My father was an old school cabinet maker trained in the 1930’s and my apprenticeship with him started early. He was an exacting taskmaster, ‘there was the best way and the wrong way.’ I was helping him in his workshop from the age of twelve. Apart from a brief stint at University I have been making furniture since 1968.
Wide boards for table tops
In recent years I have found it increasingly difficult to source the timber I need to fulfill my traditional designs.
The result has been to cut my own timber from Somerset’s woodland, plank and season it myself. Though costly this option it allows me to source any grain, dimension, and cut that I or my clients might imagine.
This approach does require a lot of work with hand tools but the results are worth it.