip seat. process, refer to pp. 40-41 and p. 89.

Use a dado blade on the table saw to

crosscut one side of the splat tenon and trim
the other parallel face with a block plane.
 ROUNDABOUT CHAIR
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Bet" B

SF Note: Slip-seat tenons are

: 16 in. wide, centered on %4-in.
5
vee
thick frame members. Sf

Anas v: <sX Top View,

? Slip Seat Frame

Note: Trace contour

of slip seat from
assembled seat frame.
Allow 'Ae-in. clearance
for fabric.

Front View Side View

 =
VIEW A, Scale: 4 in. = 1 in.
Shoulder supports
i 2 ae

1 in. waste G7 Yi

ie
|_| Knee bracket, 11% in. T.
| |x 1% in. W. x 2% in. L.
fo
ee
Grid square 7-
= Bin.

ote: Leg blank

is 2% in. square
x 16% in. long, *Note: Thickness of side
rail varies—see page 73.
Note:
Ankle dia. = 1%e in.
Foot dia. = 2% in.
Pad dia. = 214 in.

1s gs UNE Ls Oe tecta ne: Pa

Grid square = % in. |_|
[|
5/6 in. tenon,
Yin. L. x 514 in. W.,
both ends

SPLAT
Scale: % in. = 1 in.
HEE
97, actual measure is taken
from assembled chair

% in. chamfer
on back edge Note: Front view
(R.) is perpendicular
to splat face. SSERERSESRA

Note: Splat blank is 1% in. | H

thick x 6 in. wide x 11 in. long.
| |

e
rH
TS
Ee

rai as

Side View Front View

===
Tenon, % in. dia. x % in. L.
Scale: % in. = eine
(Grid square = V, in.)

Note: Glue shoe(s)

to top of rear rail(s).
VIEW B
Scale: Y% in. = 1 in.

1 in. waste

REAR/SIDE LEG
Scale: % in. = 1 in. Cleat, 'e in. T.
x 1’ in. W. x 14% in. L,
glued and nailed to rail

/ "ad
—/ 9 }
1Asd ah,

~
28
Wad ee

Side knee bracket (6), 1 in. T. x 1% in. W.

x 2% in. L., glued and nailed to leg and rail

14%

REAR/SIDE LEG LAYOUT

Scale: % in. = 1 in.
12%

Leg post,
1% in. sq.
Stretcher mortise,
Are %* in. dia. x % in. deep
5 . . 5 *

1% in. dia. Note: Leg blank

is 2% in. square
x 29% in. long.
2% in. sq. for
2\4-in. major
dia. of foot
Note: Leg is bandsawn
to dotted lines
(R.) before turning.
 ARM/CREST RAIL
Scale: %6 in. = 1 in. Line of crest rail
blank, 2 in. T.
x 6% in. W. x 21 in. L

Use template 2
End of e to shape rear
crest rail XQ face of crest

True radius of
arm ends oe .
Use template 1
to shape front
face cf crest

Note: Center and glue crest rail

over arm rail sections.
IS 4)

Cena
BBBeeee ae
_ SECTION A
| Scale: “ec in. = 1 in. ~
_ Note: Exterior radius = 127%2 in.
2 sections of arm rail join here Interior radius = 102 in.
Centerline of
splat mortise
th

| os

Tee
\

2 45°

Leg post mortise,

baie) 7) “
% in. dia. x % in. deep Line of arm blank (2),
1 in. T. x 6% in. W. x 22 in. L.

TEMPLATES 1 AND 2
: tt
SECTIONS D AND E
Grid square = \% in. Grid square = '% in.
SSiiases

— 72 —
 PARTIAL SECTION C
Scale: % in = 1 in.

1%d of side and

2"ad of foot ||
10'%6 8% 8%

Note: Tenons are

% in. dia. x % in. long.
Ze Note: Side-to-side stretcher blank is
-— SS fe:aed = in. long (21% in. long
ean OO ZL shoulder to shoulder). Front-to-rear
Sea an - =e stretcher blank is 11% in. square x 22% in.
i _ ZF long (21% in. long shoulder to shoulder).
Zi Shorten front-to-rear stretcher in the long taper.
ag

Cleats (2),
h6 in. T. x 1% in. W.,
support slip seat

15s in. dia.

of front
7h in. W. leg at joint
follows profile
of shaped © 25h in. dia.
Side knee bracket (6), front rail YQ of foot
1 in. T. x 1% in. W.
x 2% in. L. Knee bracket
follows profile of
shaped front rail
Front seat rail
prior to shaping,
1% in. T. x 4 in. W.
x 16 in. L. 15h,

Front knee bracket (2),

Ti in. T. x 1% in. W. x 2% in. L.
Line of original 2% in. sq. front leg post

Line of original leg blank

Hudson River Valley side chair. This maple and ash reproduction
is based on period examples from New York State, c. 1740-1805.

74
 HUDSON RIVER VALLEY SIDE CHAIR

ueen Anne furniture is generally characterized in Delaware. The classic heart-shaped cutout of the Win-
by simple formality. Vernacular pieces, if well terthur chair plants it firmly in a country, folk-furniture tra-
executed, carry themselves honorably in the dition. Original chairs with heart cutouts are not exactly
_¢ company of high-style, urban furniture. Unfor- scarce, but certainly exceptional, and they command a high
“. tunately, too many so-called country pieces are price among collectors. It’s possible that some original
merely poorly executed imitations of high-style furniture. “heartless” chairs have been altered to take advantage of
The Hudson River Valley chair is an unqualified exception. this situation.
In both its design and construction, elements from earlier I should note here the existence of a common variation
urban and rural traditions coalesce with several dominant on this chair, built at about the same time and having all the
Queen Anne features. This chair is unquestionably Queen same elements except for the turned cabriole legs. Its front
Anne and indisputably country. legs are simple turned cylinders, like those on the common
The Hudson River Valley chair is vivid proof that seem- ladderback chair. The front seat rail is a turned rung rather
ingly incongruous elements can be combined successfully to than a shaped rail with corner blocks. These chairs were
produce a harmonious piece of furniture. Its turned back probably promoted as a less expensive alternative to the fully
posts, riven or turned stretchers and rush seat are clearly resolved chair, and they are not nearly as attractive or as
derived from older American turned-chair traditions, such valuable in today’s antique market. Although my chairs
as the pilgrim-era Brewster and Carver chairs. The turned aren't an exact replica of any particular example, they em-
cabriole legs are influenced by the sculpted cabriole leg of body all the ingredients of the classic Hudson River Valley
the American Queen Anne period, which was in turn derived side chair.
from various European precedents. The ball-and-ring front
stretcher is an obvious William and Mary feature. But lest MAKING THE CHAIR
any confusion arise from this combination of disparate ele- A system of making turned chairs that takes into account the
ments, it is clearly put to rest by the Queen Anne vase splat natural properties of wood shrinkage and expansion has
and yoke crest, the two most visible and resolving character- been much discussed of late, with important conclusions
istics of the chair. being drawn by woodworkers and furniture historians. The
These chairs are commonly referred to as “Dutch,” re- gist of their argument is that traditional chairmaking tech-
flecting the fact that a great many were made by the Dutch niques combine green (wet) wood and dry wood to produce
immigrants of the Hudson River Valley, which was called the superior, long-lasting joinery. Simply stated, when a dry
New Netherlands. While most of these chairs were made in tenon is installed in a green mortise, an exchange of mois-
New York’s Dutch communities, a considerable number also ture takes place that locks the two parts together. These
were made in neighboring Connecticut and western Massa- methods are frequently used in reproductions of both lad-
chusetts. But in the absence of any record of provenance, derback and Windsor chairs.
these chairs are really indistinguishable from those made in While I subscribe to the effectiveness of such methods,
New York. my research turned up no clear evidence that Hudson River
The reproduction shown on the facing page is based on Valley chairs were made with green wood. I make my chairs
two fine examples: one at the Yale University Art Gallery in of kiln-dried lumber, with glued joints. Careful joinery is
New Haven, Connecticut, the other at the Winterthur Museum more important in a chair made entirely from dry wood, but
 Wrap the aluminum template around
the outside of the leg shaft, with one end
positioned at the center of the rear
The turned feet and the Gabriole-style legs (left) and shaped seat rails (right) are - stretcher. Then mark the location of the
some of the classic features of this country Queen Anne chair. side-stretcher mortise.

I believe that today’s aliphatic-resin glues are stronger and jects.) Then, after the posts are completely turned, scribe
more moisture resistant than the hide glues that were used the locations for the borings and mortises with the sharp
in the 18th century. But if you choose to make this chair point of the skew chisel so they will remain visible through
using green-wood technology, I suggest you consult some all future operations.
works on the subject (see the Bibliography on p. 244). Now bore the holes for the rear seat rail and stretcher at
Legs I’ve examined many Hudson River Valley chairs 90° to the axis of the rear legs, and chop the splat-rail
and I’ve found their front legs to have been made with both mortises. Note that the splat-rail mortises are located slightly
parallel axes and converging axes. (Chapter 2 describes both off center on the leg posts so the face of the splat rail and
types of leg.) I decided to use parallel-axis legs because the the face of the crest rail will fall in the same plane.
period examples upon which this chair is based show evi- To avoid weakening the leg posts, the borings for the side
dence of this method, and the parallel axes result in better stretchers and rails are higher than the holes for the rear
foot projection and a more vertical leg shaft. stretcher and rail. Make sure you bore the holes for the side
The front legs on many of these chairs splay outward at stretchers and seat rails at an 88° angle to correspond to
about a 2° angle, which broadens the footprint and causes the backward cant of the leg posts. Orient these borings at a
the feet to project even further. In addition, the rear leg 98° angle to the axes of the rear stretcher and rail, as
posts frequently cant backward around 2° from vertical, shown in the plan view on p. 79.
making the chairs more comfortable to sit in. These subtle To locate these holes, I use a thin template derived from
angles make the chair a bit more difficult to produce, but a full-scale sectional drawing of the leg and made from alu-
they are crucial to its function and appearance. minum roof flashing, as shown on the facing page. When all
For no particular reason, I usually make the front legs the holes for the side rails and stretchers are marked on the
first. Rough out two 2%-in. square by 18-in. long blanks, rear leg posts, use a drill press to bore them.
and lay out the turning centers on both ends, as shown on The back Make the crest and splat rails and assemble
the drawings on p. 79. While the legs are still square, bore the back of the chair without glue. (Make sure to bore the
the holes for the front stretcher. Use a drill press with an holes for the leg-post tenons and chop the splat mortise on
angle block to support the leg at the 2° angle. By boring the underside of the crest rail while it is still rectangular.)
these holes before you turn, you can ensure that the orienta- Now take the final splat measurements directly off the as-
tion of the feet will be alike on both legs and from chair to sembled back, trim the splat to length and cut the tenons on
chair. Then reduce the thickness of the leg above the foot the radial-arm saw or table saw. The tenons on this splat
on the jointer or bandsaw and turn the foot and leg, as are straight, so it is much easier to make than the angled
described on p. 29. splat tenons on the roundabout chair.
Next, turn the rear leg posts to cylinders and use a pencil When you're satisfied with the fit of the splat tenons in
and a layout stick to transfer the locations of all the turning the crest-rail and splat-rail mortises, bandsaw the vase-
details and the stretcher and splat-rail mortises to the re- shaped profile and use a scroll saw, coping saw or a port-
volving stock. (You can make a layout stick from any thin able jigsaw to cut out the heart. Then smooth all the sawn
scrap of lumber, and you can save it to use on other pro- edges with a file and sandpaper and chamfer the back. Turn

—— 74 ——
the rear seat rail and bottom stretcher. When all the back the leg turnings will cause slight differences in the length of
joinery is complete, shape and sand the crest rail and glue the stretchers. Close is close enough.
the back assembly together. Assembling the chair After the stretchers are
Rails and stretchers Chop the mortises for the side turned, put the whole chair together. Don’t be alarmed if
seat rails in the rectangular front seat-rail blank and bore it you need to use a rubber mallet and a little persuasion. Any
at each end for the front-leg tenons. Bore these holes on the misaligned stretcher holes will make assembly more diffi-
drill press and remember to tilt the table or block the rail cult, but a little tension in the base structure is all right. If
for the 2° angle. Temporarily assemble the front legs and everything fits together, tap the chair apart, apply glue to all
rail and measure between the legs to determine the correct of the mortises and tenons and then reassemble it. Clamp
length of the front stretcher. Then turn the stretcher to the the chair together with web clamps until the glue dries. I
ball-and-ring profile shown in the drawing on p. 79. (I use a place a weight on the seat frame to hold the chair down on
layout stick if I’m making more than one chair.) a flat surface, such as the benchtop or saw table. This helps
When the stretcher is turned and fitted in the proper to keep all four feet in the same plane and reduces the
holes in the front legs, place the front rail on the leg tenons. amount of trimming required after the clamps are removed.
Then scribe the inside of the turned tenon shoulders and When the glue has set, remove the clamps and place the
pare them so they’ll seat tightly against the underside of the chair on a large, flat surface. If all four legs don’t contact
seat rail. the table evenly and at the same time—and the splayed
Shape the front seat rail to the tapered profile indicated front legs make this a virtual impossibility—you’ll have to
on the drawing. Define the inside edge of each corner block trim them. Tilt the chair so that the seat is level and mea-
with a shallow sawcut and use a chisel and drawknife to sure the distance beneath the shortest leg. Then set a pair of
shave the rest of the rail between the sawcuts. (There’s no dividers to this distance and use it to scribe around the rest
need to fuss over a smooth surface here, since the rushing of the feet. Pare this amount away with a sharp chisel until
will cover the rail.) Then glue the front leg, rail and stretcher all four legs rest evenly.
assembly together. Woods As in most country furniture, native woods are
The side seat rails require several operations — including combined in the Hudson River Valley chair according to
turning, drawknife work and conventional joinery. They their properties and availability. Hard or soft maple was
change dramatically in cross section from the %-in. dia. commonly used for prominent turnings—back posts, front
round tenon at the rear to a nearly oval profile at the front, legs and the front stretcher. Maple is strong, and its close
ending in a rectangular tenon. While the stock is still rec- grain lends itself to crisp turnings. The other stretchers
tangular, mount the rail on the lathe and turn the rear were often riven of ash or oak, and subsequently turned on
tenon. Then cut the “o-in. front tenon on the radial-arm saw the lathe. The crest and splat rails were usually maple. The
or table saw, and use a drawknife for the final shaping. splat was generally made of tulip poplar or yellow poplar, a
Now, put the front and back assemblies together with the soft hardwood that’s easy to shape and readily available in
seat-rail tenons fully seated, and measure from the floor to wide boards. In 18th-century Connecticut, these chairs were
locate the holes for the side stretchers on the back of the often made partly or entirely of cherry, but the use of a
front legs. Before boring these holes, look the chair over particular species of wood is an inconclusive test of origin
carefully. Are the legs angled correctly? Do the front legs for any period furniture.
relate properly to the rear legs? If one of the front feet Finishing All the Hudson River Valley chairs I’ve seen
splays too far forward, simply wrap a piece of twine around show evidence of original paint. Black seems to have been
it and the corresponding rear leg and pull it in until both the most common color, followed by blue and the ever-
front legs are the same distance from the rear legs. Then popular brownish red. I stain my chairs first, using a water-
measure the correct length of the side stretchers. based aniline dye. (On maple chairs, I use Lockwood’s am-
When everything looks right, bore the side-stretcher holes ber Early American Maple dye.) I then apply red or black
in the front legs while the chair is assembled. This is an milk paint. When the paint is dry, rub some of it off in the
eyeball and hand operation, so be careful and proceed cau- typical wear areas with steel wool to make the chair look as
tiously. I use an electric drill and a %-in. dia. spade bit with if it’s been around a little while. Finally, brush on a coat of
a shortened shank. This allows me to position the drill be- Stulb’s Graining Liquid to seal the finish and add to the
tween the front and rear legs, which makes it easier to bore aging effect. (Refer to p. 237 for more detailed information.)
the hole at the right angle. Rushing the seat The rushing is all that remains to
Making the side stretchers is a simple matter. The side complete this chair, which will be strengthened by a tightly
and rear stretchers on some chairs were riven and shaved woven seat. Two types of rush are commonly available. One
round with a drawknife and spokeshave, but most of the is natural-fiber cattail leaves, which are twisted into a twine
original chairs I’ve examined have turned stretchers. I pre- while the seat is woven. The other is a man-made fiber rush,
fer to follow this tradition. It’s also much quicker, especially made of pretwisted brown kraft paper.
for making the tenons. Refer to the Sources of Supply on p. 242 for suppliers of
Measure the partially assembled chair to determine the rushing materials, and to the Bibliography on p. 244 for
final length of the side stretchers. If your chair is positioned references on rushing techniques. Whether you use cattail
correctly, the stretchers on both sides should be the same rush, paper rush or ash splints, be sure to seal the seat with
length, but don’t be surprised if they're not. Variations in a couple of coats of thinned varnish or shellac.
= — ca72)i)Zz. ia)2
.e} =aS|
oa|

Side View
FRONT RAIL/FRONT LEG ASSEMBLY
Scale: % in. = 1 in. Front seat rail blank,
7A in. T. x 1% in. W. x 19% in. L.
Tenon,
%d x % long

i:

Y% in.
chamfer

centered

16 in.
to floor

7%
Note: Front stretcher tenon is % in. dia. x 1 in. long.
LAYOUT OF FRONT LEG
Scale: % in. = 1 in. he : :
Note: Leg blank is 2% in. square
Centerline of leg x 18 in. long. Front leg tenon
2% in. major : is % in. dia. x % in. long.
dia. of leg oe
“Wj
4-— Area removed with
Z4 bandsaw or jointer

Ankle, 74 in. dia.

2% in. major
dia. of foot

Reduced leg blank,

25A¢“6 in.
in. sq sq.
Ankle dia. = 7 in.
Foot dia. = 2%6, 2% in.
Top View Side View Pad dia. = 2% in.
CREST RAIL/REAR LEG ASSEMBLY (viewed flat) PARTIAL SIDE VIEW
Scale: % in. = 1 in. Scale: %6 in. = 1 in.

on | | | | Note: Crest rail blank is 7% in. thick

: 4. 4 x 2% in. wide x 15% in. long. Rear
Grid square = ‘2 in. aa
leg blank is 1% in. square
| x 39% in. long. i

Tenon, '% in. dia.

x % in. L.

{ ‘Note: Continue splat

curve in crest rail.

SECTIONS
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

% in. dia.
x % in. L.

Shaped with drawknife from

7 in. T. x 1% in. W. stock

Top View, Side Rail

11%
oo —_—_—__—ia—s Side rail,
12% in. shoulder to shoulder
2s =—— 1h

13 Me — — l*%d

14% —/ Yo Wd
Top side stretcher,
154. — “Sud 11% in. shoulder to shoulder

Yad

1%d to
floor
| Bottom side stretcher,
5\/ 11% in. shoulder to shoulder

Note: Side stretchers are 7 in. dia. at center, '%e in. dia. at
shoulders. Tenons are % in. dia. x % in. long.

— 80 —
PARTIAL REAR VIEW SPLAT
Scale: %6 in. = 1 in. Scale: ¥% in. = 1 in.

Note: Splat blank is 1% thick

x 5% wide x 186 long.

Note: Rear seat rail (above) and rear

stretcher (below) are similar: 12% in.
shoulder to shoulder, ’/ in. dia. at center,
¥% in. dia. at shoulders. Tenons are
5% in. dia. x % in. long.

Y in. chamfer on all back edges

of splat including heart cutout
 Newport easy-chair frame. This mahogany, maple and
pine reproduction was based on a period chair made in
Newport, Rhode Island, c. 1758.

— 82 —
 EASY CHAIRS

"~~ asy chairs constitute a perplexing chapter in the questions persist concerning the bulkiness of the stuffing
. development of Queen Anne furniture. More and the use of local handwoven fabrics, which are nearly
__ than any other form of seating, they represent impossible to document. The fully reupholstered chairs we
an effort to provide maximum comfort at a find in museums are, for the most part, the well-intentioned
time when the concept of leisure was just be- interpretations of curators or upholsterers and may have
ginning to find a place in society at large. The first Ameri- looked quite unorthodox to craftsmen of the period. I hope
can easy chairs were made during the William and Mary that more examples will be discovered to enlighten the
period, just before the emergence of the Queen Anne style. study, and that the owners of these valuable pieces will be-
Early examples are scarce, since only the wealthy had come aware of their importance to American decorative arts
enough money to afford the expensive upholstery material before they allow them to be ravaged.
or the time to relax. Easy-chair production increased dra- This chapter describes the making of two extraordinary
matically by the middle of the 18th century, following the 18th-century easy chairs: the Newport easy chair (shown on
growth of America’s merchant class. the facing page) and the Boston easy chair (shown in the
The successful easy chair depends upon the utmost co- photo on p. 87). Unlike the Boston easy chair, which dis-
operation between two separate tradesmen: the woodworker plays elements from several different design periods, the
and the upholsterer. The frame must be soundly built, yet it fine features of the Newport chair are purely Queen Anne.
must facilitate the attachment of the fabric that will ulti- The vertical arm supports set back from the front seat rail
mately conceal almost all of the joinery. We can only specu- (shown on p. 84) are a standard feature of classic Queen
late about the number of attempts that must have been un- Anne easy chairs. The turned-pad feet are fully developed
dertaken before any two craftsmen were able to agree on a and, in keeping with much Newport furniture, they are quite
formula. Of course, it’s possible that some men made the large with respect to the rest of the chair. The turned
frame and fit the upholstery, but period account books indi- stretchers, which are so thin and elegantly proportioned,
cate a high degree of specialization. relate to those on Newport Queen Anne side chairs. (The
The upholsterer’s hand is the last to touch the easy chair, high arch of the crest rail is unique and may be peculiar to
and a great deal of its sculptural line and proportion come this chair.)
from his trained eye. Unfortunately, time has nearly robbed
us of original examples. The fabric on most early chairs has THE NEWPORT EASY CHAIR
long since faded or worn out, and the stuffings have lost Of the few surviving Queen Anne easy chairs that retain their
their loft or broken down completely. Most 18th-century original upholstery, none comes close to the Newport chair
easy chairs were reupholstered in the 19th century or 20th in the quality of its design or the beauty of its fabric. In
century. So few original examples exist that we can paint American Furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
only a fragmentary picture of how easy chairs may have ap- furniture historian Morrison H. Heckscher describes this
peared during the Queen Anne period. easy chair as “one of the most remarkable pieces of all
Ironically, in order to examine or reupholster a frame it eighteenth-century American furniture. With a frame of
must be stripped of the very materials we need to study. And stately proportions and cabriole legs and pad feet formed
upholsterers of the last two centuries are responsible for with an effortless, bold assurance, the chair’s woodwork
obliterating much valuable historical information. Nagging ranks it among the best of New England seating furniture.
 This Queen Anne easy chair retains its
original upholstery. On the back panel, the
elaborate needlework depicts a shepherd
and his flock. Made in Newport of walnut
and maple, the frame is inscribed and
dated 1758. (Photo courtesy of The
Metropolitan Museum of Art.)

ee

The sagnedl arm roll and the eobricle leg a re distinguishing features of Queen Anne easy chairs.

—— 84 ——
One of only two such easy chairs known to have their origi- cut, chop the mortises for the crest rail, lower back rail and
nal stuffing and finish fabric in place and intact, this chair seat rails, and bore the hole for the rear stretcher.
stands as a Rosetta stone to illustrate the form and tech- The rear legs on this chair are parallel, so the rear seat
nique of eighteenth-century upholstery.” (The other chair in rail, back support, crest rail and rear stretcher are all the
Heckscher’s reference is in the Brooklyn Museum.) same length between tenon shoulders. When these parts
Among other things, the Newport chair demonstrates that have been made and fitted to their mortises, glue the back
local, hand-worked fabrics were considered at least as suit- of the chair together and pin the joints, as shown in the
able as imported, woven materials. In spite of the extensive drawings on p. 93. (1 usually make the front seat rail at the
hand labor, these may have been less expensive than imported same time, since the tenons are the same as those on the
manufactured goods. Moreover, the visible fastening tech- back seat rail and it is made from a straight piece of stock.)
niques and the application of padding on the Newport easy Joint and plane the square front-leg blanks, cut them to
chair combine with decorative embellishments, such as the length and transfer the cabriole pattern from the template.
silk-tape trim and welted seams, to tell us a great deal about Then lay out and cut the seat-rail and stretcher mortises and
early upholstery methods. bandsaw the leg curves. (Remember to leave the full leg post
When the beautiful needlework panel on the back of the at the top, which makes it easier to center the leg on the
original chair was removed for restoration, the words Gard- lathe and clamp it to the bench.) Turn the pad foot, and
ner Junr/Newport May/1758/W were revealed on the crest carve the upper leg as described on p. 23. Make sure to
rail. While the date and location of this chair’s construction leave the leg surface flat around the stretcher mortise to
may be safely based on this inscription, attribution remains receive the tenon shoulders. This detail is clearly visible on
an enigma. We know from Newport tax and probate records the side stretchers of most Queen Anne chairs, and it is essen-
that one Caleb Gardner, who died in 1761, had a son of the tial for a well-fitted tenon. When the legs are fully shaped
same name who became an upholsterer. And since a father’s and smoothed, glue and pin them to the front stretcher.
trade was often passed to his son, it is reasonable to assume Side rails and stretchers Lay out and cut the an-
that Caleb, Sr., was also an upholsterer and perhaps covered gled tenons on the side seat rails. (I scribe these with a
this chair. But while researching the provenance of 18th- knife, rough them out on the bandsaw and then trim them
century woodworking planes, I’ve seen the abbreviation to the scribed lines with a sharp chisel, but they could be
Junr. used to mean “junior,” and Jynr. to mean “joiner.” If cut entirely on a radial-arm saw or table saw, or by hand.)
we interpret it as junior, then Caleb’s son, born in 1750, Then chop the three mortises—for the arm roll, side wing
would have had to upholster the chair when he was only and upholsterer’s bar—in the top of each side rail. When
eight years old. Perhaps the chair was given to young Caleb these are done, assemble the front and back sections and
on his eighth birthday, but it seems more likely that the U measure between the legs to get the finished length of the
might be a tail-less Y. side stretchers.
The original Newport chair is enclosed in a sealed glass
case at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with a controlled
atmosphere to preserve the upholstery. It is removed only
for serious study by the curatorial staff, so it’s impossible to
make precise measured drawings. My reproduction is based
on measurements recorded in various publications, careful
examination through the glass case and similar examples
that have been stripped and photographed.

MAKING THE CHAIR

Begin construction by making full-scale templates of the
front and rear legs, arm rests, crest rail and wing sections.
Make sure to include all information regarding the locations
of mortises and tenons.
Legs and back The rear legs on this chair are sawn
out of one piece of wood, although some Queen Anne easy
chairs have two-piece legs scarfed together above the seat
rail. The exposed foot of a two-piece leg is typically made of
primary wood (usually mahogany or walnut), while the up-
per leg is of a secondary wood (usually maple or some other
native hardwood). One-piece legs are stronger, with no
joints to weaken or fail.
Saw the front faces of the leg posts on the table saw,
using a sliding plywood jig like the one shown on p. 45. oS

Fixed stops on the jig make it easy to produce two or more Cut the angled front stretcher tenons on the radial-arm saw or
identical legs. Bandsaw the back of each leg and smooth the table saw before turning the side stretchers (see p. 45). The
surface with a spokeshave and scraper. When the profile is blocks beyond the tenons help to center the blanks on the lathe.
 Saw the rectangular, front-stretcher tenons as shown on fastened to the back and arm rest it’s plenty strong. It’s not
p. 85), and turn the stretcher profile as described on p. 44. necessary to trim the tenon shoulder because the modifica-
As mentioned earlier, this curious method of construction tion is minimal.
had two probable purposes. It enabled the chairmaker to Before installing the wings, fit the upholsterer’s bars to
standardize his joinery before handing the parts over to a the mortises on top of the seat rail and in the underside of
turner, and the angled shoulder created by the rectangular the horizontal wing members. When the chair is uphol-
tenon fits the leg better than would the shoulder of a stered, the fabric is tacked on the outside of the leg and
turned, round tenon. pulled tightly between the vertical bar and the rear leg post
The compound-angled rear tenons on the side stretchers to cover the inside of each wing. The tacked edges are cov-
are caused by the backward sloping rear legs and the splay ered by the upholstery applied to the back and outside of
of the seat. These are the most complex tenons on the chair, the wing.
and I find it easier to lay them out accurately and cut them On period frames, a row of tack holes on the inside front
by hand with a backsaw than to jig up the radial-arm saw or face of the rear leg posts indicates that the back panel was
table saw. probably padded and covered first. The wing material would
Mark the location for the center-stretcher mortise on the have been tacked on with its finished side facing the back of
inside of both side stretchers and clamp the chair together the chair, and then rolled forward to cover the arm and
with the side stretchers in place. Measure between the side wing padding.
stretchers to determine the length of the center stretcher, Most original easy-chair frames of the Queen Anne period
and place a straightedge across the side stretchers, centered do not have upholsterer’s bars, but they were often added
over the center-stretcher marks to arrive at the angle of the when the old frames were reupholstered. (Upholsterer’s
center-stretcher holes. Of course, you can lift these mea- bars were not generally used until the 19th or early 20th
surements right off the drawing, but the empirical method is century.) Today, upholsterers groan or mumble when the
more accurate. Use a '/6-in. Forstner bit to counterbore the bars aren’t present, because they're unfamiliar with the
center-stretcher holes at the correct angle, and bore the -in. 18th-century methods. Also, the bars enable an upholsterer
deep holes with a %-in. spur bit. Then turn the center to pad the entire chair first and then cover it with the finish
stretcher to its finished length and profile. material. To keep my upholsterers happy, and because the
When everything fits well, glue up the back and front bars do not seriously compromise the frame, I equip most
sections of the chair. Then join them with the rails and of my easy-chair frames with upholsterer’s bars like the
stretchers, clamp the whole chair together and pin the ones shown on this reproduction. The transitional easy chair
joints. After the glue has dried, attach the buttress knee on the facing page, is an exception; there’s no room for an
brackets to the front legs, as described on pp. 31-33, and additional bar between the wing and the leg post.
carve them to conform to the splay of the seat and the shape At the top of the chair, drive two screws through the
of the knee. back of each leg post into the horizontal wing member. The
Arm rolls and wings The arm rolls and wings are wings on original, period frames are usually nailed or ten-
fastened to the frame after the base and back are put to- oned into the leg posts, but nailed joints tend to pull apart
gether. The arm rolls are made in two sections, capped by and mortises frequently split the leg. The introduction of
the arm rests that attach them to the wings. The outside, upholsterer’s bars and screws clearly compromises the au-
conical section extends down the side of the seat rail and is thenticity of the reproduction, but I believe that their func-
nailed and glued to the inside section, which is tenoned into tional advantages more than make up for the loss.
the top of the seat rail. The rolls are rounded with a draw- Finally, fasten the flat arm rests on top of the arm rolls
knife and spokeshave and needn’t be too smooth because and to the front of the wings. The rests tie the arm rolls and
they will be covered with upholstery. wings together and strengthen the whole frame. Where the
The tenons on the inside sections are easier to cut while arm rest contacts the wing, its end must be angled slightly
the rolls are still rectangular. Set them in their mortises on to match the outward tilt of the wing. Bandsaw the overall
the seat rails and use a full-scale pattern of the arm-rest to shape of the arm rest, then tilt the saw table to a 92° angle
trace the inside contour on top. Shape the rolls with a draw- and bandsaw the angled face that contacts the wing. The
knife and chisel, and glue and pin them in place. Then front of the rest is nailed into the top of the vertical arm
shape and attach the outer sections the same way. roll, and the back is screwed to the wing, as shown in the
The wings are made in two pieces, mortised and tenoned drawing on p. 92.
together. The joints are best cut before bandsawing the con-
tours. Leave the back ends of the top horizontal members a THE TRANSITIONAL EASY CHAIR
bit long, so they can be adjusted when the wings are in- The Boston easy chair on the facing page is considered tran-
stalled in the seat rails. sitional because it contains style elements from both William
The inside face of the tenon that fits in the seat rail must and Mary and Queen Anne periods. The center and rear
be relieved slightly, as shown on p. 92, to allow for the stretchers are clearly derived from William and Mary cane-
outward tilt of the wing. This is difficult to visualize from back chairs. The three-part center stretcher is composed of
either the drawings or photos, but it is immediately appar- two ball-turned shafts on either side of a central ring or
ent at this stage of construction. You might expect the reel. The two-part rear stretcher has two ball-turned shafts
trimmed tenon to create a loose joint, but once the wing is and no central ring.

—— 86 ——
 Transitional features such as the
vertical and horizontal arm roll, the
scrolled crest rail (in the completed
This maple and pine reproduction frame was based on the transitional easy chair on frame at left) and the embryonic cabriole
p. 89, which was built in Boston, c. 1730-1740. (Photo by Brian Gulick.) leg characterize the Boston easy chair.

The combination of vertical and horizontal arm rolls, The cabriole front legs are decidedly Queen Anne, but
which is found on some of the earliest American easy their rectilinear profile is considered embryonic to the later,
chairs, was retained on this chair. Most fully developed more fully sculpted legs that are the hallmark of the period.
Queen Anne easy chairs, like the Newport chair, have only The Spanish feet, which are common on William and Mary
vertical arm rolls, although some Philadelphia and New York furniture, persisted well into the Queen Anne period. But the
examples employ both. Most late Chippendale and Hepple- feet project more on this chair than on other similar exam-
white easy chairs were made with only horizontal arm rolls. ples, making it a finer and more desirable piece.
The scroll on the crest rail (shown above) is another The original chair, after which my reproduction is fash-
baroque William and Mary characteristic, while the vase- ioned, is the finest and best-preserved of fewer than ten
turned elements on the side stretchers are common in both known examples. It resides in the Prentis collection of the
William and Mary and Queen Anne periods. The chair was New Hampshire Historical Society, whose curatorial staff
reupholstered in 1958 with the period flame-stitched fabric graciously allowed me to examine the chair and take crucial
shown in the photo on p. 89. Tack holes in the base indi- measurements. Similar chairs are in the collections of Historic
cate that the original fabric once covered the entire front Deerfield, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Winterthur.
and side seat rails to the top of the legs, and I recommend For a long time, this chair was believed to have been
that a reproduction be done the same way. made in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, by John Gaines III,
the maker of the side chair described on pp. 52-57. Subse- table saw, before shaping the outside contour. You can save
quent research suggesting that it was made in Boston is time by using a block that’s long enough for both rolls. Cut
more credible, since Portsmouth was not known to have an it in half and use a 3-in. dia. template to lay out the top of
upholstered-furniture industry in the early 18th century. each roll (along with the inside corner of the front leg
post), and a 2'4-in. dia. template for the bottom of the rolls.
MAKING THE CHAIR Shape the conical rolls with a drawknife and spokeshave,
The construction process for this chair is essentially the and glue and nail them to the leg posts. Round the inside
same as that of the Newport easy chair. But there are a few corner of the leg posts with a drawknife and chisels.
important variations, which I describe below. Woods The earliest transitional easy chairs were made
Legs Begin by making the rear leg posts. They are si- almost entirely of one wood, usually maple, with small
milar to those on the Newport easy chair, with one unusual amounts of pine used for the arm rolls. On most of these
difference —the curve in the foot begins just beiow the side chairs, the exposed frame was painted. Later, fully devel-
stretcher. The straight section between the stretcher and oped Queen Anne easy chairs were made of both primary
seat rail is at a right angle to the floor and parallel to the and secondary woods. The primary wood was usually wal-
front leg, which makes the rear stretcher and rail tenons nut, or sometimes mahogany, cherry or maple, while maple
easy to cut and fit. and pine were used for the upholstered upper frames. The
The front legs are contour sawn, like other cabriole legs rear legs of many easy chairs were made from a single piece
of the period, but they are left rectilinear, with no sculpting of light-colored maple. The exposed bottom portions of
above the feet. The outside and front edges of the leg are these legs were stained to match the primary wood in the
softened with a carved quirk bead, while the back corner is rest of the base.
left square. I know of only two side chairs with similar The original Newport easy chair was made of three
beaded legs; all other examples are found on easy chairs. woods. The primary wood used for the front legs and base
Lay out the front leg blocks and cut the mortises for the stretchers is walnut, the rear legs, crest rail and wings are
side stretchers, the seat rails and the horizontal arm-roll maple, the arm rolls are probably pine and the arm rests
blocks. Then bandsaw the leg profile and carve the Spanish pine or maple. I substituted mahogany for walnut in the
feet, as described on p. 25. The beading on the upper legs base and made the upholstery bars out of maple, but other-
can be partially scraped with a scratch stock, but I prefer to wise I used the same woods in my reproduction. The rear
carve it entirely with a parting tool and chisels. Carve the feet on both the original and the reproduction are stained to
bead on the lower leg first, then trim the leg post to its final match the primary wood.
dimension and scrape it smooth before completing the bead Finishing Easy chairs are a pleasure to finish because
above the knee. Note that the leg post extends 6’/ in. above only the base will be seen after the chair is upholstered. The
the seat frame to form a part of the lower arm-roll assembly. rest of the frame can be sealed with a light coat of varnish,
Arm rolls After the base and back are permanently shellac or a mixture of linseed oil and turpentine (two parts
assembled, make the horizontal brackets that connect the oil to one part turpentine). I prefer the latter since it be-
vertical arm-roll supports to the front legs. Note that they comes almost invisible when dry.
have angled tenons like those on the seat rails. Glue the The exposed finish on the original Newport chair is much
horizontal members into their mortises. deteriorated, and the walnut is quite dark with age. If you
Bandsaw the vertical supports and glue and screw them use mahogany for the front legs and maple for the rear legs,
to the back of the horizontal brackets, then pin the tenons they can be stained to simulate the dark walnut. Stain and
that fit into the seat rails. Assemble the wings, fit them to varnish scraps of mahogany and maple until you’re satisfied.
the rear leg posts and seat rails and fasten them in place. The maple requires a darker stain, and can even be painted
Make the inner arm rolls, but leave their top inside edges and grained to match the mahogany. A deep-penetrating ani-
square. Hold each one in place and scribe the rabbet shoul- line dye works well on maple, which is difficult to color
der from the leading edge of the wing. Note that the inner with an oil-based stain.
roll has to be twisted slightly to line up with the outward- This is a high-style chair, so I use a formal, hand-rubbed
leaning wing. The inside of the roll that projects beyond the varnish finish, although a French-polished shellac also
edge of the vertical support can be shaved away after the would be suitable. Brush on four or five coats of rubbing
chair is assembled. Cut the rabbet and trace the top inside varnish, and sand lightly between dried coats with 220-grit
contours directly from the vertical support. Shape the edge, paper. For a rich, mellow luster, rub the last coat with
then glue and screw the inner roll to the vertical support 0000-grade steel wool lubricated with Wool Lube.
and nail it to the wing. The base on the original transitional easy chair is painted
The outer arm rolls are shaped with a drawknife and spoke- black, but evidence of a red painted undercoat is visible
shave. They don’t have to be perfect because they'll be padded wherever the black paint is chipped or scratched. The painted
and covered with fabric. Nail them to the inner arm rolls and finish accentuates the turnings and front legs. I wanted my
the wings. The inner arm rolls extend below the outer rolls reproduction to have the same presence, so I finished it the
and provide a place to attach the upholstery. The horizontal same way.
arm-roll sections flank the wings and give them strength. To reproduce this finish, first stain the exposed feet and
The vertical arm-roll blocks must fit the angle where the stretchers with a water-based aniline dye (any brown color
wing assemblies join the front legs. Saw the angle on the will do). Then coat them with red milk paint. Next, apply a
 This Boston easy chair was reupholstered
in an authentic period flame-stitch fabric.
(Photo courtesy of the New Hampshire
Historical Society.)

top coat of black milk paint. When this is dry, rub the black thought to be entirely woven, but a more careful examina-
paint off in natural wear areas with 0000-grade steel wool, tion has revealed that, as on the Newport chair, coarse linen
exposing some of the red paint and even a bit of stained serves as a base for a handworked bargello flame stitch.
wood beneath. A final rubbing with the oil-and-turpentine This needlework was performed on entire bolts of woven
mixture and a buffing with a clean, dry cloth will seal the cloth, which were then cut for upholstery.
paint and highlight the details. Since I am not an upholsterer, I prefer to sell my easy-
Upholstery The material on the original Newport easy chair frames bare and allow my customers to have them
chair is entirely hand-worked from vegetable-dyed yarns. covered by a professional upholsterer. Moreover, this en-
The flame stitch (called the Irish stitch in this pattern) is ables the customer to appreciate the quality and integrity of
sewn into a base fabric of coarsely woven linen. The chair a well-built frame, faithfully patterned after the original. I
back is beautifully embroidered with a pastoral scene of a provide whatever assistance I can in the way of photos of
shepherd and his flock, surrounded by deer, flowers and finished chairs and appropriate fabrics. An unguided uphol-
fanciful wildfowl. Duplicating this fabric today would be sterer, with no background in period chairs, can easily ruin
prohibitively expensive—if you could find a needleworker the appearance and proportions of a well-designed chair
who was up to the task. frame. (Information on upholstery is provided on pp. 40-41,
The transitional easy chair shown above is upholstered and a short list of related sources is included in the Bibliog-
with an 18th-century Flemish fabric. The cloth was once raphy on p. 244.)
 FRONT APRON/FRONT LEG ASSEMBLY
Scale: % in. = 1 in.
WA (es ae cea 26%
YG YY

Vf, Ly

Knee bracket (4), 2 in. T. x 2 in. W. x 2% in. L.

Grid square |
|_| Note: Front leg blank is 3 in. square x 13% in. long.
= Win. ole Ankle dia. = 1% in.
[A Foot dia. = 2% in.
The Pad dia. = 2%ein.
ane
a
| Side-stretcher mortise,
LY in. W. x 14 in. L. x % in. deep

ee : Scale: 3h = 1 in.

