Sycamore Cabinet
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Sycamore Cabinet, February 2011
The sycamore for this cabinet was harvested in October of 1981 from the city streets of northwest Washington, DC using a two person chainsaw mill. The plank that was used, located about halfway from the center of the log, displayed a delicate wispy flame pattern. The door for the cabinet was sized and planed to a very slight curve in order to highlight the subtle pattern. Suitable sides, a curve in the top piece, and a doweled carcass were chosen to further complement the flame. The pattern of the back panel echoes the door having been cut from the same piece of plank. The result is a straightforward cabinet that strives to exhibit the easily overlooked beauty of this native wood.
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Ash Bible Box
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Ash Bible Box, August 2010
This box was made from a blond, highly figured ash billet and a couple of chunks of ash leftover from a cabinet made years ago. The billet was resawn into boards for the top and bottom panel, and the chunks were resawn into pieces for the front, back, and sides of the box. Though pairs of book matched pieces were produced, the decision was made to arrange the pieces into a freer, though balanced, pattern of dark heartwood and light sapwood, rather then using the earlier anticipated approach of book matching. Once these decisions were made another element was developed, the angled curved profiled sides that are joined to the front and back with graduated dovetails. The final design element that emerged was the integrated handle with its' notched ends.
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Bubinga Stand
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Bubinga Stand, July 2010
Design is sometimes an unpredictable process. The idea for these legs was actually developed in the context of another piece. But as that piece progressed, these legs proved to be too much for it and they were set aside with the determination to create a stand using them as the central design feature. Note the outside lines that sweep up from the floor to sculptured top and the inside lines that follow the outside lines to the middle shelf and then blend into straight, vertical lines that define the inside of the display area. To complement the strong, active lines of the legs, wood with whorling grain patterns was chosen for the shelves that were then let into the legs at the corners. And finally the design for the stand was completed with curved and tapered stretchers using double mortise and tenon joints.
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Walnut Baptismal Stand
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Walnut Baptismal Stand, May 1983, Restored April 2010
The front panel of this baptismal stand is carved with symbols of the Covenant of Grace. The fire remembers the covenant made with Abraham when a blazing torch passed between halved sacrifices. Abraham also received circumcision, the Old Testament precursor to baptism, represented in the carving by a knife. The waters of baptism appear in the upper right, while sweeping across the panel is a rainbow, the reminder given to Noah and all mankind that God would never again destroy all life through a flood. The inside of the baptismal bowl, designed and thrown by a potter friend, is glazed blue for water, with a blood red slash. And finally the cross, centered on the panel, is there as a reminder of the death of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, the price paid to keep the promise to make a people His own.
Originally commissioned in 1983, the stand suffered damage while in storage, necessitating a renovation. Given the chance to work on the stand again, the opportunity was taken to re-carve the rainbow which had been something of a disappointment. The tools used years ago were taken up to fair the curves, improve the shape of the end in the foreground, and to add spectral bands. It was satisfying to fix something that wasn't quite right.
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Cherry Chiffonier
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Cherry Chiffonier, March 2010
To design from the wood seems to raise in some the idea that the shape of the design is somehow related to the shape of the board. This cabinet may illustrate another way to design from the wood, where the character of the design reflects the character of the wood. This chiffonier is primarily constructed from two pieces of wood, a large billet, from which cores were sawn, and a smallish flitch. Both were cherry and both to some degree quartersawn. Quartersawing is a technique that yields pieces whose annual rings are nearly perpendicular to the surface of the wood. This results in stable pieces with surfaces that may be marked by flecks or rays in addition to the regular markings in wood. The long treasured cherry flitch used in this piece was an unusually excellent example of quartersawn cherry both in color and in the prominence and pervasiveness of flecks and rays. So to design from this piece of wood meant to stretch that flitch by sawing it into thick one eighth of an inch veneers and using them to cover all of the surfaces of a design that promoted the elegantly marked wood.
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Walnut Fork Knitting-Sewing Table
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Walnut Fork Knitting-Sewing Table, June 2009
The plank for this table was taken from a walnut tree that forked as it grew, reaching for sunlight. Internal forces born in that fork, caused the wood to knit together for added strength. That knitting resulted in wood with a beautiful shimmer, striking features, and that split as it dried. Work on the table began by cutting a solid top out of the fork in the plank. Next a sample leg was developed so that the piece could be mocked-up in three dimensions. During the mock-up, another major feature of the design emerged. Overlays were cut so that all four sides looked as if they had been unfolded from the top.
