At the first meeting of our chapter, many of you said that you were interested in sharing information and visiting other shops in the area. So... shortly, I will be starting a Chippendale side chair in my Howard County (MD) workshop. The chair that I will be reproducing is in the Philly Museum of Art (see attached photo) and is the same chair Adam Cherubini attempted in his Arts and Mysteries column of Popular Woodworking. The original was attributed to Benjamin Randolph's shop, one of the most talented Philadelphia cabinetmakers. This is a chair that I have made several times and I have a large number of photos and dimensions from the original. I would be happy to share my drawing of the chair, the templates necessary to reproduce the carvings and any knowledge I have required to reproduce it. The way I envision doing this is to have weekly (or thereabouts) meetings and demonstrations in my shop to give guidance and review progress. My shop is very small so bench space would be very limited and you would need to depend on your shop for most activities. I would be available via email to answer any questions, and of course, any issues can be raised at the next meeting. When you look at the chair, be not faint of heart! Everyone starts somewhere, and I can assure you that the first time I made such a chair, it wasn't easy. It was, however, doable, and the results changed the direction of my cabinetmaking career. While is does take a lot of work, it can be done - with a product of which you may be proud. If you have never done any carving, you WILL need to have some caring tools, which are not cheap - but they are worth the investment.
I am doing this as a tribute to my late mentor, Gene Landon, who you may have heard died last week. Gene's methods and his love for 18th century furniture need to be passed on, and this is my small attempt.
I am located in western Howard County, near the town of Lisbon. If you have an interest, please email me at [email protected] You can see the backsplat of my chair in the "methods" section of my website - www.frederickwalkerllc.com
If you still have some trepidation about trying the chair, I would be happy to discuss it with you either on the phone or via email. It would be nice if we had someone who could post progress on the chair and the "classes" on the SAPFM website.
I am doing this as a tribute to my late mentor, Gene Landon, who you may have heard died last week. Gene's methods and his love for 18th century furniture need to be passed on, and this is my small attempt.
I am located in western Howard County, near the town of Lisbon. If you have an interest, please email me at [email protected] You can see the backsplat of my chair in the "methods" section of my website - www.frederickwalkerllc.com
If you still have some trepidation about trying the chair, I would be happy to discuss it with you either on the phone or via email. It would be nice if we had someone who could post progress on the chair and the "classes" on the SAPFM website.