— ha]
Reneess

Upholsterer’s-bar
mortise, 2 in. W. x
1 in. deep

1%

Side-wing mortise,
Ve in. W. x
1% in. deep

Arm-roll mortise,
% in. W. x 2 in. deep
SIDE FRAME (viewed flat) Note: Screw rear leg to wing with two #10 2'2-in. long
Scale: %6 in. = 1 in. flathead woodscrews.
Flush to top rear leg
Mortise, % in. W. x 1% in. L. x % in. deep, centered

Mortise, % in. W. x 11 in. L. x

1 in. deep, centered

fiNote: Wing-fop blank is 1 in. thick x 2% in. wide

x 13"Ae in. long. Wing-side blank is 1 in. thick x 6 in.
wide x 287/c in. long.
Ra

Line of
rear leg

Arm rest

ihey ts | Upholsterer’s bar,

1 in. T. x 1% in. W.
Length is
determined at
Vertical arm- assembly.
roll support

G0 Front View '

Note: Applied arm section Scale: % in. = 1 in.

is glued and nailed to vertical (bottom view) SECTIONS :
arm-roll support. ap Scale: % in. = 1 in.
or
Yar

Note: Pare
Tenon, baw
14 in. W. A outside of
1 tenon to
1 2) accommodate
i le.
Shaped with Me Be
dove |
SSSR 4 Sou
 PARTIAL SIDE VIEW
SIDE/CENTER Scale: 6 in. = 1 in.
STRETCHER ASSEMBLY
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Note: Side-stretcher blanks are 1'% in.

square x 24 in. long. Determine stretcher
lengths from partially assembled chair.

Note: Center stretcher blank is 1'2 in. square x 26 in.

long. Tenons are % in. dia. x 1% in. long. Tenon
shoulders are "Ae in. dia.

1%d
1l%ed

1%d
ad

Note: Rear leg blank

|_
is 1% in. thick x 77 in.
wide x 421% in. long. ae

782°
PARTIAL REAR VIEW
Scale: %46 in. = 1 in.
ne ay radius | 16
|
Note: Front edge
of crest is rounded.
Radius at the
centerline is 2 in.
and decreases to
0° radius at
shoulders.

|
Note: Right half of crest rail }~+—_—_— 10% ed Es%
and rear brace have been
rotated flat in drawing. ¢

REAR STRETCHER Note: Rear stretcher blank is 112 in. square x 22 in. long.
Scale: Yin. = 1 in.
2% 17%

0a q L 3% 17% | a 17 As 20%

ee ¥% in. dia. 7d | 2 Ad "ed

x *% in. L.
1%d 1%d

1%Aed
pee
J) s
ee
 FRONT LEG/FRONT RAIL ASSEMBLY
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Bracket mortise, '2 in. W. Note: Front leg blank is

x 24 in. L. x % in. deep 2’ in. square x 20 in. long.

24%

Inside of arm is rounded

with 11 in. radius.

Side stretcher mortise, 2 in. W.

x 1% in. L. x % in. deep

SECTION A Note: Side rail tenons

Scale: “6 in. = 1 in. are typical both ends.

Bottom View

Vertical arm-roll
: : mortise
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

5A6-in. dia. bead,

hand carved

Note: Applied arm-roll

section is not shown. Applied section of arm
roll, glued and nailed to
leg post and arm roll
 PARTIAL SIDE VIEW (viewed flat)
Scale: 6 in. = 1 in.
This point is flush with top of rear leg
and is attached with #10 21-in. long
Note: Top side-wing blank is flathead woodscrews. (Extra material
12' in. thick x 4 in. wide x Ae in. long. is provided to fit.)

SECTION B 56 in. tenon, 2 in. W. x 1 in. L.,

Scale: %A6 in. = 1 in. centered on '¢-in. T. wing

1%-in. wide horizontal Inner arm roll, 1% in. T. x 4% in. W.

bracket. Tenon is % in. x 11 in. L., tapers to 114 in. T. (this
W. x 21” in. L. x % in. deep. measure is taken before rabbet is cut)

Side
wing Line of
rear leg
Note: Horizontal arm-roll sections are Outer arm roll, 1% in. T. x 3% in. W.
glued and nailed together, and are x 91% in. L., tapers to 1 in. T.
screwed fo arm roll support.

SECTION C
Scale: %6 in. = 1 in.

sto

Rear View
ee Inner arm roll
extends below outer to
provide upholstery
nailing surface. SECTION
Scale: % in = 1 in.

Note: Vertically applied arm roll is glued

and nailed to front leg posts and shaped Note: Pare the inside
with drawknife and spokeshave. of the tenon to permit
the slight wing splay.
SIDE/CENTER STRETCHER ASSEMBLY PARTIAL SIDE VIEW
Scale: Y% in. = 1 in. Scale: %6 in. = 1 in.

Note: Side stretcher blank is 1% in. square

x 20 in. long. Tenons are cut before the blank is turned.
Allow stock outside the tenon for later turning.

%-in. W. mortise,
centered on
tapering leg

30%
/
Note: Center stretcher blank is 2% in. square
x 24% in. long. Tenons are ‘4 in. dia. x % in.
long. Tenon shoulders are ’/ in. dia.

11%6 W1%2

Note: Determine stretcher lengths from

partially assembled chair.

Note: Rear leg blank _|_

is 1% in. thick x 6 in.
wide x 47’ in. long. ——

1 | |
+1 Rear seat-rail |
mortise, 2 in. W.

ECE
criee
V)-dia. rear stretcher
mortise centered on
1% W. rear leg —
PARTIAL REAR VIEW
rye heen e Note: Face of crest rail
Scale: “6 in. = 1 in. 1%-in. dia. crest roll (“r), is shaped to fair

aaa
nailed to crest rail into crest rail.

Grid square = 1 in.

Note: Right half of crest and

rear brace have been rotated
flat in the drawing.

REAR STRETCHER, Scale: 4 in. = 1 in.

1%

Tenon, 4 in. dia. x % in. L.

Y% in. to side-rail mortise

Side-stretcher moriise,
Yin. W. x 1% in. L. x % in. deep

”
TABLES
106
Circular Drop-Leaf Table

116
Porringer-Top Tea Table

122
Oval-Top Table

128
Table with Drawer

134
Tuck-Away Table

142
Tray-Top Tea Table

150
Corner Table

160
Tilt-Top Candlestand

Vy
 ables are listed almost as frequently as chairs to construct, having only nine basic parts: four legs, four
_ in inventories of colonial households. Then, as aprons and the top. Although they were made throughout
_ | ____ now, tables served multiple functions. A rectan- the colonies, most surviving examples are attributed to
— gular tavern table, like the one shown on Rhode Island or southeastern Massachusetts.
_. p. 102, might have been used as a work sur- In addition to this basic form, several new types of tables
face, an eating platform and a gameboard, or as something were created during the period. These include folding-top
to hold a reading candle or on which to serve the evening gaming tables, tip-and-turn tables with tripod bases, tray-top
tea. Larger trestle or sawbuck tables (shown in the top tea tables, tilt-top candlestands and the rare tuck-away table.
photo on p. 103), which were common from the 17th cen- All of these were derived from similar English pieces, which
tury to the mid-19th century, were used like today’s kitchen were being developed in the parallel Georgian style.
counter. Not particularly stylish, these sturdy and practical Stretchers and aprons The absence of stretchers,
tables might be found in any room of the house where visi- typical of all types of Queen Anne tables, added grace and
tors were not usually entertained. reduced the table’s weight, but was something of a structur-
Tavern and trestle tables were heavily influenced by 17th- al liability. It’s not uncommon to find that one or more of
century Jacobean furniture. These tables were so well de- the leg posts on an original table has been split and subse-
signed that they remained essentially unchanged through the quently repaired. So the structural integrity of Queen Anne
four succeeding style periods. tables, even more than the tavern or trestle tables of earlier
By the middle of the 18th century, newfound prosperity periods, depends upon a sound leg-to-apron joint: the
brought about significant changes in social habits and mate- pinned mortise-and-tenon. Glue blocks, which were some-
rial culture. Accordingly, various types of tables evolved to times installed to strengthen a weak joint, are difficult to
suit specific purposes. Many of these displayed familiar date, particularly since many were added in the 19th century
Queen Anne characteristics—turned or sculpted cabriole and have acquired the patina of aged wood.
legs, scalloped aprons and a lack of stretchers. The aprons themselves reveal some interesting aspects of
Architecturally, the Georgian home had formal parlors, furniture making in the Queen Anne period. While the scal-
which were used to entertain guests. Here, tea and alcoholic loped apron reflects the popular stylistic emphasis on the
beverages were served, and small tables (in the popular new S-curve, the particular design of the scalloping often serves
style, of course) were required for this function. Likewise, as a clue to a table’s regional identity or even its maker.
tables were needed to hold candles and mother-of-pearl (The similarity of the aprons on the bonnet-top highboy on
chips and playing cards for gaming, or gambling, which was p. 174 and the dressing table on p. 176, for example, sug-
quickly becoming a favorite pastime among those with dis- gests a common Connecticut origin for both pieces.) Al-
posable income. Small, lightweight tables were most practi- though great care was given to producing a crisp and sym-
cal for these purposes. They could easily be moved to where metrical scrolled apron, the bottom edge of the apron often
they were needed and stored when not in use. (It was the reveals crude bowsaw marks. Inside edges of the apron are
fashion of the period to arrange the furniture around the usually chamfered to eliminate saw tearout.
perimeter of a room, where it could be retrieved and re- For obvious reasons of economy, only the visible apron
placed as necessary.) surface was smoothed and finished. The aprons may even
It must have been uncommon for families or friends to vary in thickness on the same table. But since a consistent
sit down to formal, full-course meals, because large tables relationship is always maintained between the outside of the
in the Queen Anne style are very rare. When such space was apron and the face of the adjacent leg posts, any variation in
required, trestle tables would suffice, perhaps in the way we apron thickness is hidden.
might open a folding card table or place a door on saw- Drawers are not common on Queen Anne tables. They are
horses to accommodate unannounced guests. Even Queen found mainly on gaming tables, where they were used to
Anne dining tables, like the one shown in the photo on store playing cards and other gambling paraphernalia. I
p. 106, are small by modern standards, rarely exceeding a know of only one example (in a private collection) of a tray-
60-in. diameter. Of course, two or more tables could be top Boston tea table with an end drawer; the Connecticut
pulled together on special occasions, and they were some- table with drawer featured on p. 128 is another rarity. Per-
times made in pairs. haps the absence of drawers has to do with the lack of base
Large work tables in the Queen Anne style are also rare, stretchers and the makers’ attempts to retain as much
and the ones that exist are generally interpreted in a country strength as possible in the apron. The fact that most turned-
style. The unadorned, rectangular table pictured at the bot- leg tavern tables made during the period have drawers and
tom of p. 103 is an excellent example. It is made entirely of stretchers lends credibility to this theory. (Queen Anne
maple, and its base is painted a reddish-brown color. The dressing tables, or lowboys, are equipped with numerous
tabletop shows evidence of considerable wear, possibly drawers, but they have wide aprons, sides and backs and
caused by heavy use in preparing meals and preserving are usually considered case pieces.)
foods. Like work tables of other periods, it would be out of Legs Legs play a much more prominent role in the
place in a formal dining room or parlor. overall design of a table than they do in most chairs, where
Tops Most Queen Anne tables have either oval, rectan- the shape of the splat, seat frame and crest rail compete for
gular or porringer-style tops with turned cabriole legs, like attention. Therefore, while ball-and-claw feet are accepted
the one shown on p. 116. They are simple and inexpensive within the Queen Anne style on chairs, they are considered a

1 1
 Tavern table, c. 1730-1770, probably
Connecticut. This table is typical of many
made between the late 17th century and
the early 19th century. (Photo courtesy of The
Society for the Preservation of New
England Antiquities.)

positive Chippendale designation on tables, even when all CONSTRUCTION TIPS

other features are classic Queen Anne. Indeed, a substantial Wooden boards tend to cup in the opposite direction of the
body of advertisements, invoices and account books from curve of the growth rings that are visible on the end grain.
the late Queen Anne and early Chippendale periods indicates (Sapwood has a higher moisture content than heartwood, so
that many cabinetmakers offered both turned-pad and ball- the board warps in that direction as it dries.) You can mini-
and-claw feet— sometimes on the very same table, as shown mize serious cupping across a broad surface, such as a ta-
on p. 104. (Also note the two tables on p. 107, which are bletop, by alternating sapwood and heartwood faces on
identical except for their feet.) edge-laminated boards.
Several different types of feet may be found on Queen Period cabinetmakers were doubtless aware of this solu-
Anne tables, but simple, turned-pad feet are most common. tion, but their preference for using single boards and few
Slipper feet occur less frequently and are generally associated laminations suggests that they weren’t overly concerned
with Rhode Island tables, while Spanish feet appear on a about warping. Therefore, for historical accuracy, I make all
small number of early Queen Anne tables. As in other Queen my table aprons of unlaminated boards and try to make my
Anne furniture, the particular shaping of the foot often indi- tops with as few laminations as possible. If wide top boards
cates the area of origin and/or the identity of the maker. are well seasoned, face jointed before being planed and
Knees on Queen Anne tables are uncarved, with the ex- sealed on both surfaces, cupping should be minimal. Mod-
ception of occasional shell carvings on Rhode Island tables ern furniture manufacturers prefer to use many laminations
and on Philadelphia tables that do not have ball-and-claw with alternating grain faces for maximum stability, because
feet. C-scrolls, shown on the table at the bottom of p. 104, wide hardwood boards are difficult to obtain in the quanti-
are found on rare examples of either high-style or vernacu- ties they require. But handmade reproductions are frequently
lar tray-top tea tables. spoiled by too many laminations, which create unsuitable or
The natural overlap between style periods makes it diffi- unnatural grain patterns.
cult to date a piece of furniture by the appearance or ab- Tops are fastened to table bases in various ways. On
sence of any one of these features. And period designations, country pieces, wooden pins are usually driven into a hole
such as Chippendale or Queen Anne, become muddled on bored right through the top and into the aprons and leg
the transitional pieces, which often incorporate an eclectic posts. Nails were often used in the same way, and I’ve even
mix of design elements. Such arbitrary labels provide useful seen hand-forged, L-shaped iron brackets nailed to the in-
terms of reference, but it is more important to recognize side of the aprons and the underside of the top. In rare
the features and relate them to the stylistic influences that instances, the top is secured by pegging the aprons to wooden
were popular during each design period. blocks, which are then glued to the underside of the top.

—— 102 —a—s
 Trestle table, c. 1700-1780, New England.
Although this table is only 25'/ in. long,
similarly rustic examples were made in
various lengths and served as kitchen
counters and work surfaces. (Photo
courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg.)

os

‘So

se S oS
Queen Anne ar table with painted finish, C 1740-1790, New England. This sturdy country table was probably used in the keeping
room or kitchen. (Photo courtesy of the Shelburne Museum.)

LOS er
 Chippendale card table, c. 1760-1775,
Newport, Rhode Island. This piece illustrates
the combined use of pad and ball-and-
claw feet. Note that the original leg blanks
were the same size for both front and rear
legs. (Photo courtesy of The Metropolitan
Museum of Art.)

Tray-top tea table, c. 1740-1770,

Massachusetts or Rhode Island. High-style,
baroque C-scrolls appear more often on
the knees of Queen Anne chairs and case
pieces than on tables. (Photo courtesy of
Colonial Williamsburg.)

iN

——= 194 ==
 On most high-style tables, blocks were glued to both the Sanding should be minimal, or the texture created by the
inside of the aprons and the underside of the top, with no plane or scraper will be obliterated. (Period cabinetmakers
regard for the expansion and contraction of the wide sur- did use sandpaper made from crushed glass or sharkskin,
face. Screws, which were hand forged and hand cut in the mainly on sculpted surfaces like table legs, but their profi-
18th century, sometimes reinforce the glue blocks, but they ciency with planes and scrapers made sanding unnecessary,
were probably added at a later date. The system of cutting and they weren’t trying to achieve a perfectly smooth surface
pockets in the aprons to house screws that attach the top anyway.) Chamfer the inside edges of the aprons and pare
does occur on Queen Anne furniture, but it was more com- their undersides with a chisel, spokeshave or drawknife to
mon in the 19th century when less expensive, machine-made replace the bandsaw marks with a nicely faceted surface.
screws became available. To simulate the texture of the original piece, I allow the
Considering these various approaches, it’s easy to under- wooden pins securing the leg joints to protrude a bit beyond
stand why so many original tops have split. Most of these the leg-post surface. This condition probably was caused by
techniques fail to allow for seasonal movement across the the seasonal movement of the leg posts, aprons and tops,
wide surface of a tabletop. As a result, many of them have which gradually pushed the pins out of their bored holes.
been replaced, with little faithfulness to the original design. The pins on all the tables in this section are at different
Despite this drawback, I prefer to use period methods, heights on adjacent sides of each leg so they will miss one
and even pin the top directly to the base when it is histori- another when they’re driven home. Except where noted, they
cally appropriate. I feel this contributes to the authenticity are driven completely through the leg post. (Refer to p. 117
of the reproduction, and I’ve had few problems, probably for instructions on how to make the pins and joints.)
because I use well-seasoned wood and seal both sides of the Hardware and finishing If hardware is required,
top, which period cabinetmakers seldom did. Of course, you use good-quality reproductions that are faithful to the period.
can use more modern, technically superior methods of at- Hardware stores do not carry suitable reproductions, so
tachment that allow for unobstructed seasonal movement. they must be ordered through specialized dealers. Correct
These include placing attachment screws in slotted holes or brasses, hinges and knobs are costly, but there are no ac-
screwing wooden buttons to the underside of the top, which ceptable alternatives.
slide in a groove cut in the apron. If you decide to deviate The finish should be appropriate to the style of the
from the period methods, however, make sure that your sys- piece — whether high-style, vernacular or country. The un-
tem is unobtrusive. derside of the tabletop and inside of the aprons should al-
Texture In making a reproduction Queen Anne table, ways be sealed so moisture exchange will be uniform over
or any piece of reproduction furniture, the surface texture is the entire piece and surfaces will be less inclined to warp.
particularly important to the overall integrity of the piece. Refer to Sources of Supply on p. 242 for more information
All surfaces, inside and out, should be hand planed to re- on hardware, and to the finishing appendix on p. 237 for a
move machine marks. Tops should be scraped smooth. thorough explanation of period and reproduction finishes.

= 105
C ircular drop -leaf table. Th is reproduct ion was based on
several New England examples, c. 1740 -1800.

S106
 CIRCULAR DROP-LEAF TABLE

» he 42-in. dia. drop-leaf table shown on the fac- Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. This
ing page is commonly referred to as a dining table (pictured below left) was one of two sold by George
table. Smaller tables with all the same charac- Bright of Boston in 1770. The photo below right shows its
teristics are usually called breakfast tables. A possible companion, or at least another table made by the
—. substantial number of circular drop-leaf tables same maker or from the same shop. It is identical in every
were produced during the Queen Anne period, and quite a respect but its ball-and-claw feet, which identify it as Chip-
few have survived. Most known examples are from Rhode pendale. (Philadelphia examples of this type of rectangular
Island. Their tops measure approximately 72 in. in. diame- table often have trifid feet.)
ter (or along the long axis of an elliptical top), and they High-style and country drop-leaf dining tables are very
have sculpted cabriole legs with slipper feet. New York ta- similar, so it can be difficult to tell them apart. Country
bles sometimes approach this size, but they are scarcer. tables sometimes have turned cabriole legs or sculpted legs
Late in the period, drop-leaf tables were occasionally with mock knee brackets. Occasional examples are found
made rectangular or square, and in pairs. These could be without rule joints, and with rabbeted and nailed corners
pulled together to provide a large surface area. In New Eng- rather than half-blind dovetails. High-style tables generally
land Furniture of the Colonial Era, authors Brock Jobe and are made of more costly woods, such as walnut or mahog-
Myrna Kaye show one such table from the collection of The any. Their tops usually are fastened with glue blocks or

The mahogany dining table at left is one of a pair of tables made in Boston in 1770. (Photo courtesy of The Society for the
Preservation of New England Antiquities.) The striking similarity of the table at right suggests a common origin. (Photo courtesy of The
Metropolitan Museum of Art.)

107 —
screws driven through pockets cut in the aprons. C-scrolls The swing apron that pulls out with the gate leg to sup-
are sometimes found on the knees of high-style Newport port the drop leaf rarely fits tightly against the fixed apron;
tables. Philadelphia tables have trifid feet and shell-carved any out-of-plumb condition will result in an open joint, with
knees. Chippendale tables made late in the period, with ball- nothing to pull it together. Philadelphia makers solved this
and-claw feet, tend to be more formal and better constructed. problem with the rabbeted leg post, illustrated at left, which
Round drop-leaf tables are often described as oval, but fits over the edge of the end apron, concealing the joint. To
the normal shrinkage across the grain of the top and leaves accent this detail, they molded the inside edge of the leg
will make any round table slightly elliptical. If the top is post with a thumbnail bead.
only 1 in. or so longer than it is wide, it’s a safe bet that it The apron hinges on drop-leaf Queen Anne tables are
was made round. On the rare occasion when a maker failed made of wood and are integral to the apron itself (see the
to account for the loss in width from the construction of the photo below left). Hinge construction varies according to
rule joints, a table he intended to make round may have provenance. The most refined examples were produced in
turned out slightly elliptical. Genuine oval tables were com- Newport, Rhode Island, and New York. These are barrel-
mon in the period, but the length and width of the top shaped to resemble contemporary metal butt hinges. Boston
usually differ by at least 2 in. tables and other New England or country pieces usually have
the less complicated, rectangular hinges described in this
chapter. On these hinges, only the back side of the fingers,
Philadelphia Apron Joint
or knuckles, are rounded for clearance.
Leg post Swing apron The number of hinge fingers varies, but an odd number
means that the top and bottom fingers will be on the fixed
Swing apron. An even number will result in the top finger being on
the fixed apron, while the bottom finger is a part of the
swing apron, as it is on the table in this chapter. The num-
Fixed side apron ber of fingers does not materially affect the strength of the
joint. The hinge pin is most often made of wood, although
iron pins were sometimes used.
Thumbnail Rabbe? covers corner of end apron. The leaves meet the top in a rule joint—a molded quarter-
round edge on the top covered by a cove molding on the
a) leaf. This joint is named for the hinge joint on a carpenter’s
eos
folding rule which shares the same principle. On earlier ta-
bles, the round-bottom tongue-and-groove joint illustrated
on the facing page was used for this purpose.
A covers B when swing apron is closed. During most of the Queen Anne period, the edge of the
Knee tabletop was molded with an ovolo shape (as shown in the
top right drawing on the facing page). On tables made earlier
in the period, the edge was usually square or slightly rounded.
(~
p Later, the sharper ovolo with a fillet on top became
more popular. Despite these differences, the style of edge
molding on a tabletop is not a reliable indicator of its date
Knee bracket is attached to leg. of manufacture.

The wooden apron hinge and the rule joint

are a few of the construction features of this
circular drop-leaf table.

—— 108
Queen Anne Edge Moldings Round-Bottom Tongue-and-Groove Joint

Slightly rounded Leaf Top

Early LS|) a.
moldings
c. 1680-1730

Square

Ovolo

Late
moldings

Ovolo with fillet (thumbnail)

Double side aprons are necessary on this type of table.

The inner aprons form a box frame for the base, and the
outer aprons form the hinge. One end of the inner apron is
joined to the end apron in a half-blind dovetail which is
concealed when the swing apron is closed. The other end of
the inner apron is nailed to the fixed section of the outer
hinge apron. When the table base is viewed from above,
with the top removed, each corner is a mirror image of its
diagonal opposite, as shown in the plans on p. 114.

MAKING THE TABLE

The first step in building most tables is to make the legs.
Before carving, identify two fixed-leg blanks and two gate- Hold a rule diagonally across the apron to divide the apron
into six equal parts.
leg blanks and mark them clearly to avoid any errors in
cutting the apron mortises, which are different for the two
types of leg post. Make a full-size template for the cabriole these lines around all four sides, as you did before. The
legs and follow the procedures described on pp. 21-23 to fingers on most table hinges are as long as the apron is
lay them out, carve them and turn the feet. thick, creating a square hinge barrel, but this table has
When the legs are made, joint and plane the stock for longer fingers.
both the inner and outer side aprons and for the end Now the apron must be equally divided across its width
aprons. Before trimming the aprons to length or cutting any into the correct number of fingers. You can do this quickly
tenons or dovetails, I like to make the hinge joints. This by placing a rule diagonally across the apron until you ar-
enables me to determine the exact length of the side aprons rive at a number that’s easily divisible by six. Make a mark
after the hinges are completed and assembled, while any at each division, as shown in the photo above. Set the point
irregularity in the hinge can be easily corrected without af- of a marking gauge on each of these marks and scribe each
fecting the final length of the aprons. finger on both faces of the fixed and swing sections of the
The hinge I’ve developed a simple system for laying apron. When the fingers are marked, saw the apron in two
out square, snug-fitting fingers. Lay out the joint before you along the first scribed lines. Then square the scribed finger
cut apart the two side-apron sections. And be sure to make lines across the sawn ends.
each apron at least 4 in. longer than its finished length. The inside ends of the fingers on the swing apron must
Begin by locating the center of the apron. Use a knife to be rounded to a ’4-in. radius for clearance. This is easier to
scribe a line ‘2 in. on either side of center and around all do before the individual fingers are cut. Using a small com-
four sides to mark the ends of the apron fingers. The 1 in. pass, lay out the radius on the top and bottom edges of the
of waste between them will be removed when the apron is apron, and shape it with a chisel, a plane and sandpaper, as
sawn in two. Before you lay out the fingers, designate one side shown in the photos on p. 110.
of the line as the fixed apron, the other as the swing section. Place the mating ends of the apron together and clearly
Next, scribe another line 1’ in. from each of the pre- mark the waste that must be removed from between the
vious lines to indicate the length of the hinge fingers. Extend fingers. (If you omit this step, you run the risk of making

109
both sections the same.) Then remove the waste on both leg post to close tightly against the apron. (If necessary,
halves of the apron with a bandsaw or coping saw, keeping pare the gate-leg post with a plane until it fits perfectly.) On
the blade on the waste side of the scribed lines. Using a some tables, the outer apron is the same thickness as the
sharp chisel, carefully pare each finger to its finished width. post, so no filler is needed. Other makers used the rabbeted
The inside ends of the slots between fingers must be ex- apron illustrated on p. 108 to disguise a less-than-perfect
cavated to allow clearance for the corresponding fingers on mating of the gate-leg post and apron.
the other apron section. Set your compass to the same radius To assemble the base, first glue up the dovetails joining
you marked on the ends of the fingers and use it to lay out the inner aprons to the end aprons. (Make sure the two legs
a cardboard or aluminum template. Use a chisel to carve of these L-shaped assemblies are at right angles to one an-
this clearance in the bottom of each slot (see the bottom other.) Then glue the filler aprons to the fixed outer apron
right photo) and check your work frequently with the tem- sections, and glue the tenons on the outer aprons to the
plate to make sure you’ve cut deeply enough. The end grain appropriate legs. Nail the inner aprons to the fixed outer
is difficult to carve, but it needn’t be perfect because it aprons through the filler aprons.
won’t be visible when the joint is assembled. Cabinetmakers in northern New England noticed that the
The hinge joint should fit snugly, but you want to be able length of the base could be varied by changing the position
to slide it apart with little or no force. The apron may swell of the inner apron with respect -to the outer apron. By ad-
slightly with increased humidity, but this shouldn’t pose a justing the length of the inner aprons, they could shorten or
problem unless your stock is excessively dry. I fit my hinge lengthen the overall length of the base during this last step
joints snugly and I’ve never had a problem. Expect the hinge before final assembly. This also made it easy to align the
joint to loosen up a bit if it is used frequently; period table four corners and greatly facilitated table production.
hinges are often sloppy. Assemble the two base sections by gluing the end-apron
Assemble both halves of the joint and bore through them tenons into the leg posts. Glue the swing aprons to the gate
at the same time for the hinge pin. Use a drill press for this legs, insert the wooden pin in both hinges and stand the
operation, if possible, and clamp the assembly firmly to the base upright on all four legs. Bore the leg posts and pin the
table. If you must do this by hand, any sort of right-angle joints, as shown in the plans. The full-apron knee brackets
drill guide will be a blessing. An accurate, plumb boring is are similar to those on the tray-top tea table, so refer to p. 144
the key to a smooth working hinge. for a more detailed description of how to make them.
Aprons Temporarily pin the hinge joints together to Top Joint and plane the top to its correct thickness. If
mark the correct length of the aprons and lay out the ten- possible, use solid, one-piece stock for the center section
ons. Cut the tenons on the ends of the side apron assem- and both leaves. Then true their adjacent edges on the jointer
blies and the corresponding leg-post mortises. Then chop and cut the rule joints.
the half-blind dovetails that join the inside aprons to the Period cabinetmakers used rule-joint planes to cut these
end aprons, as shown in the plans on p. 114. Test fit these moldings. These were made in matched pairs, with compli-
joints and cut the mortises and tenons for the end aprons. mentary cutting profiles. Although I have a few pairs of period
Assembling the base’ Before you put the base frame rule-joint planes, I prefer to do this operation on the router
together, note that there’s a filler apron between the inner table. The planes work well on straight-grained walnut or
and outer fixed aprons. This builds up the outer fixed apron mahogany, but they are tough to use on hard maple and are
to the same thickness as the leg post, and enables the gate- nearly impossible on tiger maple.

Lay out the radius for the fingers on Shape the radius before sawing the Chisel a recess inthe bottom of each —
the swing apron. fingers. slot to make room for the hinge fingers.

lt
 “ Acarbide cove bit with pilot (far left) and a
roundover bit with pilot (left) can be used to
cut the matching cove and quarter-round
that constitute the rule joint.

Use a ‘A-in. cove router bit (or a 1-in. core-box bit) to base, with the two side leaves hanging, and bore the holes
cut the cove molding on the leaves and a 4-in. roundover for the pins. Whittle four 3-in. long pins (or rip octagonal
bit for the quarter-round molding on the top, as shown pins, as shown on p. 118) that fit tightly in the holes, and
above. Cut a sample joint before you cut the moldings on drive them in. Saw them off slightly proud of the top and
the top. You’ll have to make this cut in several stages, ad- pare them smooth and flush with a sharp chisel. If you pre-
justing the depth of cut and the fence each time. Use your fer to use a nontraditional system that permits unrestricted
final sample to set the router depth and fence for the per- seasonal movement of the top, refer to the other options
fect alignment of your final cuts. Make sure to hold the top described on pp. 102-105.
and leaves perfectly flat on the router table or the profiles Finally, use a marking gauge designed to scribe a curved
won't line up properly. edge (shown on p. 125) to lay out the edge molding on the
When the rule joints are done, cut the circumference of top. Then, while the table is open, shape the edge with a
the top. Place the three top sections together face down on block plane and a spokeshave, and smooth it with scrapers
a large, flat surface. Locate the center on the middle section and sandpaper.
and use a beam compass to scribe the circumference. Be- Woods Maple was the primary wood used in most New
fore bandsawing the top, lay out and mark the position of England drop-leaf tables, but walnut was more common in
the leaf hinges. This is easier to do while the sections are the Middle Atlantic colonies, while tiger maple was most
still rectangular, and the marks provide a way to index the common in the Northeast, particularly in Massachusetts and
three sections after the circumference is cut. Then, carefully New Hampshire. In both regions, the inner apron frame was
saw the circumference on each of the three sections, and generally made of a secondary wood, such as pine or chest-
smooth their edges with a scraper and 100-grit sandpaper nut. The hardwood pins that secure the top to the base were
wrapped around a block of wood. You can true up the cir- made of the same species of wood as the top. The hinge pin
cular top with a router and trammel, but don’t mold the was usually made of ash or oak, if not iron.
edges until you’ve installed the leaf hinges. That way, you Finishing Since this piece is maple, I use a finish that
can correct any misalignment that may occur in the process. imitates the amber patina of antique maple, not an easy
A table-leaf hinge has a long leaf, which spans the cove- color to duplicate. Here’s the best method I’ve found: First
molded part of the rule joint on the table leaf, and a short stain the entire piece with Lockwood’s water-soluble aniline
leaf, which fastens to the fixed top. The entire hinge must dye in the Amber Maple shade. This gives a good base color,
be mortised flush with the surrounding surfaces so it won't which can be enhanced by subsequent applications of a pig-
interfere with the swing apron, and a deeper recess must be mented oil stain. Be sure to smooth the maple with either
chiseled for the knuckle. The center of the hinge should be 400-grit sandpaper or 0000-grade steel wool after applying
located on the centerpoint for the radius of the quarter- the water stain. Next, use a rag or brush to apply a heavily
round and directly below the fillet at the top of the quarter- pigmented stain over the aniline base. I use a full-bodied,
round, as shown in the drawing on p. 113. You may have to linseed-oil-based exterior Olympic stain (mahogany color).
alter its position somewhat, however, to eliminate binding This is almost completely rubbed off, with some residue left
on an open leaf. Adjust the hinge location on your sample in the cracks and corners to enhance the illusion of antiquity.
until it’s working smoothly, then use this location to install Allow the exterior stain to dry overnight and add a few coats
the hinges in the top. of Minwax Antique Oil Finish for luster and protection. This
Once the hinges have been screwed in place, the top can product works best on hard, dense woods like maple. It
be fastened to the base. I drive four “-in. dia. wooden pins builds up after two or three coats to a respectable oil-based
through the top and into the leg posts. Clamp the top to the finish that is easy to repair.

oe ee
- ————~ CIRCULAR DROP-LEAF TABLE
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Top View

Note: Top is fastened to

base with four %/s-in. dia.
x 2'4-in. long pins (4)
driven flush to top.

Front View

cept
WYBa
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Wor

Note: Clearance
shown is exaggerated
for clarity.

Note: Table-leaf hinge is

Ball and Ball #H36-342

Note: Closed position (above)

is shown in section
through the hinge.

Side View

= —
TABLE BASE (top removed)
Scale: Ae in. = 1 in.

Leg post,
Swing apron Fixed apron
11 in. sq.

End apron Filler apron (2),

VY in. T. x 5% in. W. x 15 in. L.

Knee bracket
Inner apron (2),
7% in. T. x 5% in. W. x 27% in. L.

Closed position
of gate leg
swing apron —

Scale: % in. = 1 in. Relief radius of swing apron

Half-blind dovetail joint

of end and inner aprons
%-in. dia.
hardwood
hinge pin

Fixed apron Relief radius of

swing apron

Swing apron

ee S wing apron,
closed
ama|e|

Swing apron,
open

End apron

5% in. divided
into 6 equal
; : Knee bracket
ings fingers (profile is same as that of leg).

seteest
tM Seca
 SECTION A, Scale: % in. = 1 in. Note: Fixed aprons are fastened to leg posts with %-in. dia.
x 1%-in. long pins. Swing aprons are fastened to leg posts with
%-in. dia. x 1'2-in. long pins. Pinning is staggered.

Note: Fixed and swing apron tenons are the same.

FIXED/SWING APRON AND LEG ASSEMBLY

| Scale: Y% in. = 1 in.

1 in. waste YY,

(Fixed ee

Note: Leg blank is

2’ in. square
; long.
x 27% in. SIDE APR
esse dae daa

Grid square = % in.

Note: End aprons are fasted to leg posts

with Y4-in. dia. x 1%-in. long pins, staggered.

Note: Ankle dia. = 1 in.

Foot dia. = 2% in.
Pad dia. = 1% in.

Grid square = Vin.

Note: Knee brackets, % in. thick x 1% in. wide x 8% in.

long are glued to the end apron. The sections of the end
apron extending below bracket profile are cleared away.

= 15
 Porringer-top tea table. This tiger-maple reproduction is
based on a New England original, c. 1740-1790, in the collection
of Historic Deerfield.

116=—
 PORRINGER-TOP TEA TABLE

he porringer table is identified by the turned MAKING THE TABLE

cabriole legs and the aprons, which are cut out This porringer table and the oval-top table on p. 122 are the
to resemble knee brackets. Its top may be easiest projects in this book; the turned cabriole legs on
either oval or rectangular, with porringer cor- both pieces are their most complicated ingredients. The
ners, or turret corners, like the one in this process for making the converging-axis legs on this table is
chapter. These distinctive corners are thought to resemble thoroughly explained on pp. 27-28. After making the legs,
porridge bowls, which may even have been placed (rather joint, plane and trim the aprons to their overall dimensions
precariously) on them. Perhaps because of the inadequacies and cut the tenons on both ends. Use a template to trace the
of the traditional method of pegging the tabletop to the bracket-like profile on the lower edge of each apron and
base, many original tops have been replaced with rather cut it out on the bandsaw. Remove the saw marks with a
dubious reproductions. plane and scraper, and chamfer the inside bottom edge.
The abundance of these tables today leads me to believe Chop the leg-post mortises and glue up the base frame.
that they were used for all kinds of purposes. Their small The mortises are located '%2 in. from the outside of the
size makes them very portable, so they were probably moved post, which leaves the face of the aprons about 742 in. from
from room to room. They may even have been used for the outside edge of the leg posts. (The aprons and leg posts
solitary dining, like the modern television tray. Perhaps they of most period tables are made flush.) When the glue is dry,
were also used in eating or drinking establishments. Gaming prebore the -in. dia. holes for the wooden pins and pin
was a popular pastime in the Queen Anne period, and the the base assembly together.
porringer corners may have been used to hold chips, tokens Pinning the joints Nearly every piece of furniture in
or coins. this book has at least one pinned mortise-and-tenon joint.
The reproduction shown on the facing page is based on a I’ve heard the expression “a square peg in a round hole”
table in the collection of Historic Deerfield in Deerfield, with reference to furniture construction, but it really is
Massachusetts. The Deerfield table is smaller than most, but more appropriately applied to social nonconformity. Square
it is the epitome of its type. The top is well attenuated, with pegs are almost never found on period furniture. They muti-
a wide overhang, and the exaggerated corners appear to late the fibers around the hole and tend to split the stock.
hang in midair (as detailed in the photo on p. 118). The Eighteenth-century pins were probably riven out of larger
base is compact and well resolved: the short end aprons chunks of stock, and then roughly whittled to a round
help elevate the top and enhance its lofty appearance. Al- shape. This method produces a strong pin with straight
though some people may disapprove of this table’s boldness grain along its entire length. In my shop, where standard-
and eccentricity, I believe that these characteristics lend it a diameter pins (‘A in. and ‘6 in.) are in constant demand,
special charm. I’ve devised a safe and accurate machining method to keep
Quite a few tables—usually those with oval tops—were myself supplied with octagonal pins. These are virtually
made with splayed legs, but the majority of porringer-top indistinguishable from riven pins, and the difference in
tables have vertical legs. Splayed legs are more difficult to strength over such a short length is negligible. (Commercial
make because of the angle of the foot at the floor and the dowels are inappropriate for handmade reproduction furni-
angled shoulders on the apron tenons. They also tend to ture. Their uniformity is at odds with the pins of the period,
dilute the table’s lofty presentation. and dowels aren’t usually available in a wood that will

— 117—
 The porringer corners contribute to the
dramatic presence of this table.

Use a V-block on the router table to trim

the square-section stock into an octagon.
Note that the bit guard has been removed
and oversize pin stock has been used for the
photograph.

match the rest of the piece. What’s more, commercial dow- When I make pins, I cut large amounts of whatever spe-
els have less holding power than either whittled or octago- cies I’m likely to use— mainly maple, cherry, mahogany and
nal pins.) walnut, but occasionally secondary woods such as pine or
First, I rip square pins in long sticks on the table saw, poplar — carefully sized for a snug fit in the borings. I tape
using a 7'4-in. steel combination blade. The narrow kerf of them together in long bundles that can be cut to length on
the blade tends to grab less than the wide teeth of a carbide the radial-arm saw as they are required.
blade, and it enables me to get the most out of my stock. In his book, Mechanick Exercises (London, 1679), Jo-
Next, I trim the corners off the square blanks with a ‘/-in. seph Moxon illustrates a hook pin, or draw pin, among the
straight router bit, as shown above. (Ripping an octagon on tools of the carpenter. In the pegged timber frame of a
such a thin piece of stock can be a dangerous procedure on house, the boring in the tenon was placed slightly closer to
the table saw.) The pin stock slides in a long V-block fas- the shoulder of the joint than the boring through the mor-
tened to the router table. The bit projects into the notch in tise. The tapered draw pin was driven through the holes of
the block and is covered by a wooden guard, which has the mortise and tenon to close the joint tightly. It was then
been removed for the photograph. removed and replaced by a permanent wooden pin.

es
ALS eee
 This is an efficient system when the framing members are residue can be detected in places where the grain is more
either too large or unwieldy to clamp, but it was rarely used porous. The table was obviously stripped, but it must have
by cabinetmakers. The small diameter of furniture pins cut quite a figure when it was all black. Incidentally, it’s
makes it impossible to scribe the mortise borings on the quite common to find tiger maple furniture — particularly
tenon, so each joint would have had to be tediously measured. country or vernacular examples—covered with paint, de-
Instead, furniture joints were first buttered with heated spite the beautiful grain.
hide glue, then clamped together while they were bored for On similar tables with a painted base, a paint-free top
the pins. The pins held the joint in position so the clamps may be the result of frequent scrubbing that wore the paint
could be removed and guaranteed that the joint would away. Or perhaps the paint was removed so that it would
remain sound, even if the glue failed. I sharpen the ends of not contaminate foodstuffs. Where the original top appears
my pins with a knife and hammer them in without glue. To to be unpainted, either linseed oil or beeswax would have
save time and avoid the risk of marring the adjacent sur- been used to protect the surface. This clear finish was easily
faces, I try not to trim the pins after they’re installed. If I renewed by applications of more oil or wax.
want them to protrude, I stop short of driving them flush. For the sake of authenticity and practicality, I leave the
Top Glue up the top—preferably made of two boards, tops of all my reproduction Queen Anne tables unpainted.
since a single 24-in. wide board would be very hard to But since new wood clashes with the muted pigments of the
find—and saw the porringer cutouts at each corner. I saw early paint colors I use on the base, it should be stained.
the entire profile of the top, including the straight sections, Stain the entire table so that when the paint eventually ab-
on a bandsaw, but because the top is thin, you could also rades on the base, light-colored new wood will not be visible. I
use a hand-held saber saw. like to use a deep-penetrating, water-based aniline dye, such
The simple molded edge can be cut using various meth- as Lockwood’s Early American Amber Maple.
ods, as long as the profile is correct. (A spokeshave, pat- After staining the entire piece, rub it down with steel
tern-maker’s rasp, files or scrapers will work well.) Follow a wool or very fine sandpaper. Then apply a pigmented oil
scribed layout line, as described on p. 130, to keep the stain, such as Mohawk’s 15 Minute Wood Stain (I use Raw
corners crisp. Then fasten the top to the frame with the Umber) to accentuate the dyed wood and even out the base
traditional, four '4-in. dia. wooden pegs, or using one of the stain. If you do not plan to paint the base, stain it darker
alternative methods described on pp. 102-105. than the top, which would be lighter due to wear.
Woods Most porringer tables were made of maple, of- Milk paint is an appropriate finish on the base, particu-
ten tiger maple, although some examples can be found of larly where you aren’t featuring such beautiful tiger maple.
tulip poplar or beech, or a combination of the two. Many If you decide to use paint, first stain the entire piece with
have pine tops, regardless of the material in the base. aniline dye and knock down the raised grain with steel
Like the original Deerfield table, my reproduction is wool. Then paint the base and rub a little paint on the edges
made of soft maple with a pronounced tiger figure. The ti- of the top to simulate wear.
ger figure is more common in soft maple, or red maple, I rub the entire piece with Stulb’s Graining Liquid, then
than in hard maple, and it appears frequently in Queen finish it with Minwax Antique Oil. If you want the top to be
Anne pieces. water resistant, you can apply Stulb’s Polyurethane Clear
Finishing The top of the original Deerfield table was Paste Varnish instead of the Minwax. (See the finishing ap-
probably painted, but is now free of paint (like the base). pendix on p. 237 for a more detailed description of these
Black paint remains visible in corners and crevices, and a and other finishes.)

ae
 PORRINGER-TOP TEA TABLE
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Note: Top is fastened to base with 6 %-in.

dia. x 2-in. long pins driven in at opposing
angles.

Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Note: Location of base is established

prior to cutting of top.

Scale: Full

Front View

= 120 =
 SECTION A
Scale: % in. = 1 in. Note: Aprons are fastened
to legs with '4-in. dia. x 2-in. long
pins, staggered.

APRON/LEG
Me a
ASSEMBLY
ea : ;
Scale: 4 in. = 1 in. Foot centerline (true center) ee centerline

ge 1 in. waste

ee es EEA ES alem
Gna see
Grid square = 1% in. a)
ek.; Ga SyaDa Te ee]
CaNeSe

Leg-post
centerline
Foot centerline

AYf2 146
Top View
aEe ee
Outer corner

Diameter
of foot

Foot
centerline

Leg-post
centerline

Bottom View in

Diameter
of ankle

Note: Leg is cut from 1%-in. square

x 26’-in. long stock. The foot is
turned on true center of the leg stock;
the leg shaft is turned off center.

Note: :
Ankle dia. = “A in.
side View Foot dia. = 1% in.
Pad dia. = 1% in. Leg-post centerline Foot centerline

——= 121 -——

Te

oe

Oval top table. This cherry reproducti ion is based on a

maple original, c. 1730-1790, at H istoric Dee rfield

== 122 -—-—
 OVAL-IOP TABLE

y oval-top table is based on an example in the MAKING THE TABLE

collection of Historic Deerfield in Deerfield, Begin by preparing the 2%-in. square leg blanks. Then fol-
Massachusetts. The table was used for five gen- low the procedure described on pp. 23 to make the turned-
erations in the Lay Tavern in Westbrook, Con- pad feet and carve the cabriole legs shown in the drawings
necticut. Although the piece has an interesting on p. 20.
history, its actual date of manufacture is unknown. Mock knee brackets When the legs are fully shaped
The Deerfield table is an important example of how es- and sanded and the leg posts have been sawn to their final
sential Queen Anne features can be combined with simple dimension and scraped smooth, carve the mock knee brack-
joinery to create an unpretentious piece of practical furni- ets. The top edge is difficult to lay out along the curved
ture that has both style and grace. The apron blends well surface of the knee, so I use a pine layout block, shaped to
with the mock knee bracket and the leg curves, with scal- fit over the knee. The block fits flush with the leg post and
loping similar to that found on tables made in the Wethers- projects over the knee where it is bandsawn to the curve of
field area of Connecticut (see the photo at right). The feet the bracket, as shown on p. 124.
are rather high for their diameter, making them strong
enough to have survived so many years of active tavern use.
The original table is in remarkable condition. Its top is
made of two laminated boards that have separated along the
glue line, but otherwise the table is in fine shape. It shows
no evidence of repair and very little wear.
The pins that secure the legs to the apron tenons pass
entirely through the leg posts. They are staggered in height
on adjoining faces of each leg post, so that the pins that
secure the side apron won’t interfere with those holding the
end apron. As on most period tables, the insides of the
aprons of the original table have been left rather rough and
unplaned, and there are no glue blocks to reinforce the leg-
to-apron joints.
The maker was consistent in his use of extraordinarily
long pins. The top is fastened to the base with eight %s-in.
dia. pins that pass entirely through the aprons. The ends of
the pins are visible in the scrollwork on the bottom of the
apron, where they were sawn off. This makes them at least
4 in. long before trimming. The originals are made of riven
and whittled maple and are driven through the top at a
slight angle (and at somewhat less of an angle in the leg
posts than in the aprons). The angle is reversed on every The Gene knee brackets pelcte well toihe apron profile Gnd
other pin, so any upward force will not dislodge the top. they're sure to be original, since they're part of the leg itself.

7 123.
 Trace the curve along the knee and use a sharp chisel to
remove the waste (see the photos on p. 124). Then carve the
top of the knee to the contour of the mock knee bracket,
which is then shaped with a chisel and filed, scraped and
sanded smooth.
Base Machine the aprons to their overall thickness,
width and length. Then cut the tenons. Unlike the legs on
the porringer table pictured on p. 116, this table’s leg posts
are flush with the face of the aprons. Lay out and chop the
mortises “6 in. from the outside edge of the post and check
the fit of the tenons.
Use a cardboard template to transfer the scrolled patterns
onto the side and end aprons. Use a thin-bladed frame saw
or a bandsaw to cut the scrolled profile on the bottom edge
of the aprons. Texture the bottom of the scrolled apron with
a chisel and gouges and chamfer the inside edge with a
spokeshave to remove any tearout left by the sawing. Then
glue up the base, prebore the %-in. dia. pin holes completely
through the leg posts and pin the frame together.
Top Joint and plane the top boards and glue them to-
gether. Then lay out the ellipse. Most 18th-century cabinet-
makers used an ellipse trammel, like the one shown in the
illustrations on the facing page, for this process. Ellipse
trammels are curiously scarce among period-tool collec-
tions; many were probably recycled as simple beam compasses.
There are several simple techniques for describing an
ellipse on a tableop, but I prefer this improvization with a
carpenter’s framing square and a thin batten. First, lay out
the major and minor diameters of the ellipse on the square
tabletop. Then clamp or tape a framing square to the top,
with its outside edges positioned along the lines that define
one quadrant and its corner at the center of the table, as
shown in the photo on the facing page.
Make the batten slightly longer than the major diameter
of the top, and fasten a pencil in a hole near one end.
Measuring from the pencil point, drive two tiny brads
through the batten at distances that equal one half of the
major and minor diameters (16% in. and 13% in. on this
table). Make sure the brads protrude less than the thickness
of the framing square or they will score the top of the table.
Slide both points along the outside edge of the square to
mark a quarter ellipse. Reposition the square in each quad-
rant to draw the rest of the ellipse. (Or you can mark one
quadrant on a cardboard template and use it to lay out the
entire top.)
Then cut the elliptical circumference on the bandsaw, or
use a frame saw or saber saw, and mold the edge. The edge
of the top is a segment of a 1-in. dia. circle. This profile
can’t be cut with conventional router or shaper bits, so it
must be shaped by hand. Lay out the top and bottom edges
with a marking gauge, as described on p. 130, and shape
the contour with a block plane or spokeshave. Then scrape
and sand it smooth.
Finally, fasten the top to the base frame with angled, %s-in.
dia. pegs, if you want to duplicate the original. Otherwise,
use one of the methods described on pp. 102-105 or which-
Use a bandsawn layout block to mark the leg (top). Then
carve the mock knee bracket with a chisel, taking care not to ever system you prefer. Pegged tops almost always separate
mar the leg post. Keep the top line crisp where it meets the at the glue joint, which is something that may or may not
face of the leg post. concern you.

——= 124 ——
 Describing an Ellipse Using a Framing Square
and a Wooden Batten

2X= Major diameter

2Y = Minor diameter
Batten, % in. T. to % in. T.

Brads

Top

The ellipse trammel, illustrated in Edward Shaw’s Civil

Architecture (Boston, 1832), was used to describe an elliptical
tabletop. Two round pins, secured with movable nuts at B and C,
run in grooves in the cross-shaped trammel. The distance between
the pencil (A) and the nut (B) equals half the minor diameter; the
distance between A and C is half the major diameter.

Framing square
Woods The original Deerfield table is made entirely of
maple, contrary to the popular notion that Connecticut fur-
niture is usually made of cherry. I used cherry for my repro-
duction because of its pleasing natural color and because
it’s easier to work than hard maple. If you decide to paint
the base, you can mix species, using a softer wood for the
legs and a more appealing wood for the top.
Finishing The original table was painted a dark red-
dish brown, and the finish on the base is in excellent repair.
(It is almost entirely worn away on the top.) This color is
often referred to as Spanish brown, and it was favored on
painted furniture throughout the 18th century. During the
Queen Anne period, the paint frequently was milk based,
and the pigment was derived from iron oxide, burnt brick
dust or clay ground to a fine powder. Spanish brown is not
a specific, uniform color, but a considerable range of vari-
ations, due to individual recipes and the inconsistent nature
of the pigments.
To reproduce this finish, stain the entire table with a
water-soluble aniline dye, like Lockwood’s Antique Cherry.
When it’s dry, rub off the raised grain with steel wool or
sandpaper. Spanish-brown milk paint can be mixed by com-
bining red and green; add a little black if a darker brown is
desired. Two coats are necessary for even coverage. Rub a
little paint on the edges of the top so it will appear to have
been painted at one time. The tiny flecks of unmixed pow-
der add to the simulation of period paint.
The entire table can be coated with Stulb’s Graining Liq-
uid, which is quickly rubbed off, leaving a residue in cor-
ners and crevices. After the glaze is dry, brush on a liberal
coat of boiled linseed oil and turpentine (mixed in a 2:1
ratio). Allow this to sit on the surface for a couple of hours,
4
then vigorously rub it off. Let it dry overnight and repeat the 1
process the following day. Be sure to seal the underside of Keep the brads in continuous contact with the edge of the
the top. framing square as you mark each segment of the ellipse.

= LS
 OvAL-TOoP TABLE
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Note: Top is fastened to base with

8%/-in. dia. x 2-in. long pins driven at
opposing angles

te

Srid quare = 1 in.

Scale: Full

Front View

=
126 ee
 SECTION A Note: Aprons are fastened
Scale: % in. = 1 in. to legs with %-in. dia. x 2-in. long
pins which are staggered
vertically for clearance.

Leg post,
1%¢ in. sq.

¢
ag |

Yu, 1 in. waste

Chamfer rear
side of aprons

Note: Leg is cut from

25p-in. square x 26%-in. long
stock.

Note:
Ankle dia. = 1/¢ in.
Foot dia. = 2% in.
Pad dia. = 2'%e in.

Side View

— 127—
Table with drawer. This cherry reproduction is based on an
original, c. 1730-1800, in the Yale University Art Gallery.

ao
 TABLE WITH DRAWER

he table with drawer has no true English prece- Deerfield chest on frame on p. 179. Pieces from the Weth-
dents, and is the only known example of its ersfield area, however, tend to be the most refined, reflect-
type in America. But it is so classically Queen ing their high-style influences. Their unique legs suggest that
Anne that it commands a prominent position the same pattern may have been used by more than one
_ among all tables of the period. Its emphasis on maker and perhaps dispersed through extended master/ap-
the S-curve . falls just short of overwhelming. The rhythmic prentice relationships.
scrolling of the front and side aprons results in a pleasing This table was almost certainly intended to be placed
harmony when the table is viewed from a corner. The single against a wall, since its rear apron and the back edge of the
drawer leaves the bulk of the front apron intact and strong, top are not scalloped. The presence of a drawer suggests a
and it is small enough not to interfere visually with the dressing table, but fully developed dressing tables with nu-
apron scrolls and the scalloped top. Large yet simple knee merous drawers were certainly in vogue at the same time.
brackets unite the sophisticated legs with the aprons. Although it may have been built as a unique type of dressing
In short, this table is remarkably faithful to the essential table, I believe it was a side or serving table, and a contem-
tenets of good Queen Anne design: it displays an emphasis porary of Queen Anne marble-top slab tables, which were
of form over ornament, harmony between curved and precursors to the huntboard, or sideboard.
straight lines and restrained animation. In Connecticut Fur- The reproduction described in this chapter is based on
niture: Seventeenth & Eighteenth Centuries, an exhibition an original 18th-century cherry and pine table in the Mabel
catalog of Connecticut furniture assembled in 1967 at the Brady Garvan Collection at the Yale University Art Gallery in
Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, furniture historian John New Haven, Connecticut.
Kirk observed: “Few finer pieces of American furniture de-
sign have ever been created. Tall, open and elegant, this MAKING THE TABLE
piece breaks out into and encloses the space around it, pro- Begin, as usual, by carving the slipper feet and cabriole legs.
ducing an active although contained design.” The legs on this table are singularly graceful, so take special
Recent research indicates that this table and other similar care to reproduce the pattern correctly.
examples were made in the Wethersfield area of Connecti- Next, joint and plane the stock for the four aprons. Then
cut. Situated a few miles south of Hartford, Wethersfield was cut them to length and fashion the tenons. Use full-scale
a prosperous agricultural community that shipped its pro- templates of the front and end aprons to transfer the scal-
duce down the Connecticut River and to ports as far away as loped patterns to the apron stock, and saw them out with a
the West Indies. By the middle of the 18th century, it was bandsaw. Use a chisel and carving gouges to remove the saw
able to support several cabinetmaking shops. Wethersfield marks and reproduce the texture found on period tables.
artisans are known for their unique vernacular designs, Chamfer the inside edges. Most of the rear apron is straight,
which were inspired by urban, high-style examples but rooted with only its ends cut to an ogee curve.
in the rural environment. Chop the leg-post mortises and test-fit the apron tenons.
Descended from the baroque style, scalloped tops are Then cut the drawer opening in the front apron on the
common to 18th-century furniture made throughout the bandsaw, smooth the rough edges with a scraper and as-
Connecticut River Valley. In addition to tables, they were semble the four legs and aprons. Measure between the front
also used on lowboys and low chests of drawers, like the and rear apron of the assembled base to determine the ex-
 Top Laminate the top from two '%s-in. thick boards and
cut it out along the rectangular outside dimension, 22’ in. by
34% in. Then use a template to lay out the scalloped pat-
terns along the front edge and both ends. While the top is
still rectangular, I like to locate the four corners of the base
by marking the underside with an awl. Cut the scalioped
edges on the bandsaw, as you did on the aprons, and mold
the sawn edges.
It’s important to retain crisp definition where the rounded
edge meets the surface of the top. I use the special marking
gauge to scribe this edge on both surfaces of the top. You
can alter a standard marking gauge to do the same job.
Simply cut a short section of '4-in. dowel in half and tack
the two halves to one face of the marking-gauge fence. Use
an assortment of chisels, files, scrapers, a pattern-maker’s
rasp and a spokeshave to shape the edges. Then sand them
smooth, being careful not to round them over. The straight
rear edge of the top is not molded.
Finally, fasten the top to the base with %s-in. dia. pins
The convex fence of this special gauge allows it to follow the driven directly into the leg posts and aprons, or use which-
curve. If you make your own gauge, you'll have to draw the lines ever system you prefer.
freehand in tight corners, where the homemade tool won't reach.
Woods Both the original table and the reproduction
are made primarily of cherry, with pine used for the drawer
act shoulder-to-shoulder length of the drawer runners. Dis- sides, back and bottom. The drawer runners are made of
assemble the base and cut the '4-in. deep drawer-runner pine, but you could substitute cherry, maple or birch.
mortises in the inside face of both aprons. When the run- Finishing The original table is mahoganized, a pro-
ners are made and tenons cut, glue and assemble the entire cess frequently used on vernacular pieces made of cherry or
base frame. sometimes yellow birch, to imitate the more elegant imported
Follow the description on pp. 30-32 to make the applied wood. Original mahoganizing techniques are not entirely
knee brackets. Note that no brackets are applied to the back clear, and they probably varied considerably among makers.
apron—a sure sign that the piece was meant to be placed Some pieces were simply stained dark brown and coated
against a wall. When the brackets are glued in place and with clear varnish. Other side or serving tables were colored
completed, pin the frame together, as shown on the drawing with a full-bodied pigment, or even paint, and grain-painted
on p. 132. with a darker pigment suspended in spirit varnish or shel-
Drawers’ The drawer sides, back and front are dove- lac. I follow the latter procedure, but I rub some of the
tailed as illustrated in the plans on p. 133. The 4-in. thick finish off to allow a bit of natural grain to show through and
bottom (beveled on three sides) is housed in a “o-in. deep simulate wear.
dado near the lower edge of the drawer sides and front. It is To mahoganize your reproduction, first stain it with
secured by several nails in the back. This is a typical 18th- Lockwood’s Antique Cherry aniline dye. Knock down the
century drawer-making technique, although some drawer raised grain with steel wool and paint the entire piece with
bottoms were simply nailed to the underside of the drawer an oil-based brown paint that resembles the color of ma-
carcase. The dado method is superior, because it allows the hogany. While the paint is still wet, use a lint-free rag to rub
bottom to expand in the dado, and there are no nails to some of it off of the top and all wear areas to permit some
abrade the runners. cherry grain to show through. You'll find that it’s easier to
Use a block plane to shape the top edges of the drawer manipulate the finish like this if the paint is thinned out
sides with an arch molding, another common feature of slightly with mineral spirits.
Connecticut Valley cabinetwork. The drawer sides slide After the paint is dry, lightly grain all surfaces with
against the underside of the top, thus preventing the drawer Stulb’s Graining Liquid, which is used to make painted fur-
from tipping when it’s opened. A lip on each end of the niture appear aged. Brush the liquid on and rub it off with a
drawer front serves as a stop, and a thumbnail bead is run rag, leaving streaks of simulated grain. But be careful not to
on all four edges. I sometimes use an 18th-century plane build up too much on the top, where most of the original
specifically designed to cut this molding, but you can also finish would have been worn away. The graining on maho-
use a router, with a '4-in. roundover bit. Cut the end grain ganized pieces should be very subtle, almost invisible. (See
first to avoid tearout at the corners, and set the bit just shy the finishing appendix on p. 237 for more information on
of the full depth or there will be nothing left to guide the applying glazes.)
pilot on the end cuts. When the glaze is dry, finish all surfaces, including the
A simple %-in. dia. brass pull serves as the knob. A more underside of the top, with Minwax Antique Oil Finish.
ornate pull with a bail and backplate would compete with Though this process is clearly unlike the historic method,
the scalloped apron and detract from the design. the end result is not dissimilar.
 TABLE WITH DRAWER
Scale: Y% in. = 1 in.
pe : es R ear edge of
Grid square = 1 in. | top is left unmolded.

Note: Top is fastened to

base with 9 %e-in. dia. x 2-in.
long pins driven in at opposing angles.

Note: Drawer uses

Top View 1 Ball and Ball
#G17-136 %-in. knob.

Note: Rear apron follows scrolled

edge of front apron to this point
(both ends), then is flat across the
back. All other dimensions are the
same on both aprons.
Note: This profile is
typical of all molded
top edges.

Front View

—-ap.
 SECTION B Note: Aprons are fastened to
Scale: Y% in. = 1 in. legs with Y4-in. dia x 1’4-in. long
pins, staggered.

LEG/APRON ASSEMBLY ——=—s V7, :

Scale: % in. = 1 in. nae Wo ae
on Ip ¢
5

| ae
Mortise for drawer VAs
runner (front
: : Bi a A and rear aprons) WY) ee

6%

5%

Chamfer rear %
corners
of apron

Knee brackets (6), coho

found front and
sides, glued to
apron and legs

Note: Leg is cut

from 2%-in. square
x 29'/-in. long stock.

|
foie
Cae
ine
ea

fait
| HH =
i

Note: | id ine
Ankle dia. = "Ae in. is
Foot dia. = 2% in. a / HHH
Pad dia. = 1'%e in. | ei
ne
ee
L Ee 13h

Side View 7
—_~

sopceell
0) Vereen.
 SECTION A
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Cs
1% ie

ae "”

Note: Drawer runners \

are located on the front a A
apron so that the Beery
rabbet is flush Side apron
with the corners of
the drawer opening.
Front apron

DRAWER DETAILS
Scale: %s in. = 1 in. Cs ees
; Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Drawer side, ' in. T.,

Drawer front, j radiused at top
136 in, T. | Drawer back,
VY in. T.
11% i/ Drawer bottom

Note: '4-in. lip (at sides

only) acts as drawer stop.

Scale: % in.

Note: Dovetail
layout is typical of
all drawer fronts. Note: Back has no
half pin at bottom.

Drawer bottom, in. T., beveled

front and sides, nailed to back

10
 Tuck-away table. This mahogany reproduction is based on
several existing examples produced in Boston, c. 1740-1765.

== 134——
 TUCK-AWAY TABLE

| he tuck-away table is one of the few tables that mahogany and walnut. (The table was found in Portsmouth,
_ was developed and made exclusively during the New Hampshire.) Moreover, birch usually indicates a north-
- Queen Anne period. In its unique folding de- ern origin, since it doesn’t grow very well in southern
_ sign, the table reflects the increasing preference New England.
_ during the period for portable furniture and The MFA tuck-away table is in fair condition, with one
small fables It is delicate and spare and in great demand replaced leg. In addition, the apron hinge joint is quite
among collectors. loose, probably because of the absence of a wooden or met-
The tuck-away table is among the scarcest tables in the al pin. An attempt to reinforce the joint with crude nailing
Queen Anne style. The table in this chapter is based on an has been unsuccessful. These structural problems may ex-
example in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and another plain why tuck-away tables are so rare. But in spite of its
similar table that was auctioned at Christie’s in 1984 for weaknesses, the form is so unique and particular to the
more than $25,000. A third tuck-away table is illustrated in Queen Anne style that it warrants reproduction.
Wallace Nutting’s Furniture Treasury, All four tuck-away tables have cir-
Vol. 1, and still another appears in cular dished tops with molded rims,
American Antiques from the Israel which vary from table to table. Dished
Sack Collection, Vol. VI. The Sack and tops are common on_ tip-and-turn
Christie’s examples are both made of tables and candlestands of the period.
mahogany, and their similar leg and They were turned outboard on the
foot pattern and top molding suggest lathe, using a kind of primitive face-
that they were built in the same shop. plate called a cross. The tops have
After searching unsuccessfully in many warped on all four tables, which is
publications and institutions for an- not surprising considering their
other example of this type of table, it broad, unlaminated surfaces.
seems safe to conclude that there are The two aprons are joined at the
fewer than ten of them in existence. center with an ingenious hinge
All of these examples have been at- (shown at left), which forms a cross-
tributed to Boston or North Shore shaped frame when open. The legs are
Massachusetts shops. The shape of the located at the outer ends of the
legs and feet in particular and surviv- aprons, and the aprons and leg shoul-
ing documents all support this conclu- ders come together when the table is
sion. I examined the MFA table, which closed. The top then folds into a verti-
is the only vernacular example of the cal position on a peculiar pair of leaf
four. Its use of mahoganized birch hinges to rest against the leg shoul-
and soft maple suggests an origin ders. In this position (see p. 136) the
north of Boston proper, where less table is less than 5 in. thick, which
costly and readily available native The two aprons meet in the center in makes it easy to store in a cupboard
woods were often substituted for an ingenious wooden hinge. or against a wall.

Se
Ie ee
 scribed lines. (Use a bandsaw or coping saw in the bottoms
of the slots.) If you use a backsaw, you can clamp two
apron sections together and saw them at the same time.
Then use a sharp chisel to pare the fingers carefully until
you get a good fit. When the fingers are cut, glue the two
sections of the fixed apron together and shape the ends of
the fingers to the 1%-in. radius of the hinge diameter, as
shown in the top photo on the facing page.
Shape the radiused ends of the fingers on the other
apron sections, scrape and sand all the surfaces and glue
these sections together, with the fingers assembled in the
hinge joint (see the bottom photo on the facing page). Once
both apron sections are glued together, the joint will not
come apart, so be sure to check their fit carefully before
gluing. (The aprons are identical once the joint is assembled.)
The nails that reinforce the finger joints on the original
tables were probably added when the glue failed, long after
the tables were made. I reinforce mine with 17A-in. long cut
nails (this is probably unnecessary because of the strength
of modern glues). The integrity of the apron finger joint is
the structural foundation of this table, so make sure that the
mating surfaces are flat and clamp them together carefully.
With the aprons assembled, the joint will function with-
out a center pin, but the pin helps keep it oriented correctly
and makes for smoother operation. Locate the center of the
hinge and clamp both apron sections together on the drill-
press table. Then bore a *-in. dia. hole through the center
of the joint, passing through the entire apron. Cut a length
of hardwood dowel or turn a wooden pin on the lathe, and
In itsclosed position, the folded table offers a striking fit it snugly in the bored hole. The photo on p. 135 shows
presentation of the dished top. (Photo by Brian Gulick.)
how the pinned aprons fit together. To keep the pin from
slipping out, backsaw a narrow kerf in the end of the pin
I omitted the knee brackets, although they are found on and wedge it, or bore an angled hole through the pin and
both the Christie’s and Sack tables. Because of the way the secure it to the apron with a small nail.
table closes, the brackets can be applied to only four of the Now the legs can be attached to the aprons. For the legs
eight shoulders, which I find distracting when the table is to nest correctly against each other, the tenon shoulders
open (the only time the brackets are visible). must align on adjoining aprons. Fold the aprons together
and pare the tenon shoulders, if necessary, so they align.
MAKING THE TABLE Glue the legs onto the apron tenons and secure them with
Refer to the drawings on p. 140 and the instructions on pins, as indicated in the plans. (This is one place where the
pp. 21-23 for a description of how to make the sculpted pins must be trimmed off flush so they won't interfere with
cabriole legs and turned-pad feet. Then turn to the rather the closing of the table.) The base is now complete, except
complicated task of making the wooden hinge joint. for the installation of the leaf hinges, which are attached to
Wooden hinge Both the fixed apron (to which the the fixed apron.
leaf hinges attach) and the swing apron are made in two Leaf hinges The leaf hinges for this table must be
sections. Joint and plane each section to its correct dimen- custom made, because one of them is elongated to fit over
sions—1% in. thick by 4% in. wide—and cut them to the swing apron. (See the drawing on p. 141.) A blacksmith
length. (They should be 11% in. long, including the /-in. friend made mine out of %2-in. thick iron stock, and I
long tenon and 2%4-in. long hinge fingers.) Next, cut the bored and countersunk the screw holes. If you bore them
tenon on one end of each section, which is a simple process yourself, you can locate the screws where they will hold
while the sections are still separate. best. Note that the screw holes for the apron and the top
To lay out the hinge fingers on the other end, first divide must be countersunk on opposite sides of the hinge. If you
the width of the apron into five %-in. wide by 2%-in. long don’t have a blacksmith nearby, you can make the hinges
fingers. (You can use a diagonal rule to divide the apron out of two Stanley safety hasps (#NH911), available at most
into any number of fingers, as shown on p. 109.) Scribe hardware stores. These come without holes, and can be cut
each finger on both sides of the apron with a marking gauge to length and bored for screws.
to ensure a square, snug-fitting joint. Top The top of this table is made of a single 25-in.
Saw the slots between the fingers with a backsaw or on wide mahogany board, a rarity today in any hardwood spe-
the bandsaw, making your cuts on the waste side of the cies. You'll probably have to laminate the top, but try to

—=+ 136
avoid using more than two boards. The rough thickness of per is large enough to prevent any wood-to-wood contact
the top should be % in.; the finished thickness of *4 in. will and that the scrap is thick enough to prevent the mounting
be cut on the lathe. (You could also use a router and a jig screws that hold it to the faceplate from entering the top.
to dish the top and cut the circular molded edge, as demon- (The scrap I use is about 1'/ in. thick, with No. 8 or No. 10
strated on the tilt-top candlestand on p. 164.) 1’A4-in. mounting screws.) Center the scrap on the top and
Next, lay out the circumference of the top with a beam clamp it tightly until the glue sets. Then remove the clamps,
compass or a pair of large dividers. Make the radius '% in. screw on the faceplate and mount the assembly on the out-
larger than the finished radius, and bandsaw the top to its board center of the lathe. This setup is quite safe, providing
circular profile. the block is firmly glued to the top.
Cut a round piece of scrap the same diameter as your Turn the underside of the top first, removing about ‘se in.
lathe faceplate and glue it to the bottom of the tabletop, of wood, as shown in the top photo on p. 138 (the top in
with a piece of paper separating the wood surfaces. (The the photo is smaller, but the process is the same). This
paper from a manila envelope works well.) Be sure the pa- should help take any wobble out of the spinning top if it is

Shape the ends of the fingers after the first

apron section is glued up. It is easier to
clamp while both halves are still
rectilinear.

Shape the ends of the fingers on the

second apron section before assembling and
gluing the hinge joint.

on
 slightly warped. The turning will leave a raised area beneath
the faceplate, but this can be easily leveled with a hand
plane after the top is dismounted. Then, cut the outside
edge to its finished diameter. The exact measurement can
vary by 4 in. or so.
Move the outboard tool rest around to the top surface
and rough out the dished area (center photo, left). Keep at
least 1 in. away from the rim, which will be shaped after the
main recessed area is turned. When you’re close to the fin-
ished depth, take a straight piece of scrap slightly longer
than the radius of the top and heavily color one edge with a
black crayon. When you hold this edge against the spinning
top, the crayon will rub off and indicate the high spots.
Remove these spots and repeat the process until the surface
is true. Removing material from such a large piece often
warps it, so try to turn as quickly as possible.
Now turn the edge molding and shape the outside edge of
the rim (bottom photo, left). Sand the dished area with a
flat sanding block, beginning with 100-grit or 120-grit sand-
paper and finishing with 220 grit. Sand the rim and the
molded edge. Remove the top from the lathe, unscrew the
faceplate and separate the scrap from the tabletop with a
chisel and mallet. Plane the raised area and scrape the en-
tire back to eliminate all lathe marks. Flip the top over and
scrape the dished area to remove any scratches that remain
from the sanding, then carefully sand the entire area along
the grain.
Finally, mortise the top of the fixed apron for the leaf
hinges and cut the '4-in. deep gain in the swing apron be-
neath the elongated leaf. This enables the top to lie directly
upon the aprons when the table is opened. Attach the hinges
to the fixed apron with 1’4-in. No. 8 flat-head wood screws.
Use 'h-in. No. 8 screws to fasten the hinges to the underside
of the top to avoid any tragic mistakes. I bed these stubby
screws in epoxy, in the hope that they will not loosen after
repeated opening and closing of the table. Make sure to
orient the grain in the top parallel to the fixed apron, so
that the top won't split between the two hinges if it shrinks.
Woods The legs and top of the table in the Museum of
Fine Arts are made of yellow birch, and the aprons are
made of soft maple. The Christie’s and Sack tables are made
entirely of mahogany. I also made my reproduction of
mahogany— it’s easy to work and I happened to have some
gorgeous 25-in. wide boards for the top.
Finishing A high-style mahogany table requires a var-
nish or shellac finish. First stain the entire table with water-
soluble aniline dye in a red mahogany color. Over this apply
a pigmented wood stain in a medium-red mahogany. (I use
Mohawk 15-Minute Stain.) Let this dry overnight, then apply
three coats of Mohawk Four-Hour Rubbing Varnish, rubbing
the surface with steel wool between each brushed-on coat.
Rub the final coat with steel wool and use a rag to rub
on Mohawk Deluxing Compound, a paste-like combination
of wax and rubbing abrasives. This produces a deep luster,
not a glossy finish, which approximates the finish found on
original mahogany pieces of the period. A French-polished
With the ARES mounted to a faceplate, turn the underside shellac finish would also be appropriate for this table, but is
flat (top). Then, position the tool rest on the outboard side and not as durable or water resistant as varnish. (Refer to the
turn the top surface (middle). Finally, turn the rim (bottom). finishing appendix on pp. 237-239 for more information.)
 __TUCK-AWAY
TABLE
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Top View
(closed position)

(open position)

Side View Side View

(open position) (closed position)

OD
eae

Partial Rear View (closed position)

Scale: 4 in. = 1 in.

Note: Apron tenons are secured

with 4-in, dia. x %-in. long pins, __
trimmed flush on the inside. LS : :
Hinges are set in flush Ae
fo apron surface.
%

1 in. waste

Grid square = 1 in.

Note: Leg is cut

from 2%-in. square
stock.

Note:
Ankle dia. = “ein.
Foot dia. = 1% in.
Pad dia. = 1% in.

rT are tapered, and

of the the foot is|nicked.

+140
TABLE BASE (closed position)
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Note: The wooden hinge is comprised

of two glued-up assemblies:
one swing apron and
one fixed apron
(shown shaded).

Top of swing apron, relieved

for hinge clearance
(see Section A below)

Leg post,
1% in. sq.

ee]Xl 7
ey

WV tte
ddl
4-0)

ij
V ZZ
ZZ YW)
LZ Sass
1%r
SECTION A
Scale: % in. = 1 in.
A %-in. dia. hardwood pin keeps
the joint oriented and operating
smoothly. The hole is drilled after
the hinge is assembled.

Radius of leg swing, 11% in.

Leg post
Note: Screws into top: '-in. long
#8 flathead wood screws. Screws into
apron: 1'4-in. long #8 flathead
wood screws.
HINGE DETAILS
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

% typ.)

lat
Tray-top tea table. This mahogany reproduction is based on
a Newport (or possibly Boston) example, c. 1740-1760.

142
 TRAY-TOP TEA TABLE

he tray-top tea table in this chapter follows the some Connecticut furniture. The bead that encircles the
design of an 18th-century table that was exhib- table above the full-apron knee bracket is most often found
ited in 1965 at the John Brown House in Provi- on Boston tray-top tables, but it is an unusual detail even
dence, Rhode Island. It is pictured in the show so. There was considerable commercial and artistic ex-
catalog, The John Brown House Loan Exhibi- change between 19th-century Boston and Newport, making
tion of Rhode Island Furniture, published by the Rhode it entirely possible for a Boston design to be executed in the
Island Historical Society. more southerly locale.
The original tray-top table is considered to be the finest
example of its type. All its details are well resolved. The MAKING THE TABLE
apron curves are bold but not overstated. The long, rather Begin the project by carving the sculpted cabriole legs and
straight legs suggest solid support, something that can be turning the pad feet. Then mill the four aprons to their full
lost easily if the legs are too curvaceous. The feet are crisply dimensions, cut the tenons on both ends and chop the
defined and well turned. Further enrichments, such as the matching leg-post mortises. Test-fit the leg-and-apron assembly
deeply dished top with cut-out corners (shown in the photo before cutting the groove around the perimeter of the base
on p. 144) and the candle slides, which were designed to for the bead molding.
hold candlesticks, help to place this piece on a well- Apron details To make the -in. wide by '4-in. deep
deserved pedestal. Seldom are so many extraordinary fea- groove, first locate its position on the assembled base at the
tures united in one coherent piece of furniture. point where the knees of the legs intersect the leg posts.
The dished top of the original table is described in the Disassemble the base and cut the groove on a table saw or
catalog as having been excavated from a solid piece of router table, using the same fence setting for all four
wood. Although this amount of laborious hand carving aprons. (If you use a table saw, you’ll have to use a ‘A-in.
would be very unusual on this type of table, I cannot verify dado blade or change the position of the fence and make a
or contest the conclusion because I haven’t examined the second pass to produce this groove.) When the apron
piece myself. I used applied moldings to create the tray top grooves are complete, mark their location on the leg posts
on my reproduction table, which is much easier and was and cut them with the radial-arm saw. Be careful to make
more common to the period. these cuts exactly within your layout lines and to the same
The tops on original Queen Anne tray-top tea tables have depth as the apron grooves.
almost always split, because of the common procedure of Cut the openings for the candle slides and the mortises
nailing the top directly to the base, which does not allow it for the slide runners in the end aprons. Bore a hole at each
to expand or contract (the nails are hidden by the applied end of the opening, and remove the area between the holes
molding in most examples). In the period-furniture market, with a scroll saw, then chop the ends square with a chisel.
however, a cracked top indicates age or authenticity and Center the slide openings on the exposed width of the
seldom detracts from the value, which could run as high as aprons between the top of the bead groove and what will be
$60,000 for a fine example of a tray-top tea table. the bottom edge of the cove molding above. The candle-slide
The profile of the apron and the feet of the original table, runners must be mortised into the end aprons before the
which was owned by a prominent Newport family, are typi- frame is assembled, and their inside rabbets must be flush
cal not only of Rhode Island work, but also of Boston and with the corners of the slide openings, as shown on p. 146.

lt
 When all the bead grooves and end-apron preparation is original knee brackets, revealing the use of the same tech-
accomplished, glue and assemble the base. Be particularly nique. This process is simple in mahogany but exasperating
careful that the apron grooves line up with the grooves in in tiger maple.
the leg posts. This can be facilitated by inserting short Glue the brackets in place and sand them flush where
pieces of '4-in. square wood at the intersection of each post they meet the leg shoulders. Don’t worry about the straight
and apron. Remove these scraps as soon as the glue has set. portions of the aprons that project into the deep bracket
When each leg-post joint has been through pinned, as scrolls —they can be trimmed later.
shown in the drawing on p. 149, make the bead and set it Top The top needn’t fit too snugly within the apron
into the groove. First cut several strips of '4-in. sq. stock, frame, but it must be perfectly flush with the outside edge of
and shape the %-in. radius with a block plane, a scraper the aprons. Measure the assembled base before you cut the
and sandpaper. You could use a router or other machinery top to length and width, and make it slightly oversize. Then
to make the bead, but it’s safer to work by hand on such a trim it with a sharp, low-angle block plane after it’s in-
slim piece of stock. The process goes quickly, and besides, stalled. The thickness of the top can vary, but the edge rab-
a little irregularity is perfectly acceptable. bet should leave ‘4 in. of wood above the aprons and leg
Making crisp miters at each corner can be tricky, so I posts. I saw this rabbet in two cuts on the table saw. Addi-
usually prepare a few extra bead sections to cover any mis- tional material must be removed at each leg-post location,
haps. Cut the miters on the table saw, then glue and nail the and this is simply chiseled out to the same depth.
beads in place with %-in. long headless brads. These will be Fasten the top to the base with 1’4-in. No. 8 flat-head
unnoticeable after the finish is applied. wood screws, carefully located where they'll be covered by
Knee brackets Next, mill the full-apron knee brackets the tray-top molding. Nails were used to attach the top of
to their final thickness and width. To accommodate slight the original tea table, but screws provide a more secure
irregularities in the lengths of the aprons, scribe the final attachment. The screw holes in the top could be slotted to
length of the brackets from the assembled table base. Then allow for movement.
use a template to lay out the scrolled profile on each bracket When the top is fastened to the base and the edges
and cut these curves with a bandsaw or frame saw. The trimmed flush, turn the table over and use a gouge or a
unsupported point at each end is very susceptible to break- chisel to shape the flat apron sections so they follow the
ing while the rest of the shaping takes place, so it’s a good bottom contour of the knee brackets. This is also a good
idea to leave a little extra material here. This can be re- time to trim any excess wood you left at the ends of the
moved later, after the brackets have been glued in place. brackets with a file or gouge and to chamfer their inside
Hold each bracket in place and scribe the convex shape edges. The brackets should meet the legs in a gentle, con-
on both ends of the bracket from the leg shoulders. (This tinuous curve.
accounts for any slight differences in the shoulder con- Use a ‘h-in. cove router bit with the pilot ground off and
tours.) Set the table-saw blade to a 60° angle and rip as a router table (or a molding-head cutter on a table saw) to
much material as possible from the brackets. Then use a produce the cove molding that surrounds the top. Miter the
block plane, a scraper and sandpaper to finish the brackets molding corners neatly and apply the molding with glue and
to an even curve. Traces of plane marks are often visible on 1-in. headless brads.

The deeply dished top with cut-out corners

adds an element of drama and utility.

== 144
A '/-in. cove bit, with the pilot ground off, can be ed to cut
the tray-top cove molding.

The tray-top molding is a large, flat cove with a convex

outside profile. You can make it on the router table by tak-
ing successive cuts with a ‘2-in. cove bit with the pilot
ground off, as shown above. I cut most of the outside radius
on the table saw and finish the final profile with a block
plane and a scraper, the same way I produce the convex
curve of the knee brackets.
At this point, you’ll notice that the cut-out corners are
not part of these straight sections of molding, but are carved
out of square %-in. thick blocks. No miters are necessary
where the straight moldings butt against these blocks (see the
photo on the facing page). Apply the moldings first, leaving
space for the 1%s-in. sq. blocks, which will be scribed from
the molding profiles. Glue and nail the moldings in place
with %-in. headless brads, being careful to locate the brads
so they won’t hit the screws that attach the top to the frame.
These screws should be fully concealed by the molding.
Corner blocks Orient the corner blocks so the grain
runs diagonally, as shown in the drawing on p. 147. This
will make the carving easier, as you will soon appreciate.
Hold each block in place and trace the adjacent molding
profiles directly onto the block. Be sure to number the
blocks so they can be relocated correctly.
Next, use two cardboard templates (taken from the plan
drawings) to mark the top edge and inside curve of each
block, as shown in the photos at right. Hold the block in a
vise and carve the outside edges first. You can hold the
block in the vise while you remove some of the material for
the inside cove, but I find it easier to hold the block in my
hand for most of the interior carving. (Be careful not to let
the gouge slip.)
Check the shape of the block frequently and leave it
slightly proud of the tray-top molding. Then glue it in posi-
tion and use a chisel, gouge and sandpaper to fair all the
curves on the block into those on the adjacent moldings.
If you prefer not to tackle the cut-out corners, you can
avoid them entirely by simply mitering the tray-top molding
at the corners. This abbreviated approach will still produce Use cardboard templates to lay out the bottom corner (top)
a beautiful table, and actually was more common on tables and the top edge and inside curve (center) of the corner blocks.
of the period than the carved cut-out corners. Hold the block in a vise to carve the outside profile (bottom).

145
This view of the underside of the table shows the candle slide and runners, the batten that keeps the slide from tipping and the
chamfering on the inside edges of the aprons.

