Author Topic: Hepplewhite style table original or repro?  (Read 6246 times)

bigwull

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Re: Hepplewhite style table original or repro?
« Reply #15 on: October 01, 2012, 05:17:56 am »
What is the dimension of the top...i.e. i,m more interested in the width across the grain as opposed to the linear length with the grain...
I make no excuses,and no apologies....but i like a good Malt,

ghopper1924

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Re: Hepplewhite style table original or repro?
« Reply #16 on: October 01, 2012, 05:37:17 am »
It's got the age, but it seems like it's just a table, not necessarily Hepplewhite. I probably would not have paid that much, but if you love it that's all that matters.

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bigwull

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Re: Hepplewhite style table original or repro?
« Reply #17 on: October 01, 2012, 06:03:43 am »
It's got the age, but it seems like it's just a table, not necessarily Hepplewhite. I probably would not have paid that much, but if you love it that's all that matters.


Yeah....but sometimes love is Blind......
I make no excuses,and no apologies....but i like a good Malt,

LeCat

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Re: Hepplewhite style table original or repro?
« Reply #18 on: October 01, 2012, 06:22:55 am »
Wow thanks!!! so the against the grain dimension is 16 1/4 inch and the with grain is 17  3/4...what is the significance of the dimensions?  And yes it is one board on top no seem.

bigwull

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Re: Hepplewhite style table original or repro?
« Reply #19 on: October 01, 2012, 06:36:58 am »
Wow thanks!!! so the against the grain dimension is 16 1/4 inch and the with grain is 17  3/4...what is the significance of the dimensions?  And yes it is one board on top no seem.
looking at the pic.it looks wider than 16in...that,s why i asked about the width..had it been wider there was a very good chance that it was a jointed board...but at only 16.1/4...then it is most likely from one piece....
I make no excuses,and no apologies....but i like a good Malt,

cogar

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Re: Hepplewhite style table original or repro?
« Reply #20 on: October 02, 2012, 03:09:48 am »
Quote
what is the significance of the dimensions?

With age .... comes width. ;D

Tops of tables and sides & doors of blanket chests and cabinets made prior to say the 1880's were often made from one (1) board that was sawed from "virgin" timber (BIG trees).

Most all the "virgin" timber east of the Mississippi had been cut by 1900 except in a few places that were inaccessible to loggers at that time. Actually inaccessible to the horses that were needed to drag the log out after it was cut.

I remember seeing a photo that my mother had, of my grandfather and his logging crew, that was taken in Webster County, WV, just after they had "notched" a tree they were cutting with their cross-cut saw. All five (5) of them were sitting in the "notch".

For those unfamiliar with what a "notch" is, it is a "piece-of-pie" shaped wedge that is cut out of the side at the base of the tree to control the direction the tree falls and to insure it "jumps" off the stump, otherwise it will likely "split" right up the length of the log.


bigwull

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Re: Hepplewhite style table original or repro?
« Reply #21 on: October 02, 2012, 03:53:38 am »
Quote
what is the significance of the dimensions?

With age .... comes width. ;D

Tops of tables and sides & doors of blanket chests and cabinets made prior to say the 1880's were often made from one (1) board that was sawed from "virgin" timber (BIG trees).

Most all the "virgin" timber east of the Mississippi had been cut by 1900 except in a few places that were inaccessible to loggers at that time. Actually inaccessible to the horses that were needed to drag the log out after it was cut.

I remember seeing a photo that my mother had, of my grandfather and his logging crew, that was taken in Webster County, WV, just after they had "notched" a tree they were cutting with their cross-cut saw. All five (5) of them were sitting in the "notch".

For those unfamiliar with what a "notch" is, it is a "piece-of-pie" shaped wedge that is cut out of the side at the base of the tree to control the direction the tree falls and to insure it "jumps" off the stump, otherwise it will likely "split" right up the length of the log.


....With age .... comes width.....Never a truer word said....maybe i should change my nom-de-plum...to Fatwullie..... ;D
I make no excuses,and no apologies....but i like a good Malt,

cogar

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Re: Hepplewhite style table original or repro?
« Reply #22 on: October 02, 2012, 05:23:30 am »
 ;D ;D that wasa goodurn, wullie.

LeCat

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Re: Hepplewhite style table original or repro?
« Reply #23 on: October 02, 2012, 06:48:16 am »
Wow ok I'm learning a lot thanks everyone... So the top being one piece  likely helps date it?

mart

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Re: Hepplewhite style table original or repro?
« Reply #24 on: October 02, 2012, 08:40:06 am »
Yes !!  Single board tops can be earlier than jointed boards !!  Not always but is a good indicator !!

cogar

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Re: Hepplewhite style table original or repro?
« Reply #25 on: October 02, 2012, 01:36:16 pm »
Right, except for old but "fine" furniture made by experienced cabinetmakers who would saw a board in two, lengthwise, and then rejoin it. Was done to eliminate internal "stresses" that could cause the board to eventually "warp". 

talesofthesevenseas

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Re: Hepplewhite style table original or repro?
« Reply #26 on: October 02, 2012, 04:45:42 pm »
Waaaaaaay niiiiiiiice!!! Everything looks great- early paint, cracking finish, patina, square nails- You've got 'em all! VERY nice!

Something fun to do with these old single piece quartersawn wood tables is to count your tree rings! If there are too many to count easily, measure off an inch, count the rings in one inch and multiply by the width of the table.  Add a little extra for the center part of the tree. In the case of my dining table it was really neat to learn that once upon a time when my table top was a tree, it was felled when it was about 350 - 400 years old! So it adds a whole new dimension to the history of your table! Each ring = one year so count 'em up and let us know how old it is!
Antiqueaholic in recovery

talesofthesevenseas

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Re: Hepplewhite style table original or repro?
« Reply #27 on: October 02, 2012, 04:47:41 pm »
Here's some photos of the tree rings on my tabletop:



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