AMERICANS AT WORK : FURNITURE MAKERS

[Music] a distinguished American Heritage begun in colonial times is continued by today's Craftsman the manufacturer of furniture masterpieces yet the poised Grace of a traditional chair or the beautiful luster of a serpentine sideboard often masks the careful expert touches lavished upon them by the cabinet maker only the experienced eye captures the patient care that worked in over 160 individual pieces of inlay into the drawer fronts of the sideboard or fashion the delicate turnings in a brake [Music] front today the matchless skills of early American cabinet makers are preserved by Americans at work Union Furniture workers who reproduced the classics of our nation's colonial era Masterworks of the Queen Anne Chippendale heel white and Sheran [Music] Styles the furniture worker of today enjoys the advantages of power tools and machines like the swing cut off saw used to rough cut wood to various required lanes while tools have changed and improved two factors in making Fine Furniture have remained constant the skill of the artisan and the need for highquality Hardwoods from the forests of the [Music] world under the sure Touch of a band saw operator the graceful lines of a cabol leg begin to emerge the beauty strength lightness and ease of working mahogany made it a favorite wood among the 18th century English and Colonial cabinet [Music] [Music] makers rough planks of Kiln dried mahogany are fed into a planing machine which Smooths the Sur surfaces of the board to a true uniform thickness Colonial Craftsmen perform the same operation by hand with a variety of complex planes some as long as 30 in in Lan the angle of the planing blade forged by The Village Smith was set according to the kind of wood being [Music] pled a ripping machine Cuts Lumber to prescribed widths and by an ingenious set of rollers returns it to the operator the cut piece are then ready to be welded into tabletops by a process which uses high frequency heating equipment and the latest synthetic [Music] [Applause] [Music] glues turned legs and spindles for tables and chairs are swiftly roughed carv on a machine Lan but this was not always so in Colonial Williamsburg the Joiner shop contains a rudimentary Colonial lathe known as a great wheel the huge wheel 8 ft in diameter was cranked by the joiner's Rule full Apprentice who supplied the power to turn the spindle the lathe operator and his machine eliminate the tedious unrewarding aspects of carving for the spindle and hand Carvers who finished the laes on a spindle l the spindle Carver employs a variety of turning tools with quaint sounding names skews round and square noses gouges and Diamond points or Spears with these he adroitly performs the first of the finished carving operations turning legs and spindles into a variety of [Music] patterns a worker gently presses the rough edge of a tabletop to a whirling sanding belt thus beginning one of the several sandings it will receive to produce the prized smoothness of a finished [Music] heirloom more complex pieces such as carved cabol legs are sanded on a high-speed machine where the Craftsman's Steady Hand and perceptive eye guide the piece closer to completion this ball and Claw design of Chinese origin represents a dragon claw grasping a pearl and is traceable to the influence of Thomas Chippendale upon Colonial furniture [Music] [Applause] makers among collectors and lovers of Vine Furniture the hand Carver's deaf skill and Artistry are cherished as a Priceless treasure here a hand Carver embellishes the surface of a tabletop with a free hand design early American Furniture frequently features carving which in many cases is an essential part of the overall design rosettes shell designs fluting and various Leaf patterns are features of the best designs and within easy reach of the Carver's [Music] skill with his talented hands the CER breathes living shapes into formless pieces of wood indelibly stamping them with beauty to Delight in pleas generations of men the Carver like all artists knows the capabilities and limitations of his tools and continually maintains their sharpness and condition thus the gentle urging of the Carver's hands shapes the soft curves and delicate lines of leaf motives which have fascinated Carvers since ancient times the many hand operations performed on each piece are a Hallmark of the skilled crafting with which today's Furniture workers reproduce the masterpieces of colonial times whether he is sanding a chair or table to a fine Sheen or assembling various components into a finished piece he exercises the same meticulous care the care of Craftsmen proud of their skills and [Music] Creations the spt dovetailing of finished drawers is another example of this quality workmanship which lies hidden away behind the eye-catching exterior of the finished table or chest a gracefully fluted and tapered bed post of Chippendale design receives its finishing touches the canopied field or tent beds of the Revolutionary War period established four posters as a popular American [Music] tradition like Artisans of old the furniture maker identifies his work with a trademark signifying that it is the handwork of skilled Craftsmen dedicated to work of the highest [Music] quality the latest advances in science are used by today's Furniture worker a dowel bathed in a new synthetic glue joins a tapered gate leg to its hinge this is then fitted by the assembler into the carefully cut joint another dowel secures the hinged leg permitting it to swing into place the cabinet Maker's exact workmanship permits this close fitting of wooden [Music] Parts A reproduction of a block front chest styled in colonial times by the towns and and Godard families of Newport is antiqu before [Music] finishing the headboard of a bed is similarly antiqu by a worker who gently rubs the wood with a stone giving it a semblance of [Music] age when an article has been assembled and sanded it is ready for finishing then the complicated ritual begins approximately 21 steps are required to achieve the desired effect of all finishers the mellowed look and patent of a fine collector's piece anywhere from 15 to 50 hours may be needed to finish a single [Music] object The Finisher paints with the pride and zeal of an artist each operation he performs from staining and rubbing to lacquering and polishing is carefully designed to create a beautiful and durable finish at his touch the swirl figure of mahogany glows in Rich [Music] color highlighting the grain pattern is another finishing process accentuating the inherent beauty of the wood like his finely crafted Creations the furniture maker vast SKS are mellowed to Perfection with age and [Music] experience a table of Chinese design is covered with glue prior to receiving a decorative covery by an interesting Quirk of History Chinese furniture introduced by the same trading companies which stimulated English settlement of North America influenced English designers and their colonial counter Parts the covering is laid on in sections and then rubbed with a block to remove air bubbles and excess glue from beneath the [Music] covering the deaf Strokes of the worker's hands Glide across the tabletop until the section is firmly in place [Music] gold tooling is applied by machine to the edge of a leather toop table the worker's Steady Hand guides the table as the tooling is applied the carved scallop shell a design commonly seen in colonial decoration first appeared in Queen Anne furniture of the early 18th century in a variety of sizes and styles it was used to embellish drawer fr legs and other casew work finally the completed piece a master work of the furniture Maker's art is prepared for shipping workmen carefully cushion delicate Parts before packing the pieces into strong cartons the choice pieces of mahogany which first traveled to the manufacturer from the jungle forests of Brazil and Central America are now more folded into beautiful Creations destined for more travel to decorators Fine Furniture stores and discriminating homes throughout the United States as well as our embassies throughout the world thus the furniture worker skill transcends the barriers of time politics and geography bringing us the Delight of delicately rought Beauty from far away lands and eras gone by with a carving chisel he raises his craft into the realm of art where beauty is balanced with utility and a solid craftsmanship forms its enduring Foundation a distinguished American tradition is preserved bringing the joy of beautiful Furniture into the homes of America by members of the United Furniture workers of America AFL CIO Americans at work for [Music] you Americans at work presented as a public service by the AFL CIO next week another story of Americans at work Americans who skill and effort help keep our country great and strong [Applause]