Candle slides The candle slides are simple boards, The candle slides are prevented from tipping by a *-in.
hand planed to clear the openings. A short tenon cut on one thick batten that is glued and nailed to the underside of the
end of each board receives a narrow, molded cleat. The top, as shown in the photo above. The bottom of the batten
cleat functions as a stop when the slide is closed and dresses fits flush with the top of the slide openings and runs be-
up what would otherwise be exposed end grain. tween the end aprons.
Cut the tenons and rout the %o-in. wide by '-in. deep Woods Like the original tray-top tea table in the John
groove in the back of each cleat on a router table, stopping Brown House exhibit, my reproduction is made entirely of
the groove '4 in. short of each end. The beaded perimeter of mahogany, except for the candle-slide runners and batten,
the cleat is like the one used on the drawer fronts of Queen which I made of pine.
Anne case pieces. The bead is actually */6 in. wide, but can Finishing This high-style table must be finished ap-
be cut with a '4-in. bead router bit or shaped by hand with propriately. I used the same process described on p. 138
a molding plane or scratch stock. for the Boston tuck-away table. Whatever base preparation
Glue the cleat to the tenoned end of the slide and attach you use, always apply a top coat of clear varnish or shellac
the brass knob. The screw shank of the knob helps secure on such a formal piece (a rubbed-on oil/varnish mixture is
the cleat, which can be easily torn off if the slide is not appropriate). And be sure to seal the underside of the
slammed closed (the glue joint between the end grain of the top the same way you finish the upper surface, or it will be
slide and the long grain of the cleat is not very strong). likely to warp.

146 =
 __Tray-Top
TEA TABLE _
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Top View

Note: Corner block, 1'%s in. square x % in. thick,

is glued to top between straight
sections of tray-top molding. |

Note: Candle slides use one Ball and

Ball #G17-133 %-in. knob each.

Front View

— 147—
 seca ag
Grid square: VY in.
4 Heecead
Note: Cove and '4-in.
bead moldings are mitered
at the corners. Moldings are
=aae Y
| ai ie 1 ane tacked in place
Tray-top ee \\Y wi raas.
'— molding4 SE

WN

SECTION A Rabbet of top is extended at legs. Tray-top molding

Scale: % in. = 1 in.
Corner aligns Top, % in. T. Cove
to slide tat molding
opening.
Y%-in. bead

Wid
% molding

<= ¥%-dia.
brass knob
| @

outt
| Slide batten, 2 in. T. x % in. W. x 25% L, Candle slide
glued and nailed to underside of top
Slide runner, 25% in. L. End aprons are
shoulder to shoulder mortised ('/ in. x ¥% in.)
for runner tenons.

Scale: 1 in. = 1 in.

Side View

Side View

==
48 >—
 Note: Aprons are fastened to
legs with 4-in. dia. x 1%-in. long Apron
pins, staggered.
SECTION B itr
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Leg post,
1% in. sq.

Y%-in. bead molding, set into aprons

FRONT APRON/ASSEMBLY and legs and mitered at corners ¢
Scale: % in. = 1 in. eS 1%

Groove for “%-in. bead, 4 in. W. x VY in. deep

1 in. waste Yj

ih
|
iS)
|

ZI
Lo oe cei te,
be ee eer
Ht te Gad square = Vine eT
PRS GGG eee 4
Profile of knee
bracket, % in, T. x 1%
in. W., follows that Apron is trimmed from deep sections of
of leg shoulder scrolling and edge is chamfered.

SIDE APRON/BRACKET
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Rabbet of slide
runner is flush with
slide opening.

Note: Legs are cut from 2'%-in. square

x 28-in. long stock.

Note:
Ankle dia. = '/e in.
Foot dia. = 2% in.
Pad dia. = 1% in.

—— 149 ——
 Corner or handkerchief table. This mahogany reproduction is
based on a fine period example, made in Boston, c. 1750-1790.

150
 CORNER TABLE

» he folding corner table, or handkerchief table, It appears to be American by virtue of its legs and feet, but
_ first appeared in the Queen Anne period. When could be of English origin.
its rear leaf was dropped, the table could be Another corner table (top right photo, p. 152) was re-
placed in the corner of a room whenever its cently donated to the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven,
: _ full, square top was not required. Most Queen Connecticut. A well-built example, it has the more common
anne corner tables have sculpted cabriole legs, but there are gate leg and hinge-jointed swing apron. The aprons have
at least a couple of examples with turned cabriole legs. ogee cut-out scrolls at each end and half-circle drops at the
Corner tables were made in England and in America. center. The top has cut-out corners and an ogee-molded
English Georgian tables are more numerous and probably edge. Its legs are graceful, with nicely turned Boston feet.
served as examples to colonial cabinetmakers. During the The third table (bottom photo, p. 152) is at Colonial Wil-
early rococo phase of the Chippendale period, handkerchief liamsburg in Virginia. This is the finest museum example
tables were made with ball-and-claw feet, and a few Ameri- I’ve seen, with ogee-scalloped aprons and delicate legs and
can examples have survived. feet. Like the previous example, the top on this handker-
Simple triangular tables without a folding rear leaf or chief table is ogee molded with cut-out corners.
cabriole legs are much more difficult to date, because of the A fourth table was featured in an article by Eugene Lan-
absence of identifiable details. Although they were made as don in Fine Woodworking magazine (May/June, 1985), and
recently as the mid-19th century, the form may predate the with his permission I have used it as the table of reference
Queen Anne period. Other types of corner furniture, such as for this chapter. It is similar to the Williamsburg piece, but
cupboards and the corner chair on p. 64, are known to the tiny half-circle drop at the center of the scalloped
have been made before, during and after the period. aprons makes it distinctive. The legs and feet are excellent
Folding corner tables are rare. A small number are examples of the Boston style. Until a finer corner-table de-
housed in museum collections, with perhaps a few more in sign is discovered, this one will carry the blue ribbon.
private ownership. Altogether, there are probably fewer than
twenty authentic examples from the period. To my knowl- MAKING THE TABLE
edge, all American Queen Anne corner tables have been at- Begin by making all four sculpted cabriole legs as you
tributed to the Boston area, primarily because of their leg would for a standard table. The rear corner legs and the
and foot characteristics and documented histories. While gate leg will be modified later.
many similar pieces were undoubtedly made elsewhere, the Base frame When the legs are completed, joint and
simple knee brackets and graceful leg pattern on these ta- plane the apron stock and cut it to length. The front aprons
bles are typical of Boston furniture, as are the nicked ankle are % in. thick by 5’ in. wide, while the rear apron is
and low-profile foot, which rests on a slim pad. comprised of two parts: a %-in. by 5-in. inner apron and a
I have examined three of these original corner tables, and ’k-in. by 5-in. outer swing apron, which houses the wooden
each has its own distinguishing features. One, at Historic Deer- hinge joint. The inner apron has no tenons, yet it holds the
field (shown in the top left photo on p. 152), has a peculiar frame together since it’s fastened to both end sections of the
pull-out leg-and-apron detail to support the rear leaf, a sys- swing apron, which are tenoned into the rear legs.
tem that was used extensively on English gaming tables. The The front aprons have standard, square-shoulder tenons
Deerfield table is the only example I’ve seen with a drawer. where they join the front leg, but angled-shoulder tenons

oe
 There is considerable variation within the
corner-table form. All three of these
examples are made of mahogany and
attributed to Boston, c. 1750-1790. (Top left
photo courtesy of Historic Deerfield; photo
above courtesy of the Yale University Art
Gallery; photo at left courtesy of Colonial
Williamsburg.)

ae
where they enter the rear legs. (See the drawing on p. 158.) When the clamped-up frame has dried, pin the leg-post
First cut the tenons with standard square shoulders, then joints (the 'A-in. pins are staggered, but do not go through
pare the outside shoulder to the correct 45° angle with a the posts) and reinforce the rear inside corners with trian-
chisel. The shoulder on the inside of the apron can be cut gular glue blocks. Simply rub the blocks with glue and hold
on the table saw. them in place until they stick.
Next, cut the standard apron mortises in the front leg The exact length of the swing apron can now be deter-
post, the gate leg and the rear legs that will receive the end mined so the gate leg will nest inside the rear apron with
sections of the swing apron. Then chop the angled mortises just the right amount of clearance (‘As in.). Measure carefully,
in the rear leg posts for the front-apron tenons, taking their taking into account the position of the apron with the hinge
location from the drawing. This is difficult to do without a pin in place and the length of the tenon at the other end.
drill press or a hollow-chisel mortiser, although a guide- Reduce the gate-leg post to the same %-in. thickness as the
block could be used to make them easier to cut with a swing apron so it will not interfere with the rear leaf when
chisel. Use a simple V-block to position the legs on the the table is closed. Carve the finger pull on the inside edge
mortiser or drill-press table. of the swing apron with a gouge, or cut it with a router and
The hinge joint on the rear apron is similar to that found a ‘h-in. cove bit.
on most drop-leaf tables of the period. Refer to pp. 136 for Knee brackets There are seven applied knee brackets:
a description of how to make it, and be sure to lay out the two on the front leg, two on each rear leg and one on the
fingers before you cut the apron sections apart. You'll note outside of the gate leg. Refer to the plans on p. 159 and to
one important difference between the finger joints on this pp. 30-32 for a description of how to make them. The rear
table and the tilt-top table on p. 160: a flattened corner knee bracket on the left rear leg is applied directly to the
prevents the apron from swinging beyond 45° (see the draw- short outer apron section, like any normal bracket, but it
ing on p. 158). The wide, flat area stops the apron and gate must be cut away to accept the shoulder of the gate leg, as
leg more securely under the corner of the rear leaf when shown below. This can be scribed directly from the closed
the table is opened. gate leg.
When the hinge joint is made (but not yet pinned) cut the The two front knee brackets on the rear legs are larger than
tenons on the short fixed section of the swing apron to fit the others because the aprons meet the posts at a 45° angle.
the rear leg-post mortise. Cut the inside rear apron to The edge of the bracket that contacts the leg shoulder has to
length, and test fit all the table-base joints, clamping the be sawn at the same angle. Simply rip the angle on the edge
rear apron and swing apron sections in position. Put it of a piece of stock long enough to accommodate both
together facedown on a flat, solid surface to keep the join- brackets. The profile of the brackets is elongated to accom-
ery square. modate the increased size. Cut out the brackets using the
If everything fits well and lines up correctly, disassemble same system described for standard applied knee brackets
the table and glue it together on a flat surface so it will in Chapter 2, and apply them to the legs and aprons.
stand flat on the floor. Check to see that the tops of the The knees on the rear legs have to be shaped to corre-
aprons are all flush with the tops of the leg posts. Make any spond to the curve of the bracket, and the front corners of
necessary adjustments and then use a web clamp to pull the the leg posts need to be chopped off so the posts will fit
joints together and hold them until the glue sets. flush with the aprons. Use a backsaw for this process and

The knee bracket on the corner leg at right

and the adjacent short apron section are
relieved slightly to make room for the
nesting gate leg.

on
bh ares
Round the leg-post corner to conform to the curve of the knee.

This unusual rule-joint variation permits the drop leaf to be opened and closed without disrupting the lines of the carved corner.

154
do the final shaping with a chisel and scraper. The top trace the smaller template on the top and carefully carve the
photo on the facing page shows the completed rear leg post shaped corners.
and knee. The leaf hinges must be positioned carefully for proper
When all the knee brackets are attached and shaped to alignment of the top, in both open and closed positions. The
their final profile and sanded smooth and the rear legs have hinges are mortised flush with the underside of the top, and
been fully shaped at the corners, pin the hinge in the swing the barrel of the hinge is let into the fixed top and aligned
apron. Before driving it flush with the top of the apron, saw slightly inside the edge of the rabbet on the edge. The hinge
a kerf in the top of the pin with a fine backsaw. Then drive barrel should not be visible when the leaf is dropped, and
the pin in place, apply a little glue to the top and drive a the bottom edge of the leaf falls under the fixed top. Experi-
small wedge into the kerf to keep the pin from falling out. If ment with the hinge placement on your test pieces before
you use a steel pin, peen the top with a hammer before installing them on the top.
setting it in the apron. The top is fastened to the base with glue blocks, as is
Top Prepare the two triangular top sections to their customary on most high-style tables of the period. Clamp
final thickness, width and length, making sure to align the the top to the base, apply glue to the blocks and rub them
grain as shown in the plans. Use full-width boards, or as few into position. Let the glue set, then remove the clamps. Be
laminations as possible. forewarned that this system is likely to result in a cracked
In the open position, the top is a perfect square. However, top, which is not uncommon on period pieces. To avoid this
the front section is 4 in. wider than the rear to accommo- problem, you can use a more sophisticated modern method
date the curious joint between the two halves. This joint, of attachment, but not without sacrificing historical accuracy.
shown in the bottom photos on the facing page, is a combi- Woods All of the original corner tables mentioned in
nation of a rabbet joint and a rule joint and doesn’t inter- this chapter were made primarily of mahogany, with pine,
fere with the cut-out corners on the ogee-molded top. The maple and chestnut used as secondary woods for the inner
joint is easily cut in both sections of the top using either a rear apron and the corner glue blocks. In keeping with that
router or a table saw. Make a sample joint for test fitting tradition and with the high-style demeanor of the piece, I
the hinges. Then shape the ogee-molded edge with a router used mahogany and pine in my reproduction.
and a combination of roundover and core-box bits. Finishing A high-style table requires a high-style fin-
Make two cardboard templates for the top and bottom of ish. I recommend a rubbed-varnish finish like that de-
the corner profile. (Take these off the gridded drawing on scribed for the Boston tuck-away table on p. 138. A French-
p. 156.) You can trace the profile of the larger template on polished shellac finish would be as elegant, but not as
the underside of the top and cut out the corners on the resistant to water or alcohol stains. As always, don’t forget
bandsaw, or you can use a scroll saw or a coping saw. Then to seal the underside of the top.

= 155
 CORNER TABLE
Scale: 4% in. = 1 in.

Align centerline of top

___ ay ama
with centerline of base.

le}

[Jya |NN |

Front View
(open)

== 4156
Scale: 1 in. = 1 in.

Note: View is a section Centerline of pivot Centerline of top

through hinge.
Ae
Fixed top

y
Line of top leaf
Note: Table-leaf hinge
when open
is Ball and Ball #H36-342,
(1%As in. wide x 3% in. long).

MM
AAADAAAN
Top leaf (closed)

— Ankle did. = ) in,

Foot dia. = 2% in.—
Pad dia. = 1% in. —

Note: Turned foot details are similar to th

on the tuck-away table, with a nick at foot
d sloping pad sides.

sicraite
an
| poe

Side View
(closed)

SS
TABLE BASE (top removed)
Scale: “6 in. = 1 in.

Applied knee bracket

(5), 1% in. W.

% in. (typ.), all brackets

Glue blocks (2)

reinforce corners
Glue blocks (6},
1 in. sq. x 2 in. long,
secure top
Applied knee bracket (2),
2% in. W.
Inner rear apron,
% in. T.

- Outer rear apron Ui

Outer reargpron, —
7 in. T.
7 in. T. .

Swing apron, 7A in. T., cut

from outer rear apron

Inner rear yhInner sections of the gate

la leg are cut away to fit under
me
apron
\S inner rear apron in the
Finger pull closed position.
Wy .
er

Fixed outer apron

Note: Flattened corner stops

swing apron at 45°.
VAs

Ye-in. clearance

Rear View (closed) 3% 18

Scale: %o in. = 1 in.

LD"fs 1 in. (typ). ” LS do

Note: Corner of bracket is removed

—_ to clear gate leg in the closed postion. — —

=—— 158.
 SECTION ATA Leg post, 1% in.
Scale: % in. = 1 in. oP

APRON/LEG ASSEMBLY
Citi nn Note: Dimensions given for angled
tenon also apply to straight tenons, % et — Centerline
pinning is not staggered. of blank

tans
1 in. waste
A

Yi

me
Note: Aprons are fastened to legs Pavel ct
with Y%-in. dia. x 1-in. long pins, staggered. rid square = i
|
Chamfer rear side of apron

Leg and Bracket Profiles Grid square : Note: Leg is cut from
| | | | 2°%-in. square x 271/2-in.
long stock.

SRRAIGINS REA:

|__| Front View, —1_——

Angled Bracket (2) ao

Note:
Ankle dia. = Iin.
Top View, Foot dia. 2% in.
lia. == 2%
“| Front Leg Pad dia. = 17 in.

Front View,
Standard —
Bracket (5)

Sorcerer ia
=o
Tilt-top candlestand. This mahogany reproduction is based on
high-style Philadelphia examples, c. 1750.

—== 160. ==
 TILT-Torp CANDLESTAND

he tilt-top candlestand featured in this chapter many tip-and-turn pieces have a ball incorporated in the
_ is one of several familiar types of tripod tables pedestal turning, a feature also associated with Chippendale
_ made throughout the 18th and 19th century on designs. Scores of high-style, Chippendale stands and tables
this continent. Variously referred to as candle- were produced in the Philadelphia area from the middle to
stands, tip-and-turn tables and circular tripod late 18th century.
tables, they are distinguished mainly by their pedestal turn- Circular tripod tables and stands are identical to tip-and-
ings, the shape of their feet, the design of the molded edge turn pieces, except for the bird-cage mechanism. While
of the tabletop and their size. Examples such as this one — some of these (probably low-budget alternatives) are perma-
with slipper feet, a simple dished top nently secured in an open position,
and a vase-shaped turned pedestal— others are hinged to facilitate storage,
are generally considered to be the like the candlestand in this chapter.
earliest type and fall within the Queen The turned shaft of tripod tables is
Anne period. derived from the turned baluster, a
Tip-and-turn tables have a ball in- classic architectural element shown in
corporated in the turned shaft and the illustration on p. 162. Balusters
either ball-and-claw or slipper feet. were incorporated into sections of
They are usually equipped with a railings, or balustrades, to create a
“birdcage” at the top of the pedestal. decorative and protective enclosure
(This small, open box is hinged to the around porticos, balconies and flat-
tabletop and rotates on the pedestal roofed structures. They were either
tenon.) They are called either candle- vase shaped or urn shaped, and may
stands or tables, depending on the have been inspired by rows of vessels
diameter of the top; anything with a placed atop ancient buildings to gather
diameter smaller than 20 in. is gener- rainwater. Today, balusters are com-
ally considered a candlestand. monly associated with stair-rail and
Tip-and-turn tables are designated porch-rail construction, but their clas-
as Chippendale, even when they have sical contours figure prominently in
plain slipper feet. This is because the the lathe-turned components of all
bird-cage structure is thought to have period furniture.
developed at the same time as other Turnings that featured urns were
features of that period, such as the derived from later, more ornate clas-
rococo leaf and vine carvings on the sical forms, such as the Corinthian or-
knees, the reeding of the shaft and the der shown in the lower right of the
elaborate carved top. (The scalloped illustration on p. 162. Urns were not
edges of Chippendale piecrust tables used on tripod tables or stands during
were influenced by 18th-century silver The tipped position of the tilt-top the Queen Anne period and began to
salvers and candlesticks. Moreover, candlestand. appear only during the last quarter of

Si
 those found on later stands, which are enlarged to accept
the optional ball-and-claw feet. The carved slipper feet (and
the thin pad underneath) are unlike the pointed slipper feet
described in Chapter 2, though they are made the same way
and called by the same name.
With so few elements—three legs, a pedestal and a
top—it would seem a simple matter to design and execute a
pleasing form, yet many pieces miss the mark. The differ-
ence between a classic candlestand and a less appealing ex-
ample lies mainly in the subtle balance of curved and
straight lines.
All of the joinery techniques used in making this candle-
stand apply to any of the above mentioned tripod tables or
stands. Stationary tops differ only in their lack of a hinge
block between the pedestal and the top.

These classic balustrades served as an inspiration for the MAKING THE TABLE
turned shafts of tripod tables in the Queen Anne period. From Unlike the construction of the other tables in this section,
William Robert Powell’s 1921 translation of Vignola, A which began with the legs, making a tripod candlestand
Treatise on the Five Orders of Architecture, by Pierre Esquié.
starts with the turned pedestal. Rough out a 3-in. square by
20-in. long (or longer) straight-grained, knot-free blank for
the 18th century on Chippendale pieces. They became an the shaft, and mount it between centers on the lathe.
important architectural motif during the neoclassical Federal Turn the entire shaft round with a large roughing gouge
period, and cabinetmakers were quick to borrow the form. and lay out the profile turnings on the cylinder. A layout
Urns are standard features on Federal tables and stands in stick is useful if you plan to make more than one stand.
both the Hepplewhite and Sheraton styles. Pedestal The classic pedestal contours are simple and
The candlestand in this chapter is based on several high- fluid to turn, but if you’re not a skilled spindle turner you
style Queen Anne pieces with vase-shaped pedestal turnings, can use scraping tools to turn the more intricate portions.
which are thought to have been built in the Philadelphia The round tenon at the top should be sized carefully for a
area. But it exhibits none of the superfluous Chippendale tight fit in the hinge block. The base of the pedestal, where
characteristics that were common on Philadelphia pieces at the legs attach, must be perfectly cylindrical or gaps will
the time, such as acanthus-leaf carving, ball-and-claw feet or show up in the leg joints.
a piecrust top. After all the major profiles have been turned, sand the
The top is dished, with a nicely molded rim, and it em- cylinder with 220-grit paper and scribe a shallow groove
ploys a simple tilting mechanism (detailed in the photo be- with the point of a skew chisel 3’ in. from the bottom end
low) to take up less room when stored against a wall. of the shaft, as shown on the drawing on p. 167. This line
Dished tops are common on both high-style and country marks the top of the legs and is standard on turned tripod
Queen Anne tripod tables and stands. The ogee cutouts on pedestals. (On some stands the base is reduced in diameter
the base of the shaft (shown in the photo below) resemble below this line and the legs actually butt into a turned
the scalloped aprons on Queen Anne tables and contribute shoulder.) Two more purely decorative shallow lines are
to the well-resolved design. Its legs are more delicate than scribed around the swell of the vase.

The hinge block and catch (far left) and the

ogee cutouts on the base of the pedestal
(left) are two features of the tilt-top
candlestand.

——162;——
 Legs When the turning is done and the pedestal parted
to the correct length, you can make the legs. Position the
leg template on the stock to take advantage of the grain
direction (as shown in the drawing on p. 167) and trace the
outline of the leg. Then bandsaw the leg profile and cut the
sliding dovetails on the table saw, using a 7'4-in. narrow-
kerf combination blade. Place the flat face of the leg stock
on the table and make the cut that defines the shoulder.
Then, stand the leg stock on end and cut the side of the
dovetail, as shown at right. Repeat this process on both
sides of each leg and clean out the inside corner between
the two sawcuts with a chisel.
Next, bandsaw the leg profiles. Use a spokeshave, a pat-
tern-maker’s rasp and files to shape the ankles and carve
the feet. Then round the corners of the legs and smooth
each leg with a scraper and sandpaper.
When the legs are finished, cut the dovetailed slots in the
pedestal base. Begin by laying out the leg locations on the
bottom of the cylinder. These are spaced equally around the
circumference, 120° apart. I use a template that I made
long ago from aluminum flashing, which saves having to
measure. Three holes in the template indicate one edge of
each leg.
Next, flatten the pedestal cylinder at the junction of each
leg to fit the square leg shoulders. Carefully pare each flat
with a chisel and use a small square to lay out the position
of the dovetail slots from a centerline. The flats also allow
you to use a small bevel square to mark the dovetails on the
bottom of the cylinder.
The bulk of the slots can be bored out on a drill press,
using a V-block to position the cylinder, or sawn with a
small backsaw. When most of the wood has been removed
from each slot, pare the angled sides with a bevel-edged
chisel. Work slowly and precisely, and constantly check the
fit of the joints to the leg dovetails. The pedestal can be
marred easily, so be sure to pad it with leather or softwood
blocks if you hold it in a vise.
When the leg joinery is done, glue the tripod together.
The joints should fit snugly, so clamping won’t be necessary.
If the dovetails are too loose, use shims of veneer to tighten
them. The ogee cutouts at the bottom of the pedestal are
traced from a flexible template made of cardboard or alumi-
Tilt the sawblade to a 21° angle and stand the leg on end to
num flashing, which wraps around the shaft between the
saw both sides of the dovetail.
legs. The cutouts are simply carved with gouges, and taper
away toward the center of the shaft, as shown in the photo
at right on the facing page. the round tenon on the pedestal, and round the top corner
Many period candlestands and tables have a hand-forged of the block above the hinge pins for clearance. (You can
iron brace nailed or screwed to the underside of the pedes- use an expansion auger bit if you don’t have a 1%-in.
tal to reinforce the dovetail joinery. This trifid brace Forstner or brad-point bit.) Then cut the mortise for the
mechanically ties the three legs and the pedestal together. strike plate in the edge of the block for the tilt-top catch.
It’s possible that many of these braces were not original and The catch and strike plate on my reproduction are from the
were applied later as the glue joints began to loosen. Ball and Ball catalog (#J35-560), but Horton Brasses and
Hinge block Next, make the hinge block and brace Period Furniture Hardware Co. make similar catches. (See
assembly. The '4-in. dia. hardwood hinge pins and their cor- Sources of Supply on p. 242 for their addresses.)
responding holes in the braces must be the same distance Top The top is ordinarily turned on an outboard face-
from the top of the block and the braces, allowing a little plate on the lathe, as shown in the photos on p. 138, but a
room for smooth operation. They are shown ‘% in. from the simple router jig can be set up to do the job. The router
top of the block and braces in the drawings on p. 166. Bore base is attached to a square wooden block that travels be-
a 1*%-in. dia. hole through the center of the block to receive tween two rails of standard bed-frame angle iron, as shown

163 ——
Router Jig for Dishing a Circular Top Note: Top is fitted with 11% in.-dia. wooden hub, which rotates
inside of %-in. section of PVC pipe in base. Use a %-in. straight
router bit.
Fit plywood sled to router base
and clamp to angle iron.

%-in. plywood base

Tabletop

Plywood sled, 6% in. x 8 in.,

with hardwood edges
Hardwood block, 2 in. x 14% in., bolted to base
1%-in. angle iron, screwed to hardwood blocks
— oo = a ee

/—— 10in. —> Hub

End View %-in. plywood base Side View

to the rails for each concentric cut. The cove of the rim can
also be cut with the router using a 2-in. core-box bit, but the
rest of it must be shaped carefully by hand, using chisels, files
and sandpaper.
Any imperfections in the top should be scraped and
sanded so the dished surface is flat and smooth. Use a block
plane to chamfer the underside to a thin edge. Then assem-
ble the hinge block and braces and screw the braces into
the underside of the top. Make sure the top is centered over
the block and that the grain in the top is parallel to the
braces. That way, the top will not split if it shrinks, and the
grain will be vertical when the top is tilted.
A screw through the top is a frightful error, so be extra
careful while boring the pilot holes and selecting and driv-
ing the screws. When the braces have been attached, glue
the block to the pedestal tenon so that the tilted top will fall
Rotate the tabletop by hand while the router cuts the dished at a right angle to one of the legs, as shown in the plans.
surface. Working outward from the center to the rim, reclamp Then pin it in place.
the router to the rails to make each successive cut.
Woods _High-style tables or candlestands, such as the
reproduction in this chapter, are generally made of either
in the drawing and photo above. The rails are elevated on walnut or mahogany. Those made of maple, cherry or other
blocks at both ends, which are screwed to a %/-in. plywood native hardwoods are often painted and usually reflect a less
base. The top of the tilt-top candlestand fits between the formal country origin.
rails and the base, and rotates on a 1’/-in. dia. hub glued to Finishing A walnut or mahogany candlestand should
its underside. (The hub fits a matching hole in the plywood receive a high-style finish, like that used on the Boston tuck-
base.) To make the hub, I turn a stub of wood to fit inside a away table (described on p. 138). I used to stain these and
¥%,-in. section of PVC pipe. Two turn buttons keep the top other mahogany pieces with potassium dichromate, but that
flat on the base while the top is rotated. chemical is now known to be a carcinogen. Water-based
Adjust the router stop to the correct depth and clamp the aniline dyes give excellent results without comparable haz-
router to the rails for each cut. Using a *4-in. straight or ards. A French-polished shellac would make an attractive
spiral-flute bit, plunge the router into the center of the top finish, but it offers poor resistance to water and alcohol
and rotate the top. Proceed incrementally from the center of stains. After the candlestand is finished, screw the catch and
the tabletop to the inside of the rim, reclamping the router strike plate in place.

—= 164
 __Twt-Top CANDLESTAND
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Top View
(closed position)

Side View Side View

(open position) (closed position)

7 165
TOP ASSEMBLY (closed position)
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Ye chamfer (typ.)

Radius for
clearance

eee 3%

1%-in. dia. hole for

round tenon of
pedestal, centered
on block

Y% chamfer (typ.)

Note: Tabletop has

been sectioned at centerline.
#10 flathead screw (4), 1 in. L.,
fastens top to base

Rear View Side View

— 166 >=
PEDESTAL/LEG ASSEMBLY
Scale: % in. = 1 in.
SECTION ATA
Note: Legs are 120° apart. Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Tenon, 1% in. dia.

Note: Leg blank is 1% in. thick

x 5% in. wide x 16 in. long.

- Rounded with —
no arris

] ww \

1 M"ed ti
2d
3d

Pattern for Ogee Cutouts

— 167—
 E;
FURNITURE
178
Scalloped-Top Chest on Frame

188
Dressing Table

198
Desk on Frame

210
Flat-Top High Chest

222
Bonnet-Top High Chest

vy
 ase furniture has been in use for centuries. Board chests were easier to make than wainscot chests,
When we first became civilized creatures we but they required wider lumber. The species of choice for
naturally accumulated articles of property, most board chests was pine, which grew more rapidly and
which necessitated the creation of places for was easier to work than English oak. Simple designs could
storage. Chests and coffers were the earliest be cut into its surface with molding planes. These planes,
form of storage furniture and are among our oldest posses- and the molded shapes they produced, were identical to
sions. Chests were produced in virtually all cultures and of those used to decorate interior wainscoting and wide-board
many materials: wood, stone, leather, metal, ivory and bone. sheathing. Countries such as Sweden and Norway, which had
They are the basic form from which all case work has devel- an abundance of softwood, produced many such board
oped. The size of a storage chest is what determines whether it chests, and the vast white pine forests of America were
will be classified as furniture. Thus, a tiny jewelry box is not transformed into an equally vast number of these pieces.
considered furniture, although it is made the same way as a Frame-and-panel construction was more stable and durable
blanket chest. than six-board construction because the rigid framework al-
lowed the enclosed panel to expand and contract. The con-
EARLY CHESTS trasting grain direction in the sides, front and back of most
The earliest surviving English chests were made in Norman early board chests did not allow for seasonal movement and
times, during the 11th and 12th centuries. These were huge nearly always resulted in cracked boards. What’s more, the
oak boxes bound with straps of forged iron. They were used pinned mortise and tenon used to construct the frame-and-
in castles and churches to store and protect valuable trea-
sure or ecclesiastical artwork, and they were equipped with
elaborate locking mechanisms. Decoration was manifested
in the complexity of the forged iron fittings, and their wooden
surfaces were left plain. Undoubtedly, more basic chests
were used by the general population, but few of these have
survived and they are difficult to date.
The most basic type of chest is the six-board chest, so
called because of its construction of four sides, a top and a
bottom. The typical six-board chest has a wide, horizontal-
grain front and back, nailed to vertical-grain sides, as shown
at right. The vertical sides often extend below the bottom to
form legs, thereby elevating the chest.
The bottom of each leg is cut out to produce two feet,
sometimes following the S-curve pattern that eventually be-
came so much a part of Queen Anne design. These scrolled
feet resemble a common bootjack, and the term “bootjack Six-board chest, Connecticut, c. 1675-1725. The moldings
were cut into the front and end panels with ‘creasing’ planes.
end” was often applied to these chests. Later, the corners of
(Photo courtesy of the Yale University Art Gallery.)
six-board chests were sometimes dovetailed, but this re-
quired that the orientation of the grain in the sides follow
that of the front and back, and the sides could no longer
extend to the floor as legs.
When wainscot paneling became popular in the 13th cen-
tury, joined frame-and-panel chests, like the one at right,
generally replaced the board chest for all but the most utili-
tarian purposes. (A single wide board was still commonly
used for the top of most frame-and-panel chests.) Although
the term “wainscot” is commonly used to describe interior
paneling, it derives from a combination of the Old English
words waen (wagon) and scot (crossbar) or cot (side), re-
vealing the probable origins of this architectural device.
The frame and panels of early chests were decorated with
relief carving primarily based on the architectural features
of churches and cathedrals, such as arched windows, but-
tresses and various religious and cultural motifs. During the
Jacobean period, many frame-and-panel chests were deco-
rated with split-turned balusters and oval bosses. As time
went on, the wide rails and stiles found on the earliest panel Frame-and-panel chest, Massachusetts, c. 1660-1690. This
chests were gradually reduced in size, and the free-floating elaborately carved chest is attributed to Thomas Dennis (died
panels were made wider. The panel chest remained popular 1706) or William Searle (1634-1667), both of Ipswich. (Photo
throughout the 17th century. courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.)

169:——
panel chest proved to be much stronger than the simple tremely wide and would most likely crack. What’s more, the
nailed joint. shaped portion of the leg had to be short to allow for the
Low chests were useful pieces of furniture. They were maximum drawer height on the case. The solution was a
excellent for storing clothing, bedding and other domestic separate low frame with short legs, joined by narrow aprons,
possessions. They were easily transported, and could be which supported the chest. The upper carcase was built like
stacked in the hold of a ship as well as in the back of a a chest of drawers, with dividers dovetailed into the front
wagon. They could also double as seats or tables and were edges of the side boards. The Deerfield chest shown on
easily equipped with locks. The simple six-board examples p. 178 is a typical example of a chest on frame.
could be made by people with limited joinery skills. These Chests on frames became quite popular in the Queen
attributes are responsible for the longevity of the form, and Anne period. They were built with four, five or sometimes
it’s safe to assume that people will always use some form of six drawers. Although many of these are assigned a Newport
board chest to store some of their possessions. or Philadelphia provenance, they were produced throughout
The shortcomings of the chest, however, were responsible the colonies and remained popular into the early Chippen-
for the development of new forms of case furniture. The low dale period.
height of the chest and its location on the cold (and often Bracket-foot furniture - Another type of case furni-
dirty) floor were inconvenient. Moreover, it was impossible ture had short bracket feet (shown in the bottom drawing
to gain access to what was on the bottom without unloading on the facing page) instead of cabriole legs. These pieces
everything onto the floor. Anything placed on top of the are commonly classified as Chippendale, but bracket feet,
chest had to be removed to open it. Chests took up floor particularly in the ogee style, appeared on a lot of late
space, but offered little storage space in return. Queen Anne furniture. Many of these pieces fall into the
The earliest modifications resulted in chests that were foggy category of transitional furniture and should not be
raised above the floor on leggy frames. This creation may considered Chippendale unless they bear other unmistakable
have been spawned by simply placing a chest upon a table. characteristics of the period, such as inset quarter columns,
Another innovation was the use of drawers to sort contents cockbeaded surrounds or serpentine-shaped drawer fronts.
and allow convenient access, without lifting the top. Stacked Blockfront furniture In Boston, a new type of case
chests with drawers consumed no more floor space than a furniture was developed toward the end of the Queen Anne
single chest and maximized storage capacity. During the period. Its facade is interrupted by alternating bulges and
18th century, these creations became chests on frames, concavities, formed of carved, solid drawer fronts or carved
chests on chests, tall chests and highboys. Some tables were blocks laminated to thin drawer fronts. The typical confor-
also equipped with drawers, and these imongrels became mation of two convex blocks flanking a concave block rep-
lowboys or dressing tables, side tables and sideboards. In resents yet another interpretation of Hogarth’s line of beauty.
America, all of these innovations were in use during the The shape of the blocking is reflected in the base molding
William and Mary period, which immediately preceded the and in the feet of the piece.
Queen Anne period. The four-drawer blockfront chest shown at bottom right
on the facing page exhibits several characteristics common
CHESTS OF DRAWERS to blockfront furniture made in Newport and in parts of
Full chests of drawers were not popular in the William and Connecticut. Newport blockfront furniture differed from
Mary period, but frame-and-panel chests sometimes con- Boston work in its use of decorative elements such as the
tained shallow drawers in the bottom. This arrangement was carved reverse shells and the scrolled, ogee-bracket feet, as
sometimes called a chest over drawers. A few full chests of well as in its overall design, proportion and construction.
drawers were made with paneled ends, but these were really Boston chests are taller and emphasize verticality, while
simplified Jacobean pieces, without the relief carvings or Newport chests tend to be shorter and more squat in ap-
split-turned bosses. pearance. Most Newport chests have only three drawers.
Many early board-sided chests of drawers were made Chests of drawers were the most common form of block-
with turned bun or turnip feet stub-tenoned into the bottom front furniture, although other examples include dressing
of the case (see the top photo on the facing page). These tables, desks, high chests and chests on chests. Most of
bulbous feet were common during both the William and these were probably built after 1750, as indicated by the
Mary and early Queen Anne periods, but they are generally cockbead that surrounds the drawers, and they are generally
identified with the former style. Drawers were surrounded classified as Chippendale pieces. But their inspiration and
by the single-arch, double-arch or double-reed molding early development are purely Queen Anne.
illustrated in the top drawing on the facing page. These Blockfront furniture is uniquely American. It was not de-
were superseded on Queen Anne furniture with a lip-molded rived from any contemporary or earlier style in England or
drawer front, while cockbeading was preferred on later on the Continent, and it is one of the crowning achieve-
Chippendale and Federal case pieces. (Cockbeading is an ments of American cabinetmaking. In both Boston and New-
integral part of the case framework or drawer front.) port, most blockfront furniture was made of mahogany,
Chests on frames _ The newly fashionable cabriole leg which came into vogue after about 1750. (Most Connecticut
posed certain problems in the construction of low chests of examples were made of cherry.) Mahogany usually denotes a
drawers. If the leg post were allowed to extend for the full later construction date than native walnut, which was in
height of the chest, the side boards would have to be ex- general use during the early Queen Anne period.

— 170—
 Period Drawer Surrounds, 1690-1820
William and Mary and Early Queen Anne Periods

Ee ee*
Double arch Single arch Double reed

Case side/ Drawer Drawer Drawer

divider

Queen Anne and Early Chippendale Periods

Drawer front, with lip-molded edge

Case side/
divider
Note: The double-arch molding is also found on early Queen
Anne furniture, and cockbeaded case sides/dividers were used on
early Chippendale pieces.
Late Chippendale and Federal Periods
Cockbead Cockbead

William and Mary chest of drawers, Massachusetts, c. 1700-

1735. The top two drawer fronts of this early, board-sided chest
are false, disguising a lift-top chest. The original painted
design mimics relief carvings found on earlier chests. (Photo Case side/ Drawer Case side/ Drawer
courtesy of the Yale University Art Gallery.) divider divider

Bracket Feet

Base molding is part of the bracket foot.

Bracket Foot

Applied molding is not part of the foot.

Ogee-Bracket Foot

Four-drawer blockfront chest, Newport, Rhode Island, 1765.

Two years before he built this mahogany chest, John Goddard
described the form as ‘a Chest of Drawers & Sweld front
which are costly as well as ornamental.’ (Photo courtesy of The
Face of foot is molded like side profile. Metropolitan Museum of Art.)

