Oh boy, a Highboy!

[Brett Robson]

Hi guys, here's a few picts of my highboy I finished up the other day. This was a challenging but very gratifying project. Since I've never made a piece such as this, I learned a lot from the experience.

The design is pretty much my own although I did refer to the Highboy plans in Glen Huey's book when creating the basic dimensions. I scaled mine down about 15% from the piece in his book to fit better in the space I have available. Even with the downsizing, I still ended up with a piece of furniture about the size of your average refrigerator!

All the drawers are dovetailed front and back which even using the table saw / band saw method took me quite a while to complete.

Here's the kicker: The entire thing is made from poplar. I had originally thought to use cherry but had an eleventh hour change of heart when I considered I've never built such a piece before and around here, cherry's anything but cheap. In the end I think it was a good call as the first gooseneck molding I made I cut too short. Using 8/4 stock for the molding, it would have been a costly mistake if cherry!

I stained it first with Varathane American Walnut to get a base color. Next a coat of Seal Coat followed by two glaze coats of Zar's Antique Mahogany stain and three sprayed coats of satin Enduro-Var.

A word about that Zar stain - despite their advertising that it excels on soft woods like poplar, I was unimpressed with it on the bare wood - blotchy and gross like every other stain. As a glaze though it blew me away! No lap marks, it doesn't get sticky like a gel stain and is easy to work out to an even color even on large surfaces. I think it's my new favorite stain to use for glazing!

All the hardware is from Horton.

Thanks for looking and suggestions or critiques are always welcome!

[John Fabre]

Nice work.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I wouldn't care if it was made from lumber from recycled pallets! That is beautiful! Did you seal it with shellac before putting the stain on the final project? Very, very nice Brett!

BTW....I found cherry to be extremely expensive here too!

[Von Bickley]

Beautiful piece of furniture......

[Paul McGaha]

Beautiful Brett

[Brett Robson]

...Did you seal it with shellac before putting the stain on the final project?...

The Varathane stain went down on the bare wood prior to the shellac. The Zar glaze then went over the sealed surface.

Thanks for the comments!

[glenn bradley]

Beautiful piece and thanks for the finish schedule info. It came out just wonderfully.

[gary Zimmel]

One more thumbs up Brett. Real nice piece of furniture.

[Cody Colston]

That's a wonderful piece of furniture. I like everything about it, the bonnet top, the finials, the shell carvings, the cabriole legs, the scrolled apron...everything. The finish is extraordinary, too, considering it's Poplar. I would never have guessed if you hadn't told us. Well done.

[Jim Becker]

Beautiful work, Brett!

[Paul Murphy]

Outstanding craftsmanship! I am also impressed that you managed to stain the poplar so well without even a hint of blotching.

Next project you should splurge on the cherry, your skills deserve a reward.

[Mark Valsi]

very nice work, now do it in Cherry !!!

[Brett Robson]

Thanks for the comments guys!

I actually have a stack of some 5/4 ambrosia cherry down in the shop that I bought a year or two back. It was a bit of an impulse buy and I've yet to find just the right project for it. In thinking about the next piece to build, I may just use it on a block front chest of some design. Hmmmm....

Here's what she looks like in place along with my furry shop companion!

[Mike Allen1010]

Brett, your work is absolutely beautiful! - and I think even all the more impressive that you were able to execute its so flawlessly in popular. I really admire your courage and, especially your skill in creating a finish that complements such a beautifully executed piece of classic furniture-- thanks for much for providing the finishing details.

I hope you take the time to appreciate the pride and satisfaction you so richly deserve whatever you walk by this piece of furniture -- I could die happy if I was ever able to execute something as nice as this!

BTW, had you done any carving like the finials, shells, gooseneck bonnet top etc. before this project? I've built a lot of case goods, but it never done any carving and it's the next thing I would like to tackle. I'd be interested if you have any thoughts about your experience in regard to the learning curve and carving tool kit you needed to execute your highboy?

Thanks again for sharing! Absolutely gorgeous!

[Brett Robson]

Mike, thanks for the kind words!

I've only recently begun to dabble in the 18th C. style of furniture. Prior to a few months ago, I'd never carved anything more complicated than a toothpick! I still have a LONG way to go to be proficient in carving, hence the reason this piece has applied shells rather than one carved in relief on the top drawer.

In my very limited experience, shells like these are pretty easy and fun to make and are a good starting project to try. Mike Henderson, a fellow creeker, wrote a great tutorial which is archived on here somewhere. I referred to it when I first made one. He explains how to lay one out and how to carve it along with a suggestion of chisels that are needed. I found I can make due with only a couple small gouges and a single V-gouge to create these shells.

As for the moldings, bonnet top and finials, I pretty much just winged it. I screwed up the first gooseneck molding I made, first by letting it get away from me while climb cutting, then later after I completed a slightly modified molding, I cut the darn thing too short and had to start all over!

The cover on the bonnet, while nothing technically difficult in principal, gave me fits. I could not get a board to bend to the contour without breaking no matter what I tried. After several failed attempts I ended up cutting a series of relief cuts on the table saw about 3/4 of the way through the material and spaced 1/4" apart running front to back. Once the cuts were done the board was as flexible as a wet noodle and fell right in.

The finials were actually pretty easy. I was apprehensive about attempting them when I began but as I got to making them, I found they were much easier than I had thought. I got the three banged out in only a couple hours which is quite an accomplishment for me as I'm a lousy woodturner!

If you decide to attempt a piece such as this, I'd bet you'll find it much easier than you expected and when you're done it'll seem not so bad at all!