Website Changes

Curly Maple Bureau with

Carved Curly Cherry Drawers 

by Steve McKenna

This brings a piece back to life from 2018 by Steve McKenna.  That’s not to say that the curly maple bureau with carved curly cherry drawers lay dormant since then.  It was built for Steve’s daughter-in-law.  It’s nice to have a relative who’s a woodworker, especially one as talented as Steve.  The name of the piece says it all.  But don’t be disturbed when you see the picture of the bureau when taken under a different light.  It’s an optical illusion.  Have a look.

You can reach Jim at here.

The November Guild presentation has been posted to the video library. 

18th Century Furniture Design by Will Neptune November, 2020

Period sources written for cabinetmakers wanting to create new designs suggest using techniques borrowed from classical architectural.  A compass and straightedge can be used to establish the height and width where parts will be joined, as well as for constructing patterns of curved elements. This talk will present research Will did for an article co-authored with Steve Brown which was published in “American Furniture”, Chipstone Foundation, 2017. Learn how furniture makers built pieces that are seen as well proportioned.

Will will be using a combination of Powerpoint slides, photos, and some short videos showing hand tool work.  While the focus is on specific 18th Century work, the techniques can be applied to simpler, yet elegant, moldings and other components of Federal to modern designs and studio furniture.

Sharp as a Chisel

by Andrew Davis

You might think that the picture above should have been used for last month's article "What's in Your Scrap Heap".  But the picture is not a mistake, and that's what Andrew Davis' article is about.  Mistakes and mental errors.  Like Andrew's, mine, and your scrap pile, the picture above of scrap has contributions made not just from leftover accurate cuts but from bad cuts.  All to often, especially when it gets to angles and math, and frankly not paying enough attention to detail, mistakes happen due to mental errors.

We all fall into this category.  But in this month's Bevel Cut article Sharp as a Chisel Andrew reveals his own recent experience.

Andrew welcomes your feedback.

The video of the October Guild meeting has been posted to the Guild Video Library. To view, go to the Guild Video Library or click below. 

Chair Design and Construction  by Matt Wajda October 2020

Embellishments for Furniture Makers presentation by Jim Russell has been posted to the Guild Video Library.

Click on "Show More" in the YouTube Description section to see the Timestamps. Click on a Timestamp to jump to that part of the presentation.

This recording of a Zoom presentation was given to the Eastern Massachusetts Guild of Woodworkers in September 2020. A virtual presentation rather than a live presentation was required due to the issues related to COVID-19. The presentation covers multiple topics relating to embellishments for furniture makers. The entire presentation is in excess of 3 hours. Time limitation prevented including the Hammer Veneering section in the virtual demonstration. The Hammer Veneering section is added here for completeness.