A feat in itself

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Jeff L Headley

Well-known member
Where would you start when buiding a piece of furniture. The bottom up maybe? Maybe not! Proportions and periods decide upon space. Once height is decided on what type of foot do you want your case to sit upon and how?
 
Each period has its own bases of design and a foot to stand upon. This is an area for discussion. I have my own ideas but want to hear from others. How and why would you construct a foot for your favorite period piece?
 
Surely the carcase comes first, onto which the feet etc. are attached... or did they make a separate plinth in North America?
 
I guess the drawing would need to come first to aid in deciding these questions. Some feet are added on and some are an integral part of the case. As to the cow, the carcase comes at the end of the process and the feet are removed.
 
I usually don't design the foot until everything else is done, but I do figure out the rough height I think I would want.
Yet I only do this to case pieces with bracket feet, or bun feet.  I would say things change when you add a cabriole leg to the mix.   

Fred
   
 
What do you do in pieces where the foot is integral to the case. The Seymour's spring to mind, A turned post, a French foot(I know the clock cases are integral to the base). I am attaching a photo of a piece where the leg appears to be integral to the case.
(I'm just yanking your chain here Freddy!)
 
Not only periods but regions, and not just regions but religious background in their own certain areas should be considered. Each period and space has their own ways of doing things. Most period techniques are universal but the regional characteristics are the interesting parts of American Furniture. Every area has it's own influence which influences another area. Some things don't change over time.
 
When it comes to Federal furniture I think the maker needs to think long and hard about the mass and weight of the piece.  For example the Seymour Chest with mirror I made, the foot is 7/8" square at the floor, but made the whole interior from pine  and poplar, with the drawers made out of mahogany. 

The Seymour's  I think had the workmanship of risk in their minds at all times.  For I have also had the opportunity to put a hand on some of their pieces and they do wobble some.  Yet who am I to judge.   

Fred
 
Fred,

I think it is reasonable to make some judgements about past practices.  We have the advantage of two hundred years (more or less) of "product testing" to see what techniques, technologies, and even fashions stand the test of time, and what don't.  I never tire of examining old furniture in order to see how it was made, what worked, and what didn't. 

Which gives me an idea for a seperate post...  PSP
 
Jeff,

I usually start with asking the customer how much they want to spend.  OK, that was facetious, but irresistable.  Interestingly, I recently had a situation in which deciding on the type of foot did come first.  I discovered that there are a number of case and drawer construction details that are associated with bun feet that also changed with the transition to bracket feet.  So, if you like bun feet and you wish to have a "period correct" design, then you would adopt appropriate techniques for the rest of the piece.  This information is in an article by Adam Bowett in the June, 2002 issue of Antiques magazine and is probably in one of his books on English furniture.  PSP
 
A question for all:

Jeff writes (types) about the bun foot being attached by drilling a hole into the bottom of the case.  I have seen this on a number of pieces with turned feet.  Does anyone have experience with case pieces that have bun feet attached to blocks that are then attached to the bottom of the case?  I am wondering about this as a possible construction technique in early Pennsylvania furniture.  PSP
 
I have a rather large blanket chest that has 2 boards (cleats?) nailed to the underside of the chest, at the ends, and the bun feet are in four holes drilled for them.
 
I haven't encountered any pre-Victorian bun feet where they were integral with the 'corner blocks'.

The spigots on late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century bun feet were often threaded and were screwed into the packers/corner blocks/carcase base.
 
This is a foot from a period clock with a story. 8' plus with a shy 3/4" original foot. This is a foot from a clock originally made in Pennsylvania( a real Grandfather's Clock) which has become a true Southern piece in Virginia.
 
Off Our Rockers, Actin' Crazy
With the Right Medication We Won't Be Lazy
Doin' the Old Folks Boogie
Down On the Farm
Wheelchairs, They Was Locked Arm in Arm
Paired Off Pacemakers With Matchin' Alarms
Gives Us Jus' One More Chance
To Spin One More Yarn

And You Know That You're Over the Hill
When Your Mind Makes a Promise That Your Body Can't Fill
Doin' the Old Folks Boogie
And Boogie We Will
'cause to Us the Thought's As Good As a Thrill

Back At the Home,
No Time Is Your Own,
Facillities There, They're All Out On Loan
The Bank Forclose, and Your Bankruptcy Shows
And Your Credit Creeps to An All-time Low
So You Know, That You're Over the Hill
When Your Mind Makes a Promise That Your Body Can't Fill

Try and Get a Rise From An Atrophied Muscle,
And the Nerves in Your Thigh Just Quivers and Fizzles
So You Know, That You're Over the Hill
When Your Mind Makes a Promise That Your Body Can't Fill

Little Feat
 
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