Friday 2 April 2010

Past and present

I have been busy the last few weeks - helping someone in the workshop making a table in fact.

The chance came up that I could help make a table that is a nine-tenths scale reproduction of a table that William Wilberforce used to sign the document that abolished the slave trade. The original table is held in The Museum in Docklands, London.

The we made was about five foot round, eight curved faced drawers and a leather top writing surface. The table stood on a traditional style curved leg assembly on four brass castors. The wood used was a mixture of modern material for hidden areas (ply and the like), with mahogany being used for all the visible surfaces.

Two of us working on it, and it was finished in about five weeks. Not bad going!

So now I am back to making my own pieces. I have come up with a range of product I want to make that allow people to have bespoke furniture, but at more affordable prices. These pieces won't be a cheap as the Nordic/Oak/Pine warehouse places, but won't be as expensive as high end pieces (but I can still make them if required!). All the pieces can be made larger/smaller as required.

The first piece I am making is a chest of drawers. It is being made so one half is white and the other is black. It looks as if someone has got two chests, cut them in half and stuck them back together again. A bit two-tone perhaps?

I am just at the phase now where I am spraying the black half...and it is a right pain, as you need to be very careful not to get dust and dirt on the surface as it really shows. And in a dusty workshop that is hard!