For all of you in or around Austin Texas, you might want to check out a great exhibit at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. The Exhibit will be running for only 2 more weeks, through October 6. The museum has done a wonderful job pulling together some very fine Texas made furniture pieces from around the Lone Star State.
The museum asked us to do a video for them on the process of building a Texas style table using 19th century tools and techniques.
The video has been playing at the museum non-stop since July 13 when the exhibit opened.
I do wish I would have notified you all about this earlier but I have been doing a lot more work out of my home shop building commissions and have not had much time to write. Maybe if I have time I will write a little about some of my recent work, but don’t hold your breath! I have recently done a set of chairs, a set of entry doors, workbenches and more to go!
Back to the museum, and the video. I sure enjoyed the filming of the video. It was about a 6 hour shoot, with no talking, just tool noise. We filmed it in one of our restored 18th century barns. The setting couldn’t have been more perfect. I tried to use only 19th century tools, or what the Texas craftsman would have been using while building the furniture that is at the exhibit.
Here is a picture of the filming.
I highly encourage you to get over to the museum. Here is some more information. In case you can’t get over be sure to check out the video that we did by clicking the link right here. Thanks to the incredibly talented filming crew at sustainlife productions for pulling it off and distilling 6 hours of footage down to 7 minutes of video!
If you get over to the museum you will also get to see the actual table that I made during the filming process on display at the museum. And if you want to buy one, you can by clicking right here.
Frank Strazza
How was the top of the table attached to the leg frame in the Texas heritage video? Just glue, or was there joinery involved? Spectacular video, by the way.
Hi Mitch, No glue or else the top would not be able to expand or contract. I used an old technique that I call the button method. Basically you cut a narrow groove on the inside of the apron. Then you make a little piece of wood that has a rabbet on it that attaches to the inside of the groove, that piece of wood is screwed to the table top. Therefore the top can still expand and contract. Hope that makes sense!