How Shaker Furniture is constructed- What makes a quality piece?

[@retina6288]

I liked this video far more than I thought I would have. I kept imagining what the craftsman would have thought about the video if he could watch you critique his work. Would he have appreciated the praise on a job well done or would he think you're a fool to imagine there was any other way to make a dresser. Thank you for mixing it up and making such great content.

[@KingsFineWoodworking]

At 00:32 I think you meant function over form.

[@StumpyNubs]

Yes, I said it backwards.

[@SilverPlum]

Ah well.. Thanks for the quick reply and all the instruction!

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

Form follows function.

[@738polarbear]

Very well spotted . What are you doing here? You are one of my other channels . Back to work teacher. Ha ha ha .

[@StuartOverton]

This comment is what I scrolled down looking for.

[@bruceschneider4928]

I've just started reading Thos. Moser's excellent book, "How To Build Shaker Furniture: The Complete Updated & Improved Classic." In it, he mentions several of the points you've made. One thing he wrote was that typically (but not always), Shaker chests of drawers would have graduated drawer sizes, with the largest at the bottom, where you'd store larger, heavier items, and smaller ones at the top, for smaller, lighter things. The book is loaded with great history, furniture details, info on wood, etc.

[@twowheelrodeo]

I love your deductive reasoning. Interesting investigation of I agree well made piece.

[@kensmith2822]

God I love this video! Please do more like this, I've watched at least 5 times now. So much info and a much needed dive into furniture history.

[@MatthewMcCoyathome]

This might be one of my favorite videos. Very well thought out without too much conjecture. Good learning experience for those who are interested in identifying period piece furniture.

[@mikeenglish7063]

Enjoy your videos. What took my eye was the work bench at the side. Beautiful

[@nicobogaard2315]

Clear explanation, lots of respect for those ‘oldtimers’ and for your craftsmanship too

[@rwe2156]

We can learn so much looking at (well made) antique furniture. Many times the olde days menial tasks like panels and dovetails were relegated to the apprentice, who was being yelled at to hurry up, ergo some pretty sloppy work sometimes. The master labored over the “money” - exterior carvings, turnings, etc. This is a nice history lesson looking fwd to more.

[@dennisbeaver5958]

Excellent review of the craftsmanship of this piece!

[@isfahelww]

Wow I didn't know how complicated a simple chest of drawer could be. Thanks for this video, it's a master class.

[@ashishm8850]

What an excellent commentary on wonderful craftsmanship. Sometimes old really is gold 👍

[@Mr_Rick]

Simply outstanding James! Very much enjoyed you explaining the anatomy of the shaker style. I'd like to see more of this approach. Don't see many explaining anymore.

[@TheShavingWoodWorkshop]

Very well put together video filled with a lot of great information, thanks James

[@PaulDesmondimakewoodthings]

This may have been my favorite video from you. Very intelligently done sir.

[@katherynlamarche7308]

Thank you Stumpy I love the way you respect the true woodworkers. Julien

[@drzmanproject]

This was fantastic, loved the detective work and woodworking history. You packed a lot into this. Can't wait for part 2.

[@jasonjennings8773]

Joseph is my friend, he loves shaker furniture, thank you for the video, it makes him happy which in return makes me happy. Lets all be happy =)

[@MataH1]

Great presentation of what Shakers could do. It's probably a Shaker made furniture that they sold to outside customers, as they did in larger lines of production when their furniture became rightly popular, as the finishing details are not as perfect as their own production. I loooove your old tools collection on the wall behind.

[@deborahf3738]

Awesome video, I love Shaker furniture. Now I know what I can look for when searching...Thanks.

[@Dunc2222]

Remarkable forensics, based on an impressive body of knowledge. Well done, sir.

[@BobMuir100]

Very old stuff I know however Stumps ol’boy one of your very best and not a tool touched! Bob England

[@sdcofer52]

James, one of your best and most thoughtful video. Very informative and I learned a lot. Thanks.

[@brianpritt4154]

I learned more from your explanation that if you would have done a build of it. Nice job.

[@larrybriggi9898]

Extremely well done and educational analysis. So much can be discerned with a careful inspection. It is a shame we often don't take the time.

[@marrano10]

now that is a proper product tour! very in depth reasoning and very interesting thanks stumpy!

[@MrMarkpeggy]

Fascinating video James! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

[@TomKaren94]

7:00 - I repaired and sold a piece similar to this one, but in tiger maple. The runners were grooved so badly from years of wear that the drawer faces were tilted back and wouldn't align with the cabinet front. I replaced the runners with maple sticks I had in my shop bin. I chose a hardwood so they'd add years to the piece without a recurrence of the grooving. It worked well in realigning the drawers.

[@mhaz49]

Fantastic review of the Shaker architecture and style.

