Drawings for Master Cabinetmaker pieces
Hello,
I have been successful in both designing and “copying” designs for benches, chests, chairs, furniture (maloof rockers), woodstripped kayaks, and miscellaneous other pieces of various complexity, some having a lapsed time to completion of multiple years (I woodwork for pleasure not profit). I am interested in getting designs and building some of the significant American pieces as reproduced by Irion or other significant cabinet makers. Does anyone know of a source where I could obtain such drawings? I have not communicated with Irion but that is next. I have much patience and am only interested in building pieces to Irion’s standards knowing that the larger more complicated pieces will take me years each.
I remember years ago, Finewoodworking had a couple of articles about building a high end chest on chest.
Any suggestions on where/how I could find such drawings?
Replies
A good source for such books that are in print is http://www.cambiumpress.com . There are a lot. Also check out http://www.sapfm.org
Here are a few that I've run across: Michael Dunbar Federal Furniture Taunton, 1986. Excellent plans and construction advise. Norm Vandall Queen Anne Furniture, also plans and technique.
Franklin H. Gottshall How to Design and Construct Period Furniture,Bonanza 1989, & Making Early American and Country Furniture Dover, and several similar titles. Lester Margon, Construction of American Furniture Treasures, Dover, plans for many interesting pieces, he does, in the several pieces I've researched, take liberties with both the joinery, internal construction, and even the exterior design.
Vera Cook Salomonsky Masterpieces of Furniture, Dover, measured drawings, and a photograph, of many excellent pieces, but these aren't plans, you work out joinery and interior construction yoursself.
Jeffrey Greene American Furniture of the 18th. Century, Taunton, lots of interesting information on the construction of the period pieces, accompanied by a number of expanded drawings. It's also valuable for it's guidance on how to turn photographs into measured drawings.
But, there is even more info available that you can turn into plans, starting with Wallace Nutting Furniture Treasury, and extending through museum publications of their collections. These are available from most of the museums with major furniture collections, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Winterthur, Yale, Colonial Williamsburg.
You can also visit museums. Not only is this important for getting inspiration of good pieces, some are quite accommodating to people looking to make reproductions, especially for their own use. I've had hands on access at the Boston Museum of Fine Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art, and even Colonial Williamsburg (which can be pretty tight about such things since they licence lines of furniture for industrial production, Winterthur similarly. It pays to be a Donor to the museums. Of course, it is generally necessary to write curators about specific pieces to obtain such access.
If you can, visiting pre-sale displays of auction galleries is useful, since it allows hands on examination, including interiors. Bring a strong light.
Edited 9/15/2009 9:21 am ET by SteveSchoene
Robert Whitley used to sell some very fine drawings.
http://www.robertwhitley.com/index.htm
The following sources represent a more or less immediately available source of measured drawings for significant American antiques:
Phil Lowe still sells them:
http://www.furnituremakingclasses.com/
Books by Lester Margon (search Amazon) have many measured drawings of high difficulty (IMO) pieces.
Carlyle Lynch measured drawings have been known to challenge as well:
http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/Merchant/merchant.mvc?Screen=NEXT&StoreCode=toolstore&nextpage=/extra/lynchguide.html
Both Margon and Lynch drawings are usually of historic American pieces now housed in museums or held in private collections.
Edited 9/15/2009 9:17 am ET by CStanford
A couple of ideas come to mind:
Franklin H Gottshall has written a few books on reproducing antique furniture. The books usually include fairly detailed drawings although they are obviously not full scale. Some of the drawing appear to be drawn from memory and occasionally you can run across some minor problems with construction from the drawings.
American Furniture of the 18th Century - Green Contains much information and a few drawings
Queen Ann Furniture - Valdal has a lot of information and drawings
Furniture Antiques Found in Virginia by Carlyle Lynch contains a collection of drawing which are also available separately. There are a few other authors such as Verna Cook Salomonsky, V. J. Taylor, Andrew W. Marlow and others.
Some of the museum special exhibit books such as:
The Furniture Masterworks of John and Thomas Seymour
American Furniture in the Bybee Collection
John Townsend - Newport Cabinetmaker
American Furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art William and Mary
Connecticut Valley Furniture Eliphalet Chapin
All of the above contain excellent photographs, dimensions and in a few cases some detailed drawing of selected pieces.
Some full scale drawings may be purchased from Phill Lowe:
http://www.furnituremakingclasses.com/FurniturePlans/index.html
There are probably a few others but I am only familiar with Phil Lowes plans from taking a few classes there.
To add on: Phil Lowe's plans are excellent, but you should also consider plans from Allan Breed, particularly if you lust after making a Newport blockfront for example. He has had unequalled access to some of the finest pieces (making reproductions for owners to have something to keep after they cash in for the millions by selling the originals.) http://www.allanbreed.com/plans_castings.cfm
Great classes, too.
I think Alan Breed is selling the stuff Whitley used to sell and has added some plans to the collection.
Just checked and they do appear to be the ones...
Edited 9/15/2009 10:20 am ET by CStanford
The 3 article cherry highboy was reprinted in In the 18th Century Style by Taunton. I don't think anyone mentioned Michael Moses, perhaps because he's out of print and way too expensive. All of the books mentioned are helpful, but in a limited way. Heckscher on Townsend for instance gives useful photos of the undersides of pieces, and comparison of details of Townsends and Goddard, but no drawings. Greene gives exploded diagrams of typical pieces. Vandal does give some detailed drawings. Gotschall in Reproducing Antique Furniture does give detailed drawings, but in for example his Newport 3-shell chest on chest his measurements are based on a Wallace Nutting copy, and he seems unaware that in some makers the convex shells are applied rather than integral. Drawings are hard to find in books, so when you do find a good one you're likely to be making something that's been done before a good many times, if that matters.
That wouldn't be a problem if you used the recent The Dunlap Cabinetmakers by Zea and Dunlap, which shows the work of a more provincial family of woodworkers who used different details. The book offers a number of drawings with advice on construction from a modern Dunlap. Not everyone's cup of tea, but interesting.
I'm not surprised that nobody mentioned Glen Huey's Illustrated Guide to Building Period Furniture. Traditionalists tend to overlook him because he gives step by step photographic instructions using modern tools wherever possible. However he does give detailed drawings for a variety of period pieces. You don't have to follow his methods, and he does give what seem to be accurate construction details. Even if you're not building one of his pieces, you might find some insight into some details. He has another book due out in the fall.
Jim
I have Huey's book and it's a good 'un.
I tried to help someone who was doing a project from one of Huey's book and I don't remember the details but it was a pain.
Did you ever actually build anything from a Glen Huey book and how did it go? I hate to base my opinion on very limited experience with one project but it was enough that I never wanted to buy the book myself.
Yep - I built a small slant front desk from one of his books and a large hutch that he attributed as a Canadian design.I ignore cut lists other than to rough out parts once the carcase is cut to size and dry fitted. After that it's pinch rods, story sticks, and a folding rule.I do have a quibble in that the drawings from some of his books don't always include overall dimensions, which they should. You have to tease that out by going over the cutlist.
Edited 9/15/2009 4:00 pm ET by CStanford
Meant to add that the Society of American Period Furniture Makers would be a good source of information: http://www.sapfm.org/
Jim
Years ago my wife gave me this Christmas present:
Colonial Furniture, Donald Millar, a reprint from Lee Valley, originally printed in 1925.
49 items, easy to read dwgs., I assume they are true to the original. Pg 255 of their new catalog.
Pete
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled