I enjoy building fine furniture pieces and transforming neglected furniture into useful items
One of a matching pair of night stands in curly cherry & garnet shellac
Welcome, I'm Charlie Driggs, and this page is
about how I spend my relaxation time restoring old, making new from old, or making 'all-new' furniture, while occasionally
doing the proper woodworking ritual of nicking a body part. It's been a slow migration to predominantly hand tool
methods over the last two decades, causing the craftsmanship to improve and the minor injuries to subside significantly.
The digital camera now allows me to show a few of the items I've worked on or produced in recent years. The item in
progress above was the second sewing machine cabinet I worked on. Smaller projects shown here, such as
silver-service chests, helped build skills in surface preparation and making brass hardware.
A project to build a pair of nightstands
was a long term effort and a shot of one of the finished pair is above at right. This took nearly 500 hrs over
five years because I was learning new skills in the process, discovering what tools were needed, and
acquiring them as I went along. These were of my own
design, to meet our needs. The joinery
design was a little too complex, but necessary to achieve the desired 'look' of our old cherry bedroom set. The moldings
around the base were hand carved, as I lacked the proper pair of hollow & round planes needed at the time to make the
proportions 'right'.
The panels were all thicknessed, planed
flat, and all surfaces were finished, by hand. Drawer dovetails were also done by hand. The photo doesn't do justice
to the curly cherry used, but the color rendition is at least a close match to actual. Machines were used sparingly, primarily
to rough size parts. Plenty of proper elbow grease was expended sawing, planing, chiseling and scraping thematerials. Like this one, most of my 'new items' projects have been built in curly cherry or maple, finished
in hand rubbed shellac and wax.
While these projects all involved making
new items, I particularly enjoy restoration work too. Some examples are shown below.
This was the first in the series of silver
service chests I've done. This one is in curly cherry, with claro walnut inlaid around the top and an inlaid hand-formed brass
script monogram. The others I've made involved a three-letter script monogram. Some of the brass hardware is also handmade,
although the hinges and lock were commercial items. The interior holds a 12 place set, and associated serving pieces in a
commercial silver cloth insert, and the exposed wood inside is fully finished.
This is a jewelry box I did for my daughter's
22nd birthday. The case is curly maple, the top and bottom panels are purpleheart. The interior of the bottom section was
compartmentalized and completely lined in blue velveteen, with a lift out panel to separate necklaces from the smaller jewelry
in the lower section. The inside of the lid is finished the same as the outside. Purpleheart is miserable to work into thin
panels. Trust me on that, don't go trying to prove it to yourself. Really miserable.
These three upholstered chairs are all full restoration
jobs I undertook. The one on the left had a little special meaning, as it was my mother's favorite chair. That was a frame-up
restoration after Mom passed away. The one on the right was the most involved job of the three, as removal of the original
upholstery explained why the chair was a little wobbly for a few years: every one of the seat frame joints had shattered,
and only the cloth held it together. That required making an all new frame of curved sections and compound joints. Very interesting
task with none of the original jigs at hand. The center chair was an exceptionally well made piece, with the front legs and
arms in carved mahogany. That one was a pleasure to restore. Re-upholstery work on all three was done by an Amish craftsman
near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The two chairs on the right were bought at flea markets by Joanne for less than $40 combined.
So yes, there are treasures out there to be found. And yes, the restoration work cost much more than the acquisition ... you're
not going to ask now, are you?
The cabinetry, mantle, fireplace surround &
shelving behind the chairs was an early cabinetmaking effort that nearly ended in disaster. That's when I learned that you
have to measure the top, the bottom, and mid-height of the wall on a retrofit job. Some unplanned 'adjustment' of the fireplace
surround was necessary. Joanne was surprised and pleased by the end result, and I unknowingly convinced her that I could tackle
many more jobs. Well, it felt good getting it done, and now I have a guaranteed lifetime supply of projects.
A mahogany Chippendale ottoman in progress ..
... cutting the lock mortise & tenon joints; next is leg corner beading, surface finishing & glue up
... frame completed, it awaits the cushion:
This piece was built to match an existing wing chair
This is my prize restoration effort. The table
is a plain double dropleaf in the early Hepplewhite style, built of tiger maple by my 4x-great grandfather, probably between
1790-1795, almost certainly before 1800. Appraisal confirmed that it isn't all that valuable because it has so
little decoration, but that didn't diminish its value as a family heirloom. Family history says the wood for
it came from a tree on grandfather's estate. When I inherited the table, its finish was all but gone, it was water and
iron stained, and it had marks where typically-clamped and hand operated kitchen machines of the 18th & 19th
century were used. One of the drawbore mortise & tenon leg joints was also loose due to a broken peg. Today, the table
still has some trace of the stains, and the marks are there if you look closely. The finish has been restored using
period-appropriate materials (buttonlac in place of spirit varnish) and many rottenstone rub-outs. I repaired the damaged
drawbore mortise joint using the same method grandfather or his cabinetmaker used to create his pegs from a piece of curly
maple. This remains the most satisfying work I've undertaken yet. Thanks go to Robert Klein of Pensacola, Florida, for
his periodic online guidance with this restoration project.
The only metal fasteners in this table were
the handmade screws that held the blacksmith-made rule joint hinges in place. The table is one of three remaining pieces of original furniture from the family's Hudson Valley homestead. That
1690 stone home in Catskill, NY was built by the grandfather of the original owner of this table. The house is on the
National Register, but it is lived in by others as our family lost it during the Depression. The only other artifact
I have associated with the table is the baby cap (below) that was worn by my great-great grandfather, born in 1817.
He inherited the table, and according to family accounts, took pride as its caretaker in his time.
My cousin has the two other remaining pieces,
one being a Dutch secretary that dates to 1760-1780. Its inlays clearly celebrate Captain Cook's voyages in the South
Pacific, as there were no ostriches or kiwi birds wandering around Holland to provide inspiration
for the marquetry work. That secretary is worn with age, but it is impressive for the quality of its joinery, its brass
hardware and its design, and it remains functional today. It would be a great project to build a copy. That will be after
a few other rebuild / refinish projects that already await me and a list of things I've been asked to make.
