Popular Woodworking 2009-02 № 174, страница 12
Arts & Mysteries •— BY ADAM CHERUBINI Make a Ball & Claw Foot Part 3 in a series on building a Philadelphia-style Chippendale chair. l f you've been following my column, you know that 1 am buildinga Philadelphia-style Chippendale chair. I've reached the stage where I'm supposed to carve the legs, and I'm just not confident that I understand the basic steps required or even the final shape. I've just not seen enough of these chairs and I lack experience carving. So I've asked for help. Chris Storb is a conservator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He specializes in 18th-century Philadelphia carving. His job at the museum has allowed him to learn from one of the world's largest and most prestigious collections of Philadelphia Chippendale furniture. So he's uniquely qualified to tell us about typical characteristics, which features are unique to certain shops and what features are never apparent. For example, Storb has never seen evidence of rasp or file use on the carved feet of Philadelphia chairs (there are, however, plenty of rasp marks on other areas of chairs). Storb is also the master carver the museum uses when a masterpiece needs work. If a recently acquired piece has a missing cartouche, Storb carves a new one. Philadelphia's American Wing actually showcases a fair bit of Storb's work. So I was thrilled when he agreed to visit my shop and let me photograph him carving a Philadelphia-style ball and claw. It was a bit like having a free-throw lesson from former NBA star Michael Jordan. Laying Out the Cabriole The ball and claw must start by laying out the cabriole leg. In my last article 1 prepped the leg stock at 23A" square and cut the mortises. The height of the aprons is known; I've already cut those pieces at about 3'/2". From the bottom of the seat rail, Storb measured down to establish Helping hands. Philadelphia Museum of Art conservator Chris Storb visited my shop and carved this leg using a modest set of tools and his shop-made clamp. Storb examined chairs in the museum's impressive collection to give us his sense of how these were made and precisely what they look like. 22 ■ Popular Woodworking February 2009 |
