Shaker Sewing table

[Rob Millard]

I made this Shaker sewing table while demonstrating period woodworking techniques at a living history park. All the lumber preparation and joinery were done by hand, but the column and knobs were turned on a modern lathe, due to the lack of a suitable working lathe at the park. The table took about 22 hours to make. It is made from cherry and pine. The cherry was colored with lye and then sealed with shellac and given a glaze to imitate age ( the original table was heavily stained a reddish brown, but I couldn’t bring myself to stain cherry like that). The top was coated with thinned down Behlen Rock Hard varnish, applied with a pad. The table measures 26” high, 21” wide, and 17” deep. I should have made the drawers just a little less deep, as they sort of over-power the rest of the table. The last photo shows the table on the bench in the shop at the park.
Rob Millard

[tod evans]

very nice rob!

[Chris Barton]

Hi Rob,

I remember you talking about this piece a while back in a previous post. As always, you work is superb! So, when you mention the drawer depth issue, are you concerned about the depth for reasons of reproduction "faithfulness" or from a functional perspective? Also, did you dovetail the legs into the turned column? Shaker seems to be a departure for you as that most of your work seems to be representative of the Federal period. Will Shaker figure more prominently in your future pieces?

[Alan Turner]

Rob,
Always nice to see your work. Did you use garden lime on the cherry?

A question -- I see the layout of your dovetails, and what looks like about a 15 deg. angle. Is this becuase it is period appropriate, or done on the original, or just your taste for these fully exposed joints.

[John Timberlake]

Great piece. Love those dovetails that go to almost nothing. What type of lime and where did you get it?

[Carl Eyman]

Geat piece of work!

[Rob Millard]

I made the Shaker pieces, because they lend themselves to quick construction ( I have only 4 hours every other weekend to work on them) and they fit well with the period and "style" of the living history park.

http://www.metroparks.org/_carriageHill/isrc/parkOverview.aspx

Shaker furniture is a small side line; I’m dedicated to Federal furniture.

The legs are dovetailed into the post, and the blacksmith forged a "spider" to reinforce the leg to post joints.

I used lye not lime. I purchased drain cleaner sold under the name Roebic , which is pure sodium hydroxide. Got mine at Lowe’s. This idea came from an article in Fine Woodworking from the mid 80’s. It works quite well if the lye content is kept very low, as it can easily get too dark. The lye will “freeze” the color, making it stable over time, and the glaze will unify the color. This is not something you’d want to do to highly figured or curly cherry, because I think it would end up looking rather poor.
The dovetail angle came from looking at photos of Shaker pieces, and they all seemed to have a more pronounced angle than the Federal furniture I’m use to . They reminded more of Newport furniture. I tend to cut fine necks on all my dovetails, to distinguish them from machine cut ones.
Thanks for the comments
Rob Millard

[Zahid Naqvi]

Rob, as usual superb workmanship.

[Martin Shupe]

Rob,

Your sewing table is superb! Very nice work, love the dovetails. Too bad you prefer Federal to Shaker.;)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Excellent work Rob!

[Shelley Bolster]

The message is gone, so am I

[Mark Singer]

Rob,
You are doing great work! I love this piece ...the execution is just wonderful! Beautiful proportion, great dovetails.... WOW!

[Deirdre Saoirse Moen]

Really beautiful Rob. Nice to see a piece in a different style, too.

[Matt Meiser]

I've always liked thos tables. You did an excellent job with yours.

[Wes Bischel]

Beautiful table Rob. It's a joy to see such work - thanks!

Wes

[Mike Burns]

Rob,
That's a beautiful piece of work. I can only hope to approach that degree of craftsmanship one day.

Mike

[Paul Comi]

Rob, I always enjoy seeing the projects you build. Your work is truly inspiring

[Calvin Hobbs]

Rob,

Excellent work as always. Your craftmanship and attention to detail are easily among the best.

I have a newport style (not blockfront or shell) dresser I have planned in cherry and I was thinking of using lye.

I have some great curly matl for the drawer fronts... Why do you think it would look poor? I usually use aniline dye so maybe that is the way to go.

What do you think?

Cal

[Rob Millard]

Calvin,

Cherry as you know has a tendency to be splotchy when colored, and the lye seems to heighten that effect on figured cherry. My experience with cherry in general and curly cherry in particular is limited, but a table I made a few months ago had some moderately figured cherry in it, and the lye turned some areas too dark for my tastes. Perhaps, a less concentrated solution of the lye would have colored this figured cherry without overly darkening it. My main reasons for using the lye, is that makes for a very stable color and gives a convincing patina.

I made a cherry corner cabinet a couple of years ago on which I used aniline dye, and a glaze.The resulting color was excellent, but I was concerned that the cherry would continue to darken and might become too dark. My customer is still very happy with the piece, so I guess my concern was unfounded.
Good luck with your project, and thanks for the comments.
Rob Millard

[Vaughn McMillan]

Beautiful as always, Rob. You spent 22 hours on this table? I doubt I could even get the pieces cut and ready to assemble in 22 hours. Great job.

- Vaughn