a table is next, then on to the next next thing

The cupboard is done and oiled. Now I wait for it to dry and for a clear dry day to photograph it - I have to pretty much empty the shop to do that, hence no rain. So I’m on to the next thing and already thinking of the next thing after that.

the cupboard oiled & waiting

First up is a table for my friend Heather’s studio https://www.instagram.com/hnartisan/?hl=en I’ve made several tables over the years, some square, some rectangular. Some period examples have a drawer in one of the long sides. Most joined tables aren’t anything complicated, they’re just big. I think of them as overgrown joined stools. The stiles on this one are 3” squares, 30” long. The top will be 3’ x 6’ - two white pine boards butted together. This table won’t be a copy of any particular example. The stiles are based on one from Newbury Massachusetts.

joined table begun

I’m carving the aprons with a pattern that I have gone crazy with over the years. “Strapwork” is the name we give this sort of pattern. New England examples are rare - maybe 5 or 6, all from one shop, that of Thomas Dennis of Ipswich, Massachusetts. Dennis’ predecessor in Ipswich, William Searle, came to New England from Devon - and there are found lots of examples of strapwork done in oak and in stone.