Inserts to prevent warping?

Hey all,

While browsing the 'net for general info on American Federal style of furniture (design characteristics, time period, materials, finishes, Big Names In, etc.) I came upon this piece:

formatting link
in its description, includes this text:

"The one piece top features regular spaced inserts into the wood on the underside that were added to prevent warping."

Interesting, and new to me (note my moniker). Thought I'd see what the collective knowledge of the wRECk is on this topic. How does the technique achieve its claimed benefit? (or DOES it!?) The inserts seem to run long-grain, why?

Thanks, Chris

Reply to
TheNewGuy
Loading thread data ...

(IMHO) the best proportioned furniture ever made, but that one's plain lumpy.

And for that money, they could learn how to focus the camera.

New to me too. Presumably they're long strips in sliding dovetails, tenoned into the sides ?

There are two problems here - warping and expansion. Now you can largely reduce warping by picking primo timber for the top, but you always have to deal with expansion. Now strips like this might control warping (possibly), but they're going to be even more trouble if there's crosswise movement going on.

Newport work did often use battens across a frame, with the top screwed on from beneath. They're usually used to span a narow frame under a wide top though.

I'm not even sure that top's original. It's plug ugly and it's held on by pocketed screws, at least one of which is surprisingly shiny. It might even be a replacement.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

Sounds like eyewash to me. Dave

Reply to
Dave W

I agree Andy - there are details that just appear wrong to me:

  • The drawer face (photo 2) appears to be veneered which might be appropriate, but it's not, as would be expected, a fancy piece of veneer. If the drawer face is cherry (which I'm not certain it is), they wouldn't have applied a veneer unless it was highly figured and unusual

- cherry was not a rare wood in those days. If it's not cherry then it doesn't match the rest of the piece and I've not seen other pieces with the drawer face being different than the body of the piece. Speaking of not matching, just the tone of the drawer wood doesn't match the rest.

  • Harping more on the drawer, the dovetails look too large to me. I've got several pieces in my family that are of the Federal era and the dovetails are all much smaller. In place of this drawer's two tails, I'd expect to see 3 or 4. The drawer bottom looks OK but the side looks too clean - one would have to personally examine it for the appropriate saw and plane marks.
  • Inserts... I'm not certain I see what inserts they're talking about. If it's the horizontal lines in the underside shown in pic #4, then they wouldn't do anything for warping anyway as they're parallel to the grain. ...and someone has used "plastic wood" to fill in the side rail and drawer rail joints...
  • Check out the design proportions of the last picture - man that side rail is really tall but the drawer doesn't match it. Again, thinking of the Federal pieces I've seen, the drawer rails are too chunky.
  • The round cornered top... I don't think they did much round cornering back then. (Someone please provide a link to other Federal tables with rounded corners.)
  • Cherry... ehhhh, I'm not sure the body IS cherry - that top surely is, but the body? I'm wondering if it could be mahogany... look at the closeup pic of the drawer rail and leg. (I've got a tall-case clock and dresser of this era, both of mahogany and mahogany veneers and without looking really closely it could certainly be mistaken for cherry or even black walnut given the grain.) It's difficult to tell the grain in this pic from the brush marks.

Nope they're talking about the underside: "The one piece top features regular spaced inserts into the wood on the underside..." AND, I don't think it's a one-piece top. At least to my eye there appear to be two flatsawn grain areas separated by riftsawn grain at the center. Not sure how a tree would be shaped to attain that characteristic and to my eye there appears a defined tone change and join from the center toward the right. I'm suspecting the lines on the underside are trying to explain away a pieced top.

I've spent enough time on this one. Who's up for a little baseball - mailbox style?

Reply to
Fly-by-Night CC

I don't think it's necessarily veneered, but certainly the timber doesn't match. Maybe it's a cherry top and drawer face in a mahogany frame ?

A good dealer would also have photographed the inside of the drawer face.

It's only a shallow drawer. They're not so few that they're out of possibility. The drawer construction looks reasonable for the period, chamfered bottom in grooves, with a square back.

I can only see these things working if they're expected to be stiff and strong, and "tie" the top down to the frame. I can imagine someone trying to make this work, but can't imagine it succeeding.

Wouldn't be the first time.

There were round corners, but not such tall lumpy ones.

From those pictures - could be anything.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.