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A couple of years ago I spent several weekends salvaging
pine from packing crates, sizes ranged from 12"
x 1&1/4" in Sugar Pine boards, plenty of 6"
x 3/4" in Lodgepole Pine and Hemlock and 6"
x 2" in SPF (USA mixed grading mark for Spruce/Pine/
Fir)
After pulling literally two buckets of wire twist nails
and salvaging perhaps two tons of this timber, it was
time to make furniture from it!
Since I know that pretty much anything is achievable
and quickly with Arbortech shaping tools, I allowed
grand visions of Italian Renaissance woodwork to fill
my mind. The first project was a large Dowry chest with
internal draws and wine rack covered in florid (Mini-Carver)
carvings on the two lid panels and one front panel.
I made a near identical pair since I had plenty of wood
and to emphasise the carvings they were treated with
coloured carnauba waxes similar to the practice in the
16th century.
I will give the outline method for making these chests
in a future article.
(See fig. 0520) The next grandiose idea was to
make a dining room service cabinet in similar style
for storage of silver, cutlery, service dishes and wine,
this now stands in my dining room but alas there is
never any wine in it! I decided not to wax colour the
carved foliage.
I will be making half a dozen further pieces of furniture
for my home from the same salvaged pine and I will show
you these and describe how they were made as they are
completed.
General description
The cabinet overall measures 151 cm wide, 79 cm deep
and 229.5 cm high and is an unknown weight but either
half needs two strong men to lift. There are three prefabricated
sections, the base with two doors, the top with two
doors and the crown or pediment. The bottom section
is made like a sideboard with its own top board and
I am yet to make a turned stand for the top half. This
would allow my children to inherit half each!
The lower half contains four deep draws in the base
with two lift out wine racks sitting loose above those
draws. (See fig. 0509) The top doors open to reveal nine graduated and bow
fronted small draws with two shelves either side of
the draws.
(See fig. 0551) The front
doors are panel and frame but instead of straight-sided
stiles and rails I shaped them internally to provide
more curving features.
The panels were completely 'raised' by hand using the
Mini-Grinder, which was also used for all the floral
carving. All four-door panels float and are held in
place simply with strips of oak, brass screwed in place. (See fig. 0517)
The carcass or frames for both the top and bottom sections
are very deeply framed with four corner posts and rails
at 5" x 31/2"! (fig.
0544 and fig. 0542) The sides of the carcass
have floating panels, the back (unseen) is lined with
tongue and lapboards, which I through cut on the bench,
saw, then pinned and punched into the carcass.
The two floors (top and bottom cabinets) are also cut
with lap joint profiles and then simply pinned with
brads, punched and filled. (See
fig. 0553) which is the floor of the top cabinet,
notice the beautiful figure and colour sometimes found
in the heart of lodge Pole boards.
I made the base plinth after making the bottom cabinet
and simply fastened the two together. (See
Fig. 0521)
All materials were thicknessed, nail holes stopped,
sanded to 220 grit, limed (oil and lime mixture) and
then waxed with Arborwax Clear. Brass hardware was used,
drop handles for the draws correct for the Renaissance
period, with Georgian handles incorrectly fitted to
the doors! But they looked grander! The butt hinges
are lovely slabs of polished heavy brass with removable
pins so that the doors can be easily removed (See
fig. 0538)
Biscuit joining, P.V.A. glue and brad pins were used
extensively (no apologies!) Through rebates cut on the
docking saw, mitres cut on a drop mitre saw (see
examples of mitres at fig. 0548), timbers sawn,
thicknessed & planed on a modest combination machine
(Robland), flat sanding with 4" belt sander, 1/4"
router with three or four bits, extensive use of Arbortech
tools including standard Pro4 Woodcarver™, Industrial
Carbide Woodcarver, Mini-Carver with Mini-sanders and
a angle grinder 4" back up pad for sanding.
The few hand tools used included smoothing and jack
plane, tenon saw (hardly used) ruler, a square, 3/4"
Firmer chisel for hinge laying, flexible curves to mark
out curving lines and that's about it! This may not
be the normal or best way to construct a cabinet but
it is my way!
It may interest you to know from which packing crates
the different timbers originated. The front panel carvings
(sugar pine) and the draws in the base were the floorboards
in a massive crate that held a locomotive engine! The
door framing from 6 x 2" tractor tyre pallets,
the carcass was the skids under Ford motor car pallets,
the floorboards (6" x 3/4") are from New Holland
combine harvester reel boxes.
When liming the finish all the different timber colours
are tied into one and I also love liming with pine because
it retards yellow discolouration over the years ahead.
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Reprinted
with permission from http://www.arbortech.com.au |
