Highboy Research

Highboy (Chest of Drawers) Research

Introduction If you've had patience to poke around in this woodworking section long enough to get here, I applaud your inquisitive nature and invite you to come and visit any time. But if you're actually reading a page on highboy research for knowledge, I applaud your love for woodworking and craftsmanship. I've been building 'box' furniture with good quality joinery for about 5 years now and have really discovered a passion for the detail put into genuine antiques of yesteryear. For me, the quest for developing those types of skills is just as exciting as turning out a nice piece of furniture for family or friends. So in each project that goes by, I try to develop some new set of skills. It started with basic panel construction, then the mortise and tenon joint, on to dovetailing and detailed mouldings, recently even turning spindles on the lathe. At the end of each project there were also finishing challenges (mostly mistakes). Today applying a great finish is vital for my satisfaction of a job well done. At the same time, I'm developing a real love for figured wood and how its use can significantly impact the appearance of a fine piece of furniture. I hope you'll see more of this influence in upcoming projects, provided I don't go bankrupt buying lumber before then. With this as a background, my next project choice had to continue to grow the skill set. I am really looking for something that will introduce me to carving, ball and claw feet, and the use of figured wood which results in a final project piece with real character. Nothing quite embraces all these desires like a highboy. Frankly, I so in love with this type a furniture that I wonder if my desires are ruling over common sense. While I think completing this project is possible, it is truely the largest challenge I've undertaken, and I'm a bit intimidated by many of the requirements it entails. In the end, I think this will be a defining project for me. If all goes well, I anticipate adding many of these features in future works and leaving the plain 'boxes' behind; if not, I suspect I'll have to admit defeat and find a new hobby to go after. It's the exact same fealing I had on my first serious project 5 years ago (which ironically was also a chest of drawers). Wish me luck!
Literature Work

Seeing a highboy picture in the 25 year anniversary edition of Fine Woodworking really peaked my curiosty, and for several months now I've been pondering whether I should undertake such a challenge. Then while building the ice chest, I was once again remined that standard frame and panel work is too boring, so I began earnestly reading about 18th century cabinet building methods. It's amazing what you can find at the library! Below are just a few of the designs I've been drueling over:

1) Jeffrey Greene, American Furniture of the 18th Century, Taunton Press, Newtown, CT, 1996.
2) Randall O'Donnell, "Curly Cherry Highboy," Fine Woodworking, (117), March 1996, pp.80-85
3) Franklin Gottshall, Heirloom Furniture, Bonanza Books, New York, pp. 132-138.

I found each source to have a different set of valuable information. Jeffrey Greene's book has a wonderful survey of 18th century furniture and the best section on methods and materials used during this period; I especially liked his discussion of carving ball and claw feet and dovetail joinery. Franklin Gottshall's book has fantastic dimensioned drawings and a good discussion on the fabrication methods for a variety of quality pieces. Randall O'Donnell's article takes you through all the steps required for a Queen Anne Highboy and is viewed by me as an essential article (actually it's a 3 part series) for a beginning cabinet maker attempting their first significant 18th century reproduction.

The Decision

Picking the highboy to go after was not an easy choice. Based on apperance, the list was quickly paired down to Queen Anne and Chippendale; however, from there it became more difficult. One of my objectives was to include ball and claw feet carving in this project and the Queene Anne chests don't have this, but on the other hand, the Chippendale chests look disproportioned despite their elegant carvings. In the end, it's this well proportioned design plus the availability of outstanding articles on building this chest that tilt the scales in favor of Queen Anne. Below is a picture of the completed curly cherry chest described in Frank O'Donnell's article in Fine Woodworking.

I basically like everything about this design; however, I think the look would be even better with a lathed corner post turnings in the upper chest (as shown to the far right in the Queen Anne literature section above), so I will attempt to add this to the project. In the end, most of what I was looking for is accomplished: 1) introduction to carving, 2) use of highly figured wood, and 3) a project with real character and heirloom quality. I'm so excited to give this a go!