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How to build your first as if it’s your hundredth.
By Adam Cherubini
Pages: 28-30

From the June 2007 issue #162
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Period accounts indicate 18th-century American cabinetmakers typically produced a wide variety of products. They were neither quite as specialized as some would have it, nor did they produce particularly great quantities of any one product.

Philadelphia cabinetmaker John Head made an estimated 20 high chests in his 35-year career. The Wistar high chest, currently residing in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, was made early in his career. And though it is indisputably a masterpiece, it could not possibly reflect years of “lessons learned” building this particular product.

This is part three of my series on building a standing desk for my shop using the tools and techniques of 18th-century cabinetmakers. In this article, I’ll begin constructing the basic structure or carcase of the desk. I’ll focus on the joinery, as well as the tools and techniques used by early craftsmen.

From the June 2007 issue #162
Buy this issue now


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