Guild Study Program | Colonial Williamsburg, VA
January 15 - 18, 2010
Classes
Piedmont Dressing Table
Pete & Pam Boorum, IGMA Artisans
Materials fee: $30
This relatively plain dressing table was made between 1775 and 1790, probably in Piedmont, Virginia or North Carolina. The table echoes some elements of higher-style furniture that had been popular in the coastal cities some years earlier, particularly in the front and side shaping. However, the Piedmont craftsman executed this dressing table in the locally available woods, instead of the more elegant (and more expensive) mahogany, and added the higher central arch.
This class project will involve a combination of machine operations and hand work. We will use the table saw to make the basic cuts in the lumber and jewelers saw to form the curved elements. Despite its apparent simplicity, the table features scratch beading along the legs and the curved edges of the front and side edges, as well as the drawer fronts. This will be done by hand. We will construct and fit the drawers. Finally, we will use a shaper to create the delicate molded edge of the table top. The brass knobs will be provided.
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