Austin Chandler

A Chippendale Garvan Carver Dressing Table made of Mahogany, Poplar and White Ppine as secondary and Brass finished with a Custom Dye Stain Mix, Sediment Glazing and Shellac. The dimensions are 32" H x 35" W x 20 1/2" D built in Pulaski, Tennessee. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

his is a project I had wanted to do for over a year. Since I started woodworking at the end of 2021, while working at an antique mall in Nashville, the pieces that really stood out to me were the ornately carved ones. I also have become enamored with the Chippendale style, with its Uniformity and stately appearance. So when I first saw this piece by the Garvan carver, I knew that’s the one I wanted to complete. The perfect balance between elegance, embellishment and uniform design. The piece is constructed all with hand cut joinery. Mortise and tenons, haunched tenons, different lap joints, dovetails and half blinds, etc. The primary wood used is mahogany. Which made carving a dream. Since there are so many detailed components, about 80% of the whole project was carving. Carving the cabriole legs, ball and claw feet, side panels, front rail, integration, shell and acanthus drawer, quarter columns, and guilloche pattern. There’s also turned quarter pieces which complete the columns. I finished with a mixed dye stain to give the depth but also warmth of the appearance. I also applied sediment glazing to deepen the carvings and give a haloed effect to seem Patinaed. Then I finished with a bit of shellac and pumice powder. Finally with multiple rubbed coats of shellac. From day one of milling up lumber to the last day of applying the finish coat of shellac and hardware it took 40 days in total. It was a humbling but amazingly enjoyable project. You can really see the artistry of the original makers design come to life the further you go into the project. And the end result was worth every moment of work.