As is often the case with exceptional wood that results from stresses in a tree, the challenge is to include it in a piece that has sound construction and a refined look. Time will tell if the construction is sound and hopefully the design is refined enough for this dramatic piece of wood.
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Cherry Cabinet With Angled Door
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Cherry Cabinet With Angled Door, Circa 1983-March 2009
This cabinet was designed and the pieces were rough cut from a cherry plank more than twenty-five years ago. The original design called for two paneled doors that were angled and met in the center. But during the process of examining the two panels, and turning them this way and that and then one way and then another, a better solution emerged -- a single door with an angled panel. This approach better showed the subtle book match of the panel pieces because they were not separated by frame pieces running down the center between the two halves. Once the door was settled the rest flowed quickly, if quickly can be used at all, in relation to a cabinet that took more than twenty-five years to complete.
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Siloam Walnut Coffee Table
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Siloam Walnut Coffee Table, September 2008
The wood for this table comes from a friend's beloved property in Pennsylvania that he called Siloam. With the help of another friend, it was cut and then slabbed with a chainsaw mill. About fourteen years ago, after the wood had dried for years, a third friend wanted a table to give as a gift. In the early stages of design, some of that wood was cut and glued up as two table halves. Never used, those rediscovered halves became the starting point for the design of this table. When glued into a single top, there are two pairs of bookmatched boards with a board from each pair in each half, and the whole composed to look like a single bookmatched pair. The base to the table is designed to be upright to complement the spacious top. The legs are overlaid with thick veneer, cut from the same board as their cores, so that all of the leg faces match and follow the curve of the legs.
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Oak Burl Tea Table
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Oak Burl Tea Table, May 2008
Work on this table began with a desire to use a large oak burl of unremembered origin. Once the modestly sized slabs for the top were sawn from the burl they displayed compelling features and patterns. A nice burl top had been the inspiration for a previous tea table. The project album listed below and entitled Tea Table contains a few pictures of the table made around 1978. The design for this Oak Burl Tea Table grew from the previous Tea Table design and that table was in turn inspired by a table in A Cabinetmakers Notebook. This latest table has long legs set on the axes of the elliptical top to highlight the bookmatch in the burl top and the slender shaping of the legs.
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Oak Reading Table
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Oak Reading Table, March 2008
The wood for this table comes from a Black Oak log that was harvested with a chain saw mill decades ago. While drying the planks twisted and cracked badly. When the piece for the top was cut and milled the stock showed a shimmering quarter figure and a disappointing discoloration from obscure stains where stickers had been placed between the planks while the wood cured. Through much sawing, resawing, applying, and laminating the quarter figure is featured throughout the table while the discoloration has been eliminated.
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Mahogany Reading Table
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Mahogany Reading Table, November 2007
A visit many years ago to the home of an old German cabinetmaker ended with his gift of a perfect, yet small, plank of Cuban mahogany. Years after that another friend inquired about commissioning a coffee table. Partially designed, it was never made due to responsibilities other than work in the basement workshop. This mahogany reading table grew out of those events. The curve of the leg is an adaptation from the coffee table design and the Cuban mahogany was overlaid on the top and sides. African mahogany was used for the legs, with spalted bubinga for the drawer sides.
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Pulpit and Communion Table
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Pulpit and Communion Table, May 2007
“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’" Romans 10:14-15
Hopefully this pulpit will adorn the feet of those that bring good news and thereby bring glory to the One who is the good news.
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Maple Burl Bible Box
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Maple Burl Bible Box, January 2007
Nearly twenty-five years ago when the benches for the basement workshop were made, all of the maple in them came from a single log of Ambrosia maple. Some of the planks shared a burl that had grown near the butt of that tree. Unsuitable for bench construction, they were trimmed off of the planks and laid aside. Recently while browsing through medieval flags, the idea developed of making a Bible box with a lid that reflected the flags’ motif of a field divided by a cross. That motif executed with some of the burled Ambrosia maple as the field became the basis for the design of this box.
