My Table is Shakerish Too!

I often wonder about a lady named Ann Lee who moved from Manchester, UK to the USA as a Shaker and started the Shaker movement there in Albany, New York. My visits to the colony sites of these industry leaders of their time have always left me thinking these were not Americans but displaced British woodworkers.

Hear is my repro table build following the telltale patterns left in the wood and joints by the original maker. I learned so much from my mentor born in the 1800s and cannot thank him enough for expanding my vision and knowledge. Imagine some of this work in more modern pieces. Imagine that I came up with a modern design influenced by the Victorian that build this this week. The table’s lightness and strength remind me very much of Shaker pieces i have studied and as I put the tabletop on this evening before I left the shop i felt a gratitude rise inside me for the efforts of former craftsmen who left a legacy of work for us to study.

Today I was immensely glad for the table I bought for £3 that enabled me to see into the past. I was glad for the mahogany and the undulations left in the surface texture that told me of a wooden plane with a cambered iron and a method of marking that looked so neat and orderly. We managed to finish the whole of the video series for woodworkingmasterclasses .com and so that freed me up to focus on the next toolbox filming and of course variations on the theme that will make it a linen box/blanket chest or a toy box too. Watch this space for the toolbox build as I will be giving the detailed details of the build so you can start on yours too.

Of course today is Friday and everyone else will be off this weekend except for me of course. We start building rocking chairs tomorrow so that will be fun. Beyond that all is as always quiet and relaxed so have a nice weekend everyone.