Shaker Furniture

147 Pages·97.66 MB·english

by  Lamb D.

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THEA RTO FW OODWORKING
HOMEWORI$HOP
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WORKSHOGPU IDE
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SHAKEPRU LLASN DP EGS SHAKEFRIN ISHES I
REPTICATAI SNHGA KEFRIN ISH I
COMM()NSH AKERPE GS TheS hakerpsa intedth eirf urniturein a varietoy f colors,
includinrge d,o rangey,e llowb,l uea, ndb rownV.t rtualalyll I
ttmr'Th of thesep iecews erec oatedw itht hinp aintsin a washth at
allowetdh ew ood'gsr ainto showth roughT.o r eplicatteh is I
effecty, ouc anu sem ilkp aintorla texp aintM. ilkp aintsle avea
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flatf inishth atc anb es tainedo,i ledo, rw axeodn ceth es urface I
isd ry.A lthougmh ilkp ainti sa vailablaes a powdetrh ati s
Slel addedto watery, ouc anp reparyeo uro wnb y blendintgh e I
ingrediensthso wnin t hec hartb elow.
\l- SomeS hakeDr iecews eref inishedw ithv arntshT.o t one I
downa finisht hatw ast oog lossy-andsh owy-Shakefurr ni-
turem akerrsu bbedd ownth es urfacewsi thp umiceT. heo il- I
ft-'f-l
varnisrhe cipep resentebde loww illi mparat deepr,i chf inish
tl-* withoutto om uchg lossa, ndo fferg oodp rotectiofno rt he I
woodF. orb estr esultsa,p plyth es olutiown itha rag,l eti t sit
r+'h ont hes urfacfeo ra fewm inutesth, enr ubo fft hee xcesws ith t
lr-"\"J* a cleanr ag.A llow2 4 hoursfo rt hec oatt o cures, andli ghtly,
andr epeabt,u ildinugp t hef inrshin layersC.o mpleaten yf in- I
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ishw itha coato f good-qualpiiya stew ax.
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fl (lIT.VARNIFSIHN ISH I
Wood
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. 1 partl inseeodr t ungo il
o 2 naric satin varnish
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. 3 partss team-distilletudr pentine
MILKP AINT I
Basicfo rmula(y ieldsa bout1 quart):
. 1r/2c upss kimm ilk I
. 1 oz.s lakedli me
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o 8 oz.p lasteor f Pariso r calciumc arbonate
Procedure I
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. Sprinklteh e limei ntot he milka ndm ixf or3 minutes.
Stiri nt hep 'aste'oPf aris. t
2. Addc oiorings,u cha sa rtist'sp rgmentosr earthp igments
usedf orc oo ringc ementt;e stt hes oluiiono na scrapp lece I
andl eti t dry,
3. Lett heo aints rtf or t hour,t henb rushi t on, I
stirringfr equently.
4. Adda thin ayero f varntsohr shellatco protectth ef in sh, I
LATEXP AINT
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Procedure
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. Applya thinf irstc oati n thed esiredco lort o sealt hew ood
andl etd ry. I
2. Rubt hes urfacew ithv eryf ines teewi ool.
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3. Applya nothetrh inc oato f painta ndr ubw ithv ery
fines teewl ool.
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4. Adda lightc oato f orangesh ellac.
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THEARTO FW OODWORKING
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SHAKER
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FURNITURE
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t THE ART OF WOODWORKING
SffiR
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FIJRNITURE
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TIME-LIFBEO OKS
I ALEXANDRIVAI.R GINIA
T ST.R EMYP RESS
MONTREALN.E WY ORK
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THE ART OF WOODWORKING was produced by THECONSUXIANTS
ST.REMYPRESS
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Ian Ingersoll owns a cabinetmakings hop in WestC ornwall,
PUBLISHER KennethW inchester Connecticut,t hat specializesin Shakerf urniture. I
PRES/DENT PierreL dveill6
Giles Miller-Mead taught advancedc abinetmakinga t Montreal
SeriesE ditor PierreH ome-Douglas technicals choolsf or more than ten yearsA. nativeo f New I
SeriesA rt Director FrancineL emieux Zealand,h e hasw orked asa restorero f antiquef urniture.
SeniorE ditor Marc Cassini
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Editor Andrew fones
Art Directors Normand Boudreault, ShakerF urniture.
Jean-PierrBeo urgeois, p. cm.- (The art of woodworking) I
Michel Gigudre Includesi ndex.