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Fir Cross
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Fir Cross, October 2006
This cross was made to go in the sanctuary of the recently completed Good Hope Presbyterian Church. It was made refined enough to be seen as symbol not facsimile and yet heavy and large enough to recall the historic event for which it is a symbol. “Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him, and with him two others--one on each side and Jesus in the middle. “ John 19:17-18
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Canticles Bible Box
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Canticles Bible Box, July 2006
Often the Song of Songs is interpreted as an allegory of the relationship between Christ and His Church. But for some the poetic language is more indicative of married love as created by God. Intending to reflect that view in the design of a Bible box, the hip waist curve of a woman was sketched. For that curve to be carved into the top, a panel with straight grain was needed to complement the carving. Once that panel was made, the pattern for the simple carving was copied, glued to the panel, and then executed. With the panel done, the design for the rest of the box could be finalized. Keeping the top in mind, the wood for the remaining pieces was selected, the overall dimensions settled, and construction details designed. Everything about the box is straight and regular so that the distinctive waist hip curve is emphasized.
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Chinese Cedar Bible Box
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Chinese Cedar Bible Box, May 2006
The initial impulse for this box included the idea of a lid that curved asymmetrically. The curve was intended to emphasize the way annual ring patterns vary in spacing across the width of a flitch. Sketching began by drawing the end view. The end view illustrated the curve of the lid and sides that vary in height and angle to complement that curve. The top view included a simple carving in the lid, but when the piece of wood that would be used for it was identified, it contained a strong and graceful grain pattern resembling the carving. So the box was executed with the grain pattern replacing the simple carving as the focal point of the lid.
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Siloam Walnut Bible Box
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Siloam Walnut Bible Box, April 2006
When this project began there were two motivating impulses. The first motivation was a Bible box that was made thirty years ago. That Bible box has a folk design carved into the front. The second motivation was the desire to make a box that was serene in mood. To develop the design the original Bible box was studied and rubbings were taken off of the carvings. Several sketches were then produced resulting in improved patterns for the carvings and a simple box with a solid coopered lid. The wood was then determined and construction of the lid undertaken. Sometime during construction of the lid and the subsequent selection and preparation of the wood for the sides the vision for this box sorted out. The carving would be a distraction. This box would feature the subtlety of the Siloam walnut and the graceful coopered lid. That would be enough. The carving will be done on another box.
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Dogwood and Hickory Bible Box
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Dogwood and Hickory Bible Box, February 2006
In earlier times all books, and particularly the family Bible, were precious. Sometimes the Bible was kept in a box to protect it. This Bible box began with a small billet of dogwood. Though wormy at the core, the wood was beautifully figured. After the panels were cut for the top and then arranged, studied, and rearranged, it seemed appropriate to frame the panels with a cross that was as perfect and as sound as possible. Hickory was matched with the dogwood and was used for the rest of the box. Though a pleasing combination, the hickory was very tough on tools and hard to work with.
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Finn Juhl Bwana Chair
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Finn Juhl Bwana Chair, January 2006
A generous friend gave us this Bwana chair, a matching ottoman, and a coffee table. They were all designed by Finn Juhl and executed in teak. In addition, she gave us a teak rocking chair designed by Ole Wanscher. The furniture was to be reupholstered and become the seating group in a new study. But closer inspection and disassembly revealed that each piece would demand significant reconstruction. The Bwana chair needed the knob joinery remade and it also needed a complete set of new upholstery frames constructed before it could be reupholstered. Rebuilding and reupholstering these classics proved to be a rewarding experience. It was like sitting under the tutelage of these fine designers.
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Ole Wanscher Rocker
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Ole Wanscher Rocker, February 2005
This rocker arrived with a surprise under the seat cushion. The original frame and suspension system had been replaced by a piece of ¾ inch plywood. What's more, the geometry of the chair (at least with its plywood seat) was not comfortable. Therefore, the restoration process began with an experiment. Using a jig to hold the back of the seat at various angles, the position of the bottom was tested by sitting on it. Once the best angle was found, work could begin.
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Handled Toolbox
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Handled Toolbox, December 2004
The inspiration for this handled toolbox came during a meeting. Intrigued by the construction detail of attaching a handle to a box, from the first sketch the central design element of this project was the long sliding dovetail along the side of the box. The angled and tapered sides of the box, the sculptured shape of the handle’s crosspiece, and the undercut of the handle’s side pieces are design details that were developed along the way to complement the joint that connects the handle to the box. Once the box was completed, it seemed harsh to just throw the tools in, so a pine liner was made to protect the box itself.
