Cabinet...

[hosman321]

Oh man, I'm beyond jealous! I love drop leaf tables. Mine is drop leaf but not nearly as beautiful as yours! I'll go take some pics. I think the oldest things I have so far are my flax breaker (1832) and my coverlet (1843). I love them but they aren't nearly old enough for me. But I've been collecting for 1 year, so I guess I'm on my way up the ladder.

I do have lots of documents/newspapers from the 1400's-1800's. But those aren't quite the same as furniture.

[jacon4]

Shaker side chair, 1830, Cantebury NH

[jacon4]

Well, you got plenty of time to build a collection. To me, THE HUNT is ALMOST as enjoyable living with the piece itself. I use the old furniture i collect as well, for instance, a chippendale chest of drawers will hold my socks just as well today as it did in the 18th century.

[jacon4]

Last pic for the day, needs restoration, base is missing but i bought this cuz i really liked the paint, dower chest

[hosman321]

Oh man, I'm a sucker for trunks and chests! I have 4 of them, but the oldest is only from the 1870's-ish. That one you have is amazing!

Love the shaker chair. I'm scared to get a chair that old, I feel like they are delicate and if someone sat on it and broke it, I'd be devastated. After I kicked their arse.
I'm most attracted to dining tables from that period. The thoughts of meals around those tables is just fascinating to me. The conversations about the war, the french revolution and George Washington. I can't find my memory card to take new pics, so here's links.

http://www.antique-shop.com/forums/index.php?topic=6457.0
http://www.antique-shop.com/forums/index.php?topic=7840.0
http://www.antique-shop.com/forums/index.php?topic=7193.0

[jacon4]

LOL, there you go again on that age thing. I prefer earlier things too but mostly because they were built by hand where after 1850 most furniture was built by machine. The circular saw was invented in the late 18th early 19th century by a Shaker sister, Tabitha Babbit, but it really was not a factor until steam power came in around the 1850s.

[cogar]

The circular saw was invented in the late 18th early 19th century by a Shaker sister, Tabitha Babbit,

I have always thought that was one of the neatest stories ever.

It just proves that someone really doesn't have to know very much about what someone is using or doing ....... to have a great idea on how to ..... do it quicker and/or better ........ and usually with less expenditure of labor.

Ps: Whenever I offer someone suggestion on what they are doing ....... and they reply with: "What the ell do you think you know about it", ....... I tell them that story.

[Oceans64]

Below is a tavern table built in connecticut around 1750, it has a single board pinned pine top, the base is cherry with vase & ring turned legs and box stretcher. 

Jacon (and others)...  What exactly does "pinned" mean?  I have read a couple of definitions and am still unclear.  My pembroke table has dowels showing through the top which attaches the top to the base.  Is this an example?  I couldn't see that in Jacon's pic so now I'm confused again - which is very easy to do I might add!  Here's the pic of the top of my table showing one of the 4 dowels....  Sorry for the temporary sidetrack Hosman 

[talesofthesevenseas]

Jacon I've got a question also. My understanding is that the lathe, although invented thousands of years ago, did not become commonly used until the 1880's and although turned furniture did exist prior to that time, it is very rare and that most turned furniture in existance will date to post-1880. Can you correct me or comment on this?

[cogar]

okey dokey, i am trying to load a pic (my first ever here) so lets pretend this works out. Below is a tavern table built in connecticut around 1750, it has a single board pinned pine top, the base is cherry with vase & ring turned legs and box stretcher.

 

OOOOHH, that is nice, Jacon. And you didn't even mention the "breadboard" ends.

Oceans, I think what he means by "pinned" is that dowel pins are used to fasten the top onto the "box" frame ...... like a picture frame box. 4 boards, on edge, with their ends doweled together to make a square. The dowel pins are put into/around the top edge of the frame and matching holes are drilled into the underside of the table. 

Iffen I remember Tales has a picture of her table on here ...... but the "pins" in her's extend clear through the top of the table.

[talesofthesevenseas]

Here's the photos of the pins/dowels/pegs that extend past the surface of the table. These originally would have been flush with the table top, but as the wood shrinks the pegs have to go somewhere and either protrude or recess. These ones protrude:









Overall:

[jacon4]

Yes, pinned top means its attached to table base with wood pins. Turning has been around a long time, they wrap twine/string to the piece being turned, attach one end of string  to an overhead sapling and the other end of string attached to a foot pedal.

[Oceans64]

So would my table (the maple one) be an example of a pinned top?  It has the dowels showing through....

Don't know why I am so dense about this - LOL

[jacon4]

LOL, yep, its pinned. Wood Pins are used in  mortise & tendon type construction where they drive in the pin to hold the rail/apron tight to the stile/leg of tables, chests, chairs, etc. Here is a pic for Hosman, Sheraton single drawer work stand, curly maple, about 1830-40, New York. Notice the curved front of drawer? The guy who built this stand saw the comming late classical/pillar & scroll style comming and decided to incorporate it into this sheraton stand. Well dang, cant see curved drawer front very well in this pic but its there, trust me, lol

[talesofthesevenseas]

Jacon I am aware of that, and that the lathe is actually thousands of years old, but my understanding is that turning was extremely rare prior to the 1880's when it became commonplace. So yours is one of these rare examples?