John Coffey writes:
All,
As the regular readers of Groop know, I've been occupied for
the better part of the summer with a project that just now has
been completed. I promised to write a little about the project
so...
This project really was quite a test of my cabinetmaking skills and embodies a new level of making furniture for me. As the entire cabinet, save the feet, was made from two flitches of wood from the same tree, (two limbs 22" in diameter), a new level of work was required as well! Rather than being able to select from thousands of feet of walnut at the lumberyard, I had to work out how I was going to use the 20 boards, (283 bd.ft.). Fortunately for me, there were two planks wide enough for the sides, top and bottom, and a number of planks that had crotch wood for matching panels, six in all. The great surprise was the extent of the curl in the wood, which was evident in all the boards. Being able to make it from a single tree gives the wardrobe a harmony that otherwise would be missing; the color and figure is the same throughout.
Since the wardrobe was going into an upstairs dressing room, it had to fit through a spiral staircase and the bedroom doors. I made it in seven pieces to facilitate the move. Each piece was a structure in of itself: the base w/ feet, the lower case, the waist mold, the three top cases, and the cornice. The move went without a hitch. Leveling the base was easy and no adjustment was necessary to get all the doors to hang straight.
I'll be writing up more of the piece as a Feature but for now I'll just say thanks to Jon Szalay, Frank LaRoque, Rick Bertrand and Martin O'Brien for their helpful advise during the design phase of this project. As you all will see, I punted and chose not to make cross-grain molding but the figure of the wood was nice enough to provide interest on straight molding.
John Coffey
Locust Valley, NY
This project really was quite a test of my cabinetmaking skills and embodies a new level of making furniture for me. As the entire cabinet, save the feet, was made from two flitches of wood from the same tree, (two limbs 22" in diameter), a new level of work was required as well! Rather than being able to select from thousands of feet of walnut at the lumberyard, I had to work out how I was going to use the 20 boards, (283 bd.ft.). Fortunately for me, there were two planks wide enough for the sides, top and bottom, and a number of planks that had crotch wood for matching panels, six in all. The great surprise was the extent of the curl in the wood, which was evident in all the boards. Being able to make it from a single tree gives the wardrobe a harmony that otherwise would be missing; the color and figure is the same throughout.
Since the wardrobe was going into an upstairs dressing room, it had to fit through a spiral staircase and the bedroom doors. I made it in seven pieces to facilitate the move. Each piece was a structure in of itself: the base w/ feet, the lower case, the waist mold, the three top cases, and the cornice. The move went without a hitch. Leveling the base was easy and no adjustment was necessary to get all the doors to hang straight.
I'll be writing up more of the piece as a Feature but for now I'll just say thanks to Jon Szalay, Frank LaRoque, Rick Bertrand and Martin O'Brien for their helpful advise during the design phase of this project. As you all will see, I punted and chose not to make cross-grain molding but the figure of the wood was nice enough to provide interest on straight molding.
John Coffey
Locust Valley, NY
Pictured is the cutting of the pins on the top, center case.
I could talk about this piece for years! You keep asking
questions and I'll keep blabberin'.
The pulls and escutcheons were from Marshall Brass in England.
My only complaint was the snipes (cotter pins) for the handles
were cast and very brittle. I had to replace one so I used some
extruded brass rod, filed it down and bent it up. While stiffer,
it didn't crack or break during the bending process. I wanted to
use Ball and Ball but they didn't have the larger escutcheon to
match the pulls and I've had great luck with Marshalls. Locks
and hinges were from Horton Brass in CT. Great price on quality
stuff. I did have to go to their supplier for the locks, A&E
Squire, to have the two left door locks made custom.
The color is its natural color. I only French polished it:
blonde, dewaxed shellac, pumice, burnt sienna, no oil. I did do
a little black/raw umber glaze to darken up the crevices.
I loved this wood. A little pale but absolutely a dream to work
and great figure. I have to say that while I was polishing this
beast I had a couple of panic attacks. In the florescent light,
as the color was becoming more saturated, it was getting even
lighter, with the florescent pushing a greenish cast! It took a
few glasses of wine that evening and turning on the
incandescents for me to really appreciate it. More than any
other wood I've worked it changes color dramatically depending
on the light source.
Martin, I found Paul Kise of Good Hope Hardwoods a real straight
shooter. When he shipped me the wood for the feet, 5" x 5" x
10', it was perfectly clear and straight. I hope you're going to
post pics of your work, yes? I love to see what the rest of
Groop is doing.
Lastly, I got a phone call from Brian Hillman. We had a great
conversation and he turned me on to a website,
mlwwoodworking.com that has podcasts and photos of some
outstanding furniture by a Thomas MacDonald in Boston. I think I
chewed Brian's ear off!
Thanks again for all your interest. I'm posting a higher
resolution picture of the finished product.
John Coffey
Locust Valley, NY
Locust Valley, NY
