sutton046

The final piece to make for the big Art Deco Style Breakfront Bookcase I am building is the crown mould. In the original concept drawing, the crown mould was going to incorporate a big scotia profile. This concaved moulding would reflect the curved ends on the top of the original door architraves in the house, which would give the profile a 60mm radius. However as I built the cabinets and lived with them, I was thinking about creating a more classic art deco feature as the crowning glory of what will be a stunning feature in the living room. So I emailed Norelle (my client) and suggested a change. She agreed, so I proceeded with the construction of my idea. Being in total over 11 feet long, it would be made in 3 sections and fitted together on site once the three cabinets have been fixed together on top of their plinth. The process for making the crown moulding. 1. The primary material was prepared. Lengths of jarrah machined to 70mm x 2...

Work on the Art Deco Style Breakfront Bookcase which I am building continues. The three cabinet carcasses are all completed now that the lining board backs have been fitted. They look awesome with the beautiful colours in the recycled jarrah panelling in the backs, and the amazing array of nail holes, bolt holes and other reminders of the former life of those timbers from which panelling and the whole of the structure is made. Nearly all of the adjustable shelving has been made, and last things remaining to make are the plinth and the crown mould. Planning the plinth face dimensions. The four front vertical corners of the bookcase each have a 40mm radius, reflecting the wonderful rounded curves that were common in art deco furniture. The three sections of the bookcase are each 1100mm (3' 7")wide, and will be screwed together on site. The middle section protrudes 100mm (4") forward of the sections on either side - hence the term "Breakfront". The plinth, on whic...

It's such a delight when I get to play with beautiful old furniture. I had an urgent job to do for a customer. An old prayer desk needed some attention. It had spent many years in an undercroft under the Rectory, until my customer had taken custody of it. After looking after the prayer desk for a few years, she felt the time had come to hand it back to the church from whence it had come, as a new priest was coming soon who wants to have use of a prayer desk. Time to give it a serious birthday! I advised against us trying to strip it back and re-polish it, as antiques lose their value and lose their wonderful "story" when we remove the imprint of that story. I suggested a good cleaning, and we agreed it would be worth replacing the missing carving on the front. With the task defined and the deadline given, I loaded it into my ute and took it away. Oh, what a nice piece of furniture! Front view of the prayer desk.  Rear view.  Plenty of built up grime visib...

I am currently working on an Art Deco Style Break-front Bookcase. My client has supplied all the timber - jarrah salvaged from the recent renovation of her home which was originally built in the Art Deco era. My task is to recycle these timbers and produce what will be a significant feature in the living room. More about the project here. The bookcase is being made in three sections, each 1100mm (34 inches) wide and just under 2700mm (9 feet) high, and the rear of the whole bookcase will be panelled with Vee-Joint Lining Board, running vertically. All I have to do is make the stuff, polish it, and fix it in the backs! Here's how it is done... Step 1: Start with suitable timber. To create lining boards with a 75mm (3 inch) cover, I'll first be making sticks which are 80mm x 12mm. These will be rough cut to 2.7m (9 feet) long. I'll need about 45 of these to panel the whole back of the bookcase. The starting timber needs to be able to produce these 80 x 12mm sticks...