[@chrisdiggs2237]

Great video. Thank you for all of your pointers.

[@lostlatinlover]

A beautiful piece of furniture. I would love to own such a cabinet.

[@bryand4057]

This was helpful. I wondered how the shakers approached drawer slides over floating panels. I have the shaker drawings book which I think I saw you refer to in another video. The drawer slides are consistently overlooked.

[@mattmodlin1031]

I love seeing the little bits of history in furniture. Do you recommend any resources for starting to learn the various clues you mentioned in the video? (ie types of screws used, drawer pulls, wood type and size, proportions, etc)

[@georgevalenzuela2489]

Great video! Very educational like the rest of your videos!

[@danielgeng2306]

Thoroughly enjoyed this !

[@elained2448]

Boy Stumpy, folks like to try to prove you wrong...this was a great informational video! I think the maker would’ve had soft hands, using tallow and all lol.

[@MyVinylRips]

Very insightful, thanks so much. I've just recently begun to study Shaker furniture, and also just bought a book on the topic. Living in Scandinavia, it strikes me how similar some of these 100+ years old pieces are very similar to for instance classic Danish and Norwegian furniture made in the 1950- and 60s. I wonder if there's a connection there.

[@vieuxacadian9455]

Well done as always Sir .

[@cobberpete1]

A very well put together video. Very informative. I concur with the comments below. I think it is one of your best videos.

[@kyletelford2353]

Great video stumpy!I'm going to build a shaker workbench this summer,can't wait.And then ill build shaker furniture on it,or maybe try.thanks

[@Lyonhardht]

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. The few pieces of furniture I have bought, I looked at the 'hidden' areas. On one occasion, an elderly salesman said he hadn't seen anyone look inside a chest of drawers in a long time, especially not a young person. Even though it was of modern construction, I wanted to spend my money on real wood.

[@EngineeringVignettes]

+Lyonhardht I have done that on a few modern stores pieces. Then I got depressed and walked away. The junk they sell these days...

[@garyschmidt7320]

@@EngineeringVignettes The Amish are trying to slip into the spot left empty with the disappearance of the Shakers. Their furniture is well made, but most people won't pay what it's worth. That's why there is not much well made furniture out there. If you are looking for a first rate maker, there was a referance book of makers a rew years back. (Published by Taunton Press I think)

[@TroyDake]

One of your best videos, love the details of knowledge you are passing along. Thank you Stumpy!

[@makermark4]

This makes me want to make. Thanks Stumpy!

[@cmerek1]

I thoroughly enjoyed this video, Mr Nubs.

[@davefoc]

Congratulations on a very good video. Your analysis was interesting and informative. Thanks

[@MauriceBlok]

Really like the reasoning you do. Great find in good condition. Off to your follow-up video :-)

[@StumpyNubs]

+Maurice Blok -Thanks! In part two we examine the clues that point to the age of the piece. (Screws, hardware, etc.) You'll find that very interesting too! It will be in the next issue of Stumpy Nubs Woodworking Journal in about two weeks.

[@MauriceBlok]

Looking forward!

[@DavidColley_SouthernGrain]

Great vid. This is now one of my favorite videos and will go on my re-watch again and again list.

[@curtesamoangelos5995]

Watching from Yosemite Kentucky.

[@738polarbear]

Thats a nice piece of info James.I would like to see a video on English dovetails WHEN you get the chance James and maybe some FORGOTTEN joints from yesteryear. Thanks.

[@georgekaplin8738]

Love shaker, Craftsman and mission style

[@Ispike73]

This is a great video, thank you for making it. I like all of your content, but I really enjoyed this one. I hope to see more videos like this in the future.

[@thomasarussellsr]

Great info. Love that floating center back panel design. Would personally like to see the tapered legs, but as you said, some shaker craftsmen did utilize a lathe and turned some feet/legs. Nice piece.

[@kooale]

4S, the legs are somewhat dowdy

[@KellyVisionPictures]

How are those large wooden bodied planes being held, or mounted on the wall in the background? I'm looking for ideas to accomplish the same thing, or similar. I already know of a few ways to do that with metal body planes. I'm interested in how it can be done with the wooden bodied planes.

[@LoveZick]

Wow! Your know so much! Very nice piece of furniture too. Lots learnt!

[@TheMarcball]

Howdy Stumpy Thanks for sharing this. I have been watching a lot of NYWS videos and am always curius about shaker philosophy. This is interesting and hands on. Keep on trucking ! (from France)

[@joannesferrati3076]

Nice to hear historical facts!

[@kenbray2948]

Very informative. Thank you Stumpy

[@Troubledsoul729]

So much information in this video. Thanks for the knowledge

[@davidbaldwin2342]

Very interesting, thank you for sharing your knowledge

[@Tradekraft]

This is a really good review with great research evident.