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Finn Juhl Bwana Ottoman
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Finn Juhl Bwana Ottoman, November 2004
The restoration of this ottoman posed an interesting challenge. The seat frame, which had originally been made in an industrial sized hydraulic press, was completely delaminated and a new one would have to be made. But the bigger challenge was what to use for the suspension within the frame. Flattened springs had provided the suspension for the original framework. Those springs looked like screen door springs that had been run over. Though nothing like them could be found, elastic webbing was used and, at least so far, seems like a good substitute
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Finn Juhl Table
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Finn Juhl Table, November 2004
This table is a rebuilt Finn Juhl coffee table. It was originally about one and a half times longer and wider than it is now. When received from a friend, it had a lot of wear and the moldings along the edges were badly broken. To salvage the table, the moldings were rip-cut off and then cut to the longest possible undamaged lengths. The veneered field of the top was recut to match the new molding length while maintaining the original proportions between length and width. Finally, the base was cut apart and rebuilt to match the newly sized top. Though not intending any disrespect to Mr. Juhl, the top was rotated 90 degrees when reassembling it to the base.
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Coat of Arms
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Coat of Arms, August 1984 to Circa 1990
Astute observers of The Basement Workshop will note a lack of productivity between the earlier work and the present. The explanation is simple, the responsibilities of life demanded that a more secure calling be pursued. Graciously, Providence provided such a calling.
The wood for this family coat of arms was cut from a plank of a Chinese chestnut tree. Though not a particularly good wood for carving, it was used because my father had grown the tree. Harvested when work in the basement was being set aside, the wood seasoned for a few years and was carved during snow days over the course of a few more years. Eventually, the original was taken to Atlanta where a mold was made and castings produced for the extended family.
While the coat of arms was granted to the family name years ago, this carving has become a reminder of family blessings and to invest time properly. Thankful to be back at work in the Basement Workshop, this coat of arms reminds that a Gracious Lord gave the command, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
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Chest For Medals
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Chest For Medals, Circa 1980
Generally, a piece will arouse a pleasant memory like the people involved, where the wood came from, or how the design evolved. This piece however is remembered for a mistake. Near completion, a trim cut was made on the wrong side of a line. Surely the piece was ruined! At first there seemed no solution except to throw the chest away. But in the end, a fix was devised and things worked out just fine.
Subsequently the chest has come to evoke a more powerful reaction. It is in the possession of someone that uses it to hold a lifetime of awards and medals. Quite an honor for a piece of woodworking.
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Walnut Showcase Cabinet
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Walnut Showcase Cabinet, December 1980
This cabinet was an early speculative piece. Fascinated by a highly figured plank cut from the crotch of a very old walnut tree, a design was developed to highlight what would be a particularly striking back panel. Made from two thin bookmatched pieces, the back panel was rough-cut first. With the panel cut all of the rest of the pieces – back frame, cabinet top and bottom, cabinet sides, and the doorframe pieces, were all carefully cut and sized with the panel in mind. Construction began with the cabinet top, bottom, and sides. They were shaped and joined into their final form. Next came the doors, made from their unique sets of bookmatched pieces. And finally work on the back panel, the inspiration for the cabinet, began. All went well until the edge of the panel was being machined. And then...unh, the end of one edge of the panel drifted up into the cutter, ruining the tongue and the panel. Without that panel the whole cabinet would not be the same. What to do? To fix it would require a very risky operation that consisted of cutting off the spoiled tongue from all four edges and then machining a groove for a spline in the edges of the thin panel. Not until the fix was successful was a relaxed breath taken. Now, more than twenty-five years later, two things are remembered about the cabinet, the fix and the good friend that owns it.
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Walnut Cabinet with Flower Pulls
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Walnut Cabinet with Flower Pulls, June 1980
Two thick walnut planks and a bit of oak were fashioned into this cabinet. One plank, with distinctive sapwood along both edges, was from a small tree. It was resawn to yield three drawer fronts each taller than the preceding one. These drawer fronts were then stacked to form the center section of the piece. The larger plank was resawn into the pieces for the back panels and the carcass with careful consideration given to the inclusion of sapwood. Though a pleasant composition, the cabinet needed something. Flower drawer pulls seemed to finish it up. When done, the piece seemed a good match for the client, a pleasant, interesting, and cheerful woman.
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Cherry Lap Desk
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Cherry Lap Desk, May 1980
Many lap desks have slanted tops. While imagining what it would be like to use one, it seemed that a top with a gentle curve that flattened out as it approached the writer would be more comfortable. That simple thought shaped the design of this lap desk. A thick plank of cherry was sawn and resawn into the parts for the case with an ivory white maple used for the drawer’s handles, sides, and bottom. Destined to be the graduation present for a good friend there are fond recollections of meetings about the design, building the desk, and the day it was picked up. And looking now at pictures sent to the Basement Workshop twenty-five years later there is sense of gratitude for past work and continued friendship.
