Dennis Zongker: In the Art Deco style

I began my woodworking journey at a small joinery in a quaint town near Omaha, Nebraska where I crafted radius crown mouldings, reception counters, and commercial cabinets. During this time, I also learned the basics of drafting. After about four years, I developed a strong passion for creating custom furniture, which led me to dive into every woodworking book I could find. My goal was to absorb as much knowledge as possible about the best joinery techniques and methods for crafting heirloom-quality pieces.

1. The body of the cabinet is veneered in Macassar ebony and bubinga burl with diamond pattern inlay in holly. The door front features marquetry of butterfly and rose motifs, stylised to sit within the overall design. The diamond inlays are reversed ebony on the drawer fronts and interior door panel.

Zongkers Custom Woods was founded in 1989 by my brother Dan and me. In our business, we each take on multiple roles; my responsibilities include overseeing the craftsmen, managing finances, creating drawings, and producing high-end furniture pieces that require longer lead times. Our team consists of nine skilled craftsmen who specialise in a diverse range of custom, high-quality items, including large conference tables, liturgical furnishings, and dining room sets. We ensure that all our creations are delivered and installed across the United States.

The inspiration

The Art Deco Jewellery Cabinet shown here was all about embracing the vibrant spirit of the Roaring Twenties and the Art Deco movement. I aimed to incorporate various elements, including four distinct types of veneer that would harmonise beautifully, along with diamond shapes in the finials that echoed the diamond patterns on the cabinet’s upper section.

The Art Deco era, spanning from 1910 to the early 1930s, has always captivated me with its striking geometric patterns and luxurious design elements. This period is characterised by a unique blend of intricate shapes and opulent materials, particularly evident in the fine furniture of the time.

2. Designing and making the elliptical finials was the most challenging part of the build. ‘Turning them on the lathe was the simplest and most fun part of making them.’

My design process

Inspired by the elegance and sophistication of high society during the Roaring Twenties, I set out to create a jewellery cabinet that would seamlessly fit into that glamorous world. A significant source of my inspiration was Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann (1879–1933), a prominent French furniture designer known for his pivotal role in the Art Deco movement. His innovative approach to design, which combined functionality with artistic flair, has greatly influenced my vision for this piece, as I aim to capture the essence of that vibrant era while showcasing exquisite craftsmanship and style.

3. The cabinet has 24 internal drawers joined with half lap joints pinned with solid shopmade ebony dowels.

My approach to design revolves around immersing myself in extensive research. I start by collecting as many Art Deco books as my budget allows, diving into their pages to absorb the aesthetic and historical context of the era. I spend time analysing the images and details, attempting to transport myself back to that time, which helps me grasp the essence of creating a piece of furniture that feels authentic to that period. This process can sometimes stretch over several days, as I patiently wait for that moment of inspiration to strike, igniting my creativity and allowing me to begin sketching my own designs.

This piece was created for a private collection and took me about a year to design and make. The size of the cabinet is 36-½" wide x 26-½" deep x 69" tall. It’s made from four species of hardwood and veneers: American holly, Macassar ebony, Gaboon ebony and bubinga burl. It has one outer drawer, 24 interior drawers and a hidden door compartment.

My design process is multi-faceted. I have been drawing in AutoCAD for about 30 years now. This is where I design and engineer everything that I make, except for statues. I use oil-based clay to figure out the exact details. Then I can use calipers to transfer over the measurements to wood.

Making the legs and finials

Designing and making the segmented legs with the elliptically shaped finials was the most challenging and time consuming part of the build for me. It took me several weeks to figure out how to make the diamond shapes mixed with the elliptical rings.

5. The 32 triangular segments required for the legs were cut from a large piece of Gaboon ebony using a shopmade tablesaw jig.

Gaboon ebony is used for the solid larger segmented pieces and American holly for the thinner rings. Each finial has eight elliptical rings, with four rings facing right and four facing left, all cut at 30° angles.

Getting the rings to line up in the segmented glue-up was very challenging. Turning them on the lathe was the simplest and fun part of making the top finials. Making the long-segmented legs was a little less challenging but it still took a while to get them glued up.

The yield on the solid Gaboon ebony was not very good considering the cost. I purchased a very large piece of Gaboon ebony that was 2" thick x 11" wide x 10' long. I made and used a tablesaw jig that allowed me to cut the 32 segments into 22.5° isosceles triangles. After the first cut, the board was simply flipped over to cut the opposing angle.

7,8. A jig was made to glue the holly filets to each ebony segment, four at a time.

The next step was to cut 1/16" thick American holly filets, 32 pieces (eight for each leg). To clamp the 16 pieces needed for each leg I used large rubber bands that were stretched around the pieces after brushing on wood glue. Small bar clamps were also used to help tighten up the glue-up.

