posted on 2012-03-14, 13:58authored byClive Edwards
Fundamental to the understanding of furniture is an interest in the continuities and
changes in the use of tools, and the application of techniques to furniture making. The
development of tools over a long period established ‘type-forms’ that often remain the
basis of hand tools (and in many cases powered versions) that are used today.
Although most tools could be purchased from tool suppliers, there has been, and still
is, a tradition of furniture-makers devising and making their own versions of tools for
their own use. These included for example, bevels, braces, clamps, scratch stocks,
moulding boxes, saw frames, gauges, lathes, planes and squares. This article briefly
traces the development of the various processes and associated tools, from cutting out
and shaping, construction and assembly and decoration in the period 1600-1840,
History
School
The Arts, English and Drama
Department
Arts
Citation
EDWARDS, C., 2005. Tools and techniques 1600-1840. IN: Antique Furniture Restoration and Conservation Guide: The 2005 BAFRA Directory, pp. 56 - 67