David Conley
Well-known member
Society of American Period Furniture Makers
Ohio River Valley Chapter
2009 Fall Meeting
University of Rio Grande
Ohio River Valley Chapter
2009 Fall Meeting
University of Rio Grande
We had another wonderful chapter meeting at the University of Rio Grande. Everyone enjoyed the presentations and camaraderie. We had approximately 53 people attend from IN, MI, WV, VA, KY, PA, NJ and OH.
A Very Special Thanks to Eric Matson and staff and students for being such wonderful hosts and opening up their classroom and shop to us!!
As always, I would like to thank each presenter for stepping up and doing a great job!! In addition, we had a lot of lively discussions during the presentations with other methods and tips being discussed. A BIG THANK YOU to all of the presenters and to all those who added to the discussions.
We started our meeting with Show & Tell, we had some very fine and unique pieces including a Chippendale chair by David Heyer, a Chippendale mirror and a set of shells by Keith Mengal, Queen Anne Chair and flame finials by Brooke Smith, spice box on frame by Dick Reese, center drawer for a Philadelphia highboy and chair by Dan Reahard, candle stand by John Herrel, inlayed tilt-top table by Mark Arnold, Queen Anne table and carving mallet by Greg Brunk, Chippendale tilt-top table by Larry Bilderback, and a useful sandpaper dispenser by John Goyer.
Charles Murray started off the first demonstration with a very interesting history lesson about the political events and how they shaped the furniture of the William and Mary period. He then went on to talk about the typical construction methods. He then pointed out the common features and the designs morphed into the Queen Anne period. Charles finished his presentation by making a William and Mary molding using hollows and rounds.
The second demonstration was on carving volutes by Brooke Smith. Brooke started out by showing examples on a chair and other pieces of furniture. He also showed the different styles. On a blackboard, he showed how to layout the volutes. He then started the volutes by setting it in with carving gouges. And, completed the demonstration by carving a volute. He shared an interesting tip if you don’t have the thin, even, flat rim around the high edge of the volute. Holding the outside edge constant, he would drop the edge of the chisel towards the center and scrap the flat until it become even again.
The third demonstration was on carving knees by Dan Reahard. He started off by showing a carved leg and talked about the pattern on the leg and how he generated his carving patterns. From that, he transferred a pattern to a leg and started to carve the leg. One of the tips he had learned from Mary May was to take a v-gouge and go around the outside of your carving to remove some waste material. This makes your first step of setting in the pattern with a gouge much easier and less risky because the waste side is already opened up. Thus, you gouge goes into the wood much easier. Next, Dan talked about how to carve the acanthus leaves (shape, pipes, eyes, and veins).
The fourth demonstration was on how to make your own veneer with a band saw by Russ Tipton. Russ started off the demonstration by cutting a 12” tall piece of oak, and produced a very nice piece of veneer. He then talked his fence setup and how he tuned up his band saw, including tensioning, guides, and brushes to remove saw dust from the wheels. It was a very nice setup.
The last demonstration was by Mark Arnold on how to make geometric inlays. Mark has done similar presentation before, but this time he concentrated on the visual effect of the banding by talking about grain orientation and how it affect the outcome, specifically the face grain chatoyancy. You can see this in the pictures. Mark next showed how he cut and align his rough stock to insure consistence chatoyancy throughout the inlay strips. Mark then talked about how to make a herringbone, lunette, and other types of inlay. He also talked about how to make curved inlay for table tops. As always, his designs are very interesting and he takes the mystery out of how to make them.
As with all of the Chapter meetings, I am continually impressed with the accumulated knowledge and talent we have in our group. The quality and educational value of these demonstrations are on par with the best conferences out there. Our size allows us to get up close and personal with the presenters. It was truly another wonderful experience sharing knowledge and fellowship.
The Mary May Carving Classes will be November 13-16, 2009 at Rio Grande, OH. The next meeting (Spring 2010) will be in Lancaster, OH on March 20-21, 2010, and the Headley Spring meeting will also be in Lancaster, OH on May 8-9, 2010.