[@Glepperd]

These two videos rank up with the best on woodworking..very informative!

[@tpobrienjr]

Excellent lecture, Professor!

[@AndreaArzensek]

WOW, great information! Thanks Stumpy!

[@TheTranq]

Nice rundown

[@danmills7028]

We had my dad's old dresser (not Shaker) restored after he passed away and the restorer did the same trick seen here to fix the badly worn drawer sides, i.e. replacing the worn out bottoms of the drawer sides with new wood, including fitting the new wood into the existing dovetails like on this piece.

[@_gusowen]

I have a project coming up and this will help alot. Thanks. Very informative video

[@BCdesign1]

Wow,this is one of the most interesting woodworking videos I have seen,nice work!!

[@Natedoc808]

Just a great video all around. Thank you

[@briangalyer8140]

Hi, Can you help me? I am looking for a book that shows the various characteristics of the different styles of furniture. eg shaker, mid century, mission etc. can you recommend one?

[@glenngoodale1709]

Outstanding video !

[@gilessteve]

Very interesting analysis. Thank you for posting that.

[@eegaugh]

Fascinating for a UK viewer. You didn't mention what I take to be the light-coloured wear strips on the bottoms of the drawer sides; are they a Shaker feature?

[@joeblogs8589]

Excellent piece. Thank you.

[@melody3741]

"the best way to judge the skill of a craftsman is to look inside his drawers"😂

[@nancyjm79]

Great information. I've recently purchased a very old dresser in that style, all hand cut as you point out. Oak and maybe poplar. Have you ever heard of the person who crafted a piece sign it? There is a very old loopy signature of some sort on the back of a drawer.

[@Lookatmeshine]

If you mean would a shaker, it would be very unlikely.

[@JeremyB8419]

Stumpy Nubs, how is the top fastened to the body? Just glue?

[@curiousmike1044]

Well done. One of my favorites.

[@scalfaroc]

Very informative! Thanks for sharing!

[@cyclesingsleep]

What a great video! Thank you, thank you for this tutorial!

[@sumitd500]

Nice review! I have read (flatsawn) planks cup away from the pith, but you stated the opposite?

[@StumpyNubs]

Boards tend to cup away from the center of the tree. If I said otherwise, I must have misspoke.

[@sumitd500]

@@StumpyNubs 🙏🏻

[@skigglystars9525]

Always learn something new.

[@ralphlivingston762]

Very informative. How did they attach the top?

[@kellyklaask7su990]

Lots of great information. THanks!

[@iordanchis2437]

Fascinating. Thank you good man.

[@robertayersiii3832]

Nice video. Out of curiosity, does anyone know how the top was connected to the piece?

[@fuedaseoyt]

Are the pulls made of just wood? how are they attached?

[@michaelcoursey2220]

great video and interesting topic. Can't wait for the next episode!! wondering how he attached the top...

[@StumpyNubs]

I'll give you a hint... wooden pegs.

[@michaelcoursey2220]

+Stumpy Nubs (James Hamilton) interesting - I'd love to see that (not on this piece). Glad it wasn't "Shaker" pocket screws...

[@tommyevans8449]

Very interesting, Mr. Nubs. Will you be discussing the seemingly different wood on the runner portions of the drawers?

[@StumpyNubs]

+Tommy Evans - Yes, that's in part two. It's an indicator of the age.

[@RH-ms5ui]

Wow，what a knowledge!

[@nicholassmerk]

Thanks for sharing. I was wondering about some of that stuff. I recently picked up a solid wood dresser that is made of all rabbits. I'm guessing it's more than 60-80 years old, but is a mass produced piece. I'm just replacing all the drawer bottoms a deeming it as a shop cabinet...it's really not built as well as I would like. But, I would like to build one sometime.

[@brucemartin5510]

I've been waiting for a video like this for a long time (I hate reading...lol).

[@bwbark]

Fun and informative video!

[@andrewbrimmer1797]

Is poplar more or less stable than cherry if there is a difference could that be the reason?

[@TheSilverguy23]

great video.. I learned a lot. thank you

[@ranjdall]

Great detective work

[@5ivestring]

A wealth of information.

[@markbachman8321]

I was hoping to hear an explanation for the drawer sides having two types of wood at 5:00

[@StumpyNubs]

They have been repaired. Over the generations the sides wore down from sliding in and out. Someone patched the worn away portions.

[@markbachman8321]

@@StumpyNubs Thanks, sorry if it was mentioned in the video and I missed it.

[@WilliamBrownGuitar]

Great presentation.

[@brynnhowell9916]

Very knowledgeable

[@theolithic71]

Love it. Keep them coming, kind sir.