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daddo said:
Thanks for taking that time Paul!
I always stare at a piece and try to picture the person doing the work, the atmosphere, the communications, the tools, the sounds and smells and so on. It takes me hours to go through a museum. I try to be there.
Kind of weird I know.
I don't think it's weird.
I look at pieces in very great detail. In my mind a voice is saying, "How do I manufacture that?"
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Richard D. said:
It seems like so much attention was paid to the carving that they forgot about the drawer faces. It looks like a random choice of mediocre wood. I'd like to see it in person.
Quite a few of the drawer faces I make turn out like this. I prefer to say it's my own character built into the piece.
Jim
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Paul, I just took a commission on a really nice Philadelphia Highboy. It is in the MFA in Boston. You have probably seen it before as it is in a few of the Sack books. It will probably be at least 10-12 months before I start on it but I am pretty excited about building it. Here is the one I'm building.
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You should be excited. That's great!
I've never built a highboy. I built a Philadelphia lowboy when I was twenty one years old. I don't remember if it was an Affleck or a Savery. I don't remember how to spell those fellas names. I do remember I need to get off the computer and get back to my bench.
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Dave,
I'm looking forward to a "build along" when you do that one! A question - Is the carving on the front face (top) usually carved separate and then applied or is it carved into the solid wood member? While I can see that a separate carving would appear to be much easier it would also have it's own set of problems. How about some background and tips about how you learned to carve?
Lonnie
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Lonnie,
Most of the carving that you see on the apron and bonnet will be applied. While it does have its issues it is still the easiest method. As for how I learned to carve I just bought some tools and tried to make the piece of wood I was carving look like the one in the picture. I don’t have any formal training but I have managed fairly well so far.