Category: To Make as Perfectly as Possible, Roubo Translation

We are making the final pass through “Roubo on Furniture” during the next couple weeks. Kara Gebhart Uhl is looking for mistakes that have eluded us for the last three years, Suzanne Ellison is updating the index and I’m building the book’s table of contents.

We plan to go to press with the standard edition of “Roubo on Furniture” in early January with a mid-February release. We also will publish a deluxe edition, which design Wesley Tanner will begin working on shortly. Details to come on how to order the deluxe version.

In the meantime, take a look at the table of contents. Whew.

— Christopher Schwarz

Preface xi
A Key to the Text     xiv

The Woods Appropriate for Joinery    3
Section I.     The Different Qualities of Wood    3
Section II.     Fashioning and Stacking of Wood    7
Section III.     The Cutting of Wood    13

The Art of Assembly, its Uses and Proportions    21
Section I.     Different Ways to Elongate Wood    25

Some Tools Belonging to Woodworkers, Their Different Types, Forms and Uses    29
Section I.     Tools of the Shop    32
Section II.     The Tools Belonging to the Workmen    33
Section III.     Some Tools Appropriate for Cutting and Planing the Wood    34
The Plate 11 Workbench: How it (Really) Works     38
Make Roubo’s ‘Winding Sticks’     54
Section IV.     The Tools for Marking and Making Joints    59
Section V.     The Tools for Fretwork, and those for Cutting the Straight and Curved Mouldings    76

The Art of Drawing        89
Section I.     The Way to Take Measurements    89
The Way to Draw the Work on the Plan      93
The Way to Prepare Joinery to Receive Carved Ornaments    95
Section II.     The Way to Glue Wood    99
The Way to Construct Columns in Wood; Bases, Capitals, Entablature and Pedestals    103
Section III.     The Way of Gluing Curved Wood    109

Joinery in Furniture, in General, and the Different Types    112
Section I.     The Tools and Woods appropriate for Furniture    114
Ancient Furniture in General    115
Some Different Types of Seats in Use at Present    119
Section II.     The Description of Folding Chairs, Stools, Benches, etc. Their Forms, Proportion and Construction    120
Section III.     Descriptions of all sorts of [side] chairs, their decorations, forms, proportions and construction    126
The Way to Prepare Seats to Receive Fabric Ornamentation    135
Roubo on Upholstery     137
Section IV.     The Upholstery of Chairs with Caning and the Art of Caning in General    141
The Way to Prepare Seats for Caning     141
Selection of the cane, the way of splitting it and the caners’ tools    145
Various Methods of Weaving and Diverse Operations of the Caner    149

Different Sorts of Seating Forms, Proportions & Construction    155
Roubo, Meet Reality: The Making of A Classical French Chairmaker    164
Section I.     Description of all the major seats, like canapés, sofas, ottomans, etc.    181
Section II.     Description of Private Apartment Seats, like Bathing-tubs, Demi-bathing tubs, etc.    193

Of Beds in General and the Different Sorts    201
Section I.     The Beds of France: Forms, Proportions & Construction    202
Canopies of Beds, Commonly Called Pavilions or Imperials; Their Forms and Construction     210
Section II.     Description of Polish-style Beds, their Proportions, Shapes & Decoration    220
Section III.     Description of different types of campaign Beds, their shapes and construction    226
Section IV.     Description of Daybeds, some Cradles and Cots    235

Tables in General and the Different Types    239
Section I.     Different Forms and Constructions of Dining Tables    245
Section II.     Game Tables and their different types, forms and constructions    249
Description of a Billiard Table, its form, proportion and construction    249
Description of Gaming Tables, their form, proportions and construction    261
Section III.     Tables for writing and their different types, forms and constructions    270
Description of Dressing Tables and Night Tables, and others    293
Description of Screens and Windbreaks; their forms and proportions    296

Case Pieces Known under the General Name of Large Pieces    301
Section I.     Description of Armoires; their decoration, proportions and construction    302
Description of Buffets; their forms, proportions, decoration & construction    309
Description of Commodes; their forms, proportions and construction    315
Of Solid Cabinetry Or Assembly in General    325
Section I.     Description of the Tools of the Furniture Maker, their assembly and how to use them    327
Section II.     Basic Elements on the Part of the Art of Turning necessary for the Furniture Maker    331
Some Screw Taps and Wooden Dies used by Cabinetmakers    343
The Machines Appropriate for Making Fluting for Cylinders and Cones    347
Description of the Machine commonly called the tool for waves     358
Reproducing and Using Moxon’s ‘Waving Engine’    366
Section III.     Different Locksmithing Tools for the Furniture Maker    378
The Way to fit the iron work for cabinetry    392
The Manner of polishing iron and copper relative to cabinetry    402
Section IV.     Different Kinds of Solid or Assembled Cabinetry in General    404            Description of different sorts of embroidery frames    405
Description of a printing cabinet    417
Description of Gueridons and Small Tables    427
Description of Different Forms of Desks    430
Necessaries and Other Types of Boxes    437

Afterword to ‘Roubo on Furniture’    443

Appendix: André-Jacob Roubo    445

Index                451