— 171—
 Bombé furniture Another type of Chippendale case ences may be found for this unusual design in the shape of
work with roots in the Queen Anne period has a bombé- many other everyday 18th-century objects, such as vases, tulip-
shaped carcase, like the desk and bookcase below. It is shaped silver tankards, teapots, milk pots and casters. Ar-
characterized by a kettle-shaped ogee bulge near the bottom chitecturally, it was influenced by ogee moldings, balusters
of the front and sides of the case. Bombé pieces include and the shapely outline of acanthus leafage.
chests of drawers, desks and secretaries. Chests of drawers The bombé form first appeared quite late in the Queen
have four drawers and either ogee-bracket or ball-and-claw Anne period. Indeed, Thomas Chippendale shows kettle-
feet. The ends of the drawer fronts are sometimes curved to shaped furniture in his 1754 book, Gentleman and Cabinet-
follow the shape of the carcase or made straight, as on the Maker’s Director. But like blockfront furniture, it is derived
desk and bookcase in the photo. from the most fundamental Queen Anne aesthetic element—
The bombé shape is believed to have been strongly influ- the graceful S-curve.
enced by the shape of ancient Roman sarcophagi. More re-
cently, it found expression in early 18th-century French DESKS
chests, like the Boulle commode on p. 6. In England, the The earliest American desks were actually small boxes,
form was stripped of superfluous ornament, which helped to about 8 in. high by 16 in. wide-by 24 in. long, with a hinged
accentuate the bulge. In America, bombé pieces were pro- top. They were constructed like miniature six-board chests
duced only in and around Boston, and the design was bor- and were usually placed atop small tables. These so-called
rowed directly from English prototypes. Of course, refer- bible boxes were Jacobean in style and were relief carved
with religious motifs, much like contemporary wainscot and
board chests. A few examples had sloping lids, which sug-
gest later, full-sized desks.
True sit-down desks first appeared in America during the
William and Mary period. Their hinged, sloping lid, which
opened to rest on two pull-out supports, served as a conve-
nient writing surface with plenty of leg and chair room be-
low. These desks eventually became an American standard
and are usually referred to as fall-front desks, slant-front
desks or sloping-lid desks.
Early fall-front desks usually have turned bun feet, like
those found on William and Mary chests of drawers. A stor-
age well above the drawers is covered by a sliding lid be-
neath the hinged top. This well can only be reached when
the desk front is open. The interior is also outfitted with
pigeon holes and small drawers.
Desk on frame Desk boxes on tables may have in-
spired the desk on frame, which became a popular type of
furniture in the Queen Anne period. Problems presented by
the cabriole leg on chests of drawers also complicated the
design of desks; similarly, the problems were resolved by
separating the desk carcase from its supporting frame.
When the legs of the frame are long, the piece is called a
desk on frame, while carcases that rest on short legs and
frames are called desks.
On early Queen Anne desks, the interior storage well was
replaced by another drawer, shown on the desk on frame
featured on p. 198. This provided easier access to the space
below the top because it could be pulled out while the desk
lid was closed. To fit between the pull-out lid supports, the
new drawer was made a bit narrower than those below.
(This feature was retained through the Chippendale period
and into the early Federal period.) Around the same time,
the arched moldings that surrounded the drawers were
abandoned in favor of lip moldings planed into the edges of
the drawer fronts.
Desk and bookcase, Boston or Charlestown, 1753. This Secretaries The combination desk and bookcase, or
mahogany example, made by Benjamin Frothingham and secretary, was a practical innovation. The flat desk top was a
D. Sprague, is the earliest known American bombé piece.
Note the Corinthian pilasters, the arch-paneled doors and the perfect place for a shallow bookcase, and the floor area
straight drawer ends. (Photo courtesy of the United States consumed by a desk was better used by the creation of
Department of State.) more vertical storage space. Secretaries were first intro-

— 172—
 Kneehole desk or bureau table, Newport, c. 1765. This
mahogany desk is commonly considered Chippendale, but the
shell carvings, blockfront drawers and ogee-bracket feet
demonstrate strong roots in the Queen Anne period. (Photo
courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.)

which vary greatly from desk to desk. Shells are usually

carved on the large, central document doors, and small
drawer fronts are sometimes blocked or carved with fans or
shells. It’s not uncommon for a simple exterior to disguise
an elaborate gallery.
As with other case furniture, the appearance of the tran-
sitional bracket and ogee-bracket feet on desks can confuse
period classification. But it is more important to be able to
identify style characteristics and their origins, along with the
time periods in which they were favored, than it is to assign
an iron-clad classification.
Blockfront kneehole desk The kneehole desk
shown in the photo above has a recessed storage cupboard
Queen Anne desk and bookcase, Massachusetts, c. 1750- flanked by two banks of blockfront drawers. Its facade is
1780. The bracket feet on this classic secretary are considered united by a single, full-width, shell-carved drawer at the top.
Chippendale features, but they were commonly used on pieces The cupboard door in the kneehole is carved with a concave
made in the Queen Anne style. (Photo courtesy of The Henry shell, while other kneehole desks of the period have frame-
Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum.)
and-panel doors with simple rectangular or tombstone-
shaped panels.
duced in the William and Mary period. The top of the book- Kneehole desks are typically quite small. They probably
case was usually flat and fitted with a molded cornice that served as chests of drawers or dressing tables, since the
sometimes contained a hidden drawer (see the flat-top high kneehole space is hardly adequate for two knees and a
chest on p. 210). Occasional examples are found with arched chair. I know of four kneehole desks with a drop-front writ-
pediments. The doors generally were made with the arched ing surface and a small gallery of drawers and pigeonholes.
tombstone panels that heralded the Queen Anne style. These were clearly designed as desks, which confirms my
Fully developed Queen Anne secretaries, like the one suspicion about the purpose of the others; indeed, kneehole
shown above, are topped with a broken-scroll pediment. Not desks are sometimes called bureau tables.
only do the doors have arched panels, but the tops of the Many kneehole desks were made in Newport, and they
door frames themselves are also arched. On particularly fine survive in much greater numbers than Newport blockfront
examples like this, the space behind the arched portion of chests of drawers. A few similar, but less ornate examples
the doors is carved with a concave shell, which is visible were produced in Boston and New York. Again, these pieces
only when the doors are opened. are commonly classified as Chippendale, but they developed
The desk interior, or gallery, is usually fitted out with a late in the Queen Anne style period. It’s doubtful that any of
combination of shelves, pigeonholes and small drawers, these pieces were produced before 1750.

hi
 HIGHBOYS This weakness may have accelerated the evolution to the
The tall chests of the Queen Anne period are particularly Queen Anne style, where the cabriole leg formed an integral
noteworthy because they incorporate many of the design ele- part of the case itself. On the Queen Anne highboy pictured
ments of the new style: cabriole legs, scalloped aprons, clas- below, the leg post extends above the shaped portion of the
sical moldings, cornices, fan or shell carvings and broken- leg and is mortised to accept the tenons for the sides, front
scroll pediments. The word “highboy,” which is commonly and back of the bottom case. The greater strength provided
applied to both William and Mary and Queen Anne high by the full leg posts allowed the cabinetmaker to employ
chests, was not in use in the 18th century. The term was fewer legs to support the chest and to eliminate the stretchers.
first published in Scribners’ Magazine in September 1891, This gave the chest a lighter, more graceful presence and a
but it did not come into popular use until the early part of greater negative space beneath the carcase.
the 20th century. Early Queen Anne highboys retained many decorative fea-
Like the board-sided chests described earlier, William tures of their William and Mary predecessors: double-arch
and Mary high chests (see the example below) sit on turned moldings around the drawers, veneered surfaces and the
legs, stub-tenoned into the bottom of the case. The legs are ogee-curved and semicircular arched apron scroll. Later, a
stout enough to support the weight of the piece, but the fourth drawer was added below the waist molding in the
tenons are ridiculously underengineered for a piece this base, and the double-arch moldings gave way to the lip-
size. They will easily snap if any lateral force is applied to molded drawer-fronts that are more typical of the period.
the joints, which is exactly what happened whenever such Eventually, the veneered surfaces were abandoned in favor
heavy cases were dragged across the floor. of the simple beauty of solid hardwood.

William and Mary high chest of drawers, Massachusetts, Queen Anne scroll-pediment highboy, Boston, c. 1730-1750,
c. 1700-1725. This is a classic William and Mary highboy, with with original japanned finish. Gilded ornaments, like the shell,
curly maple and walnut-burl veneer, double-arch moldings apron drops and urn finials are common on japanned pieces.
around the drawers, a large waist molding, six turned legs, The painted motifs are based on Oriental designs like those
flat stretchers and a typical apron contour. (Photo courtesy of the illustrated in John Stalker's 1688 Treatise on Japanning and
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.) Varnishing. (Photo courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.)

— 174—
 pen Fediments with Bustos & Shells por Ube open y
The title page of Andrea Palladio’s Four
Books of Architecture (far left) was added
Sy PEDIMENT

to the 1738 London edition by the English

publisher, Isaac Ware. The broken-arch
pediment with scroll termini suggests an
early form of the broken-scroll pediment,
which became popular during the Queen
Anne period.
TOUR FOUR BOOKS
EANDREA PAL LADIOS
The engraving at left from William Pain’s
The Builder's Companion and Workman's
General Assistant (1762) shows how to
proportion broken-scroll pediments. Divorced
from any architectural component, these
illustrations were presented as design
suggestions and were probably used by
18th-century cabinetmakers. (Photo courtesy
of the National Historical Society.)

Although the front of the case was no longer supported by they were used extensively on English Georgian case pieces,
two central legs, craftsmen seemed curiously reluctant to which gained popularity in England before America. Arched
tamper with the design of the apron. On many Queen Anne pediments are more literally related to classical architec-
highboys (and lowboys), drop finials replaced the missing ture, but they are extremely rare on American furniture.
legs as sort of atrophied appendages. Others even retained However, they did inspire other architectural elements, such
the William and Mary apron shape. But eventually, the apron as the arched tombstone panels and arch-pediment
drops were deleted, and the apron cutouts were designed entrances found on some 18th-century American houses.
with S-curved profiles (see the dressing table featured on Tombstone paneling was also used on the doors of cup-
p. 188). Further variations in leg and apron design followed boards, armoires, secretaries (as shown on pp. 172-173)
regional preferences. and on Dutch Kases and Schranks. Indeed, it has become a
The new leg-to-carcase joinery system greatly enhanced hallmark of Queen Anne case pieces with doors.
the structural integrity of Queen Anne case pieces, but it had The title page of Andrea Palladio’s Four Books of Archi-
one serious drawback: the grain runs in opposite directions tecture, pictured above left, may be one of the first intro-
on the leg post and case sides. As seasonal humidity and ductions of the broken-scroll pediment to English and
temerature varies, expansion and contraction of the case American designers. Its broken-arch pediments terminate in
sides resulted in cracks on many Queen Anne and Chippen- a somewhat restrained scroll. Broken-scroll pediment en-
dale highboys and lowboys. trances became popular in the middle of the 18th century,
Perhaps to remedy this problem, some Newport cabinet- particularly in the Connecticut River Valley area, and many
makers dovetailed their highboy cases, which was a com- were added to earlier structures with simpler entrances.
mon procedure during the William and Mary period. The Later architectural guidebooks, such as William Pain’s The
long leg posts slid into pockets formed by blocks added to Builder’s Companion and Workman’s General Assistant
the inside corners. In this respect, Newport craftsmen may (above right), illustrated more fully developed broken-scroll
have anticipated the modern knock-down furniture industry pediments. Obviously, broken-arch and broken-scroll pedi-
by devising a method of dismantling their largest case pieces ments were never used in actual roof construction. They
for shipping. Whatever the reason, the result was a case were only used as decorative elements over Renaissance
without cracks. doors and windows.
Flat-top highboys evolved into taller, bonnet-top highboys With the growing currency of scrolled pediments in ar-
with scrolled pediments. Like so many other Queen Anne chitecture, cabinetmakers began to incorporate them in
features, the pediment is derived from classical architecture, their highboys, secretaries and chests on chests after about
the triangular gable formed by a pitched roof. The top of a 1740. (These are sometimes referred to in period account
common gabled pediment is angled, while an arched pedi- books as ogee-top pediments.) The form persisted into the
ment is gently curved and a scrolled pediment is shaped early Chippendale period and perhaps even into the 19th
with an S-curve. century. For more information on the development, regional
Arched pediments were profusely illustrated in the Re- variations and construction technology of the Queen Anne
naissance guidebooks of Palladio, Serlio and Alberti, and highboy, see pp. 211-235.

175 —
 LOWBOYS new bracket bases and sold as chests of drawers. Married
Dressing tables, or lowboys, were developed in the William pieces can be difficult to identify, particularly if similar
and Mary period, but they became much more popular dur- woods and design features are used in both parts.
ing the Queen Anne period. (The first published use of the
term “lowboy” occurred in the August 1899 issue of House THE SHELL MOTIF
Beautiful.) Used as side tables, they provided a convenient One of the most important characteristics of Queen Anne
work surface for domestic toiletries, such as wash basins, case furniture is the judicious use of carved motifs, and the
hand mirrors, combs and brushes. The drawers could be shell was easily the most prominent subject. Shells, shell-
used to store linen, perfumes and other accoutrements of like fans or sunbursts were often carved on the drawer
the bedroom or dressing room. fronts of highboys and lowboys. They remained an important
Lowboys were sometimes made to accompany highboys. element well into the early Chippendale period.
For example, the dressing table below is a perfect scaled- During the Renaissance, European craftsmen expressed a
down version of the base section of the Queen Anne highboy renewed interest in this classical motif, and they incorporated
on p. 174. Dressing tables are usually between 29 in. and it in much of their work. In France, these florid designs
31 in. high, while highboy bases are nearly always 36 in. characterized the rococo period. The word rococo defies
high. Of course, lowboys are also narrower than highboy literal translation, but it derives from two French words:
bases and are proportionately smaller in every detail. rocaille and coquille. The former is a grotto or safe haven,
Lowboys underwent all of the same evolutionary develop- such as the shell is to the clam, and the latter is a cockle-
ments as their larger counterparts. The six turned legs usu- shell. Protestant English cabinetmakers were more moderate
ally found on William and Mary lowboys were replaced in in their use of the shell, perhaps because of its association
the Queen Anne period by four cabriole legs with full leg with Catholicism.
posts and no stretchers. Likewise, the apron contour, drop In America, the shell was readily integrated in all aspects
finials, veneered surface and arch moldings employed on of design—from flatware to demidome china cupboards
William and Mary and early Queen Anne lowboys were even- and architectural pediments. Conservative colonial cabinet-
tually eliminated. makers employed carved shells more sparingly than their
Many highboy bases have been peddled as lowboys (with European counterparts, but with beautiful, harmonious re-
counterfeit tops) by spurious antique dealers. Also, highboy sults. Like the design of cabriole legs and feet, distinctive
bases are often combined with nonrelated top cases; these shell designs often denote the city of origin or even the
married highboys are worth considerably less on the antique individual maker of a piece of furniture. No better decora-
market than authentic combinations. In addition, the top tive element could have been drawn from nature to lend
sections of flat-topped highboys are sometimes attached to emphasis to the graceful lines of Queen Anne furniture.

JAPANNED FINISHES
In the William and Mary period and the early Queen Anne
period, a form of decorative furniture finish was devised to
imitate the Oriental lacquerware that was being imported to
Europe by the Dutch and British East India Companies. The
process was called japanning, and it spread to the colonies
in the early 1700s. It is thought to have been applied mainly
to highboys and dressing tables, like the matching pieces
shown at left and on p. 174. Tables and chairs were more
delicate, saw more use and had a shorter life, so there are
very few surviving examples with a japanned finish.
Boston and New York were the major centers for this
type of work, and specialists became known as japanners.
American craftsmen applied a full coat of base paint directly
over wood, rather than over gesso, as was done in England.
Next, the designs were raised with whiting (similar to
gesso). This causes them to stand out from the painted field,
something that is difficult to appreciate in photographs.
They were then gilded with powdered gold or gold leaf and
highlighted with lampblack. The finish was protected with
several clear coats of varnish.
In his book, A Treatise on Japanning and Varnishing,
published in 1688, John Stalker states that “No damp air, no
Queen Anne dressing table, Boston, c. 1730-1750. Highboys mouldering worm or corroding time can possibly deface it,
and lowboys were often made in pairs, and the latter were
scaled-down versions of the highboy base section. This and though its ingredients, the gums, are in their own na-
japanned lowboy is a companion piece to the highboy on p. 174. ture inflammable, yet this most rigorously resists the fire,
(Photo courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.) and is itself found to be not combustible.” This is a tall

— 176—
order for a furniture finish, but it may help to explain why
japanning became popular. Stalker also provided 24 Orien-
tal designs for japanning. Buildings, birds, horsemen, robed
people, camels, arched bridges and various mythical beasts
were among the most popular images.
Japanned case pieces were produced in moderate num-
bers during the first half of the 18th century, and most of
them were in the Queen Anne style. Fewer than 100 known
examples exist today, although many pieces were probably
stripped of their original japanned finish. I have not included
construction information for any japanned furniture in this
book because the craft is very difficult and requires consid-
erable research and practice. I’ve never attempted it and I
know of no one who has—at least, not as it was performed
in the 18th century.

HARDWARE A chronology of case hardware reproduced by Ball and Ball.

Case pieces require an assortment of knobs or pulls for In the top row are William and Mary drop pulls and bail pulls
with backplates. In the second row are rococo bail pulls of the
drawers and doors. Furniture pulls made during the Queen
Queen Anne and early Chippendale periods. The fretwork pulls
Anne period are usually called brasses because they're made at the right display a Chinese influence. The first three pulls in
of this alloy. Major changes in hardware design occurred the bottom row are Chippendale, while the third pull—a bail
between the William and Mary and Queen Anne periods. with rosettes—was also found on Hepplewhite furniture. At
William and Mary pieces were equipped with brass drop bottom right are a pull and knob common to Hepplewhite and
Sheraton furniture.
pulls or backplate pulls with bail handles, like those shown
in the top row of the photo at right. The cast, spindle-
shaped drop pendants (at left in the row), hang from a wire pieces. Most brasses were imported from England and were
staple that passes through a hole bored in the drawer front. quite costly, so cabinetmakers were not likely to discard
A circular or geometrically shaped backplate is placed be- them as they fell from favor. It’s true that a few large Eng-
tween the drop and the drawer. William and Mary escutch- lish companies were casting brasses at the time, but not
eons are decorated with chased designs hammered into much is known about these companies or their products.
their surface with steel punches. Bail handles are attached Chased backplates usually suggest early Queen Anne con-
the same way as the drop pulls, and their backplates shaped struction, if they are original and if the piece exhibits other
to imitate leafage or scrollwork and chased like the drop- early characteristics.
pull escutcheons. During the height of the period, Queen Anne brasses
During the Queen Anne period, the staples were replaced were made with larger backplates and polished, unchased
by threaded posts, cast and bored to accept the ends of the surfaces. Openwork plates with cut-out designs became pop-
bails. (The drops were eliminated.) The posts pass through ular, but since these were extremely expensive they were
the backplate and drawer front and are secured with a nut. usually reserved for high-style urban pieces. Brasses became
In the period, the nut was often a lump of brass, bored and larger and more complex toward the end of the period. But
tapped for the threaded post. many Queen Anne pieces were constructed during what is
Casting was the most practical method of producing generally considered the Chippendale period, so later brasses
backplates and escutcheons. A pattern was used to make are not uncommon on what appear to be an earlier piece.
impressions in a mold of fine-grained, damp sand, which Original brasses are frequently missing or have been up-
was then filled with molten brass. When the plate was cool, dated with more modern variations, which makes it difficult
its face was polished and its rough edges filed to remove to date a piece of furniture by its hardware alone. Wooden
any burrs or overpourings. Today, the overwhelming major- knobs are scarce on Queen Anne furniture, even in the most
ity of plates are stamped out of large sheets of brass, and rustic interpretations. And those that appear are usually
the posts and nuts are machined. Still, the best and most 19th-century replacements; when wooden knobs are re-
historically accurate hardware is cast in the old manner. moved they often reveal the original borings of the correct
William and Mary type bail pulls, with staples and chased brasses. Any piece that retains its original hardware will
backplates, were used on a lot of early Queen Anne case command a substantially higher selling price.

— 177—
Scalloped-top chest on frame. This reproduction is based on
an original chest, built in 1768 for Mary Hoyt, of
Deerfield, Massachusetts.

|
Wh Sc
 SCALLOPED-IOP CHEST ON FRAME

™ n the occasion of her marriage on March 1, base. The two chests share a common feature —a large cen-
1786, in Deerfield, Massachusetts, Mary Hoyt tral drawer with a fan-carved shell, flanked by four smaller
received a beautiful four-drawer chest on frame drawers. By contrast, Mary’s chest, which was built about 17
from her father, David Hoyt. (Incidentally, the years after the first one, has four plain drawers with no fan
elder Hoyt had commissioned two other similar carving. All three chests have a typical Connecticut Valley
pieces, which also served as wedding presents, for Mary’s scalloped top.
two sisters.) This chest, which resides in the collection of These three chests present an interesting study in Queen
Historic Deerfield, is the prototype for the reproduction fea- Anne case furniture. They were all produced at a time when
tured in this chapter. Chippendale forms were firmly established, yet they clearly
The earliest of the Hoyt chests, shown in the photo below exhibit Queen Anne characteristics: pad and slipper feet on
left, is also a chest on frame, but with rather stubby circular- cabriole legs, fan carvings and scalloped tops. Commis-
pad feet. The second one (below right) has an ogee-bracket sioned by the same patron and possibly constructed by the

At left is the chest on frame made for Persis Hoyt in 1769. It is 23'/s in. deep by 3912 in. wide by 351% in. high. The chest of drawers at
right was given to Mercy Hoyt upon her marriage in 1779. It is 21%/s in. deep by 43'/2 in. wide by 31% in. high. Both chests are made of
cherry and pine. (Photo at left courtesy of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, from the Sheldon collection; photo at right,
from the collection of William L. Hubbard.)

— 179—
same maker, they appear to illustrate an evolving taste. (A Connecticut River Valley, particularly as far north as Deer-
reference in David Hoyt’s account book points to Benjamin field. (One other chest at Historic Deerfield has slipper feet
Munn as the probable maker of Mary’s chest, and perhaps and may be related to the Mary Hoyt chest.) The presence of
of the other two as well.) It’s as if David Hoyt, or the cabi- these feet demonstrates the fallacy of assigning exclusive
netmaker, was attempting to perfect the style incrementally. geographic zones to certain features.
Or, perhaps the differences in the three pieces can be writ- Scalloped tops are related to earlier baroque and recoco
ten off to artistic license. motifs, which were incorporated in the design of a wide
It’s interesting to note that the last example is a chest on range of contemporary objects, from fabric to silver candle-
frame, like the first piece, and the bracket base is gone with sticks and serving trays. Scalloped-top furniture is not exclu-
good reason. The bracket-base chest is the least attractive of sive to the Connecticut Valley, but it was a prominent char-
the three—its short base makes the legs appear to have acteristic in the region. Case furniture made in the
been amputated. The use of ogee-bracket feet on a Queen Wethersfield area of Connecticut often had scalloped tops,
Anne style chest is noteworthy, however, because it supports and the style may have migrated upriver to Deerfield, since
the notion that they were in use long before the Chippendale the Connecticut River was the main artery of trade in the
period, to which they are generally attributed. valley during the 18th century. ,
Mary’s chest obviously benefited from several other ex- Blockfront furniture may have played a role in the devel-
periments conducted on the other two. The large central opment of scalloped forms. The tops of these unique pieces,
drawer, which is a common feature on Queen Anne high- one of which is shown on p. 171, conform to the blocked
boys, makes the earlier chests appear to be recycled top drawer fronts below them and are somewhat suggestive of
sections of tall case pieces. What’s more, the proximity of scalloped tops. A successfully designed scalloped top, espe-
the carved fan to the scalloped top confuses the two motifs, cially in combination with a scalloped apron, can create the
and the odd drawer arrangement disrupts the facade. illusion of blocking by introducing curved lines and shad-
It is with good reason that Mary Hoyt’s chest on frame is ows to the facade.
one of the most famous examples of American case furni- Although the original Mary Hoyt chest is relatively simple,
ture. It is a simple but elegant piece of work. The four its joinery is impeccable. The top is made of a single 24-in.
drawers, which gradually diminish in height, emphasize ver- wide cherry board. In fact, the chest is quite deep in rela-
ticality, a highly desirable quality on low chests. The well- tion to its overall size, so I reduced the depth of my repro-
proportioned cabriole legs and slipper feet (shown below) duction by nearly 2 in. I find the result is less obtrusive in a
lend an air of lightness and motion to the chest. The two small room.
apron drops help to balance the plain spaces that separate
the escutcheons on the drawer fronts. The rather large MAKING THE CHEST
brasses add a sophistication and richness that is absent The case sides are made of two cherry boards edge-laminated
from the other chests with their much smaller brasses. together and dovetailed to the pine bottom. At the top of the
Slipper feet are commonly associated with the Newport, case, two braces are dovetailed to the sides at the front and
Rhode Island, area and are unusual on furniture from the back of the chest. The front brace serves as a divider be-

Stylish cabriole legs and a lively scalloped

top contribute to the animated design of this
chest on frame.

a A)
Period Drawer Dividers
Through dovetail Half-blind dovetail Half-blind dovetail
Runner is nailed with housed runner
Case side Case side
to side. ae ce id
Runner is nailed are
Through dovetail and end grain to side. Runner is housed in shallow
is visible on case side. dado and nailed. =

Divider

tween the top drawer and the top, while the rear brace blades, as well as the drawer runners on the inside of the
helps to keep the case square. Two additional cleats are case. The dovetail can be a bit sloppy on the inside of the
tenoned between these braces to prevent the drawer from joint, where it won’t show, and the dado keeps the divider
tilting when it’s pulled out and to provide a place to attach from twisting.
the top. Although dovetails are the standard method of joining di-
Begin by jointing, planing, laminating and sizing both viders to case sides, the dividers are sometimes simply
sides and the bottom. Note that the bottom is ‘2 in. narrower nailed into dadoes, particularly on primitive country furni-
than the sides to accommodate the '-in. thick backboards, ture. More complex dovetails are required on curved bombé
which will be nailed in place later. Cut the dovetail pins on chests and on early Chippendale pieces where the case sides
the bottom edge of the case sides. Then align the front and dividers are surrounded with a cockbead.
edges of the bottom and the sides, and scribe and cut the To install the dividers, cut the full dadoes in the case
matching tails on the bottom. Cut the ’4-in. by 4-in. rabbet sides. Use a router and a 1-in. straight bit guided by a
on the inside rear edge of the sides for the backboards. straightedge clamped to the piece. (This chest has unusually
Joint and plane the top braces and cut dovetails on both thick dividers; 74-in. thick blades are more common.) To
ends. Scribe the tails directly on the top edge of the case avoid errors, lay out both case sides for all the dividers at
sides and chop out the matching pockets to receive them. the same time and carefully cut the dadoes across the full
Then mortise the braces for the two front-to-back cleats, width of the sides.
make the cleats and install them. Only the front cleat tenons Next, lay out the dovetails on both ends of the three di-
are pinned, and the rear tenon shoulders are cut a bit short, viders. I prefer to cut these with a backsaw and a chisel, but
which allows for seasonal movement of the wide case sides, you could rough them out on the table saw. Cut the shoul-
provided the tenons are not glued in place. ders first, then set the table-saw blade to the correct angle
Making dividers Various methods were used to join and cut the sides of the dovetail with the divider held
drawer dividers and runners to Queen Anne case pieces. against the rip fence.
And, although they do not directly indicate the date of man- Use the dovetailed ends of the dividers to lay out the
ufacture, they may be useful in assigning provenance or dovetail pockets on the case sides. Then remove most of the
identifying an individual maker. waste with a 4-in. straight router bit and cut the angled
Three ways of joining dividers are shown in the drawing shoulders with a sharp chisel. The angle on conventional
above. The through-dovetail joint is the easiest joint to cut, dovetail router bits is unsuitable for these pockets, and I
because the pockets in the sides can be entirely sawn. How- feel that redesigning the joint would compromise the his-
ever, the exposed end grain of the dividers is visible at the torical integrity of the piece.
case sides. Making runners Whichever method is used to install
Dividers can also be joined to the case with half-blind the drawer dividers, the runners are usually nailed directly
dovetails. This eliminates visible end grain, but complicates to the case sides. This invariably causes the sides to split as
the joinery; the dovetail pockets must be partially sawn and they expand and contract with changes in humidity. More-
chopped out of the case sides. over, as the sides contract, the dividers are sometimes
The third way of joining the dividers (and the one I use), forced away from the front of the carcase by the fixed run-
is a half-blind dovetail with the runner housed in a full ners. This apparent lack of foresight may seem out of place
dado. This is more complex than the other two methods, on a piece of elegant, handmade furniture, but it merely
but it is the ‘most effective way to join these parts. The -in. confirms the fact that making furniture, then as now, was an
deep dado firmly positions the ends of the dividers, or economic venture.

eo ———
 Two precautions were occasionally undertaken to prevent This method is consistent with conservation technology
cracked case sides and pushed-out dividers on 18th-century and allows old nailed runners to be replaced with new ones
case pieces. The first involves the construction of a frame in without having to be renailed, which could further damage
much the same manner as the top braces and cleats. Narrow the case. The same method can be used to attach cornice
dividers at the front and back of the case are separated by moldings to case sides, another area where cracked cases
two runners mortised between them, as shown below left. and separated miters are common.
The tenon shoulders are left short, so the piece can expand Assembling the case Once all the components have
and contract without forcing the dividers out of place. This been made, assemble them to check the joinery and glue up
technique is relatively straightforward, but is curiously the case. Glue the two sides and the bottom together first,
scarce on Queen Anne case furniture. along with the braces and cleats at the top. Check the whole
The second solution, shown below center, is called the assembly with a framing square to make sure it’s square—
“full-dustboard” method and it can be traced directly to it’s hard to fit drawers to a parallelogram. Next, glue the
English Georgian furniture. Wide boards of secondary wood drawer dividers in their respective dovetailed pockets and
the same thickness as the drawer dividers are housed in install the drawer runners without glue. If you follow the
dovetailed slots in the case sides. The grain in these dust- picture-frame method described above, you’ll have to slide
boards runs the same direction as the grain in the sides, the runners in from the back of the case.
allowing the whole carcase to move in unison. Sometimes The back is made of two wide pine boards, joined with a
the dustboards are thinner than the dividers, making a lighter tongue-and-groove joint. I made this joint with a pair of
case. The thinner dustboards are held in the dovetailed slots matched period planes, but you could use a table saw to cut
with slim dovetailed wedges, or kickers, which also prevent a simple, half-lap joint, another common feature on the
the drawers from tipping when opened. Full dustboards are back of many Queen Anne case pieces. I like to hand plane
unusual and are most often found on case pieces made in the backboards to reproduce the appropriate texture of a
the middle colonies, such as Philadelphia and Williamsburg, period reproduction. The convex soles and irons usually
where close adherence to English design was customary. found on 18th-century jackplanes leave shallow furrows on
I’ve devised my own method for attaching the drawer a planed surface. Nail the planed backboards into the rab-
runners to the case sides, shown below right. It allows for bets in the case sides and to the bottom and rear top brace.
seasonal movement, and it’s impossible to distinguish from The base’ The base is constructed like a short table
the traditional nailed-on method. Use a common picture- with four cabriole legs. Refer to the drawings on p. 186 and
frame, or hang-slot, router bit (shown on the facing page) the description on p. 24 for information about how to carve
to rout a T-shaped slot the length of the drawer runner. the legs and slipper feet. Cut the tenons on the the ends of
This bit is normally used to plunge an undercut hole in the aprons and saw the contours. The profile of the front
the back of a picture frame to trap the head of a nail or a apron is reminiscent of the drops found on highboy and
screw. In this application, the runners are held in their da- lowboy aprons.
does with pan-head sheet-metal screws driven into the case Chop the apron mortises in the leg posts, glue and as-
sides. A tight fit can be achieved simply by adjusting the semble the frame and pin the tenons, as shown in the draw-
height of the screw heads. Tap the runner into place from ings. Apply the knee brackets (see Chapter 2) and nail the
the back of the case. Once the backboards are nailed on, 1-in. square cleats to the inside of the front and side aprons
the T-slot will be invisible. to support the case.

Drawer Dividers and Runners

Full Frame Full Dustboard T-Slot

Ogee side Case side

Case side

Full
Rear dustboard — Drawer
divider runner

Grain

Divider Divider
Tenon

Full dustboard

Drawer
Pinner Section Section

Drawer runner is tenoned into front and Pan-head sheet-metal screw

rear divider, pinned at front and loose Drawer runner with
Kicker prevents
at rear with room in the mortise for full-length, routed T-groove.
drawer tipping.
movement of the case side.

amr
 both top and underside surfaces, you can use a bandsaw to
cut out the entire top. Otherwise, you can use a hand-held
jigsaw or a frame saw.
Shape the sawn edges to the slightly rounded profile
shown on p. 184. I use a combination of chisels, files and
sandpaper to do this. It’s important to maintain a crisp cor-
ner where the shaped edge meets the surfaces of the top.
When the edges are done, screw up through the cleats in the
base to attach the top.
Drawers The drawers are constructed in typical 18th-
century fashion. The ends and top edge of the drawer fronts
are rabbeted to overlap the case, and all four edges are lip
molded. In the 18th-century, a plane was made expressly for
this purpose. I sometimes use this plane to make my drawers,
but more often, I use a '4-in. bead cutter in a router, set in
a router table.
Cut the drawer-front rabbets on the table saw, but make
sure to remove any saw marks with a hand plane. Then cut
the dovetails for the sides—through dovetails at the back
corners and half-blind dovetails at the front. Saw a '4-in.
wide by '4-in. deep groove near the lower edges of the sides
and drawer front to house the drawer bottom, which is
made of one ‘4-in. thick pine board, jack planed like the
backboards. Glue the sides together, slide the drawer bot-
tom in the groove and nail it to the back.
Woods_ This chest is made of solid cherry, except for
the bottom, backboards and drawer stock, which are made
of white pine.
Use a standard picture-frame bit to rout the slot in the drawer Finishing The rich cherry color visible on the original
runner that will house the sheet-metal screw head.
chest was once covered with a darker finish, probably a
Spanish-brown paint, still visible in cracks and crevices. I
The ovolo/cove molding that covers the intersection of like its color and patina, although I am intrigued by the fact
the case and frame is identical to the waist molding used for that even so fine a cherry stock was painted. I finished my
the same purpose on highboys and chests on chests. Cut the reproduction to match the original—paint residue and all.
cove with a router and plane the ovolo with a hand plane. First stain the entire chest with a water-based aniline dye,
Then nail it to the top of the base frame, allowing a little such as Lockwood’s Natural Antique Cherry. Allow this to
extra space at each end for easy installation of the case. Set dry and sand it lightly with 400-grit paper to remove the
the nailheads below the surface and plane the molding flush raised grain. Then brush on and immediately rub off a coat
with the outside face of the base frame. of brown oil-based paint, leaving small amounts in crevices
The top _ It’s nearly impossible to find a good cherry and corners. When the paint dries, brush on a coat of
board more than 18 in. wide, so I made the top for this Stulb’s Graining Liquid and rub it off. This leaves a sort of
chest out of two edge-laminated planks. After they’re glued dirty patina on the surface that enhances the illusion of age.
and planed to thickness, rip and crosscut the top to its Finally, protect the finish with three coats of Minwax An-
overall rectangular dimensions. tique Oil Finish.
Having reduced the depth of the original chest, I had to Hardware _ The brasses are made by Ball and Ball, of
scale down the scalloped profile on the ends of the top to Exton, Pennsylvania (see Sources of Supply on p. 242). I
the pattern shown in the drawings on p. 185. Make card- selected #C57-121, with 3-in. o.c. borings and matching
board templates for these contours and use them to lay out escutcheons. I did not equip my reproduction with till
the front and ends of the top. If you trace the pattern on locks, which are on the original, but you may wish to do so.

seed
ba) ema
 SCALLOPED-TOP CHEST ON FRAME
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

1%

Top View
Note: Ball and Ball’s #C57-121
pulls (8) and escutcheons (4) were
used on this chest on frame.

Scale: Full

—~<— %e
Note: This profile is typical
of the curvilinear portions of
the top only.

Front View

—— 184 ——
 DRAWER DETAILS
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

28%
Note: Allow is in. clearance
Drawer back, 1% in. T. top and sides of all drawers.
Drawer dimensions (top view)
are the same for all drawers.
See the plans for the dressing
table on p. 000 for all
construction details.
Drawer sides, % in. T.
Note: Drawer bottom slides
ina % in. x Y% in. rabbet in
front and sides.

fe
eetae eee
TOP PATTERN ;——
Grid square = 1% in.

7185. ——
PARTIAL FRONT VIEW
Scale: “6 in. = 1 in.

oe
3
ay
(Ls

Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Top brace
Drawer runner,
1% in. W.

Drawer divider

i)Oo

Side, 7 in. T.

Note: Drawer runner, 1 in. T.,

is glued and nailed in '-in. deep
dado in the case side behind the
divider.

Moldings restrict case movement. A

gap of 4 in. is allowed for clearance.

Molding is nailed to the apron

and planed flush with the leg post Bottom of case
and apron after assembly.

LEG/APRON ASSEMBLY
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Note: Leg blank is 2% in.

square x 10 in. long.

Cee
Tin. sal Y])
Template for
2% Bottom of Foot
Grid square
= in:
ae aes
Ciel ee
a
2)

@ Grid square
q = % in. Beek
5ieeetee

Knee bracket (6), 1 in. T.

x 1% in.W. x 1M in. L.

P———— 7 ||
LC aamap aca
Front Corner

=== 186.——
SECTION AT AT CENTERLINE Countersunk screws,
Scale: %6 in. = 1 in. te 1% in. #10, ae SECTION
Scale: 6 in. = 1 in.

Side, % in. T.

Pine fastening cleat,

1 in. T. x 1% in. W.

2'”-in. W. drawer divider (4)

17
Centered tenon,
5f6 in. T. x 1% in. W.
laine ts
(both ends)

Braces, 2% in. T
Backboards are 1% in. thick x 1 in. W.
and joined with tongue and groove. x 29% in. L.

Note: Fastening cleat restricts tilting of the top drawer.

Front tenon is pinned

SECTION
Scale: “6 in. = 1 in.

Side apron, ’ in. T. x 3% in. W. Econt

x 17% in. L. (15% in. shoulder ees
fo shoulder) Cleat, % in. x 1 in.

Rear apron, 7 in. T.

x 3% in. W. x 307 in. L.
(29% in. shoulder to
shoulder). No scrolling.

Bottom panel, 74 in. T. Rabbet, 1% in. deep,

x 17 in. W. x 30 in. L. houses backboard

Side apron a Cleat, 1 in. x 1 in.

Note: Cleats are nailed flush with apron tops

and provide additional support for case.

Bottom View

— 187—
 Dressing table, or lowboy. This tiger maple reproduction is based
on several period examples from the Connecticut Valley, c. 1740-1760

188 ——
 DRESSING TABLE

he dressing table, or lowboy, was an extremely tend to think of the lowboy as a feminine piece, made for
popular form of furniture during the Queen the woman of the house. While this is not necessarily true,
Anne period, and with good reason. It is attrac- the delicate and graceful nature of the form certainly rein-
tive and capable of serving many functions — as forces my perception.
a dressing table, a side table, a serving table or As a woodworking project, the lowboy is rather special.
a basic work surface. Since there are so many beautiful I've always felt that making a lowboy would be a perfect
dressing tables that deserve recognition it was difficult to exercise in all aspects of 18th-century woodworking—a
single one out for inclusion in this book. kind of textbook project for students of period furniture.
The solution, I decided, was to feature one of my own Mortise-and-tenon carcase construction, sculpted cabriole
designs. But in so doing, I was determined to adhere closely legs with turned-pad feet, shell carving and drawer dovetail-
to the essential elements of the Queen Anne period. So while ing are all part of making a lowboy. When you’ve completed
the result isn’t an authentic reproduction, I wouldn’t be sur- a dressing table, you’ve really made a table and a small
prised if it turned out to be a near replica of an 18th- chest of drawers.
century piece made somewhere in New England.
My hybrid design is based on several 18th-century exam- MAKING THE DRESSING TABLE
ples made in the Wethersfield area of Connecticut. It repre- Begin by making the four legs. Follow the directions on
sents a fully resolved Queen Anne lowboy. The acorn drops, p. 23 for turning the pad feet and carving the legs. After
vestiges of the William and Mary period, have been omitted, these are completed, prepare the stock for the sides and the
and the apron has a deep, ogee-scrolled profile. The top back. I made these out of one-piece, 14-in. wide boards,
drawer also reflects the period preference over earlier but if you need to laminate the sides do not use more than
three-drawer arrangements. The fan carving, sometimes re- two boards. Then cut the tenons on the sides and back and
ferred to as a sunburst, is really a stylized shell, another chop their respective mortises in the legs. The mortises are
trademark of Queen Anne furniture. located so the outside of the leg posts will be flush with the
Like side tables and slab-top serving tables, lowboys were sides and back. Test fit the joined frame, then turn to the
designed to be placed against a wall. Their tops are seldom front members of the case.
molded on the back edge, as they invariably are at the front The front apron is tenoned into the leg posts, as on the
and sides. The backboards, which are usually made of a side and back panels. Prepare the apron stock and cut the
secondary wood such as pine or chestnut, were obviously tenons on both ends. Then use a cardboard template to lay
intended to be hidden. The drawers are accessible only from out the scalloped profile and cut it on the bandsaw, or use a
the front. scroll saw or frame saw. After making the front apron, joint
Queen Anne lowboys were frequently made in sets, along and plane the two horizontal dividers and cut the dovetails
with a matching highboy. The lowboy was a scaled-down on both ends. (The shoulder-to-shoulder length of the hori-
version of the highboy base, with all the same features and zontal dividers is identical to that of the front apron.) The
basic proportions (see the japanned highboy on p. 174 and top divider is dovetailed into the end grain at the top of the
the lowboy on p. 176). Most 18th-century inventories indi- leg-posts and keeps the case from spreading. I’ve seen rec-
cate that highboys usually were placed in bedrooms, and the tangular tenons used to install this member, but dovetails
same is true of dressing tables, as their name suggests. I are probably stronger here and were more common. I usu-

= 89 ——
 ally wait until after the piece is assembled to cut the two Do not assemble the central drawer until after the shell
short, vertical dividers to length. This also gives me more carving is finished. You can prepare all the rabbets, the lip
room to install the central drawer runners and the front molding and the dovetailing, but the unattached drawer
apron cleat that supports them. front is much easier to carve.
Scribe the dovetail pockets from the horizontal dividers Carving the shell You will lay out the carving in
themselves and cut them into the front leg posts. Check the stages as the work proceeds, but begin by locating the cen-
joints for accuracy as you proceed, so that they will fit per- ter point from which the radii are drawn. This is on the
fectly. Lay out and cut the pockets for the vertical dividers vertical centerline of the drawer front, "As in. above the
on the top of the apron and the underside of the lower bottom edge. Using a small divider with a sharpened leg,
horizontal divider. scribe the 1-in. dia. center hub. The scribed line will help
The two central runners for the three bottom drawers are guide the carving chisels.
mortised directly into the backboard and sit on a cleat The surface of the hub is flush with the face of the drawer
nailed to the inside of the front apron. Pockets in the cleat front; the recessed area that surrounds it and the two bot-
keep the runners in position. The outside runners are nailed tom rays are carved to the depth of the front apron. The
directly to the case sides. In addition, two cleats between quickest and most accurate way to determine the depth of
the upper horizontal divider and the back and one more this recess is to set the drawer face in its opening and
between the lower divider and the back prevent the top and scribe a line along the face of the apron.
center drawers from tipping when pulled out. Lay out and Then scribe the 6’4-in. major diameter of the fan onto
cut all of the mortises for these cleats and runners in the the drawer face. Because the center point is located above
horizontal dividers, the backboard and the apron cleat. the bottom edge of the drawer, the fan covers more than
Then dimension the three cleats and cut the tenons. 180°. It terminates at the edge of the lip molding. Next,
Now you can begin to assemble the case. I like to start by scribe a circle with a 6’4-in. diameter inside the larger one
gluing the two back legs to the backboard, and the front to represent the width of the arc termini of the rays. The
apron and horizontal dividers to the front legs. Make sure rays terminate in arc segments of *4-in. dia. circles, and are
that the front section is square; the back should be squared % in. wide where they contact the circumference of the fan.
automatically by the shoulders on the wide backboards. The There are 17 rays, and the odd one is centered on the
back and front assemblies serve as a kind of sandwich for vertical centerline of the drawer front. With the central ray
the rest of the case. located, set your dividers to % in. to lay out the others. Use
With the back placed flat on the workbench, test fit the a *%-in. dia. round template made of light metal, such as
sides in the rear legs and pop the three cleats into the mor- aluminum flashing, to lay out the arcs of the ray termini.
tises in the backboard. Then add the glued-up front assem- Notice that the rays are S-shaped in cross section to
bly to complete the sandwich. If everything fits well, disas- mimic the undulating contour of concave shell carvings. The
semble the case and put it together again with all joints carving is simplified if the entire ray area is first relief
glued and clamped. After the glue has set, pin the tenons in carved to a uniform contour. Use shallow-radius gouges to
the sides, back and front apron. shape this area, then smooth it with coarse sandpaper.
Drawers and runners Next, make and install the Each ray must now be defined on the contoured field.
drawer runners. The four L-shaped side runners, which are Simply draw them on the surface using a pencil and a flex-
nailed directly into the case sides, support the top drawer ible straightedge as a guide. The rays are spaced a bit less
and one side of both outside bottom drawers. In addition, than 4 in. apart at the hub, and the spacing can be deter-
the two top runners keep the lower side drawers from tip- mined by eye or laid out with dividers, if you’re fussy.
ping when pulled out of the case. The two T-shaped central Fan carvings do not require a huge assortment of carving
runners serve all three bottom drawers. They can be glued chisels. Note in the photo sequence on the facing page that
and slipped in place once the cleat has been nailed to the gouges can be used to shape convex surfaces. To begin carv-
front apron and their rear tenons are fitted to their respec- ing the rays, first incise a shallow groove along the layout
tive mortises in the backboard. lines using a straight chisel. Then use a V-parting tool to
When the runners are installed, cut the two vertical di- define them. The V-tool is useful only during the early stages
viders to length with dovetails on both ends and glue them of the carving. I use a combination of straight chisels and
in place. The case is now completely assembled and the gouges to create the convex lobes, although any tool that
applied knee brackets can be attached (there are no knee works for you is appropriate.
brackets on the back). Refer to the instructions on p. 32 for Lightly define the arc termini with a gouge of the correct
a description of this process. sweep or incise them carefully with an X-acto knife. Be sure
The drawer construction for this lowboy is typical of the you don’t cut too deeply, but just enough to define a crisp
period. The ends and the top of all the drawer fronts are edge. The convex lobes must be carved to end neatly at
rabbeted to overlap the front of the case, and their edges these termini, and various chisels and gouges will get the
are lip molded. The drawer sides join the back in through job done.
dovetails and the front in half-blind dovetails. The bottom is When all the rays are fully carved, sand them lightly with
housed in a dado cut into the sides and front and nailed to tiny pieces of folded, 120-grit sandpaper. Shell carvings
the back. The underside of the bottom is beveled along the need not be sanded perfectly smooth, and in fact, a few
front and sides like a raised panel to fit into the narrow dado. carved facets will add to the semblance of authenticity. I try
 “4 Scribe the outline of the hub at the center
9308
=
of the bottom edge of the drawer front and
lay out the rays on a contoured field. Then
_ use a template to trace the arcs of the ray
, terminii (top left). Define the rays with a
' straight chisel and a V-parting tool (middle).
Finally, shape them with a chisel (bottom
left), and carve the terminii with a gouge
(bottom right).

