Process
I start each piece by cutting parts out of boards, or some times one board. It’s a stressful time in the process of making furniture. I have a limited amount of material and have to make the best decisions regarding grain and figure. I’ll be working on these parts for a while and when it’s finished the parts will be that way forever.
Then there is a point where the parts start to take shape. The goal is to make each part like it was made of the same piece of wood. The grain should do the same thing in the same place on every leg, post or crest rail. It’s hard to do. You have to be sure the growth rings are facing the same way when cutting out the shapes. Things start to happen quickly at this stage.
This is my favorite time at the shop. Joints have already been cut and can be assembled. The board starts to come back together again and look as if it is completely natural. I’m no longer making smaller boards, I’m making arms, legs, feet!
Happy Birthday to … my tool chest.
Happy Birthday tool chest happy birthday to you. I just realized it’s 14 years old! I made it at The North Bennet Street School in Boston as the first requirement of the Cabinet and Furniture Making program. It is the first case piece I ever made.
All North Bennet Street tool chests have some common features among them. They have a maximum size, maximum number of drawers (6) and a way to lock it up. It is remarkable how many combinations of drawers, doors, woods, locks, and hardware there are. Each one is as individual as its maker.
It holds my marking and measuring tools and card scrapers in the top row of drawers, next level is chisels/gouges and files/rasps followed by odd tools, thread cutters & etc. and draw knives, scorps, hammers, bit braces at the bottom. The frame that my chest is attached to (the feet that is) I made for its first birthday.
Carved beads my wife and son gave me.
This is how it usually looks
The bottom drawer of the tool chest was carefully designed to hold my hand planes, they now reside in a cabinet on the wall.
Round Table
If a table is to be used for eating, drinking or talking with friends, I believe it should be round. I realize that some rooms are too small, and some gatherings are too large to use a round table, but they are still the best shape for conversation.
My favorite round tables are gate-leg drop-leaf tables, meaning the top can hang down if the gate-leg is folded in. These tables can be any where from 3 feet wide to 8 feet. The large tables are usually ovoid. They commonly have turned legs like this table, but also could have straight ,tapered or cabriole legs. One of my favorites is a New York table with eight ball & claw feet.
Some folks don’t like the gate-leg because they feel like they will hit their knees, so this table was made without the folding top and legs. It is made of maple that was painted with milk paint on the base and stained on the top. It is 60 inches wide, a good size for 6 people.
Antick 