After the glue had dried, mortise and tenon joinery was cut to attach the holly feet which were next glued in. After the legs were done, I moved onto the lower and upper carcase.

9. Large rubber bands were used to clamp the 16 pieces for each leg together. Small bar clamps helped to tighten up the glue-up.

Making the carcase

The joinery included large hand cut dovetails and other difficult joints however the majority of time spent on the carcase was for the veneering, including the marquetry and inlays.

10 After the glued segments had had dried, a holly ‘foot’ was mortise and tenoned to each leg.

One of the most important design goals was to line up the Macassar ebony veneer. I had to purchase a large flitch of veneer to ensure the grain would match up. The nicer looking Macassar ebony is where the light brown and black stripes alternate almost like a zebra with their alternating colours. Matching up the wood grain edge-to-edge is just as important as matching up the length of the grain. I like to figure the veneer match-ups out first to make sure I have enough to finish the whole project.

11. Turning the segmented legs was one of the simpler processes.

The lower carcase has a large radius cove made from solid cherry hardwood. Cherry is a great wood to veneer over because the grain is very smooth with small pores, and glue won’t telegraph through the face veneer.

The cove mouldings were made on the tablesaw. I made a timber straight edge and clamped it at a 45° angle to my tablesaw. The blade was lowered to sit 1/16-inch above the table and a piece of cherry pushed into the blade. This step was repeated eight times to reach the depth needed for the large radius cove.

12, 13. The large radius coved mouldings at the top and base of the carcase were cut progressively on the tablesaw. A 45° degree straightedge was clamped to the tablesaw and the depth achieved over eight passes.

The marquetry

For the marquetry on the door, the design of the roses and butterflies was stylised to simplify the detailing for each shape. To ensure the Art Deco style marquetry would blend well with the overall design of the jewellery cabinet, only three different veneers were used for the door marquetry. Gaboon ebony, and American holly were used for the butterflies and roses, with bubinga burl selected for the background veneer.

14. The cabinet carcase was made from American red cherry, selected as an ideal substrate for veneering because of its smooth grain and small pores.

Inlays

To simplify the design on the inside of the cabinet I only used Gaboon ebony inlays with the main background veneer being American holly. On the back of the door and on the face of the inside hidden door I used the same diamond shape inlay that is on the outside face of the cabinet.

15. The lower carcase was dovetailed and glued up with provision for a large drawer.

The diamond and straight inlays on the outside and inside were routed in dados to the thickness of the veneer. The inlays were cut on the tablesaw with a shopmade veneer jig and then fitted into the dados using a straight chisel. Yellow glue was brushed into the dados and the parts placed into a vacuum press bag with a caul placed on top.

16. Showing how the coved sections were glued to the carcase.

The lower outer drawer is made from solid Macassar ebony with hand cut dovetails. The ebony drawer dividers have lap joints that rest on top of the drawer bottom that is made from solid American holly.

17. One of the most important design goals was to line up the Macassar ebony veneer to wrap over the curves and meet at the edges.

The 24 inside drawers are made from soft heavy curly maple. Instead of dovetailing the drawers I used a lap corner joint. I made my own 3/16" diameter and 3/4" long ebony dowels with a dowel maker tool to blend with the Art Deco style.

The cabinet was made alongside other work undertaken throughout the year. Fortunately, in spite of its complexity, I didn’t encounter any mishaps or need to remake any parts, which made the process smoother. Utilising AutoCAD was a game-changer, allowing me to visualise the entire design before diving in.

18. Curved cauls were used to clamp the veneer to the carcase.

There are not many pieces that I think a craftsman makes that he is 100% happy with and of course this one is not an exception. I was about 95% happy with everything and yes, I would love to make this piece again. It was very enjoyable.

19. A rasp was used to finesse the glue joint.

The piece that I am working on now is a wine cabinet with design elements to match the Greene and Greene style period but with my own design, and luckily for me, I am booked up for the next couple of years with furniture pieces.

Photos: Dennis Zongker

20. After the holly and ebony marquetry was glued to the bubinga door front panel, grooves were routed to accept holly inlays.

Dennis Zongker’s Art Deco Jewellery Cabinet will feature in his upcoming book, which draws on his lifelong experience in designing and crafting custom furniture. Hi first book, published in 2013, is titled Wooden Boxes: Skill Building for Seven Unique Projects.

First published in Australian Wood Review, issue 130, March 2026

Learn more about Dennis Zongker@denniszongker at https://zongkers.com

21. Each inlay was hand cut to fit.

22. Dennis Zongker glues up the main body of the carcase.