I'm new to the forum so I hope that I'm posting in the right place.
Attached are some pictures of a Newport style bureau that I completed recently. I emphasize the word “style” because I did not try to re-create a piece from that era but used John Townsend’s 1765 bureau, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as inspiration for my piece. For example, I used cherry for my bureau rather than mahogany and made the feet and the top overhang a bit bolder than the original.
The bureau was a project for a class at the Cerritos College woodworking program. The carcass and drawers were made as part of one class while the carving was done as part of a second class. I had also taken a finishing class earlier at Cerritos and used what I learned to apply the final finish. I used machine tools whenever I could but, even with that philosophy, there was still quite a bit of hand work.
Prior to building this bureau, I had never done a dovetail nor any carving. It was quite a learning process.
I documented the building of this bureau on my web site (in reverse chronological sequence) at http://members.cox.net/h-h.woodworks...nd%20chest.htm
I’d like to also thank Alan Turner for the valuable assistance he provided via e-mail during the building of the bureau.
Mike Henderson
Tustin, CA
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