Woodworking Drawers

woodworking drawers

woodworking finish and the craft ethic

The piece I worked on was a Sheraton-sryle, two-drawer work table, typical of early 19th-Century American furniture building. Knowing how to apply the appropriate finish takes a good appreciation of furniture style. You have to approximate the original as closely as possible-in color as well as in topcoat composition. The best way to get onto the right track is to study furniture styles as thoroughly as you can. Talk to people experienced with period pieces-museum curators, serious collectors and restoration or conservation craftsmen. They are usually very willing to share technical information. Also try to see as many original examples as possible.Visit the Woodworking Plans Website pages for more woodworking articles.

For this piece, I selected natural and chemical dyes to make the color appropriate to its history. The table is made of cherry with a figured veneer applied to the drawer fronts. Two different combinations were used: logwood extract (a natural dye) and potassium dichromate (a chemical mordant) on the veneer; and lye and walnut crystals on the cherry.

For the topcoat, I padded a 3-pound-cut orange shellac on the wood. I like using a pad made up of a wool interior and a linen exterior, but other finishers prefer polishing cloths-perhaps because good-quality linen is hard to find. The technique is called French polishing, but the term can be misleading. There are several ways to apply a French polish, some using pumice and oil to fill the pores of the wood completely, providing a mirror-like finish. That is not always appropriate for all American pieces.

I trace my interest in fine furniture back to my childhood and my parents who were collectors themselves. As an adult I spent two summers workins with a boat builder. and much later studied with George Frank in China. When I iarted collecting fine furniture, I couldn’t afford the pieces I liked, so I learned to build replicas instead.

I believe that cabinetmakers should consider themselves as caretakers of a sort. building something that will be passed down from generation to generation. You need to develop what I call a”craftethic.” You have to love what you do, not for the result or for a wage, but simply for the sake of finding the finest way of doing each step. Learn more about woodworking craft finish please go to woodworkingplans.tv website.

About the Author

Woodchuck is an up and coming expert on crafts and hobbies. Do you want complete Woodworking 4 Home resource? You can download fine woodworking plans and designs on Woodworking for Home,or you can learn woodworking by going to Woodworking Plans TV site.

Does anyone know where I can get a woodworking pattern to build a simple wardrobe or chiffarobe?

My daughter’s room has no closet but she has OODLES of clothes. I would really like one with drawers if it is simple enough.

Put a book case on top of a dresser then put a door on a thrift store book case.
Cut a ply wood plank the size of the bookcase and buy a piano hinge. It’s easy to install, sturdy and narrow enough to screw into the book case frame. Then, Paint, Paint, Paint!!

Take out the middle shelves and use a spring loaded curtain rod to hang little girl’s clothes and she could reach and hang her own!

WOODWORKING MADE EASY DRAWER MAKING

Since you found this site, you must enjoy working with wood. And if you’re like me, you’ve probably spent hundreds of hard-earned dollars on wood plans and projects that turned out to be disappointing (or maybe even disastrous!). Maybe you’ve halted projects in mid-stream because of frustration or from running out of ideas. To read more, please click here:Woodworking4Home