Options for backs of Shaker style dressers etc
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Tagged: panel construction, shaker
- This topic has 26 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 4 months ago by GfB.
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Thanks for the helpful suggestions. Stability is one aspect, but I’m just as concerned about the required accuracy in planing up the material twist free, which I do by hand, and executing true mortises. Any thoughts in that regard? Also, are you more fussy about wood selection and try for rift and quarter sawn?
9 December 2019 at 1:01 pm #634841I would love to see photos of the cupboard and others. Im just learning but plan to mimic the shaker style. Working on something you might call a step-backed cupboard.
9 December 2019 at 8:47 pm #634977Have attached four photos showing various types of doors. The first shows a door frame that will result in warping. I later remade it by adding two rails between the panels, and that one has remained flat and square.
Basically, I have to accept whatever hardwoods the wholesale company offer. It’s invariably flat sawn and seldom with straight grain. Nevertheless, not that few cabinet doors have been made, as part of the renovation of our croft – all with hand tools by someone who never would have made a penny as a cabinet maker.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.i remembered the Shaker mortise machine incorrectly, it had been many years since I saw it. I went back and checked. The one demonstrated by Roy Underhill on the Woodwrights Shop was not powered by water (that was a different machine he talked about in a different episode) but rather powered by his foot. It can be seen in a few episodes such s this one. https://www.pbs.org/video/woodwrights-shop-double-drawer-shaker-table/. Still pretty cool.
10 December 2019 at 2:44 am #635070Thanks for the help and photos. Appreciate it. Here are my first effort at building doors – these to a food pantry I built to hold our canned good.
3/4 inch pine with 1/4 inch plywood panels. Amber shellac finish.Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.10 December 2019 at 3:00 am #635074So this is the start of my shaker kitchen chest. It takes me forever to cut dovetails. I use the metal magnet guide and a marking knife to place it relative to the scribed line. But no matter how careful I am, its still a big relief when they slide into place. They still need to be glued up and planed down. This is my first piece of actual furniture – 3 rows of drawers. I hope to build a cabinet to set on the back side of the top.
With you alls input I’ve decided to go with the TnG back – assuming I get that far!
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You must be logged in to view attached files.10 December 2019 at 10:30 am #635142Your cabinet looks like it’s coming along nicely.
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Sanford – Yeah that one Roy has is a Barnes machine like the one in the Hancock picture. The ones before the civil war were wood framed. There is a record of Bother Oren Haskins building a foot powered one at mt Lebanon in 1842. It is the first mention of shakers having one. The Underhill claim shakers invented them is dubious, as a fellow in New Hampshire took out a patent for one 9 years before.
(Pictures below)I remember laying out work to make through mortises as much as possible, because it allowed you to clear wood out the bottom much more efficiently than a blind mortise. . Some pictures of Shaker pieces show the same feature.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.11 December 2019 at 10:02 am #635427Ed,
Sorry, it has taken me so long to reply. We are on travel. The best suggestion I can make regarding doors not warping is to be sure the rails and stiles are not twisted. I use winding sticks for this. Paul has several videos on making and using winding sticks. If the rails and stiles are straight and the mortise and tenons are square the doors should be warp-free.Thanks to you others who have made kind remarks about my furniture. I was extremely fortunate to take a number of courses from Paul while he lived in Texas. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to study under him! As I am sure all you know, using his tools and techniques is most rewarding.
- This reply was modified 4 years, 4 months ago by Harold Blair.
Harold, Thank you for the encouragement. I’ll keep going bigger, then. Like you, I was fortunate in having studied directly with Paul through one of his month-long intensive classes. Quite an experience. If you’re just using Paul’s methods, I’ll just keep going bigger in size.
Out of curiosity, does having the door broken into two sections by the central rail and having the rails and stiles be wider help with getting a flat door?
Do you take any special care with wood selection, e.g., require rift or quarter sawn?
Thanks again.
11 December 2019 at 6:06 pm #635532Ed,
I can’t figure out how to PM you so I will respond to your query here.“Ed, yes I only use Paul’s methods. As I get older (now 77) my hands can’t take all the sawing and planing needed to take rough lumber to finished product so I
now use a joiner, planer and table saw to make my initial sizing cuts. From then on everything is by hand.Yes, it definitely helps to sub divide the door with a rail.
When selecting the wood I try to pick the straightest grain possible.
Keep practicing, you will get better!
Good luck.
Harold “
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