oo le
Top-to-Case Joinery to make my carvings as smooth as possible using chisels
and gouges, and I don’t sand much. Sanding quickly dulls a
crisp edge and diminishes the lively character of a carving.
Sanding is hardly a new invention. Many 18th-century
carvers smoothed their work with sandpaper made from
Dovetail method
sharkskin, by using small blocks of pumice stone or by bur-
nishing it with a stick of hardwood. Burnishing is especially
effective in the grooves of this fan carving. Rub these areas
Top with a flat stick of hardwood sharpened to a knife edge, and
=. renew the edge as it becomes dull from abrasion.
Ha Finally, use a sharp knife to incise the circumference of
i a
a the fan and carve the arc termini to meet it. The layout line
a i Seas will enable you to remove the chips cleanly. When the carv-
LE oe,
eA le ig ing is complete, assemble the drawer and make the top.
ea Sein = The top = This lowboy has a top made from one 20-in.
Sliding dovetail LA

Lye
wide board of tiger maple. This is an exceptionally large size
<a GEE for any native hardwood, so two boards are usually glued
together. Three boards are almost never seen on period
pieces and should be avoided on a reproduction.
— Case side The ogee-shaped edge of the top can be cut with a router
or roughed out on a table saw and carved by hand. The
shape does not conform to that of any standard router bit,
so a little experimentation will be required if you decide to
use that method. You could make several passes at various
depths and distances from the edge with a '4-in. core-box
Backboard router bit to make the concave portion. The rest of the con-
2
tour can be shaped with a block plane and scraped and
sanded smooth by hand.
The base is fastened to the top with 1’A-in., #10 flat-
Leg post
head wood screws driven through the top divider and cleats.
The two back corners are secured with screws passing
through glue blocks attached to the case sides.
On many original lowboys (and tables), the tops were
Butterfly-key method simply fastened with hardwood pegs driven through the top
into the frame. Despite its obvious disadvantage, this system
would most likely have been employed on a Connecticut
lowboy of this type.
Top On a few Queen Anne dressing tables, the top is attached
with sliding dovetails. The sides of the case project above
the ieg posts and are dovetail shaped, as shown in the draw-
ing at top left. Two stopped dovetail dadoes, cut on the
underside of the top, slide over the dovetailed sides. This
Dovetailed dado system is not as effective as it appears, since any dimensional
change in the sides is likely to crack the case.
A better method was employed by Newport craftsmen,
Case side who excelled in exploring sound construction technologies.
b> The front edge of the top was glued to the uppermost hori-
zontal brace and the back was fastened with two butterfly
keys, as shown at bottom left. The keys fit in matching dove-
tailed pockets in the underside of the top and in the back-
board and an additional rear cleat. Secured at the front, the
= Se top is free to expand and contract, and any dimensional
variation will take place at the back, where it is least appar-
ent. The butterfly keys are easier to make and more effective
Butterfly key than the full-width sliding dovetails, which also were used
by some Newport craftsmen. John Townsend (1732-1809) is
Backboard credited with this innovation.
Woods Most Connecticut lowboys were made of cherry, a
wood that was favored either because of its availability or

—— 192 ——
because it is easily finished to resemble mahogany. I chose sium dichromate, but Lockwood’s stain is easy to use and
tiger maple as the primary wood for this piece because of produces consistent results.
its incredible beauty, in spite of the difficulty the wild grain After the stain is fully dry, sand the raised grain with 220-
adds to the carving of the fan. For the sides and top I was grit (or finer) sandpaper. You will have to reburnish the fan
fortunate enough to get full-width tiger maple stock. carving and maybe touch up the lobes with 400-grit sand-
The back is made of one wide pine board, and all inter- paper. Then coat the piece with a glazing stain and rub it off
nal drawer parts, as well as the front-to-back cleats and immediately, leaving a residue in cracks and corners. This
drawer runners are also made of pine. tones down the water stain and adds some artificial aging to
Finishing First, stain the entire piece with a water- the piece. Finally, apply the hand-rubbed oil/varnish mixture
based aniline dye (I used Lockwood’s Early American Maple, described on p. 239.
Honey Tone). I’ve used other methods to develop an amber Hardware I used Ball and Ball’s #C7-028 brasses
patina on tiger maple, such as dyeing the wood with potas- and #G17-136 %-in. dia. brass knob.
 ___ DRESSING TABLE
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Note: Shell carving consists of 17 rays of

11°, radiating from hub with the odd ray
centered on the vertical centerline. Rays
cover 187°. Ends of rays are segments of %-in.
dia. circles and are % in. wide at 6'4-in.
major dia.

Noe: Ball and Ball’s #C7-028 pulls (4) and

#G17-136 %-in. dia. knob and escutcheon
(1) were used on this lowboy.

Hub, 1 in. dia.

Ve Flush with
drawer face

Front View Side View

== 194 -—
SIDE APRON/LEG ASSEMBLY
Scale: % in. = 1 in. a

Note: Aprons are fastened

to legs with 4-in. dia. x 1-in.
o 1% pee, long pins, not staggered. YY) 1 ih wracis

1%-in. dia. horizontal center

Y% in. above fillet

SECTION A Knee bracket

Scale: 46 in. = 1 in. Rear edge of
2 top is left square. blank (6),
pa
1% in. sq.
x % in. T.

1%-in. overhang
(typ. front and back)

Note: Leg blank is

Drawer runners (4), 2° in. square
1% in. sq. x 14% in. L., x 30'% in. long.
meee:
nailed to carcase side
oamemes
BO
A
ee
Backboard, 74 in. T.

Note: Tenon layout

of backboard is same
as that of case sides
SECTION (see above).
Scale: % in. = 1 in. a

Note: Rabbet
corner is flush with
side and bottom
Note:
of drawer opening. Ankle dia. = 1 in.
Foot dia. = 2% in.
Pad dia. = 1% in.

ee
PARTIAL TOP VIEW
Scale: %6 in. = 1 in.

Brace, in. T. x 2 in. W. x 154 in. L.

prevents drawers from tipping

Cleat, ’ in. T. x 1% in. W.

x 14% in. L., notched
around rear leg post
and glued to case side

Note: Screw through cleat

and horizontal divider to
secure top.

Applied knee bracket, 1% in. H. x % in. T. x 1% in. W.,

glued to apron and shoulder

PARTIAL FRONT VIEW

Scale: %A6 in. = 1 in.

Ms
|
7hr, radius center is
Y% in. above fillet

3%

lr, radius center is

Y% in. below fillet

—— 196 ——
DRAWER DETAILS
Scale: %6 in. = 1 in.

Top drawer:
A = 247
! = cae Drawer side, % in. T.
Di = 27/6 Drawer front, Drawer back,
Bottom drawers: 7h in. T. Top View Va in. T.
shown)
Groove, Y% in. W.
B= 6% ‘%4-in. overhang (typ. top and sides) x % in. deep
CG 56
D = 5%
Fan-carved drawer:
A= 9%
B = 9%
C = 5%
D = 5%

Note: Dimensions Side View

B and D allow for
“%6-in. clearance
at drawer top
and sides.

Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Note: Dovetail Ya-in. pins (typ.

layout given all drawers)
here is for top
drawer, above
layout is for all
bottom drawers.

Aer

SECTION B
Scale: *s6 in. = 1 in.

5Ae-in. tenon,
centered

Tenon, % in. T. x 2 in. W. x % in. L

1% in. T.
vertical divider
SECTION, Scale: % in. = 1 in.
Ae 7p,

Cleat, % in. T. x 1 in. W. x 24 in. L.,

nailed to apron and notched ;
t Note: Rabbets are flush with
Se ae ae side and bottom of drawer
openings.
Desk on frame. This cherry reproduction is based on
numerous examples made between 1740-1780.

—==>
198 Se
 DESK ON FRAME

_ desk is a dual-purpose piece of furniture. It tions depended on the written word, and a convenient place
functions both as a writing table and as a stor- to write was more than an amenity. Desks were valued both
age chest for stationery supplies and domestic at home and at work, and by rich and poor alike. They also
_ documents. In the 17th century, the first Ameri- made up an important portion of speculative venture car-
_. can desks were simple boxes with slanted lids. goes of New England furniture. Many were built in south-
Theseswereaoliced at a convenient height atop tables or low eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island for shipment out of
chests and were necessarily portable, since they had to be Providence and Newport. In his book, Rhode Island Furni-
removed to use the table or gain access to the contents of ture Exports 1783-1800, Joseph K. Ott indicates that from
the chest. 1783 through 1794 more than 480 desks were shipped
During the Queen Anne period, the desk box developed from Providence to southern coastal ports and almost 200
into a more substantial, stationary piece of furniture, and it more to the West Indies.
became better suited to both writing and storage. The desk Since desks were used by all sectors of society, they ex-
on frame represents the union of the desk box with a simple hibit a tremendous variety in form, shape, ornamentation
table and effectively incorporates both of these advances. and quality, depending on their owners’ business, wealth,
When the frame contains drawers, it could be considered a taste and geographic location. The desk on frame is the
desk box wedded to a dressing table. In two household in- least complicated form and it was certainly the least expen-
ventories, dated 1741 and 1743 from Suffolk County, Massa- sive. In the Queen Anne period, country-style desks on
chusetts, desks atop a full bank of drawers were described frames were particularly popular, while full desks and secre-
as a “bureau Desk” and a “Desk of four Draws.” In these taries predominated among high-style pieces.
same probate records, references to a “desk on a frame” Country desks on frames are difficult to date since they
and “1 writing desk & Fram” probably refer to desks simi- were less affected by capricious urban fashion. Moreover,
lar to the one featured in this chapter. The slant-top bureau their simple designs frequently outlived the period in which
desk has become an American classic. they were conceived. A desk on frame like the one featured
Colonial houses were not well equipped for storage. Ex- in this chapter could have been made at any time from 1740
cept for the china cupboards that were built around the to the end of the 18th century, with no significant variation
central chimney or into the corners of some ornate front in style or construction.
parlors, the concept of closet space or built-in cupboards High-style desks on frames were produced occasionally,
hadn’t occurred to most housewrights. Safe storage of per- and the one pictured on p. 200 is an excellent example.
sonal valuables and household records necessitated secure, Although it was built in East Windsor, Connecticut, it dis-
lockable furniture. Consequently, the galleries of most desks plays an elegant unity and a resolution of detail usually
were equipped with small cabinets with locking doors, found only on the best urban forms. This piece is attributed
which served as safes for the most treasured possessions. to Eliphalet Chapin (1741-1807), who served his apprentice-
Many galleries also have hidden compartments, usually small ship in Philadelphia. Although it was probably constructed
boxes concealed behind drawers, which could be reached late in the 18th century, it retains Queen Anne turned-pad
only by removing the drawer. feet. A related lowboy, with an identical apron scroll and
Desks were immensely popular in the 18th century. Virtu- carved fan, is equipped with ball-and-claw feet in the Chip-
ally all long-distance communication and business transac- pendale style.

SGbKee
 The desk on frame featured in this chapter resides side of the niche in the illustration. The relationship of the
squarely in the country tradition. It is my own design, but pigeonholes to the central document cabinet likewise draws
based on period examples made in New England, New York upon classical Palladian architecture, an example of which
state and the southern colonies. It is a piece that most people also is shown on the facing page.
could have afforded, and one that could have been made by If the top case section of this piece were grafted onto a
an unsophisticated country cabinetmaker. The design is sim- chest on frame like the scalloped-top piece on p. 178, the
ple and direct, uncluttered with embellishments, but with a result would be a typical Queen Anne bureau desk. Virtually
charm distilled from high-style pieces. The apron contour all of the necessary construction information for this hybrid
and the shell-carved document door in the gallery (top desk can be gleaned from the drawings of both pieces, and
photo, facing page) were inspired by Connecticut examples, it could be built with only a few minor dimensional changes.
while the turned cabriole legs are reminiscent of those
found on the porringer table on p. 116 and the Hudson MAKING THE DESK ON FRAME
River Valley side chair on p. 72. Begin making the desk on frame by getting out the four
Queen Anne desk galleries exhibit a great variety in the legs. These are turned on the lathe, with axes that converge
size, number and layout of drawers and pigeonholes. The just below the pommel. (Refer to the photo sequence on p. 28
shell-carved motifs on the document doors differ greatly for a thorough description of how to make this type of leg.)
from piece to piece, although similar examples may indicate When the legs are shaped, mortise the posts to accept the
a common provenance. The gallery on this desk on frame is apron tenons. Then prepare the apron stock, cut the tenons
a modest composition in keeping with its restrained exterior. and bandsaw the scalloped profiles. Use a template, scaled
Like all gallery shells, the eight-lobe shell carving above up from the measured drawings, to transfer the pattern. The
the carved recess is inspired by a classic architectural motif— rear apron is left plain, with no scalloping, since the piece
the shell-carved niche shown at far right on the facing page. is designed to be placed against the wall. The apron faces fit
It is likewise related to contemporary, shell-carved, demi- flush with the outside of the leg posts, and the joints are
dome cupboards that were common to American Georgian pinned with '4-in. dia. hardwood pins.
architecture. Many desks go even further, flanking the docu- The desk carcase After the base is assembled, make
ment cabinet with tiny pilasters like those found on either the carcase for the desk unit. This is composed of four

This desk on frame is one of a few

surviving high-style examples of its type. Its
sophisticated design and proportions and
its careful construction are typical of the
finest urban furniture. (Photo courtesy of
the Yale University Art Gallery.)

200 ae
The shell-carved document door in the center of the gallery is another classic Queen
Anne feature.

The shell-carved demidome niche,

reproduced here from Sebastiano
Serlio’s The Five Books of Architecture
(1584), provided grist for the design mill
of many neo-classical architects and
cabinetmakers.
The pigeonholes and document door in the desk-on-frame gallery bears more than a
passing resemblance to the portico and arches of this Italian castle, illustrated in Andrea
Palladio’s The Four Books of Architecture (1738).

pieces, joined at the corners with half-blind dovetails, as the test block, then rough out the bulk of the rectangular
shown in the drawings on p. 207. You’ll probably have to dadoes with a straight router bit and chisel the dovetailed
laminate the 17-in. wide sides from narrower stock, but try corners. (This process is described in greater detail on
to avoid using more than two boards. Note that a 1’4-in. by p. 192.) Use the test block to check your work. A standard
1-in. strip of primary wood is glued to the front edge of the dovetail router bit would make quick work of these dadoes,
case bottom to disguise the secondary wood, which would but I’ve never found one that conforms to the dovetail angles
otherwise be visible. The strip is actually a bit thicker than found on period furniture.
the rest of the bottom, and two ‘4-in. thick strips will have Straight-sided dadoes for the gallery shelves must also be
to be glued to the case bottom to serve as drawer runners. cut in the sides of the case and the underside of the top
The facing strip must be glued on before assembly. before the desk can be permanently assembled. Make sure
The central drawer divider and the interior writing shelf to lay these out accurately because the gallery will have to
hold the middle of the case together with sliding dovetails. be slid in from the back. The procedure for making and
Dadoes run the full width of the case sides for the shelf, the installing the gallery is explained below.
drawer divider and the bottom drawer runners. The writing Two wide drawer runners are set into the dadoes in the
shelf is made in two sections, simply butted together. Only case sides and tenoned into the back of the central divider.
the front section needs to be dovetailed into the case sides; These support both the top drawer and the pull-out slides
the back section, which will be covered by the bottom board that hold the hinged lid. The slides are separated from the
of the gallery, can be housed in rectangular dadoes. drawers by two ‘A-in. thick by %-in. wide cleats nailed to
Cut the male dovetails on the ends of the front shelf sec- the runners and by two vertical dividers on the facade. The
tion and the divider, making an extra dovetailed test block vertical dividers are dovetailed into the writing shelf and the
at the same time. Use the test block to check your progress central divider.
in cutting the matching female dovetails in the case. Cut the When all of the dadoes and dovetails have been cut and
dovetails by hand with a backsaw and chisel, or saw them tested, glue and assemble the case. Be sure to check it with
on the table saw and clean up the corners with a chisel. a framing square and clamp it in position. You can prepare
The sliding dovetails are housed in shallow dadoes in the the '4-in. thick backboard now, but don’t nail it into the
case sides. Lay out all the dovetails on the case sides using rabbets on the back of the case until the gallery is installed.

0
 Follow the drawings on p. 208 to make the two large The gallery The pigeonholes in the gallery are formed
drawers. The drawer sides are dovetailed together; the bot- by vertical dividers fitted to dadoes in the top shelf and in the
tom is housed in a shallow dado in the sides and drawer underside of the top. The front edges of the vertical dividers
front and is nailed to the back. Note that in order to allow that form the pigeonhole are molded to a '/-in. dia. semicircle.
room to open the hinged lid, the top edge of the upper The scrolled valances are cut out with a bandsaw, scroll saw
drawer front is not rabbeted to cover the divider. or coping saw and glued in place with reinforcing blocks.
The pull-out slides are made from secondary wood, The bottom tier of the gallery below the document cabi-
capped with a short piece of vertical-grain primary wood to net is made of two cherry boards with a molded front edge.
match the rest of the facade. The caps are molded like min- The top one slides into dadoes in the case sides, and the
iature drawer fronts and attached to the ends of the slides bottom one is nailed into the writing shelf. The vertical di-
in a pinned mortise-and-tenon joint. A peg in the side of vider separating the two drawers is dadoed into each piece.
each slide keeps it from pulling out of the case. The surface of the top board is also dadoed for the sides of
Waist molding A waist molding is the standard period the document cabinet and the vertical drawer dividers for
treatment for the transition between the base frame and the the four upper drawers. The sides of the document cabinet
desk carcase. The molding on this desk is quite large, remi- are likewise dadoed for the horizontal shelves that form the
niscent of the oversized waist moldings of the William and bottom of the pigeonholes.
Mary period. Unlike the waist moldings on the two high The two horizontal shelves described above are dadoed
chests shown on p. 210 and p. 222, this one is rabbeted to for the vertical pigeonhole dividers and V-slotted for the mi-
fit over the outside of the frame below and to form a shelf tered vertical drawer dividers. The mitered joint is required
for the case above. because the molded front edges of the shelf and the dividers
The profile can be made with molding planes or on a meet on the same plane. In the rest of the gallery, the parts
router table. If you use a router, cut the cove with a %-in. appear to stack upon one another, and the vertical upper
core-box bit and use a %-in. radius corner-round bit for the dividers are kept back from the front edges of the horizon-
ovolo. The rabbet also can be cut on the table saw or router tal dividers below to avoid joints that would have to be re-
table. Miter the front corners and attach the molding to the solved with additional V-slotted grooves.
frame with 1'4-in. long headless brads, driven through The sides of the gallery drawers are dovetailed, but their
the rabbet. bottoms are simply nailed on, flush with the sides and back

The gallery should be glued and

assembled when it is installed, but put it
together once beforehand just to make
sure everything fits.

= Oe
and in a rabbeted shelf on the front. This may seem a bit the battens are mitered at the top ends to fit corresponding
crude, but the drawers are so small that problems of expan- miters cut into the ends of the lid board. I prefer the method
sion and contraction are unlikely. Curiously, full-size drawers described here because the mitered joints tend to open up
on Newport case pieces are often made this way, invariably with seasonal movement. Lids on period desks are seldom
resulting in cracked drawer bottoms and dividers and run- laminated, so do your best to find wide stock.
ners that are disfigured by protruding nails. This approach The battens cover the exposed end grain and help to pre-
is uncharacteristic of Newport furniture, which generally ex- vent any cupping of the top. Three %s-in. thick haunched
hibits exemplary construction. tenons, shown in the drawing on p. 206, attach the battens
The carved shell on the document door has a %-in. dia. to the lid. These are located off center so they won’t inter-
hub, located on the vertical centerline of the door, 4" in. fere with the lip molding of the edges. The battens are simp-
from the bottom. Use a pair of dividers to scribe the hub. ly glued onto the ends of the lid, which admittedly restricts
Then, using the same center and a pair of pencil dividers, the movement of the wood and is likely to result in splitting
draw a 4-in. dia. circle. This represents the extreme points or separation of the glue joint, but any mechanical method
of the shell lobes. Draw a horizontal line through the center that permanently attaches the battens would have the same
and divide the resulting semicircle above this line into eight potential result.
22'%° lobes. Make a 1-in. dia. pattern out of thin metal and After the battens are attached, rabbet the top and side
use it to lay out the arc termini at the end of each lobe. edges of the lid to fit over the case and install the hinges
The area below the horizontal line is recessed to a depth and lock. The hinges must be located carefully so the lid
of '4 in. I use a straight router bit to remove most of the won’t bind in either its open or closed position, so test fit
material, then shape the rest with carving gouges, and them on some scrap stock before installing them on the
scrape and sand it smooth. (Refer to p. 191 for a more desk. Attach the lock to the top edge of the lid, and chisel a
thorough description of a similar process.) mortise in the edge of the case top to receive the bolt.
Assembling the gallery The first tier of the gallery, A closing note: never lower the lid before the slides have
which consists of the bottom platform and the first horizon- been pulled out. Many period desks have replaced hinges
tal shelf, is held together by the vertical divider that sepa- and scarred lids, drawer faces or bases, indicating that the
rates the two large drawers. Behind the vertical divider, the lid has been torn from the desk. Train yourself, and espe-
cleat that separates the drawers should be nailed to the bot- cially your children, always to pull out the slides before
tom platform before the gallery is assembled, since it will be dropping the lid, however brief your access to the gallery
impossible to nail on later. The bottom platform is toe- might be.
nailed into the writing shelf along the front and back edges; Woods _I used cherry for the primary wood in this
the nails on the front edge will be hidden by the drawers. desk, although maple or yellow birch would be fine and
Next, slide the two sides of the document box into place, equally consistent with desks of the period. Tulip poplar is
followed by the vertical dividers between the second tier of much softer, but it would also suffice, as long as the piece
drawers. Now the second horizontal shelves are installed in will be painted.
the dadoes in the case side and the sides of the document I used white pine as a secondary wood for the back-
box. The vertical pigeonhole dividers are then slid in place, board, case bottom, pull-out slides, interior drawer parts
and the tiny '4-in. square glue blocks that hold the valances and the 8-in. wide rear section of the writing shelf.
are applied. When the glue has set, fasten the valences in Finishing | stained the desk with Lockwood’s Natural
position, gluing them to the blocks. The document door can Antique Cherry aniline dye. After the stain is dry, knock
now be fitted and hinged, and the backboards can be nailed down the raised grain with sandpaper. Then coat the piece
in place. with Stulb’s Graining Liquid to simulate age. Wipe the liquid
With its multitude of nooks and crannies, the gallery can off while it’s still wet, leaving a heavy residue in cracks and
be difficult to finish once it’s installed, so I stain all the corners. When this is dry, finish the desk with three coats of
parts prior to assembly. If you use a rubbed oil/varnish fin- Minwax Antique Oil.
ish, you can apply a couple of coats to all the parts, keeping Hardware ll the hardware for this reproduction can
the finish away from the joint areas. be obtained from Ball and Ball (see Sources of Supply on
The hinged lid The lid is made from a solid, 13’-in. p. 242). The early Queen Anne chased-brass pulls and es-
wide board, capped at both ends with a 2’4-in. wide “bread- cutcheons are Ball’s #A86-025, the '4-in. dia. brass knobs
board” batten. This construction is typical of the hinged lids are #G17-135, the lid hinges are #H15-051, the lock is
on slant-top desks of the period. On some period desk lids, #TAB-002, and the document-door hinges are #H21-106.

== 205
a
DESK ON FRAME
Front Apron Scale: % in. = 1 in.
Scale: % in. = 1 in.
ee eee

Note: Apron is % in. thick and

32% in. long overall. The tenon
specifications are the same as
those of the side apron (see p. 205).

_ Note: Rear apron is the same as

the front apron, but without the scrolling.

Note: Chased-brass pulls and

escutcheons are Ball and Ball
A86-025; '%-in. dia. brass knobs
are #G17-135; lid hinges are
#H15-051; lock is #TAB-002;
document-door hinges are
#H21-106.

Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Front View :

+= 204 =—
SIDE APRON/LEG ASSEMBLY
Scale: % in. = 1 in. :
Foot axis Leg axis

Grid square =

ee Tee
Note: Aprons are fastened to legs with
%-in. dia. x 1%-in. long pins. Outer faces
Ke)
of aprons are flush with outer faces of
the leg posts.

LEG LAYOUT
Scale: ¥% in. = 1 in.

Foot axis

Leg axis

Top View

i Outer

Foot axis

Leg axis
Bottom View

Note: Leg blank is 2'% in. square

x 19% in. long.

Note: Foot axes are on

the centerline of the leg ;
blank; leg axes are offset Leg axis —> Foot axis
on the same diagonal, but
on opposite sides of center. Note:
Foot dia. = 24 in.
Side View Pad dia. = 17 in.

cas
VAN Pome
hh ore
DESK BOX
PARTIAL FRONT VIEW
Scale: Yin. = 1 in.

Note: Shelf and divider dovetail

:
ins are % in. long; shoulders are
|
Siew ee
7
.
Case top panel pA

3%2 ealaa 3Y%2 a ae

- >

| SECTION 3Y42 2% Nd.

sonal:
‘Scale: % in. = 1 in. Note: Spacing of 4-in. deep dados
(above and left) is critical to the proper
fit of the gallery.
Narra

== Line ~ Rear
' of side cleat
Shelf, 161% in. W. x 33% in. L.
Guide, ’ in. W., (32% in. shoulder to shoulder)
nailed to runner
1
ae
|

Vertical divider, ’4 in. T. Horizontal divider, 7 in. T.

x 4% in. L. x 33% in. W.

Ui
: :
vL Drawer runner Rear cleat
(seen through)
Bottom panel
Drawer runner,
sinew. a Filler strip (seen through) eee

oT
7

|
t
Tee
Hee
1 .

A in. overhang top and Primary wood divider glued to

LID DETAILS | h | sices \botton ss Hust front edge of bottom panel
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Scale: % in. = 1 in.

WAG
Y CANSSAINAATBAAAHABSAAEAN

: ZZ Y-in. haunch

Note: Lid molding is the same as

on drawer fronts.

=== 206
 : DESK BOX, SECTION
Scale: % in. = 1 in. AT CENTERLINE
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Y%-in. thick backboard,

2 tongue-and-groove panels 33 in. W.
Case top panel
7

Guide nailed to top of runner,

VY in. T. x 74 in. W. x 14% in. L. a

i! {I

Rear cleat, 7 in. T. x 2 in. W.

Drawer runner, 7 in. T. x 28 in. L., (26% in. shoulder
x 3 in. W. x 15 in. L., to shoulder) tenoned (7/e in.
tenoned (*A6 in. centered) centered x % in. L.) into
into horizontal divider runners

Filler strip, % in. T. x 1 in. W.

x 15 in. L., serves as drawer runner

17

Bottom panel, 331% in. L.

(32% in. shoulder to shoulder)

Half pin,
Filler strip (seen through) He in. W.

: Half pin, % in. Ww.— meer ce

in. pins

Rabbet, % in. x 4 in.

rece
4 imran
 GALLERY,
PARTIAL
FRONT VIEW
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

54
7%
%

Se ee ET
Runner, % in. x % in. | I
(seen through)
ee eee ee SS ae ee

Runner, % in. x %¥ Ee
(seen through)

Note: Surrounding frame of

15 5h. desk box shown in phantom.
Gallery is symmetrical.
16% aeneea
A
DESK BOX, % Cap, glued to slide
LID SUPPORT AND fh
DRAWER DETAILS
Scale: % in. = 1 in. Ys-dia. pinning, ¥%-in. dia. peg stops
through lid support (travel
Note: Slide is given i-in. 105A in. max.)
clearance at top. Drawers allow for
Yg-in. clearance at sides as
well as top. |
*s-in. tenon, centered +ney
+

VU a 16% Soo
Note: Top view is typical of both drawers
with the following variations:

; Bottom drawer: °
Drawer front, 3% in. T. 7 geet A = 39%
B = 32% in.

Drawer back, % in. T. re riba Gg

B = 28% in.
See p. 197 for further information.

Drawer side, % in. T. Lip molding of this drawer

is flush at top.

ee Half pin, top and bottom (typ.)

%-in. pin, centered (typ.)

Side View (Bottom Drawer) Side View (Top Drawer)

Sa
= 108.
=
DOCUMENT BOX DOOR SECTION A
Scale: % in. = 1 in. Scale: % in. = 1 in.
fe-in. dia. arc termini

Note: Surrounding frame

of desk box is shown in
phantom.

6%-in. L. dado in side

Horizontal divider dadoed of document box
into case side

Y%-in. dia. knob

Bottom drawer vertical
divider, % in. T. x 1% in. W. Ye-in. shoulder
<= 4 x 2% in. L.

Horizontal divider nailed

to case yo eae ee
_————
SSS
SSS eA:

Drawer guide, 1

¥% in. T. x % in. W.
x 6% in. L.
Va 8%

8%

GALLERY, DRAWER DETAILS SECTION B

Scale: % in. = 1 in. Scale: %4 in. = 1 in.

Drawer sides,
VY in. T. Note: Drawer Scrolled valance, Glue block, % in. T.
bottoms are nailed 1'%e in. H. x Yin. W. x 1% in. L.
Drawer back, on flush with sides
Ys in. T. and back. Drawer Vertical
fronts are rabbetted pigeonhole divider (6)
for 4-in. thick
Drawer front, drawer bottoms.
V% in. T. Dimension A equals
672 in. for top Horizontal pigeonhole
divider, Yer on front edge oe
drawers; 15!%e in.
Top View for bottom drawers.
Top drawer vertical divider
es 66 og
ae
d Ya-in. pin i 12

Side View, Top Drawer (4) A

Top drawer guide, % in. T.

x Ya in. W. x 5% in. L.

Note: Rounded profile of horizontal divider

Side View, Bottom Drawer (2) (above) is typical of all 4-in. wide dividers.

— 209
——
 q

4
\y
i

Flat-top high chest. This maple and tiger maple reproduction is

based on several Massachusetts examples, c. 1730-1740.

210
 FLAT-TOP HIGH CHEST

he high chest, or highboy, is the logical exten- word pulvinus (cushion). The Ionic was the most popular
sion of the chest on frame. The elevated case classical order in early 18th-century furniture design, and
provides increased storage, with no loss of valu- the pulvinated frieze was freely incorporated into the cor-
able floor space. Of course, chests on chests nices of highboys, secretaries and chests on chests. Some-
perform the same function, but the open-legged
stance of the highboy allows greater expression. Long, inde-
pendent legs, unrestrained by stretchers, and wide, elabo-
rately scrolled aprons are the perfect vehicles for the ubiq-
uitous S-curve. There are two main types of high chests in
the Queen Anne style: the bonnet-top high chest featured on
p. 222 and the flat-top high chest described here. EVZ RENE S. ie
Early Queen Anne highboys retain several vestiges of the
preceding William and Mary period. Details such as the
apron drops, the apron contour and the double-arch mold-
EL OMONGK
ONO ONONO LOINC
ings that surround the drawers of the flat-top high chest in
this chapter are evidence of its transitional nature. By com-
parison, you'll note that on the full-fledged Queen Anne high
chest, the apron drops are gone, the apron contour has
been transformed and the applied moldings have been sup-
planted with lip-molded drawer fronts, rabbeted to overlap
the front of the case.
The tops of flat-top high chests were used frequently to
exhibit prized belongings such as china, silver, pewter and
popular ceramic or porcelain figurines. A few were even
equipped with a series of display shelves rising like a Mayan
temple above the cornice. In A Tour Through the Whole
Island of Great Britain (London, 1724), author Daniel De-
foe credits Queen Mary (of William and Mary) with this cur-
ious development: “The Queen brought in the custom or
humor, as I may call it, of furnishing houses with china
ware which increased to a strange degree afterwards, piling
their china upon the tops of cabinets, scrutores, and every
chimneypiece to the tops of the ceilings.”
In the Ionic, Corinthian and Composite classical orders,
The moldings of the classical lonic order inspired most Queen
the frieze (that portion of the entablature immediately below Anne furniture moldings. The convex pulvinated frieze (H) is
the cornice) is either flat or convex, as shown at right. The reiterated in the pillow cornice of the flat-top high chest. (Photo
latter is called a pulvinated frieze, derived from the Latin from Andrea Palladio’s The Four Books of Architecture, 1738.)

ee
times called a pillow cornice, the wide pulvinated frieze of- occur more frequently on highboys than on lowboys, for no
fered cabinetmakers a place to fashion a hidden drawer apparent reason.
(see the photo at left below). Full leg posts are not associated with any particular style
The flat-top high chest featured in this chapter is my own period. Nathaniel Dominy, a renowned Long Island cabinet-
design, based on a number of period pieces. Apart from the maker, built a Queen Anne highboy with full rear leg posts
pulvinated frieze, the other elements that compose its cor- around 1790. Other transitional pieces with unmistakably
nice are derived from classical architectural moldings. The early characteristics, such as the flat-top high chest in this
crown molding begins with a cove rising to a fillet, and is chapter, feature similar legs.
capped by a small fillet and a reverse ogee. The band below Another, more unusual variety of cabriole leg is worth
the frieze is an astragal with a single fillet, a molding gener- noting. This is the forward-facing rear leg, shown on the
ally used to make a visual transition between adjacent archi- lowboy on the facing page. It is shaped with a convoluted
tectural components. bend that orients the feet forward, and it is laid out with a
The waist molding is larger than that on the bonnet-top different template than that used for the front legs.
high chest, which also suggests an early construction date.
As the form evolved, the unification of the upper and lower MAKING THE HIGH CHEST
case became more complete and the waist molding dimin- Cabriole legs with full leg posts call for a slightly different
ished. It is composed of two identical ogee-molded strips construction technique than that described in Chapter 2. No
cleverly oriented to transmit the vertical line of the larger other piece in this book has full leg posts, so I will explain
base to the upper case. how to make them here.
On some early high chests (and lowboys), a small cock Begin by making a full-size leg template, scaled from the
bead is nailed to the inside curve of the aprons. The bead drawing on p. 217, and trace it onto the square leg blank.
was made from steamed strips of molding tediously nailed (The same template can be used for both front and rear
into the tight apron scrolls with small, hand-forged rosehead legs.) Note that the knee takes up the full dimension of the
nails. This painstaking process lost favor in the Queen Anne blank and the two rear legs are the reverse of one another.
period, and I have not included beading on this piece. Allow an extra inch of stock at the top of the leg post, as
One peculiar feature of this piece is its full rear leg posts shown in the drawing. You can cut this off after the foot has
(shown in the photo below right), which allow the entire been turned to remove the mark left by the lathe tail center.
back of the case to sit flush against the wall. Full leg posts Define the outside shoulder of the leg post with a single
were a relatively common detail on Queen Anne case furni- sawcut made on the radial-arm saw or table saw. Then place
ture that was made throughout the colonies, although they the back surface of the blank on the saw table and bandsaw

om

Concealed cushion-frieze drawers first appeared in the The full rear leg posts introduce a subtle, asymmetrical aspect
William and Mary period and are so common on early Queen to the side view of the case, forcing the apron profile off center,
Anne highboys that they could not have been very secret. toward the front of the chest.

= 212.
 The peculiar, forward-facing rear legs on
this Boston lowboy (c. 1735-1745) are found
occasionally on case pieces made in the
Massachusetts area. Although the intent is
consistency, the result is asymmetrical and
awkward. (Photo courtesy of The Society for
the Preservation of New England Antiquities.)

the outside contour of the leg. Tape the waste back onto the back of the front apron and the waist molding, which is
blank so the layout pattern will be visible, and saw the in- applied later. They are notched at the front and extend for-
side curve. Beginning at the foot, saw the rear curve to the ward above the apron and are flush with the facade. The
point where the largest part of the knee intersects the back end grain (visible when the outside drawers are removed)
edge of the block. will be covered by double-arch moldings.
Center the blank on the lathe and turn the foot as de- Notch the front of the partitions and cut the tenons on
scribed on p. 23. (Leave the leg posts untrimmed to provide the back. Then cut the corresponding mortises in the back-
plenty of material to center the leg safely on the lathe.) boards. These can be bored first and cut close to the line
When the foot is completely turned and sanded, use a draw- with a saber saw, then trimmed with a sharp chisel. When
knife and spokeshave to shape the bandsawn leg. Saw the all these joints have been prepared and test fitted, glue and
outside face of the post on the radial-arm saw, bandsaw or install the partitions and assemble the case.
table saw, and scrape or sand it smooth. When the glue has set, pin the leg joints as indicated on
The base When the four legs are finished, begin the the drawings and install the knee brackets as described on
rest of the base. Prepare the apron stock, the sides and the pp. 32. The applied knee brackets with rounded drops are a
backboard and cut the tenons and their respective mortises distinctive Massachusetts characteristic that appears on later
in the leg posts. Use a template to lay out the apron scrolls case pieces as well. There are no brackets (or knees) on the
and cut them on the bandsaw. back of the case.
This base differs from that of the bonnet-top high chest All the drawer runners are nailed to either the sides of
and the lowboy on p. 188 in two important ways: there is no the case or the partitions. Additional cleats are nailed on
horizontal divider above the drawers, and two interior parti- top of the partitions to bring them flush with the waist
tions are sandwiched between the front and back of the molding and support the upper case. These cleats also pre-
case. These partitions serve as drawer dividers and nailing vent the drawers from tipping when they’re opened.
surfaces for the central drawer runners, and they help sup- Turn the apron drops and nail the thin, ovolo-molded
port the upper case. caps to the flat sections on the underside of the front apron.
This is the earliest joinery system used on the base sec- Then bore a %-in. dia. by *-in. deep hole through the cen-
tion of Queen Anne highboys and lowboys. The partitions ter of each cap and into the apron, and neatly glue the
are through-tenoned to the backboard and nailed to the drops in place.

21S
 The top case’ Rout the rabbet in the back edge of the thin, but you can use a modified router bit, shown below, to
case sides. Through-dovetail the upper carcase together and cut them into both edges of a wide board, and then safely
cut the dovetails in the case sides for the horizontal drawer rip them off the stock. Then rejoint the edges of the stock
dividers. Then glue the case together and nail the back- to rout another pair of moldings. (You could also use a
boards into the rabbet and the back edges of the top and spindle shaper, or special knives could be ground for the
bottom, squaring the case in the process. molding cutterhead on a table saw, which would cut the
Install the drawer dividers and nail a thin strip of maple double arch in one pass.) Miter the moldings at the corners
to the front inside edge of the bottom to raise it above the of the drawer openings and glue them to the facade of the
waist molding. Two more thin strips are nailed to the bot- upper case and base sections.
tom of the case for drawer runners. Two thicker cleats are The cornice moldings are made in three sections: the
glued and nailed to the underside of the top to allow the top astragal below the pulvinated frieze, the cove under the re-
drawer to clear the edge of the cornice and to prevent the verse ogee and the reverse ogee itself. Although these are
drawer in the pillow cornice from tipping when it’s opened. classic profiles, you won’t find them among standard router
As I’ve explained before, the drawer runners on period bits or shaper cutters. I use period molding planes to pre-
furniture typically are nailed directly to the case sides. This pare them. Of course, you can rough them out on the table
is a rather crude approach by today’s standards, and it’s saw or with a router, and then carve and scrape them to
responsible for many cracked cases. If this possibility con- shape. The waist molding has a common ogee profile, which
cerns you, consider using the alternate method described on I make with a molding plane before plowing the dado and
pp. 182-183 to install the runners in both the top and bot- cutting the miters.
tom cases. This method uses a picture-frame router bit to Make the frieze by ripping facets at a tangent to the curve
mill T-slots in the runners, which slide on screws driven on the table saw. Then plane, scrape and sand the surface
into the sides of the case. smooth. The convex frieze should be made as one continu-
Moldings Make all the double-arch moldings at once ous molding; the drawer front will be cut out of it later.
to save setup time and ensure consistent results, and make a Drawers’ Except for the drawer in the cornice, drawer
few extras to allow for errors. The moldings are extremely construction is typical of the period. The sides of the draw-

A %-in. high-speed steel rabbeting router

bit with a fixed pilot can be reground to cut
the double-arch moldings in two passes.
Note that the molding is being held next to
the cutter for the photograph; the router
must be mounted in a table and a fence must
be employed to cut the molding.

