John Whittaker, Kyogle, NSW

Interrupted
1430 x 730 x 560mm

The cabinet was made from Qld maple with Peruvian walnut inlay sourced from my teacher Geoff Hannah. The carcase was constructed using dowel joints and the drawers are secured with handcut dovetails. I used PVA glue on these joints while the Qld maple veneer on the sides was attached using animal hide glue.
I chose to French polish the cabinet as this is a preferred finish used by my teacher and what better person to learn the intricacies of this technique. I used blonde shellac, the drawers receiving approximately 20 coats inside and out. The rest of the cabinet including drawer fronts received 30 coats with a final sanding of 1000 grit wet and dry before being rubbed back.

Concept
I am a mature age student who has had the good fortune to study with two craftsmen. Their specialities cover the traditional fine cabinetmaking of Geoff Hannah and the clean fluid carving of Grant Vaughan. My goal in this project was to meld the two skills to produce a functional piece of furniture that was pleasing to the eye and touch.
The lines of the cabinet face unite the flow with the functional. As the drawers increase in size and weight towards the bottom of the cabinet a secondary line commences to give an even pull for both sides of the drawers achieving both a visual and functional balance.

Photos: John Patterson