Greene Co. Tenn. Flat back cupboard
This is how the cupboard looked when I first saw it in the back of an antique shop. The owner wanted me to restore the piece. It had several coats of paint on it. The feet had half rotted off, the crown molding was missing as were the doors, and the cupboard had been sawed into. The ends were originally one board. To strip it took 40 hours, three gallons of stripper, and three gallons of Acetone. When I had it stripped down to bare wood I realized that some time in the past that it had been refinished with a belt sander. The original wood surface with patina was Gone. Had I known this I would have taken it to someone that had a stripping tank. This is only the second antique that I have ever had to sand out because of the course belt sanding marks left on it.
The mate to this cupboard can be found on page 188 Fig. 232 in the book “Art and Mystery of Tennessee Furniture”. That one was made out of walnut and is dated to 1790 – 1820. This one is made out of cherry but they were both made in the same shop.
I used old lumber to restore this with. I restored the bracket foot base, made new doors, and crown molding. The total time to restore this piece was 138 hours.
Fireplace Mantel
This is a style that I have not worked in very much. A friend had been on to me for a couple of years to build a mantel for him. When he showed me a picture of this I fell in love with it. I found some curly red oak for this project. The back board is curly English brown oak. The fans on the pilasters are chemically stained. I used a lock miter to build the pilasters. I spent a lot of time turning the boards over and end for end to get the best reflection out of this curly oak. It took 150 hours to build this mantel.
Mantelpiece
This is a mantel that I designed and built for a client. It is made out of curly cherry that the client furnished so it would match the rest of the interior floor and moldings. The brick work originally just stuck out into the room and didn’t go to the ceiling. They asked me to build the wall out . Building the wall out took 10 hours.
The reeding is curved not flat. I made a scraping tool to produce the reeding with. It took 201 hours to build this mantel.
Mill Wheel
One of my clients brought me a 6′ diameter mill wheel that had been sitting the dirt for years and a third of it had rotted away. It was made out of popular which is prone to rot if not keep dry. This wheel was a pulley in the mill. It took 62 hours to rebuild this .
Pediment for Tall Case Clock
This tall case clock was missing the pediment on top of the bonnet. The client had found a brass cherub that he wanted included into the new pediment. The challenge was to design a pediment to match and flow with the existing moldings and carving of the clock. When I finished and sat the pediment in place the client, a clock repairman , and I stood there in amazement because all three of us saw how well it matched the rest of the clock. This pediment took 57 hours to complete.
Kitchen Island Worktable
This is a recently finished commission in cherry. The clients wanted a worktable in their kitchen. Also they wanted saw marks to show and sapwood left in the boards. I ask him to come over when I was planing to tell me when to stop so he could have the saw marks left. The cleats on the top or as some call them breadboard ends have four deep tenons into the cleats. The tenons are dead tight in thickness and are only glued on the inside of the center tenons. In width the sides of the tenons are cut loose to allow for expansion and contraction . The dimensions are: Height 36″, Width 72″, Depth 28″. This commission took 90 hours to complete. 
Klingspor’s Woodworking Shop
http://www.woodworkingshop.com
There is a great new woodworking store in our area. Klingspor long known for high quality sandpaper has opened four new woodworking stores in North Carolina. Just about anything for the shop, tools,router bits,exotic lumber,finishing supplies and much more they have in stock. They are friendly and helpful, just good folks to deal with.
The closest store to the Tri-cities is just south of Asheville in Fletcher N.C. . I know you’ll enjoy their store as much as I do.
40 Years at the Bench
About this time of year, in July 1974, I started full time work as a cabinetmaker. That was 40 years ago. I’m blessed in that I absolutely love what I do in life and where I live. Wood is a material that is very unique not only in it’s grain, color, and texture but it is an organic material with a soul or spirit to it. To the Daoist everything has Qi which is the life force. Even after the wood is cut there is still Qi in it. When working with the wood my Qi and the wood’s Qi mingle in a dance that that is really extraordinary in the results. The most visible of which is beauty , harmony ,and proportions. These are the basics of classical art and architecture which are derived from nature. My first shop was in Knoxville, Tenn. . It was small 600 sq.ft. you didn’t have room for two cat to dance in that shop. But some pretty amazing pieces of furniture and work came out of that wee shop. As that valley where my house and shop were grew with subdivisions and noise I still had a beautiful view to the Cumberland mountains. I moved to Flag Pond, Tenn., population 850 souls, a little over nine years ago to study Traditional Chinese Medicine which is my second love in life. I’ve used Chinese Medicine for all of my medical needs for the last nineteen years and will continue to use that unless I need surgery for something. When the school closed because of financial trouble I decided to build the shop that I had always wanted. The new shop is 2,500 sq. ft. and sits by a creek up here in the mountains. All that I can hear in either the house or the shop is the sound of the creek running and the clocks ticking. There have been good times and hard times over the last 40 years but I wouldn’t trade the way I’ve spent it for anything. This art, craft,and trade is a way of life for me. I see my time growing shorter at 64 years now but with any luck here is to the next 20 years. Also a word of thanks to all of my old clients, present clients, and new clients yet to be for making all of this possible.