Designers HdldneD ion, Jean-GuyD oiron, ISBN0 -8094-9s33-3
FrangoisD axhelet 1. Furniture making-Amateurs' manuals. I
Picture Editor ChristopherJ ackson 2. Furniture,S haker-Amateurs' manuals.
Writers fohn Dowling,A dam Van Sertima I. Time-Life Books.
ContributingW riter fune Sprigg IL Series. I
Co n t r ibu ting Illu stra to r s GillesB eaucheminM, ichel Blais, TTl95.S481 995
RonaldD urepos,M ichael Stockdale, 749.213'08'8288-dc20 95-1022 I
JamesT h6rien cIP
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All rights reserved.
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TIME.LIFEINC. any electronico r mechanicaml eans,in cluding information
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Presidenat nd CEO JohnM . Fahey ten permissionf rom the publisher,e xceptt hat brief passages
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First printing. Printed in U.S.A. I
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CONTENTS
6 INTRODUCTION 1T6 SHAKERC TASSICS
118 Wall clock
L2 SHAKERD ESIGN 129 Steps tool
18 A galleryo f Shakerf urniture 135 Shakerboxes
138 Pegboard
24 CHAIRS
26 Enfield sidec hair 140 GTOSSARY
34 Rushs eat
38 Shakerr ocking chair 142 INDEX
44 Thpes eat
48 Meetinghouseb ench 144 ACKNOWTEDGMENTS
56 TABTES
58 Tiestlet able
68 Drop-leaft able
78 Candles tand
86 PIE SAFE
88 Anatomy of a pie safe
90 Making the caseworkfr ames
94 Raisingt he panels
97 Assemblingt he safe
104 Shelving
106 Tin-paneld oors
INTRODUCTION
David Lambo n
REDEFINING
SHAKERSTYLE
f *ur fortunateen oughto livea tt heC anterburSyh akerVillaigne N ewH ampshire
L for 14y earsfr, om 1972to 1986M. y parentrsa nt heV illageM useuma ndw ew ere
givenh ousingin theC hildren'Hs ouseb, uilti n 1810.hI adt hep rivilegoef knowing
seveSn hakeSr isterasn dl istenetdo theirb eliefas ndm emorieosf theo ldd aysW. hile
livingt here,lf oundm yselef xplorinagn ds tudyingth ea rchitecturealle menotsf the
buildingsa,s w ella st hef urniturein thec ollections.
Whilel ivingi n theseu niques urroundingIs h, adt hee xceptionoapl portunityo f
apprenticinwgi th anO ldW orldc abinetmakferor mM adridA, lejandrdoe l aCruz.
His teachingesm phasizetrda ditionc, lassicisman, di ntegrityin work,d esigna,n d
living.T hisa pprenticeshpipro videdm ew ith a directiona ndf ocusf or studying
Shakearn do therc lassidce signAs.t thes ameti me,i t allowedm et o constructiveclyri t-
icizes omeo ldp ieceas ndt o rebuildo r redesigtnh emb y usingb etterc onstruction
methodsw, hiles tillr etainingth eiro riginacl harma nda ttractiveness.
Liket hea rchitecturealle menotsf antiquiryth eb eautya ndt rutho f Shakedre sign
arem oste videnitn basicfo rmsT. heo verallli nesp, roportionsa,n ds tanceca nb e
seenin a simplep ieceo f furnitureli ket hec andles tands hownin thep hotoa tr ight.
Detailsif, theya red onew ell,a dda furtherd imensioann dw ill not obscuroer clut-
tert heg enerafol rm.
I do notb elievteh att heS hakersse to utt o develotph eiro wnd esignrsa; thert,h eir
beliefsre shapefdo rmsw ith whicht heyw erea lreadfya miliarS. hakedre signc anb e
seena sa stripped-dowFne deraslt ylew, ithe mphasoisn Hepplewhiaten dS heraton
elementFs.e deraslt ylew asc oncurrenwt ith theb eginninagn dt hed evelopmeonft
theS hakerre ligioums ovemenTt.h ek eyc abinetmakeorfs e achS hakevri llagew ere
alsof reet o develotph eu niquefl avoro f eachc ommunityw'so rkw hilet akingd irec-
tion fromt hel eadc ommunityo f MountL ebanonN,e wYork.
Whilea goodd eaol f Shakedre signc harmli esi n itsn aivet6e,v enm ored epends
on the cabinetmakecr'osm pletem asteryo f the form.C reatingfu rnitured esigns
"get
requireast horoughu nderstandinogft hed esignp rocesasn, db einga bleto into
theh eadso"f theo ldm astertso understanwdh yc ertaind esignd ecisionwse rem ade.
