Doll Furniture Miniature Hardware

[David Keller NC]

All -

Does anyone know where to get high quality doll furniture miniature hardware? I made a doll's bed for a niece (picture attached), and it fortunately did not require any metal parts, as I chose to glue the bed together. I figured a 6-year old would definitely lose little bed bolts, and utter historical accuracy wasn't required for a child's toy.

I'd like to make her a 1:12 scale 18th century blanket chest for Christmas, and while the cabinetmaking part of it is straightforward, I'm having trouble finding appropriately tiny blanket chest hinges. Even the miniature Brusso jewelry box hardware is a bit clunky for a 5" long, 3" high blanket chest with 1/8" thick sides, and I'm wondering if it's possible to find some hardware rather than have to make it. Everything I've seen has been ultra-cheap & crappy stamped chinese-made hardware.

Any thoughts?

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Enter the following into Google
Doll furniture hardware

There's lots

[David Keller NC]

Done that. Problem is that everything I could find is very low quality junk. Interestingly, the google search brought up an article about the founder of Optimum Brasses in the UK. THe article noted that he got his start because he was looking for high-qulaity doll furniture hardware and couldn't find it, so he decided to produce it himself.

I did peruse the Optimum Brasses catalogue, but it appears that's no longer their focus (in fact, I couldn't find any 1:12 scale hardware in their cat).

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Done that.
EEEK the great GOOGLE failed - - again.



Problem is that everything I could find is very low quality junk.
I sort of expected that such a boutique item might be more of a custom cast thing.

founder of Optimum Brasses in the UK. [...] got his start because [..] couldn't find it, so he decided to produce it himself.
Necessity is the mother of ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ , maybe you'll be learning investment casting?


I did peruse the Optimum Brasses catalogue, but it appears that's no longer their focus (in fact, I couldn't find any 1:12 scale hardware in their cat).

I'd call 'em and talk to who ever picks up the phone. It's not impossible that there some old inventory somewhere. If you are lucky enough to have that happen they might not bother re pricing it and let you have it for the older prices. Woo Hoo.
The absolute Worst that can happen is they won't have any.

[David Keller NC]

I'm thinking taking up investment casting for this purpose might be a little like chopping down a walnut tree to build a jewelry box. ;) Of course, I'm known for biting off more than I can chew - so I've done the walnut tree thing. The jewelry box came out nice.

I've got a book on this subject called American Period Interiors in Miniature by Kate Doordan Klavan, published in 1984. There's apparently a whole bunch of people involved in crafting extreme-quality miniature furniture, draperies, candlesticks, etc..., and a fair number of the 1:12 scale period rooms are in the Art Institute of Chicago. There's a reference to a group called the American Society of Miniaturists, but I get the feeling there's not too much activity going on with this subject these days - a web search for the society only turned up a one-pager with the names of the officers of the society and little else.

I sort of wonder whether a flood of cheap imports from Asia killed off this area of interest - many of the furniture repros I looked at on the dollhouse sites were well under $100, and from first-hand experience I can categorically state that one can't make much of anything on this scale of any quality for that price.

Oh well - I suppose it's off to the hardware store for some sheet brass and some files to make my own...

[Charles Krieger]

Here is a web site you may be interested in. Ken Byers makes museum quality stuff.

http://www.shakerworkswest.com (http://www.shakerworkswest.com/)

[Graham Skinner]

Hi David.

You may find something usefull on this web site, I could not find the item you were looking for but if you contact them, they might be able to help you.
http://store.dollhousecollectables.com/index.html

Good luck....Graham...

[David Keller NC]

Here is a web site you may be interested in. Ken Byers makes museum quality stuff.

http://www.shakerworkswest.com (http://www.shakerworkswest.com/)

Wow - Those are amazing and inspiring, though I seriously wonder how he can make an sell them so cheaply. It took me nearly 16 hours of shop time to make that doll's bed, though perhaps part of that was because I used mortise and tenon joints on the frame and half-lap joints on the tester above the bed. Chiseling out mortises that are 1/16" wide and trimming tiny tenons that are bit too fat isn't easy.

[Charles Krieger]

David,
Ken Byers is going to be speaking at a woodworking club that I belong to. I will see if he would be receptive to sharing his sources for the hardware or how he makes it. If you don't mind pm'ing me I would also share your email address with him. His work is amazing and I am anxious to hear him speak on the second Wed in November at our regular club meeting. We have had some really inspirational speakers in the past and I am sure that Ken is going to be another.

I will email you a synopsis of the meeting if you wish. I am not sure if Ken uses the mortise and tenon construction or if he is just creating the illusion. My guess is that he has figured out ways to create the real thing with less hand work. My wife is into doll houses so she may go to the meeting with me. This is one meeting I am looking forward to!

[Walt Nicholson]

David, I have used hinges from this source http://houseworksltd.com/ several times in the past for dollhouse items and had good luck. They are all probably made somewhere in China but their products seem to be better quality and hold up better under use. Click on their catalog section and you will find a lot of decent brass hinges.

[David Keller NC]

Hmm - well the items in their catalog look almost identical to the ones I've seen on other websites, but that might just reflect the fact that there's a market for certain kinds of items and not for other things, so everything looks the same. If I can convince them to sell me some (they appear to be wholesale only), I'll try them out.

[Nancy Laird]

David,

You might check with Andy Hoyt (a Creeker). He makes miniatures and he might know of a source.