Practical relics from a simpler life

[Al Navas]

From my blog:

http://sandal-woodsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/chair-on-pegs-21.png
Chair on pegs, © Al Navas 2008

This may be a forgotten way of doing things, but it seems extremely practical. What a wonderful way to reclaim floor space after the relatives leave, following a huge family dinner or gathering!

Sandy gave me Kerry Pierce's book, Pleasant Hill Shaker Furniture (http://www.popularwoodworkingshop.com/product/1261/137) (Popular Woodworking Shop), over two years ago. I read it cover to cover in short order, and promised we would visit soon. That visit took place the day after Woodworking in America ended, just a few weeks ago.

No matter how much detail I got from the Al Parrish photos in Pierce's book, no matter how many times I have read and re-read the book, it still slapped me in the face when I saw the extreme utility of "Shaker pegs". It is hard to actually picture it fully in your head, until you see it first-hand.

Never mind how handy the same pegs are in the kitchen:


http://sandal-woodsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/kitchen-pegs.png (http://sandal-woodsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/kitchen-pegs.png)
Kitchen utensils on pegs, © Al Navas 2008


Relevant posts (all are on my blog):


School room, Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, KY
From another era…
A very short visit to Shaker Village


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[Bill White]

sit in that chair?
All kiddin' aside, I REALLY do like the shaker stuff.
Bill

[Cliff Jekel]

"Time Out" may have had a completely differnt connotation:eek:

[Dave Anderson NH]

It's a useful idea Al. The same reasoning was used during the colonial period for tables. Most tables had drop, tilt tops, or folded up so that they could be pushed up against the wall until needed. Our consumer age and the trend toward 3000sft+ McMansions for families of 2 or 3 peoplehas made many of the old ways disappear.

[Paul Atkins]

Thinking of all the floor space in the shop I could gain if I could hang up the tablesaw, bandsaw and jointer!

[Dewey Torres]

Now if the Shakers had not settled on abstinence concept think were the world of ww would be now!

[John Schreiber]

Now if the Shakers had not settled on abstinence concept think were the world of ww would be now!
Abstinence I can handle, but celibacy, no way.

I love the concept of hanging up your chair when you are done sitting in it. It helps you see that a chair is a tool for sitting, not a work of art or a decoration. Shaker philosophy is so demanding and austere. Their furniture is an example of their philosophy; not much there, but it's just right.

[Randal Stevenson]

I have liked both the Craftsman and shaker styles for some time. There are aspects I don't like (woven seats), but that is just some personal preference.

When I look at them, it comes down to KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid), as there are so many more things in life then (tools, furniture, possessions, etc).

[Al Navas]

It is such a wonderful feature to be able to hang the chairs!

I found one aspect very interesting - one that I had not thought about, even after installing a 14-foot long row of pegs in our mud room.

I believe that, except for the kitchen, most, and maybe all, rooms had a double row of pegs, as in the first photo in my original post. The designer thought out the layout of the pegs, such that if a sconce was to be hung in a specific place, it was likely to stay in that place permanently. It would be hung in the top row; and the peg spacing in the bottom row was such that no peg was located in the space where the bottom of the sconce landed.

In the next photo I show what I mean, not with a sconce that holds a candle, but with one that holds other artifacts - this one has been dedicated to hold brochures that the "interpreters" (tour guides) hand out to visitors. (The flashlight is a modern appliance) :eek:. But it illustrates the peg layout:

http://sandal-woodsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/basket-on-pegs.png



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