Router Workshop, Feb.25, 2012
Sat. Feb. 25 ,20012 from 1pm to 5 pm I’ll be doing a router workshop. The router is a work horse in the shop. It will be more demonstration but will include some hands on. The workshop will cover router safety, router tables, jigs & fixtures, raised panels, doors, dovetails, molding, pattern work, and free hand router use.
The class will be limited to 8 people. Each person needs to bring safety glasses and hearing protection. Cost will be $75.00 per student.
Call 423-743-5643 or email me at gwfloydii@gmail.com
Woodcraft of Johnson City
The best store in the area for all your woodworking needs as well as power tools,hand tools, finishing supplies, hardware, and hard woods.
I recently had a class on Handsaw Sharpening, and hope to do more in the future. See their site at Woodcraft of Johnson City
The Shoppe at 350 Market
If you ever towards Clinton, TN, it’s a short drive to The Shoppe at 350 Market. Worth the trip, Sandy has a collection of Antiques, and Fine Art and garden accessories. Please check out his shop at, you guessed it , 350 Market street in downtown Clinton TN.
Mary May – Woodcarver
Please take a look at her wonderful work at Cornerstone Creations, LLC in Charleston, SC. As well her blog “Wood Carving Journeys” for all her current projects.
Class date has been changed
The date of the class for blind dovetailed ogee bracket feet has been changed to Sat. Dec. 10. There are still openings for the class.
Clinch River Fall Antique Festival
The 11th annual antique street festival will be Fri. Oct. 7 and Sat. Oct. 8 in Clinton, Tenn. I’ll be demonstrating Sat. Oct. 8 on the patio at The Shoppe At 350 Market. Hope to see you all then . It will be fun and some great buys in antiques.
Workbench that is easy to move
This is a work bench made by Sjobers in Sweden that Woodcraft carries. With a little modification it is great for the job site or demonstrations. It comes with a tail vice and two rows of dogs. At 32″ high that is a little low for me. I made raising blocks out of 2″x 6″ hemlock This added some much needed weight. The bench didn’t have a side vice. When the vice was installed again the weight helped. Also added was the board support with 3/4″ holes two inches apart. The bench is quite sturdy for surface or edge planeing .
Butlers Desk
This is a Butlers desk that I just found. It is in very good condition. The desk has the original finish and hardware. It is made out of Cuban mahogany, secondary wood is yellow popular. This desk can be dated by the wave molding around the drawers. This molding wasn’t made and used until 1848 and by about 1860 it went out of style. This is in the late Grecian style. Dimensions : height 49″; with 43 1/2″; depth 20 1/2″. SOLD
The finishing has begun.
Finishing is always my favorite time in a project. The finish brings out the rich color of the wood. After so long sitting in the white the wood comes alive when the finish is applied.
The drawers are finished.
The cellerats are progressing along. The drawers are finished. The cock beading around the fronts is apple wood.
The stands await the drawers
The stands have been glued, molding mitered and attached, case support in place, and drawer runners attached. Next will be building the drawers. Thess are reproductions of 18th century N.C. cellerats. Reproductions are more tedious . This is because I am trying to be as close to the original as possible.
Case and Stand
The first stand has been fitted up. There will be a cross stretcher added between the side stretcher. I won’t be adding anything for a few days. I’ve got to get ready for the Ramsey House Country Fair.
Ramsey House Country Market
The Ramsey House Plantation Country Market is Oct.2-3, 2010. This is the 46th annual antiques, arts, and garden fall festival. I will be there with some very fine Tennessee antiques. Hours for the event are Sat. Oct. 2nd from 10:00am until 5:00pm, and Sun. Oct. 3rd from 11:00an until 4:00pm.
Ramsey House is located in Knoxville at 2614 Thorn Grove Pike. I hope to see you there this coming weekend.
The progression of work
The mortise and tenons are all cut. The next step is to fit them to each other.
Sticks of molding have been run. This molding will be attached to the stand and capture the case.
The tops and bottoms have been cut to size. The edges of the tops have had the molding run on them.
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