Michelle Hallee Wong

This federal style worktable is loosely inspired by Langley Boardman's Portsmouth worktable which can be found at the Rundlett May house in Portsmouth NH and is also seen in the Portsmouth furniture book by Brock Jobe. Using the basic form I dramtically increased the level of decoration by adding birdseye maple panels on all eight leg faces as well as banding boxes on the the three aprons. The leg turning was completely redesigned to include a bulging shaft,12 reeds and a tapered foot.The drawer front was redesigned to allow for handles and a central birch crotch oval. The birch stock was harvested locally and processed in my shop. All of the bandings are shop made and are variations of the bandings used on Boardman's table except for the birdseye panel banding which was adpated from a design sold commercially. The gallery rail was particularly fun to make and includes a white/black/white stringing line across the undulating top. I chose to glue a wide banding strip into a kerf in the top of the rail stock and then shape the rail afterwards. In addition the back of the rail has a rabbet to capture the shelf and is then beveled slightly above the shelf. This bevel exaggerates the undulations and makes the rail more dynamic. This table was constructed in a period manner with modern adhesives. The veneered shelf and top substrate are shop made lumber core. The aprons are poplar veneered with thick shop sawn mahogany. The drawer is a dovetailed period style drawer made of soft maple. Decorating furniture is my passion! This table was so much fun to design and make.

A Portsmouth Worktable of the Federal Period is made of Mahogany, Poplar, Soft Maple, Birdseye Maple, Crotch Mahogany Crotch Birch, Holly, Ebony and black dyed Veneer. It is finished with Shellac and Wax. It meassures 17" x 17" x 29" and was made in Brookline,, Massachusettes. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.