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RE: Qualty craftsmanship vs waste of time - BrentDH - 08-04-2025

Thanks for all the comments.  It is helpful to get a variety of perspectives.

RE: Qualty craftsmanship vs waste of time - Hank Knight - 08-05-2025

I enjoy studying antique furniture. I've learned a lot from the old guys. One thing that has always surprised me is the casual treatment I've found on the unseen parts of famous pieces. Case backs for example, more often than not, are just a few unfinished wide boards nailed into a rebate (rabbet?) to enclose the back of the piece. Half blind dovetails on drawer fronts may be perfectly executed, but pull the drawer out and you're likely to find crude, gappy dovetails holding the drawer back and sides together. Townsend, Goddard, and other famous 18th Century makers were in the production business. They didn't have the luxury of time that most of us do as hobbyist, so they didn't spend a lot of time and effort on what you don't see. That didn't hurt their reputations as master craftsmen; they built beautiful furniture that is still celebrated and valued today, 250 years after it was built.

I'm not in the furniture building business. I build furniture because I enjoy it. I'm aware of the casual treatment the old masters gave to the unseen parts of their work, but I can't bring myself to just nail a few boards to the back of my case and call it done. But I don't see the need for an unseen back to reflect the detail and craftsmanship that I put into the rest of the piece. It's sort of a compromise for me, and I'm not pressed for time. I'm working on a walnut slant front desk. I've made a frame and panel back of old longleaf pine that will get a coat or two of Seal Coat shellac and screwed into rabbet around the back. It's not fancy, but it's a couple of steps up from a few wide unfinished boards and some nails. And perhaps most importantly, it satisfies me. Photos:

[Image: 50401820067_52dfcc6af3_w.jpg]51A472C0-6732-427B-9CE4-ACB3AF5AAE15 by Hank Knight, on Flickr

[Image: 48211100816_c481ea3d9a_w.jpg]IMG_4469 by Hank Knight, on Flickr

[Image: 48211110751_58cca4f5ae_w.jpg]IMG_4477 by Hank Knight, on Flickr

RE: Qualty craftsmanship vs waste of time - Tapper - 08-05-2025

Very handsome piece, Hank! Those curved feet on the front and the inlay on the drawer fronts had to be a challenge - well done and with the detail on the back, a perfect example of the subject of this thread.

Your comments about the old masters not having the luxury of time to spend on unseen parts of the item, I think is right on target.

Doug

RE: Qualty craftsmanship vs waste of time - WoodCzech - 08-05-2025

I don't build that many things, so I consider making the invisible parts nice a practice for the making the visible ones better.

RE: Qualty craftsmanship vs waste of time - Bill Holt - 08-06-2025

(08-05-2025, 10:49 AM)WoodCzech Wrote: ... so I consider making the invisible parts nice a practice for the making the visible ones better.

Excellent point!!!!!!!!

RE: Qualty craftsmanship vs waste of time - AHill - 08-06-2025

So much fine antique fine furniture has unfinished or more crudely assembled parts when they are not seen. If the furniture is meant to be placed against a wall, they would not put a lot of effort into making the back look fancy. Drawers had a little more care, since the insides of drawers are seen almost daily by the owner. When you hear "secondary wood" that's usually a choice by the cabinet maker to use less expensive wood for parts that aren't seen. Drawer sides and backs, cabinet / chest of drawer backs and bottoms, etc. Most of those decisions were based on time + schedule = cost.

I pretty much adhere to that philosophy as well, although I do spent a lot of time trying to get things right on my more showy furniture. Depends on the purpose of the piece I'm making how much extra effort I put into making things more perfect. Even as a hobbyist, I'm still driven by cost. I'd rather figure out a way to repair a mistake in rosewood or some other exotic wood before I'd scrap it and start over.

RE: Qualty craftsmanship vs waste of time - tablesawtom - 08-06-2025

Hank, that is some beautiful work. Your pictures just about says it all about how you feel about the subject at hand. Thanks for sharing. 

I do think that old masters are sometimes put an a pedestal as if it is something to aspire to. And we tend to forget that building is what they did for a living. After looking at Hank's work I do not think he has to take a back seat to any old Master. I think it is up to us to strive to do the best work we can and to forget about the finished project and just enjoy the process. I more that likely am not satisfied with a piece I just finish. But I know where all the flaws are. If I look at a pierce 6 months latter when all the flaws are forgotten then I look at it and say that is a really niece pierce. 

Every thing about doing woodworking is a personal choice. Every piece of wood selected for a particular spot is a personal choice.  Whether or not you choose to finish a back or not is your choice. Don't let the old masters make that choices for you. 

Enjoy the process, evaluate all of your processes and find the ones that work for you. I am left handed so the way I do something may seem stupid in your way of thinking. But it works for me. Become your own Master.

Tom

RE: Qualty craftsmanship vs waste of time - Hank Knight - 08-07-2025

Thank you, Tom and Doug, for the compliments. I started this piece several years ago, but health issues have kept me out of the shop for a while. I'm just getting back to it.

Tom, your comment about seeing the flaws in your own work hit home. There are flaws in every piece I've ever built; they used to jump out at me every time I looked at the piece. The flaws were all I saw. When people complimented me on something I built, I would tell them, "Thank you, but it's not all that wonderful," and I would point out my mistakes. My wife finally told me, "Stop doing that, nobody sees your mistakes but you." She was right, people don't notice small mistakes. Even I don't notice them after a while. And to the point of this thread, nobody is going to pull your piece away from the wall to look at the back, or pull the drawers out to admire your dovetails. I always try to do my best on these unseen parts, but I don't get bent out of shape if I make a mistake on them; and I quit showing them to my friends. Life is better since I quit doing that.