The following is excerpted from Chapter 11 of “Shaker Inspiration,” in which author Christian Becksvoort presents six of the many Shaker reproductions he’s made in his long career. Other design chapters include measured drawings for his own designs and a baker’s dozen of Shaker classics. Plus he shares his construction methods, thoughts on design and craftsmanship, shop and business advice, and more.
Tailor Counter. 33″ H x 60″ W x2 7-7/8″ D (83.3cm x 152cm x 70.7cm). This piece is a great example of asymmetrical design. The original is from Hancock, Mass., or Enfield, Conn. The top has breadboard ends, while the case has two horizontal panels on the sides and three vertical panels in the back, with a dust panel on the bottom. The drawers are lipped on three sides. An almost identical one, about 4″ (10cm) longer, features a cherry case and tiger maple drawer fronts, made by the same Shaker craftsman. Dennis Griggs Photo.
Just a heads up that you have only until this Friday – Sept. 25, 2026 – to get Christopher Schwarz’s revised “Build a Stick Chair Video” for the introductory price of $37.50 (50-percent off). The price then goes up to $79.
In this video, Chris teaches you to build using common woodworking tools and machines, plus kiln-dried wood from the lumberyard. This video, which clocks in at more than four hours long, has 18 separate chapters that cover all aspects of stick chair construction, from selecting the lumber to applying the finish.
Purchasers will also receive a digital file with full-size patterns for the chair shown in the video, which can be printed out at any reprographics firm or office supply store. Plus, notes on the sizes of the chair parts and sources for tools used in the video. (This chair is a new design, not one found in “The Stick Chair Book.”)
This, and all of our videos, can be watched one of two ways. You can stream it (after logging into your account here at Lost Art Press). Or you can download the video and put it on any device. The video is offered without DRM (digital rights management), so the files will be easily moved to any of your devices, now and in the future.
Making the side-hung drawers is a fun challenge. I don’t do it often enough to have a systematic step-by-step approach; I’ve done it this way and that over the years. First off, the stock I use for the drawers is all radially riven and planed well ahead of time so it’s nice and dry. The drawer sides in particular need to be good, clear stock.
After assembling the case, I take some final passes with a sharp plane to size the drawer fronts to their openings. Three of the drawers have applied mouldings and turnings decorating the fronts. This work can be done once the drawers are assembled. The second drawer has a carved front, and I do that work before assembly. I’ll address the carving separately.
Let’s look at the drawer construction. It might confound some modern sensibilities. Three of the drawers use half-blind dovetails to join the drawer sides to the fronts.
Plow the groove in the drawer side before cutting the tails.
The backs of the drawers are not dovetailed; they’ve got rabbet joints and nails to attach to the ends of the drawer sides – except for the deepest drawer, which has through-dovetails front and back. You could give yourself a headache trying to understand why this particular mix of techniques appears on this cupboard. I don’t even bother. Some of the related cupboards used dovetails in the drawer fronts; most just used nailed rabbets. Which gives you plenty of leeway.
The deep drawer (7-1/4″) has two tails on the drawer sides; the others have only one. The only difference between them, as I noted, is that the large drawer has through-dovetails and the shallower drawers have half-blind joints. I plow the groove in the drawer sides before laying out the dovetails. Then, when I lay out the tails, I arrange them so the groove runs through one. The groove placement needs to agree with the notches in the stiles for the drawer runners. As discussed in the section on framing the lower case, you can make the notches in the frame first or the groove in the drawer sides first. Doesn’t matter. But make them agree – that’s critical. So much has been written about dovetails that I don’t want to add my two cents’ worth. The photos and captions cover what I know.
Assembling the drawer is simple enough. The rabbets are just nailed; out of habit I glued the dovetails in addition to nailing them. I’ve seen some period dovetailed drawers without nails; thus glue is implied. Make sure the nail heads don’t protrude from the drawer side as this could interfere with the drawer’s fit. I often hollow an area with a gouge to sink the nail head in. Nail the joint through the drawer back into the ends of the drawer sides, again with reamed pilot holes. After assembling the drawer, make two saw cuts to open up the groove through the drawer’s ends. Then knock out the waste with a chisel and mallet. It doesn’t have to be your neatest work; it just has to allow the drawer to slide along the runner.
Drawer Bottoms Seventeenth-century drawer bottoms appear in several configurations. Hardwood, softwood, riven, sawn – I’ve seen them all. Some run lengthwise, some front to back. I like to make drawer bottoms from white pine boards running front to back. This can be a good use for short bits of wood. In this particular case, though, they are all riven oak, a bit less than 1/2″ thick. The log I had on hand yielded boards 6″ to 9″ wide, so there are about five or six boards per drawer. They butt up against each other with the same V-shaped joint used in the cupboard’s floorboards and soffit.
Pilot holes are a must. Be careful nailing into the front rabbet; a bit of an angle helps prevent blowout.
My drawer bottoms are finished on one face and rough-planed to thickness. I start each drawer by installing the outer boards at each end. These need one edge and the front end square. The inner edge doesn’t need to be parallel to the outer edge. Then flip the drawer upside down on the bench, lay the bottom in place in the rabbet and flush with the drawer side. Then, scribe the bit hanging over past the drawer’s back to get its finished length. Trim that length and joint the second edge. The same steps for making the V-groove in the soffit and floorboards apply here. Nail the drawer bottoms up to the drawer sides and back, and into a rabbet in the drawer front. The drawers use up a lot of nails, depending on how many boards make up the bottoms.
We are offering free shipping on Michael Pekovich’s new book “Benchwork” for the next 30 days. You can order the book here, and we will ship it tomorrow.
“Benchwork” is Mike’s third book, and this one focuses on making your work at the bench the best it can be. He shows you how to make his simple workbench, plus tool chests, wall cabinets and important shop appliances (do check out the “risers”….).
And Mike discusses in detail his kit of hand tools and how each one has earned a place in his shop.
Like all of our books, “Benchwork” is made to high standards. The heavy coated paper takes color beautifully. All the pages are sewn together, then backed with glue and fiber tape. Then we wrap the book block with heavy boards, cloth and a dust jacket. This is a permanent book – made in the USA.
Note: Lost Art Press ships only to US addresses. If you live outside the U.S., consider buying the book from one of our retailers. Or use a mail forwarding service. We hope that all of our retailers will carry “Benchwork,” but that is up to them (as it should be).
