a reproduction chest base

1/4/17 .. finished the chest base (finally) ... took a little longer than i hoped, but the client loved it.
we'll deliver it on  monday .. pleased with the way it looks .. an interesting and challenging project

my client has had this case, he informed me today, for 22 years .. it's a beauty.

nice cherry, nice color, nice proportions ... all we have to do is make a base

to match the photo below ...

 we're going to have to do what some folks would call some 'real woodworking'.

 make/carve four legs with trifid feet, makes some fancy aprons and add some moldings.
and then, simply just match the new base to the old case ...
the staining and finishing will likely be one of the tougher parts of the porcess.

studying up a bit with my israel sack 'good,better,best' book
and in norman vandals book on queen anne furniture
plus there is some good stuff on the internet ..

we are going to try to end up with something like this one
and the one in the photo above

these images are stills from a helpful brief video from mary may's carving school

i'm going to carve at least one sample leg in basswood before i head into the cherry .
should be fun ..
.. ------------------------------------------------------ ..
okay .. we're on it now ..
most  furniture makers would agree with me that there is nothing easier
than copying a piece of furniture from a photograph .... ha ha ha ha ..
it can be done, but it ain't easy in my humble opinion ..

first shot at it .. click the photos to enlarge them ..

head on

proposed adjustments

comparison ... more photos as we progress