Chuck Bender's Slant-lid Desk

This morning Chuck Bender from Acanthus Workshop stopped by the office on his way to deliver a piece of furniture to a client outside Cincinnati.

After
the traditional 15 minutes of Glen D. Huey and Chuck exchanging
pastries (it’s Chuck’s birthday) and giving each other a rash of crap,
Chuck let us have a little preview of the desk.

Photos and video
just can’t do Chuck’s work justice. I’ve seen a lot of furniture, but
Chuck’s stuff is just amazing – inspiring because he’s so good, and
disheartening because he’s so good. I shot this short video that shows
off some of the secret drawers and where Megan implores Glen to pull on
Chuck’s leather thong.

— Christopher Schwarz

Other 18th-century Resources
• Don’t belong to the Society of American Period Furniture Makers? You should. It’s a vibrant, active and passionate group of woodworkers. Their forum is excellent, too.

• See more of Chuck Bender’s work here.

• Glen and Chuck are both cut from the same curly maple cloth. Glen’s book “Building 18th-Century American Furniture” contains many of his best designs.