—— 214 ——
ers are joined to the drawer fronts with half-blind dovetails most visible areas of the facade. Pine is the secondary mate-
and are through-dovetailed to the drawer backs. The bot- rial throughout. It is used for interior drawer parts, run-
toms slide in shallow dadoes in the sides and drawer front ners, backboards, the back of the base and the top and
and are nailed into the back. bottom of the upper case.
The cornice drawer is through-dovetailed front and back Early Queen Anne high chests usually were constructed of
and made entirely of secondary wood. The front is laminated maple or walnut, but the drawer fronts and aprons (and
to the back of the cushion frieze, which is cut out so that it sometimes the sides) were frequently veneered with burl or
overlaps the sides when the drawer is closed. Apply the crotch veneers, as was the custom on William and Mary
frieze to the sides of the case first. Leave the front section of pieces. A piece made entirely of solid wood, without veneer,
the frieze long, and trace the end curves off of the sides of usually denotes a later construction date, although this as-
the case. Then bandsaw the ends to length and apply the signment is based on overall trends rather than the known
front of the frieze to the drawer front. The front section of practices of any particular makers.
the cushion frieze will have to be planed a bit narrower in Finishing This piece is made of tiger maple, so it
height than the sides to allow for clearance. should be finished in the same manner as the lowboy de-
Woods The legs, dividers and double-arch moldings of scribed on p. 193. It is stained with a water-based aniline
this piece are made of plain hard maple. The drawer fronts, dye, then rubbed with Graining Liquid. Several coats of a
sides, front apron and the waist and cornice moldings are rubbed oil/varnish mixture seal and protect the finish.
made of tiger maple. It’s not unusual to find this mixture on Hardware Brass bails with chased backplates (Ball
period pieces, with the fancy-grained woods selected for the and Ball #A86-024) are appropriate for this high chest.

Serra]
lpSop
 ____ FLaT-Top HIGH CHEST
Scale: %2 in. = 1 in.

Note: Brass bails with chased backplates

are Ball and Ball #A86-024.

Front View Side View

SECTION
Scale: Full

Note: Double-arch moldings have been

eliminated on all subsequent drawings.
Above drawings should be used as a
location reference.

—— 216.
FRONT APRON/
LEG ASSEMBLY
Scale % in. = 1 in.

Note: Leg blank is 2% in.

square x 37 in. long.

Note: Apron is fastened to front

leg with % in.-dia. x 1-in. long pins.

I
Yin
a. : eee:
Scale: 4 in. Tenon, * in.
dia. x % in. L.

es id

os ee Knee brackets (6), 1 in. T.

"ad x 236 in. W. x 1% in. L.

Cap, “Ae in. T. x 1% in. W.

x 2M in. L.
7,LS vax

2%

Note: Rear apron tenons are like those of side apron.

Rear apron is “ in. thick x 12% in. wide x 36 in. long
(3414 in. shoulder to shoulder).
SIDE APRON/REAR LEG ASSEMBLY
Scale: %6 in. = 1 in.

Note: Rear legs

are the same as
ee
Sn
front legs, except
leg post and
shoulder are not
completed on
the back of the
piece.

Note:
Ankle dia. = 1'%e in.
5/6-in. tenon, Foot dia. = 2% in.
centered Pad dia. = 2% in.

— 217—
LOWER CASE, PARTIAL TOP VIEW
Scale: “6 in. = 1 in.
x 3 . aa .

Rear apron Rear leg post,

1% in. T. x 2% in. W.

False top cleat, 2 in. W.,

nailed to interior partitions
and back apron
Drawer runner

Interior partition, tenoned

into back apron, rabetted
around front apron

Drawer runners (4), % in. T

x 1 in. W. x 16'%Ae in. L,,
nailed to interior partition
Front leg post,
1% in. sq.

Front apron
front corners and nailed to front and side aprons

LOWER CASE, PARTIAL FRONT VIEW ;

Scale: “Ae in. = 1 in. 4)

10 ee 12

4 Scale: % in. = 1 in.

-
Pe,%

cae
*Ae-in. tenon, centered

—— "218 ———
LOWER CASE, DRAWER DETAILS
Scale: %6 in. = 1 in.

Drawer front, 7 in. T. Note: Drawer fronts are not lip molded and are flush
with sides.
—

Drawer back, “As in. T. Note: Top view is typical of all drawers.
Outer drawer: A = 9% in.
Center drawer: A = 12% in.

Drawer side, %e in. T. Half pin, typ.

Side View, Center Drawer

Drawer bottom, % in. T.

Side View, Outer Drawer (2)

SECTION A (with molding, without drops)

Scale: % in. = 1 in. Scale: “6 in. = 1 in.

1% <— Line of upper

case front
Grid square

ve Line of center drawer runner

Lower case front

Outer drawer runner

(seen through)

Note: Vertical partition is in. thick. Tenons 17'"e

are full thickness.

roma
db he
UPPER CASE SECTION AT CENTERLINE, Scale:%sin. = Tin. UPPER CASE DRAWER DETAILS —
Scale: “Ae in. = 1 in.

=. 16%

\— Brace, glued Drawer front,

and nailed to top 7% in. T.
Drawer back
Vin. T.

we Half pin (typ.

top and
bottom)

Drawer runner, 7 in. T. 7

x 5 in. W. x 1442 in. L, Pee eagle es
nailed to case side

SS eee

Cleat, % in. T. x 1 in. W.

ee
x 337A in. L., allows
bottom drawer to clear molding

Cleats (2), % in. T.

x % in. W. x 16 in. L.,
nailed to bottom

reeae
Bottom, ‘io in. T.

Note: Drawer sides are 4 in. thick;

drawer bottoms are % in. thick. Drawer
fronts and sides are flush.

Half pin, % in. W.

front and back

Note: Dovetail layout on case top is

same as on bottom (shown left).
Bottom View

= 0
UPPER CASE, PARTIAL FRONT VIEW
Scale: %s in. = 1 in.

Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Drawer runners
(seen through)
1i
Drawer divider (4), 7 in. T. x
2" in. W. x 34% in. L. (3374 in.
shoulder to shoulder) a
i
—-

Case side panel,

7 in. T.
:
|
]
Bottom panel, 'e in. T.
x 17 in. W. x 337A in. L.

|
FRIEZE DRAWER DETAILS, Scale: %s in. = 1 in.

Note: Front section on frieze molding overlaps case sides and is

nailed to top drawer front.

Side View Partial Top View

ca)
A ee
 Bonnet-top high chest, or highboy, with a broken-scroll
pediment. This tiger maple reproduction highboy is based on
several outstanding Connecticut examples, c. 1740-1780.

SS Chee
 BONNET-TOP HIGH CHEST

igh chests with scroll pediments are among the The hood must accept the tight bend of the cornice. Most
most fully developed case pieces in the Queen hoods consist of wide, thin softwood boards, applied green
Anne style. Unlike so many familiar features of or soaked and steamed for flexibility. These boards often
the period, the scroll pediment was not em- split at the nails when they dried, which may be why the
ployed on furniture in earlier style periods. It is method was discarded. The curved boards could have been
assoeinied only with Queen Anne and Chippendale highboys coopered out of narrow strips, but I’ve never seen it done
with cabriole legs. That the scroll is based on the classic on period pieces. The boards are frequently covered with
S-curve is obvious, as is its resemblance to the volute on the painted canvas, like the skin of a canoe, but I suspect this
Ionic capital. But how did the broken-scroll pediment be- was a 19th-century cosmetic repair for hiding a split hood.
come a prominent feature of American furniture? Some makers filled the enclosed compartment formed by
Like their modern counterparts, 18th-century cabinet- the bonnet with small, hidden drawers that slid in from the
makers were generally too preoccupied with earning a living back. Of course, these could not be pulled out unless the
to dedicate much of their time to innovation. Inspiration piece were moved away from the wall.
came from readily available sources, such as the designs of Some high chests may be found with amputated bonnets.
other successful cabinetmakers or popular motifs in other These case pieces were probably altered to fit rooms with
arts. At some point, an astute craftsman (and businessman) low ceilings. The telltale drawer arrangement, along with
probably decided to attach a broken pediment to a high other structural alterations, usually presents irrefutable evi-
chest. People liked the design, bought his work, and other dence of their original condition. Other flat-top highboys
cabinetmakers followed suit. The apprentice system further have been upgraded with counterfeit bonnets. On these mu-
disseminated the design and helped to obscure its origins. tations, the central drawer is rarely original and the top of
Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that this entreprenuer will ever the chest has been so severely altered that deception is
be identified. nearly impossible. Carvings are a highly personalized finger-
The arrangement of top drawers in a bonnet-top high print of the artisan, and consistency between the carved
chest usually assumes one of two configurations. On some shell in the bonnet and the one in the base is a good sign
examples, such as the highboy in this chapter, the outside that a particular high chest is of a piece; reproduction carv-
drawers are rectangular. On others, the shape of the drawers ings seldom match the original.
conforms to the curve of the cornice, and the drawer sides The beauty of a scroll-pedimented high chest depends on
are different heights. In both cases, the central drawer is the harmonious relationship of many elements. Good pro-
taller than the ones on either side and appears to project portion can make the difference between an elegant chest
into the pediment. (Actually, the top of the drawer is slightly and a hulking behemoth. The height of the legs adds stature
below the cornice.) and motion, and their curves animate the rectilinear case.
The curved top, or hood, of most bonnet-top highboys is But excessive curvature or unnatural irregularities can be
usually covered with thin boards fastened with rosehead peculiar and unbecoming. In the Queen Anne style, orna-
nails to the front scroll, and another curved board is at- ment is considered subordinate to form, so the carving must
tached to the back of the case. During the Chippendale period, enrich without overwhelming. Apron scrolls should add in-
hooded tops were less popular, and the pediment became terest to the base and balance the pediment, while the
just a facade. S-shaped pediment must complement the rest of the piece.

ae
1) > ea
 With all of these complex, interrelated criteria, it’s a aprons, sides and backboard; and fit the short, vertical di-
wonder that any high chests emerge as near-perfect speci- viders that separate the three lower drawers. Install the in-
mens. But they do. The one featured in this chapter is based ternal braces and drawer runners and nail two cleats to the
on several such examples produced in the vicinity of Weth- top of the case sides to keep the top drawer from tipping
ersfield and Colchester, Connecticut. These inspirational and to add support for the heavy upper case.
pieces are housed in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, The top case The sides of the upper carcase are
Michigan, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond joined to the bottom and top with through dovetails, which
and in a private collection. are stronger and definitely easier to cut than half-blind
Although they are all unique, these original, bonnet-top dovetails. The end grain of the tails will be concealed by the
highboys share a clarity of form and decoration. Their pro- waist molding and the cornice. The horizontal drawer di-
portions are graceful and well balanced, as shown by the viders are housed in shallow dadoes and dovetailed to the
beautiful pediment and the circular fan on the plinth below. sides, following the system described on p. 181. The eight
The beauty of this reproduction is wholly indebted to these outside drawer runners (four on each side) for all but the
fine period examples. bottom drawer are nailed into the dadoes or attached ac-
cording to one of the methods described on pp. 182-183, if
MAKING THE HIGH CHEST you want to allow for movement of the case sides.
A bonnet-top high chest is a demanding project. Its impos- Two dovetail slots are cut in the top horizontal divider
ing size and the construction of the S-curved pediment with for the vertical dividers that flank the shell-carved drawer.
its gooseneck moldings represent a challenge for even the The vertical dividers are put in later, since they are nailed to
most accomplished cabinetmaker. However, the skills re- the bonnet facade. The runner system for the top three
quired are not all that ponderous or impossible to master. drawers differs somewhat from the others. An additional
With accurate drawings and a logical plan of attack, even a horizontal divider runs across the back of the case and is
woodworker of moderate experience can succeed in making housed in the dadoes in the case side. The two interior drawer
a great piece. runners are tenoned between it and the front divider.
Working alone, it usually takes me at least eight weeks to To attach the bonnet facade to the rectangular case, cut
build the highboy in this chapter. To make the project more two slots in the case sides for the tenons on the ends of the
manageable, I break it down into six phases of construction: facade. These slots must be cut prior to assembly, but the
the base, the top case, the drawers, the fan carvings, the facade is slid into position after the case is glued up.
hood and cornice molding, and the finial. After dedicating Glue the top case together when the corner dovetails are
many hours to each process, I’m always eager to tackle the cut and fitted and after all the dadoes and dovetails in the
next operation. Of course, finishing follows construction and case sides have been completed. It’s important to glue the
might be considered the seventh step. clamped-up carcase square; if it isn’t square, all of the sub-
The base The design and construction of the high sequent procedures will be hindered. The back is composed
chest base are essentially the same for the lowboy on of 'A-in. thick boards, joined with an unglued tongue-and-
p. 188. The procedures for making the cabriole legs with groove. After the carcase joints are set, nail the backboards
turned-pad feet and the applied knee brackets are described into the rabbets in the case sides and the top and bottom. If
in Chapter 2. Begin by turning the feet and carving the legs. the case is slightly out of square, you can usually pull it into
Then mortise the leg posts for the horizontal dividers, position at this time.

The pediment reflects the scrolled apron,

which is bold, but not confusing or
overpowering. The circular fan is a perfect
companion to the two larger fans and adds
an aristocratic richness to the piece. (Photo
by Brian Gulick.)

wesc
7-05 Vee
 With the sides and back assembled, install the horizontal The profile of the cornice molding, shown on p. 226, is
dividers and the drawer runners. Glue a narrow strip of typical of 18th-century New England highboys. Although it
maple on top of the pine bottom along the front edge to comprises classical elements, this particular configuration is
raise the bottom drawer above the waist molding, and glue not found in architectural applications. It begins with a cove
two ‘-in. thick by 1-in. wide strips from front to back to molding rising to a fillet, or flat area, and then to an astra-
serve as runners for the bottom drawer of the top case. gal bead. Another large cove rises to a second fillet, and the
Cut the tenons on both ends of the bonnet-facade board, molding is capped with an ovolo quarter round. The same
before sawing out the scrolled pediments. This is easy to do molding profile is used on the straight and curved sections.
on the table saw while the board is still rectangular if you Joint and plane the molding stock to thickness and trace
use the rip fence to guide both the shoulder and face cuts. the gooseneck molding pattern to it. (Two 6'A-in. wide by
Then make a cardboard template for the scrolled pediments 24'/6-in. long pieces are required for the gooseneck mold-
from the drawings on p. 234. Transfer the template to the ings, and a 5-ft. section of 2'/0-in. wide straight cornice is
tenoned stock, and use a bandsaw to cut the bonnet profile. needed for the straight side sections and inside returns.)
Glue and nail the tenoned facade to the case, making The two curved moldings can be bandsawn at the same time
sure to locate the nails where they’ll be hidden by the cor- by gluing two blanks together, separated by a piece of
nice molding. The rear scroll mirrors the shape of the fa- paper. This ensures uniformity and the two pieces can be
cade and provides a place to fasten the hood. Two vertical easily separated with a chisel.
pine braces are nailed between the facade and the rear Note that the cornice projects % in. above the bonnet
scroll, and 1-in. by 1’4-in. cleats are glued and nailed to the hood. This covers any irregularities in the curve of the
top of the case and the base of the vertical braces to rein- hood, which might otherwise be exposed. The pattern for
force the whole assembly. I usually wait until I'm making the top edge of the gooseneck molding can be traced directly
the cornice to attach the hood. Two contoured pine blocks from the hood with a pencil placed flat on the hood. Whittle
faced with primary wood return the top ends of the scrolls the pencil down to reduce its thickness, or apply tape to
toward the back of the case and support the mitered returns build it up, as necessary.
of the cornice. These blocks are glued to the vertical brace The lower edge of the molding is equidistant from the
and nailed to the facade, as shown in the drawings. A pine top line and can be scribed with a pair of dividers set to the
block reinforces the plinth. width of the finished molding. Allow at least 3 in. extra at
Drawers and fan carvings Next, prepare the drawer each end, where the molding extends beyond the case at the
parts and dovetail them together. By working systematically mitered corner and the inside returns. This makes it easier
on all the drawers at once, the process is much more effi- to cut the miters and match the curves to the straight sec-
cient and you’re less likely to make a mistake. Assemble all tions. Lay out the gooseneck and bandsaw it.
the drawers, except for the two with fan-carved fronts. The Original cornice moldings for scroll pediments were
flat drawer fronts are easier to clamp on the bench for carv- carved entirely by hand. The straight sections were gotten
ing. The lower fan is a bit larger than the top one, but both out with molding planes, while the curved goosenecks were
have 20 rays. Carve the 2'4-in. dia. circular fan on the plinth carved with chisels and gouges. Some of the excess material
at the same time. Refer to the directions for carving the fan may have been removed with an auger bit or with a draw-
on the lowboy on p. 191. knife or spokeshave, but a lot of laborious carving and
The hood and cornice molding I’m not concerned scraping was undoubtedly required. As long as the moldings
about minor splitting on a piece made for my own use, but I fit well at the miters, subtle irregularities in the curved
try to avoid it on customers’ work. To that end, I’ve devel- areas were tolerated and surprisingly unnoticeable.
oped a system for attaching the thin hood boards that rein- In modern industrial situations, gooseneck moldings are
forces them and allows for some movement. produced using huge, computer-numerically-controlled
First, plane the %2-in. thick boards for the hood, using a (CNC) overhead routers. When a molding has no concave
single wide board for each side, if possible. Reinforce the recesses and continually steps up from the edge like a stair-
boards with fiberglass filament tape (the kind used to bind case, a spindle shaper equipped with a rub collar can be
packages) stuck across the grain on their underside. (The used to cut the curves. But this type of molding does not
grain of the hood boards runs from the front to the back of occur on period pieces; its design is dictated by the ma-
the case.) The tape adds strength, much like a cross-grain chine process rather than by historical integrity, which is a
plywood laminate. frequent flaw in mass-produced reproduction furniture. Prior
Make sure that you don’t apply the tape too close to the to the introduction of CNC machines, overhead pin routers
front and back edges of the boards. Then, fasten the boards were used efficiently. Overhead pin routers are still around,
to the scrolls with contact cement, which will remain flexi- but they’re too expensive for most small shops.
ble after it sets. Let the boards overhang the front and back The straight molding sections could be cut in various
of the case and trim them flush with a block plane or chisel. ways, using molding planes, a shaper, a router table or even
If you wish the hood to appear nailed, like most original a table saw equipped with a molding cutterhead and several
bonnet tops, you can attach false forged nail heads with different knives. However, the straight sections must be
epoxy. Bending plywood, ’-in. thick, would work well for matched to the curved goosenecks. Gooseneck moldings are
the hood boards, but I don’t like to use plywood on not difficult to carve if most of the material has been re-
my reproductions. moved by machine and if the carving sequence is well de-

ane) aa
 Routing the Cornice Molding Step 1

V)-in. straight bit

Step 2

VY-in. straight bit

Step 3

Va-in. straight bit

cutting the molding as shown in Step 2 in the drawing at right.

Two bearings on the table guide the gooseneck molding. Step 4

Y%-in. core-box bit

fined. I’ve devised a procedure for making the entire cor-
nice that employs a common hand-held router attached to a
radial-arm saw or to the arm of a power-feed unit, as shown
in the photo above.
Various other methods can be employed, a few of which
are discussed in the magazine articles listed in the Bibliog-
raphy on p. 244. Each has its own merits and shortcomings,
but any system that will handle the curved moldings can be Step 5
used on the straight sections.
A router is the perfect tool for the job, but it must be
guided around the curves. I use a jig to guide the curved Ys-in. straight bit
molding through successive cuts made by different bits. The
jig in the photo is made from a piece of %-in. hardwood
plywood, fastened to the table beneath the router. Two small
ball-bearing guides are attached to the plywood table, in line
with the cutter and slightly more than 2'/6 apart.
The molding stock is held against the rear guide bearing,
while the front bearing prevents the stock from accidentally Step 6
slipping forward, which could destroy the profile. Imagine a Rounded by hand
line drawn through the bearing centers (and the center of Yh-in. core-box bit
the cutter) as the radius of the curved sections, and try to
manipulate the molding stock so that it is always at a right
angle to that line.
For straight molding sections, attach a fence to the ply-
wood table, flush with the inside of the rear bearing. The
fence must be removed and reattached many times in the

—— 226 ——
operation to rout each molding shape, so it’s more practical
to screw it down than to clamp it, because the screw holes
provide immediate realignment of the fence.
The router must be readjusted for each cut, which is no
problem when it’s attached to the radial-arm saw or power-
feed arm. Trace the molding profile on both ends of a test
piece of straight stock (at least 1 ft. long) and use this to
position the router. Be sure to cut both the straight and
curved moldings at each step or you will have to work pain-
fully backwards to match them. A shop vacuum can be used
to collect the prodigious amount of dust that will be gener-
ated by the process. Extreme care should be exercised to
keep your fingers away from the cutter. Take light cuts to
prevent the bit from grabbing, and always feed the stock
against the rotation of the spinning cutter.
Begin by using a '4-in. straight bit to remove the waste to
the upper fillet, as shown in Step 1 in the series of illustra-
tions on the facing page. Then change the depth of cut and
the position of the router and use the same bit to shape the
molding to the top of the bead (shown in Step 2). Readjust
the router once more and shape the molding as shown in
Step 3.
Using a '2-in. core-box bit, most of the large cove can be
cut down to the astragal bead, as shown in Step 4. (Readjust
the depth and position of the router for each bite.) Now
comes the trickiest part: cutting the back of the bead,
shown in Step 5. I use a ‘4-in. straight bit to trim close to
the finished profile. Finally, rout the cove on the lower edge
with a 'A-in. core-box bit to the profile shown in Step 6.
I prefer to hand carve both the astragal and the ovolo
portions, so I leave these square on the routed moldings. Use a piece of flexible cardboard to lay out the spiral flutes
on the flame finial.
You can rough them out with the router setup if you choose,
using round-over bits with their pilots ground off. A %/-in.
radius bit will shape the astragal, and a '4-in. radius bit can Woods The bottom and top of the carcase are made
be used to round the ovolo. from wide pine boards. The sides are laminated from two
The routed moldings will be full of tiny ridges, which pieces of tiger maple, as full-width boards would be nearly
have to be carved, scraped and sanded smooth. The miters impossible to find. Tiger maple is also used for all exposed
on the curved sections can be sawn in a miter box with the parts, including the legs and aprons, drawer dividers, drawer
goosenecks clamped to the fence. Some fairing of the mold- fronts, bonnet facade, waist and cornice moldings, plinth
ings at the miters should be expected. When you’re satisfied and finial. Pine is used as a secondary wood throughout.
with your molding profiles, glue and nail the mitered cor- A friend recently told me about a neat trick for planing
nices to the case. curly maple with a minimum of tearout. Wipe down the
The finial The flame finial, which resembles a burn- wood with a wet sponge and allow the surface to absorb the
ing torch, is a distinctly classical motif. It is turned on the moisture for about 30 seconds. Then run it through the
lathe to its outside dimension and then laid out for the planer. The entire case should be scraped before finishing,
carved flutes. First, divide the base of the fluted section into and this will remove the raised grain caused by the water.
four equal segments, 90° apart. About halfway up the shaft, If you can’t get (or don’t want) tiger maple, you could
divide the circumference again into four equal segments. substitute cherry, plain maple, mahogany or walnut for the
Then draw a spiral line connecting each bottom point with primary wood. Cherry is found on most original highboys.
the next adjacent upper point, as shown in the photo at Finishing This chest is finished like the lowboy on
right. Extend these lines beyond the upper points so they p. 188. Stain it first with a water-based aniline dye, then rub it
come together at the peak. with Graining Liquid, followed by several coats of a rubbed
Carve the finial with gouges and smooth it with sandpa- oil/varnish mixture. (See the finishing appendix on p. 237.)
per wrapped around a small dowel to keep the edges crisp. Hardware _ The brasses on this highboy are all made
The round tenon at the base of the finial sits in a hole by Ball and Ball (see Sources of Supply, p. 242). I use Ball’s
bored in the plinth cap. I never glue the finial in place, so it #C2-009 pulls with matching escutcheons and *-in. dia.
can be removed if the piece is transported. brass knobs, #G17-137.

— 227—
 BONNET-TOP HIGH CHEST
Scale: %42 in. = 1 in.

>

Front View Side View

a BLS ee
 FRONT APRON/LEG ASSEMBLY
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

Note: Aprons are fastened to leg

with '4-in. dia. x 1-in. long pins.

Line of rear
apron (follows
scrolling of front
SECTION A apron at ends)
Scale: %6 in. = 1 in.

Knee bracket
cc (6), 1e in. T.
x Ain. W.x 1% L.

Note: Leg blank is

2% in. square
Top drawer cleat x 36 in. long.

Rear apron
tenons, 74 in. T. x 16
in. W. x 364% in. L.
Outer drawer runners, (34% shoulder to
nailed to case sides shoulder) are
(see p. 230 for same as on side
detail drawing) apron

Note:
Ankle dia. = 1% in.
Foot dia. = 2% in.
Pad dia. = 1% in.

Snel

285/6 tenon

aa %

22)
LOWER CASE, PARTIAL TOP VIEW
Scale: %6 in. = 1 in.
VY

Note: Leg post is — Backboard

1g in. square.

Cleat (2), 4 in. T. — Interior drawer

x 1’ in. W. x 15%e in. L., guide (2) Interior drawer guide
nailed to case side (2), in. T. x % in. W.
x 15%e in. L., nailed
to interior drawer
* runner

Interior drawer
runner (2)

Horizontal Front apron

divider

Vertical divider 5As in. tenon

Scale: % in. = 1 in.
VW”
LOWER CASE,
PARTIAL FRONT VIEW
Scale: %6 in. = 1 in.

Note: Drawer runners

and guides are flush
with drawer openings.

Note: See pg. 232

for waist molding detail.

||

a SO es
LOWER CASE, DRAWER DETAILS
Scale: Y% in. = 1 in.

Half-pin (typ.
top and bottom)

Front View Side View (all Drawer bottom,

Central hub, 1% in. dia. bottom drawers)
(central bottom drawer) %Ae in. T.

Flush with front of case Drawer front, z

Note: Carving consists of 20
So Ee 2 rays of 10° radiating from hub
center. Ends of rays are arcs
of 1-in. dia. circles.

Drawer side,

Bottom View

ee

SECTION B
Scale: “eo in. = 1 in.

Side View (Top Drawer)

Note: Outer bottom drawers are 9% in. high

(fronts are 1046 in. high) and 341% in. wide (fronts
are 35 in. wide). All other dimensions are the
same as the central drawer. See p. 197 for further
construction information,

Interior drawer guide

Vertical divider,
yn: VW i
fin. T. x 1/6 in. W. Interior drawer guide

Interior drawer runner, 7 in. T.

x 2% in. W. x 17% L.

18%

a
UPPER CASE, PARTIAL FRONT VIEW Bonnet
Scale: 6 in. = 1 in. facade

SECTION, Scale: 6 in. = 1 in.

6——
Backboard, rabbeted into
case top and side
Vertical divider, 7 in. T.
x 1% in. W. x 7% in. L.,
Top drawer nailed at top
cleat (seen through) to bonnet facade

if
Drawer guide
Drawer runner (seen through) ayiN
(seen through)

Horizontal divider, 74 in. T.

x 2% in. W. x 35% in. L.
a!
Drawer runner
(seen through)
Q
e
Case top, ’ in. T.
x 15% in. W. x 36 in. L.
s|
4
Bottom divider, 74 in. T. x 242 in. W.
x 34% in. L., nailed to bottom panel
= =<
Scale: % in. = 1 in.

cs
Drawer runner (seen through)

1,

Bottom panel

17%

18
Note: Waist molding is 19
nailed to lower case.
Line of lower case side

nS oe
 UPPER CASE, SECTION AT CENTERLINE
Scale: 6 in. = 1 in. Backboard, % in. T. x 35% in. W. x 36% in. L.,
fF
Y nailed to case sides, top and bottom
a

Z peas

Interior drawer runner rear tenon, */e in. T.

x 2% in. W. x Yin. L.
Front tenon (2), *Ae in. T. x % in. W.
Interior drawer guide,
x “in. L.
7% in. T. x in. W. x 147A in. L.,
nailed to runner
UPPER CASE, DRAWER DETAILS
Interior drawer runner, 74 in. T.
Scale: %6 in. = 1 in.
x 2% in. W. x 12% in. W. (11% in.
shoulder to shoulder) Note: See page 235 for
details of three remaining
upper-case drawers.

Top front and rear horizontal divider

are similar in both dimension and
attachment, except rear divider fits in
straight-sided dado in case side.

(typ. top
Horizontal divider and bottom)

Drawer runner, 7 in. T.

x 1 in. W. x 14% in. L.

14%

Bottom divider

Bottom drawer runner,

7% in. T. x 1 in. W. x 14% in. L.,
nailed to bottom panel eee

Note: Drawer sides are % in.

thick. Drawer bottoms are 7s in.
thick and are nailed to backs and
housed in % in. x Ya in. groove,
front and sides. See p. 197 for
further construction information.

rabbet

Bottom View Bottom panel, 7 in. T. x 16% in. W. x 36 in. L.

2 —
BONNET TOP, PARTIAL TOP VIEW Rear scroll, % in. T., nailed to vertical brace and top of case
Scale: 4 in. = 1 in. ic
Note: Bonnet top is removed.

Return, contoured block faced with primary wood. a b

Block, 1% in. T. x 2 in. W. x 7 in. L.
Vertical brace, % in. T. x 914 in. W. Facing, % in. T. x 1% in. W. x 3% in. L,
x 15% in. L., nailed to facade
and rear scroll and shaped at top

Reinforcement block, 11% in. sq.

Cleat, 1 in. T. x 1% in. W. x 7% in., glued to base of plinth
x 15% in. L., nailed to upper-case
top panel and vertical brace

|
a a
Line of plinth cap

Facade tenon, ‘Ae in. T. Line of bonnet molding

x 4¥e in. W. x 2 deep and cornices (removed)

BONNET TOP, PARTIAL FRONT VIEW

Scale: Y% in. = 1 in.

Bonnet facade top edge

neo
Bonnet hood,
542-in. T.

Lines of

Upper case top panel,

7 in. T. (seen through)

Scale: 2 in. = 1 in.

Top drawer cleat, 7 in. T.

x % in. W. x 14% in L,, Note:
nailed to case side (seen through) Major dia. = 2% in.
Hub dia. = %o in.,
10% Arc termini dia. = Ao in|
22 rays are 221° each.

Note: Bonnet facade blank is 7 in. thick x 14% in. wide x 35% in. long. (34% in.
shoulderto shoulder). Bonnet hood is 1712 in. wide and approximately 17% in.
long, reinforced with tape across the grain (front to back). Two are required.

a4
UPPER CASE TOPAWA DRAWER be DETAILS Note: Carvingae consists of 20 rays of
Scale: % in. = 1 in. 10° each, radiating from hub center.
Arc termini are segments of 7d circles.

| — Half-pin (typ.
| top and bottom)

Front View, 1%d hub

Central Drawer Side View, Central Drawer
Surface flush with front of case

Front, 74 in.

Bottom View, Central Drawer Side, % in.

jection Mai canken Orase 11%
Side View (outer drawers)

BONNET CORNICE MOLDING Note: Outer drawers are 101% in. wide
Scale: 4 in. = 1 in. Afronts are 10% in. wide).
Note: Stock for each gooseneck
bonnet molding is 11 in. thick x
64 in. wide x 24/6 in. long. Approximate location FINIAL DETAIL
Cornice stock is 11 in. thick of miter at case side Scale: 2 in. = 1 in.
x 2"4e in. wide. Two 22-in. long
pieces are required for case _ ~
sides, two 5-in. long pieces
for bonnet and cornice
moldings are
nailed to
case sides
and facade.

Note: Flame
of finial has
4 flutes, each
20°. Each flute
Approximate location spirals 180° from Plinth cap, *e in. T.
of miter at return Section D to top. x2 in. W.x 2”%in. L.
Z

saa 4b emer
APPENDICES
237
Finishing

240
Scaling Period Furniture

242
Sources of Supply

.a
 FINISHING

Few pieces of 18th-century American furniture have retained grain-painted in imitation of the more sophisticated primary
their original finish. Consequently, many of our assumptions woods used in urban furniture.
about period finishes are based on conjecture and are often Nowhere are the philosophical issues inherent in making re-
proved wrong. In addition to the general absence of study spec- production furniture more acute than in the finishing process.
imens, several other factors contribute to the confusion. The choice of finishing materials and the method of their appli-
Eighteenth-century cabinetmakers and finishers were com- cation will determine, more than anything else, how a piece
petitive and tended to guard their trade secrets. The informa- will look. The information offered below reflects my own atti-
tion was conveyed orally from master to apprentice, and pub- tudes toward making Queen Anne furniture, and represents the
lished guides were extremely rare. Recipe books of the period fruit of many trials and errors. I strongly suggest that you ex-
are more helpful in identifying available products than in pro- periment with whatever finish you plan to use before applying it
viding specific finishing instructions. to a piece of furniture, and keep a written journal of all rel-
Until recently, conservators have downplayed the importance evant information.
of the finish in relation to the overall physical characteristics of Surface preparation Before stain and finish can be ap-
a piece. Unless the finish made a dramatic statement, as in plied, the surfaces must be prepared. I find it easiest to hand-
japanned or grain-painted furniture, investigation of its chemi- plane, scrape or sand the components of a piece before they
cal composition and method of application was disregarded. are assembled. Period-furniture makers probably did the same,
Likewise, today’s cabinetmakers generally exhibit a strong particularly since sandpaper was a precious commodity. They
prejudice against finishing. Once construction is complete, the expended little energy in smoothing tool marks or surface im-
piece is considered done. Finishing is regarded as a tedious perfections where they wouldn’t show, as on the underside of a
epilog, and many craftsmen seriously underestimate the time it tabletop or the inside of a chest of drawers.
requires. This robs the pocketbook and adds to their disdain Excessive sanding should be avoided. It removes the texture
for the process. and character from a smoothly planed or scraped surface. Ma-
Painted finishes are common on period furniture, although chine sanding is helpful, but only in light doses; use a finishing
many pieces have had their original finish ruthlessly stripped sander that doesn’t leave swirls or scratches. Sanding involves
away. In recent years, original painted surfaces have been given abrasion, no matter how fine the grit of paper.
their well-deserved respect, and the rage for unpainted, so- Eighteenth-century cabinetmakers used sharkskin and sand-
called patinated surfaces is now generally regarded as an irre- paper made from ground glass bonded to paper (called glass-
sponsible and destructive fetish. In spite of this, one can still paper in many account books). Bundled horsetail rushes were
find newspaper ads for “quick-strip” furniture refinishers, and also used to abrade surfaces, as was powdered pumice.
we can only speculate with horror at the priceless finishes that When you assemble a piece of furniture, take pains to avoid
are being literally washed away with caustic chemicals. excessive glue squeeze-out. Arrange the clamps so you can re-
Original finishes were composed of fugitive pigments made move the glue with a damp rag or a chisel before it dries. This
from plants, metal oxides and insects, which quickly faded with will save a great deal of clean-up time later on.
exposure to light. Over the years, problems with original fin- Dye _ | think of wood coloration as a two-step process. The
ishes were resolved either by removing the defective finish or first step produces a base color, which homogenizes the var-
covering it with fresh paint. Luckily, many early painted sur- ious parts of a piece into a unified whole and serves as a
faces have been preserved beneath newer applications of paint, foundation for stains and paints applied in the second step. I
which can be carefully removed to expose the original finish. use aniline dyes to achieve a good base color. They penetrate
Considering all these factors, it’s no wonder that misconcep- well, without masking the natural grain of the wood.
tions abound concerning historical finishing procedures and I prefer water-soluble aniline dyes because they penetrate
materials. One thing is certain—original finishes were markedly deeply and are easier to apply than alcohol-based or spirit-
different from how we see them today. solvent dyes. Dye can be purchased in premixed formulas or
Premixed finishes were unobtainable in the Queen Anne pe- mixed from primary colors. I’ve had very good results with the
riod, so cabinetmakers mixed their own. Like traditional home- aniline dyes made by Lockwood, which are available in colors
makers, they cooked from scratch, blending ingredients to cre- that closely approximate the hues of period furniture.
ate the best finish. They were not afraid to experiment, and like Before applying a water-based dye, dampen the piece lightly
today’s woodworkers, they sought finishes that were easy to with water. This helps even out the dye and prevents lapping. If
apply and repair. you mix the solution a bit weak, you can spread the dye evenly
Compared to modern workshops, the 18th-century cabinet- and gradually in successive applications. The unassembled parts
shop was relatively free of dust, which made it easy to brush on can be dyed before the piece is glued up. This works particu-
or rub on a few coats of finish. Chairs and other relatively larly well when the piece will receive a stain over the dyed base
complex furniture were usually finished with rubbed linseed oil color. Light sanding of the assembled piece usually won't re-
or wax, which are easy to apply. Case pieces and tables were move enough color to be noticeable after the stain is applied.
generally varnished and rubbed with pumice stone. Pieces that If the piece will be painted, I always dye it first so that new,
were built of a number of different woods were either painted light-colored wood will not show when the paint is rubbed off.
or stained to blend the disparate materials. Country pieces In this situation, you can use either a water-soluble dye or a
made of common native woods were frequently stained or stain that doesn’t raise the grain (it’s actually an aniline dye),

——
35
such as Behlen’s NGR. NGR stain is difficult to apply with a coat. They also tend to look muddy. I’ve tried various paste
brush or rag, and doesn’t come in suitable reproduction colors, stains, and I much prefer the results I get with a dye and pig-
so I avoid using it under a clear finish. But it is excellent under mented stain followed by a top coat of varnish.
paint and doesn’t require tedious sanding before painting. Mahoganizing cherry Cherry was frequently treated to
You may wish to experiment with chemical dyes to produce resemble mahogany. Although the process was not consistently
a particular effect. Mahogany can be colored reddish brown by applied in the 18th century, the result was an opaque, lightly
using a solution of quicklime and water. A weak mixture of grained finish sealed with a clear top coat. On period pieces,
’4 tsp. ferrous sulphate and 1 qt. water will accentuate the tiger the finish is usually worn so natural cherry shows through. To
stripe in figured maple, but the wood will emerge with a light- simulate this effect, begin by staining the piece with an aniline
green tinge that will have to be overstained. dye, such as Lockwood’s Antique Cherry.
It is particularly difficult to color maple to resemble an- I use a rather unorthodox product for the opaque second
tiques. Period cabinetmakers used a solution of aquafortis, or coat—a solid-color, linseed-oil-based exterior mahogany Olym-
nitric acid, to color maple. (The acid resulted in a brownish pic stain. It is applied like paint, but rubs off easily before
amber tone, but eventually ate through the finish if it wasn’t drying wherever you want the cherry to show through. It
properly neutralized.) I apply a base color with an amber ani- doesn’t seriously affect the base coat, and it dries to a dull
line dye, then follow with a coat of either glazing stain or pig- finish. There are fungicides in the stain, so wear latex gloves to
mented oil stain to tone it down but allow the amber highlights apply it. And as always, seal it with a top coat.
to show through. Lockwood’s Honeytone Amber Maple water When the stain is dry, I apply Stulb’s Graining Liquid with a
stain (actually an aniline dye) is the best product I’ve found for brush, then rub it off with a clean rag, leaving a lightly grained
an amber maple base. effect, particularly where the stain is heaviest. When this is dry,
I've experimented with a whole array of chemical dyes and I follow with a top coat of Minwax Antique Oil Finish.
mordants — including a solution of potassium dichromate and Paint Reproduction milk paints closely approximate the
water, which I now avoid since it is a known carcinogen. I’ve colors and textures of period casein paints. They come in pow-
also found them too unpredictable, and the colors they produce dered form, to be mixed with water. Milk paint is extremely
are not particularly lightfast. Aniline dyes give superior results. durable, and the powdered colors can be combined for more
Stain As 4 rule, stains do not penetrate nearly as well as variety. For example, I mix equal proportions of red, green and
dyes. But they work well as a toner or evener, applied on top of black to create Spanish brown.
a dyed base color. Stains represent the second step in most of Powdered milk paints have a relatively short shelf life. After
my finishing procedures. a few months, they either fail to dissolve or refuse to adhere.
Some darker woods like mahogany or walnut can be stained The Old-Fashioned Milk Paint Company guarantees its paints
in one step, without a base color. For these, I use Behlen’s 15 for one year, but you can extend their life by keeping them
Minute Wood Stain. This is a semi-transparent, pigmented stain refrigerated. It’s a good idea to purchase only small amounts as
that dries quickly, is easy to apply and does not raise the grain. you need it.
The stain also contains a small amount of dye for increased To simulate wear, be sure to dye the wood first and rub the
penetration. It comes in a variety of suitable reproduction colors paint off while it is still wet. After it dries, rub it lightly with
and can be applied over a dyed base color to increase uniform- 0000-grade steel wool. This smooths the surface and lightens
ity and create highlights. the paint, but you can produce a deeper color and a fine sheen
I use this stain primarily to color mahogany, which will be by rubbing it down with boiled linseed oil.
finished with a clear top coat of either varnish or shellac. If You can achieve a great imitation of an aged painted finish
you intend to fill the grain, you have to seal the stain first with by applying Graining Liquid over milk paint that has been
a thin coat of shellac or the solvents in the filler will actually rubbed with steel wool. Apply the liquid with a saturated rag
pull the stain out of the wood. If you fill before staining, the and rub it off with clean rags. The residue left in cracks and
stain won’t penetrate well because the filler will have sealed the corners will resemble the dirt and grime of the ages. When the
surface. I use Behlen’s Pore-o-Pac paste wood filler. Graining Liquid is dry, finish it with boiled linseed oil.
For both maple and cherry, I prefer to use a glazing stain for Old Village buttermilk paint, manufactured by Stulb, is not
the second step. Glazing stains are useful for highlighting and really a milk paint. It is a liquid latex paint formulated to pro-
shading the base. A residue of stain can be left in corners and duce the same effect. It comes in a good selection of reproduc-
crevices to simulate dirt or the remnants of earlier finishes. tion colors, which can be blended together. Not as durable as
Glazing stains are made by Behlen and come in various brown powdered milk paint, this product has a longer shelf life and is
tones as well as black and white. easier to apply and easier to rub off after it has dried. It also
Graining Liquid, made by Stulb Paint and Chemical Co., is requires two coats.
thinner than glazing stains, and is available only in a dark
brown color. Like glazing stain, it is useful for highlighting and Top COATS AND SEALERS
gives the appearance of age, particularly when applied over In addition to providing clarity and luster to a finished piece of
milk paint. furniture, a top coat seals the surface against moisture and
Glazing stains and graining liquid can be brushed on or protects it from heat and abrasion. There are several things to
rubbed in with a rag, but they are best removed with clean, consider when choosing a top coat. Will it produce the desired
lint-free rags. To highlight an area, simply rub the stain off, appearance for your reproduction? Do you want a glossy or a
letting the base color show through. To obtain a fancy grain flat finish, or something in between? Will it be compatible with
effect, you can manipulate the glaze with combs, sponges, the stains, dyes, paints or glazes underneath? Does it resist
feathers and other devices. moisture and alcohol? How easy is it to apply and repair?
Some stains are now combined with polyurethane paste var- Top coats are either brushed, rubbed or sprayed on. Since I
nishes. These are easy to apply but penetrate poorly, and it don’t have a spray booth in my small shop, I'll describe only
takes many rubbed-on applications to build up a suitable top- those finishes that are brushed or rubbed on. There are, how-

