Thursday, March 17, 2016

Queen Anne Lowboy


I have been very excited to bring you this post for quite some time.  In June, I took a class at the Furniture Institute of Massachusetts with Phil Lowe on building a Queen Anne lowboy.  Over the course of a week most of us completed the frame and shaped all four legs. At the end of the week, I had a lot of work to do.




My first task was to glue the table together after I had mortised the drawer runners into the back. Then there were sixteen dovetailed corners to make.  I had to flush the post blocks to the aprons, make the knee blocks, and flatten the top and make the thumbnail molding.


Upon Phil's suggestion, I deviated from the plans, and chose to veneer the drawer fronts and add herringbone inlay.  I chose crotch mahogany veneer for the bottom drawers, and curly mahogany veneer for the top drawer.  Phil made the herringbone inlay by cutting a thin strip of walnut at a steep angle so the grain runs about 60° to the edges. I took over from there by sawing the stock into 1/16 inch strips which, when placed flat, the grain runs diagonal to the edges. The inlay is cleaned up, mitered at the ends, and glued into rabbets along the perimeter of the drawer's face to border the veneer.  Then another piece is placed outside of that one, with the grain running opposite the first inlay border.  This created the herringbone effect.






I finished the lowboy with ten thin coats of garnet shellac.  The dark finish brought out the depth of the walnut, and enhanced the grain.  The many thin coats resulted in a smooth, shiny surface.  I then added two coats of paste was for added protection, and for an even smoother texture.

This was an amazing class, and a fantastic experience.  I learned a lot and met a lot of great people. Watching Phil at work is truly something to behold.  He devoted an enormous amount of attention to his students, and taught us techniques he has used for over forty years.  I could not have built this piece of furniture without his help, and I am very fortunate to have had this opportunity right when I was beginning to expand my woodworking experience into period furniture styles.

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