Another guessing game & a Seymour obsession

It appears that my “guess what this is?” photo was not nearly as challenging as I thought it would be. Most people guessed it right away - a rebate panel plane/carriage maker’s plane/No.10. I am waiting for the blade to arrive and will post photos of it as soon as they are completed.

In the meantime - here is another guessing game;




I have always loved American Federal furniture, and the work of John and Thomas Seymour in particular. There are a few reasons for this - the first is their use of truly exquisite materials. I can think of only a few other makers who could combine such strong grain, figure and color and do so in such a harmonious way. And this touches on another one of their great skills - design. The proportions of their work is, for all intents and purposes - perfect. Part of that perfection comes from the balancing act between basic (and complex) proportions, but also the consideration of the materials they were using. Take a sideboard for example. I have seen examples of their work where the entire surface is covered in quite dark woods - mainly Mahogany and lots of Mahogany crotches. The drawer fronts across the top were likely scaled in such a way as to take into account the overall “gray value” of the piece and proportioned accordingly. Switch those drawer fronts for ones with Satinwood or Birch crotch, and you will have an entirely different look - and one that might not be as pleasing. The proportions may need adjusting to help lessen the effects of such graphically strong drawer fronts. This speaks to a really challenging part of design - knowing just how elastic the “rules” really are. The Seymour’s are a perfect example of makers who knew all the rules - and only then, the knowledge of how to break them.

So as I build up the courage to build a Seymour inspired piece(s) - I have begun collecting the materials required. Satinwood crotch appears to be out of the question, but there is a very good substitute - Birch crotch.

I have been collecting small sections of Birch crotches from various firewood piles over the years and a few of them were seasoned enough to open them up.



This is a rather small piece - maybe 5" wide and 12" long, but it is exactly what I was hoping for. I should be able to re-saw at least five, 1/8" thick pieces from each half. With the success of this crotch, I have increased my search to a fevered pace, and am collecting much larger crotch sections.

A few weeks ago we were up at the family cottage and I noticed that someone had cleared out a large number trees in an adjacent vacant lot. I walked through the forest to find quite a few birch trees were taken down and they had only taken the trunks. The forest floor was littered with branches and crotch sections. As I skipped back to the cottage my mind was filled with visions of drawer fronts dancing in my head. We were without a chainsaw - but no matter - we had a small handsaw. My brother-in-law Jeff helped me with the cutting, and we saved this rather amazing section. It is 14" wide and a little over 24" long. Drawer front madness!





The hardest part is going to be waiting for it to season. Once it is though - I should have everything I need to start.