Knowledge center · Workshop techniques
Knowledge · Technique
Workshop techniques
How the work is done in the workshop, and what it means for your piece.
Carving
Shaping wood in three dimensions with chisels and a mallet, removing material gradually — used for ornament on legs, frames, and decorative details of period furniture.
Dovetail joint
A joint between two boards cut as interlocking triangular tails — one of the strongest and most recognizable joints in drawer and box construction.
French polish
An old finishing technique that uses shellac dissolved in alcohol, laid on in many very thin coats with a cloth pad, to build the deep, “wet” gloss associated with antique furniture.
Gilding
Covering a wooden surface with a thin layer of gold leaf over a ground of gesso and bole, either in oil gilding (more durable) or water gilding (burnishable) — common on mirror frames and court furniture.
Marquetry
Gluing pieces of veneer in different colors and textures into a pattern or a picture on a flat surface — a decorative woodworking technique that reached a peak in Paris in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Steam bending
Bending solid wood by softening the fibers in steam, then bending it on a form until it cools and holds the shape — a traditional way to make curved parts without cutting across the grain.
Stripping an old finish
Removing an old finish — shellac, varnish, or paint — before a piece is refinished. The method (solvent, scraping, or both) depends on the finish, the condition of the wood, and whether the original patina should stay.
Hand-tied springs
A traditional upholstery method in which coil springs are tied by hand with twine in eight directions to webbing or a web, so the load is shared and an old seat stays resilient.
Veneering
Gluing a thin layer of precious wood (veneer) onto a cheaper or more stable ground — it gives the look of an exotic wood at a lower cost, and often more structural stability than solid wood.
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