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A Wall Box for Butch
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A Wall Box for Butch, December 1979
A kind friend told me that he would like to have something that had been made in the Basement Workshop. At the time, my friend had a very distinctive look. His sideburns and moustache rivaled those of a Civil War general and his cheeks were like Saint Nick's. In short order, the outline of his moustache had been translated into an across-up-across-down-across pattern for the front edge of a pair of shelves. As details emerged they took on a distinctly rounded theme consistent with my friend. When finished, the piece was spontaneously named the "Butch Box" because it was a furniture caricature of my friend Butch. Another memory contributes to my fondness for this wall shelf. Delightfully, my friend who has been known to dress as Santa Claus, was an answer to prayer. You see this little shelf was made in time to provide for a young family's Christmas.
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Rounded Walnut Coffee Table
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Rounded Walnut Coffee Table, December 1979
The assignment for this table came from an acquaintance I made while taking a class. The young father wanted a coffee table for his family room. He liked walnut and there were active children to be considered. Using some walnut that had been harvested off of an estate on Long Island, the top was fashioned by resawing a thick plank of that wood and turning the sapwood edges toward the center. Next a leg was designed that would be stout enough for family use. And finally, all of the rounded details were developed while imagining the children running around and bumping into the table.
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Asymmetrical Ash Cabinet
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Asymmetrical Ash Cabinet, July 1979
Two distinctly different ash planks, some quartersawn oak, and a few bits of teak were used in this standing cabinet. The door, cabinet sides, and interior shelves, all came from the first ash plank. It had heartwood that contrasted nicely with the sapwood and a fine texture. Exploiting the effect of light and dark, a coopered door with an uneven curve was fabricated. The heartwood that ran from top to bottom and was positioned right of center served as the axis. The rest of the details and grain effects of the cabinet were derived from the door. The ash for the base was less delicate and was purchased following a far-flung wood hunting expedition that almost reached to another state. This cabinet was displayed in a gallery and did not come back to the Basement Workshop. Curiosity still lingers about the cabinet's whereabouts.
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Manzanita and Mahogany Box
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Manzanita and Mahogany Box, March 1979
When asked to make a jewelry box out of a piece of manzanita that was meaningful to a friend’s relative, the answer was, “Sure!” But the piece of wood turned out to be little more than a stick. Pressing forward, the wood was resawn. There was enough to glue together to make the front and back of the box, but not enough for the sides. The solution was to add small paneling strips to the inside of the sides. The rest of the box as well as the paneling were all made of mahogany. When the box was completed, there was hardly any manzanita scrap.
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Tea Table
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Tea Table, circa 1978
A lot of the wood in the Basement Workshop was purchased from a company, located in southern Maryland, that has since gone out of business. One day, the proprietor showed me a small slice of madrone burl. Throughout construction of the table, the distinctive burl informed design decisions and was fashioned into the top. Unfortunately, none of the pictures feature the burled top. The base was made from a piece of bubinga that was also bought from the old proprietor.
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Tile Tables
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Tile Tables, July 1978
A friend from work wanted to display a dozen tiles. She wondered if they could be set into a pair of tables that would show off the tiles to their best advantage. So that they could be seen easily, the tiles were set in angled mahogany frames that rested upon the long side stretchers. The end stretchers were designed with an upward curve and held the tabletop floating above the rest of the table. Other than the frame for the tiles, the tables were made out of bubinga a hard, tough, tropical wood that accentuated the slender legs. This project was among the first built for others. Looking back, her trust was remarkable.
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Walnut Cabinet
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Walnut Cabinet, circa 1977
This cabinet was made as a serious interest in woodworking grew into a surprisingly compelling calling. Motivated and inspired by the superior cabinetmaking in "A Cabinetmaker's Notebook," the design of this piece began by working a board with an interesting crotch figure into the door of the cabinet. Planing a curve into the door, cutting a proper set of dovetails, and building a neat frame and panel for the back of the cabinet were among the sound cabinetmaking techniques tried for the first time.
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Lot Vexed and Mourning
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Lot Vexed and Mourning, Circa 1976
Though the Old and New Testaments speak most hopefully of a God that has taken all necessary steps for anyone to enter into His rest, they also speak clearly that we live in a world scarred and distorted by the falling short of every one of us. Reflecting on this worldview inspired this carving of Lot, a man that was vexed by the atrocities committed around him and acquainted with difficult loss. The walnut for the carving and the maple for the base were both salvaged from firewood.
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