Popular Woodworking 2006-12 № 159, страница 64

drawer was made, his enthusiasm and knowledge of his work become apparent. He actually has more years of experience working on this furniture than the original makers did. The pieces he has reconstructed range from tiny jewel-like inlays and intricate light fixtures to the timber-framed pergola of the Blacker house in Pasadena, Calif.

Ipekjian is self-taught. His earlier career gave him the ability to work precisely, and helped him to develop excellent problem-solving skills. "I enjoy the challenge of figuring it out," he says, "and I'm not afraid to try things I haven't done before."

Ipekj ian has spent so much time working with original pieces and drawings that he has become adept at interpreting the original drawings of Charles Greene. Pointing to one drawing he remarks, "That's his representation of a cloud; you can see it in other pieces."

On the day of my visit, Ipekj ian was working on a custom table that had been drawn by Greene, but never constructed. Working from

Much of Ipekjian's work requires detailing by hand, as in these carved table legs.

a copy of an original sketch, he was carving details in the legs. "I'm not very good at predicting how long it will take to do something. For this table, I figured the four legs would take a day, but it's taking me a day to do each one. This isn't production work; each piece is a little different," he explains.

When the Blacker house was built, there was a music cabinet in the living room that the current owners wanted reproduced. Original drawings existed, but didn't show the details

of the exteriors of the upper doors - and the whereabouts of the original was unknown. Ipekj ian made his best guess, and constructed the piece. "Unfortunately," he says matter-of-factly, "a photo of the original surfaced shortly after I had this completed, and my guess was wrong. So I get to make a new pair of doors."

Getting the details exactly right has been a key element to his success, and the original pieces contained an incredible amount of intricate details that aren't readily apparent.

An ancient, but accurate Oliver sliding table saw and floor-to-ceiling stacks of lumber occupy the back half of the shop.

Not many one-man shops have a 20" jointer like this vintage machine, but then again, not many one-man shops produce work at the level of quality and detail that Jim Ipekjian does.

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