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Editor's note: This is a guest blog post from Charles Murray, an experienced period furniture maker based in central Ohio and instructor at the Artisans Guild.  This is the first of a four part series building a hanging wall shelf in tiger maple. The shelves are attached to the sides without fasteners using long sliding dovetails and hide glue. It's based on 18th century examples but likely has predecessors in the 17th century.
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 Photo courtesy of Amy McAuley. Visiting George Washington's Mount Vernon home is usually a memorable trip for those who appreciate history; however, doing preservation work on the mansion is an entirely different experience. Preservation activities are a fact of life at the mansion, and have been for the 160 years that the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association has owned the house. Amy McAuley, one of this year's exhibitors at the Early American Artisans Fair, is one of many skilled craftspeople working on the mansion using tools and skills much more common to the 18th century. She'll be bringing her experience and tools with her to the November show.
 There's another side to woodworking beyond the kiln-dried-flat-and-square that we find in modern furniture making. Before the kiln and before the sawmill is the beginning of green woodworking, when the wood is still wet. From this arises common objects like joined furniture and chairs, but also bolws, spoons, kuksas, shrink pots, and so much more; each object a reflection of the material it's made from and bearing the facets and textures of the tools used to create it.
Dave Fisher, who joins us at this year's Early American Artisans Fair, is a Pennsylvania bowl carver who is well-known in the green woodworking field. His style is recognizable as his own and is the result of over twenty years of learning, listening, and doing. Ok, yes, that sounds gimmicky, but buying rough-sawn lumber from a sawmill can be much more affordable than buying dimensioned hardwood from the home center. Buying rough-sawn lumber opens up a world of new lumber species to you in various widths and lengths. Most sawmills are locally owned and operated, so you’re supporting folks in your own community. While you could take the money you save and buy a thickness planer and edge jointer to process your new lumber, learning how to flatten, thickness, and square a board by hand with hand planes is quieter, less dusty, reliable, and satisfying.
These are the classes and events upcoming in the next four week period (Aug. 25 - Sep. 21, 2019):
Have a great week! These are the classes and events upcoming in the next four week period (Aug. 18 - Sep. 14, 2019):
Have a great week! Editor's note: This is a guest blog post from Charles Murray, an experienced period furniture maker based in central Ohio and instructor at the Artisans Guild. If you think about most furniture, it's just a box (the carcass), sometimes with other boxes inside (drawers or tills). What makes it appealing are the visible construction techniques and the decorative elements that are added. These two things will reveal the skill level of the person who built the piece.
Editor's note: This is a guest blog post from Charles Murray, an experienced period furniture maker based in central Ohio and instructor at the Artisans Guild. A few weeks ago I needed to make 7’ of casing for a house built in 1903. At the time of the home's construction, moldings were machine-made and there was an ever expanding catalog of profiles from manufacturers throughout the country. 115 years ago I could have picked this up at the local mill or hardware store, but not today.
Hidden compartments in furniture have a long history. Although not exclusive to secretaries, the secretary and desk forms seem to be the most common. But you don’t have to take my word for it - just ask Mark Firley at The Furniture Record.
Editor's note: This is a guest blog post from Charles Murray, an experienced period furniture maker based in central Ohio and instructor at the Artisans Guild. Not every molding that you see on a period piece of furniture was made with a plane. The use of scratch stocks for making small shallow moldings has been around for centuries and the practice continues today. After all, if you just need five or ten feet of molding of a small profile, there is no more economical or safer way to produce it. Although it’s an easy and simple way of making moldings, many woodworkers are not familiar with this practice.
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