==
238
ever, a few general rules that apply to all three methods of Shellac For a fast-drying, brushed top coat, I use shellac.
application. More light coats always provide a harder, smoother Shellac produces a lustrous finish, but its poor resistance to
finish with better adhesion than a few heavy coats. The first heat, water and alcohol make it impractical for tabletops or
coat, which serves as a sealer, should be thinned more than the low chests. In solution, it has a short shelf life.
following coats. To ensure compatability, use the same product Dry shellac flakes last almost indefinitely and are mixed with
for the sealer and subsequent finishing coats. Sand lightly be- denatured alcohol to make a “cut.” One pound of flakes dis-
tween coats with successively finer sandpaper, from 220 grit to solved in one gallon of alcohol is called a 1-lb. cut. A standard
600 grit, to create a mechanical bond and guarantee smooth- top coat is either a 2-lb. or a 3-lb. cut, depending on the
ness. A dust-free atmosphere is a must, particularly with slow- desired thickness of finish and how many coats will be applied.
drying, brushed finishes. Orange shellac flakes are most popular for period reproduc-
Varnish Varnish is the most appropriate top coat for tions because their amber color enhances the finish. Despite its
high-style Queen Anne furniture. It provides a heavy, transpar- handsome appearance, I use very little shellac in my shop; var-
ent finish that is resistant to heat, alcohol and abrasion. It rubs nish provides superior protection.
out well and is relatively easy to apply with a brush. It can be Tung oil and Danish oil I’ve attempted to use a num-
thinned with mineral spirits and works well as its own sealer. I ber of different oil finishes, and I’ve found them all unsuitable.
seal the insides of case pieces and the undersides of tabletops They simply don’t have enough body to serve as a good finish
with thinned varnish. for period reproductions.
For best results, use a top-quality fitch or badger varnishing Oil and varnish On its own, oil is soft and takes a long
brush. Avoid using cheap brushes. On broad surfaces, dispos- time to polymerize. Varnish is too hard and dries too fast to be
able sponge brushes give satisfactory results. Never shake the rubbed on. But by adding an alkyd varnish to either boiled
container of varnish or air bubbles will fill the mixture and linseed oil or tung oil, you can increase the hardness and ac-
make it unusable until the bubbles disappear. Stir it gently be- celerate the drying time, while creating a rubbed finish that is
fore and during application. superior to either individual component. Rubbed finishes are
I've had excellent results brushing on Behlen’s Four-Hour practical for shops without finishing rooms, since they can be
Rubbing Varnish. This is a high-quality product made from rubbed dry in a matter of minutes.
phenolic resins, linseed oil and lead-free drying agents. It dries In a rubbed top coat, I want a hard surface film that can be
in about two hours at 70°F, and the high-gloss finish can be built up with three or four coats. It must be easy to repair with
modified by hand rubbing. Always thin the first coat of varnish, extra coats. Most of the furniture in this book was finished with
and make sure to key the surface with fine sandpaper or 0000- Minwax Antique Oil Finish, a mixture of linseed oil, varnish,
grade steel wool between coats. I often apply as many as five tung oil and mineral spirits. I used to mix my own oil-and-
coats for a good finish, although you can get by with three. varnish solutions, but Minwax is effective right from the can.
It used to be tedious to rub out the final coat of varnish, but Applied with a brush or rag, it becomes tacky in a few minutes
two innovative products (made by Behlen) speed up the pro- and can be buffed to a glossy sheen. At least three coats are
cess immeasurably. The first, called Deluxing Compound, is a required to produce a good finish. Its only drawback is its
mixture of tripoli and rottenstone abrasives, beeswax and car- short shelf life, so buy it fresh and in small quantities. (I date
nauba wax. Simply apply it with a rag, like paste wax, and buff my cans when I buy them.)
it with a clean cloth. The sheen depends upon how much you If the surface gets tacky or cloudy and won’t buff out, simply
rub it out. Deluxing Compound works especially well on broad add more Antique Oil and buff it out right away. To build up
surfaces, such as tabletops, where the residue won’t get caught the finish, wait 24 hours between coats so new applications
in cracks and corners. won’t dissolve those underneath. Antique Oil makes a fine top
The second product is called Wool Lube. This is a concen- coat over milk paint, enriching the colors and adding just
trated liquid with extremely fine abrasives. Mixed with water, it enough sheen. You can generally get away with one or two
produces a sudsy lubricant for steel wool. Wool Lube helps the coats over paint.
steel wool cut quicker and prevents the minute scratches and If you want to mix an oil-and-varnish solution of your own,
clouding usually associated with surfaces rubbed with steel my formula will give you a good place to start. I mix two parts
wool. After the piece is rubbed out, buff it with a clean, dry of Four-Hour Rubbing Varnish to one part boiled linseed oil.
cloth and apply a coat of carnauba wax or furniture polish. To this mixture add one-third volume of mineral spirits. You
Wool Lube is most effective on chairs and other intricate furni- can increase the varnish content for a mixture that dries faster,
ture, since it leaves a transparent residue that won’t be visible but it will be tacky and difficult to buff out. If you add more
in the crevices. thinner you'll need more coats to get a satisfactory finish. Too
Many companies produce paste polyurethane varnish, which much linseed oil will soften the surface film and retard drying.
is applied with a rag and buffed dry. Paste varnish may be clear Linseed oil and turpentine I use a mixture of two
or contain stain additives, in which case it is called a one-step parts boiled linseed oil to one part turpentine to seal the drawer
finish. In spite of the ease of application and superior water sides, backs and bottoms. One coat is sufficient. I don’t like a
resistance of these products, I dislike the plastic appearance of glossy or heavy-bodied sealer on drawer parts, so this recipe
polyurethane. If a customer insists on a water-resistant table- works just fine. It is not a suitable top coat, however, since it
top, I'll use a polyurethane paste varnish like Stulb’s Old Village takes too long to polymerize, and it’s too thin.
Clear Paste Varnish for the top, but not on the rest of the table. Wax Although wax was popular both as a finish and a
Lacquer Lacquer is the most popular top coat on produc- polish in the 18th century, I don’t use it much. A wax-polished
tion furniture. It dries quickly and is extremely clear and easy finish is attractive and enhances the patina, but it dulls quickly
to repair. It is almost always sprayed. Brushing lacquers are if the piece is handled. Of course, it can be quickly restored by
available, but they are difficult to apply—the material dries so additional applications. But once you use wax, you will need to
fast and so hard that lap marks are difficult to avoid. Since I wax peridically. See Sources of Supply on pp. 242-243 for all of
don’t have any spray equipment, I prefer not to use lacquer. the products described here.

mae
iy Noes
 SCALING FROM PHOTOGRAPHS

Some of the finest examples of American Queen Anne furniture mensions of comparable or related pieces in other books.
have recently fetched millions of dollars at auction. At the same Don’t underestimate the value of comprehensive bibliographies.
time, dwindling government support has forced many museums You'll find it easier if the piece you wish to copy is a recti-
to develop an entreprenurial attitude toward their collections. linear case piece or table. Chairs are difficult to scale because
The consequence of these two seemingly unrelated develop- they’re full of odd angles and curves. When I need to copy a
ments is that museums are becoming increasingly reluctant to chair, I do everything I can to examine it (or a closely related
allow the public to measure their furniture. They've tapped a example) in the flesh. Even if a museum won’t let you take
lucrative market in the exclusive sale of reproduction rights to measurements, simply viewing the object can be a tremendous
furniture manufacturers, and rather than become embroiled in help. Carry a notebook and jot down your impressions.
copyrights and contractual restrictions, curators often prefer to Mathematica! scaling The biggest problem in working
just say no. with photographs is perspective distortion. The photo may trick
This has made it difficult for amateurs and small professional the eye unless you clearly define the planes of the piece of
cabinetmakers to study the best work of the period. The largest furniture. Start by taping a clear photostat of your photo to a
available source of information about Queen Anne furniture is large sheet of paper and draw a vertical line on the foremost
in books. Traditionally, most of these have been aimed at col- vertical corner of the piece, as shown in the drawing below.
lectors or furniture historians, and little emphasis has been This becomes the vertical measuring line (VML), which will be
placed on construction. Fortunately, historians have begun to used for marking all vertical measurements. Where the piece
recognize the intimate relationship between design and con- touches the floor at the bottom of the VML, draw a horizontal
struction, and more and more books contain detailed photos, baseline to each side of the VML. Do the same at the top.
drawings with accurate measurements and construction notes. To scale up the photo, you must first develop a ratio be-
Nevertheless, if you want to reproduce a piece of furniture tween the measuring increments that will allow you to translate
from a photograph in a book or magazine, you must scale the into inches. To do this, measure the height of the chest along
piece up from the printed page. This is not difficult if you have the VML on the '/c-in. scale of an architect’s rule or the milli-
a clear perspective photograph of the piece and know its meter scale of an engineer’s rule. If, for example, the VML
height, width and depth. If you don’t know these basic dimen- measures 58mm and you know the original piece is 36 in.
sions, try contacting the author or photographer. Look for di- high, then the scaling ratio can be determined by dividing 36

Scaling from a Photograph

Vertical
Left vanishing point measuring Right vanishing point
line (VML) ss

——
~ — ——
>=. — a=
a, — ———
~ =
—
nee —
pet =— ae

Baseline Carry lines forward from vanishing points to the VML.

——= 240 ———

 A pantograph can be used to enlarge or
reduce the size of an image up to ten times
the original size.

by 58, or 0.62 inches/millimeter. (A pocket calculator is a must as the perimeter of a circle, can be mathematically calculated
for this operation.) Thus, an 8mm-high drawer on your photo- and then drawn straight and divided into equal sections. This
stat will be 8 xX 0.62, or 5 in. tall on the chest. This ratio will can be helpful in laying out the rays of a carved fan.
enable you to scale the dimensions of minute details, such as The pantograph A pantograph, shown above, is useful
dividers, brasses and moldings. for enlarging photographs without establishing a VML or using
Use the scale ratio to lay out the front and side views shown any mathematical calculations. While one point traces the ob-
in the drawing. For example, if the chest is 30 in. wide, then ject, another leaded point draws the enlarged object to scale.
30 divided by 0.62 gives you a scale width of 48mm. Similarly, Of course, the enlarged photo will have to be scaled, but it’s
if the chest is 20 in. deep, 20 divided by 0.62 gives a scale easier to scale a large image. I’ve used a pantograph to enlarge
depth of 32mm. the curves of broken-scroll pediments, apron scrolls, carvings
Some pieces, such as slant-front desks or step-back cup- and cabriole legs.
boards, have vertical lines falling on two or more planes. Here The drawback of a pantograph is that it will enlarge only in
you'll have to carry the points on this second vertical plane increments determined by designated points on the machine.
forward to intersect the VML. You can do this fairly accurately This restricts you to certain percentages of enlargement.
by locating the left and right vanishing points of the piece, Proportional dividers A proportional divider is also
extending lines back from the top and bottom edges, as shown useful for scaling photographs, drawings and sculpted forms.
in the drawing on the facing page. Draw a line from each van- The legs of the divider pivot on a movable axis to form an X.
ishing point through the second vertical plane to intersect the The location of the axis along the length of the legs determines
VML, and turn it into a rectangle for the purposes of your the ratio between the points on opposite ends.
drawing. Now you can draw this second plane horizontally on Proportional dividers can be used, like the VML methods, to
your drawing. establish a ratio for enlarging or diminishing an object in a
In effect, the VML becomes a story stick for standardizing photograph. But they are most useful for proportionally enlarg-
the layout of your piece of furniture. Any measurements are ing curved elements, such as those found on chairs or carvings.
easily extended to the front and side views with horizontal They are ancient tools, familiar to most 18th-century cabinet-
lines. It’s impossible to check all your scaled-up dimensions makers, and are often used in combination with a folding rule
before building the piece without making a scale drawing. No to draw and enlarge ellipses, an important element in furniture
system is foolproof. You'll have to learn to depend on a good and architectural design.
eye and intuition to eliminate errors and resolve any of the An opaque projector An opaque projector can be used
complex details. to enlarge an image by projecting it onto a wall. As you move
An alternative method employs an ancient draftsman’s trick the projector away from the wall, the size of the object in-
for dividing a line into any number of equal increments. To do creases, and vice versa. If you draw a couple of points on a
this you must first establish the VML and draw the horizontal piece of paper representing the top and bottom of the VML, you
lines at the top and bottom of the piece, as described above. can adjust the image to fit between the points simply by moving
Now, using the same hypothetical dimensions as before, find a the projector.
scale on your rule that can fit 36 increments at an angle be- An opaque projector is particularly helpful if the image is
tween the two horizontal lines. Using the same scale, lay out a straight-on front view. I once used an opaque projector to
any parts along this line and extend them with horizontal lines. enlarge the front-view photo of a bonnet-top high chest to full
Just as 36 increments equal 36 in. along the diagonal line, 5 size. This enabled me to draw the difficult curves of the
increments would equal 5 in.; no calculations or conversions scrolled pediment and apron directly on the paper I used as
are necessary. a screen.
This method is particularly useful for dividing odd lengths Most schools have an opaque projector and are happy to
into equal parts (halves, thirds, fifths, etc.), as in laying out allow to you use it once you explain your purpose. What’s
dovetails. Using this method, the length of a curved line, such more, children often enjoy helping out.

——241.——
 SOURCES OF SUPPLY

DRAWING SUPPLIES Olympic Stain

Charrette 2233 112th Street NW
31 Olympia Avenue Bellevue, WA 98004
P.O. Box 4010 (206) 453-1700 or (800) 426-6306
Woburn, MA 01888 Solid-color, linseed-oil exterior stains. Also sold in paint and
(617) 935-6010, (212) 683-8822 or (800) 242-7738 hardware stores.
Mail-order catalog.
Stulb/Allentown Paint and Chemical Co., Inc.
Walter W. Fredrick Associates, Inc. East Allen & Graham Streets
12 Tozer Road P.O. Box 597
Beverly, MA 01915 Allentown, PA 18105
(508) 921-1375 or (800) 343-8296 (215) 433-4273 or (800) 221-8444
Graining liquid, buttermilk latex paint and polyurethane paste var-
nish. Also sold in paint and hardware stores and by mail order.
FINISHING SUPPLIES
W.D. Lockwood & Co., Inc.
Garrett Wade
81-83 Franklin Street
161 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10013
New York, NY 10013
(212) 966-4046 or (212) 226-2878
(212) 807-1155 or (800) 221-2942
Water-soluble, alcohol-soluble and oil-soluble aniline dyes and
Mail-order catalog.
stains.
H. Behlen & Bro.
Wood Finishing Supply Co., Inc.
Route 30 North
100 Throop Street
Amsterdam, NY 12010
Palmyra, NY 14522
(518) 843-1380
Manufacturer and wholesale distributor of Four-Hour Rubbing
(315) 597-3743
Mail-order catalog.
Varnish, 15 Minute Wood Stain, Wool Lube, Deluxing Com-
pound, shellac flakes, NGR stains, glazing stains, paste wood
fillers, solvents and brushes.

Lee Valley Tools Ltd.

HARDWARE
Bail and Ball
1080 Morrison Drive
463 West Lincoln Highway
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2H 8K7
Exton, PA 19341
(613) 596-0350 (215) 363-7330
Mail-order catalog.
Pulls, thincast pulls, knobs, locks and hinges. Mail-order catalog.
Minwax Company, Inc.
Horton Brasses
15 Mercedes Drive
Nooks Hill Road
Montvale, NJ 07645
P.O. Box 95
(201) 391-0253 or (800) 462-0914 for orders
Cromwell, CT 06416
Minwax Antique Oil Finish. Also sold in paint and hardware stores.
(203) 635-4400
Mohawk Finishing Products, Inc. Pulls, knobs and hinges. Mail-order catalog.
Route 30 North
Period Furniture Hardware Co., Inc.
Amsterdam, NY 12010
123 Charles Street
(518) 843-1380 or (800) 545-0047 for orders
P.O. Box 314
Mohawk is the retail arm of H. Behlen. The products are iden-
Charles Street Station
tical, but sold under the Mohawk label. Mail-order catalog ($25
Boston, MA 02114
minimum orders).
(617) 227-0758
The Old-Fashioned Milk Paint Company Pulls, knobs, locks and hinges. Mail-order catalog.
436 Main Street
P.O. Box 222
Groton, MA 01450
(508) 448-6336
Powdered milk paint. Also sold in paint stores and by mail order.

—— 24)
 SEATING SUPPLIES Classic Revivals, Inc.
Cane and Basket Supply Co. 1 Design Center Place
1283 South Cochran Avenue Suite 545
Los Angeles, CA 90019 Boston, MA 02210
(213) 939-9644 (617) 574-9030
Flat reed, full basket and caning supplies. Mail-order catalog. Wool and silk handwoven damasks, wool moreens and plain weaves.
Connecticut Cane & Reed Co. Constance La Lena, Sunflower Studio
134 Pine Street 2851 Road B 1/2
P.O. Box 762 Grand Junction, CO 81503
Manchester, CT 06040 (303) 242-3883
(203) 646-6586 or (800) 227-8498 Handwoven upholstery fabrics.
Fiber rush, flat reed and books. Mail-order catalog.
F. Schumacher & Co.
The H.H. Perkins Co. 79 Madison Avenue
10 South Bradley Road New York, NY 10016
Woodbridge, CT 06525 (212) 213-7900, (800) 628-5094 or (800) 523-1200 for orders
(203) 389-9501 Wool and silk damasks and worsted wool plain weaves.
Natural rush, fiber rush, flat reed and books. Mail-order catalog.
Kathleen B. Smith Textile Reproductions
P.O. Box 48
West Chesterfield, MA 01084
SPECIALTY TOOLS
(413) 296-4437
Garrett Wade
Handwoven linen and wool fabrics, upholstery trimming tapes,
161 Avenue of the Americas
needlework supplies and patterns for Irish stitch and other bar-
New York, NY 10013
gello designs.
(212) 807-1155 or (800) 221-2942
Mail-order catalog. Lee Jofa
979 Third Avenue
Lee Valley Tools Ltd.
New York, NY 10022
1080 Morrison Drive
(212) 688-0444 or (201) 438-8444 for orders
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2H 8K7
Handwoven damasks in silk or silk and cotton.
(613) 596-0350
Mail-order catalog. Old World Weavers
979 Third Avenue
Woodcraft Supply Corp.
New York, NY 10022
210 Wood County Industrial Park
(212) 355-7186
P.O. Box 1686
Wool and silk damasks and plain weaves.
Parkersburg, WV 26102
(304) 428-4866 or (800) 225-1153 Scalamandre
Mail-order catalog. 950 Third Avenue
10th Floor
New York, NY 10022
UPHOLSTERY (718) 361-8500 or (212) 980-3888 for the showroom
The following companies specialize in accurate 18th-century Wool and silk damasks and wool moreens.
fabrics. Most sell only through upholsterers, decorators and
Stroheim and Roman
fabric stores. Call the company to locate the nearest distributor.
31-11 Thomson Avenue
For historic accuracy, ask to see samples based on original
Long Island City, NY 11101
18th-century fabrics. (212) 691-0700
Brunschwig & Fils Ultra suede.
75 Virginia Road
North White Plains, NY 10613-0905
(914) 684-5800
Wool and silk damasks, wool moreens and woven flamestitch.

——45.—
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Alberti, Leon B. The Ten Books of Architecture: The 1755 risburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1979.
Leoni Edition. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1986.
— — —. Reproducing Antique Furniture. New York: Crown
Bishop, J. Leander. A History of American Manufacturers Publishers, 1971.
from 1608 to 1860. 3rd ed., 3 vols. Reprint of 1868 edition.
Greenlaw, Barry A. New England Furniture at Williams-
New York: Johnson Reprint Corp., 1967.
burg. Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia, 1974.
Bishop, Robert. The American Chair: Three Centuries of
Gusler, Wallace B. Furniture of Williamsburg and Eastern
Style. New York: Crown Publishers, 1972.
Virginia 1710-1790. Richmond: Virginia Museum, 1978.
Boston Furniture of the Eighteenth Century. A conference
Heckscher, Morrison H. American Furniture in the Metro-
held by the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, May 1972. Char-
politan Museum of Art: Late Colonial Period. New York:
lottesville: The University Press of Virginia, 1974.
Random House, 1985.
Butler, Joseph T. Field Guide to American Antique Furni-
Hendrick, Robert E.P. “John Gaines III and Thomas Gaines I,
ture. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1985.
Turners of Ipswich Massachusetts.” Master’s thesis, University
Chippendale, Thomas. Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Di- of Delaware, 1964.
rector. Reprint. 3rd ed. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications,
Hogarth, William. The Analysis of Beauty. Reprint, edited by
1966.
Joseph Burke. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1955.
Comstock, Ruth B. Rush Seats for Chairs. Cornell Bulletin
— — —. Engravings by Hogarth. Mineola, NY: Dover Publi-
683. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1914.
cations, 1973.
Cooke, Edward S., Jr., ed. Upholstery in America & Europe
Horner, William Macpherson, Jr. Blue Book of Philadelphia
from the Seventeenth Century to WWI. New York: W.W.
Furniture. Reprint. Washington, DC: Highland House Publish-
Norton & Co., 1987.
ers, 1977.
Cummings, Abbott Lowell. Rural Household Inventories.
Hummel, Charles F. With Hammer in Hand: The Dominy
Boston: The Society for the Preservation of New England Antiq-
Craftsmen of East Hampton, New York. Charlottesville: Uni-
uities, 1964.
versity Press of Virginia, 1968.
Diderot, Denis and d’Alembert, eds. Encyclopedie, ou Dic-
Innes, Jocasta. Paint Magic. New York: Pantheon Books, 1987.
tionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers.
35 vols. Reprint of 1751 edition. Evanston, IL: Adler’s Foreign Jobe, Brock, and Myrna Kaye. New England Furniture: The
Books, 1967. Colonial Era. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1984.
— ——. Recueil des Planches sur les Sciences. 11 vols. The John Brown House Loan Exhibition of Rhode Island
Paris: Briasson [etc.], 1762. Furniture. Providence: Rhode Island Historical Society, 1965.
Downs, Joseph. American Furniture: Queen Anne and Kates, George N. Chinese Household Furniture. 1948. Re-
Chippendale Periods. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., print. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1962.
1952.
Kebabian, Paul B., and Dudley Witney. American Woodwork-
Ecke, Gustav. Chinese Domestic Furniture in Photographs ing Tools. Boston: New York Graphic Society, 1978.
and Measured Drawings. 1944. Reprint. Mineola, NY: Dover
Kelly, J. Frederick. Early Connecticut Architecture. New
Publications, 1986. York: William Helburn, 1924.
Esquié, Pierre. Vignola, A Treatise on the Five Orders of
Kirk, John T. American Chairs, Queen Anne and Chippen-
Achitecture. Translated by William Robert Powell. Cleveland,
dale. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1972.
OH: J.H. Jansen, 1921.
——w—. American Furniture & the British Tradition to
Fairbanks, Jonathan L., and Elizabeth Bidwell Bates. American
1830. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1982.
Furniture: Sixteen Twenty to the Present. New York: Put-
nam Publishing Co., 1981. —-—w—. Early American Furniture. New York: Alfred A.
Knopf, 1970.
Fales, Dean A., Jr. American Painted Furniture 1660-1880.
New York: E.P. Dutton, 1979. ——-—, ed. Connecticut Furniture: Seventeenth & Eigh-
teenth Centuries. Hartford, CT: Wadsworth Atheneum, 1967.
———. The Furniture of Historic Deerfield. New York:
E.P. Dutton, 1976. Lockwood, Luke Vincent. Colonial Furniture in America.
New York: Castle Books, 1926.
Forman, Benno M. American Seating Furniture 1630-1730.
New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1987. Margon, Lester. More American Furniture Treasures 1620-
1840. Stamford, CT: Architectural Book Publishing Co., 1971.
Goodman, W.L. The History of Woodworking Tools. Lon-
don: G. Bell and Sons, 1964.

a 2A
Moses, Michael. Master Craftsmen of Newport: The Town- Tuckerman, Arthur L., ed. The Five Orders of Architecture
sends and Goddards. Tenafly, NJ: MMI American Press, 1984. according to Giacomo Barozzio of Vignola. New York: Wil-
Mussey, Robert D., Jr. “Transparent Furniture Finishes in New liam T. Comstock, 1891.
England 1700-1820.” Proceedings of the Furniture and Wooden Vitruvius. Ten Books on Architecture. Translated by Morris
Objects Symposium, Canadian Conservation Institute, Ottawa, H. Morgan. 1914. Reprint. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications,
July 1980. 1960.
——w—, ed. The First American Furniture Finisher’s Ward, Gerald W.R. American Case Furniture. New Haven,
Manual: A Reprint of “The Cabinetmakers Guide” of Conn.: Yale University Press, 1988.
1827. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1987.
Ware, William R. The American Vignola. New York: W.W.
Nutting, Wallace. Furniture Treasury Vols. 1 and 2. 2 vols. Norton & Co., 1977.
in 1. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1928.
—-—-—. Furniture Treasury Vol. 3. New York: Macmillan PERIODICALS
Publishing Co., 1933. Brown, Michael K. “Scalloped-top Furniture of the Connecticut
O'Neil, Isabel. Art of the Painted Finish for Furniture & River Valley.” Antiques (May 1989): 1092-O0TK.
Decoration. New York: William Morrow & Co., 1971. Frank, George. “Old Fashioned Wood Coloring.” Fine Wood-
Osburn, Burl N., and Bernice B. Osburn. Measured Drawings working 66 (September/October 1987): 52-55.
of Early American Furniture. 1926. Reprint. Mineola, NY: Gottshall, Franklin H. “Queen Anne.” Fine Woodworking 3
Dover Publications, 1975. (Summer 1976): 40-42.
Ott, Joseph K. “Rhode Island Furniture Exports 1783-1800.” In Gusler, Wallace B. “The Tea Tables of Eastern Virginia.”
Rhode Island History 36:5. Providence: Rhode Island His- Antiques (May 1989): 1238-1257.
torical Society, 1977.
Headley, Mack S., Jr. “Applying Classical Proportions.” Fine
Pain, William. “The Builder’s Companion.” Reprint of 1762 Woodworking 43. (November/December 1983): 77-79.
edition in Colonial Architecture of the Mid-Atlantic, Vol.
— — —. “Cabriole Knees.” Fine Woodworking 72 (September/
IV. Edited by Lisa C. Mullins. Harrisburg, PA: The National His-
October 1988): 57-61.
torical Society Publications, 1987.
———. “Carving a Scallop Shell.” Fine Woodworking 61.
Palladio, Andrea. Four Books of Architecture. 1570. Edited
(November/December 1986): 47-51.
by Isaac Ware, 1738. Reprint. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications,
1965. Heckscher, Morrison H. “John Townsend’s Block-and-Shell Fur-
niture.” Antiques (May 1982): 1144-1152.
Penn, Theodore Zuk. Decorative and Protective Finishes
1750-1850. Bulletin of the Association for Preservation Tech- Landon, Eugene. “Queen Anne Handkerchief Table.” Fine
nology Vol. 16, No. 1. Washington, DC: 1984. Woodworking 52. (May/June 1985): 38-41.
Plain and Fancy New England Painted Furniture. A catalog Moses, Lisa, and Michael Moses. “Authenticating John Town-
of the exhibit at the Heritage Plantation of Sandwich, MA, 1987. send’s and John Goddard’s Queen Anne and Chippendale Ta-
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Roubo, Jacques-André. L’art du menuisier. 1769. Reprint. 4
vols. in 3. Paris: Léonce Laget, 1977. Mussey, Robert D. “Early Varnishes.” Fine Woodworking 35.
(July/August 1982): 54-57.
Sack, Albert. Fine Points of Furniture: Early America. New
York: Crown Publishers, 1950. ———. “Old Finishes.” Fine Woodworking 33. (March/April
1982.): 71-75.
Sack, Harold, Albert M. Sack, and Robert M. Sack. American
Antiques from the Israel Sack Collection, Vols. I-VIII. Patterson, Lance. “Boston Bombé Chest.” Fine Woodworking
Washington, DC: Highland House Publishers, 1989. 45. (March/April 1984): 52-56.

Serlio, Sebastiano. The Five Books of Architecture. 1584. Sack, Albert. “Regionalism in Early American Tea Tables.”
Reprint of English translation, 1611. Mineola, NY: Dover Publi- Antiques (January 1987): 248-263.
cations, 1982. Sack, Harold. “The Bombé Furniture of Boston and Salem,
Snyder, John J., Jr., ed. Philadelphia Furniture and Its Mak- Massachusetts.” Antiques (May 1989): 1178-1189.
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Solomonsky, Verna Cook. Masterpieces of Furniture. 1931. Drawers.” Antiques (May 1988): 1112-1127.
Reprint. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1974. Vandal, Norman. “Chippendale Sofa.” Fine Woodworking 49
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London: 1688. ——w—. “Period Moldings.” Fine Homebuilding 20 (April/
May 1984): 59-63.

a
 INDEX

A Case pieces: Gaines side chair, E

Ankle, nicked, 66 blockfront chest, 769 instructions for making, 52-63 Easy chairs, instructions for
Aprons: blockfront furniture, 170 Hudson River Valley side making, 82-99
for circular drop-leaf table, blockfront kneehole desk, 773 chair, instructions for Ellipse trammel, 725
108-110 bombé desk and bookcase, 772 making, 74-81
for corner table, 151-152 bombé furniture, 172 Newport easy chair, 82 F
for table with drawer, 129 bonnet-top high chest, Queen Anne easy chair, 84 Fabrics. See Upholstery.
for tray-top tea table, 143-144 instructions for making, Queen Anne side chair, 37, 39 Feet:
for tuck-away table, 135 222-235 regional styles of, 38 e ball and claw, 39
Architecture: chests on frames, 170 roundabout chair, bracket, 170, 77/
classical orders of, 10-11 desk on frame, 200 instructions for making, 64-73 slipper, 15, 24
and furniture, 10-11 desk on frame, instructions transitional easy chair, 87 Spanish, 16, 25, 55
Arm rails, for roundabout chair, for making, 198-207 transitional leather chair, 36 trifid, 16, 26
67-68 desks, 172-173 Tutankhamen’s gilt throne, 73 turned-pad, 15, 23, 76
Arm rolls: dressing table, instructions William and Mary cane-back Finials:
for Newport easy chair, 84, 86 for making, 188-197 chair, 36 drop, for flat-top high chest,
for transitional easy chair, early chests, 169 See also Daybeds. Sofas. 214
87, 88 flat-top high chest, Chippendale, Thomas, quote by, 11 for bonnet-top high chest, 227
instructions for making, Circular drop-leaf table, Finishing:
B 210-221 instructions for making, general instructions for,
Balustrades, 762 frame-and-panel chest, 769 106-115 237-239
Base: French commode, 6 Converging axes. See Turned legs. japanning, 176
for bonnet-top high chest, 224 highboys, 174-175 Corner blocks, for tray-top tea Flat-top high chest, instructions
for flat-top high chest, 213 lowboys, 176 table, 145 for making, 210-221
for oval-top table, 124 Mary Hoyt’s chest on frame. Corner table, instructions for
for scalloped-top chest on See Scalloped-top chest on making, 150-159 G
frame, 182 frame. Crest rail: Gaines side chair, instructions
Bonnet-top high chest, Mercy Hoyt’s chest of for Boston Queen Anne side for making, 52-63
instructions for making, 222-235 drawers, 779 chair, 46 Galleries, 201-203
Boston Queen Anne side chair, Percis Hoyt’s chest on frame, carved, for Gaines side
instructions for making, 42-51 WY) chair, 56 H
Queen Anne desk and for Gaines side chair, 55-59 Hardware:
Cc bookcase, 173 for Hudson River Valley side for bonnet-top high chest, 227
Cabriole legs: Queen Anne dressing table, 776 chair, 76 for case pieces, 177
development of, 13-14 Queen Anne highboy, 8 for transitional easy chair, 87 for desk on frame, 203
forward-facing, 212, 273 Queen Anne scroll-pediment C-scrolls, 104 for dressing table, 193
illustrations of, 3, 74, 15, highboy, 774 for flat-top high chest, 215
76, 84, 87, 180 scalloped-top chest on D for scalloped-top chest on
measuring, /8 frame, instructions for Daybeds, 38 frame, 183
parts of, 78 making, 178-187 Desk on frame, instructions for for tables, 105
reproducing, 17-20 six-board chest, 769 making, 189-207 Highboys. See Case pieces.
stock for, 19 William and Mary chest of Desks. See Case pieces. High chests. See Case pieces.
See also Sculpted legs. drawers, /69 Dining room, Queen Anne, 4 Hinges:
Turned legs. William and Mary high chest, 7 Document door, 20/7 for circular drop-leaf table,
Candle slides, 143, 146 William and Mary high chest Dovetail joints, 78/7, 192 109-110
Carving: of drawers, 174 Drawer: cross-shaped, for tuck-away
crest rail, for Gaines side Chairs: dividers, 181, 782 table, 135-136, 137
chair, 56 banister back chair, 36 runners, 181, /82 for tilt-top candlestand, 762
fan, for bonnet-top high Boston easy chair, 89 surrounds, /7/ Hudson River Valley side chair,
chest, 225 Boston leather chair, 36 Drawers: instructions for making, 74-81
shells, 190-191 Boston Queen Anne side for bonnet-top high chest, 225
chair, instructions for for dressing table, 190 K
making, 42-51 for flat-top high chest, 215 Knee brackets:
carved-top leather chair, 36 for scalloped-top chest on applied, 32
closed stool, 65 frame, 183 buttress, 33
corner chair. See for table with drawer, 130 for corner table, 153
Roundabout chair. Dressing table, instructions for instructions for making, 30-33
easy chairs, 38 making, 188-187 for oval-top table, 123-124
easy chairs, instructions for for roundabout chair, 66
making, 82-99 for tray-top tea table, 144
Page numbers in italics refer evolution of, 35-37
to photos and drawings. Flemish cane-back chair, 5

—— 246 ——
L R Stretchers: Table with drawer, instructions
Leg posts, full, 212 Roundabout chair, instructions for Boston Queen Anne side for making, 128-133
Legs. See Cabriole legs. Sculpted for making, 64-73 chair, 44 Tilt-top candlestand, instructions
legs. Turned legs. Rule joint, 108, 777, 154 for Gaines side chair, 54 for making, 160-167
Line of beauty, William Rushing: for Hudson River Valley side Tools, 19-20
Hogarth’s, 3 for Gaines side chair, 57 Chait a Top:
Lowboys. See Case pieces. for Hudson River Valley side illustrations of, 45 for circular drop-leaf table, 110
Dressing Table. chair, 77 for Newport easy chair, 85 for corner table, 155
for roundabout chair, 66 for dressing table, 192
M S for transitional easy chair, 88 for oval-top table, 124
Molding: Scaling furniture, 240-241 for porringer-top tea table, 119
architectural, 2// Scalloped-top chest on frame, T for scalloped-top chest on
cornice, 214-215, 225-227, instructions for making, 178-187 Tables: frame, 183
226 Sculpted legs: aprons for, 101 for table with drawer, 130
cove, 46 illustration of, 20 Chippendale card table, /04 for tilt-top candlestand,
pediment, for bonnet-top overview of, 14-16 circular drop-leaf, 163-164
high chest, 225 procedures for making, 21-26 instructions for making, for tray-top tea table, 144
profiles, 77 for tilt-top candlestand, 163 106-115 for tuck-away table, 136-138
tray-top, 145 types of, 14 construction tips, 102 Top case:
waist, 202 See also Cabriole legs. corner table, instructions for for bonnet-top high chest,
Monarchs, British, 5-8 Turned legs. making, 150-159 224-225
Seat rails: corner tables, 752 for flat-top high chest, 214
O for Boston Queen Anne side country table, 703 Tray-top tea table, instructions
Oval-top table, instructions for chair, 43 handkerchief table, 750 for making, 142-149
making, 122-127 for Gaines side chair, 54 legs for, 101-102 Tuck-away table, instructions
for Hudson River Valley side mahogany dining table, 707 for making, 134-141
P chair, 77 oval-top table, instructions Turned legs:
Pantograph, 241 for roundabout chair, 66 for making, 122-127 converging axes, 27-28
Parallel axes. See Turned legs. Shoes, for Boston Queen Anne porringer-top tea table, illustrations of, 76, 27
Pedestal, for tilt-top side chair, 45 instructions for making, overview of, 16-17
candlestand, 162 Side rails, for Newport easy 116-121 parallel axes, 29-30
Pediments: chair, 85 Queen Anne work table, 703 procedures for making, 27-30
arched, 775 Slip seat: stretchers for, 101 types of, 16
architectural, 775 for Boston Queen Anne side table with drawer, See also Cabriole legs.
for bonnet-top high chest, 224 chair, 44 instructions for making, Sculpted legs.
Pins, making wooden, 117-119 for Gaines side chair, 57 128-133
Porringer-top tea table, for roundabout chair, 68 tavern table, 702 U
instructions for making, Sofas, 38, 39, 40 tilt-top candlestand, Upholsterer’s bars, 86
116-121 Splats: instructions for making, Upholstery:
for Boston Queen Anne side 160-167 for Boston Queen Anne side
Q chair, 45 tops for, 101
tray-top tea table, /04
chair, 46
for easy chairs, 89
Queen Anne style: for Gaines side chair, 54
country, 10 for roundabout chair, 67, 68 tray-top tea table, historical, 40-41
elements of, 3 instructions for making, for roundabout chair, 68
high style, 10 142-149
history of, 3-9 trestle table, 703 W
regionalization of, 9 tuck-away table, instructions Wings:
shell motif in, 176 for making, 134-141 for Newport easy chair, 86
types of, defined, 9-10 Tutankhamen’s gaming table, for transitional easy chair, 88
vernacular, 10 13

—— 247 —
 Editor: Scott Landis
Assistant editor: Andrew Schultz
Cover designer: Deborah Fillion
Book designer: Heather Brine Lambert
Art production manager: Robert Olah
Layout artist: Henry Roth
Copy/production editor: Pam Purrone
Measured drawings: Heather Brine Lambert
illustrations: Lynn McVicker
Art assistants: [liana Koehler, Jodie Delohery, Mary Bresler
Editorial assistant: Maria Angione
Typesetter: Valerie Lutters
Print production manager: Peggy Dutton

Typeface: ITC Garamond

Paper: Warrenflo, 70 lb., neutral pH
Printer and binder: Ringier America, New Berlin, Wisconsin
j i J Mt \ } \

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 Other Taunton Press books
you will enjoy

Federal Furniture
by Michael Dunbar
Here is a complete workshop in the design
and construction of selected Federal period
pieces. New Hampshire craftsman Michael
Dunbar provides plans for 20 pieces, in-
cluding a Pembroke table, candlestand,
chest of drawers and more. Softcover, 192
pages, 164 photos, $18.95

Make a Windsor Chair

with Michael Dunbar
Learn how to make a comfortable and sturdy
Windsor chair. With easy-to-understand
instructions and illustrations, Dunbar
shows how to cut and shape a pine seat,
turn hardwood legs and stretchers, whittle
the spindles and bend the back. He pro-
vides complete plans for two popular Wind-
sor chairs: the sack-back and the continuous-
arm. Softcover, 176 pages, 355 photos, 31
drawings, $13.95

Dictionary of Woodworking Tools

by Raphael Salaman
A tool lover’s dream come true! Raphael
Salaman gives you a detailed account of vir-
tually every woodworking hand tool used
from the beginning of the Industrial Revo-
lution to today. This book was originally
published in England and sold here in
limited quantities at over twice the price.
Now it’s available in paperback and sub-
stantially revised by tool historian Philip
Walker. Softcover, color, 546 pages, 1,022
drawings, $27.95

27 Chairs
Chairs make for wonderful woodworking
projects. Here are 27 of the best chair pro-
jects from the past 80 years of the British
magazine Woodworker. The chairs range in
style from ornate period pieces to sturdy
Windsors to straightforward modern clas-
sics. With each project you get complete
measured drawings, detailed construction
information and a cutting list. Softcover,
100 pages, 139 drawings, $12.95

These and other books are available from

your local bookstore or from The Taunton
Press, 63 South Main St., Box 5506, New-
town, CT 06470-5506. For a listing of our
books and videos, send for our free catalog.
 QUEEN ANNE
FURNITURE

Here is a comprehensive introduction to the most popular

and sophisticated of American furniture styles. Drawing on
his extensive research and professional experience as a
maker of reproduction furniture, Norman Vandal presents a
6rd well-rounded and authoritative look at the history, design
and construction of Queen Anne furniture.
If you collect or just appreciate the Queen Anne style,
you'll be inspired by the photos of beautiful furniture and
fi enjoy learning about the evolution of the style from a crafts-
man’s perspective. If you’re a woodworker, you'll find exten-
sive construction photos and 82 pages of measured draw-
| ee | ings for chairs, tables and case furniture. With the in-depth
| | information Vandal provides, you'll be able to build even the
most challenging pieces.

“Norman Vandal has the eye of an artist and the

good sense of a craftsman...both qualities in-
form this elegant and practical book.”
—Frances Carnahan, Early American Life

ISBN 0-942391-0?-1
53495
>g0¢-uD
BOOKSsVIDEOS TU
A
...by fellow enthusiasts
A FINE WOODWORKING Book $34.95 9 "780942"391077