It alsor equireas g oodu nderstandinogf f urniturec onstructiouns ingp asta ndp re-
sentte chniqueIst .is i mportannt otj ustt o acknowledagp ei ecea sa masterpieacned
copyi t, but to find out wltyitisa masterpiecbey, a skingm anyq uestionasb outit . The
answerwsi ll providey ourb uildingb locksfo r creatinygo uro wnd esignins anys ryle.
DavidL ambw asr esidenct abinetmakeart CanterburyS haker
VillageN, ewH ampshireb, etween1 979a nd 1986H. e now
buildsS haker-inspirefudr niture at hiss hopi n Canterbury.

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INTRODUCTION
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Iohn Wilsonp erfectsth e
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ELEGANT
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SHAKERBOX
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mu sawS hakebro xeisn ap atternb ooko n Shakewr oodenwabrey E jnerH andberg
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L n 1977w henI wast eachinfgu rniturem akinga tL ansinCg ommunitCy ollegeE.v en I
asl ined rawingsth, eses implee, leganotv alc ontainercsr,a ftedfr omc herryin grad-
uateds izesw, erein triguingA. ll boxesh oldu niversaalp peabl,u t to haveth emn est I
insidee acho thera ppealtso thec hildi n allo f us.
Up to thisp oint,I hadb eena carpenteinr residentiacol nstructiofno r 10y ears, I
andh ads penat nothedr ecadtee achinsgo ciaal nthropologLyi.t tled idI knoww hen
I beganto followm yc uriositFin Shakeorv abl oxetsh att heyw ouldb ecomteh ep er- I
fecta venufeo r expressinthgo seth rees kills-workingin woodi,n terpretinogt herc om-
munities'lifea ndw ork,a ndt eachingB.u tt hati s exactlwy hath ash appenetdo me I
overt hel ast1 5y ears.
Bys pecializining Shakeor valb oxesI, w asf ortunateto takea dvantagoef three I
trendsa: growinga wareneosfs S hakedre signth, ep opularityo f woodworkinags a
hobbya, nda ni nteresitn instructionin leisurea ctivitiesT.h isc ombinatioonp ened I
thed oorsf or freelancbeo x-makinsge minarBs.y 1 986I wast eachin3g0 w orkshops
ay earin manyp artso f thec ountrya, sw ella si n Canadaan dE nglandT.h ep artici- I
pantsm akea nesto f fiveb oxesI.t is fulfillingt o bea blet o mastetrh et echniquoef
makinga b ox,a nde venm ores ot o perfecitt in makingfi ve.I n thel 2yearcs inceth e I
firstb oxc lassI ,h aveta ughmt oret han4 ,000p eopleth ist raditionacl raft.
My memoryo f firsta ttemptintgo buildt hemi so f bandsb reakingb,r ingingth e I
projectto an abrupte nd.I t takesm oret hanl ined rawingtso mastetre chnique.
VisitingS hakesri tesin NewE ngland,rIe calal rareo pportunityto watchb oxm ak-
er| erryG ranta tH ancocSk hakerVillagHee. g avem ea s ampleo f thet inyc oppetra cls
thata ret heh allmarko f theb oxl ap.T hesea rea ss carcaes h en'ste etha, st hee xpres-
siong oesA. t *re time,C rossN ailC ompanwy asth eo ner emainintga ckm anufacturer,
andm adet hemo nlyo n speciaol rderI.t tooka minimumo f 50p oundsto order,
andw ith over7 50t aclat o theo uncet,h atw asa ni ncrediblseu pplyW. th 12t aclsn eed-
edt o makea box,i t alsor epresentead lif etimeo f boxm aking.
TodayS, hakebro xehs aveb ecomme yl ifea nds upplyintgh eb oxt radew ithq ual-
ity materialnso wo ccupiems oreo f myt imet hane itherm akingb oxeso r teaching.
Moret hanj ustb eingg oodb usinesms,a kingS hakebro xehs asle ftm ew itht hec on-
victiont hatp assinogn our skillsis a responsibilietya cho f usm usta ccept.
JohnWilsont aughts ociaal nthropologayt Purduebeforteu rning
his attentiont o teachingS hakerb oxm akingf ull time in 1983.
Hiss eminarsh aveb eenh elda t theS mithsonianin, Shakevr illages
throughouAt merica,a nd in EnglandH. e ownsa nd operateTs he
HomeS hopo n EastB roadwayH ighrq,in CharlotteM, ichigan.